"Excuse me, sir" I asked the friendly armed guard , "Is it okay if I jog around this military base?" And so began the best run I've had in recent memory.Let me back up a bit. I'm visiting Maryland this weekend with my wife and her family who are from this area. Over the trip we celebrated our second anniversary, two marvelous years with my wife has seemed like only a few months. She and I took a short getaway to downtown Annapolis to spend some time together and that's where the USNA is located.
As we were walking around town the day we arrived, I mentioned to my wife that I sure would love to go running around the base. So the next morning, I grabbed my I.D. and headed down to the there.
I was happily surprised to find that the base is open to the public for running around and after talking to the armed guard and checking in at the visitor center, I started off. What happened next was breathtaking...
I jogged in through Gate 1 where "Bill the Goat" is. The weather has been super humid and hot so the breeze was really nice as it wasn't too bad... yet.
They tell you that in order to keep motivated in excersing you should change your routes regularly, so I figured that the US Naval Academy is a tad different than Central Illinois.
As I ran along, I saw a few morning rituals that the Plebes go through, what's a "Plebe" you ask??
"Plebes" is short for Plebeians. It's an ancient term for a common Roman citizen, but is also used in the Navy to describe Freshman students at the Naval Academy. Plebes go through an intense training program to learn to become Naval Officers. Plebe summer is about to come to an end so it's a great time to be around the Academy.
Then it happened... As I was jogging along, staring up at the big beautiful buildings and ornate statues around the campus, my ears heard a cadence. I looked up and saw a proverbial SEA of midshipmen and their staff running my way all running in formation and calling and responding to the cadence. I really don't know how far into the run I was at that point, but I knew that I was going to keep going. The line of men and women snaked around the base and their calls could be heard echoing off of the old walls like volleys of cannon shells. As I kept going, it occurred to me that this morning training has probably been going on for almost two centuries.
As the mass of humanity ran by me, I paused to talk to one of the officers stopping traffic around the base. This was a morning routine that the Plebes go through, a run around the base, then off to a field for PT. I ran and ran after that feeling energized by the group and their ability to not only physical toughness, but mental as well.
My eyes wanted to keep running, but by that time, my body was urging me to calm down. I don't know how far into the base I was, but I knew one thing. I started running into this place and I was going to be running out! NO WALKING! I turned around and followed my steps back to the entrance and in doing so, could hear all of the Plebes that I passed earlier doing their training on the parade ground.How many times do you get to see this stuff, right? After completing my route to the front gate where I came in, I decided that since I'll likely not be back here again, I wanted to go watch the training going on. I jogged up to the parade ground and met with two Marines and two Navy Midshipmen that were helping to train. With sweat pouring down our faces and clothes absolutely soaked from the morning workouts and humidity, they entertained every question that I had and could NOT have been nicer.
The Marines I talked with were Chuck and Chris who are Chaplains. They told me all about the guy leading the PT for the Plebes. Major Antonelli. He's 15 years their senior and never slows down. A real great guy and excellent trainer.
As I left the facility, I couldn't help but feel a fantastic sense of pride from the goats I saw,
the information I read and mostly, the Plebes I met.
HOO-RAH!
