Penitential Rite and Lent

Lent started last Wednesday (Ash Wednesday) and will continue until Easter. I’ve been thinking a lot lately, especially when I’m running, about the Penitential Rite. PR is repeated at the start of each mass. Sometimes, we become so accustomed to words we say often, we fail to appreciate their meaning. I’m ashamed to admit it, but I’d started to treat this very important part of mass almost as an afterthought. Here is the Penitential Rite:

I confess to almighty God
and to you my brothers and sisters,
that I have sinned through my own fault
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done, and in what I have failed to do;
and I ask blessed Mary, ever virgin,
all the angels and saints, and you, my brothers and sisters,
to pray for me to the Lord our God.

What wonderful words. We publicly admit to God and our brothers and sisters that we’ve sinned. No one is perfect; sin is a part of our life and must be acknowledged and forgiven. Most people wouldn’t argue that they have sinned through their own fault, but do they appreciate that we can sin through our thoughts and our words? Again, most folks would accept that sin is in what I have done, but do they realize we can also sin in what we’ve failed to do? For instance, if you know someone who needs your help or assistance and you fail to help them, haven’t you sinned? The ending is the best part. We ask Mary, all the angels and saints and our brothers and sisters to pray for us. How many of us really take the time to pray for others? Wouldn’t not praying for others, especially after they've publicly asked for those prayers be a sin “in what I’ve failed to do?

Again, while this had almost become habit to repeat this during mass, it’s important to take a little time and contemplate what it means and how it applies to our day-to-day lives and then apply it when appropriate. While repeating the Penitential Rite doesn't equate to confession, it certainly sets the tone for the entire mass.

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After a good run this morning on the Parkway in SLC, I’m sitting at home anxiously waiting the results of the Wasatch Front 100’s lottery to be posted on their web site. I got to thinking about how popular ultras have become even in the four or five years I’ve been running them. Wasatch joined the trend set by Western States to have an open lottery for entries into their race last year. You send in your application the first week in January and the first Saturday in February, they have their drawing.

I think this would be a great way for other, over-popular races to fill their empty slots. About a month ago, entries for the Miwok 100 opened at 9 AM on a Sunday morning. I was on my way home from a race in. Las Vegas so I had Patricia, my wife, go on-line and register me. She started at 9 AM and finally was able to sign into Active.com at about 9:15. She was too late, but put me on the “waiting list”. A week or two later I was notified by the race director that the National Park Service had approved 75 additional entries. She gave me a password that allowed me to sign-in and register. This was not an isolated incident. Carl and Joe had a similar experience with Mannsunutten. Many other races that accept mail-in applications fill within a few days. Hopefully, more of these popular venues will follow Western States, Hardrock and Wasatch and start having a lottery.



And here is the rest of it.

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Relative Difficulties of Ultras

Gary Wang did a statistical analysis of finishing rates, elevation gain, times, etc to create a relative diffuculty of ultras. He used Western States as the norm (100%) and rated the others on their difficulty when compared against Western States. For instance, WS is 100%, but Wasatch Front is 113%. Wasatch Front is 13% more difficulty. I'm not sure how valid it is, but it does provide an excellent comparison point. Here's the list:



Relative Event Finish Time to Western States 100 Mile .
Sample Criteria:
Same individual completed the listed event and one of the following 100 mile run in the SAME YEAR:
Western States, Vermont, Leadville, Angeles Creset, Wasatch, Kettle Moraine, Hardrock, Rocky Raccoon, and Mohican.

