GORUCK Training…132 Days to Go

To get ready for the GORUCK Heavy in May, I need to start acclimating to long stretches with a weighted pack on my back. The 24 hour plus race requires you to wear 35lbs of weight plus food and water on your back the whole time while doing a variety of physical challenges, including running. I want to make sure that on race day I am as comfortable as possible moving with a lot of weight on my back.

This afternoon, I filled my travel backpack with an assortment of dense, heavy items add weight (bags of rice and flour, cans of beans and tuna). The bag probably weighed 40-50 lbs.

My First Steps Towards GORUCK

To prepare for the GORUCK Heavy in May, I recently completed the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) to get a baseline of my current fitness level. I welcomed 2015 by doing this test at a local high school track in Seattle, alongside Jie’s brother Lex.

The APFT consists of: 1) as many pushups as you can do in 2 minutes 2) as many situps as you can in 2 minutes and 3) a timed 2 mile run. Between each event there is a 2 minute rest.

I must confess that when I first saw this, I thought to myself, this can’t be too hard. Sure that’s a long time to be doing pushups and situps but I frequently run much longer than 2 miles. At most, this would take less than 25 minutes and be a good warmup.

Boy, was I wrong!

GORUCK in May – I Hope I Make It

I know that it has been a few months since my last post. But I hope that a new fitness challenge will get me back to regular updates.

This week, my brother Dan and I signed up for the GORUCK Heavy, a 24 hour, 40+ mile team adventure race that is several notches above the Tough Mudder intensity.

As if the time and distance weren’t difficult enough, you need to carry a 35lb rucksack for the entire race, not too mention enough food, water and extra sets of dry clothing to keep you going. Check out the recommended packing list.