Training in the month leading up to TA...
Monday, Aug 17:
At TA, we wouldn't be allowed to wear watches, so I wanted to hone my internal pace meter. I at least used to have a decent sense of running paces, but I wasn't so confident about my ability to detect rucking paces. I decided to do 6 miles where I'd move the way I move to go at different speeds, and see what pace corresponded to each method of moving.
- Mile 1 - Strict ruck at "moving with a purpose" pace, while checking my watch. (16:13)
- Miles 2-4, continued at that pace, but without checking my watch, to see if I could keep my pace consistent and remember what that pace felt like. (16:08, 16:12, 16:12)
- Miles 5-6, shuffled with a purpose at an effort mildly faster than my Timed 12 shuffle effort. (13:46, 13:25)
It was 73* at night, in my Salomon X-missions, with 30# and 1/2L of untouched water. Temps impact perceived effort and speed, so it's important to note.
Tuesday, Aug 18:
TA PT Test #17, used to also test out my planned clothing, including the PT belt, which I didn't notice much. Also did it on grass, to match the expected surface. The grassy area that I used was a little rutted, so it took some time to find the flattest spot. On grass, your butt will naturally drift into lower areas of grass, which helps you get reps more easily. The uneven grass did make me lose my balance on the first SC.
- 27 HRPU
- 44 BSU
- 11 SC @ 60#
PRs by 1 on the Situps and Squat Cleans
Afterwards, I did a 20 min AMRAP with lots of TA PT test-based moves. Then 15 min of 4x (75 4-ct flutter kicks, 1 min plank) to round out the time.
Then a 4 mile pace test, aiming for 16:10 again. I ended up doing 16:03, only checking my watch at the mile splits. Pretty good!
Thursday, Aug 20:
With the next round of HDT clashing with the TA timeline, and the importance of the taper for me, I wasn't doing an additional round of HDT and was just recycling old workouts, and mixing those in on occassion.
Saturday Aug 22:
TA PT Test #20
Friday, Aug 21:
I hosted two Street Art + Ice Cream rucks for my ruck club. I was only going to host the one session, but an even number of different people preferred Saturday vs Sunday, and I wanted to encourage as many people as I could to come out to our events. There were kids and a dog, so it was slow, and there was a bathroom break emergency halfway in, but this was a family-friendly event, so that was fine. I was excited for new people to come out.
I started the day with a 15 mile trail run at Latta Nature Preserve in 2:12:18, 8:49 average. Nose breathed the whole time without any issues, a record distance for that. My GPS was on Ultratrac mode, so I'm not 100% on its accuracy. I did feel good, especially for not having run much for many months. Wore the Innov-8 X-talons. I did get a blister on my outer left pinky toe.
In the evening, we had Ice Cream Ruck #2, this time, with some ruck club regulars. Kids are always fun! They get excited about the funniest things, like going under an overpass.
Sunday, Aug 23:
My TA partner was in town to train with another guy, so we met up for some event prep. We started with a timed 5 miler. She was wearing a 45# plate, but even so, she'd be fast, so I stuck with a 30# plate and even skipped water to increase my chances of keeping up. We did 13:42 average. 
Afterwards, we did the TA PT Test.
- 27 HRPU
- 45 BSU
- 10 SC@60#
Then, we did about 2.5 hours of skills practice, including the ruck dump, and various partner techniques. I had started watching 2019's TA coverage to understand what to expect, since going and passing the PT test was now a reality, and wanted to test out and review different strategies. Our time together was very productive! My partner is good... dedicated, driven, and ready to do what it takes!
Monday Aug 24:
HDT 13.4.1 (Arms) with 35 min of PT with a few extra sets, followed by a 1 mi coupon ruck with a 30# ruck and 45# SB. Used Speedcross. Nothing crazy, just maintaining fitness going in to TA.Tuesday, Aug 25:
4-mile Ruck Carry practice in 1:17:45, 19:25 average... 1) normal, 2) strapless, 3) one strap, 4) strapless. Wore MACV1s.
Wednesday, Aug 26:
Yoga with Adriene - Fundamentals of Ease. Body didn't feel up for working out today.