The relative percentage is first averaged over the samples for each 100 mile reference, then normalized to Western States, then averaged over the nine 100 mile runs listed.
The relative uncertainy of the analysis is porportional to 1/sqrt(sample size).
Time
Dist. Rel to Sample Event Name
WS100 Size

135m 157% 133 BadWater Ultra Marathon
100m 155% 904 Hard Rock 100 Mile
100m 131% 58 HURT Trail 100 Mile
100m 117% 3279 Wasatch Front 100 Mile
100m 113% 45 Mount Rushmore Trail 100 Mile
100m 113% 115 Bear 100 Mile
100m 112% 90 Bighorn Mountain Trail Run
100m 111% 396 Massanutten Mountain Trails 100 Mile
100m 108% 14 Tahoe Rim Trail 100 miles
100m 108% 2156 Angeles Crest 100 Mile
100m 107% 12 Grand Teton Races 100m
100m 106% 79 Superior Sawtooth 100 Mile
100m 105% 80 Cascade Crest 100 Mile
100m 103% 4508 Leadville Trail 100 Miles
100m 100% 7497 Western States 100 Miles
100m 99% 79 San Diego 100 Mile
100m 96% 46 McNaughton Park Trail Runs
100m 93% 72 Rio Del Lago 100 Mile
100m 93% 41 Ancient Oaks 100
100m 91% 66 Haliburton Forest 100
100m 90% 984 Mohican Trail 100 Mile
100m 89% 108 Javelina Jundred 100 Mile
100m 88% 341 Old Dominion 100 Mile One Day
100m 88% 34 SULPHUR SPRINGS 100 Mile
100m 88% 451 Arkansas Traveller 100 Mile
100m 88% 628 Kettle Moraine 100 mile
100m 84% 3533 Vermont Trail 100 Miles
100m 84% 91 Heartland 100 Mile
100k 81% 68 HURT Trail 100k option
100m 81% 281 Umstead 100 Mile
100m 81% 1654 Rocky Raccoon 100m
100m 80% 41 Old Dominion 100 mile Memorial Day
100m 76% 22 Dan Rossi Memorial Ultras
140m 66% 17 IronMan CoeurdAlene
140m 61% 20 IronMan Canada
200m 60% 8 Mt Tam Double Century
100k 58% 45 Where's Waldo 100K
200m 57% 14 The Terrible Two
100k 53% 97 Bandera 100km
140m 53% 25 IronMan Wisconsin
50m 48% 332 Zane Grey 50 Miles
140m 47% 28 IronMan USA Lake Placid
100k 46% 1052 Miwok 100K
140m 46% 35 IronMan Florida
100k 46% 42 Kettle Moraine 100k option
140m 46% 14 IronMan Hawaii World Championship
50m 40% 99 Bishop High Sierra 50 Miles
50m 40% 70 Tahoe Rim Trail 50 Miles
52m 39% 340 Sierra Nevada
100k 39% 144 Ruth Anderson 100k
100k 39% 7 Orange Curtain 100k
50m 37% 229 White River 50 Miles
50m 36% 340 Silver State 50 Miles
50m 36% 528 Quicksilver 50 Mile
50m 36% 425 FireTrail 50 Miles
50m 36% 80 Run on the Sly 50 Miles
50k 35% 338 Silver State 50k
50m 35% 342 Nugget 50 Miles
50m 35% 19 Mt Hood PCT 50 Miles
50m 35% 369 Leona Divide 50 Mile Run
50m 35% 147 Umstead 50 Miles
50m 34% 536 California 50 Miles
35m 34% 84 Santa Barbara 9 Trails 35 Mile
50m 33% 2568 American River 50 Miles
50m 33% 52 McKenzie River 50 Miles
50m 32% 414 Avalon 50 Miles
50m 32% 41 Rocky Raccon 50 Miles
50k 31% 203 Baldy Peak 50k
50m 31% 163 Helen Klein 50 Miles
50m 30% 114 Cow Mountain 50 Miles
50k 30% 64 Tahoe Rim Trail 50k
50m 30% 372 Jed Smith 50 Miles
50k 28% 16 Bishop High Sierra 50 Mile and 50 Km
38m 28% 26 Haleakala Run to the Sun
50m 28% 20 Ruth Anderson 50 Miles
50k 28% 37 Mt. Disappointment 50 Km
50k 25% 12 Nugget 50 Miles
50k 24% 411 Ohlone Wilderness 50K Trail Run
50k 23% 253 Crown King Scramble 50k
50k 23% 195 Mrename() failed: Permission denied
cDonald Forest 50K
71m 23% 31 WildFlower Long Course Triathlon
50k 23% 7 Bighorn Mountain Trail Run
50k 23% 76 Run on the Sly 50 Km
34m 22% 36 Peterson Ridge Rumble 60k
50k 22% 219 Golden Gate Headlands 50k
50k 22% 58 Bandera 50k
50k 22% 53 Bulldog 50K Ultra Run
28m 22% 687 Quad Dipsea
50k 21% 43 Siskiyou Out Back 50K
50k 21% 81 Chuckanut 50k
71m 21% 27 California Half Ironman
50k 20% 297 Quicksilver 50K
50k 20% 13 Ruth Anderson 50k
50k 20% 512 Skyline 50k
50k 20% 1392 Way Too Cool 50k
50k 19% 73 Hagg Lake Trail Runs 50k
50k 19% 5 Wild Wild West 50k
50k 19% 36 McKenzie River 50k
50k 18% 301 OTHTC High Desert Ultra 50k
50k 17% 31 Helen Klein 50k
50k 17% 38 Salem Lakeshore Frosty Fifty Km
50k 17% 384 Jed Smith Ultra Classic 50K
45m 12% 14 Santa Barbara Long Course Triathlon

