GORUCK Challenge Richmond - Class 424 - 02-23-13

(Class 424...represent!)

My recap of about 3 months of mental/physical preparation...weeks and weeks of research...all together 1 whole day of shopping (accumulation of all the hours I bought stuff)...2.5 hours of anticipation build-up...and about 10 hours/12 miles of SUCK.  This is, ladies and gentlemen...the GORUCK Challenge Richmond, Class 424.

Where it began

I don't remember where/when I heard about the GORUCK Challenge (henceforth know as GRC), but I knew that it called to me.  It talked of teamwork and camaraderie...anyone who knows me knows that I love that stuff and eat it all up.  I ran the Tough Mudder Mid-Atlantic in September 2012 and met a fellow Weeple Army member, Mackenzie.  He went up to the race by himself and was planning on just heading back to Richmond after the race.  My friends and I were staying in Baltimore so I invited him to hang with us - leave no man behind!  

After getting back to Richmond and friending each other on Facebook (because NO friendship is official until it's Facebook official, right?  :-P), we were messaging back and forth and the GRC was brought up.  Mackenzie was already doing the GRC in Richmond after the Tough Mudder and ever since I expressed ANY interest in it, his job was clear - get me to sign up for the GRC Richmond in February.  After a few weeks of guilting me, calling me names, and making fun of me (He's awesome, btw.  He can dish it and take it!), I did it.  I signed up for the GRC Richmond for 2/23 @ 1:00am.  I do have to point out that he had a "moment" when he wasn't going to do the GRC Richmond because the Heavy was the same day, but did the race for 2 reasons: 1) He guilted me into doing it, and 2) I signed up a WEEK before he did and a WEEK before the Buddy Pass came out.  The Buddy Pass is essentially, buy 1, get 1 free.  So each person pays 1/2.  So...he guilted me, I had to pay full price, and he paid half.  Obviously he HAD to do it, right?

Preparation - weeks of trolling blogs and boards...

The GRC official page gives no details about the GRC itself, so naturally I hit the interwebs and Googled it all up.  The one resounding thing you read in all blogs about the GRC is that there really is no way to prepare for it - mentally or physically.  Sure, you need to be in pretty good shape considering you're carrying a ruck with at least 4 bricks in it (in addition to your other gear).  Sure, you need to know how to do basic physical activities under at least 30-40 pounds of extra weight.  Sure, make sure you hydrate and fuel up well before.  Make sure you get plenty of sleep as well.  But this challenge is about pushing yourself past your comfort zone, finding your strength and overcoming your weaknesses, and developing a trusting relationship with up to 29 complete strangers that you met maybe an hour or 2 ago.  Sounds like a cakewalk, eh?  ;-)

So I researched gear, clothing, food, water, shoes, hats, gloves...you name it.  First thing I did was buy a GR1, GORUCK's flagship ruck.  BEST PURCHASE EVER.  I love that ruck.  I ordered my headlamp, bladder, and gloves on Amazon.  I bought my Inov-8s online for sale.  I didn't buy anything else until the 2 weeks before the GRC because I wasn't sure what the weather would be like.  And even if I was prepared for the weather 2 weeks ahead of time, the weather SHIFTED and called for rain, rain, and more rain.  So I had to buy MORE stuff the day before…more on the complete list of my gear later on.

I signed up for the GRC in November around Thanksgiving and I did it on 2/23.  I figured, why not…I have about 3 months to train, I’ll be fine!  I had been going to the gym about 5 times a week doing CF and cross-training, ran races on the weekends or went bike riding/climbing around.  I was in pretty good shape.  This shouldn’t be too hard to train for.  I had all these grandiose plans of running a few times a week a few miles each time with my ruck and bricks and doing long runs on the weekends.  That happened…TWICE in that entire time period.  Other work and personal issues started piling on so my intended “training” didn’t happen.  One thing that I did do was use my ruck and bricks as my laptop bag for work.  I toted that thing to work every day, parked my car on the top of the parking deck, and walked everywhere.  I eventually got used to the extra weight.  So, outside of my normal gym times and using my ruck as my laptop bag, I did no extra training.  What was I thinking!?!?  This was also the time period of holidays and holiday eating and slacking.  I heard stories of folks running miles upon miles every day with their ruck, doing PT with their ruck, etc.  Nope.  Again, I had all these grand plans to do all that.  Life gets in the way.  I figured…ready or not, here I come!  So…I’m probably not the best person to ask for how I trained for my first GRC.  :-)

Outside of my non-training-training, I read blogs, write-ups, gear reviews and everything that I could get my hands on searching Google.  I probably searched for every item to bring and wear.  Another resounding theme was to not over-think it and don’t pack too much.  Not only do you just add weight to your ruck, but you also don’t have much time in general to get anything out.  Make sure everything is accessible and readily available.  Most of the time we had a 1 or 2 minutes max to fuel up.  My problem is that I like to plan out EVERYTHING (I’m an IT Project Manager so it’s in my nature) so I itemized everything.

