Ben - Florida
James - Maryland [check out his Parts 1 + 2 : He's done this TWICE!]
Asha - California
There was one post in particular that I found enjoyable to read and extremely helpful: it's written by Mike who completed the Delaware Challenge back in May. The blog entry was great and I have decided to steal the format as my race day approaches and tailor it towards my individual style:
Why did you decide to do the GORUCK Challenge?
I heard about GORUCK while researching the Tough Mudder running series. TM is an event that I would love to complete but unfortunately there are no sites close by until 2012. When I stumbled across the description of GORUCK I was intrigued and the idea stuck in the back of my head. It kept nagging and bugging and growing on my mind. Finally I knew that I couldn't resist the temptation anymore so I gave in and registered. I decided to do GORUCK because I like a challenge. I think that the human body is capable of so much more than we credit. I want to test my physical limits. I feel that
How did you prepare [still preparing] for the GORUCK Challenge?
Well I have been training hard as a runner and fitness fanatic for the past two years. I have run four half and four full marathons. My body and mind have changed and I am a new person from where I was back when I first started on this journey. But GORUCK is going to be a different type of challenge all together so I have altered my training to prepare. I have added a significant increase in weight training to my routine. I have (recently) challenged myself to get up and get moving EVERY SINGLE day - even if that means busting out a quick weight series at 11:20 PM or simply spending 10 minutes focusing on stretching and holding a few yoga positions. I plan to continue training over the next week and a half by adding in additional weighted running series and continuing to push myself. The most important factor, however, I believe has been the mental preparation. And unfortunately that is something that no one else has access to - as it has been 23 years in the making for me. My life and my experiences have shaped me into the person I am today and have prepared me for any challenge on this planet. I truly believe that what I have been through will help to mentally get me through GORUCK.
Over Analyzing vs Preparation: A Fine Line
"Hi. My name is Carrie and I am an Over Analyzer." (crowd responds: "Hi Carrie.") I think that this is truly one of the greatest challenges for me because I am obsessed with the impending (why do I keep using that word - it sounds so scary and foreboding!) GORUCK Challenge. My mind is (almost) constantly consumed by the event. Luckily I have an extraordinarily busy job that I totally love and it keeps my mind occupied for many many hours throughout the day. It is when I leave the office each night that the mental battle begins - Do I workout or not workout? Am I truly tapering or just slacking off? What about the gear I want to bring? Is it right? Is it good enough? Who are the other people I am going to meet? Am I going to be the youngest: the smallest: the weakest? What if I slow the team down? What if I can't keep up? What if I have to quit? (Just to name a few of the thousands of thoughts constantly berating my mind.) I am definitely prepared ... well not quite. But I am getting there. I am registered. I have taken the plunge and secured my place. At this point there is no looking back. I over-analyze. It is what I do. I accept that fact (and the first step is admitting you have a problem.) But my over-thinking nature is what helps to get me prepared. Prepared for the one event for which there is no way to truly prepare.
A Looming Deadline
It's amazing how time flies. I still feel like it was just December when I first discovered the Challenge. Or the later winter months when I first began training with my MiR weighted vest. I can think back to my three most recent races this spring. Remember the days in May when I really began to amp up my training. And then I look at the past few weeks where my dedication has been lacking. Checking the calender and I realize that I will soon be wearing my pack and taking off with my class. It's coming. And there is no stopping it.
Countdown:
I feel like if I blink it's going to be here. And then (hopefully) it will be over before I even realize it. I have been marking my life by GORUCK for the past few months. It's been almost as if I can't even begin to consider what path my life is going to take until the Challenge has been completed. I keep telling my friends that I want to come visit them. I am trying to plan my Fall racing schedule. But I honestly don't want to look too far into the future until I have conquered this next event. Right now my life consists in only two parts: before and after GORUCK. Before is going to be marked with excessive work and stress and anxious nerves. And (if I can stick with it) lots of excellent training. After GORUCK ... who really knows? In the back of my mind thoughts of the Ascent have begun to linger. But how can I truly even begin to think of this until I complete the Cincy Challenge? Don't let me get ahead of myself.
Packing
With my registration I purchased a GR1 for race day. I've got a water bladder (still unopened in the box) and the bricks are sitting on my kitchen counter (I probably should get around to wrapping and practicing with those sometime soon ...) I have not yet decided what I am going to wear. My dad gave me a head lamp last night and it has since been glued to my little cranium (yes I know I am a dork.) I am still debating the snacks to bring and I know this will inevitably end up in a trip to the store with me standing for at least 30+ minutes in the fitness section scrutinizing over PowerBars and gels and ultimately result in me buying lots of pomegranate GU chomps (my drug of choice.) As much as I like to plan and over-analyze I know that it will mostly come down to a last minute decision.
