Feeding the Beast: GORUCK Challenge - Virginia Beach

**People can't understand why someone would voluntarily subject themselves to this "torture" and even pay for it. I see it as a privilege to start and finish with anyone that tries one of these.**

-Part 2 of James Hawkins GO-RUCK experience

So... my original intention was to write about the GORUCK on many different occasions - signing up, leading up, and finishing up the event. Well, life, preparation, and just a strange unwillingness to admit apprehension kept me from doing just that...so here I am, 9 days later attempting to recap the entire experience.

First of all, finding out about this event is noteworthy by itself. I run a fitness class at Onelife Fitness in Chesapeake, Virginia. It is called PAC - and that stands for Performance Athletic Conditioning. It's basically sports practice or gym class for adults. It's a great time and we have a variety of people who attend frequently ranging from NFL athletes to the "I workout so I can eat what I want" crowd. All levels are always welcome and you are pretty much guaranteed to get a good 500+ calorie burn in in an hour. Anyway, besides class, we get together socially - on occasion- to enjoy "nights out" as well as compete in the various races/challenges in and around the area.

It was at one such challenge - the Rugged Maniac - in Richmond, that we brought a group of about 15 people. We participated/competed in the event and then hung out for a while to enjoy the day...and the beer. A few hours after the race, a crazy, wild-eyed man (Jonathon Westervelt) came over to our group and started talking about other challenges. He mentioned the Tough Mudder - which I had already planned on signing up for. He said that there was a group of EXTREMELY crazy people that do the Tough Mudder (and other events) with backpacks filled with bricks and other "fun" items. In order to be a part of this "club" you have to participate in and complete something called a GORUCK Challenge.

Now he has my attention. I am always looking for something challenging physically. I do enjoy the races that have obstacles and mud...but I am always on the lookout for something "more". I want to participate in the events that people are scared to sign up for...because they doubt themselves-for whatever reason. If I am lined up at the start line next to an 11 year old (up and coming athlete) and a 80ish year old (weekend warrior)....I KNOW I can complete the event without too much trouble. I have run a 4:05 mile (in a cross-country race, with 2 miles to go after it). I have run 5k(s) between 16 and 17 minutes. I'm a guy who, at Virginia Tech, was in Marine Corps PT because the Navy PT was too easy or not frequent enough. I wanted to go out in the "field" with those units and challenge myself physically and mentally - and had a RECON Marine Gunnery Sergeant who did just that! I maxed out the Marine Corps PFT and the Navy PRT many times. I "tapped" an organization called Navy SEAL Preparatory Team (NSPT) (while still at VT)- starting out with 30 guys, doing PT (as similar to BUDS as we could find) twice a day...and eventually "making" the team with just myself and one other PT stud! I went on to command that organization and run the "tap" for other crazy classmates wanting "more". I have run a marathon. I have done mini triathlons (a full one is on my fitness bucket list). I am now 34 years old....and while I haven't gotten any younger recently, I have gotten stronger and faster and better. I know there are many things I can't do....but when it comes to fitness challenges, I'm up for just about anything.

GORUCK sounded like the thing for me...

The website doesn't lie. The toughest part about the GORUCK is signing up for it. Sure, it's the equivalent of 4 or 5 "other" race entry fees...but it is also about 4-5 times as long and 4-5 times as hard.

I signed up for the Virginia Beach, 17/18 JUNE 2011 GRC. I had 5 weeks from the time I met Jon and looked up the info about this challenge until the start of the race. That seemed like an insanely short and long amount of time, simultaneously. Instantly the search for information was on. I started reading other blogs, the www.goruckchallenge.com website, Facebook page...you name it. I suddenly had to reassure myself that I could handle this....but I had ALREADY SIGNED UP!...WTH??!! - talk about bass-ackwards!! Turns out, that was probably a good way to do it...because I started talking with friends who were considering doing the event. One buddy had researched more than I had and was telling me about the events and how the team would have to carry you if you started to fall out. Damn! I started thinking to myself, I hope I'm not THAT guy!! There are quite a few people in my class at the gym who could handle the GRC physically - but it's the mental part that plagues you in the early part of the decision making process (the doubts, what ifs, etc.). That's (most likely) what landed me with only 1 familiar face (battle buddy) signing up for the event rather than a handful of people. So, I (we) was committed...