The weather and my gear

Before I knew what the weather would be like, I knew that it would most likely be cold.  Fortunately, I already had a lot of cold-running gear.  I just needed to know what to plan over my running tights and over my compression running shirt.  A fellow GRC participant planned a ruck the week before just to practice.  It was cold and snowing that morning so it was perfect to try out gear.  I know I get hot very easily, so I just wore my long sleeve running top, a short-sleeved tech T, and a wind breaker on top.  I also headed to REI and bought a pair of pants that were windproof and water resistant.  I got warm FAST so I knew that I would be OK.  I’d rather be more warm than cold.  And this being a week out from the GRC, I could take a peek at the weather and it looked cold and rainy.  Perfect.  The only thing I changed was to get a thin rain coat that had a hood.  Other than that, I had my outfit for the day of.

On me:

• Under Armour compression leggings
• REI Endeavour Pants
• Smart Wool socks
• Smart Wool sock liners
• Inov-8 RocLite 315
• Under Armour Fly By turtleneck
• Saucony short-sleeved technical shirt
• Bass Pro Shop light rain coat
• REI headband
• Smart Wool beanie
• Gloves…forgot the brand.  Just basic winter gloves that were grippy, but flexible.

In my GR1:

• 4 bricks, bubble-wrapped and duct taped
• 1 yoga block (to hold the bricks up high)
• Source Hydration bladder
• 2 extra pairs of socks (never used)
• 1 small dry bag (never used)
• Pair of Mechanix gloves (never used)
• Extra pullover (never used)
• Princeton headlamp
• Hand warmers (never used)
• 2 Clif bars (eaten)
• 2 bags of Stinger chews (1 bag eaten)
• 2 Stinger gels (not eaten)
• Nuun tablets (not used)
• ID, cash, chapstick
• 4 carabiners (one on my strap to hold my bladder hose, 2 in the front, one on the side)

The items I never used were mostly because I didn’t need them.  Lack of time would have restricted the usage as well, but I was moving enough that I didn’t need extra layers or even had the chance to think about changing socks.  I didn’t eat all the food I had because people share with me.  When someone pulled food out, everyone shared with everyone else.  It was great.

Richmond was calling for freezing temperatures and rain the entire time.  It was definitely cold, but fortunately it was light rain - nothing heavy, so manageable in general.  But we all knew we’d be cold and wet the entire time.  Fun times.  I had to buy some different items the day before (I took the day before off so I could gather any last-minute items and get some sleep) but I was ready.

The GORUCK Challenge

We met up with our Class about 2 hours before the start time – our total class size was 12.  Only 1 team member had done a GRC before, and this was his 3^rd.  We also had 2 alumni come and hang – they were planning on shadowing.  It was definitely a good idea to have this time to relax and get to know everyone a little bit.  Most of us were anxious to just start – let’s get this show on the road!

(the before...)

We met up at the start point.  The Cadre seemed to appear out of nowhere and assigned one of us as team leader (now known as the TL).  The TL inspected our bricks and led us to an area where it wasn’t raining.  While there, the Cadre gave us some background and some base rules – rucks do not touch the ground (unless instructed to) and the flag never touches the ground.  After that, it’s onto the welcome party.  We were told that we didn’t deserve our straps yet so we had to carry the rucks over our heads as we walk through the city to the welcome party area.  It was awkward for me to figure out how to hold it – I first started off straight-armed but then finally figured out how to get it on my head, holding the top handle on my right hand and holding the side carabiner to balance it out.  This worked out pretty well.  I do have a bruise on the top of my head from this.

(let's deserve those straps) 

Finally, we got to Brown’s Island.  I still need to map the entire route out – not sure how far it was from the start point, but it was significant enough.  And now begins the fun.  Without going into too much detail, and because I don’t remember the order of everything, we did: push-ups, squats, bear crawls, 4-count flutter kicks, crab walks, low crawls, step-ups, more squats, more 4-count flutter kicks…so…much…pain!  Some of the items we did with ruck, some without.  Nothing was less than 40 or so reps – we got up to probably 80 with the flutter kicks at one point.  If you didn’t start as a team and start at the same time, the Cadre would count out until you were set and add those numbers to what he was planning on.  If you missed time hacks, we were punished.  If we called our Cadre sir, we were punished.  So…truly function as a TEAM!  A finger was broken from a slip from the step-ups (remember, it’s raining the ENTIRE time)…one guy’s calves were cramping up and needed help with the step-ups…fun times were had.  But we trudged through the pain. 