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Forest Gump Training Run

We’d been trying to schedule a long training run for a couple of weeks, but the weather and work kept getting in the way. Wednesday evening, at the annual Locomotion Running Club meeting, we finally sat down and decided our best shot was Friday morning, but we had to start by 4 AM. This had all the makings of a trudge run. The temperature for the past three weeks at 4 AM had been huddling around 0 degrees, with two feet of snow on the ground, no body was sure what the parkway would look like and my wife wouldn’t be too happy about me leaving for Salt Lake at 3 AM. We were all wrong, as Joe called it; this was a real Forest Gumpper.



Joe, Carl, Larry Emery, Bill Catmull and I met at Gardner Village at 4 AM Friday. The temperature was surprisingly warm, I’d guess about 25 degrees, the moon was mostly full and the Jordan River Parkway trail through South Jordan had even been plowed. Best yet, it snowed about ½ an inch Thursday evening. The little bit of cushioning provided by the skiff of snow was amazing. It provided a little extra traction in the slick places and it made the asphalt surface feel like trail.

We wanted to run about 30 miles. It’s fifteen miles from Gardner Village to the Fairgrounds on North Temple. The Jordan River Parkway is a mostly paved path that runs the length of the Salt Lake City valley along the Jordan River. In the summer time, there are lots of parks with bathrooms and water faucets. Unfortunately, most are closed and locked in the winter. Instead, we stop at a 7-11 on 13th South in both directions for refreshments and a bathroom stop this time of year. The first 12 miles to the 7-11 went really fast. There were no other users on the trail, we felt good so we moved along at a respectable pace.

Following a quick stop, we ran north almost to the fairgrounds. One of the only sections of the parkway not completed goes under I-80. You have to make a short detour west, go through an underpass, and follow some train tracks back to the river and cross the river on the train bridge to get to the fairgrounds. Because of snow, we turned around at the train tracks, coming up a little short. Of course, since I wasn’t wearing a GPS, I can still claim it was a 30 mile run.

After another 7-11 stop, we headed back to Gardner Village. The run back was as peaceful as the run up. Joe’s phone seemed to be a little more reserved and respectful than usual, even when you’d wish it would ring so you’d have an excuse to walk and catch your breath. From the park at 48th South, it’s five miles to Gardner Village. As we left the park, I told Carl I wanted to see how fast we could do it. We ended up running it in 51 minutes. I’d hoped we could have maintained a 10 minute per mile pace, but considering the shape I’m in, I thought this was very respectable. Everyone finished under 6 hours and 30 minutes, 30 minutes faster than when re ran this course in mid-December.

This was also Bill’s first run longer than a marathon. He really surprised me. Now that he’s got his house finished, I expect he’ll be with us on many more long training runs and races. Way to go Bill, “You’re the man!” Oh yeah, I think I heard a mumble from the other side of the bed at 2 AM when I got up. Something about, “you’re f___ing crazy!”

