Hypothermic Half Marathon

I ran my first winter half marathon this morning. Oups! not true. I ran the New Years day Half Marathon in Kandahar, Afghanistan in 2009 but it was about 15°C so it does not count as a winter one. This morning though was a doozy. With a Wind Chill of -29°C, it was a weee bit nippy out in the open. A good thing the course was through the Assiniboine forest and the trees shielded us from the wind for most of the race. When I finished, I was soaked through and the inside of my windbreaker was all iced up. I could have made a snow ball with the ice in my jacket. I used my neoprene face mask for a couple hundred meters in the open because my face was about to get frost bite. It was a fun race where there is no expectations of finishing with a great time because it's a snowy trail, you're dressed much more than a summer race and it's the first one of the year. If you're like me, you packed on a few extra pounds from the holidays and the runs have not been very long because it was too cold outside. I can't run longer than 30 mins on a treadmill so unless I can run outside, I never get runs longer than 6Km. Also, I'm on course in Portage La Prairie and they feed us 3 square meals a day with all the salad and sides you can put in your plate. It does not help in maintaining the weight when it is free and you don't have to make it yourself. I went up to 200lbs two weeks ago and I should be 185 with my muscle mass. Today I ran at probably 193lbs or more and I felt it in my legs and joints. I guess it's a sign that I have to get a grip and reduce my food intake and keep the running regular. Next race is 1 May and I will be down to 185 or less for that one.

Until then, back to the training and the flying.

Cheers!

Chuck

Ground School is done!

Two weeks of ground school and that included my first Full Flight Simulator. I was also suppose to fly my first flight today but the plane broke and there was too much delay so it will be next week.

The ground school was good but it is mostly self study via a laptop and confirmatory lessons with an instructor. They usually spend very little time confirming and we must be “on the ball” because we have to know our stuff by heart. The check list is very long and the first start with checks takes about an hour. There are so many things to check it's not even funny. There is a flow however, and I have a feeling that after a few flights, it becomes easy.

The HPMA (Human Performance in Military Aviation) is all new to me. It's essentially the crew concept and that in itself is not new to me because we used it in the Griffon helicopter all the time but this HPMA version is all about saying specific words or commands at a specific time. You can't use a different word that means the same thing. It has to be the same word for everyone so when you change pilot or co-pilot there is no confusion about the calls in the aircraft.

It will take some getting use to but I'll get it. I just need to get the first flight done so I can get a feel for this airplane. After that, it's all about the feel.

CUL8R

Chuck