The Proving Grounds @ Sawmill (Fall 2024)

TRAINING LEAD-UP

Monday, Aug 26:

18A "Upper Body Prep" in 29:51, then "Upper Push / Chin-up" (with Rx'ed rep counts) in 38:36, not too bad

Tuesday, Aug 27:

Iron sights day at Blackstone, using my G19C and G43X

- on the G19C, I should align the tops of the sights for 7yd (and ignore the dots)... I did about as well as I do with the red dot, which was nice to see.

- I've managed to get 445 rounds on this one target so far

Had a very cute encounter at Target afterwards

Wednesday, Aug 28:

18A "Lower Body Prep" in 19:25, then "Lower Push BW" in 37:52

Thursday, Aug 29:

4.5 miles in 1:26:42 around the neighborhood carrying 50# in the v2 Rucker, wearing MACV1s.  My legs had a lot of energy, since it's been a while (12 days) since I've rucked.

Saturday, Aug 31:

Glute and pec PT v1 in 28:10, then HDT SIAS CP with 6 rounds using a 30#SB, in 17:26, which felt pretty effective

Sunday, Sept 1:

4.67 mile run at Latta Nature Preserve in 1:02:16.  The first 4 miles might've been zone 3, but I did sprint the last part because there was ridiculously close lightning.  I wore Saucony Nomads.

I went with my dad, and he did his thing while I ran.  We met up at the car.

I also put together a Costco shelf in my garage, to try to organize things a little bit.

Monday, Sept 2:

My second time at the Kabul Memorial Hike hosted by Matthew Ridenhour.

I used 30# in the v2 rucker and wore MACV1s.

Tuesday, Sept 3:

New Moon Yoga & Yoga for Calves with Adriene

Wednesday, Sept 4:

Glute and pec PT v2 in 27:31, HDT MM "Transition Offense" 20 min AMRAP with 7 rounds and 32 reps using a 30#RPC, then HDT "Onwards and Upwards" 15 min BW AMRAP with 6 rounds

Friday, Sept 6:

Day 1 - Here | MOVE & Home - Day 24 - Uplift Yoga with Adriene

THE PROVING GROUNDS @ SAWMILL (FALL 2024)

Still one of my favorite event series... they always throw in something new!

Stage 4: Ignition @ Tall Connex

- Start with both hands on connex, go around corner to the shoot box, where you load pistol and shoot 2 hits each on each of three cardboard targets, and then hit steel once each

- Go to the second floor either via rope climb or through stairs, and from the first window, shoot 6 orange targets 1 hit each, left to right, then put rifle on safe

- Go to the third floor, where you ignite a bottle rocket by pushing a button on a keypad

- Once it's launched, shoot the same targets L->R 

- Go back down to the start box and hit any steel to end your time

Learnings/outcomes: (4/9W, 42/64O)

- I used 21P, 36R

- My pistol shooting was messy

- I had trouble on the small rifle target

- I had nerves from this being my first stage of the day, which surprised me, since I've done so many events.  I should visualize the stage before I shoot it next time, so that mentally, it's not my first stage of the day

- I wanted to go early, so that I didn't have to wait and be anxious for my turn as much

- There was no wind early in teh day

- The wagon that I used to drag around my gear was surprisingly heavy and demanding.  

- I didn't arrive as early as I typically do, since I wanted to sleep in a little more, so I had to use the far parking lot this morning

Stage 5: Heartbreak Hill @ Long Range

- Start with both ands on the pole, then run to the long range pavilion (elites an dmasters must carry a short log too)

- Load rifle and shoot at 5x200yd pink targets from the tank trap, L->R, 2x through ("no prone at TPG")

- Move to the barricade and shoot at 5x400yd red targets, L->R, 1x through

- Shoot 5 card suit pistol targets on the right from the barricade

- Shoot 5 small IPSC pistol targets on the left from the tank trap

- Run back to the start and shoot the stop target

Learnings/outcomes: (4/9W, 43/64O) 

- I brought 4 rifle mags containing 77gr ammo

- I used 24R, 34P

- I struggled on the card suit pistol targets.  I switched to bracing, but that didn't help.  The RO said that I needed to do better squeezes of the trigger.  I should've slowed down and imagined ball and dummy with fundamentals.

- I increased magnification to 4x for the 400yd targets and held high on the plate (they were big targets), and it worked out

Stage 1: Oh Sh*t @ Close Bay & O-course on Opposite Side

- Shoot large silhouette then the dueling tree

- Move left to the plate rack and shoot it one-handed

- Move left to the second dueling tree and shoot it with 2 hands again

- Go to the opposite side of the lodge and do the O-course with the balance beam, hurdle, low crawl, window, wall of RR ties, cargo A-frame, and tightrope with rope overhead, with rifle staged on teh ground

- Move to the rifle bay on the left and shoot at 9 targets L->R from the low RR tie wall

- Repeat the rifle targets from the table

- Run back to the start and shoot the stop plate

Learnings/Outcomes: (1/9W, 32/64O)

- I used 38P, 21R... not terrible

- One-handed went faster than I expected/intended, but they hit!

