weekend. My arms were sore, and I needed to rest up and be 100% for HH12HR.
I had gotten a spot at the HH12HR through a 300 burpee facebook challenge, and it was incentive to go back for redemption.
HH12HR
I left work a little bit early to head out to Fayetteville. Fortunately, I wouldn't hit any congested areas, but you don't want to be late for a team event like GORUCK or HH*, since the whole class typically gets punished, or else you get punished.
It felt familiar. We parked at the same treeline. People got their gear ready, double-checking everything on the list.
- Headlamp
- Ruck
- H2O
- Food
- 20LB for women
- 2x Duct Tape
- Multi-tool
- Safety Vest
- Gallon of Water
- 5x Sandbags
- Plastic Cup
- Metal Spoon
- 5 Gallon Bucket
It was kind of warm at the start, but it would get to 70 during the night. I wore BDU pants for protection from spikey or poisonous plants and bugs, and for a barrier against rocks or sand against knees.
We started off with a couple of rounds of "the floor is lava", where we had 10s to get off of the ground. We did gear checks. We had pushups because of someone's smart commenting... typical.
Our first task was to make a couch out of firewood, in preparation for the next day's race. Afterwards, we held a high plank with our feet on a bucket for a while.
That woman in the middle, by the way, is amazing. I remember seeing her on course at the Beast last year. She ended up making it! It was not easy. She beat out so many others, out of the initial class of 45 members.
After that, we rucked out to our base camp. From there, we rucked even further to a sandy area to fill a sandbag (1/2 way, for women) and bring it back. After that, 8 count man-makers, with the sandbag. That was brutal. We had to hold the "8" count with the sandbags above our heads for long stretches of team. I had trouble with that, and there were times where the whole class had to have it up at the same time, or else everyone would have to do it longer. It was tough, and I thought about quitting. I felt bad about pulling the class down. I really didn't want to be the first one to quit, though, especially after I had been given/ had earned the spot at the HH12HR. I didn't want to let down Bev. Eventually, the 8-counts ended, though. A guy named Silvay helped me at the very end, saving the rep.
Since it was 2x out and backs (there were 2 laps, in the end), you got to see everyone else. Some were super strong, almost running the task and full of energy. I was glad to have held my own. I took a short break after the first water drop-off, before proceeding. Challenging, but you can push yourself through it.
After that, we rucked back out to the sandy area and did burpees with the sandbags, with our ankles duct taped together. The last step where you jump involved throwing your sandbag forward, and doing a broad jump to join it, all of us in unison.
The last task that I was involved in had us with ankles duct taped again, with a sandbag, and we had to somehow make it like 0.3 (or who knows) of a mile like that. Ideally, you could hop your way there, but it was pretty jarring for the spine, since each time you landed, the sandbag and 20lb ruck would slam down. I switched to waddling 1 in at a time, which sets certain muscles in your hips on fire. I think the weight of the gear was more difficult for me than the lactate in my hips. I had to get down on the ground to rest a minute at one point, before continuing on.
Cookie had told us that who knows (other than he and Amy) what the time limit would be, but to not give up, so I kept going. The hay bales and cluster of trees that we passed went by so slowly, because it was a hard-earned inch at a time. During this movement, I thought about wars fought in trenches, where inordinate amounts of time were spent with only inches or feet or progress. Eventually, I got to the point where we were allowed to take off the duct tape and make the final run to the finish line. It turns out that I missed the hack by 15 min... well, it's less difficult to swallow when you miss it by a lot vs. by a little, I suppose.
Failed again. I had wanted to quit multiple times during the event, but I had told myself better to go down fighting and missing a hack, rather than giving up. I had read about what happened with the Green Berets in Niger, and something that the article kept emphasizing was that the one hero went down fighting. He wasn't captured or hadn't surrendered. I thought about that, too.
