Inspiration: More important than gold.



"They fought together as brothers in arms; they died together and now they sleep side by side...To them, we have a solemn obligation — the obligation to ensure that their sacrifice will help make this a better and safer world in which to live."
-Fleet Admiral Chester William Nimitz

Well, I am back from my Washington D.C. event.   The staff, support, and operators from S.E.R.E. Performance certainly did put on one hell of an event; one of which, will not leave my memory anytime soon.  And let us be real, this was their “Beta” event which means it was the first of its kind.  Our class number was, after all, 001B.  There were a few bumps in the road but it was to be expected.  It was a frozen mixture of two elements; those who showed and didn’t know that they would actually have to work and the fact that this was, as I have stated above, it was SERE Performance's first shindig.  But for those who toughed it out and hung in there for all sixteen hours of the gruesome and cold evolution, you are awesome.  And for those of you who did OPCON (the special event after the event), I honestly look at you guys and realize that I have a lot of growing up still to do.  You are the tough of the tough.  Throughout the event, I had a great time and I met some of the gnarliest people.  It’s folks like these that inspire me to be better than I am doing and to continue to push myself farther and farther outside of my comfort zone.  I would like to take a moment to thank each one of these that most deeply inspired me or perhaps they just made me giggle.  But for those of you who know me best, you typically cannot do one without the other.    

Adam Bell:  You, sir, proved your expertise and worthiness of that sweet beard that you so proudly sport.  I knew, even before our proverbial kickoff, that it would not take long for us become friends.  There were times when we were up front together, leading the charge, that you seemed almost completely unscathed by the elements and the fifty or so pounds that was strapped to your back.  I most vividly remember crawling through Rock Creek with frigid, thirty-degree waters thinking, “if I can keep up with this guy, then I am doing just fine.” 

Amelia Boone:  Your personality and demeanor absolutely bleed a “get-it-done attitude.”  Most of you may not know, but Amelia has this thing where she pukes when her body is sleep deprived; “C'est la vie”, I imagine, would simply be her response.  She was our class leader for most of the way.  There are few things that I can think of more inspiring than a woman leading the way from the front of the formation, barking orders when needed and intermittently puking whilst doing both… “I’ll take a heaping serving of humble pie, please.”  You are a certified bad-ass, madam, complete with a killer attitude that I will aspire to for years to come.  Team Douche-sparkle!!!  Amelia has a blog as well.  Read it here:  http://raceipsa.blogspot.com/  .

John Henry:  You were certainly the sexiest piece of man-meat that I have met in recent memory.  Your DGAF (Don’t give a fuck) attitude, your unprecedented work ethic, and absolutely selfless attitude spoke volumes about you.  On more than one occasion, John would throw someone else’s ruck on top of his own and carry it for the next few miles to give his class-members a break and doing it all with the biggest smile.  He’s probably one of those guys you could tie down to a chair and torture but he would most likely still be making jokes about your fat mother until his last breath left his body.  I look forward to our next event together (GORUCK Raleigh).  I’ll bring the beer, you bring your sexiness, and we shall own the night.

Lynn Sarner-Lena:  The word “cavalier” would fall short if I used it to describe you.  Lynn actually turned 41 the day before the event.  The amount of ass that she kicks seems to correlate with her age; it’s a scary notion, really.  If she continues to go on the path that she’s on, she will probably rule the world.  Lynn also took on a cancer-awareness challenge this month where the objective was simple; complete five thousand push-ups in the month of January.  Lynn decided to quadruple that… that’s right; twenty thousand push-ups.  Please take a moment to let that sink in… If you need to get up and get a drink of water, I will not fault you.  I hope that you will let the world know when you hit your mark, Lynn.  If you ever decide to do something like this again, please let me know.  I will match whatever you put out, even if it kills me. 

Ivana Perterkova:  Even in the midst of the calamity in our Facebook group, I knew that you were going to be one of the few that were going to absolutely rock the event.  If at any time you felt cold, tired, hungry, or a combination thereof, you did not show it.  Every time I looked over at you, you seemed to be smiling.  I’m glad that you and I got to chat for a bit on the last few miles of our trek and I hope that our competitive paths cross in the future. 

Mark Webb:  You are just an all-around-cool dude.  I actually got sick of you volunteering for everything that came down the pike.  You were always pushing forward and you’re pithy one-liners made everyone smile.  You are undoubtedly the closest representation of the framework of an athlete that I hope to one day evolve into.  You can be my wingman, anytime.

