My first time going out... 9 weeks since I last left my neighborhood, I think. I met up with a friend for a 4 mile ruck around an empty college campus. I had recently read an article from Erin Bromage, who has a PhD in Microbiology and Immunology. She provided a good perspective about how risk of infection is based on dosage plus length of exposure, and gave examples of what the level of risk could look like in different situations, like at restaurants, offices, and different types of gatherings.
My friend helped me officially construct my HDT yoke, too, so that I wouldn't have to rig up my makeshift way of keeping the 5-gallon buckets on the beam again like I had in the previous round.
4.0 in 1:12:21, 18:05 average, 20# in a 25L rucker, with the Altra Torin Plush.
It was nice being able to chat with someone in person again. It didn't feel weird that I was somewhere other than my neighborhood for the first time in a long time. It was weird to me that if I didn't think about it, it would've felt like life was back to normal, but it wasn't.
Since I was already out, I went grocery shopping before going home. It was time to stock back up for who knows how long again. I fully loaded my shopping cart. There were strict quantity limits on certain goods, like pasta, canned goods, and canned fish (since meat has become more difficult to come by due to infection rates at meat processing plants, and seafood is a substitute).
As I mentioned in my previous post, I had gotten mouth sores a week ago, so it was time to get some fresh produce again. I was very excited about this, and couldn't wait to down copious amounts of mixed greens and fruit.
Here are before-and-after pics of my pantry and fridge:
It's funny when my family's message group consists of Pikachu gifs.
That night, I did a 32 min core workout with a 1 mi run in 7:20, followed by 45 min of a 45# SB rope drag.
The third week of 518 TOUGH Mayday virtual challenge had some more fun in store.
Monday, May 18:
25 min BW AMRAP, then 2 mi run in 15:11, with a cold shower afterwards.
For work, we've been having a virtual meetup each morning at 9am. It's a nice way to ease into the day, and stay in touch with co-workers. The newest theme was sharing recipes for a Quarantine Cookbook. The idea is that you share a recipe that you've made even with sparse provisions, and your ingredients list should offer suggestions for substitutions, in case anyone's options are limited.
Even though I had just restocked, I could've made this dish with what I had before the trip to the grocery store.
Here's the recipe!
Tuesday, May 19:
TA PT Test with 28 pushups, 41 situps, 7 squat cleans at 70# (a PR!). I was really excited. It gave me hope that I was making gains. On my previous attempt, I had done 5, and before that, it was 4.
Afterwards, I did HDT 18.3.3 (Core) in 57 min, with a 2 mi slick run and 1/8 mi of slick lunges and 1/8 mi of slick bear crawls afterwards for Mayday. Cold shower afterwards, taking one for the team.
Wednesday, May 20:
8 mile ruck in the sprinkling rain, in 2:13:47, with 30#. Tired but wired today. Another cold shower afterwards.
Thursday, May 21:
Another TA PT Test, but only got 26 pushups, 41 situps, and 2 squat cleans with 70#. It just wasn't my day. It was disappointing going backwards.
Afterwards, HDT 18.3.1 (Legs) in 55 min, with a 8:13 run afterwards. I felt "off" during the workout today. Cold shower afterwards.
For some laughs, though, there were great submissions for the Mayday 100 lap challenge!
Friday, May 22:
6 mi in a Speed Rucker with 30# in 1:58:23. Wanted to get outside in the daylight today and move. I typically do my workouts and rucks at night, so daylight was special.
I noticed a fig that had naturally fallen on the ground that day, so I decided to give some a try, to see if they were ready to eat yet. They were at least edible, but dry and not sweet.
Saturday, May 23:
Went out again... range day.
I saw some messages about a ruck club member who was doing 24 hours of 0.1 mi laps around a park to honor fallen police and raise money for a local food pantry. He was having a rough time after the heat of the day, and my schedule was pretty flexible, so at 11pm, I decided to go out and join him for some miles. I ended up doing 10.5 in 4:16:01 with 20# and EDC. I figured it would be a good way to get in my 100 laps, anyways. It had recently rained, so it was easy to step in puddles and keep my feet wet for the Mayday twist. I can't believe that guy did it for 24 hours! I was getting pretty tired after my 10. I did the extra 0.5 to make sure I hit 100.
(a random guy with his dog rucked with us for a couple of laps at like 2am)
After I was done, the rest of the group continued on. I thought about going home, but I figured that if I went home, all I'd do is sleep, and I could just as easily sleep for a while in the car and then re-join them for the finish.