(4-count flutter kicks) 

After what seemed like forever – I have no concept of time and we were not allowed to have watches – we moved on.  We still didn’t deserve our straps.  We headed towards Belle Isle.  Pull-ups were done in one area.  As we walked on, we suffered our first casualty – one person had dropped in the back because we were getting too spread out.  As punishment, she needed to be fireman carried.  She was switched off on a few guys.  Lesson learned – account for your whole team.  Head lamps on, we trudged through the woods and encountered our first log.  This one was probably around 250 lbs and was short and stubby.  Only 3 people could fit under at a time.  It took a while to figure out a system, but the guys figured out how to carry and switch off to keep the log moving.  Either way, it was an awkward piece of wood. 

 (air squats...go!) 

After lugging this around for a while, the Cadre realized only a few people were under the extra weight.  We got to a point where there was another log and a railroad tie.  So begins the rest of the suck for about 7-8 hours.  The railroad tie was small enough that one person could carry it.  The new log was longer than the first one, but a lot heavier – about 350 – 400 pounds.  This one could hold 4 people.  Up until now, the ground we walked on was level and hard.  Now, with the extra logs, we were headed into the woods and onto mountain biking trails.  From talking to other alumni, each experience is different.  Some ran long distances and covered more ground under less weight.  Some covered shorter distances under a LOT of friggin weight.  Some were on flat land…someone were on a little more rugged terrain.  This GRC – a LOT of friggin weight over VERY rugged terrain.  We learned later on from the Cadre that he doesn’t believe anyone carried that much weight on that type of terrain before.  That’s saying something.  The mountain biking trails in Richmond are pretty scary.  Roots all over, stones sticking out, narrow paths, steep drops and inclines, sharp turns…obstacles every feet.  Combine this with rain and darkness - you have a very scary, slippery, and dangerous endeavor.  I brought up the rear and yelled out at the front to make sure we stuck together.  But watching the footing of the log in front of me was scary.  With every step and slip, I was afraid someone was going to get pitched off the edge and fall down into the river.  It was truly scary.  I front loaded one guy’s ruck to get that extra weight off of him as he was dealing with the logs – he had the 2^nd heaviest ruck and was also one of the taller guys so I knew he’d be dealing with a lot of extra weight.  I was under this weight for the duration of the GRC.  Another girl took an extra ruck as well.  The one guy that broke his finger, because he couldn’t carry the log, took the ENTIRE team weight in his ruck, in addition to the extra weight he was already carrying.  He had the heaviest ruck of the bunch…probably 80-90 pounds.

It’s hard to describe the emotions going through us at this point, and the frustrations.  We were on the trails for hours.  The logs were dropped on people’s foots, people got hit in the head, ankles were twisted.  We learned that we needed to think SMART as a team and figured out different ways to maneuver.  If we dropped the log, we got smoked.  If someone got hurt, we got smoked.  More flutter kicks and squats…piled on with more flutter kicks and squats.  This was not a time to be selfish and think of your own pain – we were all in pain and going through the same thing.

After hours of these 2 logs, we find an opening in the fence at the Hollywood cemetery and were able to dump the logs and climb under.  EVERYONE was relieved to get rid of them.  We thought we were able to relax for a minute or 2.  This was not the case.  We found our 4^th and final log.  This log remained with us for the rest of the trip and did NOT touch the ground outside of the times the Cadre let us – using the restroom and the one time we paused to find water.  About 7 people could fit under this log.  We figured out a good system and people rotated in and out as needed. 

We were told that we had a set amount of time to get back to our start point.  We hustled and made our way through the city with this log.  When we got there we were told we missed it so time for our punishment – more flutter kicks.  And we had to keep going until we were told to stop.  Once Cadre gave us permission, we stopped and found that he had placed our patches on our rucks as we were going through the kicks.  My eyes were closed so I had no idea.  But this was it…we were certifiably crazy…er…I mean certified GORUCK Tough.  We were done.  We survived.  12 miles.  10 hours.  Rain.  Cold.  Dangerous trails.  Under extra weight the ENTIRE time.  We survived and were better for it. 

