Post-TA Recovery - Month 2 (Mountain, SR/CTR, Cloverleaf, Pumpkin, Zombies T/L)

Sunday, Oct 11:

The day after Cloverleaf, I did a 20 min yoga flow - "Yoga to Shift Perspective" with Adriene.  

Monday, Oct 12:

6 mile ruck with 30# in the Salomon X-Missions.  Shuffled most of the time, with a little striding up the hills.

Tuesday, Oct 13:

I haven't signed up for GORUCK's monthly subscription Sandbag and Ruck Training (SRT), but they share instagram stories of peoples' workouts, and that gives me a good feel for what they're like.  They're short (like 20 min), but they provide a good mixture of movements.  They also mix in little spurts of rucking within the workout.

I tested one out for the first time, doing "Wolf" in 11 minutes with a 30# SB.  I followed it up with the HDT 2020 March Madness Round 2 15 min Body Weight AMRAP, followed by a 2:20 dead hang, 4 min of 6 inches, 2 min of low plank, 2 min of 30# ruck OH hold, and another 75s of 30# ruck OH hold.  The SRT workouts are good to mix in if I need to fill out workout time to hit my goal of 45 min per workout.  When I don't have that, isometrics are an easy thing to do... or core work.

Thursday, Oct 15:

One of my favorite PATHFINDER workouts... "Six is Sexy", in 64 min with a 30# ruck.  It was hard.  I did 4.5 miles afterwards in 1:35:30 in the Altra Torin Plush.  It started raining in the last couple of miles, so I wasn't in the mood to push the distance any more than that.

Saturday, Oct 17:

On my way to the ATL area for firearms training, which would start in the evening with the "Self-Responder" stop the bleed class, I wanted to find a place to get in my PATHFINDER Mountain Ruck Challenge, on a mountain that I normally don't have such easy access to.  I settled on Arabia Mountain, which is not big.  It's like a giant exposed rock.  There's a section of trail that goes around a little lake near the mountain, but most of my ruck ended up being on the rock.  There are blazes painted on the rock to mark the official trail, but it's all just one giant somewhat homogenous rock, so people just roam around on it.  

It turns out that there are many geocaches there, so I did that while getting in my 10 miles and my target of at least 1,000 feet of gain.  I did what felt like many loops up and down the mountain to get in that gain.  It was a little monotonous, but different from my usual forested mountain ruck experience.

One surprise was that there was cactus on that mountain.  I didn't realize that Georgia had cactus in the wild!

That evening, the GORUCK Self-Responder class showed us what bullet wounds looked like in real meat.  We practiced packing it with gauze.  We learned how to use a Tourniquet and Halo Seal.  I learned that you want to have a person take charge and be responsible for giving instructions to the people who are around who can help.

The next day, I attended the Counter Terror Rifle class.  It was held in a bay that resembled a Western Town, which was pretty awesome.  We didn't use it as much as I expected.  We only used it in the final evolution, where we began by walking out of a fake building before being attacked and needing to take cover.

We shot from different positions, we shot from around a barrier, and we shot during stops while moving forward.

My dad left me an okra plant to take care of while he was away.  It produces a single okra at a time.  I thought that I'd let it get big before plucking it, but it turns out that doing so makes it really fibrous and inedible.  I don't like to have things go to waste, so after picking it, I put it in a cabbage plus apple plus [turkey] bacon recipe that SB shared with me.  I was too liberal in my substitutions for that recipe, and instead of using red wine vinegar, I used raspberry vinaigrette.  It was edible, but not as good as it would've been with proper ingredients.

Wednesday, Oct 21:

I planned to organize a Pumpkin Ruck for a Ruck Club Callout, so I wrote and beta tested a pumpkin-themed workout.  I made it a 30 min AMRAP, so that everyone could go at their own pace and scale the exercises as needed.  I liked it!  I did it with a 30# ruck and 10-20# worth of sandbags in place of a pumpkin because I didn't have a pumpkin at the time, and that was plenty for a good workout.

Afterwards, I did a 2 mile run in 15:47 to cap off the time and get a little run training in.  

My body was surprisingly sore for the past few days.  Could it have been from CTR?  Weird.