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Marine Sniper

Marine Sniper
By Charles Henderson

Marine Sniper is another book recommended and loaned to me by Carl Tippets. This is the story of Carlos Hathcock, a legendary Vietnam era Marine sniper. Hathcock had 93 confirmed kills during two separate tours in Vietnam. He helped design and institutionalize modern sniper tactics. Prior to going to Viet Nam, Carlos was the 1000 Yard National High Power Rifle Champion in 1965. Widely recognized as the best marksman in the US, he was able to apply his amazing marksmanship with modern sniper tactics to revolutionize how our military used snipers. This book is his story.


The book consisted of background information about his life in Arkansas prior to joining the Marines. Most of the book detailed the legendary feats he carried out in Vietnam after winning the Wimbledon Cup in 1965 and concluded with a very touching chapter about his life after leaving the Corp with a disability discharge.

During his first tour in Vietnam, the book highlighted several episodes from his career that ultimately left him with the title of loung troung (long feather) by the Viet Cong and large bounty on his head by their government. While the story about the time he and a spotter held off an enemy platoon for three days while slowly killing most of its member were highly entertaining, the authors writing style seemed somewhat sterile and mechanical, as if he we repeating details found in official reports instead of providing first hand knowledge of the events made the bulk of this book a bit tedious. I most enjoyed the last mission Carlos performed just before the end of his tour. He was handpicked to infiltrate the North Vietnamese Army’s rear echelon HQ and assassinate their highest ranking field general.

To pull of this feat, he spent three days alone, worming across a 2000 yard open clearance to get within 700 yards of the general’s quarters. On the morning of the fourth day, he was able to assassinate the general as the general left his quarters and attempted to enter his waiting staff car. Hathcock not only completed his mission, but was able to safely make his way back to tree line and his marine escorts. This story emphasized the changed nature of warfare since Vietnam. Airpower played a major role in Vietnam, but it was still an era of steel bombs dropped from high altitudes. In today’s battle, a sniper would never have had to carry out this mission. Using today’s “smart bombs”, aircraft could have quickly and easily taken out the General’s HQs with one surgical attack. At most, Special Forces would have been dispatched to the tree line to provide a laser path for the ammunition to follow.

While the first part of the book was a little tedious, the last two chapters, Beating the Odds and the Legend and the Man made the effort more than worthwhile. Beating the Odds, detailed the extensive surgery and recovery Carlos Hathcock went through after his APV hit a land mine during his second tour. While rescuing the rest of the personnel on the vehicle, he was burned over 90% of his body. The resulting rehabilitation was extensive and long. This chapter detailed the challenges that he and his wife Jo had to overcome. This chapter was much more personal and finally provided some insight to his psyche. Not only did he have to overcome his severe burns, but he also had to face the challenges and physical limitations created by rapidly developing Multiple Sclerosis,
Obviously, he no longer could do most of the duties required by the Corp, but was able to find a home on the Marine Corp Rifle Team and eventually helped start-up their sniper school and training.

The final chapter covered his life after his discharge. Carlos received a medical discharge because of his injuries and illness just two months shy of qualifying for a normal military retirement. This deeply effected him and he felt the Corps had betrayed him. It appears he suffered from depression, along with a host of ailments related to his burns and MS. At one point his wife threatened to leave him, saying, “I’m not going to live with a dead man.” This obviously helped him accept what had happened and provided an impetus to move on with his life. Eventually, he joined with a group of local fisherman who specialized in catching sharks in shallow water. This type of angling is dangerous. Once he found this outlet, a missing piece of his life was restored.

