TRAINING LEAD-UPSunday, Oct 22:
Went for a 10.5 mile hike, going from Alligator Back Overlook to Flat Rock Ridge Trailhead in Doughton Park on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was a one-way trip, since the organizer of the group hike arranged for a shuttle to take us back to the start. Our guide hikes all the time, and knew about cool overlooks and shelters to stop by on our way.
We walked along the ridge, so there wasn't crazy elevation changes... most of it was at the beginning. We had nice views from the mountains in the first half, and we were in the middle of the colorful forest for the second half. We took a lunch break at an old cabin in the middle.
The route was mostly downhill, but 20# in the ruck still felt like plenty!
After the hike, we refueled at a biker bar.
It was a good choice for a peak season hike, since it was a little off the beaten path, but we got to enjoy some great views and fall colors.
Monday, Oct 23:
Center - Day 30 - Return & Center - Day 17 - Move Yoga with Adriene
Wednesday, Oct 25:
Before work, I squeezed in 18A "Lower Body Prep" in 25:43, and then I did the HDT "ETSDFQ" 30 min AMRAP using a 30#SB, doing many pushups during the 2 rounds and 2 reps.
After work, I hiked 3 miles in 1:15:17, bumping up to 50# of plates in my v3 rucker at Renaissance Park wearing MACV1s. Even 30# does a body good, but I wanted to try the trail with Mammoth weight this time
Thursday, Oct 26:
Glute and pec PT v1 in 30:03, then HDT 31.3.2 (arms) in 34:51.
Friday, Oct 27:
Glute and pec PT v2 in 24:14, then HDT 23.1.2 (core) in 40:18. It is nice having 2 fairly different variations of PT exercises to alternate between.
PRS ATLANTIC COAST REGIONAL FINALE
It sounds cool to say that we shot at the finale, but in reality, anyone is able to sign up for it. Still, it meant getting to compete with some of the best in the country or even the world. I use the word "with" loosely, too, since they were mainly on other squads.
The format was similar to that of the other three PRS matches that I had done, which you'd sort of expect, since they need to somewhat standardize things. Still, the MD can apply some amount of creativity in stage designs and try to test a range of skills.
SB squadded together and carpooled to the range early in the morning.
Zero:
I didn't need to make any adjustments when I zeroed. I used the Garmin Xero C1 for the first time to get chrono data. It was so compact and easy to use, compared to the bulky and finicky Labradar Lite. I chronoed at 2903 with an SD of 1.5 and an ES of 4 for the three rounds. I know we should use more shots to get a bigger sample size, but I have a hard time sending more rounds downrange if the first three look good.
At 7:45am, the DA was 27, with 55*F temps and 29.81 Hg for pressure.
Stage 2:
- 10 rounds /10 points possible
- Move to the barricade and shoot the left pair of IPSC/Circle at 266yd, followed by the right pair of IPSC/circle at 439yd, with 1rd ea.
- Switch to a different position on the barricade, and repeat.
- Switch one more time (allowed to repeat the first positon) and only hit the circles with 1 shot each.
Results: 6/8 attempts, 83rd/113
- I had good rifle placement for the first pair, and didn't even realize at first I was looking right at the targets, since they looked so camouflaged.
- When switching between target pairs, I adjusted my whole body and gun, since it would be faster than panning over a wide area and hoping to find it.
- Some people forgot to change dope when switching between pairs, so I was glad that I remembered to follow the shot process
- I ran out of time, but I had no regrets on the visual patience that I used to get the hits that I did make.
Stage 3:
- 10 rounds /10 points possible
- Go prone and shoot an IPSC at 307, and then circles from L->R @ 407, 406, and 401, then shoot the IPSC again
- Get off the gun, run to touch a cone, return, and repeat the course of fire.
Results: 8/10 attempts, 85th/113
- The D/A was 783 now, with 66*F and 29.83Hg
- I'm not sure why I missed the leftmost circle each go-around... I wonder if the range was accurate, and/or if I barely hit the other two. I had used the same dope for all three.
- It took me a while to find hte third circle target because it was so close to the second, and after experiencing recoil, my field of view got discombobulated.
- I was super agile for the cone movement, and dropped right back into position.
- I realized that I had misplaced my iPhone right before this stage, but I didn't let it get to me.
Stage 4:
- 8 rounds /8 points possible
- Go to the tank trap and shoot at a 736yd IPSC, and then move to 4 other positions and repeat (from the stump, rock, stump, tire)
Results: 7/8 attempts, 25th/113
- This one went really well for me.