Thursday, Oct 22:

It was the anniversary of when Ashley White was KIA, as I was reminded about on FB, so I went out to the Whitewater Center do the White Hero WOD in 64 min.  The book Ashley's War is so good that I want to make it an annual read, although I didn't end up reading it in 2020.  The clouds were beautiful that evening.

I'm not part of Hero WOD culture, but Ashley's story really stuck with me.  We were born the same year.  She's a badass and trailblazer.  She got to serve in a way that I can only contemplate about now.

Saturday, Oct 24:

This Columbia event was originally going to be my first non-beta Cloverleaf, before I traded/jumped into the CLT one.  Fagan was leading it, and I knew some of the people who would be there.  He mixed it up and didn't do the WODs on the website, which I appreciated.  If one does multiple Cloverleafs, it would be boring to do the same workouts every time. 

We did some kind of warmup before heading out on a movement to a park where we did a lap around it.  I realized that it was the park where I did my first ever GORUCK event, the Veterans Day Tough.  We had climbed up and down some steep steps for the gear inspection, showing a different item each time we got to the top, before going back down again to retrieve a different item.  It was there that we also climbed up a tiered terrace to get patched at the end after paying our dues for some penalties that we had accrued along the way.

For the second WOD, Fagan split us up into three groups and brought out one giant many-sided die per group that had exercises on them, and we'd do them for a minute before tossing the die to the next group to roll their exercise for them.  We did one iteration before mixing up the groups again.  As usual, it was scalable, and I was using a 20# ruck.  We only needed rucks for this first workout.

We went out for our second movement, which took us to a convention center.  We didn't have to bring sandbags for this, but I brought mine anyways, for training.  I don't remember what I was training for.  

That same evening, I went to the Ugly Duckling / Osprey Ruck Club Pumpkin Ruck.  It started with some beer at Old Armour Beer Company as people gathered with their costumes and pumpkin coupons.  

Then, we rucked 2 miles around the scenic university and ballpark area.  

We finished with more beer, door prizes, and coupon carrying lessons for some soon-to-be first-time GRTs.  We must've looked nuts.

2 miles in 41:02.  30# in Speed Rucker, plus pumpkin.  The Pikachu hoodie was made out of fabric that did a really good job of trapping in heat, so it was quite warm!  I probably wasn't as warm as the girl in the full-body Eeyore suit, though!

Monday, Oct 26:

5 mile recovery ruck in 1:28:10.  Still trying to get my legs back.  MACV1s.  Enjoyed the Halloween decorations, and played lots of Pokemon.

Tuesday, Oct 27:
Tested out the 20L v3 Rucker for the first time.  It felt a bit heavier than the V2 rucker, so I weighed the two models and confirmed that the v3 was 3.86#, while the v2 was 3.61#.  I wonder if I could actually feel that difference, or if that perception was caused by other factors as well.  The ruck sat more on my upper butt than usual, which I liked, because it shifted more weight towards my hips and away from my shoulders.  I didn't have to adjust the sternum strap as often as I normally did.

5.0 in 1:25:26.

Wednesday, Oct 28:

Did 1 mile in the MACV1s fast (13:08), even though I had to re-tie the laces twice.  After that, I did the PATHFINDER Ruck+: My Brain Hurts workout in 40 minutes.  The second mile was done in 13:22, tying laces once.  30#.  Used the v3 rucker for PT, for the first time.  

Thursday, Oct 29:

Torrential rain ruck.  2.5 miles in 47:36.  Rucker v3 still treating me well.  MACV1s drained well, but I wasn't in the mood to do any more than 2.5 in that rain.

Sunday, Oct 31:
SB and I co-hosted a Pumpkin PT ruck, and it turned out awesome.  We began with a 0.7 mi ruck on Cattail Trail at Latta Nature Preserve with our pumpkins, then we did the 30 min Pumpkin PT AMRAP, then we did 10 minutes of pumpkin-related relays, and then we finished with a 1 mile ruck with pumpkins that included a 10 minute yoga session.