Thoughts while running: I wonder if his attitude about his war experiences changed as time went by. Did he feel remorse? From a military standpoint, his skills were needed and probably saved many American lives. However, one has to wonder the long term mental effects associated with killing at least 93 other individuals. We’ll never know. At one point in the book, it mentioned a news report on AFRN. It was early in the 1968 Presidential Campaign. President Johnson, promised to remain in Vietnam until the enemy was defeated and there no longer was a threat from communism. Richard Nixon, a republican, ran on a platform of ending the war and withdrawing the troops as soon as possible. Many parallels can be drawn with today’s presidential race. While the parties have changed, the incumbent party’s position and the position of the challenging party appear to be identical. I enjoyed this book in-spite of the author’s sterile writing style. I’d recommend this book to anyone interested in military history, tactics or just a good adventure story.

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Avenues

Today was Martin Luther King's Birthday. Plain City had a foot of fresh snow that fell between 4AM and 2PM. It was too nasty to run so between bouts with the snow shovel, I did a hard workout on Patti's elliptical trainer while watching the Jazz beat the Clips. Somehow, I got thinking about poetry so when I finished, I wrote this poem about one of my favorite summer Saturday training runs. It's not good, but what the heck, some of the words rhyme.

Avenues

We run together on Saturdays, usually in a different place
Start at six in the summer, before the roads get hot
We gather across the valley, north, south, east and west
Some old, some young, a varied and different lot

Capital to the Post Office, along the Avenues today
Rolling up hills and down, on by the hospital we'll go
Turn back at the Post Office, past silent sentinel rows
Finishing around the canyon, endings always seem slow

Jen and Kent lead the pack, a hard pace we try to follow
Dan's got the Sag, water, a little fruit and some Gu
Dawn starts too fast, chasing sweat splats with her shoes
Joe and Carl share a word, Paula, Coop and Roger too


Bagels follow the finish, old friendships and some new
Hot coffee or cold drinks, past miles and PRs we've run
Others politely read our labels, mostly they can’t relate
Back to families, school, work, until the week is done

Larry Mangum
21 Jan 2008

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Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10

Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing
and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10

By Marcus Luttrell

I received this book as a Christmas gift from Carl, one of my running buddies. From discussions on several long runs, it’s become apparent that Carl and I share many of the same reading appetites. Once again, a selection recommended by Carl managed to exceeded my high expectations.

This book was co-written by Marcus Luttrell, the lone Seal Team 10 survivor of Operation Redwing. Operation Redwing occurred in Afghanistan . Navy Seal Team 10 was sent on a mission to identify the location and kill if possible Ben Sharmack (author’s alias, I’d guess actual name is classified), a Taliban tribal leader reputed to be in control of a up to 200 Taliban tribesmen. As the result of several decisions made by the team, four Navy Seal 10 Team members along with 13 Navy and Army personnel, sent on a aborted rescue mission, lost their lives. Marcus Luttrell was the sole survivor of the original team and this book is his story.

Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10

By Marcus Luttrell

I received this book as a Christmas gift from Carl, one of my running buddies. From discussions on several long runs, it’s become apparent that Carl and I share many of the same reading appetites. Once again, a selection recommended by Carl managed to exceeded my high expectations.

This book was co-written by Marcus Luttrell, the lone Seal Team 10 survivor of Operation Redwing. Operation Redwing occurred in Afghanistan . Navy Seal Team 10 was sent on a mission to identify the location and kill if possible Ben Sharmack (author’s alias, I’d guess actual name is classified), a Taliban tribal leader reputed to be in control of a up to 200 Taliban tribesmen. As the result of several decisions made by the team, four Navy Seal 10 Team members along with 13 Navy and Army personnel, sent on a aborted rescue mission, lost their lives. Marcus Luttrell was the sole survivor of the original team and this book is his story.

The first portion of this book provided biographical details on Marcus’s upbringing. He was raised in Texas. Throughout the book, he continually emphasized the biological advantages associated with being a Texan. At times it was a bit overdone, but he was obviously proud of his heritage and this background info was relevant to understanding his personality and the decisions made during Operation Redwing.

The second portion of the book went into details concerning the process used to select and train Navy Seals. This part of the book helped me appreciate the selfless dedication to mind, body and team work necessary to be a Seal and more importantly, to be successful in the environment in which Seals operate. In the initial class there were 164 personnel who had met the minimum requirements to attend Seal School. 53 were washed out in the initial, indoctrination phase and only 21 of the original made it through “Hell Week” and the rest of their training. 87% of the “best-of-the-best” failed to complete this rigorous physical and psychological test.