- 12x power was enough for this range and target size, and I used 12x pretty much the whole day without any issues
- I checked the wind flag right before my turn, to confirm that it was still going strong.
- I pre-dialed 0.4R of wind, so that I wouldn't forget to hold. 4mph @ 1 o'clock is 0.3R, but others were missing, so I used a little extra. Although afterwards, a spotter told me that I was hitting right shoulder, so 0.3R might've been fine.
Stage 5:
- 8 rounds /8 points possible
- Go to the top of the rock and shoot at circles by the convoy, L->R, at 504, 505, 511, 565 (turned out to be 518, people realize later, which messes up dope for sure!), with 1 shot each
- Move to the barricade and repeat but going R->L, 1 shot each.
Results: 4/8 attempts, 64th/113
- I used modified prone on the rock, since others had done it successfully. The barricade was wide enough that having bipods down didn't hinder anything.
- I held for the farther target but missed... it could've been because of the incorrect stage brief range, though.
- I started with 0.3R for 4mph of 3 o'clock wind, but after my miss on the 4th target, I dialed it down to 0.1, but that could've caused a cascade of misses, since I ended up missing targets on the way back, even though I had gotten those hits earlier, all because I thought my wind might've been wrong when it was really the range of the 4th target. I hit the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 8th targets only.
Stage 6:
- 12 rounds /12 points possible
- Go to the top of the rock and shoot at a 668yd IPSC with 2 rds
- Move to the left stump and repeat
- Go to the rock again and repeat
- Move to the right stump and repeat
- Go to the rock again and repeat
- Move to either stump and repeat
Results: 4/10 attempts, 70th/113
- SB started shooting my gun on this stage, since her zero had gone 5mil haywire
- I had a great start but missed most of the rest of the stage, despite doing the same everything. Looking back after the match was over after I chronoed again, it was probably because the barrel had sped up, especially with the extra rounds going through each stage, typically before it was my turn to shoot
- I used a 12 round mag, which is clutch at these matches, where there's always at least one stage where the course of fire uses 12 rounds. I did forget about the last position, though, but I likely would've timed out anyways.
- I removed my bipods and went barricade style when I noticed that it got in the way for other people, even when the bipods were in the stowed position. Bipod/bag usage, prop positioning, and wind calls are all some of the benefits of getting to watch others shoot first.
Stage 7:
- 10 rounds /10 points possible
- Start prone and shoot IPSCs N->F with 2 shots ea @ 727, 756, 872, 928, and 1025yd.
Results: 4/10 attempts, 70th/113
- I was able to set up my Garmin Xero to track my velocity as I shot the stage, since we started in prone. My 10 shots averaged 2968fps with an SD of 14 and an ES of 44. I shot 2 people after SB.
- I saw one miss high and left on my first shot, and I adjusted to get the second shot.
- I picked up my gun to re-build positions between the targets, since the were so far apart from each other, and that worked well again.
- Looking back, I'm surprised that I hit anything with velocity as high as it was compared to what I chronoed at the beginning of the day, and with variability like that.
Stage 8:
- 10 rounds /10 points possible
- NO DIALING
- Move to the roof and shoot circles N-> and then F->N 1rd ea @ 396, 496, 596, 696, and 756yd.
Results: 4/10 attempts, 63th/113
- By 1pm, the DA was 1798, with 79*F and 29.68Hg... a decent swing during the day
- I used 2960 fps as my velocity in the Kestrel, based on data from the Garmin on the previous stage.
- I saw that the ribbons were pretty still in the covered area when it was my turn, so I only used 0.1R. I only managed to hit the 2 close targets. I'm not sure what happened on the farther ones. I think I held correctly.
- SB was now shooting my gun and did hit some farther ones, so it's probably not dope.
- I went fast on the way out, since there was no dialing, and it was a troop line.
Stage 9:
- 10 rounds /10 points possible
- Go prone and shoot a KYL rack from R->L (large->small) @ 543yd
- Move to any spot on the barricade prop and repeat
Results: 4/9 attempts, 84th/113
- I stuck with 0.1L wind leftover from what SB shot
- I rushed and didn't level before one of the smaller KYL circles
- I set the gun down too far forward on the artificial grass, and the bipods were hanging off a little ledge of grass. I kept fighting it instead of fixing it like I should've.
- The first round didn't go bang, so I tried running the bolt again but ended up ejecting a live round, which was odd.
- I finished shooting early, but didn't have enough time to find and use the ejected round. Some people always use 12 rounders with extra ammo for that reason. The 12 round metal MDT mag doesn't give me tactile confirmation when a round is chambered, the same way the 10-round Magpul mags do, though, so I prefer to shoot Magpul when I can.
