Two Rucks in One Post

This past week was MEA (Minnesota Educators Association) week which means the kids didn't have school Thursday or Friday. A couple of months ago a coworker pitched the idea of taking both of our families to Historic Nauvoo and sharing an Airbnb for the weekend. We decided to go for that so on Friday I was in Nauvoo and on Saturday we traveled back. Friday I had planned to go to the day 5 workout of the Ruck.Training Tough training schedule for week 10. This included 20 thrusters, 20 4-count flutter kicks, 20 8-count man makers, and 20 sit-ups. I decided to do all but the sit-ups with the ruck. Then there were two miles after that "warm-up," one of which was with a sandbag.

Since I didn't know the area very well I kinda guessed how far I should go through downtown Nauvoo to get a half-mile, ruck back, get the sandbag and repeat. Turns out my .5 mile was .75 miles instead and I ended up doing three miles instead of two. My body is definitely tougher than it used to be, but a total of 4.5 sandbag miles in one weak left its mark.

Saturday we traveled back from Nauvoo which is about a 5-hour drive, six with a baby who needs to eat every 2-3 hours. Also, Xarra didn't sleep well that night and Lily wasn't feeling well so we were interrupted by both during the night. Serena and I didn't get a good night's sleep. When we got home, we took Lily to the urgent care to get tested for strep. Lily isn't a fan of being swabbed so we were there for much too long. We got home, gave all the kids baths, picked up Lily's antibiotics and get everyone in bed. Needless to say, by the time I got out for my last long ruck before my event, it was 10:15. Fortunately, it was a gorgeous, though chilly, night. I was supposed to do a night ruck as part of the Tough guide, but I was sick that week. This was my chance! It was surprising to me how many cars were still on the road at 1:00 am. Besides being a lovely night and enjoying the time out, my feet didn't blister at all even though I did 12 miles. My feet have finally decided that they're okay rucking long distances. I got home, showered, ate a bit, and went to bed. I was definitely tired today, but so much I couldn't manage. Depending on how much PT we do in the event this week, I don't think I'll be out of commission for too long. I'm definitely planning on taking at least one week off to recover and heal back up.

So with the rest of miles for the week and the two rucks from the weekend, I'm up to 59.5 miles for the UWVC challenge.

8 mile ruck with a buy in

Workout for the day:

8 mile ruck with a buy in.

What's a buy in, you say? It means you have to "pay" the PT before you start the ruck. The buy in for this workout was 60 push ups and 60 sit ups. The push ups we're okay as I did ' do them with the ruck on, maybe I should have. The sit-ups were more like 30 sit-ups and 30 something closely resembling sit-ups. 

After the buy-in I did the 8 miles trying to keep a 15 minute pace like I did last week. It was a little tough for two reasons. This week I had a huge hill in the ruck and second my foot has been bothering me the last couple of days so I couldn't run down the hill. I don't know whether or not I kept my time because my Fitbit died in the last couple of miles. 

All that said, it was a warm enough night that I only needed my base layer, gloves, and ear covering. I very much enjoyed the ruck. I used to worry that I would have a hard time with the 30+ pound weight but my body has adapted quickly and I don't feel it for most of the long rucks. Even then if I take a quick break I'm good for another long stretch. I think I'm ready for the rucking part of the Tough challenge next week. It's the PT that I'm worried about, and getting soaked in lake Michigan, and carrying logs for a long time. I am excited for the team building and testing of my mental fortitude. 

3 mile ruck with a sandbag

This morning was the last heavy item ruck in the Ruck.training 10-week Tough training plan. The plan description for the ruck says, "This is gonna suck a bit." It was right. I took breaks after each mile but during the last mile, I had to take an extra break. My neck is pretty tight now and the shoulders are sore. In addition to miles, there is a LOT of physical training in the plan for the week so we'll see how it goes after smoking the shoulders on the first day.

36.5 miles down!

14 Mile Ruck

I started out at 7 pm. I knew it was going to be cold so I upped my gear from normal. It was a good trial run for the GORUCK Tough challenge I'll be doing in a couple of weeks in Milwaukee. The weather for that looks to be down into the 40s. That's going to change, of course, but it's good to have an idea to prepare.

Anyway, my gear consisted of an upper and lower body base layer (32 Degrees Heat brand base layers from Costco), my normal gear (expedition pants, Darn Tough socks, Injinni sock liners, MACV-1 boots, Mechanix gloves, baseball hat), REI windbreaker, and ear warmers.

It was pretty windy and I saw flurries of snowflakes at multiple points during the ruck. I was very glad to have the windbreaker to cut the wind and the ruck on my back to keep me heated up. I would take a mid-layer in the future if the temperature was the same or colder. I might also take a little bit more insulated gloves if it was colder.

I took a wrong turn by one of the lakes in town so instead of being a 13-mile ruck, it turned into a 14-mile ruck. It was a little tough mentally, especially as I got to the end because of the mistake and toll on my body. My feet were getting really sore and my shoulders were smoked. I was warm enough, but I knew if I stopped moving I'd get cold. In the end, I was in good enough spirits to smile for the Endex picture.

The Great Pumpkin Ruck, Club Ruck Callout, and more UWVC Miles

Yesterday I did a couple of miles with these fine fellows and our pumpkins.

When I was rucking with the club, we went a mile down the trail and came back. I forgot to turn my Fitbit on for my walk until I got back to the mile marker, mile 3 for me. These are the splits for my miles from then on. I wanted to get done as fast as possible because it was getting colder, I wanted to push myself, and so I could get home to help Serena with stuff. Not bad if I do say so myself.

So in one night I finished the ruck club callout (2 miles with friends and pumpkins), 5 miles with a pumpkin (The Great Pumpkin Ruck), and got 10 more miles for the UWVC challenge. so I'm at 19.5 miles so far.

Another Short Ruck

2.5 miles this morning with 50 "get up, get downs." Think of them as a slow and not explosive burpee. They still get the heart rate up. Especially with 35 pounds on your back. This morning there weren't a lot of clouds so I had a pretty good view of stars from the field where I did the PT. My old friends, the dippers, Orion, Cassiopeia, Cancer, and Taurus were out to say hi. I'm at 9.5 miles in total. Got some big miles coming at the end of the week.

Quick 2 Miles with a Water Jug

As part of my preparation for my GORUCK Tough challenge on the 25th, I did a couple of miles today, one of which I was carrying a 20L water jug, aka jerry can. I took a picture at the end with my ruck and the jerry can. If you're looking for a great grip strength exercise, walk around with a jerry can full of water.

Also, on Saturday Serena and I did a 5k obstacle course race. It's not really a race since it took us about an hour, but it was a blast. It was between 45-50 F, windy at parts and the ground was super muddy as it had been raining all morning. Serena and I both attempted all the obstacles and we crushed it! I'm most proud that I made it through the rope swings without taking a break or falling to the ground. Go us!

UWVC Ruck 1 - Marching for Veterans

This October I'm doing the official GORUCK challenge and pledging 75 miles (which translates to $75) for their collaboration with the United War Veterans Council (https://www.goruck.com/marching-for-veterans). Along with other ruckers across the globe, I'll be rucking in support of this great organization that helps veterans in a variety of ways. Today was the first ruck of the month. Stats below.