- The second dueling tree was a little messy, and I should've slowed down a bit

- I flipped on the cargo net again for speed

- The balance beam takes me a while to do, but it's the spirit of the game

- I took a refreshing nap in the kitchen after I went, to rest and cool down, since it was hot outside

Stage 2: Ball & Chain @ Short Connex

- Start in the shed with a half cinder block chained to you.

- On the beep, put on your rifle

- Run up to the second floor of the small connex, and shoot from the first window at 6 white pistol steel, 1 hit each, L->R

- Move to the second window (still with ball and chain) and shoot purple targets with pistol, L->R

- Run to the next bay and shoot from the grey shipping crate at 6 rifle targets L->R, 1 hit each

- Run around the berm and hit the stop plate

Learnings/Outcome: (5/9W, 45/64O)

- Used 45P, 12R

- Pistol targets were *small*.  Some guys did slow mag dumps, rarely ever hitting anything... probably me, too.  I tried different holds with good presses.  Different holds would work at different times, so there was no obvious pattern that I could follow.  Needed a little low right at times.

- Rifle was easy.  I shot from the cinder block on the container.

- The 1/2 cinder block was very light and easy to loop my arm into.

Stage 3: Push It, Push It Real Good @ Mid-range Hilltop

- Push truck until front bumper goes to the 1st set of flags

- Run to the truck and shoot cardboard on the right with 2 hits each, and you can double tap

- Around the front of the truck, shoot 5 more cardboard, 2 hits each, and clear pistol

- Climb into the truck bed and shoot 5 white targets behind hte bus and 4 targest L->R, 2x through (280yd was the furthest target and 150yd was the closest target)

Learnings/Outcome: (2/9W, 47/64O)

- Used 24R, clean on P (they were close)

- Heard someone recommend changing mags when switching spots around the truck, and that was a good idea, although I didn't remember to do that until I was already at the second spot... still helped to not interrupt my flow mid-shot, though

- The car was hard, but I wanted to give it my all in the spirit of the game.  Every other girl in my squad had been able to do it, too.  Supposedly, lifting the back end of the car would help to reduce the weight on the suspension and make it easier.  Who knows if it's true, but I did it.  Maybe using my shoulder to push sideways would've helped, vs going backwards?  Who knows.  I definitely didn't want to landmine press it and tax my arms that way, though.  The MACV2s didn't always provide great traction.  Interestingly, none of the women earlier that day had done it... I wonder if one failed and the others gave up on it mentally without really trying.

- I had jello legs after the truck push and nearly tripped... I felt like a baby giraffe

- My rifle wasn't terrible

- I used 5x magnification on rifle

Overall (3/9W, 42/64O)

- Worth slowing down on pistol

- Competition has gotten tougher, but if I can run a clean and controlled race, I have a chance.

- Visualize the stage before I do it, to avoid jitters on stage 1

- Bring an umbrella next time for shade

Good group of people on the squad today!  

GORUCK GVL FAD Weekend 2024

TRAINING LEAD-UP:

Monday, Aug 19:

No Fear Yoga & Yoga for Runners: 7 min Post Run Yoga with Adriene.

After dinner, HDT 31.1.2 (core) in 35:01, followed by 10 min of arm strengtheners with a 13#SKB

Tuesday, Aug 20:

18A "Dynamic Warmup" in 25:09, then Peloton 45 min Power Zone Endurance Ride with Matt Wilpers covering 11.5 miles, 280 cal, going 15.4 mph average.  I went easy for most of it and picked it up at the end.  I could feel some soreness in my core from yesterday's HDT workout, during the ride.

Thursday, Aug 22:

Glute nad pec PT v2 in 26:02, then 18A "Dip Abs" in 23:23

GORUCK COUNTER ACTIVE SHOOTER PISTOL DAY & NIGHT

During the day, we covered 

- clearing and loading procedures

- fundamentals of marksmanship

- mag changes

- slow aim fire

- turn and shoot

- kneeling, seated, standing and transitioning among them

- prone right side up and upside down

At night, we covered

- shooting around a wall

- shooting from a VTAC

- shooting one-handed (including a fun drill with 10 shots alternating between 2-hand, left hand, and right hand, with a SB OH toss before each shot)

- shooting with a light at chest and a light out and up, with mag changes

- skills from the daytime, but at night

GORUCK COUNTER ACTIVE SHOOTER RIFLE DAY & NIGHT

SB and I picked up doughnuts for the group in the morning.  I do enjoy doughnuts.