Sherry Post:  I am so glad that I got to meet you in person.  I not only respect you as an athlete, but as an avid business woman.  Thank you so much for shadowing us and providing us with some of your delicious granola.  My morale shot through the ceiling after consumption.  The only thing better than your granola are your hugs.  If you can figure out a way to bottle those, you’re going to be a millionaire.  For those who are aspiring athletes, such as myself, or just someone who is trying to get back into shape, Sherry’s line of “Simple” products are the perfect catalyst.  Visit her website to find out more info at : http://simplefuel.com/ .  Oh – and I promise I will get that work done for you, Sherry!  

Mr. Smith:  I just wanted to give you a shout-out and thank you for doing this thing with me.  Smith is a personal, close friend of mine and took leave from his daily grind as a USMC Sniper instructor to come up to D.C. with me and keep me company.  Smith does what we did in D.C. on a daily basis; operating in clandestine environments for long hours and with little nutrition, sleep, or support.  It’s guys like you that make me miss the Marine Corps every day.  You just keep being you and doing what you do.  Oh… and DIIIIIICCCCCKKKKKKKK……..  Sorry, inside joke.

"Dry socks would be sweet right now."

I will not, unfortunately, be going into detail as to what we did as a class that evening.  You just need to know that it was tough, long, cold, and ultimately rewarding.  We started late at night and finished well after normal lunch-time.  Many signed up; fewer finished.  We even had to medevac a guy who went balls-deep into hypothermia.   I fully intend on continuing forward with any challenge from S.E.R.E. Performance that I can get my hands on.  I hope that within the next couple of years, I will have completed all that they offer and perhaps, one day, work with them as a S.E.R.E. Scout.  Time and the measure of my efforts will only tell. 

But it’s not just completing a challenge that is rewarding.  It’s locking step with those like-minded individuals and finishing as a team.  That is something that you cannot put a price tag on.  As “Actual” would say, “Individual accountability is paramount but teamwork is essential.”  In essence, you need to be locked-on so you can worry about the guy/gal to your left and right rather than feeling sorry for yourself.  I learned a lot during the event.  And as S.E.R.E. Performance promises, not only will you get one heck of a challenge, but  you will also learn small bits of information that will help you survive in a bad situation.  In this challenge, I learned that over packing is the first mistake that many make.  I certainly made this mistake myself.  You need to separate what you NEED from what you WANT.  What you need is hardly anything at all.  Humans, by nature, are resilient creatures and I think that we have forgotten that.  And I think that we have become complacent.  In retrospect, I can’t believe that I took some of the things that I did; or some of the things that I even considered to bring (like that stupid wetsuit).  This particularly bothers me because I used to be a master at field craft.  I have obviously lost my touch but I think “Actual” and his operators will straighten me out.  Thanks, again.  Until then, I have this nifty survival bracelet to show-off.  Sorry, it's only earned... never for sale.  :)

I still have the GORUCK Challenge coming up in a few weeks.  I am ready.  Any lingering doubts that I may have had about my abilities were smashed into a million pieces this weekend.  I’m really digging this lifestyle of constantly reestablishing my boundaries.  If you are wondering what the GRC is all about, they finally had a professional video made.  Thank goodness; it gets tiring trying to explain this stuff over and over again.  So watch the video below and enjoy.  Until next time, guys, thanks for reading.

'Bang, OUT!

          So here I am just a few days out from my first cadre-driven event.   It is the S.E.R.E. Performance Basic Course in Washington D.C.; Class number 001B – The Frozen Chosin Few.  To be honest, I haven’t been this nervous in recent memory.  It doesn’t help that our group page, where the team does pre-event coordination, is an absolute mad house.  The general concerns and fears from my teammates are just absolutely bleeding through their respective posts.  Here’s the best way I can describe it:   it’s like a dark room where forty people are shoved into but as soon as everybody gets comfortable and adjusted, someone from the outside opens a door, throws a flash-bang grenade, and shuts the door.  The product of this is simply everyone freaking out and scrambling.  It’s of no fault of either party.  On one end, you have a group of elite operators (From S.E.R.E.) just doing their job and giving people their money’s worth.  On the other hand, you have your participants, such as myself, who just dig a challenge.  But this event, again, is the first of its kind.  So therein lies the rub.   Most of everything is unknown.   Naturally, everyone freaks out about the unknown.  If you believe in aliens, zombies, or ghosts, you should be able to relate to this on some arbitrary level.  I may not have been voicing my concerns on the group’s page at all, but my concerns are substantial and I am certainly letting my brain get the best of me. 

