The first step is admitting you have a problem...

I have a problem, an addiction.  I got one taste of obstacle course races less than a year ago and I was instantly hooked right in.  There's no treatment and no cure.  I recognized the problem almost immediately but it was too late.  One Tough Mudder in Vermont on the side of a mountain was complete and my path was chosen.  Like a heroin addict constantly chasing that first high, I'm constantly striving for more intensity.  More pain, more suck, more soreness.  My shoulders are still sore from my first Goruck Challenge and I'm already trying to register for another one.  If the Goruck wasn't enough ass-kicking I'm also trying to fit in a "S.E.R.E. Performance" class that is terrifying me but I want to do it so bad.

My first Tough Mudder of 2012 is about a month away.  That Saturday in Pennsylvania starts a run of five I'll be attempting in fifteen days.  This one will be special to me because I finally get to meet, in person a handful of friends I've made online with the same passion as me.  While this is exciting, it will merely be a taste of what we have in store for us in the Fall though.  Our group, affectionately named "Animal House", will all be in action in New Jersey for "Tri-State Tough Mudder 2012".  It should prove to be the most fun I've had an event yet.  "Animal House" members will be flying in from all over the country to earn orange headbands.

I've been asked a few times what I'm signed up for so far, so I figured here is as good of a place as any to post my list of events for this year.  I'd like to add another Goruck or two, and possibly a S.E.R.E., beu this is it as of right now:

March 17^th – 18^th -       Goruck Challenge – Boston

April 28^th-29^th -            Tough Mudder – Pennsylvania #1

May 5^th – 6^th -              Tough Mudder – New England #1

May 12^th    -                 Tough Mudder – Pennsylvania #2

June 9^th -                       Warrior Dash – Thompson, CT

June 16^th -                     Ruckus Run – Boston

July 14^th – 15^th -           Tough Mudder –New England #2

August 11^th -                 Spartan Sprint – Amesbury, MA

September 8^th -            Super Spartan – Vernon, NJ

September 22^nd -         Warrior Dash – Willington, CT

September 29^th -          Rugged Maniac – Southwick, MA

October 20^th-21^st -       Tough Mudder Tristate – New Jersey

October 27^th -               Tough Mudder Carolinas – Society Hill, SC

* Not yet registered for

Goruck Tough

It's approximately a day and a half since Pam and I accomplished our very first Goruck Challenge.  While our bodies are still very sore, our spirits couldn't possibly be higher.  Shortly after I signed us up for the Goruck I attempted to read every single blog post about the challenge I could find.  I wanted to know what we were getting into.  I soon recognized a common theme among all these blog posts.  None were very clear about what exactly the challenge consisted of and instead encouraged the reader to experience this on their own.  I always assumed that this was some sort of "Goruck Alumni" conspiracy to keep the exact details of the challenge a secret.  Now that I've participated in one, I understand why the posts I read were so vague.  The last day has been a struggle to put in sequence everything we did, how long we did it for, and where we did it all.  If you've never stayed awake this long all while pushing your limits physically and mentally, you may not understand why.  I'll do my best to describe what our challenge was all about, but please forgive me if certain details are vague.  I read over and over again that "The hardest part is signing up."  I will tell you that it is my opinion that this is horseshit.  Signing up was easy compared to what we were in store for.

Pam and I started our trek to Boston on the afternoon of Saint Patrick's Day.  We had our bricks wrapped, our hydration bladders filled, and a bag of "energy foods" ready to go.  The meeting point for our challenge was the famous "Cheers" bar and we got there early enough to grab some food, and yes some beer.  Now normally we wouldn't drink beer right before a physical challenge, but we have a weakness for Samuel Adams' Brick Red and it was St Paddy's Day.  Shortly after this other Goruckers started to show up.  There were a few familiar faces, people I'd met at earlier events, and lots of new faces.  We quickly met a lot of new people and began to get to know them, possibly the best part of a Goruck Challenge. 

Every Goruck Class has a class weight and ours was no different.  At 2200 hours (10:00pm) there would be two classes, Class #131 and Class #132.  We did not yet know which class we were in, but our class weights were both large metal washers we painted gold so we added them to the ropes of the rest of the team's washers.  Both teams weights ended up weighing over 25 pounds.  As we waited patiently on the sidewalk outside 84 Beacon Street, our new friend Mark Webb ran up and told us the Cadre were across the street near the entrance of Boston Common waiting for us.  We excitedly ran over to them knowing we were minutes away from getting our new rucks (bags).  Pam got her ruck before I got mine.  Her's was Goruck's "Radio Ruck" named for the size of the ruck that was used to carry radios in the military.  When Cadre Lou took my "GR1" out of the trunk in his rental car and called my name it felt like getting a big present on Christmas morning.  The GR1 is Goruck's second largest pack, slightly larger than Pam's Radio Ruck.  We quickly started packing all of our stuff into the rucks. 

