Timed 12 miler & Finishing Pathfinder Class 017

At the beginning of Pathfinder ruck training, I had put together a rough plan for when I'd do ruck workouts, non-ruck workouts, challenges, and base miles.  Fortunately, I didn't have any setbacks due to injury, which I credit to plans to taper and recover, leading up to, and following major events.  Having the plan also helped even out the workload.

With the Amerithon challenge, which has no time limit on how long it takes you to cover the distance of the US with whatever sports you want, I'd see people in the Facebook group dive in with guns blazing out of excitement and big mileages being covered, and a couple of weeks later, there were many posts about injury.  Not a coincidence.

The class went for 3 months from Aug 1st to Oct 31st, and I had covered my workout and mileage requirements already... just enough.  It was time for the last item to be checked off the list.  I chose the timed 12 miler for my 5th challenge.  There were other options, but I wanted to do this one, because it's a staple of the PT test for the GORUCK Heavy, and a good way to measure where you are.  I saved until the end, because I had some A-races towards the second half of the Pathfinder calendar, and I didn't want to overdo anything before those.  I also knew that I could go hard if I wanted to, but I knew that I could also go hard enough to hurt myself, if I let myself get carried away and got too competitive.

I'm relatively slow at rucking.  My early rucks during Pathfinder were above 20 min pace, so somewhat leisurely walking pace.  15 min pace is kind of the standard for "good".  I could go 15 min/mi, though not comfortably... it would feel like booking it with power walking.  That's what I wanted to go for, though, to see how I'd do.

My pre-ordered MAC-V1 GORUCK boots had arrived while I was in Europe, so I was excited to get to try them out.  This was my first chance.  For reference, I wear a 7 in Saucony running shoes and a 6 in Salomons, and I liked the fit of the 6.5s with the MACV-1s.  I'm able to adapt to new running shoes without needing to gradually break into them.  I didn't have any experience with having to break into boots, and I had heard others mention that they didn't need any break-in period because these were supposedly so comfortable, good enough to even run in, so I wasn't concerned about going for 12 in my first ruck in them.

I decided to stay in my neighborhood, since this was on a weeknight, and it wouldn't have been easy to find a place out in the city to do it on a whim.  I'd also have the benefit of a bathroom, in case I needed it.  A downside is avoiding cars and barking dogs and people who might get suspicious about someone walking around late at night.  The moon was big and bright that night.

Pokemon Go normally slows me down a little bit, but I made speed my primary goal, and getting in Pokemon mileage and catching some animals was just a side benefit.  I kept to the 15 min/mi pace for the first 2/3 of the challenge, but the last few miles got tough.  I slowed, and my feet were getting uncomfortable in the shoes that started feeling really stiff.  By the end, all I cared about was finishing, even if it was slow and way off target pace.  It was hard to imagine that after 2 more miles, I would have completed Pathfinder Endure.  It was a journey that took me through 12 ruck workouts, 12 non ruck workouts, 138 miles, and 5 challenges (a Tough, the Army Physical Fitness Test, an Overnight 20 miler, 49 miles of rucking before and after workouts, and this 12 miler).  I got to meet new rucking friends and get to know some existing friends better.  I learned a lot more about rucking and became a little bit faster at it and more confident over the 12 weeks.  I definitely recommend Pathfinder Ruck Training to anyone who is even remotely interested in rucking.  It connects you to some great people, it gives you a lot of motivation, and it helps you become more competent in all aspects of rucking, all in a 3 month period.  You can't beat the price, either.  It's nothing, for what you get from it.

12.0 in 3:08:09 min, 15:42 ave.  Not too bad.  Something to build on in the future.

Splits> 14:59, 14:53, 14:59, 15:20, 15:48, 14:52, 15:11, 14:58, 15:18, 16:04, 17:29, 18:16. I carried 20# plus 1L of water, which I drank from 3x.