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.

Andy 4 & Asheville Spartan Super and Sprint 2024

TRAINING LEAD-UP

Monday, Jul 29:

5.5 mile ruck in 1:19:49 with 30# in the v2 rucker, wearing Salomon XA Comps.  My legs were sore but decent right after a long weekend of activity.

Thursday, Aug 1:

Played pickleball with co-workers, as a little goodbye get-together for someone who was leaving the company.

ANDY 4

Got another great lesson from Andy at Pigg River Precision.  

After classroom time to review fundamentals, corrections, and discussing potential opportunities to be more efficient, we zeroed, and then moved on to the long range for some simulated stages. 

We got to run through them as solos or in pairs, and then we'd talk through what went well vs what we can learn from.

We also worked on position building.

It started to rain, so we spent the last bit of the class talking about a potential lightweight Mammoth build.  We then took a trip to Andy's shop to look at some wares.

SB and I were pretty happy about how we did at the sim stages today.  We've improved over time and didn't embarrass ourselves or let Andy down.  We're learning something!

SPARTAN SUPER

Since I was participating in OCRWC this year, it would be good to get in some obstacle course practice.  Tryon Equestrian Center is a fun venue, since they have some nice props from their horse jumping events, and the venue is well manicured.  

I wasn't going for speed or anything.  I wanted to get in a good workout and conquer as many obstacles as I could.  

I got there early and ran into Jonathan.  Many of my GORUCK friends also enjoy Spartan racing.

During the Super, I failed the spear throw, got Olympus for the first time since Tahoe 2016 (maybe going right to left helped, since my dominant hand was the trailing one that hung the most), and failed the updated Z-wall which now has no footholds and only straight up-and-down short rope segments for hand holds on the last board.  The Z-wall was already pretty challenging, and now it was extremely challenging.  

SPARTAN SPRINT

The timing worked out pretty well, and I was able to refit without being rushed while also not having to wait around for a long time, before the Sprint.  The line to pick up bibs was the longest I've ever seen it, though, so it was good that I had some buffer.  They must've been short on volunteers, or maybe they changed something in their process which made everything take longer.  Spartan does tweak their process continuously, typically leading to significant efficiency gains.  That's something they're great about. 

 

I was much less peppy for this one.  The lines were longer on spear throw, and I ended up lining up for a spear that had no tip on the end, but the pole did hit the hay, though!

There was a gigantic bottleneck exiting a river crossing and going up a steep slope with a narrow bushwhacked pathway.  As long as there's a slower person anywhere on that, the entire field will get stopped behind them.  We were probably there at least 20 minutes.  I didn't mind, since I wasn't in a competitive heat.  It was pretty, too, near the river.  

SUNDAY VOLUNTEERING

The next day, I went back to volunteer.  It's not too far from where I live, so I drove home overnight and got to shower and everything.

I was originally signed up for the info table, but they were fine on staffing there and re-allocated me to the finish line.  It was foggy in the morning, but the sun came out, and I sought the tiny sliver of shade that the finish line arch offered.

I finally realized what the little poker chips redeemed at the Reign tent were from, after not knowing what they were at Fayetteville.  You do a little extra something after you cross the finish line, and you can redeem the poker chip for a commemorative "Extra Mile" pin and another can of Reign energy drink.

The one that they had was a maze where you carried KBs.  When I did it after the Sprint, I didn't realize that it was an actual maze with only one correct answer.  I should've followed the well-trodden path, but I blazed my own trail right into a dead end.  Extra workout.  It is kind of funny for spectators, I guess.

Highlight of my day volunteering: getting to put a medal around a dog's neck.  There was a second dog that I attempted to medal, too, but it wasn't as cooperative, so the owner ended up doing that one.

We helped out with tear-down afterwards.  Also a sizeable workout effect.

GBF Operation Contact 2024

TRAINING LEAD-UP

Monday, Jul 22:

Yoga for Hamstrings & Upper Back Love | Yoga for Back Pain with Adriene

Tuesday, Jul 23:

Glute and pec PT v2 in 28:17, HDT IR17-18.1.2 (core & legs) in 41:46

Wednesday, Jul 24:

100 rounds of dryfire with the Ruger Precision Rifle, alternating double high kneeling on a wobbly high stool and standing on a stable bannister.