(that's me in blue, back and front loading...the final log)

The aftermath – feeding and napping frenzy

We were all still on our GRC high so we decided to find a place with breakfast AND beer and get some food in our bellies.  We laughed, we reminisced, and we told stories.  That was a great time.  It’s nice to see everyone still smiling after the challenge we went through.  I’d do ANYTHING with these folks again.

That afternoon, I showered, napped for hours, woke up, ate a little, napped more, woke up and ate more, and then SLEPT until Sunday.  It was epic.  I hurt BAD – traps had bruises, legs and hips had bruises, I pinched a nerve on my back, and I couldn’t bend my head all the way back or towards the front.  When I put on pants, I had to use both hands to lift my leg into my pants leg.  My triceps twitched.  The soreness was the worst I’d ever felt (even after Tough Mudder, Rogue Runner, racing, Wintergreen Adventure Challenge, etc) but it made me smile at every grimace.  I vowed never to do one again, but 4 days later and just a little bit of pain left in my triceps and pinched nerve still there…I’m already looking to sign up again.  :)

(Mackenzie, me, and Ryan...still smiling)

What I learned

A few things that I learned from the GRC:

• As my friend says, give 100%, 100% of the time.  If you know you’re not carrying your own weight, you could go a little further with the extra weight, or if you see ways to make a teammate’s life a little easier, compensate and adjust.
• As a girl, I kept thinking that I wasn’t pulling my own weight when I couldn’t get under the logs because of the height difference.  Don’t doubt yourself.  I helped one of the guys out and front-loaded their ruck (of course it was the 2^nd heaviest ruck out there) and that move alone helped the team immensely.  Trust me, you’re helping the team and they respect you for that.
• This is truly a TEAM challenge.  If someone is getting smoked for something, you get your ass down there and get smoked too.  Know who your teammates are.  Know that you’re not losing anyone in the back.  Help each other out when it comes to time hacks.  You see someone struggling, you help them.  You cheer each other on.  You start and end any activity as a TEAM – one unit.
• Singing stupid songs or telling dirty jokes lifts everyone’s spirits. 
• If you’re team leader, make sure you communicate with the Cadre on what is needed to be done – where you’re supposed to go, how you carry something, etc.  ALWAYS keep your team updated on what’s going on.  People were getting frustrated because we didn’t know if we were going straight or right or left or what.  If people are struggling, ask if there are other ways that you can perform a task.  We found out, only after asking the Cadre, that through the mountain bike trails we could move one log at a time as a team, and then come back for the other, because this was a safer way to maneuver.  Don’t assume – just ask.
• SMILE through it.  Realize you PAID to do this to yourself.  If you’re crazy enough to pay someone money to yell at your for 10 hours, you’re crazy enough to smile through the grit and pain.
• You will push yourself past your comfort zone the entire way.  Revel in that fact.
• I needed to do more basic training under weight.  Push-ups were not my friend – my arms felt like jell-o.  Flutter kicks SUCKED.  Squats were actually no problem, surprisingly.  My crab walks were a bit slow.  My low crawls need some work too – I always struggle a little with barbed wire crawls in general. 
• If you’re team leader, assign someone to bring up the rear.  If you lose someone, you get punished.  After our first loss, I was determined to NOT lose anyone so I brought up the rear for the remainder of the challenge
• The people that you do the challenge with will be friends for life.  No one can truly understand what you just went through – even other GRT patch holders.  Each challenge is unique and holds its own suckness factors.  We did no running this GRC.  Other GRCs involved a lot of running.  Just be prepared to not be prepared.  You don’t know what to expect – that’s the best part, I think.
• I loved the guys that shadowed us.  We had one for a few hours, one that lasted for about 8, and another that was with us the entire time.  They encouraged us and pushed us and fed us beer.  :)  I can’t wait until I get to shadow my first one.

Last words

During the GRC, I kept thinking about how crazy I was to do it.  After it was over and my body had some time to heal, and my brain had some time to process what I went through, I want to do another one.  It’s a complete mental game.  Physically, I can always do more PT and running to prep for it.  Mentally, you just need to know that you will absolutely be outside of your comfort zone and it’s going to hurt.  I’m extremely proud of what I did and I know that I gave 100%, 100% of the time.  That’s all I can expect of myself.  Smile through it and embrace the suck.  

Last LAST words
COMPLETE respect to Class 424.  I know I've made friends for life.  I can't wait until we get together again and tackle another challenge...I'd do anything for you guys!

(my trusty GR1 and my GRT patch)