Photo By Staff Sgt. Carl Hudson | Army Staff Sgt. Camille Adams, a communications specialist with Combined Joint Special...... read more read more
BALAD, Iraq – The most difficult moments of life can knock the wind out of anyone. Whether the prolonged demands are physical or emotional, it can take a great amount of will to find a rhythm and keep breathing. However, there are some who are up to the challenge for the simple task and stresses of catching their breath and label it fun.
More than 50 competitors participated in this year's St. Patrick's Day Biathlon at Joint Base Balad, Iraq, March 8. The competition involved a 500-meter swim followed by a five-kilometer run with both male and female categories. While the overall theme for this year's event is physical fitness, everyone had their own reasons for joining the competition.
"I'm in it for the exercise," said Army Maj. Jay Schwartz, Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Arabian Peninsula medical operations manager. "I'm trying to get in shape like everybody else."
According to Schwartz, he has trained since he arrived in mid-January. Although he feels he is not the greatest swimmer, he participated with others in his staff as a group function.
The draw of participating in the event was shared with other biathletes.
For Army Staff Sgt. Camille Adams, CJSOTF-AP communications specialist, the biathlon function served as a form of competition and camaraderie.
"It's a lot of fun to go out there and just push yourself," she said. "It's intense. It pushes your lungs, but it is fun."
With no transition period between the swim and run events, catching their breath was not the only challenge in the event.
"Some people took the time to dry off, but I just put my socks and shoes on and started running," said Schwartz. "Had the run been longer, I probably would have taken the time to dry off."
While some may have had problems breathing during the transition between the two events, others found a pattern to stay with until they crossed the finish line.
"It was really hard, but once I got to the track, I found a pattern [in my breathing] after the first mile," said Adams.
Adams placed third in the female category with an overall time of 34:02 and plans to do better next biathlon, she said.
For others, the event was a great way to pass the time while deployed and try something new.
"[I thought] why not try it?" Schwartz said. "It's something new and different. It was something to train for, look forward to and make time go by a little faster."
Schwartz finished his race at 36:02 placing him 19th in the men's category. While Schwartz never participated to compete with others, he took the opportunity to consider the event more of a challenge for himself.
"If you want to try something, this is the place to try it," he said. "It's better to do something [for yourself] than to wish you had tried it."
| Date Taken: | 03.14.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 03.14.2009 21:00 |
| Story ID: | 31119 |
| Location: | BALAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 390 |
| Downloads: | 309 |
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