TRAINING LEAD-UP
The "Reverse Taper"
There's a joke in the running community about using the "reverse taper" method. It's the opposite of what you want to do in the lead-up to a goal event, but it's sometimes what you end up needing to do when you have some catching up on training, and you decide that you're better off pushing the envelope a bit with continuing to ramp up training right up until the event, as opposed to doing a 3-week taper. I didn't go all the way up to the event, of course, but I was continuing to build up until about 10 days before.
After the
ATL 26.2 Star Course in March, which was preceded by the
Myrtle Beach Marathon, my left foot felt pretty wrecked. I've never had a stress fracture, to my knowledge, but my foot kind of felt like what I imagined it might be like. I laid off of it from a training perspective for two weeks, only doing a few runs and a strength session, and I tried to facilitate recovery with nutritional strategies. It didn't seem too serious, since I could still run, and it would feel fine if I wore shoes with some arch support. It might've been the stress of the marathon plus the 26.2 Star Course, plus the reduced cushioning from the MAC-V1s, that had irritated that foot. I gradually ramped up rucking again, and was feeling confident enough to join some friends on a team when the opportunity came up.
I went from feeling at 30% and limping around at work right after ATL, to feeling 80% for a while. Mid-April, I was feeling really good again, and I had a great week of training. In normal training mode, I'll train maybe 3x/week, but I had quite a few consecutive days of working out. It was a nice feeling, to be back at full strength. I managed a
Coupon Ruck, a
Spartan + GORUCK Light weekend,
Reunions Tough, and
Baghdad Tough without issues, so I was optimistic.
The Final Weeks
After the Baghdad Tough, I had two weeks to get in a last bit of training, and then have a nice rest week.
Tuesday, May 7:
My running shape has been terrible, since that hasn't been a focus. I don't feel too bad about that, but I do want to still insert runs every now and then, so that I don't lose that ability completely. 5.0 in 39:44, 7:57 ave. After having running goals for about 6 months and not doing so well in Myrtle Beach, I'm fine with switching over to a ruck focus until my planned HTL attempt in October.
Afterwards, I got in a 4 mi ruck in 75 min.
Wednesday, May 8:
My longest continuous ruck (distances at Toughs aren't continuous) had been maybe 10 miles since ATL in March, so I decided to go for a 12 miler (after doing 2-min max pushups and situps), even though I would've preferred to do something this long this close to an event like 3 days earlier. I needed a workout anyways, and a 12 fit in nicely with a couple of challenges that I needed to take on, so I went for it.
The first time I did a timed 12 miler, it was at the
very end of Pathfinder Endure. I had started off pretty well, but I bonked in the last couple of miles and straggled in the the finish. I had wanted to go sub-3, but it didn't happen that night.
I tried for a sub-3 again this time. I somewhat felt like I was shuffling the whole thing. I take small steps, so I have to have good turnover in my legs to keep a decent page. It went well, and I had about a minute to spare, with a 14:53 pace. I had a Clif Builder's Bar at mile 5 and some water at mile 9.
Sunday, May 12:
I decided to go for a performance baseline plus a bit of a workout, by doing the APFT.
- 44 pushups
- 69 situps
- 13:56 2-mile run
- 27:10 2-mile ruck
I pushed as hard as I could on the run. I didn't go all-out on the ruck (no need, and not worth the risk), but I put in a decent effort, and went faster than I normally do. I was glad to improve the pushups and sit-ups from my attempt a few days prior, although a lot of that might've been from the rest days leading up to this. Practicing the movements helps a little bit, but tapering also helps.
In the days immediately following the AFPT, my left foot was a little bit irritated again, so I gave it full rest. I got back to feeling 90%. I suspected that even a 90% version of me could manage the 50, but I did end up getting to 95%+ by the time of the event. Just coming off of not feeling perfect, I was cautious, but hopeful.