Sunday, Nov 1:

Did the APFT for PATHFINDER Class 026.  46/45 pushups, 81/76 situps, 14:37/15:54 2 mile run, followed by a 2 mile ruck in 25:55 via shuffling in the MACV1s.  Legs felt sluggish on the ruck.

Monday, Nov 2:

Total Body Yoga - Deep Stretch with Adriene for 45 min.  PATHFINDER introduced a yoga challenge, where you do 9x45 min sessions over the course of the 3 months.  I had only done like ~20 min videos previously, so I was curious how different a doubly long session would feel.  I was able to resist checking the time remaining.

Tuesday, Nov 3:

HDT 17.1.3 (Legs) in 54 min, followed by a 4 mile strict ruck with 30# with Salomon X-Missions.

WINSTON-SALEM ZOMBIES TOUGH

I was excited about this event for a few reasons.

1. Cadre LDB had shown himself to be a good one at the Vietnam Light in CHS, so I was interested in seeing more of him in action.

2. My friends were all signed up.

3. It would be my biggest event yet since TA, and an indicator of where I was in my recovery.

4. I'd get to do an event in the city where my sister was currently living.  It's a different city from the usual ones, and I love exploring cities that I'm not as familiar with.  So many events are in the same places every year, but this was going to mix it up.  

5. This was also a rare event theme.  It wasn't the usual battle-based or patriotic one.  Especially after you've done many events, it's nice to have something new.

(SB carpool tradition with my buddy Trip) 

SB & I carpooled up to Winston-Salem, and I met up with my sister, AT, and AW for pizza, which we ate at a table out in Bailey Park.  SB would be shadowing the Tough and doing the Light, and AW and AT would be doing the Tough only.  After a change of clothes, we drove out to the start point, which was at a different park.  Miller park had multiple baseball fields on different ends, so it took a little work to get everyone together.

Prior to the event, Cadre LDB had sent out a list of rules related to how to survive a Zombie Apocalypse, which he encouraged us to memorize.  He asked the class questions about specific rule numbers, and tied warmup exercises to them.  He also kept track of points for the gear list as it related to the rules, and some newbies came in clutch when they even packed a mini frying pan, bounty paper towels, and other completely random items from this list.  Attention to detail!  Even having your laces double-knotted got your team points.

Rule #1: Cardio - The faster you run or ruck, the further away you can be from a zombie.

Most zombies are slow, but there’s a whole lot of them to run from. Plus, you may find yourself needing to outsprint a faster zombie, or even the dreaded zombie dog! If you can’t be faster than the zombies, at least be faster than your friends. Log some miles and run some sprints. Your life depends on it!

Rule #2: The Double Tap - Never assume a zombie is dead.

Always make sure with a clean shot to the brain. But stay out of arm’s reach as you execute the double-tap. You don’t want a zombie’s hand on your ankle as you shoot. It may throw off your aim and mess up your pants leg.

Rule #3: Beware of Bathrooms - Zombies can be sneaky.

Always be cautious when entering the “facilities”. They like to sit on the basin with their feet on the bowl, waiting to grab you as you open the door or stand at the sink. Make sure the restroom is clear. Better yet, use a tree outside.

Rule #4: Wear Your Seatbelt - There will already be enough to worry about, with the living dead running around.

Make sure you’re buckled-in secure, just in case. Getting ejected from a car will turn you into zombie fodder faster than you can say “brain dead.” And you don’t want the last thing you ever see to be the mouth of a zombie as he pulls you off the steering wheel and out the window. Buckle up! It saves lives.

Rule #5: No Attachments - Here today, zombie tomorrow.

That’s the way of the world in the apocalypse. So don’t get too attached to your travel buddies. You may be blowing their brains out in the end. No matter how many times you promise each other, in heartfelt tones over cans of pork ‘n beans, to blow each other’s brains out, you may hesitate a second too long when the time comes. You’re in this to survive, not make the next Lifetime movie.

Rule #6: Cast Iron Skillet - Sturdy and portable, this household item makes a great zombie deterrent.

One good swat to the head, then a double-tap. Best recipe around.

Rule #7: Travel Light - Only carry the necessities.