Most of the rest of the book was spent on Luttrell’s recollection of the “Battle for Murphy’s Ridge.” Dan Healy, Danny Dietz, Mathew Axelson and Mike Murphy lost their lives. The lone survivor, Marcus Luttrell, managed to escape until he could be rescued. While the book covered the details of the battle, it emphasized the moral dilemma Seal 10 faced when they were discovered by 3 Afghan goat herders. They felt that if they released the herders, they’d tell the Taliban their location which would be an almost certain death warrant. On the other hand, killing the herders would be in violation of the Rules of Engagement and a direct violation of the Laws of Armed Conflict. When they tried to radio their HQs for direction, they could not communicate. Ultimately, Lt. Michael Murphy, the team chief, decided to release the goat herders. The book also covered the vigil held on the ranch owned by Marcus Luttrell’s parents in Texas when the Navy declared the team missing until his rescue. Finally, it covered the days he was sheltered from the Taliban by local villagers and is ultimate rescue.

THOUGHTS WHILE RUNNING: This book provided fodder for several long runs. What would I do with the goat herders. Did the Seals do the right thing? The author was quick to blame the “liberal media in the US” for the decision to turn the herders loose. He thought that if they killed them and it was uncovered by the press, they’d ultimately go to jail. After much thought, I’ve concluded he’s right, but I’ve also decided that one of the roles of the media is to be the “watchdog” of government. Based upon our recent experience with the Army and Pat Tillman’s death and my 26 years of serving on Active Duty (Air Force), I don’t trust the government and especially the military to tell the whole story. The American public depends on the media to find and report the facts. While I can appreciate the authors position and his feelings, there is no evidence that tied the goat herders to the Taliban. Later in the book, he owed his life to the extensive support he got from local villagers, many of whom were at significant risk from Taliban retaliation. Perhaps the goat herders were innocent and belonged to the village that sheltered him and ultimately made rescue possible? We’ll never know. Regardless, I think Lt Murphy made the right decision and the decision was made on solid moral grounds.

The author spent significant time on the role of God and the efforts of the wonderful people who held the vigil until his rescue. He felt that god intervened several times during the fire fight to help him survive and his rescue was aided by the prayers of the folks on his home ranch. While running, I came to the conclusion that god played a role in both actions. However, It bothered me that God didn’t choose to play the same role on the part of the other seals or those killed in the aborted rescue attempt. After reading his book and gaining an appreciation for the tight knit nature of the seal family, I’m sure similar vigils were held with their parents while they were waiting for resolution. On their family and friends part, they were given the bad news when the bodies were recovered. Weren’t they as worthy as Marcus? Didn’t those folks pray as hard? I’ve concluded that we’ll never know the answer to that question. The other day while driving home from work, I passed a wreck on the freeway with fatalities. Why did the victims die when I was allowed safe passage? It’s the same question and only emphasized that we need to keep our lives in order and be prepared for our ultimate death. Hopefully, we’ll all live until we’re 110, but realistically we’re destined to die at some unknown point.

The final point I considered while running was the changed nature of the warfare in Afghanistan and Iraq. Traditional warfare was much easier, both side wore uniforms and acted as military units. Unfortunately, the war on terrorism is not as defined and the nature of the enemy changes and evolves. Perhaps, we need to be a little more careful to ensure we've exhausted all methods of resolving our political issues before we pursue military options. Ok, this just came from my liberally biased perspective, but I honestly believe that the American GI is God’s gift to America. This book only emphasized our GI’s willingness to put themselves in harms way and pay the ultimate sacrifice if needed. They only ask for one thing in return. Our national leadership must ensure that their sacrifices are for a moral and just cause. Many GIs in our history have made this sacrifice and many more will make it. Knowing this doesn’t make the death of these heroic warriors easier to accept.

I’d highly recommend this book, especially if you like adventure type books or are interested in military history.

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