TRAINING LEAD-UP
Tuesday, Oct 5:
Did the HDT October ruck club workout with Cabarrus, which included a 1 mile ruck in 18:41 with 20# plus a 20#SB, then a 2/3 mile bonus run on my own to retrieve gloves that I had dropped somewhere on the ruck, then a 35 min WOD with lots of ruck plate halos and a 15 min AMRAP with a 20#R and a 30#SB (started with the 20#SB but it was too light). I was surprised that I felt decent, even after the Mog Quad plus MTB weekend.
Wednesday, Oct 6:
Yoga for a Fresh Start with Adriene
Thursday, Oct 7:
PATHFINDER "Recovery Day post-challenge WOD with 4 min of yoga and 13:24 min of PT, followed by Rucklympics Week 10 with 4 rounds in 41 min, plus 3 rucking miles at the end with a 30#R wearing Ballistic Trainers.
Saturday, Oct 9:
For more adventure racing prep, I did 7.8 miles of Kayaking, a distance PR for me, going all the way to Wilkinson Bldvd and back in 3:26. I tested out fingerless Neoprene gloves that I already had lying around, to see if it would help me avoid blisters. I still got hotspots. I decided that I needed to look into real paddling gloves afterwards.
Sunday, Oct 10:
10 mile run at the USNWC, going on Parkway, Panda, Smokey, and Rail, finishing in 1:59:19. I played Zombies, Run! and wore Altra Superiors and fake Darn Toughs, which did well.
I also finished reading the Comfort Crisis, by Michael Easter.
Monday, Oct 11:
I scheduled an impromptu ruck club event to see giant bunny art at First Ward Park, since the following day was going to be their last day. I was the only one who went, but it was still great, and I had "naughty bunny" aka "bunny bother" keep me company. I rucked to the park, to avoid having to deal with parking at the park, and then wandered around the park to get in mileage, taking a lot of pictures along the way. It's cool to see how little (well, not so little) things like this can bring such joy to people of all backgrounds.
Afterwards, I did the "Ruck+ 45 or Bust" workout, working for the full 45 minutes with just over 3 rounds with a 30#R for the ruck swings and burpees and a 45#SB for the DLs.
Tuesday, Oct 12:
Cabarrus Ruck Club yoga with SB. Then Rucklympics week 11 including 2 miles with a 20# plate in the speed rucker and Altra Torin plush in 17:59.
SELECTION VOLUNTEERING
SB and I went up to Bellbrook with Joe and Mark, to support them and to help out at Selection. The car was fully loaded! Beware of speed traps, for anyone driving through VA.
We met up with Chad at the AirBNB, and we went on a supplies run at the grocery store. We made steak and kale dinner.... well, SB made it.... I helped. We slept in the game room, while the guys were upstairs to get their last night of rest before their big day.
The next morning, they completed final preparations, rechecked all of their gear, and relaxed while they still could.
The guys were ready to take this on and give it all they had.
Jaala was the only female this year.
One guy rode hundreds of miles on his bike to get here. That is quite a warmup for Selection!
SB and I were ready to start volunteering! It was my first time being onsite for Selection. We weren't allowed to take pictures or videos to post live updates of the actual event, because Selection is a different animal, with its own mystique and significance. GORUCK provided updates to the public at different points during the event through social media, though.
My first job was to man a corner for their lap around the park. I was stationed there for a while, and it ended up being a long while, when I saw the candidates bear crawling back and fourth a lot in the middle of the field. Apparently, they were checking water, or something.
Finally, they came around, with all their gear, including the kit bag that they introduced as an option for excess gear this year. This was their 5 miler, so this year, they'd be spending very little time at the park. You never know what to expect!
While they rucked, we drove to the JHOP. It was good to be back at the place with so much significance for us.
The candidates started rolling in, some of them, literally.
The ruck dump took place by the river, since we were no longer at the park. When you think you know how to do it, expect surprises. The kit bag was a new variable. And as usual, attempts at optimizing your load-out may be thwarted by the cadres, who seek to create chaos and stress, to see how you respond and to wear you down psychologically, making the physical part feel even harder than it already is.
We also watched the welcome party, which took many out. Different groups of candidates rotated among different cadres at each station. The volunteers helped to carry the rucks of the VWs back up the hill, for those who needed it. The welcome party is only the beginning.
At night, I manned the corner at the far river end of the pipeline for the Timed 12 miler.
Volunteering or shadowing is nice because you don't have to do all of that PT, and you can drink beer and watch.
SB and I went back to the AirBNB at around 2am, but by the time we came back to the JHOP at 10am, only Chad remained! Endless lunges had taken out the other strong contenders.
Chad would be spending a lot of quality time with the cadres for the next >24 hours. In the meantime, the others started their recovery process, and were processing what had happened.
I was on the sandbag washing team.... one sprayer, one scrubber, one flipper (me).
In the meantime, Chad did work. And the Cadres also had fun with each other.
At the 24 hour mark, Chad earned a little rest and a PB&J sandwich. Jason McCarthy had been really into eating those with tons of PB and jelly lately, and posting it on IG. When they tried to give it to him and make him eat it, they learned that he was allergic to PB, though, so newbie Cadre "TS" (thin spreader) got to eat it instead.
Overnight, Chad did the long walk, and looked like a cyborg with his red headlamp. He was a man on a mission.
In the morning, I made my own TS PB&J for breakfast.
They announced the first-ever club-lead Cloverleaf, to be held the morning of the last day of Selection. I was excited that we were going to be there for that. While drinking beer, watching from the sidelines, and helping out is nice, you want a piece of the "good living" action, too. Buckeye Ruckers' ruck club leaders led one at JHOP. They did a great job of teaching the movements well and being very welcoming and approachable. They established a gold standard for future club-led Cloverleafs to follow.
We did DT with a bear crawl SB drag, Speedy, slick sprints, and 10x 40x60/60x60 with a 1 min rest while our partner went. On the second day of Selection, Chad was able to do the 60x60, followed by the 80x60, followed by the 120x60... incredible!
(Caitlin is still stronger with the claw than I'll ever be with two fully functional arms)
Whenever we passed Chad, we had to keep quiet, to minimize the amount of energy and encouragement he could get from us.
Near the end, a few of us TA finishers were allowed to go watch the shark attack through the trees by the water. We had to stay very quiet.
We didn't get to watch the very end, but they did film it for posterity, so we got to catch up on what happened, afterwards. Chad's wife had been waiting on the sidelines by the path in secrecy, to celebrate with him once he did finish.
He took a shower afterwards, and decided that his 48 hour undies could be burned.
Long live the King!
The rest of us enjoyed the good things in life, like being with friends and loved ones.
Although not everyone got the outcome that had come in looking for, it was still a great weekend, and it was awesome to witness Chad's incredible performance. For most, by the third day, lifting a 1-cm diameter stick is a challenge. He was hoisting 120#SBs like it was another workout.
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