GEAR
Ruck
My goal was to minimize pack weight. I went with a Bullet 15L as my ruck, since it would be smaller. I soon realized that I'd need a Greyman Tactical panel to not only give it some structure, but to also hold the weight up high on my back. When I added the panel, though, I found that the setup weighed just as much as a Rucker. So, I ended up going with the Bullet 15L, not so much for the weight, but for the comfort. It felt softer to me, and seemed to allow more freedom of movement in my arms. One downside of the Bullet is that it has no side-molle, so I attached an unpadded hip belt to the front molle. That wasn't the optimal positioning, but it did enough.
I planned to only carry 1L of water max, since we had a support crew that would be able to top me off frequently enough for 1L to be sufficient. I typically train in running without water, for long distances, so I know that I can handle it. I measured, and 700ml of water weighed about 2lb, so it makes a pretty big difference, percentage-wise. I also had a little more than one serving of food, plus chocolate (for energy and a little pick-me-up) the whole time. There was also a blister kit and bandaids and an extra hair tie, which weighed nothing. I also had some nutritional supplements. I also had a pair of socks and a buff and a visor. For electronics, I had a power bank and cords, since my phone battery is not very good, and navigation requires the phone screen to be on a lot of the time. I've never really done hydration packs, since the tubes seem difficult to clean, so I've always gone with a Nalgene. I carried 1L, and I held it up higher in the ruck with a Kitanica ditty bag. In all, my ruck ended up weighing 20lbs. It's surprising, given the required plate weight is 10lb.
List of Items Actually in My Pack:
- Tissue
- Headlamp + Extra Batteries
- ID, Cash, and Credit Card
- Visor
- Buff (ended up using it to keep the sun off of my neck)
- Power Bank, Input Cord, Output Cord, USB to Electrical Socket (used about 1/2 of the power)
- Blister Kit, Bandaids, Extra Hair Tie (Didn't use, but light)
- Chocolate and Supplements
- Mustard Packets, and Electrolyte & Emergen-C Powder (Didn't use, but light)
- Food Item
- Pen & Highlighter for Map
- Extra plastic bags (for old socks)
- Backup socks
- 1L Nalgene (a 700 ml water bottle weighed 2 lb when I was testing gear)
- Carabiner (swapped out my usual one for a lighter, plastic one)
- Red blinking light (I'd recommend that at least one person on the team have it, so that you can find your teammates in the dark more easily and stay together)
- Reflective Strips
- Greyman panel, with 10 lb weight tied up at the top with webbing
- Second carabiner with smaller bags, to hold up the heavier gear high in my pack
- Unpadded Hip Belt
- 2x Mesh Water bottle Pocket (to hold stuff I wanted to dump or easily access on-the-move, didn't use much... only put my phone in there a couple of times, since I had large pockets in my shorts already. I did put morale patches on them, for morale.)
Drop Bag
Our team had support planned, I was fortunate to get to put a lot of backup stuff in there. I didn't have to worry about carrying a bunch of extra water, food, and backup clothes and gear.
List of Items in My Drop Bag:
List of Items in my Drop Bag:
- Mixture of sweet, salty, tangy, fatty food items, to suit whatever I would crave at the time
- Backups of most items in my pack
- Duct Tape (for gear fixes... I actually used this to patch up my watch strap on the car ride to the hotel)
- KT Tape, Body Glide (didn't need)
- Bug Spray & Sunscreen (didn't use, but wish I had... there were many mosquitos that appeared at the start point towards the end, and the sun ended up coming out full-blast during the day, even though it looked like it would be pretty cloudy in the morning)
- Water Key (didn't use, not as necessary when you have great support crew with a car)
- Windbreaker, Rain jacket, Poncho (didn't need)
- Extra socks, shirts, hat, shorts (swapped out my socks once, stuck with the rest, since I'd get dirty again anyways)
Clothing Choices
- Knee-high Darn Tough socks (super soft, like a little compression)
- Salomon XR Mission Trail Running Shoes (liked the quick lace system, liked that it's wide and stable, like that there's more cushioning and a bit more support than my MAC-V1's)
- Visor
- Sunglasses
- Spartan tech tee (silky smooth)
- Shorts with large pockets (kept my phone in there, most of the time)
RECON
I love AARs and podcasts. It's great hearing peoples' stories. They're real-life adventures, and even for the same event (or even on the same team), each person experiences the event in a different way. They're filled with great tips... learn from what worked, learned from what didn't work as well.
