TRAINING LEAD-UP
Sunday, Mar 3:
SRT "Heavy Levy" in 42:30 with a 60#SB and 30#R, followed by a 2:30 30# ruck OH hold finisher
Monday, Mar 4:
"Chest and Upper Body Opening Flow" & "Yoga for Bone Health" with Adriene
Tuesday, Mar 5:
HDT 18.1.3 (LEGS) with a 30#R and 40#SB in 57:20
GUN RUN WITH NIGHT VISION
This is one of my favorite weekends of the year! I was able to sign up for both the NV and white light events again. I still perform like a newbie at NV, but I really enjoy the experience, even when it comes to just moving around with NODS on.
The round count was 50P/50R, but I brought 150R (5 mags) and 120P (8 mags) and used my new Krate Tactical DNC chest rig to hold it all. Belts get really uncomfortable and cause bruising when you weigh them down with too much stuff.
I decided to wear short sleeves so that I could stay cooler while moving in the 50-something degree temps, but I'd end up regretting that when I realized how much bushwhacking and thorns we'd encounter. The MACV2s are good for ankle support in rough terrain, especially when you can't see holes or other ankle turners in the ground because of the NODS.
There was no rope climb this year, and they did adjust the course a little bit because some parts were really dicey after recent rain.
It was sprinkling off and on when I ran, a little more towards the second half of my 8:30pm run time. It wasn't windy, though, which is actually not optimal during night shooting because the smoke from the barrel sticks around and obstructs views sometimes.
Stage 1:
- throw a "flash bang" into the first room
- enter the room holding your opaque shield with a small window at the of it, and shoot targets left to right as you see them, with 2 hits each
- go into the next room and repeat, but make sure you don't shoot hostages
- go through a big pipe and continue engaging targets as you see them
- the last target is on the far left
Outcome: fail (12/30 passed)
- It was difficult for me to hold up the shield because it was heavy, so I ended up putting it on the ground while shooting, which actually gave me good cover from a tactical perspective, and it gave me a stable item to brace off of for shooting
- I had to turn on my WML to see well enough. Originally, I was going to go passive since passive shooting went so well for me at Moons Out Goons Out. There wasn't enough ambient light on the targets for me to get away with that, though. It was trickier to manipulate the switch with my left hand while keeping the shield up, though.
- I couldn't always see the red dot because I had a blind spot in my binos based on the distance I set between the two eyepieces.
- I timed out before moving into the pipe.
> Running to the next stage, I discovered that it's really hard to see the thorns, so you don't know that they're there until you're in them.
> The trail sign pointing right to cross the stream didn't have markers visible after the stream, so I backtracked to double-check where the arrow was pointing and then tried my luck at continuing on the same bearing. Fortunately, that worked and I found a path further up.
Stage 2:
- at the first fence, drop to prone and load a rifle mag
- shoot 2x at a circle steel, drop the mag, and shoot 1x at a torso, at 40yd
- low crawl 3yd to a second fence and repeat those rifle shots
- leave your rifle (optionally) and run way up past the targets to a ribbon and shoot 3 pistol targets with 1 hit each with weak hand, and then repeat with strong hand
Outcome: fail (4/30 pass)- I hadn't turned on my MAWL before the event, so I fumbled with that for a while... major fail!
- While prone, I used the laser, so I fumbled with that
- I timed out before leaving for pistol
> running on to the next stage, I realized that my vision was grainy, and it occurred to me that it's a sign of low light, and I had a solution for that - the KIJI! I could see much more clearly after that.
> there was a mud pit that took a guy's shoe... the mud was slick in other places, which was extra challenging going uphill since you'd slip backwards, and challenging downhill but just because you had to be careful to not slip
Stage 3:
- shoot 2 hits each at 2 pistol targets
- to go the tank trap and shoot at a torso target in front of a tree, 75yd away with 2 hits, and then shoot 1 hit on a gong with a single round
- drag a punching bag forward to a barrel
- shoot at 2 pistol targets with 2 hits each again
- shoot at the rifle targets again
Outcome: fail (10/30 pass)
- I couldn't see the torso target. The RO tried to talk on my laser, but I still didn't see it. I resorted ot mag dumping in its general direction, but time ran out before I moved on to the next position. I don't think I could've done anything differently, since my lights are already as good as they get, equipment-wise.
- I didn't try to shoot off the tank trap, but it's hard to see what you're using when you're under NODS focused on farther distances
> At one point on the next rail, I had to push straight through some dense tropical-looking vegetation and pull myself up to get out of a creek bed... glad to have some strength and not just cardio!
Stage 4:
- shoot 4 poppers at 10-12yd with 1 hit each with support hand only
- shoot at 40-50yd rifle targets from 3 positions marked by LEDs on flimsy stick trees
Outcome: fail (10/30 pass)- I did ok with support hand pistol
- rifle was tougher... the trees were flimsy and not easy to brace off of
> the trek back took us through familiar territory on the trails behind the barns, going the reverse of the usual course direction
Stage 5:
- throw grenade into a window. If you miss, wait for a second beep that mimics the explosion and shoot through the window at 3 camo-clothed cardboard with 2 hits each at about 7-8yd.
- go to the left side of a tire and shoot at 2x60yd rifle targets with one way above the other (almost seemed to be up in the trees!) with 3 hits each
- repeat from the right side of the tire, but you must stand off to the right to see all the targets so you can't actually use the tire
- repeat from a large diagonal on a VTAC-ish slot on a different barricade
- repeat from the other large diagonal slanted the other way
- shoot at a plate rack with pistol
Outcome: fail (2/30 pass)
- rifle targets were hard to see for NODS
- I'm bad at throwing grenades
- I probably went slower on the camo cardboard than necessary because it wasn't scored... it was meant to suck up time as a penalty if you sucked at throwing grenades
- I don't think I even made it to the second rifle position before timing out
(I wasn't exaggerating about how muddy it was!)