You never know when you’re going to have to pick up and go in a hurry. No framed pictures, no teddy bears, and no trophies from 10-year-old baseball. Sentimental feelings get you killed. If it does not keep you alive, ditch it.

Rule #8: Get a Kickass Partner - Always good to have an experienced zombie killer on your side.

Chuck Norris works best. Zombies see him and kill themselves. If you can’t find Chuck, find someone with a few notches on their belt (and gun, and water bottle, and ruck).

Rule #9: With Your Bare Hands - Always have some kind of weapon at the ready.

Do you really wanna touch these undead freaks with your bare skin? You would touch a zombie with a 10-foot pole, but not with your hands. The farther away they are when they splatter, the better.

Rule #10: Don’t Swing Low - Despite how some females feel about men, all brains are located in the head.

That’s where you wanna aim. Remember, zombies don’t feel pain. They’re either dead (a good zombie) or ‘alive’ (a bad zombie). Go for the kill shot.

Rule #11: Use Your Feet - Running, jumping, kicking away zombies.

Your feet are always something you should take full advantage of. See Rule #1. Your feet can save you, but only if properly trained. Also, see Rule #9. Running beats kicking a zombie any day.

Rule #12: Bounty Paper Towels - When it comes to the undead, you can never be too clean.

Always carry these for messes, big or small. They’re the quicker picker-upper. They handle blood, gore, and puke better than other leading brands.

Rule #13: Shake It Off - Whether it be bad thoughts, shock, or a zombie, you gotta shake it off.

Stay focused. Stay in the moment. Only worry about what is right in front of you, especially if it is a zombie. Anything else, shake it off, forget about it, and move on. Your survival depends on it, grasshopper.

Rule #14: Always Carry a Change of Underwear - You never know when you might need it.

See Rules #12 and #30 as well. Once you’ve escaped the zombies, you might prefer a more relaxing, fresh feeling.

Rule #15: Bowling Ball - While it may not kill a zombie, it can definitely incapacitate a number of them at a time to set up for the Double Tap.

Just watch out for the 7-10 split. If you focus too much on the leader of the pack, the ones on the outside may run you down, split you open, and leave you in the gutter.

Rule #16: Opportunity Knocks - And whenever it does, make sure you answer.

But only answer opportunity, not a zombie. Be sure you know what is on the other side of the door before you answer. If you see a zombie and have to answer, do so with a gun or black iron skillet.

Rule #17: (Don’t) Be a Hero - Unless it’s a matter of life and death, there’s no need to show off.

No high score exists in the zombie apocalypse. You will not find a leaderboard. There are no points. You win by staying alive. Showing off eventually leads to your gruesome death.

Rule #18: Limber Up - Nothing will slow you down like a pulled muscle.

And a pulled muscle will end with you pulled apart. Stretch constantly, like a cat. Zombies will not wait five minutes for you to complete a warm-up routine.

Rule #19: Break It Up - It’s always good to blow off a little steam.

If the zombie apocalypse has you all stressed out, just break something. Just make sure it’s not anything important. Break a stick, a clod of dirt, or the framed picture of your Aunt Linda that you should not have in your pack anyway (see Rule #7). Do not break weapons, water bottles, or your travel companion’s noggin.

Rule #20: It’s a Marathon, Not a Sprint - Unless it’s time to sprint… then sprint. And sprint for your life.

Hopefully, you performed your cardio workouts. If not, this could be the shortest (and last) sprint you ever run.

Rule #21: Avoid Strip Clubs - While a brainless environment may seem like the perfect hiding place, strip clubs distract you.

Without seeing what dangers surround you, you could easily fall prey to a zombie… plus… it’s way more ‘icky’ in there now that everyone’s dead…

Rule #22: When in Doubt, Know Your Way Out - Always have an escape route.

You never know when you might have to run. Never, never, hole up in an area you don’t know. Research your terrain. Before doing anything, make sure you find the nearest exit. Remember, the nearest exit may be behind your seat. Failing to know how to escape may prevent escape.

Rule #23: Ziploc - Those little bags are for more than sandwiches.

They help keep moisture out, so it’s always good to have them handy. Put your phone in one to keep it dry when you cross a creek. Put your snack bars in another. Your copy of How to Survive Zombies Without Looking Like One in another. Never your weapon. You need it available in case you get surprised.