I got to talk to some people who have done the 50 before, and one of my fellow DC 2019 participants, who had done DC 2018 (plus 2 other 50s already!), even reached out to me, and we got to talk a little more in depth on Messenger. She was super helpful, in sharing tips and experiences.
During taper week, I wasn't tempted at all to work out. Especially since I wanted to give my left foot as much rest as I could, I spent my energy on packing, and then a progressively more detailed prep for navigation. I started by studying the DC 2018 waypoint list, and familiarizing myself with the exact spots where the pictures were to be taken. Next, I plotted them and optimized them, which gave me extra practice on the Road Warrior Pro App. Finally, I looked for potential opportunities to cut distance, by walking through lawns or parking lots. We didn't know how much overlap there would be between the 2018 vs. the 2019 waypoints, but we figured that there are at least some key components that would stay the same.
I'm a big planner and analyzer. I guess it's what makes my job at work kind of natural for me. I carry that over to my sports training, too, though. After going through that prep with the waypoint planning, I felt a lot of confidence. I felt like I had already completed the event in my mind, as familiar as I felt with the 2018 route. It reminds me of when the GORUCK Selection finisher said "I finished the day I signed up". Of course, the route could be very different, but with the preparation, I felt comfortable with the 2018 course, and comfortable with being able to adapt in case there were differences.
REST & RECOVERY
My rest from a sleep perspective didn't end up being ideal. My work had just implemented an automated phone calling system, for when our IT systems went down. Twice that week, I got calls at 4am. I tried making up for it the night after, so that helped. I slept 12 hours on the Wednesday before, and I could've kept going, if my alarm hadn't woken me up. Since Star Course is a 20 hour event, and I'd be travelling in on the day of, I knew I needed to bank as much sleep as I could, prior.
My foot was 90% 2 days before, and went to 95% the day before. I iced it, in case that would help.
On my very first marathon, I remember getting zero sleep the night before, because I was so nervous and excited. For this, I don't think it really impacted my sleep, so it wasn't that bad, but I definitely had nervous excitement going in.
TEAM PREP
In the weeks leading up to the event, our team had been communicating on a group chat, to decide on roles, propose a break strategy, and to plan travel logistics. Some people felt very comfortable taking on specific roles, and others were flexible, so it all worked out nicely. We had a Road Warrior navigator, a Google Maps navigator, with both planning to enter the points into Road Warrior so that we could have independent verification that the points were entered correctly. The benefit of two apps is that each app will specialize in certain areas, and may point out things that the other wouldn't. We had a time keeper, who would monitor our pace and our break times, and make sure that we were on target. Breaks can easily be time vacuums that sneak up on you if you aren't disciplined, so this was critical. This person was also our back-up Instagrammer, to help with verification of the likes. Last but not least, we had our Comms Director, who took point on Instagram, injecting some fun with the hastags and commentary, as well as coordination with our support crew (a crew of one), who was also her husband.
We were all mentally prepared to have to take on unexpected roles, if the need came up. Two had previously completed a Star Course 50, with additional experience in GORUCK Star Course support and a zillion GORUCK events. We were all experienced with GORUCK, and all came in with an "
unbreakable" mindset. We all knew that 50 miles would be hard and that it would hurt, but we'd push through, since this is the kind of stuff we like to do to challenge ourselves.
Attitude is another big factor... positivity is key, because as much as you think 50 miles is physical, it's just as much mental. Stuff will happen, surprises will come, but you assess the situation, consider your options, choose a plan, and execute it. The third trait that I'll highlight is a
team-based mentality. I knew two of them well, and the third came highly recommended by our team leader. It gave me such comfort to know that if it came down to it, if I had some kind of issue and couldn't walk anymore, my teammates would not only carry my ruck, they'd probably be more than willing to buddy carry me for the last 5 miles, and that I would do the same for them in a heartbeat. They are selfless individuals, and some of the best people you'll ever meet. There was also
competence. I had no doubts about peoples' skills in the roles that we chose. I also knew that they had all trained hard and come in prepared, mentally, physically, and logistically.