It was at this time we were told it was time to head into the park to sign our "Death Waivers" and have our bricks inspected by the Cadre.  This would be the last time our rucks touched the ground for the next 12 plus hours.  We gathered in close to Cadre Lou and Cadre Devin for final waiver checks and roll call.  Lou instructed us that there were 61 of us and we had 5 minutes to split into two equal groups on our own.  We quickly split into what looked like half and began counting out how many were in our circle.  We had six too many so six switched groups and within minutes our classes were formed.  Pam & I were in Class #131 with Lou as our Cadre. 

We were then instructed that both classes needed to line up in five ranks and space out equally.  The large group struggled with what "five ranks" meant, but we figured it out and PT began.  Pushups, inchworms, burpess, monkeyfuckers, and many more exercises all were performed in cadence with the rucks on.  Once the cadre were satisfied that we were warmed up the two classes had a quick relay race that Class #132 won.  It didn't seem to matter at this point.  The two classes split, and we were off.  Lucky for us my friend Mario joined Lou and assisted him throughout the ruck.  Mario is local to Boston and knew the area.  Don't get me wrong, this was a benefit only to Lou, not to us.  Mario was a great addition to our class and I am truly grateful he was there.  He ran the challenge the night before and was on his second straight day of zero sleep.  how he maintained his fantastic attitude and high energy is still a mystery to me.  I think he is a super hero in his off-time.

We started by "bear-crawling" a block or two away from the park where we'd learn the first rule of the class and possibly what would turn out to be what got us the most laughs.  Cadre Lou told us we constantly needed to be on the lookout for threats and that we'd better spot and call out these threats before he did or we'd pay.  We needed to call out "Threat!" and what direction the threat was coming from, then kneel down on one knee until Lou announced that the "threat was neutralized."  What could these threats possibly be?  Men in tights or skinny jeans would be our threats for the duration of the class.  Cadre Lou exclaimed he "hates that shit."  Not that funny you say? Picture 31 people with backpacks on, in formation, yelling "Threat!" at an unsuspecting skinny jeans guy, and simultaneously all taking a knee.  The looks on the faces of these threats were priceless.  Over and over, and over again.  It was on this stretch of asphalt where we'd spend probably the next hour doing crab walks and Indian sprints.  Time and distance are merely estimates since watches are frowned upon.  We also learned the "buddy carry" here.  It almost went bad when I dropped someone then was dropped pretty hard myself. 

It was at this point we spent about a half hour Army crawling about a quarter-mile.  After we made it to a large statue someone noticed that the US and Ireland flags we were carrying and we left at the bottom were being taken by some drunken kids.  Rucks were passed off and about a half-dozen of our more rugged members chased them down to retrieve the flags. 

From here we moved to the Massachusetts State House where we'd take our first class photo.  It was also about this time we were instructed how to respond when a passerby asked us what we were doing.  As loud and as clear as possible we were to exclaim "GO-RUCK!!".  As we left the state house Lou informed us that we needed to get to the Boston Garden and we had 15 minutes to do it.  If that wasn't hard enough we couldn't go the way one of our Goruckers that lived in Boston said we had to go, and we weren't allowed to talk or use the shoulder straps on our bags.  It was on the trip to where the Bruins and Celtics play where i had my first experience with the "bitch bag.".  This bag was just like mine and weighed just as much.  So for about 2 miles I carried two bags, that weighed around 40 pounds each, at arms length.  After we got there and took another class photo we were allowed to refill our hydration bladders.  By my best guess it was just after 3:00am because I caught a glimpse of a clock on the wall of a store on the way there.  I almost wished I hadn't since i realized we weren't even halfway finished.

We were told we then had a short time to get to Fenway Park.  Once there our team suffered a "casualty" and we had to carry a member of our team in a portable stretcher.  At this time Lou found a cinder-block.  This cinder block would become our first "coupon" for "Good livin".  We had to carry that as well.  Lou took us to the Emerald necklace where six logs were dug out of the woods.  These "nuclear devices" had to be carried by the team about 3 miles all before the sun came up.  Once again our team came through and we got to Jamaica Pond before the sun rose.  The next couple hours were spent getting back into the city.  All while in formation and still calling out threats.  We made it past what seemed like dozens of threats at the Boston library and back to Beacon Street. 

We weren't done yet.  For the next hour or so, we had to bear crawl across a bridge, do some exercises in the frigid Charles River, and more buddy carries.  Lou told us to meet him back at Cheers, but we had to buddy-carry each other there.  We got there and in typical fashion we weren't finished yet.  Another few hundred feet of buddy carries into the park before we were finished.   Once we were all in the park Lou told us we had finished and could take our rucks off.  I think we were all apprehensive to set our rucks down, but we realized he wasn't toying with us and we had, in fact, finished the challenge. 

After a quick speech where Cadre Lou told us how impressed he was with how fast we came together as a team, he started handing out the patches.  Every patch came with a handshake and a compliment.  Originally we had thought we'd be receiving the "New Arrowhead" patch, but that wasn't the case.  Lou handed us limited, this weekend only, clover patches.  We were exhausted and on top of the world.  A few more Class 131 photos were taken, and Pam & I were off to find "Eagles Diner" for some pancakes.