During the day and night, we covered

- Zeroing (I didn't make any adjustments)

- The Alt C drill at 40yd but this time, "supported" meant with a SB, and "unsupported" allowed the use of the mag.  I was able to get 40/40 this time.

- Alt C but with prone, kneeling, and standing... only 25/28 attempted shots, and I timed out before getting to standing and didn't attempt the last 12 shots

- Turn and shoot

- Shooting from high and low walls, and from VTAC... learned about "junkyard prone" and "brokeback prone" for the first time... also, the rule "outside knee up"

- Rifle to pistol transitions

- Prone, seated, and kneeling from 100yd, 75yd, 50ydqz

- Tried different types of rounds through ballistic gel

- Walk, stop, and shoot

GORUCK TACTICAL DECISION MAKING

We learned about room clearing for corner-fed and center-fed rooms.

It may not seem to tie in directly with TDM scenarios, but those concepts do inform how you might handle positioning yourself or moving through a room, whether you're in the mindset of the assaulted-upon or role playing as the assaulter.

Scenario 1: 

Carjacking, where I'm the participant's kid in the backseat.  While as a role player you don't get to test how you'd respond, it is a unique experience to get to watch many others and how they respond.  Some fight, some flee, some freeze.  Others don't act naturally and deprive themself of the training experience.  Some break the law without realizing it.  Some are overconfident and make poor decisions.

Takeaways:

- There's no perfect answer, but find the best option among all the less than ideal options.

- Don't be afraid to make a decision quickly

- Training helps you make decisions faster and understand 2nd and 3rd order effects

Scenario 2:

Cafe... I did choose to act this time, and feel like it was appropriate, and it worked out.

Scenario 3: 

School shooting scenario that you happen to come across.  Non-threats.  Dark room.  It's tough to see well without lights, and with a lot of bodies and noise.  I ended up as a casualty after waiting far too long at the door, trying to figure out who was who and what was going on.  At least I didn't harm any innocents, though.

Scenario 4:

Cafe with a domestic dispute...

Jenny just walked out after getting her coffee... very Brooklyn of her!

I never escalated because the situation never warranted it.

Always a great group to hang out and learn with...

GBF Operation Tiny Dancer

TRAINING LEAD-UP

Monday, Aug 5:

Day 14 - Closer - MOVE & Yoga for Change and Drain with Adriene

Tuesday, Aug 6:

APFT for Pathfinder, with 49/40 pushups, 75/76 situps (99 pt), 2 miles in 14:57/17:00 in the Saucony A4S = 299 (a non-300 for the first time in years... maybe since 2018 or something).  I've been having poor sleep and less protein recently.  I also had a big steak a couple hours before taking the test.  There wasn't anything at stake here, so it's good to learn about what affects performance and what I can vs can't get away with.

I wrapped up the baseline assessment with a 2 mile ruck in 31:23 with 30# in teh Salomon XA Comps in the rucker v2.

Wednesday, Aug 7:

18A "Upper Body Prep" in 26:41, followed by "Push-ups" in 42:52, then Glute and pec PV v2 in 28:06.

Thursday, Aug 8:

Power and Balance 30 min yoga practice & Regulate Your Nervous System 30 min practice with Adriene

Plus dry fire to reinforce what I had learned from Andy...

• "Eyes, Muzzle, Target"
• "Bolt back, breathe in, bolt forward, breathe out"
• "I see the bullet"

I focused on being upright and squared up, and I did micro-adjustments if needed.

Friday, Aug 9:

3 mile ruck at Iswa Nature Preserve with 50# in the v2 rucker, wearing 8" MACV2s.  It was slippery, and there was a downed tree to get around from a recent storm.  I covered it in 1:11:42.

Saturday, Aug 10:

Range day at Coleman's with SB and Scott, to practice some more.

We zereod our rifles and our Impacts.

We confirmed where our Vortex Fury reticles were vs the actual laser center.

We drove from range to range, ranging and drawing range cards for 5 min at each one, and sharing notes to compare results afterwards, by having one person talk the others on through each target.

Through this exercise, I gained confidence in my ranging abilities.  

I liked my technique of dropping down onto the target from above.

We did a little shooting, practicing speed, but I feel like I generally already go as quickly as I can have my accuracy keep up with.

We ended with pistol arcade play.  By 2pm (after starting at 9am), my hands weren't as steady, due to the fatigue and heat, though.

After my friends left, I zeroed my Honey Badger and used it for the first time, with Supers.  I did a little standing, too, to start familiarizing myself with it.