- practiced my shot process with dialing before moving

- practiced doing wind holds left and right, to get used to using stadia

My old rifle felt light compared to the newer one, almost as if it was an AR in comparison.

The Vortex bubble level was also much more intuitive than the electronic Send-it level.

GBF OPERATION CONTACT

GBF expanded into the tactical event space last December with Operation Shooter.  This would be their summer event, which would be more team tactics oriented, and a little less competition-oriented, although they'd still be scoring some events.

This event started on Friday evening, instead of Saturday morning.  You had to stay onsite, so that you could get a more immersive experience, as opposed to a little vacation day trip where you went back to a hotel every night.

Friday Night Nav

The first event was a night navigation exercise, which was briefed at 9pm.  We were split up into teams of three.  We were shown three points on a map of the Sawmill Training Complex grounds, which we could takes notes on.  When we found each flag, we had to take a selfie.  Once we found all three points, we could return to the lodge.  

Before we left at 10pm, we had to load up our rucks with 50# dry, bring a rifle, and cover our faces, necks, and hands with camo paint.  I volunteered to be the team leader for our group, since I had done the December event and have been here before.  One of the guys had also been here before, and knew some of the route, which was nice.  We decided to go on the slightly longer, safer road-based route, vs a possible trail that would go along the creek, since it was more obvious where the road led.  At the creek point, we came across the teams that had gone the shorter way, which was pretty much all the other teams, and then we went back to get the bus point on the power line.  The third point was at the back gate of the property, and although we had been last place before, we made up about half the spots in the field by bushwhacking from the back gate back to the lodge.  

We finished in less than 90 minutes, which meant we got to shower and then sleep for about 4 hours.

Saturday Morning PT

At 5:30am, we met for an hour of body weight PT and relays.  I wore MACV2s, which was good for protection against the dew, but they were heavy to sprint in.

Event 1: Endurance

After breakfast, we had our first real event, "The Endurance", which was similar to one we had done in December (the one where I got my face bloody).

We had to ruck 2.3 miles with 25#, with 3 mags of pistol and 3x10R, plus the weapons.  We went along the road to the back gate and back, instead of through the creek like last time.  The surprise was that when we got back to the lodge, we were told to drop our gear and repeat the movement but slick.  

Once you got back from the run, it was time to kit up for the shoot.  From 50yd, you have 1 min to shoot 10 standing rifle at the red chest bullseye, mag change to 10 kneeling a the red chest bullseye, mag change to 10 prone at the red head bullseye.

We were allowed to remove the ruck on the clock if we wanted to.  I chose to do that, to try to help with my shooting.  

Last year, I had tons of time left but made zero hits, so this time, I focused on getting fewer but quality shots off.  I was excited to get 4 hits this year... that's not a lot, out of the 20 that I attempted and the 30 possible, but that was actually tied for second.  The best person made 5 shots, one other person made 4 I think, and many made 2, 1, or 0.  

Event 2: Assemble & Assassinate

With 3 full mags of rifle and pistol but no ruck, we had to run to the top floor of the connex, fire on 4 targets with 3 shots each, then run down to range 5.  You had maximum of 1 mag of rifle to engage the connex targets.  

At range 5, you stripped and reassembled pistol and had to make 12 hits alternating on left and right targets.  Then, run to range 8, strip and reassemble rifle, and shoot at 5 targets L->R, 3x through.

Rifle from the connex wasn't easy and I went through the full mag with 1 hit that I still had pending.  

Pistol was ok on the left target, but missed more on the right one for some reason (used 20 rounds).

I used 25 rounds at the rifle assembly stage.

I had the fastest time by 30s at the time, and maybe one other person beat me in the end, but there were some disputes about wait times, so that was unclear.  Fortunately, this wasn't a scored stage, so it didn't matter.  Gregg likes to make it ambiguous about which stages are scored, so that we always try our best.

Rotation 1: Dry Fire

With rifle and no mags, we practiced bouding in pairs and in two pairs.

I learned about the benefits of running in high port so that if you fall, you fall into prone, with the gun pointed at the target, vs muzzle down.  

It's also a good idea to zig zag as you bound forward, so that you're a harder target.  Just be sure not to bound into your buddy's line of fire.  

Also, it's good to change mags before leaving your safe spot.  You don't want want to get caught running dry when you're supposed to be covering your buddy.