Rule #24: Use Your Thumbs - Ours were made opposable for a reason.

They’re useful for grabbing things, like guns and black iron skillets.

Rule #25: Shoot First - You don’t have to ask zombies anything anyways.

What are you planning? Will you place the zombie under a bright light and play good cop/bad cop? Are you looking for the location of the hidden zombie plans for world domination? Will you ask the zombie to take you to its leader? Shoot! Then, shoot again!

Rule #26: A Little Sunscreen Never Hurt Anybody - Do you really wanna have to worry about sunburn, too?

Besides, the smell of sunburned flesh will summon zombies faster than flowers attract bees.

Rule #27: Incoming! - Always be on your toes.

You never know what could come out of nowhere. You need eyes in the back of your head. No headphones or loud music. No white noise. No binging zombie shows on Netflix. You need to be alert 24/7.

Rule #28: Double-knot Your Shoes - You don’t want to trip over unsecured laces while running from flesh hungry zombies, now do you?

Velcro laces work well too. You don’t want to see, in your last moment on earth, your untied shoestrings dangling while zombies bite your legs. Safety first!

Rule #29: The Buddy System - The more, the merrier. Never go it alone.

See Rule #27. At some point, you will need to sleep. One of you must always be on guard. If you try to go it alone, you could end up with a zombie alarm clock.

Rule #30: Pack Your Stain Stick - For those tough, ground in bloodstains.

Zombies can smell blood, so you don’t want it on your clothes. Also, you may not be a zombie, so you certainly don’t want to look and smell like one, right?

Rule #31: Check the Back Seat - As stated before, zombies can be sneaky.

Check before you enter the car, not after. They’re sneaky, not bright. A quick glance should tell you whether you can enter. A failure to glance and your head will be facing backward not long after you hit the gas.

Rule #32: Enjoy the Little Things - It’ll help you keep your sanity.

Just because the apocalypse struck, doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy life. Take in the blood-red sunset. Stop and smell the flowers.

Rule #33: Swiss Army Knife - Multitools are always a good idea.

While you will not want to fight with it (see Rule #9), you can eat dinner with it, whittle stakes with it, and use it to build traps to warn you of incoming zombies. Best of all, it takes up almost no space (See Rule #7).

We started off with a body-weight-oriented warmup in the dark on a field, which was co-led by the Cadre's daughter.  Next, we shifted over a hundred feet and did similar exercises, but with rucks on.  We did a ruck-passing exercise next, where you needed to find your ruck quickly afterwards.  I was glad that mine was orange-colored and easy to distinguish from the others.

GORUCK had recently published the CHAD WOD, which consisted of 1,000 step-ups to honor Chad Wilkinson and fight against veteran suicide.  They offered a t-shirt and patch combo for it, but it's a heavy topic, so I hadn't planned on doing it myself.  We would end up doing it over the course of the event, though, with 5 rounds of 200 step-ups.  Our first round took place at some picnic tables.  It was going to be hard for me to do this, so I was glad to have AT and AW sharing the picnic table with me, and SB shadowing.  I felt stronger doing it with them.

We went to a play area by the parking lot to fill up sandbags and set up a coupon SOP, and then we set off.  The coupons included 40-80# sandbags, jerry cans, and an awesome team weight.  Our team weight was a mannequin that MR turned into a zombie girl with a GORUCK sticker tramp stamp.  It was a little awkward carrying around, and her hands would knock you in places, and her backpack with weights came apart at one time (it wasn't a GORUCK pack), so we ended up having someone carry those weights separately.  It was one of the more fun and memorable team weights that I've encountered.

We set off.  As usual, cops were curious and asked questions.  We were a little late getting to our first destination (I think we lost a guy early on because he got dizzy a little bit before we got to the park, and a second guy got a phone call and had to leave early), so we had to do the Sally pushup song as a penalty.  We did a trivia game, split between two teams.  Many questions were about Walking dead, or general zombie questions, so I had to make guesses many times.  Afterwards, we did another round of 200 step-ups on some stone stairs at the park entrance.  My nose was running a bunch, but I didn't bring tissues.