Time to start training... How do I train? Good question. I asked myself that about once a day for those 5 weeks. Preparing for this event physically is also what prepared me mentally. Now, I don't want to seem like I think I am Sgt. Slaughter or anything....in fact, I am FAR FROM IT!! BUT!, I have been known to kick my own ass in a workout or 2 (hundred)!! * BTW, if you don't know who Sgt. Slaughter is, read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sgt._Slaughter_(G.I._Joe) * I had to get some workouts in, immediately, to get my confidence up!

One of the reasons for doing the GRC is to stress the gear - the GORUCK bags. Putting bricks in the backpacks certainly stresses the pack....and the wearer of said pack. I bought my 4 bricks for $2. I went to an Army/Navy store and picked up a military ruck-sack, sans frame. The smell and feel of it took me right back to those days at VT. Good livin'!!

I painted my bricks black and blue. That is what I imagined I would feel like training for and enduring the event. Black and Blue are also the colors of my NSPT cord - you don't have to know what that exactly is, just know that anything that helps motivate you is a step in the right direction no matter what you are doing - and black and blue was part of my motivation. I wrapped them in t-shirts, duct taped them, and loaded them in the ruck. That night I took our Black Lab for a 3 mile walk with the pack on. I wore the pack, she walked without one...not quite up to "Java" standards yet! The weight felt fine. I felt encouraged. The next day I decided to take my self to the beach. A little sun. A little sand....okay, a LOT of sand....soft, soft sand! The biggest thing I was trying to accomplish at this point was wrapping my head around the concept of unknown distance and unknown time and difficult terrain. I wore a watch - even though I knew I wouldn't have one with me during the event....but just so I wouldn't sell myself short on time during training. I wanted to be out there for this first run for at least an hour...it lasted 59 minutes. Good enough! The weight still felt good....but any run in the soft sand is a challenge. That night, I took the dog again...this time for only 2 miles. I went for at least 1 beach run every week for the next 4 weeks. Other than that, my regular training remained about the same. I did my class at the gym a few times with the backpack on...jumping rope, doing agility drills, push ups, pull ups, and various plyometric exercises....all quite challenging with the pack on.

My advice here would be to make sure you have a solid strength and cardio baseline to work from. If you are new to working out (you probably aren't considering a GORUCK...but that's your choice) do not just jump into the workouts with the pack on. Work your way up. I had a very solid base and adding the weight to the workouts was not physically traumatic. You do not want to get injured preparing for this event. Any little injuries are likely to rear their ugly heads over the course of a 15-20+ mile event.

I think that the best thing I could have done was to show up to a organized training run led by that crazy guy, Jon. He had completed 2 GRCs already and had a sense of the flow. A handful of us took off for a 3 hour training run one night. We combined PT, water, sand, night, and lifting crazy items. Once again, this was one more way to wrap my head around the concept of unknown distance and time. We ended up covering about 12.5 miles. I learned that my hamstrings would get really tight if we ran too slowly...or maybe it was the weight in the pack plus the running...or both!! That tightness was alleviated by Indian Runs. Oh...the sweet joy of sprinting to the front of a line. It feels so good on the legs after "jogging" along for a couple of hours...seriously. It does feel good. Seriously.

During all of this preparation and training is the waiting....and waiting. You can only workout so much to prepare for anything....the rest of the time is spent living life...but also sporadically thinking about the event. Every time I thought about the upcoming GRC, I could feel a surge of adrenaline and I just wanted to get started! This was a good indicator to me that I was ready. I didn't feel nervous about the event...I just wanted to GET STARTED!! I also went shopping here and there for the items I needed. I used a pair of socks (Injinji) with individual toes (fingers) to avoid getting blisters. This was a smart move - my feet felt good throughout the entire event. Use the required items checklist listed on the GORCUK website. Other than that, coordinate with your teammates. This proved vital to me because it gave me an idea about how to secure my bricks to the pack. I bought quick snacks to eat and pre-flighted my gear about 100 times over the last week. I was ready...

Finally the day of the event arrived. June 17th, 2011. I took a quick 1 hour nap around 4pm and then carried on with my evening like any other. I didn't eat anything special. I didn't do anything special....but I was excited. I had planned on sleeping between 9-10:30pm because I had no idea what physical or mental stress I was about to endure and wanted to be prepared. Well, the kids didn't go to sleep until about 9. I tried to sleep but ended up getting up after laying in bed for 45 minutes. All I kept doing was going over the items I was going to bring and make sure I had what I needed. Sleep was not happening. I got up. I packed my items up in a recyclable shopping bag and got dressed for the event. A little anti-chaffe glide here...a little bio-freeze there....ready! My battle buddy, Joel, picked me up at 11:20pm and we were off! We were both clearly wired! We both have young kids and probably don't get out after 10pm as much as we used to, yet here we were, STARTING our night at 11:30pm and we were having a great time!

