GORUCK Canada Day HTL AAR 2017 - Part 3 (The Light & aftermath)

Recap: Friday at 5pm, myself and 9 other crazy weird people started the 24 hour GORUCK Heavy, then 4 hours after that ended, got through the 12 hour Tough.

First few thoughts that go through my mind: ruck off, change out of sandy clothes..

...THE CHAFING!

I've never chafed before, maybe a bit after a Spartan Beast, but with sand mixed in there, it's really not fun. Vaseline literally saves my bum.

Myself and another GRT make our way to Chez Cora for some much-needed calories. Too bad no one's really around to watch us hobble, wobble and stagger about. The feet and legs are pretty stiff and sore. But bacon! Mmm, bacon.

Another thing that I've learned about myself is when I need shut-eye, I can't stop the impeding nap attack, even though I've had 2 coffees at breakfast.

(Scroll down to the end for gear list and final thoughts)

Canada Day Light - Sunday, July 2 2pm
Cadre Nick, Cadre Jake
Rucksack weight: 15 lbs (estimated)

Sun is shining, a few new faces meet us in the parking lot, and some people from the Tough are back as well, including my Smurf crew. (You ladies rock!) With the feeling that the end is close, we head back out to the start point for the final time this weekend.

Mike, myself, Dave, John and Josh staying cool. I think Josh is the example of RULE #1

Admin and gear check after introductions, and Cadre Nick voices holding a seminar for proper ruck packing. (Basically, the weight should sit at the top of the rucksack so the load is on the shoulders and upper back.) Some first-timers are warmly welcomed and their brand new, shiny rucksacks are also highlighted.

We're told to bear crawl to where Cadre Nick is (near our previous day's crawl zone, which I'm surprised still has grass), but I didn't hear we had to bring our ID and $20 cab fare; I have to make my way back to my ruck and finally come bear crawling in last.

Yup, I almost ran into that rock

 Cadre both have a little laugh at us 10 that will complete the HTL, since we've all shown up in shorts (not the notoriously short silkies, though), which may prove to be a questionable life decision. We get into low crawling again, and Cadre Jake adds more Good Livin' which involves diving like a soccer goalkeeper to the ground then crawling. He has called this "Superman", and with our already tender and scraped elbows with fresh scabbing, this makes for some very bad dive attempts.

We head out to a park, stop for some PT, and draw many a curious stare along the way. We simply wish passersby a happy Canada Day, tell them we're going to play hockey and we move on. Turns out we get to play on a baseball diamond, and set the rucks up as nets.

Stony: "FLYING V!"

We get another timehack and this time it's to another beer stop (gee, I could get used to this). The stiff legs, the chafing, the blisters on the feet are showing up as an array of strange walking patterns but we continue. Once we stop, Cadre Nick informs us that we didn't make time but hey, let's have some A.C.R.T (Advanced Cellular Regeneration Technology, aka beer). It's pretty much beer now, pain later. I'm also still surprised how that beer feels...revitalizing? Cellular regeneration via hops, malt and barley!

Exiting the pub, we now get a casualty carry.

"Hm, can we use him as one of the nets?"

Our previous experience switching out in the Tough pays off as the Light class members quickly pick up on the process and we head back to the park. Thankfully, we didn't drop our stretcher!

We're going to play hockey, honestly! Ignore the guy on the stretcher

Back in the crawl zone, there's PT we have to complete as a formation ie no one gets ahead or behind. We link arms or hold hands during sprints and walking lunges. The part that destroys everyone's elbows once again is the low crawl as single line formation.

More fun on the stretcher follows (and sometimes it isn't always a Smurf being carried) This was maybe the hardest part, as running with an extra load in the form of a body is hard, not to mention there's some beer sloshing in my stomach. I really hope I don't hurl! (I didn't.)

Cadre Jake hurrying things along

The Light class gets patched and while the mood is celebratory, the 10 of us HTLers brace ourselves for more mayhem. We are told to line up facing the rest of the Light class, and while waiting I sip on my water and hear the familiar kr-kkkkhhhh of the water running low. (Seriously, 3 liters disappeared that quickly?) Russell next to me says he's got me covered.

But then we get a little surprise as Cadre Nick highlights us 10 who've just completed the HTL, after 42 hours and over 60 miles. The feeling gets a little surreal as he pulls out the HTL patches. I'm not sure how to react but figure I'll do like an Olympian and bow my head to receive my award; Cadre Nick places the patch on my Tac hat. For the photo, the guys insist on putting me in the middle.

(l-r) Lino, John, Josh, Dave, Stony, myself, George, Travis B, Russell, Travis H

How many people can say after that moment they got 9 new brothers, a couple of which have spectacular beards? Everyone had their ups and downs and had to throat punch some demons to get through the weekend. At times individuals dug deep, and other instances the team helped out. Much respect to Cadres Jake and Nick for pushing us out of our comfort zones and for helping us come together as a team. A new hashtag is born soon after: #HTeLbow

Did I just earn these?! Really?