Countdown: 6 Hours [kinda ... but not really there just yet]
As of today, when my Challenge countdown reaches six hours I honestly don't know where I will be. The time is going to read 7PM on Friday July 1. It looks like right now that I will be at work until at least 5:30 PM (note to self: talk to the boss about the possibility of getting out even a few hours early) with a minimum 2 hours drive to Cincinnati. Add in the factor that it the summer's biggest holiday weekend plus my city's major firework celebration takes place that evening and I am anticipating traffic at a standstill with the drive to take MUCH longer than expected. Best case scenario I will be able to roll into my parents' home before 8PM (wishful thinking on my part) eat my last supper and power nap for an hour or two. However I know the reality will probably read something more like a 3.5+ hour drive followed by limited eating due to my lack of appetite from nerves and the never-ending barrage of questions and catching up with my family. I will get in my Prius and drive to a yet-to-be-announced location (obviously using my GPS because despite the fact that I grew up in Cincinnati I rarely wandered outside of my small suburban loop) and get there all a fluster. I will sign the death waiver and then the real fun begins.
What is your biggest fear / demon for the Challenge?
100% physical. Simply that I will not be strong enough to complete it. There are a lot of other (not so) little things weighing on my mind but ultimately I am scared that I will not make it to the end.
What do you feel is your biggest strength for the Challenge?
My spirit. I have been through a lot mentally and emotionally in my relatively short years. When you've gone through all that I have experienced anything can seem possible. I am able to keep a calm head in any situation and reasonably good at putting things into perspective. I am blessed with the ability to be simultaneously extremely detail oriented while looking at the big picture (I am the perfect mix of highly green with the right addition of yellow - for anyone who knows what that means - I love you.)
Does anything about the
Excited: hometown. Plus this is the Fourth of July weekend. It's the freaking birthday celebration of the world honoring the greatness that is America. Commemorating those brave patriots that risked their lives for our liberty so many years ago. The Green Berets will be leading the event. I can think of no better way to celebrate this amazing nation than by good livin' during the Challenge. Plus I hope we get to see some fireworks. Nervous: hills. hills. hills. And the probability of getting into the Ohio River. I am a swimmer yes but that water is far from sanitary. (Oh well I did survive the murky depths of Logan in the Warrior Dash ... mysterious bumps are still to be found on my body ... but I guess I'm alive.)
The Evolution
[I can't put anything here yet as my class' Evolution has yet to take place]
What
Well I can't really answer this one quite yet ... but I already have a few ideas. It will be my memories. Thoughts of my family. (I heard a song driving to work one morning this week and literally got tears of joy in my eyes thinking of my parents. That's true love right there.) Thinking of my friends. Reminders of past races and victories. Obsessions over work (I catch myself thinking and analyzing about it ALL the time. It never really leaves you.) And then I know I will think about me. No this is not selfish. This is the truth. I will think about my past. My victories and my defeats. My prides and my lesser moments (although I do not call them regrets. I have no regrets in life. Only experiences from which we learn.) And perhaps more than anything I will try to focus on two things: my past and my future. When I look back to one year ago I will see a completely different person than who I will be on Challenge day. Last year my Fourth was (while enjoyable and certainly an experience) marked by extreme levels of unhealthy action. Physically mentally and emotionally. Although I did not see it at the time I was on a train speeding down the tracks careening off towards the ultimate life crash. Living dangerously. I am not that person anymore (or so I like to think and hope.) And I look to my future and all that it has to offer. It is these thoughts that I know will get me through the Challenge.
Support
I am sending out pre-thanks - to my amazing family, friends, co-workers, those from my past who have gotten me to where I am today, those in my future I am bound to encounter - and to all those out there up to taking the Challenge. I am very excited to meet you all and share in this once in a lifetime experience.
You’ve got to stop living for the people who’ve hurt you and the things that have happened to you, and you’ve got to start living for yourself. Do the things that make you joyful inside. -Jolie O’Dell
Shout outs: Congratulations to my cousin Tiffany on her graduation from nursing school. We are so proud of you for your hard work, dedication and accomplishments. And Happy Father's Day to Timbo - my hero and the most amazing dad ever. He's my favorite person in the whole entire world. Love you.
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