Along our next walk, we were supposed to practice noise discipline, but some people lack basic self-control and talk or talk too loud, so we got smoked with PT by the side of the road.

At a big parking lot area, we played a game on two teams.  You had to get your people, ruck, and sandbags, into a big circle on the other side.  The other team was tied up in pairs at the ankle, so that they had to stagger like zombies would.  We then switched roles between the two teams.  We compared times to see which team was able to achieve the objective faster, with the most people making it into the safe zone.  At some point, if you have the zombie team surrounding the circle, it gets really hard for the humans to get in, though.  The game could get a little rough at times, too.  We did some more step-ups before leaving.

At another park, we took a quiet break, since residential areas were around.  Poor SB had no teammates to cuddle with, or exercise to keep her warm.  We did another round of step-ups.

At our next park, we had another fun and unique activity.  We were in two teams again, and we had to cycle through our team with three shots per person, where we wanted to knock over five zombies with a nerf gun as quickly as possible.  I couldn't figure out the sights quickly, so I did my best without them, and didn't hit anything.  I think the other team won this one.  Our team was going to have to do ruck squats, but the other team was willing to do them with us, so the number got to go down.  We did another round of step-ups afterwards.

Back at the start point, we had some more PT to do, and some penalties to pay.  In the end, we got patched, though!

BETWEEN EVENTS

We tried Biscuitville for a post-Tough meal.  I love Bojangles Cajun Filet Biscuits, so I was excited about trying this place's Spicy Chicken and Honey Biscuit.  It was pretty good, but I still like Bojangles's better, which is probably saying something, if I was hungry after the Tough.  I wasn't super hungry, since I didn't even finish the whole sandwich, though.  Exercise does that to me sometimes.  

The line around the drive-through was really long, which is a sign of a tasty restaurant.  They didn't have indoor dining because of the pandemic, but we wouldn't have gone in anyways.  We enjoyed a parking lot picnic, and I'm sure we were an interesting sight!  People smiled at us as they drove by.

We went back to Pook's apartment for showers and naps.

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE LIGHT

For the Light, the Cadre's daughter would be a participant.  We started off in the shade, which was nice, because it was very sunny.  We did some relays to start.  I felt pretty decent.  Coupons included 40# SBs, two jerry cans (one of them capped, where SB wasn't allowed to ever carry the uncapped one for reasons), and a bag of beans (apocalypse food) as the team weight.

At our first park, we had a new team-building event.  Each person had about two half-pipes, each about a foot long, and the team had a ball that we had to transport from one part of the field to another, without ever touching the ball with our hands or having the ball fall to the ground.  I decided that to be an effective team leader, I wouldn't worry about helping to move the ball myself.  Instead, I'd stand on the opposite side as the people and coach them through it, to make sure they stayed calm.  I also intended to try to help catch the ball with my own half-pipe in case it fell.  Our team won both rounds, which was cool, and I got to explain our team's strategy to the class.

At our next park, it was starting to get dark.  Like a dummy, I didn't think to bring a headlamp to the event.  Daylight savings had happened a week prior, so it got dark an hour earlier than normal.  Maybe 1/3 of the class was in this situation.  

We did the trivia game again at this stop.  Fortunately, I remembered some of the answers from the quiz at the Tough.  The cadre's daughter had administered the Tough's quiz, and the cadre administered the quiz at the Light, so he may not have known which questions were already asked.  I seemed like a genius, haha.  A twist that he put on the game was that if you felt like your team wouldn't be able to answer the 4-choice multiple choice question correctly, and the other team wouldn't either, you could throw the question to them, and if they got it wrong, they'd have to do double the usual penalty.  I led the team in employing our two throws (I don't remember the cadre's term for this move) very effectively, and the other team ended up having to do double penalties twice before the quiz ended.  We rucked back to the start point in the dark, with me using the light from others' headlamps.  

It was a fun event, and proof of how great this cadre was, even better than he was last time in Charleston.  Every evolution was super unique and fun.  He put a lot of thought and preparation into it, and it showed.

We covered about 5 miles.