Take The Lead

“Mexican beans” were one of the side dishes for last night’s dinner. These beans look identical to the pinto beans which I don’t like very much. I was given a double helping much to my dismay because it meant no peanut butter. However, I decided to try these beans in hopes of them tasting better than their identical counterpart – the pinto beans – and unbelievably mixed with a little salsa, the Mexican beans were palatable. I ate all of them along with the Mexican rice and I was full for the evening. I have no idea why these beans tasted better than the others but they did. By eating the double helping of the beans, I did indeed get my daily-recommended allowance of protein (for once). I have also started eating some of the desserts. I have eaten the jello with fruit, pudding, tapioca, and a very bland spice cake which resembles cornbread. I still can’t bring myself to eat chocolate cake or any other iced cake. I am very afraid of the sugar content but I can slowly acquire a taste for the other desserts. I rationalized – (normally rationalization is not necessarily good but it may be in this case, who knows?) that I certainly need the calories and the desserts aren’t so sugar ladened so why not at least try them. Maybe prison is breaking down my senses a little.

Last night was my lone television evening and as I have mentioned previously, I have gotten into watching “Heroes”. I usually go into the television area an hour earlier to secure a seat but it is still very hot – the hot air is still blowing out of the vent just like it has been for the past three weeks. The inmates who have to sleep in there blocked off the vent with cardboard, but it still doesn’t stop the heat from permeating into the television area and the rest of the dorm. I entered a little before 9:00 pm and was able to get a seat. I watched “Heroes” and things are happening. It will interesting to see how the events play out but I suspect things will be drawn out. After all, it is a TV series which usually has a beginning but no end. Anyhow, it does kill an hour of my time which is very valuable in a place like this.

Changing gears slightly, I had the misfortune of overhearing a conversation between two inmates where one inmate was very unhappy due to being disrespected by another inmate. This was a conversation which did not include the inmate who did the alleged disrespecting (thankfully) so it did not escalate into anything further. The conversation went on for a good 10 minutes and I was not trying to listen but due to the close proximity of where this conversation took place, I had no choice. Even though the conversation seemed to last a long time the words were the same throughout –“disrespect.” The unfortunate part of the conversation is the inmate who was disrespected is getting his release in less than a week. I don’t know how long this particular inmate has been in prison but I know when I have less than one week before my release there is nothing in the world that would bother me. The other unfortunate aspect in my opinion, is apparently no one seemed to have learned anything during their prison stay. Yes, I know I am taking inventory of others which I should not be doing but I was trying to apply this conversation to myself. I have learned to “Let Go and Let God” but that is just me. I didn’t say a word while the conversation was taking place nor did I want to. The last thing I need to do is put my big nose into someone else’s business. I heard enough and really hope that this inmate comes to his senses because he will be out of this place very shortly. I know I could not jeopardize that fact in any way! The conversation was somewhat of an eye opener for me but in the past four months nothing seems to surprise me anymore.

The fog seems to be a nightly event because it rolled in again after 7:30 pm. The fog cut short the evening yard again. Last night was my tier’s evening yard and it lasted about 15 minutes. I don’t even try to go outside at night anymore because it seems something always happens to cut it short. Also, the only reason to go outside is to sign up for the telephone. However, it’s almost a catch 22 – whenever I do sign up for the phone call, I am disappointed because I don’t get to make it for various reasons. I just stay inside which is much better than going outside. Of course, we had another “fog count’ last night. The interesting thing about these are they come an hour prior to the regular count. Once the fog count is complete the regular counts begins. I guess this is a matter of procedure and deviating from it can cause problems.

I woke up at 5:00 am this morning when the CO’s come through the dorm. They always come through the dorm at this hour, but I just figured out this was a consistent event – I am really not smart! I noticed they were coming through but I couldn’t figure out the time because my watch does not have a light. Over the past three days I have been getting up to use the restroom right after the CO’s come through the dorm and each time is exactly the same. Again, this is part of the protocol and also part of the routine. I did lie in my bunk until 5:45 and then decided to get up. My “bunk neighbor” is in the PFT class and he has asked me to make sure he is awake by 6:00 am each day. He’s usually awake but this morning I had to wake him. Also, my neighbor across the street (actually five feet across the dorm but “we” like to refer to this as “across the street”) has also asked me to wake him because he too is in the PFT class. He is always asleep so I woke him up as well. Not only am I the “PFT Instructor” but I am the “Dorm Wake Up Guy”. I have no problem doing this in fact I like waking them up because they are very appreciative. In the past I have always been referred to as “Responsible Paul”! I kind of blew this out of the water with my illegal indiscretions but it is good to see I’m earning some type of responsibility in here.

Thankfully, there was no fog this morning so I was hoping for an early start for the training class. At 6:45 am the CO unlocked the dorm door and called for early chow. This is the first time we have been given early chow for this training class. I was very surprised I didn’t even have on my running shoes. I scrambled back to the bunk and put on my sneakers and went off to breakfast. I had to sit by myself because the two other dorm members who are in the training class are of different races than mine and also each other. I didn’t mind but I did miss getting the extra hot cereal I normally do. I was able to obtain two tubes of peanut butter because the creamed beef was on the menu this morning. Unfortunately, I was not given an extra portion of the cereal but I did mix the peanut butter into the hot cereal. I was full from breakfast and I was excited to start the training class this early.

