Apparently, I've retired and become a professional volunteer...
Monday, Oct 18:
PATHFINDER Beginner 30 min Madness workout, plus 3x (50 4ct flutters, 25 ruck swings) to fill out the time, with a 30# ruck.
Tuesday, Oct 19:
I joined Cabarrus Ruck Club for their Tuesday evening workout, which consisted of a Chad100, a 60x40 and 60x20 (using the SBs that were available), Rucklympics Week 11 with 2 rounds, and another Chad100. Brandon even did the 60x20 with a beer in his hand, after he joined us at the very end of the workout! That's doing it with style.
Wednesday, Oct 20:
Yoga for Uncertainty with Adriene.
Saturday, Oct 23:
RUGGED MANIAC NC FALL II
Still keeping up that podium streak!
On the ride home, the changing colors of the leaves were pretty to look at. It was nicer in person.
I also picked up some dedicated paddling gloves. I got the white ones. They're long, so it provides good wrist coverage. The lighter color will help beat the heat, too, when I'm exposed to sun for hours on end in the kayak.
In the evening, I met up with Charlotte Ruck Club to do the Ashley White Hero WOD, which has become an annual tradition ever since I read the book about her and the other CST members - Ashley's War. Highly recommended, for anyone, man or woman. It opens your eyes to what that group of amazing women was doing to support and enable missions during the War in Afghanistan.
Also learned some cool history about the nearby town!
We covered about 1.5 miles during the 45 min workout.
Sunday, Oct 24:
Beginner Drills (slick), then 2 miles in the Altra Torin Plush with 20# in 18:08 in the speed rucker for the relay that wouldn't end up being counted and was all for nothing, then dinner, then Rucklympics week 12.
Tuesday, Oct 26:Halloween Ruck with Cabarrus Ruck Club using 30# in the speed rucker, wearing MACV1s with my Spartan costume. We rucked along a road with houses known for going all out with decorations, and it didn't disappoint!
We ended at Southern Strain brewing. While we were enjoying post-ruck beverages, they announced a costume contest. I happened to be the only adult wearing a costume in there, and it was because I had used it on the ruck, so I won, haha. That was a fun surprise. I'm glad I wore it into the brewery, in spite of how odd it kind of felt ordering beer at the counter.
Wednesday, Oct 27:
20# in the Speed Rucker in the Altra Torin Plush for the relay at 5:41pm. Belly felt full of stake and candied ginger in the second mile, but I still managed a 17:07 time. A random walker yelled "good job, you're almost there" when I was chugging up the hill in front of my house after my first tenth of a mile. It was funny. Oh, looking back, I guess she meant that I was almost at the top of the hill. That does make sense. It was nice encouragement, regardless.
I did a second leg for the day at 10:46pm, in 17:47, after going to the range.
Friday, Oct 29:
APEX SHOOTER VOLUNTEERING
SB and I headed out to The Range Complex to volunteer for GORUCK Apex Shooter. It's the bigger brother of GORUCK Alpha Shooter, which I competed in back in May.
To help with setup, SB and I took on the job of hanging up the flag, which required climbing the rope while carrying the flag and zip ties, then somehow using our hands to ziptie the flag up there, while not falling off the ground. I had just recently taught SB how to climb a rope, but she volunteered to go up with me, because 2 people had to climb simultaneously to keep the flag stretched out and able to connect to both sides of the rope climb. I was surprised, but she did it and crushed it with confidence! It was tough, even for me, but we did it!
During the event, we were responsible for recording scores, and then I consolidated them in a spreadsheet to track rankings. It required a lot of focused, and super accurate work.
At one point, I coordinated the distribution of competitors coming in from their run, to spread them out among different bays that they'd have to shoot. I had to make sure there was no backup at a single stage, while making sure everyone hit every stage. Different people go at different paces, so there's some unpredictability about it, too. Fortunately, it went fine.
We also helped to set up the targets and equipment for the stages. We had full use of the complex, so we worked across a number of bays.
The event includes shooting, physical challenges (strength and endurance), tactical decision-making, and KIMS games. There were also some head-to-head competitions where they could win bonus points. Hits mattered the most. Time mattered second. Penalties could hurt.
There was even a shoot house evolution, which we got to observe from the catwalk, which was cool.
It's a 48-hour event, but unlike at Selection or TA, the cadres make sure that the participants get some reasonable rest, because you want everyone to shoot safely. The volunteers therefore got some good rest, too, while the participants rested. No 3rd shifts for the volunteers this time!
There's often a lot of "hurry up and wait" or "wait" in volunteering, but having done big events before, where volunteer support was critical to making the event run so smoothly, I know how important and under-appreciated their help is, and it is fun to volunteer alongside other dedicated people, too. It's also nice to have the opportunity to watch good shooters shoot, too, and learn from them.
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