Jogging at night in Iraq...

Finally a day off, finally some time to do something different.

iTunes Selection: "Quien Eres Tu(feat. Trey Songz)" -Mariajose

It had finally cooled down, the dust was still kicking from the day’s dust storm but the heat had finally died down and the night was calm. I jogged out the south gate and turn left. At first I started looking for cars that maybe I could thumb a ride with. All I saw was a tractor trailer headed out. I stayed off the main road and on the dirt side of the road.

I was using my iPod to light the road, and to light myself for the occasional pick up truck driving by at warp speed. I was listening to “Quien Eres Tu,” a spanish song I’d downloaded from itunes. The rhythmic beat kept my legs going. Oddly enough the song seemed to fit the scenery. I stepped it up as I crossed an intersection and followed the side road through a refueling site. The road was now pavement and my feet made more noise than or the dirt. The music was putting me in a good mood, as i passed I waved at the hindi re-fuelers. A couple glanced at me sideways, the others just seemed to be waiting to close up and go home for the night.

I crossed the main road and picked up my pace as I went through the deserted traffic circle. The beat kept playing in my head phones and my feet kept moving. I waved at a couple of Iraqi guards with my water bottle. They waved back, a little unsure who had just jogged past them. I turned right, down the last leg of my trip.

This was a dark narrow road with 20 foot walls on either side. There was no lights on this road, but the full moon helped illuminate the way. As my eyes adjusted to the light I could start making out the creatures of the night, bats. Swooping down they were snacking on the bugs in the air. The muted full moon broke through the dust in the air but the road seemed darker and darker. I took one final gulp of warm water out of my water bottle and washed my mouth out of dirt that I had started to taste.

This jog reminded me of running with my dad as a kid. I picked up spitting from him as I ran. I cleared my throat one more time and tossed the bottle as hard as i could into the trees along the side of the road and stretched out my stride. I was going to make the best of this last leg and I wanted to lighten my load. I turned up the music on my ipod and lengthened my stride. I was headed in, I didn’t like being on this road by myself. It was too dark.

As i pulled up to the gate guards they had a look of surprise, ‘where’d you come from?’ Their first question was if I was an interpreter? No, I worked in an office.

I jogged here from the gym on Stryker. Only about 2 miles, but it was dark. Jogging the final turn around the compound I walked into the office for a big bottle of cold water.