I got the same flight as my co-navigator, who was from the same city. We booked separately, but out of all the seats, my randomly assigned seat was right next to her, so we got to do some more planning on the flight up.
Our road-tripping teammate picked us up from the airport, so that we wouldn't have to worry about making our way on the metro or wait for an uber. We had reserved a hotel in the city, to make it easier for our support crew to get to a bed to get some rest, if they had the chance during the 20 hr event. 3/4 of us got in that day, early enough so that in case of flight delays or cancellations, we still had a chance of catching a later flight. We met in time to prep drop bags for our support crew, re-hash our game plan and nav strategy, and get in a good last meal.
THE STAR COURSE
Start Point
Time flew by, and we soon had to head out to the start point, where we were supposed to assemble at 7:30pm. With 400 participants signed up, Cadre JC and the volunteers would need time to check everyone in and weigh our rucks. The team leaders met for a briefing, while the rest of us finalized gear. We got to meet Emily McCarthy, who had come out to support the event while Jason was at the Rogue Invitational. We had made an alliance with another team that we knew, so that we could confirm waypoints and routes, as an extra check.
At some events, Waypoints aren't distributed until the event officially starts at 9pm, but at others, like this one, you get them earlier. It came as a surprise to us how early it came out, but we weren't complaining. With a 7:30pm meetup time, I had pictured us hanging out at the start point in eager anticipation for a long time, but the time flew by, and we were busy plugging in points before we knew it!
Most of the points ended up being the same as last year's, but we soon found out that even 3 new waypoints among the 19 could drastically change the route. I've learned from peoples' recommendations and from personal stories that it's worth taking the extra time to be very sure of your route to be stepping off. Mistakes in entering the street name (like the SE version vs. the NE version of the road) can cost you miles, best case, and a patch, worst case. I'd rather spend an extra 15 minutes double- and triple-checking, rather than make even a 1-mile mistake that costs 20 minutes of walking on what will be hurting feet by the time you get to the late miles.
Stepping Off on the C&O
It felt like we were among the last 1/5 of the teams to leave. There was pressure to leave, because other teams were all charging out on their routes (which took a variety of paths out, towards different directions), but we stuck to our plan and tried to keep cool. We coordinated with our allied team, and once we were comfortable (which required making some decisions on which route to take, when we got two different but seemingly reasonable routes in Road Warrior), we headed out. Yeah, that was an interesting thing to note... me and the other navigator plugged in the same general points, but we got completely different routes. They were 0.5mi different in distance. It might've had to do with where the points were dropped, exactly. I liked to drop the pins exactly where I suspected the pictures needed to be taken, which is where the recon on last year's notes had helped. We also had options to either do a couple points first and then hit the C&O canal, or do the C&O part in its entirety, first. I suggested that we do C&O first, to simplify our plan, since there was no mileage difference either way.
We were fortunate that there was a fair amount of clean porta potties throughout the city. I don't know if it's always like that, or if it was due to special events that week like a bike race and service appreciation. We started down the C&O. This was it. It was go time. We went along at a good pace, guided by our headlamps, and the safety lights of teams ahead of us. It was peaceful and quiet along that trail. It was reasonably wide, and mostly flat, with only small rocks and the occasional slightly muddy spot. It made for good rucking. We had a full moon overhead, and charged forward, with stories and GORUCK talk to pass the time. Our team leader would periodically remind us to drink water. I didn't feel like I needed it, but I did it anyways.
A nice surprise was that a little before the first waypoint, there was a volunteer support stop, where they offered water and fruit. It's not something you can count on, since you have no idea if or where they show up, but when they do, it's nice. In ATL, the Cadres had mentioned potentially showing up in random spots and being able to give you a little something, but I never saw them. So don't count on it.
I do remember that at mile 6, I noticed that my feet were starting to feel it a little bit. I thought "already"? But I kept going. I don't do a ton of rucking, so I guess I'm not as used to rucking or moving under weight. Last year, I went on a 5-mile walk in the city to geocache, and even that, with no weight, felt like a lot on my legs! I'm not even used to walking... I sit all day at work, and I run sometimes after work.