(photo credits: Katie Toomsalu, Dave Merriott, Mike Chan, Dustin Chang, Adam Hajnik, Phil Owen, David Friederich, Mike Andrusiek, and of course both Cadre)

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After it's all said and done:

Travis B told me even though we drink a lot of water at these events, it's still surprising at how dry-mouthed everyone feels a couple of days after the events. Muscles need a lot of water to recover.

Small note on training and prep - no, I don't do CrossFit. Go ahead and show up on my doorstep with pitchforks and angry chants, haha. I did a lot of circuit training in the winter that involved cardio (like stair runs, sled pushes, burpees, treadmill sprints), lifting, body weight exercises. I got lucky that my coach is super creative with the group workouts and my programs as well. Work in different planes (not just going forward), use different types of resistance, be it weights, or elastics, or the good old rucksack. Also, when it came to banging out 1 or 2 more reps, or holding that loaded barbell overhead for just a few more seconds, I pictured a Cadre's voice in my head threatening not to stop or put the weight down. You can push a lot more than you think.

For the speed ruck miles, I trained for and did the Tough Ruck back in April, which is a marathon distance with minimum 15 pound rucksack. Muscle memory kicked in when it came to the time hacks.

Train to ruck uphill...a lot. (Stairs count.) Sometimes it helps when you're motivated by breakfast after.

For Christmas, I was gifted "Ready to Run" by Kelly Starrett (same guy who wrote "Becoming a Supple Leopard") One of the take-home messages I got out of this book was using hip biomechanics to power running, and in turn I applied it to rucking. Work on those glutes and quads, folks. Also, I do mix a bit of running on off-rucking days, so that helped reinforce the pattern.

It helps living Montreal where there's 4 seasons (5 if you count construction season), so all winter I rucked in the snow. Want to know where the hotspots form, or how you'll ruck for time on wet feet that are getting cold? (The only thing I still have to figure out is how not to let my bladder hose or valve freeze)

Next, the gear and packing list..

In the GORUCK 21L GR1:
- 10lb/20lb plate cinched at the top, piece of pool noodle at the bottom end of the 20lb plate, half a yoga block underneath
- 3L Source hydration bladder, with an extra empty bladder
- Seal Line drybag with headlamp, snacks, socks, small footcare kit, Buff (I didn't need this finally)
- Mecanix gloves (I switched to a 2nd pair after the Heavy)
**Less is more when packing for GORUCK.

I use Trail Toes as my go-to foot lube, and pre-cut Hypafix strips in case I needed to tape Band-Aids down, or pieces of 2nd Skin as blister prevention.

I wore MudGear 1/4 crew socks (4 pairs over the weekend), and extra changes of socks were Darn Tough cushioned hike/trek socks. Footwear was Salomon XA Pro 3D.

Snacks: Gummi Bears, Fruit2 and Fruit3 bars by Xact Nutrition, orange Shot Bloks (because they're caffeinated!), Salt Sticks, chocolate covered coffee beans (lesson learned at Fort Bragg Heavy), Pure Strength protein bars. I also intercepted a bag of Swedish Berries while ruck marching during the Tough. Yum! It's still surprising on how far you can go with just water.

Other thoughts:

- wear quick-drying pants because they will come in handy especially during overnight, when it's cool and you're soaking wet.

- not a great idea to wear a thick cotton t-shirt during said overnight hours (hey, I was trying to represent my coach's organization). It never completely dried.

- I suck at overhead squats. Don't believe me? Look closely at the photo in the Heavy AAR, when we're in front of the inukshuk. I've barely lowered myself. (I'm wearing the orange t-shirt)

- you can never have too many changes of socks.

- one thing I forgot, but would have been great to have - 1 change of clothes and footwear once the events are done, just to look a bit more presentable at dinner & drinks after.

- it helps to have Vaseline as backup lube just in case..

- always have lots of baby wipes in the gear drop bag.

- be organized. For example, I had separated all my changes of clothes in a drybag and a packing cube respectively, and those were two different colours so I knew which set to grab first. Food was divided in Ziploc bags: one of in-between event food, the other with food going in the ruck.

- deodorant will never win in the battle of ruck funk.

- it's always good to have sunscreen, zipties, and a Sharpie.

- food should go into double bags (mine was in a small drybag, then in my Seal Line drybag) in case of full submersion with the ruck. Someone's snacks in a Ziploc in the outer ruck pocket didn't fare so well...soaked candies anyone?

- you know you've impressed Cadre when on the way to endex beers, he asks how many blisters you had to pop and you reply, "Zero..." However, I did get a blood-filled blister on my elbow from the low crawls.

- I love my coffee, but didn't want to leave some stale drip coffee in a travel mug. Thankfully, there's cold brew. Even if it's at room temp, it still tastes pretty good.

- I need to work on maintaining ruck shuffle speed with something heavy in my hands. Any coupon slowed me down a tad too much

- GORUCK is a team-based event. It's not about you, the individual person, it's about setting the ego aside to help the collective succeed.. At times my team helped me out and I hope I did the same for them. I know I can be a better team member by stepping up with no hesitation when called, or being a little more vocal with encouragement. Hey, I'm still learning.

Missed something? You can re-read if you'd like