Ohio, Andy 3, Rucking

OHIO

Wednesday, Dec 7:

During the week, I went out to Ohio for a work trip:

I squeezed in the HDT Round 35 baseline PT test of 42 prisoner squats in 1 min, 40 pushups in 2 min, 65 situps in 2 min, 62 burpees in 5 min, and a 7:42 1 miler at a 2 degree treadmill incline.  You get to pick your running distance, so I went the easiest route I ever took, with 1 mile.  Often, I'll do 2 miles, since that matches the APFT, but since I was traveling and still recovering from pneumonia, 1 mile was awesome.  Some people even do less than 1 mile, I think.  My mileage for this test has decreased over time.  My first round of HDT, I did 5 miles.  After that, it was typically 2 miles (once, it was 5K).  HDT is already a lot of work, even if you do the bare minimum for 100% completion.

After the baseline test, I did 7:48 of 2x10# dumbell work for 4 rounds.  Each round consisted of 10 curls, 10 OH press, 10 "monkey curls", 10 high pulls), followed by 3 rounds of (2 min high plank, 1 min wall sit) for 40 min of total work.

Thursday, Dec 8:

My trip was near Cleveland, which happened to be near Cuyahoga National Park, so I stopped by for 6 miles of walking before my flight home.  Running would've been more efficient and a little more fun, but I couldn't get sweaty right before I got on the plane.

(Brandywine Falls)

(Beaver Marsh)

(Ledges)

ANDY 3

Friday, Dec 9:

Went out to Virginia again to train with Andy.

Got some great packing tips...

Did some mock stages:

Mock Stage 1:

• Always do pre-stage checklists
• If you see wind, take it into account, because it will bite you as you try to shoot farther
• For every 100yd further, add another 0.1mil hold for FV
• I can halve whatever wind a 5.56 holds, for my 6mm

Mock Stage 2: 

• Call "primary" or "secondary" along with your target, before shooting
• The person not shooting first should be on binos for finding and ranging, for efficiency
• If you know that you shot the wrong target, say it, so that your spotting partner knows why they saw nothing when looking at the correct target
• Writing dope, and not the range, is more helpful, once we range and figure out dope
• Spotter can "leave" the shooter if they're comfortable going on alone, so that the spotter can prep their next shot.

Mock Stage 3: 

• When you have a choice, go for closer targets first.  
• Don't repeat the same hold over and over again if you're missing - move 1/2 a target plus 0.1 mil in the most likely correction direction, at a minimum
• Practice intentional misses to help your spotter understand what misses in different directions look like, relative to the target on different backings
• You can put binos on the GC for extra stability

Mock Stage 4: 

• Binos in the middle work, when you need to share and you're close enough to each other

Mock Stage 5: 

• For defilades, ideally, you find a landmark of some sort that is directly above the target, so that you only have to worry about holding in one dimension.
• Dialing is easier to manage and adjust from than holding

Overall:

• Don't question firm orders from your partner on the clock... they must see something that you don't.  Do first, discuss later.
• "Find work"
• You don't need to worry as much about a level bubble, if your target is close
• Practice build and breaks to get faster each time
• Scan to get different range readings, to verify which number really belongs to your target

Also picked up some tripod tricks:

MORE RUCKING

Saturday, Dec 10:

Strict ruck for HDT with a 50#R in MACV1s.  This was the first time I used a strict ruck distance for HDT that was >2 miles.  So while I decreased my running distance, I increased my rucking distance.  The weight was also bumped up, from my usual 30# to 50#, since this round and the previous round were about Mammoth prep.  

I was too tired to do this the previous day, after being awake for about 36 hours straight, between Ohio and Virginia, but it I got it in today.  PATHFINDER has a back-to-back rucking challenge, which goes up in distance with each one (vs going down, like you'd see in most training plans), so I started with 4 today in 55:24.  My goal was to do it all within a 16 min/mi pace, since that's the requirement for Mammoth.  This challenge is good for Mammoth, since Mammoth is 3 days of rucking.

Sunday, Dec 11:

50# Rucker 20Lv3 wearing Altra Torin Plush, which I had to stop and re-tie 3x within the first mile.  I went for 6 miles in 1:27:54, bordering between strict rucking and shuffling.  Played lots of Pokemon.

Monday, Dec 12:

Wrapped up the back-to-back challenge with an 8 mile ruck in 1:57:04.  It was good that I managed to finish this challenge, although it will be much more mileage for the real thing, plus shooting and not getting ideal rest each night from camping and being outdoors 24/7.  

I had dropped my wallet one the plane, but there is goodness in the world in the form of the cleaners checking the plane in Charleston where the plane had gone after it landed in CLT, and I got it back intact.  When I got the call while I was at Andy's, it was the best news.

Tuesday, Dec 13:

Yoga Camp Day 2 | Create with Adriene.  Good and slow, lots of free-styling.

Wednesday, Dec 14:

HDT BW&R 35.1.1 (arms) for 40 min, followed by HDT 35.1.2 (core) for 47 min.  It was decent active recovery.  This was my first time doing HDT with the body weight and ruck variation, instead of the sandbag and ruck variation.  HDT is known for its sandbag program, and that's its differentiator, so if you're going to spend the extra money for HDT, ideally do SB.  But I was nearing Mammoth and needed to taper, and it wouldn't hurt to have some BW&R workouts in the bank, so it was good timing to give it a try when I was able to get the program at a discount.  I flew solo again this round, since I wouldn't get all the work in when Mammoth came around.

Friday, Dec 16:

I carried about 30# in the Mammoth ruck to mimic its actual ruck-only weight, and I hand-carried a 20# sandbag as a substitute for the rifle.   Due to the shape of the Osprey Ariel 55, a shoulder carry wasn't going to work for the sandbag, anyways.

I tested out Salomon S-Lab trail racing shoes, but they didn't provide enough arch support, which was good to know.  I'd stick with my Salomon Speedcross or the Altra Lone Peaks (it ended up being a fresh pair of the former).

I went 4 laps around the USNWC with the ruck club, and then did the Lights trail at the end.  This year, the Lights trail had a bunch of lit-up balloons, instead of artwork inspired by nature.  Each balloon's design was themed after one of the USNWC's competitions or events, or local outdoor spots.

Saturday, Dec 17:

HDT 35.1.CP (God of Chaos) 30 min ruck AMRAP with 30#, with 1 round and 157 reps, followed by a 1 mile run in 8:07 in the Kinvaras.

Sunday, Dec 18:

Yoga for weight loss - Strengthen and Lengthen with Adriene.  I was sore in my hamstrings and even in my upper body.  

At night, I did HDT 35.1.3 (LEGS) in 57 min.