After finishing breakfast I went to the basketball court for the start of the training class. I was the first to arrive and then came the two lead instructors. One of them made the comment, “ It is nice to see the new guy made it out here early and I wonder where the other instructors are.” Apparently, they were not ready for the early chow and were a bit late in getting to the class. I happily did my “new guy” duty of getting the garden hose and “watering horse” from their respective areas. The garden hose is located in the coach’s office inside the gym. I am not crazy about going in there because it truly reminds me of the movie “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” but I had my blinders on as I headed toward the coach’s office. Once inside I saw one of the substitute coaches who seemed surprised to see me so early. He asked me if we were ready to start and I said, “yes, whenever you are ready.”

He said, “Now would be great,” and followed me back outside. The substitute coach is very different from the regular coach - almost as different as night and day. I am not saying one is better than the other, they are just extremely different. I have no problems with either one and it seems I have had more interaction with the substitute coach over these past two days than I have had with the regular coach.

We headed back outside where the training class was about to start. The lead instructor lead the group through their warm-ups and then it was time for the 4-mile power walk. As soon as they lined up on the track the lead instructor called my name and said, “Take the lead.” I was very surprised and asked him if he was sure.

He said, “Yes, don’t worry, you’ll do fine.” The lead person paces the group and is responsible for keeping the proper pace which is 4 minutes and 20 seconds a lap (three laps equals one mile so this is a 13 minutes a mile pace, which is very easy to do – jogging but power walking is a little different). I have only walked on the side of the group so I was always going with the flow - not at my pace. I noticed my power walking has gotten much better from the first time I did it last week. But, I was worried I would be too slow which is why I asked the lead instructor if he was sure I was ready. Also, I have tried this pace once before by myself and I was indeed a little slow.

The lead instructor gave us some words of encouragement and I did indeed take the lead in front of the group and off I went. There are hash marks (??) on the track where we are supposed to hit at certain pace times. The first mark is at the one quarter of the lap and it is supposed to be hit at 1 minute and 5 seconds. Well, I hit this mark at 1 minute flat. This would be fine if the first lap was only 5 seconds ahead of schedule. But due to my nervousness and high energy I was 20 seconds ahead of the pace after the first lap which is a little fast. The lead instructor told me (quietly so the class wouldn’t hear) to slow down a little. I certainly understood and by the two mile mark I was 15 seconds ahead of the pace and I finished 9 seconds faster than the allotted 52 minutes. This was not perfect but I thought it was fairly respectable for my first time leading. I was so concerned about going too slow that I went too fast. This seems to be my problem when I am leading the group in any exercise, I will get better as I get more comfortable.

When I completed the power walk, I could have done 10 more miles but the group wasn’t exactly willing so we stopped at the 4 mile mark. I received some very nice words of praise from the lead instructor after completing the power walk. I was energized and again I got to call the cadence for the Harvard steps today. I was much better today according to the substitute instructor – practice does make perfect. An interesting thing happened. There are two groups – one on the left and one on the right – about halfway through calling my cadence, the group on the right was completely out of sync while the one on the left was in perfect sync. I did my best to get the group on the right back in step but they seemed to struggle. I am not exactly sure why this happened but I did find it intriguing.

After calling the cadence, it was time for the PFT Plus class to begin and the lead instructor, and another fairly new instructor, and myself were to lead the class. I was able to do the cold downs and one rotation. I am getting better, nowhere near perfect but definitely better. The class ended and we joined the other class for a two mile run. There weren’t any stranglers which was unusual but the pace was much slower than the previous ones. The class finally finished and headed back to the basketball court for their cool downs. I went back to do my “new guy” duty and rolled up the hose – I was able to unhook the hose much easier today, I am a slow learner but I DO learn – and collect the watering horse. By the time I returned back to the basketball court the class was just about over - my morning session was complete. I returned inside to have some lunch because my food would be properly digested before the afternoon class started.

Again I was able to lead the afternoon class in one rotation and warm ups. By this time my voice was starting to give out because I had been yelling all morning. I was getting hoarse. This class finished but my exercise routine had not. I wanted to try the 4 mile power walk again but this time by myself. I did it but for some reason my pace was 15 seconds slower than optimum. Maybe I was fatigued or maybe there were too many people on the track to navigate around. In the morning the track is cleared of any inmates when we do the power walk. Whatever the case my time was indeed slower. I will keep practicing until I get it right; in the meantime I will keep logging the miles.

My workout routine had ended after I did some exercise. Now it was time to telephone my wife. I was hoping to actually speak with her and I did. She sounded great! In fact, she sounded the best I have heard her in the past four months. I hadn’t spoken to her in over a week and it was wonderful to hear her again. She gave me some great news about my daughter and son. My daughter made the honor roll at school, she had all A’s and one B. My son was selected student of the month for his kindergarten class. I certainly do have a magnificent family and I miss then so very much. My wife also gave me some news on upcoming visits I may have next month. I also have incredible friends! I am a very blessed person and extremely grateful for all the gifts in my life. Our phone call ended as soon as it started but I was able to secure a telephone call for Thanksgiving Day where I will be able to speak with my daughter and son. I wasn’t sure if calling on thanksgiving was possible but it has worked out.