Sunday, Aug 11:

18A "Upper Body Prep" in 30:19, "Pull-ups" in 31:59 maybe the worst yet, but better to get back on the wagon now vs later, especially with OCRWC coming soon.

I then did Glute and Pec PT v1 in 27:16, because I was still feeling fresh, followed by a 90s 60#SB OH hold palmed.

I then did a recovery ruck with a 40#WV in the Altra Torin Plush, for 2.5 miles in 55:26.

At night, I was still fresh and craved VO2 work, so I did a 5K of intervals with a 1 mile warmup at 7mph, then 2x (0.5 mi @ 9mph, 0.5 mi @ 7mph), with 0.1 miles at the ned to round it out at 24:16 for 5K at 2 degrees of incline with the Saucony Vitarras.  My stomach was knotting up in the last mile, so I probably couldn't have gone on, but it's best to not go crazy before GBF, and I'm just getting back into speedwork.

Monday, Aug 12:

Cabarrus Ruck Club, the first active ruck club in the area in my generation (Team Spearhead might've done stuff before, but I wasn't around then and am not sure), was celebrating their 5th anniversary.  I joined them for a 3 mile ruck in 51:42.  A good number of people came out.  I used a 30#RPC.  The route was nothing special, but it ended at Cabarrus Brewing, where I splurged on chicken and waffles.  

Thursday, Aug 15:

Tapering this week.  

Did Flow - Day 17 - Rinse and Day 28 - Intuit Yoga with Adriene

For dry fire practice, I did build-and-break, gaining a few seconds and more consistency with fewer critical errors through practice.  Keeping my eyes on the target as I lay the gun down helps a lot.

GBF OPERATION TINY DANCER

This would be my first GBF mountain event.  I've done their shooting events and their dog event.  I'm generally not a big ruck running person, but I can shuffle if the terrain isn't treacherously downhill or risky on footing.  

I had done recon on the route, and it seemed OK enough to try.  It took 5:15 including wrong turns when I did it with my dad, but I'd have a little less weight and no dad for the real thing.  I also knew the route now.

My dad came along, since he could find small trails to do by himself while I did the race.

There were two events that day.  Tiny Dancer was the 10 mile short one, and Dragon's Dance was the 26-28 mile big one.  I'd start with a short one and see how it went.  Most of my friends were doing the long one, but I also had some doing the short one, for fun.

I wanted to go for dog tags.  To be considered a "finisher", you needed to complete the route in 5 hours or less.  To get dog tags, you had to complete it in 3:30 or less, though.  Dog tags or bust!

We had our rucks weighed.  We were asked to attempt to check in via text during the race, but I knew from the recon trip that there were very few spots where we'd get signal.  We also had the opportunity to carry a name of a fallen soldier with us, organized by Captain Charlie, a volunteer with GBF.

I set of on a mission and led the field the whole time.  I used trekking poles for the first time, and they were amazing.  It was like they allowed me to extend each stride by 10% distance.  My arms were able to help my legs do the work.  They were doing so much work that I felt like my push-up muscles would be sore by the end of it.

I was carefully watching for the turn, although I started looking for it way too early and wasted a little time looking way too early.  I found the spot, took the opportunity to mark my territory, and did the big descent followed by the big climb.

I drank water a couple times along the way.

I got to the end in 3:01:21.  Maybe if I hadn't stopped to look for the turn too early, I could've broken 3, which would've been nice.  Maybe that will be my goal if I do it again.  Dragon's Dance may be good to try, though.  I'd want to do recon to be 100% certain about the route and also to see how technical the footing is.  I've heard that some parts have big rocks that are not easy to run on.

The next person to cross the finish line wasn't too far behind, but he had missed the infamous turn and ended up looping back around early.  He says that he did cover 10 miles, but at the very least, it wasn't on the prescribed route.  He was considered a VW.  He regretted not turning back and looking for the real route, since he could've potentially fixed his mistake in time.  

The others didn't come back until about 4:45 into the event.  I got to spend about 1:45 hanging out with Gregg's pack of dogs and chatting with him, which was one of the highlights of the day.

The others did finish in time, thankfully.  Afterwards, after having waited around for so long, I was ready to head home with my dad, and didn't stick around to jump into the river.

I enjoyed the event much more than I expected to.  Rucking in the mountains is something that you can do for free any time, but it is fun to go after a standard and to achieve it.  I also like the planning, preparation, and strategy aspect of it, which is one of my favorite parts of any event that I do.  I'm not the biggest or strongest or fastest, but I can try to make up for it with smarts and preparation.

I have my eyes on other NC events, and maybe some Colorado ones, too.  Not the heavy ones, but 20# isn't bad.