It's Go(ruck) time!

The butterflies have already begun in my stomach.  With three days until the most epic St. Patricks Day ever for me, in Boston.  Down to three days to go before my very first Goruck Challenge the email was sent out today from Goruck Headquarters.  It included our start point, our Cadre's names, and our class numbers.  Our group of 30 people are considered a 'class' and every class gets a number.  Our class will be #131 or #132 depending on which group we get placed in, with Cadre Lou and Devin.  Our start point is at the famous Boston bar, Cheers.  Today I decided it was due time to lay out all my stuff and make sure I'm fully prepared for the craziness I'm about to embark upon.

This is my pile of stuff I'll be lugging or wearing to our start point.  You'll notice the most important part of the challenge seems to be missing from the picture.  The Goruck GR1 bag.  When you register for the challenge you have the opportunity to save 20% off the cost of the bag if you pick it up the day of the challenge.  Since 20% of $295 is a pretty significant amount of money, I decided I'd wait until the challenge to get my bag.

You may recognize some of the items in this picture, others you may not have seen before.  I'll be wearing my Under Armour compression leggings and shirt, a windbreaker, running shorts & sneakers, Injinji socks, running socks, our class T-shirt, Mechanix gloves, and of course my Goruck hat.  Since the challenge starts at 10pm we're also required to wear a headlight which you'll notice in the upper right-hand of the picture.  At the top in the center are my wrapped bricks.  6 bricks wrapped in foam and duct tape, ready to be lugged around Boston for more than 12 hours.  Each class is also required to bring an additional 25lb weight and our class decided on gold coins.  Our gold coins happen to be metal washers spray painted gold, but there's going to be a couple thousand of them to carry.  We're also required to carry water, that's the blue plastic bag with the hose coming off of it.  It holds 2 liters of water and it fits right in the Goruck bag.  I'm also bringing an assortment of foods that pack a lot of energy into them.  Sport beans, Sharkies jellies, Clif bars, and I still need to pick up some M&M's which are considered a Goruck staple food item.   Goruck veterans said that carabiners are a must so I have a few of those along with some nylon straps to help secure the bricks.  I probably won't know if I forgot anything until it's too late, but hopefully having it on the screen here might help.

In my next post I hope to be certified "Goruck Tough" and I look forward to explaining what the challenge entailed.

Ramblings....

In my first blog I attempted to give you a quick introduction on who I am.  In my second I'm going to attempt to catch you up to the present.  The past week has been a little bit crazy so this may come across more like the ramblings of a child struggling with Attention Deficit Disorder than a blog post, so bear with me please.  I made the decision to switch gyms this week and that was probably more stressful for me than it should have been.  Why?  I'm a creature of habit.  Selling auto parts seems to take up almost all my time so those precious hours I have away from the business I try to keep organized and efficient.  Going to a new gym felt like a new job to me.  A new contract, different equipment, out of my "comfort zone" again.  It really will end up being no big deal.  My "new gym" is actually the gym I went to for about a year to get into shape.  It's also the most popular gym in the area, so it will be nice seeing different friends there every day.

I'm a big NASCAR fan.  They had their season opener "The Daytona 500" about a week and a half ago.  Why is this important? It's really not, but I feel a comparison to that and what's going on right now for me is appropriate.  The Daytona 500 is arguably the biggest race of the year in the United States, and unlike most sports, their finale comes at the season opener instead of the end of the year.  My wife, Pam, and I will be doing the same thing.  Well, sorta.  Last year I participated in 3 Tough Mudders, a Spartan, a Warrior Dash, and a handful of other events.  Pam joined me for a few of them.  This year I decided that my only goal was to make 2012 more 'epic' than 2011.  So far I'm signed up for 9 Tough Mudders, a Spartan, 2 Warrior Dashes and a couple others.  Pam is signed up for one of those Tough Mudders and hopefully more as the year goes on.  But the important comparison here is this: Our first event is a lesser known event known as "The Goruck Challenge".  In short it's an event that lasts for 10+ hours, over a distance of 15-20 miles, usually in scenic locations.  It's a team challenge, usually in "classes" of 30 people.  If you weigh less than 150lbs you carry a Goruck (backpack) with 4 bricks, water, food, and whatever else you think you may need.  If you're over 150lbs like me, add two more bricks to that bag.  "Good Livin'" is what it's affectionately called.  Our Good Livin' takes place in Boston, on St. Patrick's Day, and starts at 10pm.  The past couple weeks we have been tasked to get all our stuff together and get prepared mentally.  So we're starting our year with the challenge that takes the most preparation physically, mentally, and equipment-wise.  Just like in NASCAR.

I plan on posting another blog again before our challenge to show you what we have prepared, and again afterwards to tell you about our Goruck Challenge - Boston experience.