After parking and meeting up with a few other 'Ruckers we headed to our team rendezvous site. We couldn't have gotten luckier with the weather! It was in the mid 80s at midnight and I knew the air and water temperature would be perfect throughout the event. None of that 30 degree water/air temps for us on this GRC!!! There were a handful of guys and gals with small piles of gear around them. Some were still taping bricks and putting bubble wrap around them. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood. You could sense the "let's get going" attitude though...

We all headed to the "start point" where we met our cadre, Lou. He handed out GORUCK bags. Generally speaking, this must have been the class to test the Radio Ruck and the Echo. These bags were SMALL!! I secured my bricks to the pack the way I had planned - and was thankful that worked (seeing how I didn't have a ruck to train with...) and then started working on getting the rest of the "gear" in there. One of my lessons learned is that I took too much food. Almost everything I read prior to the event talked about how everyone ran out of food, so I packed enough....okay....too much!! My change of shirt and socks was in there, food, drink mixes, an empty Gatorade bottle, some para-cord, a knife, id/credit card/$20 bill, and Camel-Bak bladder. The Camel-Bak bladder is supposed to slide in the bag in a compartment that is up against your back. That's all well and good if you don't have too much other stuff in your bag (like I did). I couldn't keep a full supply of water because it didn't allow the bag to lay flat against my back...so I only had about 35 of the 70 ounces in the bladder at all times. That didn't end up being an big issue because Lou was very generous and ensured we had enough time to get and stay hydrated along the way - so when we stopped, I filled my 35 ounces back up. Easy day.

We were soon off - after everyone had stuffed their gear into their bags, we signed out "Death Waivers", and gotten a quick safety brief from Lou - stuff like: "Don't engage a drunk idiot", "Embrace the Suck", "Do (x) and you will pay", "I want everyone to finish", "Work as a team", "Stay hydrated"....etc.

To tell everything that happened that night would take forever and would diminish some of the allure of the unknown - which is why you do these events anyway, right?! I can tell you we spent some time doing bear crawls, crab walks, ocean PT, sugar cookies, Indian runs, fireman carries, low crawls, and other games that Lou got from his good friend, Milton Bradley.

My personal low points are (in no particular order):

1. Running out of water with about 1 hour to go. Next time I'll pack less stuff, so I can fit more water in the Camel-Bak bladder. I thought that I had budgeted out my water really well up until the end of the event. It was hot and Lou was pushing us harder at the end. I could have used a sip or two...

2. Most of my food getting soaked from being in the bay. The plastic freezer bags got water in them and ruined my snacks. Ultimately I carried the extra snacks for nothing-because they ended up getting ruined anyway.

3. The jelly fish stings from the bay. Damn!

My personal highlights are (in no particular order):

1. Beach PT at night. It was a clear warm night. The ocean was refreshing and I could have done that all night.

2. Wearing the GORUCK pack in general. Most (regular) people could endure the distance...but doing it all with a pack on is the way to go! GORUCK Tough!!

3. Floating our "downed plane" and "fat pilot" through the bay. Although the jelly fish were a b!tch it was a good time.

4. Beach PT during the day. Again, refreshing and awesome! Waves were crashing on us. People were watching. Good livin'!!

5. My battle buddy. He and I were evenly matched in size, ability, and attitude. I can't wait to do another challenge and I hope he'll join me!

6. Lou's subtle sense of humor. Although he didn't say much, I could tell he enjoys being out there!

7. Changing my shirt in the early morning hours. Getting a fresh shirt on was an emotionally uplifting moment. It felt good to get the clingy wet clothes off for a while. I used that same time to get the sand out of my shoes and socks. Keep your feet happy and you'll go far.

8. Getting my GORUCK Tough patch. Putting that patch on my GR TAC hat felt good. I'm proud to be part of the "family".

I wasn't sore or even too tired after the event. I guess I was on a "GRC high"! I can't wait to do another GRC! I definitely could make this something I do frequently!...I think the 5-Pack might be in my future!! I plan on doing the Tough Mudder in October - with a GORUCK bag of course! I feel like I just crave that level of challenge now!!

My advice to anyone who hasn't done one: Do it! Do it soon! Assess your current fitness level and do what you have to to be prepared mentally and physically for these challenges, but do one! Everyone who has completed a GRC probably cannot wait to do another one. I know Class 043 is itching to get back out there as many of my classmates have already signed up for another GORUCK. I hope to join them soon!