One of my teammates told us about a phenomenon in Washington, DC, called "slugging". To make the most of opportunities to take the HOV lane, some drivers offer up rides into various spots in the city to strangers. The passenger gets a free ride, but the expectation is that they pretty much just sit there, not making small talk or being noticeable. I chuckled to myself that I felt like I was kind of "slugging" so far on the team, just following along in the others' footsteps as we went along through the early miles. I don't talk much, and I'm often content just to listen.
Waypoint 1 was Lock 11, which was about 8 miles in. There were many other teams there, and we helped each other take pictures. Once we left that spot, though, it got pretty quiet again.
We took our first planned break at 10 miles, where we pulled off on a small side-trail and stretched. We kept it at a strict 10 minutes (with a 2 min warning), which was plenty of time. I highly recommend staying moving, to avoid blood pooling and stiffening up.
What's it like on the C&O at night? It was a pretty perfect night for rucking. The temps were good... mid-to-upper 60's, maybe. The canal was on our right, and the Potomac river was on our left. There would be frogs croaking on our right, sometimes very loudly when there were a bunch of them. The Potomac had rapids in parts, and they could get loud. There were very pretty spots, where the moon shone on the river, with the trees in silhouette. There were also wider parts of the river, where more light could bounce off and give a nice, wide view.
If you want to picture a team in action, there were times when one of us would need to be on the phone, to post to Instagram or to navigate. Another person would naturally come along side them, to be ready to catch them if they tripped or needed to avoid an obstacle or steep drop-off.
There were a number of lock houses along the way. Apparently, they can be rented, so some of them were inhabited. Others look like they've been abandoned for a long time.
Interestingly, we also walked by several people who were alone. We didn't know what happened to them, if they had teammates using the restroom, or if they had decided to split from their team, or if they had second thoughts about the event. We'd say hi, and they looked fine and responded fine, so we didn't press the issue, but it was odd, since it was so early in the event.
It's surprising how quickly the miles tick by. There were about 8 miles between Lock 11 and the furthest waypoint, Lock 21. It was there before I knew it. Lock 21 was a hoppin' place. There were tons of teams there, since it was a good spot for support crew to meet us, and it was the furthest point on a long trek. We decided to take a longer break there, with 15 minutes to find some bushes, snack, and refill on water, food, and batteries. Our support crew was so awesome and thoughtful. He had laid out four camping chairs that our Texas teammate had road tripped over to DC, and he gave us all our drop bags and poured water for us. It was full-service.
On our way back on the C&O, we occasionally turned on some music on a bluetooth speaker. I'm comfortable with exercising with no music, with just my thoughts and attention to how my body is functioning, so I had always though of a speaker as a luxury item. However, I realized during this event that it could be a mental game-changer and is worth the weight. There are two strategies for mentally dealing with the grind of endurance exercise. Some dissociate, and others associate. I generally associate, paying close attention to how everything in my body is functioning, and how my form is. Dissociation can be good, too, to make you completely forget about pain. I did like dissociating through the music... it's like a mental break from an otherwise long grind.
Along the canal, when there were downhills, we'd decide to shuffle (run without being airborne). Not only does it speed up the pace for a little bit, it also feels good. It changes up the muscles that you've been using, and it feels good to be weightless half the time during the shuffle interval. We didn't hold it for long, during any one spurt, but it was good enough. We only ended up doing this on the canal. During the second half of the event, I know that my feet weren't as in the mood for the increased intensity... maybe it would've felt fine once I started, but who knows.
Surprisingly, despite the initial feeling of tired feet that I had at mile 6, I got a second wind at mile 18. At that point in time, I felt like I had warmed up and was now in the rucking zone. Not fresh, of course, but in the groove in the midst of an event.