Rotation 2: Rest

Rotation 3: Run & Arcade (my name for it)

With pistol and up to 4 full mags, run 1 mile, for time.

On the beep, shoot at a 6 plate rack at about 15yd, and then a 6-arm Texas Star at about 10yd.

I ran at about a 9:15/mi pace.  I had an aluminum mag stuck in a rifle mag holder, but that was so light that it jumped out during my run.  Lesson learned.  Fortunately, I still had 3 other mags.  I just had to not miss as much.

I braced for the plate rack but not for the star, which was oriented a bit higher.  It was fine, since the targets weren't as far away as they were last year.

The Carry

With a 25#R, rifle, pistol, and 3 mags/caliber, carry your buddy with your full kit and their full kit.  It ended up working out ok, even with all the extra weight.

Afterwards, go prone, load, and shoot L->R on 3 targets, 3x through.

Run up to the first block and shoot at a red steel 3x.

Run up further to the second red circle steel and shoot it 3x too.

I was perfect on rifle but used 9 rounds for my 6 pistol hits, due to heavy breathing.  I was pretty efficient with my movements and prep, though.

Optional Live Fire Contact Drill 5-5:30pm

With a 25#R, rifle, and rifle mags, on "Contact", fire 6 rounds at a big white circle steel.

Move to the first barrel and go prone, and shoot the second steel target once.

Low crawl forward to the second barrel and shoot at the 3rd steel 2x.

Low crawl aaaaalllll the way to the left side of the bay, and from the 3rd barrel, shoot the 4th steel 3x.

Low crawl forward some more and shoot the 5th steel 4x.

Low crawling is fatiguing!

Maintain muzzle discipline as you low crawl with your hot gun.  

Second Optional Drill

No ruck, but drag a cinder block, with only the first 2 barrels in play, to change it up

Rappelling @ 7:30pm

Always a cool experience!  I had to go single rope to make it easy enough for my low body weight to go down with gravity.  If you're light, you have to make bigger throws with your right hand, almost to the point where your arm is upwards like the Statue of Liberty.

I was a bit braver with big bounds this time.  

Night Nav #2

We went out in pairs of our choosing this time.  It was originally going to be an individual exercise, but they decided it would be safer in pairs.

We had four points to find, named after Gregg's adorable dogs.  We got to take a picture of the map this time, to use as we navigated.

We only had to carry 20# for women, 30# for men, plus the rifle.  The rifle is always fun to carry at night.

Teams were told to go to different points first, so that it wasn't a big "follow the leader".

We took the long range trail this time.  We looked at the wrong turn onto the long range the first time, but went further and found the point at the next turn.  

We got the next point further on the long range.

Then, we found a trail back to the road with the bus, and then we found the one by the pond.

We covered 2.85 miles at a 19:18 pace, which wasn't bad.  We finished at 11:10pm.

Fake Sunday Morning PT

My partner and I were the only ones who thought Gregg was serious about there being 5:30am PT in the morning.  We were already to go, but we were the only ones there.  I had a good time stretching, though.

Live Fire Contact Drills

We finished the event with live fire contact drills.

We first did dry fire bounding in pairs.

Then, we did live fire bounding in pairs.

We did lateral break contact drills in sets of 2 pairs, first dry, then live.

We did just the break contact part live at the end, with smoke grenades.

You can go prone vs kneeling while bounding, based on the terrain and your visibility of the target.

Go high port on runs, to avoid flagging guys to your left, especially.

The "rule of dispersion" says go forward of your buddy no further than you are laterally away.

Can Cannon

AC got to borrow a "Can Cannon", which was decorated based on current events.  It was fun.

It's even cooler if you can get it to impact against something, so we made some attempts on that.

And after we were all done for the day, we made use of the cans.

What an epic weekend.  Too bad I can't do this for a living!

Learnings:

- Reload on the move or before moving, to not run dry

- Good efficiency in movements

- Go high port to avoid flagging, and to enable falling into prone if it happens

- Good calm under pressure

- Good pacing on physical events

- Good squeeing in all the rest I could, while still making the most of the weekend

- Nice having the option to shower between events

- I can still clean up my pistol shooting

- I still don't know my long distance rifle holds

Such a fun weekend... you get to do some stuff you don't normally get to do.