(Myster Ranch 3DAP)

On a physical level, I full-heartedly believe that there is little that you can do to prepare.  I have been going on hike/runs with my ruck along with my regular workout schedule.  After 3-4 hours of running with a +/- 50 LB ruck on, my body is certainly barking at me.   Experts say that a lot of what is done physically is, indeed, mental.  It’s simply putting one foot in front of the other even though every part in your body is telling you to “Stop!”  I’ve certainly experienced this on some levels in my life but I don’t consider myself an expert.  The side that is really beating me up is the logical or cognitive side of preparing for the event.  The gear list is pretty concise.  And a great deal of what I am taking is to deal with the cold.  The biggest mind fuck, I think, is not IF, but when we will get wet.  Furthermore, I am wondering if I should bring a wetsuit.  The ruck I have purchased for this event is filling up FAST.  Under the recommendation from the operators at S.E.R.E. Performance, I recently purchased a three day assault pack (3DAP) from a company known as Mystery Ranch.  I have, nonetheless, been very happy with my purchase up until recently.  It is probably my fault, ultimately.  I should’ve known better.  But the pack purchased only has 2000 cubic inches of space.  My 32 pound “Equalizer” (20% of my body weight in sand) has taken up a considerable amount of room leaving a lot less room for other things.  I originally planned on wearing a wetsuit (2.5 mm Shorty) the whole time to keep me warm.  The problem with that is that once it is wet, it will weigh a considerable amount as well as an ever-shrinking space issue.  So now I am contemplating just wearing one set of clothes the entire event and toughing it out thereby allowing my ruck to remain a little lighter and, furthermore, relying on our own momentum to keep me warm.  Now remember, I’m a former Marine GRUNT; if there is anyone that is certified in shoving ten pounds of shit into a five pound bag, rest assured, it’s guys like me.  So no I am going back and forth with not only debating on bringing a wetsuit, but switching out my ruck entirely and going with my old-school ALICE pack.  I love to prepare and prepare well in advance but I believe that this will be something that will be decided upon the day of the event.  It’s just a shame that if I do ditch my newly acquired ruck from Mystery Ranch, it’s $400 down the drain.  I could very well use it for other things, but the fact remains that I purchased the MR 3DAP for this event.  I will probably end up breaking everything out and anything that may or may not go and potentially do a full dress rehearsal; complete with full water submersion.  I think that is the only thing that will ultimately quiet the voices in my head.  J

(Equalizer / Pill Assembly)

I am still very excited about the event.  I will certainly know where I sit in my journey to competing in the Spartan Death Race next year.   My weaknesses will be exposed for the world to see, including me.  And that is a piece of mind I am willing to put myself through hell for.  It may sound a little dramatic, but… yea… that’s how I feel.  I will do my best, put out for my team, embrace the suck, and (most importantly) keep myself smiling and laughing with my arsenal of jokes and pithy one-liners.

In other news, I have recently applied to a reality TV series known as UNBREAKABLE.  Spartan Race Head Quarters has teamed up with these folks to film a single episode within an eight episode series.  From what I read, it sounds like they are going to attempt to put 8-10 people through a three day grueling race event that strongly mimics the Spartan Death Race.  I submitted a package with all of the information that they requested but instead of writing a brief paragraph, I submitted a video of me talking about myself.  Uh, awkward…  I will never do that again.  Plus, I only meant for the damn thing to be a couple of minutes long.  Fail.  It ended up being over ten minutes long.  I think they will reject me out of spite for making them watch me talk about myself for ten minutes.  I really have absolutely no desire to be on TV or to be famous in any way, shape, or form.  I really was just looking for another challenge.  Plus I thought it would be pretty cool.  If you want to support me, you can vote by clicking the following link and casting your vote:

http://vote.spartanrace.com/user/new/id/1425
               

                I am a little reluctant to show that video but perhaps I will do just that on my next posting if I can chum up enough courage.  As well as this next event, I am also very excited to get to see my Grandpa and Grandma Beth in Maryland!  I love you guys and I can’t freakin wait to see you!  IT HAS BEEN TOO LONG!

Once again, thanks for reading guys and hope all is well with you and yours.  J 

The Frozen Chosin Few.

http://www.facebook.com/sereperformance

   I certainly do apologize for being out of touch with you guys.  I have been scrambling to prepare for my next event.  I do not recall a time in my life where so much money has flown out of my bank account in just a short period of time.  That, in conjunction with the holidays, has left me counting pennies just as it has for you and your shopping endeavors.  I have quite an unexpected surprise for you guys.  But first, check out what one Spartan Racer did to show his support for Spartan Race HQ.  He created a wicked-awesome video that gives me chills every time I watch it.  Check it out:

Cool, huh?  Motivated?  Let’s get on with it.