En route back into the district, my co-navigator had the idea of trying to exit the canal earlier than we had originally planned on existing. It was a more direct route to our third waypoint, the National Cathedral. We calculated it, and it ended up saving maybe a mile... it was a no-brainer. We did choose to exit slightly later than Google Maps was suggesting, but it was worth it to us. The earlier turnoff would've taken us on a road that was nearly parallel to and very close to the towpath, so the mileage benefit was negligible. By staying on the towpath, we could stay on the softer surface, in a peaceful environment without the stresses of avoiding traffic and dealing with uneven sidewalks and more variability.
We came across our allied team again, and snapped some pictures on the bridge that would take us back into civilization. I think many in our groups were happy to get off of the path, but I liked the path. I'm always a proponent of walking/running/rucking on soft surfaces, and tow paths are some of my favorite places to run.
Into the City
As we exited, it hit me that now, the real work began. On the C&O, the Navigation and Instagram jobs had been pretty easy. It was all one road, and there were only 2 waypoints, for the whole 20+ miles. Now, I had a bigger responsibility of navigating, and it was not the time to make mistakes.
Sunrise hit a little before 6am, so it was getting brighter and brighter as we went on the long and sometimes hilly road to the Cathedral. We were now faced with lots of hard sidewalk. The hills did feel good at first, since we got to use different muscle groups and give other muscle groups a rest. But, after a while, they didn't feel quite so good. At least the route was pretty straightforward.
Since it was morning, tiredness started hitting us a little more. I felt a little hungry and tired, like it was time for hot food. We did pass a Starbucks, but we were close to the Cathedral, and we had a meeting time planned with our support crew, so we pressed on.
At the Cathedral, we snapped a pic, and then met our support crew again. He had laid out the chairs and drop bags again. The Cathedral was a good spot to meet, since there was parking available. There were a number of other teams there, too, and we even helped one of them that had run out of water and was pretty desperate.
After a perhaps 15 min break, our time keeper kept us honest, and it was time to head out again. One thing I was sure to do during the break was to change my socks. During the long walk on the sidewalk, I took the grass whenever I could. It was nice to walk on soft stuff, but the dew did make our shoes wet. That can cause trouble later on, so I switched into dry socks. I also grabbed my sunglasses. What I didn't remember or care to grab was sunscreen, which I would regret later on. It had been cloudy up until this point, so I thought that would continue.
Our next stop was the Exorcist steps. The route was on two roads and was pretty straightforward. Someone noticed an Einstein Brothers Bagels on the way, so we stopped for food, coffee, and restrooms. It was great. After peeing in bushes all night, it was nice to feel civilized again.
At the Exorcist steps, we came across a fitness training group. It was kind of fun going down the steps as they were making their way up. I was glad that we were going down, instead of up. We snapped a pic at the bottom of the steps and went on.
Since we were all about saving steps, we decided to switch over to the other Road Warrior route, and avoid an extra 0.5 miles of walking. We felt comfortable with that option, and went with it.
The next stop was Mile Marker 0 of the C&O canal. We went along the water front for a little bit, passing near the start point. We sort of crashed a dragon boat race, where nice dragon boat volunteers pointed out where we should go to find the waypoint. I wonder what they thought of all of us ruckers going by their boathouse to find who-knows-what.
Next, George Washington University. On the way there, we passed by Watergate and had a nice view of the Washington Monument, which we'd hit later on. The University was having commencement activities, so the main field was covered in a giant tent, but the GW statue was still accessible at the front.
After that, the White House! We were in the back of the house, which lets you be closer than you would if you saw the front of the house. There were a bunch of tourists there, along with a loud protester. Only in DC.
We decided to take another break there, to take care of feet. Address hot spots early, to avoid problems that compound later. We were doing good on time, so we took the time to take care of feet and stretch. Whenever we rested in the middle of the city, we'd get looks when we were on the ground.
After the White House, we went to the Washington Monument. It was also covered by commencement seating, and it has a new-ish fence around it for security. We got a nice pic, and then proceeded on to the WWII memorial.
On our way to the memorial, we ran across a team of 2 guys, who double-checked route plans with us and were happy to tag along.
