Every Day I’m Hustlin’ Bret Allen Green

Nonfiction by Bret Allen Green

On an early morning day in January, warmup, he began to talk to us about a river that a rhythmic and soft thudding we would be running to. A scenic run through the sound can be heard through the countryside did not seem like such a bad idea. rows of evergreen and Angel Oak Being fresh out of the bootcamp, the only thing trees. Rays of light shine through I had really seen for the past three months was the leafless trees onto a small, light brown, and base concrete roads or an indoor track. What he well-traveled path. A runner wearing navy-blue failed to mention was that the river run would be sweatpants and a reflective yellow shirt can be five kilometers! seen slowly making his way down the path. His The pace that we started out with seemed name is Bret. His feet are pounding the ground about normal. Eight minutes per mile was a steady with the grace of a sack of wet concrete. At a pace that all of us had become accustomed to. At closer glance, it becomes clear about the 10-minute mark my that any thoughts of this being a graceful runner can easily “Running is my bunkmate, David Schmidt, asked me where I thought be dispelled. His quick and grumbly breathing leave a small way of abanwe were going. I noticed that we had not really changed cloud of fog behind him as the warm breath contacts the nippy doning everydirections and usually our runs finish where we started.

South Carolina January air. Why would anyone be thing and deAt this point I started getting a little concerned. Surely, running this early in the morning at such low temperatures voting myself we should be getting close to the end. Just as the through the woods? The reason is a person, and his name is entirely to the thought crossed my mind a clearing in front of us started

Chaplain Adams. According to Chaplain Adams, who might be act of running.” to open and we could see the river in front of us. I was slightly delusional depending relieved to see the river. Off on who you ask, “Running brings out the best in you.” He - Chaplain in the distance we could see another part of the base also lives on the idea that four peanut M&Ms and a pint of Adams and though that maybe we had lost track of direction in coffee at 0400 is a reasonable the early hours through the breakfast. This run was no option, but in fact PT groggy run. for new recruits at Naval Nuclear Power School in To my surprise, Chaplain Adams had just

Goose Creek, South Carolina. passed me in full stride back the way we came. I My first day at NNPTC started off in contrast was shocked. I thought this was the end. Nope. to everything that I had hoped. It was 0500 on a We had only made it halfway! In utter disbelief,

Saturday! Nobody had mentioned the previous I made the turn at the river and started running day that we had a 0500 wake-up call. In fact, back the same way that I had just come from.

I believe that Chaplain Adams rather enjoyed Around the 20-minute mark everything started himself while yelling at 20 new recruits. I barely to blend together. The trees looked the exact managed to get my clothes on correctly, and same as the ones before them. Every step that I

I am pretty sure I missed almost an entire flight took started to feel like a step backwards. As my of stairs. I somehow managed to make it to the exhaustion started to set in, even the footprints bottom landing relatively unharmed. left behind in the opposite direction became As Chaplain Adams led us through our routine disheartening. At this point I was beginning to