- I shot based on 2968fps, but who knows what my actual velocity was... frustrating.
- Some people did a variation of prone on the lowest barricade rung, but it was more involved than going seated, barricade style, so I went seated.
Stage 10:
- 10 rounds /10 points possible
- From the left spot on the barricade (either high or low), shoot the left circle @ 400yd twice, then the right circle @ 454yd twice.
- Move to the right position and repeat.
- Move to the center position and shoot the circle at 613yd with 2 shots.
Results: 7/8 attempts, 34th/113
- 3-4mph @ 1o'clock meant using 0.1R
- 1.4 up was high on the 400yd target, so I aimed bottom edge and hit the next three targets, so 1.2-1.15 up was the actual needed
- I never got to squeeze the trigger on the last two shots
- I used visual patience and checked my bubble every time. I was slow but got my hits.
- I was glad to have a good stage again.
- If I had realized how close I was to timing out, though, I could've tried one more shot because I had just been waiting for wobble to settle
- We had to swing way to the right to hit targets, which was different
Stage 1:
- 8 rounds / 8 points possible
- PRS tiebreaker stage, but on a different bay and on a new structure this time
Results: 0/8 attempts, 110th/113
- Went first on this stage
- The barricade was too tall for the higher positions, so the women all used cinderblocks. It's certainly not an ideal position.
- I went with 1.2 up based on my previous dope needed on the 400yd targets at the other bay, but I shot all around the targets and never made a single hit.
- I used 0.1L of wind
- Afterwards, since it was the last stage of the day, they let me figure out what I actually needed to hit, and it was 1.7 up!
- In hindsight, I should've used the "WTF" rule and then made 1/2 plate changes, but who would've known that it was elevation and not windage that was messing things up.
OVERALL
- 75th/113 overall, 60/85 open, 5/7 female
- I used a Schmedium gitlite gamechanger today, since this range has angles that are significant enough that the pint-sized wouldn't do
- The velocity changes were disappointing. After the match, we went to the zero range, and my new average velocity for 2 shots was 2993 (3003 and 2981). That's crazy to see it go up 100fps during the day.
- I feel like I did a lot right, such as checking wind flags even mid-stage, moving the whole gun and my body instead of panning when appropriate, visual patience, good positions the first time setting up (mostly), and efficient movements
- If I had cleaned the PRS barricade, that would've bumped me up 25 spots in the leaderboard, which is big, so that zero hurt.
- 12x mag was great
- I must now check my bipod knob for tightness as part of my shot process, since the Grnd-Pod now gets loose and falls off often
- It was cool to see 7 total females competing at the event, especially with some doing really well.
GORUCK CUSTOM SPARTAN TOUGH #2 - BATTLE OF THERMOPYLAE
A GRT friend of mine's family is from Greece, so he organized a custom GORUCK event themed around the Spartan Agoge (tough #1) and the Battle of Thermopylae (tough #2). I wasn't able to make the first Tough because it conflicted with the PRS match, but I was able to snag a spot for the second Tough, which was cool.
The first Tough had been a rare daytime one, and the second Tough started a few hours later, at 10pm, so after getting back from the PRS match, I showered, ate, and headed back out to the Tough.
Of course, I had to wear my Spartan costume, including the shield and sword.
During the first Tough, they mimicked agoge training and did many laps around the parking lot of an abandoned arena which was the start point. It was under the sun all day, so people were pretty drained. They also did some relay races.
The second tough would be a more traditional one, with movements around the surrounding city. The group was still going strong, even after already doing 12 hours.
We did lose one guy not a mile in. Fortunately, it was next to a hotel and very close to the start point. We took time to stop to make sure he'd be ok.
I ended up sharing a 120#SB with another female GRT of similar size and determination, which worked out well. Her friend was on a swap team with us, and he crushed carrying that thing by himself for long stretches at a time.
I wore my Garmont T8s for the first time at a Tough. They had worked well enough at the SF Basic, and they worked out here, too, over the 13 or so miles that we covered.
The stops weren't at any particular landmarks... just open spaces where we could all sit down and hit the tree line during breaks. We got history lessons at the stops, and decent-length priorities of work time, which was probably good for the Double Toughers.
There was a young girl who took on this event, too, which was awesome. She's only done a few GORUCK events so far, but trained hard and made it.
I did help more on the cooler at the end, although my grip was surprisingly taxed by then!
It was nice being able to squeeze in both the PRS match and the Tough!