On our way to WWII, we came across another team of guys from NC, and chatted for a bit before we got to the Lincoln Memorial. Lincoln is a bustling place, so we snapped our pic quickly and went back down the steps. I needed a bathroom stop while we were there.
The Heat of the Day
Next, we had a pretty significant out-and-back to the Women in Military Service Memorial, which required going over a bridge. Half of the bridge was under construction, so we had to take a roundabout route to get to the other side of the road where the sidewalk was open, which added a little distance. The sun had come out from behind the clouds now, and I put on my buff, even though it was a little warm, to avoid getting burned.
By now, the 26.2 event had also started, and we came across many teams on this stretch of road. You can often tell from the way people walk, and how fresh they look, whether they are 50 milers or 26.2 milers. The sun was relentless. I continued to try to walk on grass, where possible. We got to the memorial and got our picture. We also took a tiny stretch break to cool off a bit and post the pic.
Back on the bridge. Once we were back in the Mall area, we took a right to go to the FDR memorial. We got to practice shooting our azimuth, to find a more direct route to the memorial, across a field. I'm lucky that I have a pro as a co-navigator. Wherever we went, we looked for opportunities to save steps.
At FDR, we saw our allied team again. We took pictures, and then took another break. It was getting hot, so the breaks were needed more often. The miles were adding up, too. I was feeling a little sense of urgency, since you never know what's going to happen, and I like a good cushion. But you have to balance that with making sure that the pace is sustainable, and that the team is feeling good, since if someone starts to go downhill, then it can be difficult to recover.
From here, on to the Jefferson Memorial. Our team lead and navigator was familiar with the area, from previous trips, so it was great to let her take the lead and direct us. We got a pic in the dome. We got a little bit of cloud cover at times now, but it didn't last.
The next part was going down to the end of Hains Point. In AARs that I read about DC Star Course 2018, I had heard that this part was a mental slog. You're nearing the end of the event, but you still have some mentally challenging long out and backs to do.
I actually got a little disoriented at first, when we were exiting Jefferson and heading out to Hains. We were at a kiosk to buy some cold drinks. Fortunately, my co-navigator knew which way to go. Not only that, she figured out some great shortcuts. It was like one of those Mensa puzzles, where you need 3-d spacial awareness, and she was able to figure out the solution among the spaghetti of criss-crossing sidewalks, roads, and bridges and stairs. Even not tired, I don't know if I could figure it out, so it's something else to be able to figure it out sleep-deprived and physically fatigued.
The penninsula seems to go on for quite a while. Our feet were feeling the miles, and the sun was coming down hard. We started going in the shade under the trees, which had an added benefit of being on the grass. I mostly did it for the grass.
We came across more teams either going out, too, or coming back in. We ran across another team from NC, with F3. We knew each other from facebook, so it was nice to run across them. They recognized our team leader and our team name, which was on patches that our Instagrammer had made for us.
At the point, a bunch of teams were around, so they could all point out the spot to other teams. There were restrooms and water fountains, too, so we took another break. The NC team even handed out some gummy bears, which were awesome. Strangers were curious about all of us, and were surprised to learn what we were doing. It was really nice getting encouragement from them.
The road back along Hains wasn't quite so bad. Mentally, it felt good to know that we had kind of reached a far point, and were making our way back into the city and to the endex. We still had a few points to hit, but at least we were now going in the right general direction.
Funnily, our next point was across the water, and we briefly considered swimming across, but we rucked on. It was actually a little nice walking back... we were under the trees and on the grass... one of my teammates said that we were just taking a stroll through an orchard. Golfers on our right would occasionally shout as part of their game. Soon, we were on a bridge taking us back into the city. Along the waterfront, we opted to stay on the shady side of the buildings, away from the water, to avoid the heat and the hordes of tourists on the water side. It was a good call from my teammates, because that shade was nice.
During the event, every now and then, I'd wear my ruck in front for a while. I did it to get into my ruck if I wanted to get food or water. But it was also nice for changing up the pressure points on my body, and it had a nice side-effect of letting my back dry off a bit.