Overall :15/30
- I was surprised to get 15/30! I ended up being 2nd fastest runner among all the 100% stage DNFers.
- I need to remember to use the KIJI during low light for moving. It's useless for most shooting conditions... rifle because rifle targets are usually too far away, and pistol because it'll wash out your pistol and dot at least if it's positioned forward
- wear sleeves since you may bushwhack and you can't see thorns under NODS
- the drizzling rain didn't hurt my ability to use NODS
- remember to function check all gear pre-run to make sure it's all on
- "game it" next time and don't worry about turning off lights as I move like I would in a tactical situation, since I need every second and often time out for a lack of like 10s.
- shooting final target with mag out and 1 round chambered like we did in a few stages was a clever way to keep us safe and force us to have every round count
- I missed the creativity we saw with the course last year, where we had a secret object bonus game and clues at the end of each stage, but we did have enough to worry about this year with the sloppy ground
- it was hard to see slick spots under NODS since close objects aren't in focus... I slipped a ton, but fortunately, it only made my pants dirty and not my gun or NODS, since I was careful about keeping those clean
I covered 2.3 miles in 1:36. My legs were still definitely feeling leg day.
GUN RUN WITH WHITE LIGHT
I slept in the next morning and then cleaned my gear in the hotel, while my parents and relatives went to Biltmore.
I also did Center - Day 15 - Reset & Yoga Camp Day 6 (6-pack Abs) Yoga with Adriene.
I did go out for an early dinner with them at "Bone and Broth", which specializes in... you guessed it... bone broth.
SB made it a family vacation as well, so I met up with her right before her start. I walked her through a gear check to make sure she didn't make any mistakes like I did with not having my MAWL on.
I was the absolute last runner of the night, and I set off at 11:06pm.
I wore long sleeves this time for protection against thorns. I'm glad I did, although it wasn't because of thorns but because it was so windy tonight, especially during stage 5, which had the biggest backup.
Stage 1: pass, 33rd, with 2s to spare (35/48 pass)
- I knew how I wanted to brace and where to look, which was an advantage
- I still had to stop to brighten my red dot, since I did use my white light, since there wasn't enough ambient light, and the white light drowned out the red dot with the close targets
- I had to point and shoot sometimes, because the red dot just wouldn't get bright enough compared to how bright and close the targets were
> the trail was marked better tonight... plus, you could just follow the elephant trails made by 2 nights worth of runners
Stage 2: pass, 15th, 34s to spare (30/48 pass)
- I tried to turn off my rifle light before moving to the pistol area, but it wouldn't turn off for some reason, I I left it there on
- So much easier to see the targets with white light!
- I did well on pistol, even with the intentionally partially obscured target
Stage 3: fail (29/48 pass)
- Turning off rifle and pistol lights after shooting, while moving, cost me valuable time
- I got to the last position and was close to finishing
- I was really good about starting with full mags on each stage this match... every second counts with where my skill level is right now, since I'm often on the cusp!
Stage 4: pass, 17th, with 8s to spare (25/48 pass)
- I meant to pull a full mag but grabbed a partial for my rifle during a mag change. I was so scared that it might've cost me the stage, but thankfully, I did finish
- I went prone from the first two positions, but it was kind of close to the pistol steel. I wouldn't miss so badly that I'd hit the pistol targets, but the RO still asked me to not go prone for the third position.
> booked it to the finish on flat ground at the end, since it wasn't muddy like other parts of the course
Stage 5: fail (15/48 pass)
- SB was about to start shooting when I got there... she got to the plate rack
- I missed on the grenade toss again
- I got farther than I did the night before, but I had trouble locating targets and never got to the second diagonal slot. The angles significantly changed the viewing perspectives on the targets as we moved from position to position
Overall: 17/48 (8th runner, 27th shooter)
- it did help to know all the instructions from the first night... I didn't have to ask clarifying questions on the clock the second time... I think that's the main benefit. Knowing where the targets are isn't as big of a deal, since they're typically pretty obvious, or they're not very visible the first night anyways
- it was so much easier to see with white light
- the balls that showed the way were cool... they last a long time and are inexpensive on Amazon. you can even save them for future use by re-inserting the tabs
- in white light, you could bypass the worst mud by going around, since it's all bushwhacked trail, anyways
- I continued starting stages with fresh mags. It's harder to top off at night, but I had brought so many mags that I had full ones to use... I hadn't planned out a good system for keeping fresh vs used mags separate, though.
- I tried to use my brass mags first to save aluminum for longer carries
- it was fine running fast on flat trail, because with wait time, I had plenty of time to let my HR go back down before I had to shoot
- the Krate Tactical rig was pretty good... it was a little loose and would hang off one shoulder, but it wasn't terrible. The advantage of this rig over the Hill People Gear one is that it had spots for a pistol mag on each side of the rig
I covered the 2.3 miles in 1:12:28 tonight.
I did go to Biltmore the next day, not in the house but on the outside.
The greenhouse was neat and had some crazy-looking plants.
My parents used to take me here when I was little. I have old pictures as a toddler with some of these statues. I'm bigger now.
On our way to the village, we missed a turn, but it was a happy accident, because we saw a cute dog guarding sheep.
We tasted wine and bought wine. They had some decent deals in the shop.
Afterwards, we ate at White Duck Taco Shop... always a great place for unique flavors and ingredients.
When we got back to CLT, we went to the USNWC, before taking them to Belmont to order takeout and to watch a CNN special.
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