For events not requiring an all-out effort, though, one month has seemed like enough. I did two 50 milers one month apart, and two HTLs one month apart.
I've noticed before in Marathons that if I try to race a half marathon a month later, I don't go as fast, no matter how hard I try, despite the fact that the marathon prep and the marathon itself should've been good for improving my fitness.
Recovery from TA is on another level. Originally, my plan was to do TA and then do a slow and easy 26.2 Star Course in Raleigh three weeks later. It would be a practice run with SB for RWC. Since normal Star Courses are just at 10#, it was more about ironing out any wrinkles with how we work together as a team in that setting, more than any kind of physical test. Recovery was taking forever, though. I had been down 7# even 24 hours post-TA, and the event had probably eaten away a good bit of muscle along with some fat reserves.
I wasn't even injured in any way, and my skin held up pretty well, apart from losing skin on my index finger knuckles from sandbag work.
Here's an account of what I ended up doing as I started getting back to normal. In all, I feel like it took about 5 months before I started feeling like I could start building back up again from a reasonable platform. That isn't even getting back to TA shape... it was just to get to a point where I felt like I could start building up again without digging into a deeper hole.
Thursday, Sept 24:
My first workout post-TA was a week after the event. I did HDT 13.1.1 (Arms), with a bonus 75 4-ct flutter kicks and 1 min low plank afterwards to fill out a bit of time for 36 min total. I rucked 3 miles with 30# and MACV1s afterwards, in 1:02:22.
Saturday, Sept 26:
Now that TA was no longer the focal point of my life, I could start planning ruck club events again. Snowdrop seemed like a cool opportunity, because it was always a special event, but it was only accessible if you could make it to Wisconsin. It was one of the big GORUCK must-do events. One silver lining of COVID was that they made it virtual this year, so we could honor the late Cadre Rooney remotely. Only the three of us organizers ended up making it out to the event, but it was good to see fellow GRTs again. After you go through such a significant life event, with all the good and challenging emotions that can come with it, it helps to be with other people. You can talk about it, or focus on someone other than yourself for a while, and just feel less alone.
I had done the Rooney WOD at a Bataan Light once before, the year that he passed. For the first round of squats, I was feeling like I could handle it, but each set got progressively harder. My quads were still trashed from all of those 60# SB + ruck lunges plus that hill. I went to doing the squats slick, and even that became really difficult to do properly. We covered 3 miles in 57:57, with a 10# plate. We had Bad Daddy's Burger Bar afterwards.
Monday, Sept 28:
HDT 19.1.2 (Core), then 10 bird dog, 20 fire hydrant, 30 ruck glute bridges, then 2 min dead hang. 46 min total of PT with a 30# ruck.
My right toes were black with high-pressure blood, and my quads were still trashed, so I avoided leg exercises.
Wednesday, Sept 30:
I iced my feet enough to stop the pain from swelling to do a neighborhood ruck with my visiting dad with 30# in my Salomon X-Missions. Afterwards, I did hDT 17.1.1 (Arms) with lighter weight than I used to, with a 2:20 dead hang at the end, for 44 min total of PT.
SB's dog had taken notice of my bleeding toenail on my way back from OH and licked it, maybe to help it heal, haha. Dogs are sweet.
Saturday, Oct 3:
Did a slick 5 mile hike with my dad at McDowell Nature Preserve with the Altra Lone Peak high tops that I had used at TA. I didn't feel recovered enough to ruck weighted. Funny story, as my dad and I were approaching our car in the parking lot at the end of the hike, a guy pulled up in his truck, rolled down the window, and asked if I had been in TA. I happened to be wearing the tan shirt that I had worn at TA, and I happened to be wearing a ruck, and I guess I'm somewhat distinguishable from most other GRTs, but it's kind of amazing that he recognized me. I felt like a celebrity, haha. It turns out that I had gone to lunch with him and his Star Course partner after the Charlotte 10K Star, but I hadn't really remembered his face, specifically. That makes it a little less crazy, but it's still a little crazy to be recognized.
Tuesday, Oct 6:
10 mile trail run at USNWC in 1:45:15, in Altra Superiors. Quads felt the last mile, and so did the ball of my left foot. Felt good to get blood pumping again. Nose breathed the whole time. Running resets my body.
My fig tree was about done for the year. Leaves were just starting to yellow and brown.