Thursday, Aug 27:
HDT 17.2.CP "Jump Release" 25 min BW AMRAP, then 10 min of extra PT to fill the time (50 leg levers, 20x30# SB bent rows, 50 knees bent jackknife, 20x30# SB bent rows)Saturday, Aug 29:
Joined Osprey Ruck Club for a Timed 12 Miler. It was originally planned by LKN Ruck Club, but they had to bail. They had a crazy 4am start. Wore my Salomons, used a 30# plate. I tried to learn to use the Source Bladder with the Helix bite valve, since I'd have to bring it to TA. I normally avoid water bladders because I have to worry about cleaning them afterwards, and it seems more efficient to drink out of a Nalgene. My fist can squeeze into a Nalgene, so those are easier to clean.
The group that I joined varied their pace a lot, and they stopped for a 7 minute break halfway through, which I wasn't used to. At the break, I ate a protein bar.
Fortunately, we were going fast enough that even with the break, we still broke 3 hours. It is quite different doing a Timed 12 with a group! We were together for the first half, but we strung out on the way back. I'm more of a consistent pace person. It started raining on the way back!
I was not a fan of the bladder that day. It tasted like plastic, which made me feel a little nauseous in the last couple of miles. I survived, though.
Osprey Ruck Club's Saturday workouts end with celebratory beers, which is pretty awesome.
It felt so cold afterwards, which was surprising, for August!!! I even turned up the seat warmers and turned on the heat!
After the Cloverleaf Beta, GRHQ reached out to me to ask if I wanted to answer some questions for a blog feature. It included questions about TA. I debated about how much to disclose, so I kept it pretty general. It was cool to be featured, though.
Sunday, Aug 30:
The newly formed Ugly Ducklings Ruck Club was meeting for their first event. My TA partner and I decided to meet up ahead of time to practice some more skills. It was another great session.
The 3.5 mile ruck with 30# in 1:02:50 at the start was plenty after the previous day's 12 miler. I wore running shoes, since my feet were fatigued from wearing the MACV1s during the TA prep session, even though we covered like zero mileage.
The main theme of the workout was animal movements. Jonathan did a great job teaching us the different movements and having us practice them. It was a unique and fun workout, and it brought out a bunch of new people.
We did gorilla sideways, gorilla frontways, bear crawl, low crawl, crab walk, and bounding. Ironically, we did not do duck walks, even though this was hosted by the Ugly Ducklings Ruck Club. This was good practice for TA.
Afterwards, we did outdoor dining for Mexican food.
Tuesday, September 1:
After 4 hours of sleep, I woke up naturally at 5:30am. I had been wanting to get in a morning workout anyways, so maybe my body was going off of that desire. I did the TA PT test, with 27 HRPU, 40 BSU, and 10 SC@60, not bad for a cold start.I felt fresh enough to do HDT 13.2.2 (Legs), which had 18 min of PT and then a 1 mi run in 7:03 in the Kinvaras. I needed to shower and work, otherwise I would've done more afterwards.
Based on 2019 TA coverage, I practiced knot tying skills, as well, in the evening.
Thursday, September 3:
Since doing a mile of rucking with the ruck OH, my left shoulder had been strained. I decided to see a chiropractor, to see if he could help.
On my way home, I stopped at Crowder's Mountain. On the 6-mile ruck, I ended up rolling my left ankle 3x, each time worse than the previous time. Since I was on the trail, I just had to walk it off. It was painful. I didn't even roll it on anything obvious. The ground isn't super technical there, but I guess the little occasional rocks are small enough to look like something you don't need to worry about, but big enough for you to roll your ankles on. 6.0 in 2:47:20.
That was unfortunate. The one thing you do before a major event is mitigate the risk of injury. My plan now was to rest it as much as possible, which was probably a good thing during this taper time, anyways, 2 weeks out. Better to have to rest now, than during peak training time. The chrio recommended drawing the alphabet with my ankles, to keep up mobility and blood flow to promote healing, so I did that, too.
I taped it when needed, for extra support. I also bought ankle braces. I used to use them when I rolled my ankle in high school during soccer season. I had to modify them a little bit to not have protruding pieces of fabric that might cause blisters during long term wear, like I'd have at TA.