We did have to take a little detour due to some construction that the nav apps hadn't anticipated, but it wasn't too bad. We got to the Titanic memorial, which commemorated the men who gave up spots on boats, so that the women and children could survive. I think it was nice that our course included memorials to brave women and brave men.
We took another stop for stretches in the shade. We were very close now... only 4.1 miles. That's a normal ruck for me, but it seemed like so little at this time, in light of all that we had already done. It was the final stretch. I was happy, and felt like we had it wrapped up, but I was careful not to celebrate too early, since anything can still happen, especially towards the end of a difficult event. Mistakes can still happen, body parts can still start to fail. I didn't want to take anything for granted, but we had a good time buffer.
We had a straight shot down to the mall. The excitement of being on the mall hit again... there's something special about DC. A special feeling of grandeur. We cut through the Capitol's curved sidewalks to get to the Supreme Court, our third-to-last waypoint. We took a tiny break again, and then we were on our way towards endex.
Our planned route seemed closed due to security, since it went through two Senate buildings, so we did a little detour onto an alternate route. Not too bad. Then, many stoplights. We were good on time, so I didn't mind the stoplights too much. It was hot in the sun, but you got a little break. When the light turned, it was time to move again. The road went on for some time.
We were in varying levels of discomfort. Some had massive blisters... I have no idea how they managed to even stand, let alone ruck at a good clip. Our TL looked totally fluid and unphased by the 50 miles that we had already covered. We were all moving, though... ready to finish this thing.
Our support crew met us near the convention center, when we had a little bit left to go. It was nice to see his friendly face again. We had gone through so much, and we were about to get it done. The second to last waypoint was a statue in the middle of Thomas Circle, and it was only a block away from the final point.
There were surprisingly no other ruckers on this whole stretch, as far as I could see. I don't know why. We turned onto the street and went to the gym, where we happened to see Emily. We took a picture with her, and then we headed up the stairs.
At the top, there were many teams already up there, and they cheered us on as we rounded the corner to the finish line. We dropped our rucks for them to get re-weighed as we assembled in front of the flags for beer, patches, and pictures. We had done it, praise the Lord.
It's hard to put into words the feeling you get after accomplishing something like that with a team that worked together as well as it did. Not only had we finished, in a good time, with minimal unnecessary steps, but we had done it in good spirits. Everyone had played a vital role in the mission's success. Super-important things:
- Time-keeping : Letting breaks linger on, and/or taking too many breaks will eat away your time really quickly. Our time keeper kept us disciplined and on target, allowing us to get to the finish with 1.5 hrs to spare, without any stress.
- Comms: Miss a picture or hashtag, and you don't complete the requirements. Our Comms Director had a good system going, based on her experience in other Star Course events. She also coordinated everything with our Support Crew. Also some great stories.
- Support Crew: Our honorary 5th team member. He was fantastic and so thoughtful, providing us with everything we needed and more. Being a Support Crew member is a mentally and physically challenging feat in itself, with the sleep deprivation, and the waiting, and all of the preparation you have to do, knowing that the team is relying on you. He was great.
- Team Leader & Navigator : She's a Leader with a capital "L". There are people who play the role of team leader, and then there are born Leaders. She built a great team, helped us get our plans together, and led us to victory. Top-notch navigator, too. Found ways to save steps and was open to adapting the plan to take advantage of opportunities to save miles. Each mile at the end of a 50 mile course hurts exponentially more, so all those opportunities saved us from a lot of pain.
I was lucky to get to be a part of this team. A selfless and resolute group of individuals. They make me want to be a better person and a better teammate, not only in GORUCK but also in life. I learned a lot from them, and they made a 50 mile challenge a joy. I don't know that I'll get an opportunity to be on a team exactly like this again, but at the very least, I can take what they've taught me and build other great teams and work with others to achieve success. GORUCK is all about team, and Star Course takes it to another level.
51 miles in 18:29, 21:47 ave. The time flew by in my mind.
THE AFTERMATH
Beer, cheering in other finishes, taking off shoes and socks...
Showers, a quick dinner at the hotel restaurant again, sleep.
Early wakeup, met a friend for tea, flight back home. Thanks for the fun, DC!