Sunday, May 24:
I removed the EDC from the bag to lighten the load a bit, since my legs were tired. Once I started moving, though, I felt surprisingly good. 3.0 in 1:01:02. That guy pushed through some stuff to get this done. The monotony of 0.1 mi loops, the blazing hot sun with no shade. 24 hours of rucking!
I switched to the more supportive Salomon XRs for the daytime ruck. I had wanted to experiment with the Altra Superiors, to see if they'd be good for TA, especially when wet. They didn't provide enough support for my liking, though, even if traction is good on those shoes.
1/8 mi 45# SB clean and toss+burpees in 30 min to wrap up Mayday for the week. It was the first time I felt like my body had adapted to working out in the summer, and the heat actually felt good. Another cold shower afterwards.
I made a little cold shower collage. I actually got to enjoy the cold showers. They were less painful over time. The first one was the most painful during the shower, and I tried to shampoo and soap off as quickly as possible to get it over with. I felt really good afterwards, though.
Unlike much of America, I haven't had much alcohol during quarantine. I just haven't really been in the mood for it. I did enjoy an HPA today, though. The aromas on this beer are pretty amazing when the beer is fresh. It's super relaxing. I was glad to have the workouts, to give me more excuses to do showers.
Later that day, the TA PT Test, where I dropped the SB weight back down to 60#, since I had done lots of cleans for Mayday earlier that day. 24 pushups, 38 situps, 8 squat cleans. Then HDT 18.3.2 (Arms) for 30 min, plus 1 mi coupon strapless ruck with a 5 gal bucket as well.
Team Savage was dominating the rankings in Mayday, and the last week was mostly skill-based, so we just had to maintain good participation and get the work done to lock in the win.
Monday, May 25 (Memorial Day):
Another range day.
Did Yoga with Adriene - Home Day 29 - Intuit, which helped to crack my back in a good way. I needed a rest day, even though part of me wanted to keep charging hard.
Tuesday, May 26:
Story about my fig tree... 4 days prior, when I had picked the two barely edible figs off of the tree, I had done so by pulling the branch closer to me so that I could reach the fruit. I tore the branch at its base in the process. I didn't know if the remaining fruit on that branch would be able to survive long enough to finish ripening.
Yesterday, I gave up on that branch because it was dying, so I sawed it off. I decided to go ahead and saw off a different perfectly good branch because it was hanging far into the lawn, and the landscapers probably wouldn't enjoy having to go around it. After I sawed it off, though, I deeply regretted it, since I noticed afterwards that it had the best figs on the whole tree, and they were nearly at maturity.
I left the branches on the lawn, since the trash services are limited during COVID. I saw another Mayday participant post pictures of himself in a homemade ghillie suit, and I knew what I could do with those branches.
I'm glad the branches were able to have a fulfilling and purposeful life in the end, even though I didn't get the figs from them.
Tuesday, May 26:
22.5 min AMRAP with a 30# SB and 30# ruck, followed by an 8 min AMRAP, then a 4 mi 30# AFAP ruck in 59:06.
Wednesday, May 27:
Another great submission for the ghillie suit challenge:
HDT 18.4.3 (Legs) in 33 min with a 1 mi yoke coupon carry in 32:38.
Thursday, May 28:
HDT 18.4.2 (Core) with 32 min of PT and 30# fast 1 mi ruck in 10:34.
Friday, we had virtual reunions because of the pandemic (11th).
Saturday, May 30:
Range day.
For Mayday, I learned and did 1-handed clove and munter hitches.
For fun, I also made some ranger beads.
Here was another fun submission for the ghillie suit challenge:
TA PT Test (27 pushups, 43 situps, 2 squat cleans at 70#), plus more squat clean practice after getting tips from the HDT finishers' group on how to warm up for big weights on squat cleans, enabling a redemption with 7 SCs at 70#.
Then HDT 18.4.1 (Arms) in 28 min, plus a 1 mi yoke carry.
Sunday, May 31:
Timed 12 miler. Tried 30# for the first time. Beat my most recent 20# time, even! Speed Rucker, Salomon Mission XA Comp with $12 insoles, Pokemon, Messenger, FB Live. Got encouragement from my battle buddies throughout. Only drank like 1/3 L of water, ate almond cups. That ruck had felt so heavy at the beginning, but I shuffled most of the way and maintained a 14:05 pace for 2:49:00 total and surprised myself.
Team Savage dominated Mayday.
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