Friday, Sep 4:
HDT IR(17-18).1.1 (Core & Arms) in 43 min, using advanced reps. My ankle was a little better, going from 95% bad to 80% bad. I can at least limp places now, instead of doing painful hobbles.
Prior to the ankle roll, my big worry going into TA was how my left shoulder would do. Having the ankle issue made shoulder concerns pale in comparison. Who knew if I could even show up to the start of TA in any kind of condition to compete.
(Icing while working.... one benefit of working from home)
Sunday, Sep 6:
- 28 HRPU
- 44 BSU
- 11 SC@60
Later on, HDT IR(18-19).1.2 (Legs and Core) in 45 min to get some mobility and movement back. I can walk more normally now, though the ankle is still tender. I decided to wait until at least tomorrow before trying any rucking.
Had my third and final skills prep session with my TA partner in the morning. Another good one! Each one built confidence. I kept going through 2019's TA coverage, so we had new strategies to test out at each session.
Later that day, I did Yoga with Adriene - Day 12 - Yoga for Spinal Health - 30 days of yoga. It was fantastic.
Tuesday, Sept 8:
HDT TA.Taper.1 (Legs) with 26 min of PT, then my first attempt at a mile since the ankle roll. 30# in 20:52. Needed flat ground, since uneven ground strained my ligaments. Legs were unevenly distributing work due to compensations. Wore the MACV1s for added ankle support.
I wasn't currently enrolled in an HDT class, Bryan Singelyn had a FB group that included alumni. It was a place for us to help each other prior to the event, and he shared taper workouts. He goes above and beyond for his athletes!
Wednesday, Sept 9:
2 min dead hang to failure (per recommendation from the chiro for my left shoulder), then TA.Taper.2 (arms) with 17 min of PT, then a 2 mi run in 15:10 in the Adidas Boston Boost, since firm footwear feels better than cushioned, less structured footwear. The run was OK, but the walk afterwards still felt wonky.
Friday, Sept 11:
Shadowed the 9/11 Tough in CLT with Cadre Clay. It was my first time meeting him. He brought out a firetruck to hose down the participants as they did the welcome party. That was pretty epic. Shannon and I shadowed, since we needed to rest before TA. I only stayed for the welcome party and avoided rucking on the power line, even slick, since that wouldn't have helped my ankle. At least I could move now.
I wasn't going to go, originally, but it wasn't far from where I lived, and I wouldn't miss a chance to see my buddy!
Saturday, Sept 12:
HDT TA.Taper.3 (Core) in 15 min, plus another 15 min of mini doses of lightweight exercises, including 2.5 min dead hang. Then 1 mi ruck with 30# in Salomon Speedcross. Some improvements over the other day, though I skipped the coupon, and I could still tell that I wasn't 100%.
We were asked to record videos about our "why" for TA. Who knows if anyone at GRHQ ended up looking at it, or how it was used. I had to do a bunch of takes because I kept messing up, though. We were asked to talk about how we first got into GORUCK (free event came with the GR1 that I bought for my first Spartan Hurricane Heat 12 Hour), what we did to prep for TA (I averaged 15 MPW of rucking, and did PATHFINDER and HDT), how we decided to team up with our partner (first met her at random coupon ruck for ruck club, then Bragg Heavy, where she impressed SB), and our why (for my partner, especially after she was willing to stick with me even when I was struggling to squat clean 80# to pass the outdated PT test standards).
I decided to make some collages to drum up support for our teams. I knew that I would've liked to know ahead of time if my friends were competing at something like Selection, so that I could watch them and cheer them on and feel like I was supporting them. I also knew that support was helpful, based on life feed coverage from TA 2019.
In the days leading up to the event, the NC crew shared more tips on the ruck dump. I was still debating about which pair of shoes I'd bring as my second pair. I'm a by-the-book person, I wanted to bring the second pair because it was on the required items list. The goal is to get to the minimum required dry weight (20# for females), fit everything in the smallest sized ruck possible for easier carrying, but with enough extra space that repacking isn't an impossible ask. I was weighing my items individually, to figure out what I could keep or remove if it became necessary. I was doing well with the ruck dumps, though.
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