Jason McCarthy, founder of GORUCK, published a book that told the tale of the founding of GORUCK, using his journal from the summer of 2010 for much of the content. He did a tour of the US that year to connect with America's roots and get traction for his company. I enjoyed it, not necessarily because of the content itself, but because of the spirit behind it. He was putting a lot on the line for something with an uncertain future that he was passionate about. It also includes the story of the highs and lows of the early days of his relationship with his wife. I appreciate how open they were about their struggles. It makes me like them even more.
Anyway, back to the content, the anecdotes that he told about each city on his tour weren't necessarily always riveting, but I appreciated the spirit, and it reminded me of how I've collected my own stories in different cities during my travels, or at events. I remember people I've interacted with and life lessons that I learned. I decided to make a copy of the book one that was meant to be shared with the community that I love. I'd insert my own stories in there, too, on notecards. I called it "THE STORY OF OUR BACKPACK COMPANY".
Sat, Oct 10:About a week before the event, SB and I decided to switch out of the 26.2 Star Course and into the local Cloverleaf. It was a difficult decision, because I had set my mind on the 26.2, but it was the right decision. The 26.2 would've been a long and difficult slog, that might've done more harm than good for my body, especially if the goal was Rucking World Championships.
Cloverleaf ended up being a much better option. I got to try out a new event (I had another one on the calendar already, but I got to try it earlier) and hang out with my TA people and other GRTs. Again, good for the soul.
With my unfamiliarity with uptown parking, I opted to ruck 1.5 miles into Romare Bearden Park with my 30# ruck and 30# sandbag. In the Cloverleaf events in other cities, they left their sandbags at their starting point park when they went on movements. We had had the option to do that at Jax Beach at GRHQ at the Cloverleaf Beta, too, if we wanted to have an easier movement. At this event, I was very glad that I only brought a 30# instead of a 45#, because we carried the sandbags everywhere we went!
This was my first time with Cadre Steve, who was a friend of DS, and who had lead the 11-mile Santa Ruck the previous year, which I had not attended. For the first mini WOD (I think we did the prescribed DT workout), there was a special emphasis on form, with Joe Baker demonstrating, which I appreciated. Good form is the most important thing!
I had reconned and led the Street Art Ruck through uptown for my ruck club, so when the Cadre asked for someone to help navigate, I volunteered. The Cloverleaf is chill, so having phones out for navigation and pictures wasn't an issue. I took us through S. Tryon with the Black Lives Matter mural, although I didn't make a point of pointing it out, based on some people who were in attendance, although I don't remember who anymore.
For our second stop, we worked out in a parking garage, which was a nice contingency plan that the cadre had made in case it ended up raining. It didn't, but it was good planning on his part. I think we might've done the prescribed Speedy Espericueta workout here. I remember using my shirt as a little mat to make the situps slightly less painful against the concrete. There are pictures of flutter kicks.
One noticeable and good change between the Beta and the official Cloverleafs was that the workouts all became AMRAPs. I had been probably the last to finish each of the workouts at the Beta, which all had a certain number of rounds to do, and everyone had been asked to bring a 40# SB, so it took me longer than it took bigger people. This format works out much better, because nobody is having to wait for slower people like me. I tend to like to take my time on exercises, to make sure I do them right and in a way that won't cause me to injure myself.
I already mentioned how I liked Steve's emphasis on form at the first workout. After the second workout, he asked us TA finishers to speak. I don't remember what I said, but I remember that the others were all really insightful, as usual. He had prepped us on this ahead of time, which was a big driver for us to decide to switch from the 26.2 to the Cloverleaf. It's cool that he used this event to highlight leaders in the local community, so that even after he left, we could continue to be a multiplied force that could provide guidance to our clubs.
We rucked some more to our next waypoint, where workout #3 is Cadre's choice. He chose to make it a little more team-based, which was also brilliant. We paired up and did a sort of relay race. While one person held a plank, the other person did bear crawl sandbag drags out and side tosses back, for a couple of iterations. Knowing that your partner had to hold the plank made the person moving want to move faster. Brilliant.
We rucked back to the start point and got patched.
Afterwards, we went out for outdoor dining burgers at Bad Daddy's Burger Bar. This was a good day.
Including my 1.5 mi warmup, I covered 6 miles in about 3 hours. Fortunately, SB gave me a ride to my car after lunch, so I didn't have to ruck back there. I wore MACV1s, which gave me a little blister below my left foot's big toe in the last half mile.
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