GORUCK Special Forces Tough/Basic in Raleigh, NC

TRAINING LEAD-UP

Monday, June 5:

18A "Dynamic Warmup" for 30:29, "Pull-ups" with a burpee finisher in 46:27.

Tuesday, June 6:

18A "Dynamic Warmup", then a 49# ruck in MACV2s in the Rucker v3.  My lower back got chafed with Grunt Style shorts because of the pleats in the elastic band.  I covered 4 miles in 58:42.

Wednesday, June 7:

18A "Dynamic Warmup" for 18 min, then a 3 mile run on a 2 degree incline treadmill in 21:47 (7:15/mi) in yellow/turquoise Kinvaras.

Thursday, June 8:

18A "Upper Push / Core / Cardio" in 67 min

Friday, June 9:

18A "Kinstretch" mobility work for 52 min during lunch.  At night, "Lower Body Prep" in 18:28, then treadmill interval work with 4x (0.25 mi @ 7.5mph, 0.5 mi @9mph) = 3 miles in 20:58 (6:59/mi) in Saucony Kinvaras.

Saturday, June 10:

Range day...

I passed my first GORUCK Shooter Drill for the 2023 series, on the first try, even.  I did try two more times to see if I could clean it up, but it only got worse as I got more tired and less focused.

Afterwards, I did some moving and shooting with rifle, practicing a tip that my BB from the Sheepdog Shootout gave me, about pulling the trigger while on one foot.

I got chrono data on my 22LR

I also tested how fast I could get my new Geissele trigger to squeeze.

I finished with some more pistol drawing practice.

Sunday, June 11:

18A "Hanging Abs" in 18:15, then "Kettlebell" in 27:47, then "Plank Series" in 21:25.

Monday, June 12:

18A "Upper Body Prep" in 31:31, then "Upper Push / Chin-up" in 53 min.

Tuesday, June 13:

"Self Love Yoga" with Adriene.  Needed a rest day today!

Wednesday, June 14:

18A "Dynamic Warmup" in 26 min measured with an LRF this time, then "Dip Abs" in 21:54, and "Lower Push BW" in 42:39.

Thursday, June 15:

Finished reading "Roar" by Stacy Sims.

18A "Dynamic Warmup" in 21 min, "Lower Body Prep" in 17:25, 4x500m row in 2:15, 2:16, 2:15, 2:13.

GORUCK SPECIAL FORCES TOUGH

I went to Raleigh for another Cadre LDB special.  I was looking forward to this.  We had a good group show up, and everyone looked ready to do work.

We started with admin and some usual warmup and mobility work... so important for injury prevention.  There's no reason to increase the risk of injury and cause someone to have to potentially be out of commission for months for the sake of expediency.  We all do this for fun and to stay healthy, so I appreciate leaders who understand that.

We filled up water bladders that were in sandbag shells and filled up jerry cans.  Before we set off into the city, we did our first rendition of the Ballad of the Green Berets, which we had been asked to learn for the event.  We had also been asked to watch the movie "The Green Berets", which helped us build our background on the type of work that Special Forces do.  

Our first stop was at town hall, where we did a workout to commemorate 10th Group with 10 sets of 10 reps of 4 exercises.  

For one segment, we had to farmers' carry the coupons.  We thought that was bad, but then it changed to zercher carries.  We worked together and survived, though.

At one park, we did a WOD for 7th group.  We'd learn about the different groups' history throughout the night.

One of our WODs was at a beach, which was surprising to see in Raleigh.  Fortunately, we didn't have to go in the water.

Raleigh is surprisingly a little bit hilly in parts.

We went by NC State, which has a belltower monument for their alumni who gave their lives in service of their country.

Towards the end of the event, we visited the gravesite of MoH recipient SFC William Maud Bryant from the Vietnam era at the Raleigh National Cemetery, sang the "Ballad of the Green Beret" again, paid our respects, and left pennies as a tribute (after learning the significance of that act and what different coins mean).

When we got back to John Chavis Memorial Park, we finished with a 30 min hero WOD to honor one of LDB's teammates, Captain Mike Tarlavsky.  It consisted of 12 ea of pushups, squats, mountain climbers, step-ups (substituted lunges), and burpees.  We did it slick, although the standard is with weight vest.

IN BETWEEN

In between, I changed clothes, tried my best to rest in the hot car, and then I went to Cava towards the end for some satisfying fuel.

GORUCK SPECIAL FORCES BASIC

I decided to test out some new shoes for the Basic - Garmont T8's, whose tag I ripped off right before the event.  It would've been too bold of a move to try it for the Tough, but the Basic is short enough where you can get by if you have to.  They seemed reasonably comfortable when I just tried them on at home, though.

I was stiff going into it, as usual after a Tough, but you always feel better and loosen up once you get going.  We did some exercises to warm up.

There wasn't much PT during this event, but we did have the same kinds of coupons.  I had a good 3-person team to swap with.

We stopped at a shaded area at a YMCA and learned about codes that they'd use to communicate with each other when captured.

More walking.

At a park, we did a relay event that commemorated a memorable SERE school incident.

Our half lost, but the other half joined in on the bonus PT at the end.

As always, great lessons, great community.