After I was out, I recovered while watching the remaining peoples' next task. At this point, maybe half of the original class were left. They had to stand on their 5 gallon buckets, with the sandbag, for what seemed like forever, with the rule "if you step off, you're out". Imaging staying balanced... some of the buckets were on sand or on uneven ground. And imaging holding still with all of that weight. Maybe there are bugs, or sweat, or maybe you have an itch, and you can't easily move without potentially dropping your sandbag. I can't believe that nobody fell.
I only know a little bit about what happened after that, because we had to evac the area for secret stuff. I went with Silvay for a nap in the car before the Super and the rest of the weekend. At least one of their tasks was to push their bucket with a sandbag in it, while their knees and ankles were duct-taped. They did that for 4 hours, or something like that. When I was cut, I couldn't imagine surviving for more hours. Who knows if I could've made it, had I gone on.
Oh well, you learn something at each one. You learn about yourself, you are inspired by amazing people like Scotti, you have more of an appreciation for people who go through tough stuff like this as part of their job.
SPARTAN HONOR SERIES SUPER
I woke up to bright sunlight and the noise of the festival in the background. They had a special parachute drop for the event, since we were in the Fort Bragg area. I watched the tail end of the jump through my dashboard window.
I went into the festival a couple of times to get more water, register for my race, etc. I hung out at the Team Southern Spartans tent a bit, seeing friends.
At the tent, I met a fellow HH12HR, and we decided to run the Super together before moving on to the HH. At this point, all we really cared about was finishing the weekend, especially after what we went through at the HH12HR. It was the first time I've run a full race with someone else. I have run parts with Marie before. It was fun, getting to chat and take on the obstacles together.
It was a very hot weekend. We left with the 11:15 wave, and it only got hotter as time went on. We took it smart, with the goal of finishing, by stopping for water, taking walk breaks, etc. After all, we still had the HH ahead of us.
I'm still a fan of the capped buckets. I wonder if in the past, when we had to fill them in the past, if I had always been over-filling.
I like the Fayetteville course a lot. Spring Lake (here) and the Smith Lake venues were great... flat, which is to my liking. I'd like to try to run competitively here some time.
My buddy was a beast... her callouses had ripped off at the monkey bars, but she still made it through every obstacle after that! I would've called it by then.
Eventually, we finished. We didn't have tons of time left before the HH... I had about an hour to shower off and go back to my car for my gear.
HH
The HH is mostly first-timers. They're in for an experience! Most HHs that I've been a part of have been mostly first-timers, it seems. This was the most fun I've had at a HH, though, I can say. Less focus on beat-downs, more focus on team work and fun while doing hard exercises.
I met a guy who was visiting from Germany on a work trip... that would be cool, to throw in a weekend like this!
We did Floor is Lava, Human Conveyor Belt, Tunnel of Love in a circle, and Circle Pushups at the initial meeting point. Then, we went to the Festival, where we did Sally and Thunderstruck, followed by a dance party of a couple of songs hosted by the DJ. Definitely a more fun atmosphere than usual.
After that, we went on course, where we did the barbed wire crawl (I think I crawled through a bunch of fire ants!), the human conveyor belt through rolling mud, and then slip wall without ropes!
After these challenges, we had to carry 2 logs and 2 giant tires as a class. As usual, I wasn't able to contribute very much on the logs. I was at least able to help with navigating. We had a unique challenge, too, where we had to figure out a way to cross a road without touching the ground, where only the tires and logs could touch the road, and we had to get the logs and tires to the other side by the end. Surprisingly, we made it!
We finished with a carry back to beat threats of lightning, plus what looked like a fire off in the distance. It was satisfying to at least finish this, even if I did DNF the HH12HR.
VOLUNTEERING SUNDAY
After a luxurious-feeling hotel stay after long days with little sleep and car napping and dirt, I volunteered on Sunday. I was glad that I didn't sign up for the race this time. I normally do, but I've done it before, and I didn't have anything additional that I needed to prove this time. It was good to stay relatively clean today, even if it was hot.
Also, I got home at a reasonable time, and treated myself to some real food for the first time in what felt like a long time at "Pho Real". Salt, vinegar, broth, and spiciness to counter palate fatigue is just what I needed.
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