Around early December after my event in Tough Mudder event in Tampa, a new type of event was brought across my computer screen on Facebook.  The owner of AdventureRun.net, Paul DiMarino, found a new challenge known as S.E.R.E. Performance and posted about it.  The website, http://www.sereperformance.com, displayed very little information about their events.  When I first looked under their “S.E.R.E. Events” tab, each event simply gave a Lat/Long grid and a time for the event to start.  Oh wonderful.  I could already see that this was going to be a very unique challenge.  I took the first grid coordinate and plugged it into Google.  It dropped a pin in downtown Washington D.C.  The date: January 27^th.  What time?  It starts at 2200 (10:00 PM).  So I have a location and a time.  I then asked myself, “what, pray tell, is this event all about?”  I began to search the website.  It’s very well constructed and very intuitive.  I clicked on their “About S.E.R.E” tab.  It simply stated: 

“S.E.R.E. Challenge is like no other. Our focus is survival through self-reliance. Emphasis on team will be obvious as nobody can survive alone but individual accountability is paramount. ALL will be tested physically and mentally.”

Very well.  I further learned that they offer four different levels: Basic, Advanced, Elite, and Xtream Survival Challenge.  Oh, how lovely.  I checked back to the previous page.  The event in D.C. was a Basic level event.  Back to the info page.  What can I expect for the Basic level challenge?   

“A 12+ hour urban mission based adventure that will test you physically and mentally.  The focus is on team building and individual performance in the areas of strength, endurance and agility – This is a “fun” but not for everyone challenge. Survival is paramount in all S.E.R.E. challenges and you learn the basics here.  The hardest part of S.E.R.E. basic is signing up but you are required to know how to have fun in the extreme ways you are looking for.  More information will be emailed to Challenge participants prior to the challenge date. However, for planning purposes the challenge will start on Friday January 27 at a Rally Point in Washington DC beginning at 10 pm.  Plan for 12+ hours of fun but always be prepared for more.”

 

 

That is it.  No other information provided.  Furthermore, the class in D.C. is the first of its kind.  So I was essentially signing up for something that no one has done before.  A few of us jumped at the chance.  It really didn’t take much for me to take the leap.  If you offer challenge and a taste of something I’ve never experienced, I am your Huckleberry.  After about ten of us signed up, a fellow member decided to start a private group on Facebook so we could collectively communicate.   One piece of information was missing:  “What the fuck do we bring to this shindig?”  A day later, the powers-to-be, posted that a gear list would be displayed on Facebook for approximately five minutes and then removed.  Most of us were already nervous; this just through gas on that little fire.  We quickly organized a few people to watch the S.E.R.E. Performance Facebook page overnight.  Sure enough, the gear list was posted and taken down at around 0200 EST.  A gal from the group snagged the gear list from the post with a quick copy and paste action.  Only one problem… the gear list was posted in Mandarin Chinese.  Luckily, it was easily translated through Google.  
 

So it was set.  I now knew where to be, what time to be there, and what I needed to bring.  I am currently signed up for S.E.R.E. Class 001B.  I am very nervous but very excited as well.  We have been dubbed as “The Frozen Chosin Few.”  We are simply a small group of forty people who dared take the leap into the unknown.  The challenge group “S.E.R.E. Performance” was founded by a Marine named "Actual" from "Over the Rainbow" and is the lead cadre at this event… or so I believe.  I really do not and will not know much until I get there and complete the event. 

 (I didn't do anything to this photo. That apparently just happens when you try to take a picture of him. Strange...) 

 

As far as gear is concerned, I have spent well over $1k for gear.  A new ruck (military backpack), cold weather gear, new shoes, and other assorted gear that was required were all purchases that recently occurred.  I am fairly certain that I will be using this gear in the future for other challenges so I don’t feel as if it will be a waste.  

 
 

My workouts have increased dramatically; both in intensity and time.  Some of my future team mates are very well known in the Adventure/Obstacle race community as well as the GORUCK community.  I very quickly evolved into the “little fish” in the group as folks signed up.  I certainly do not want to be the weak link.  That, I think, is my biggest concern. This looming thought forced me to get up on my latest Sunday off.  I loaded up my Mystery Ranch 3DAP (Three Day Assault Pack) with all of the gear that I will be carrying and I decided to go for a little trek.  I picked a starting point on Camp Lejeune, had Jessica drop me off, and I ran/hiked back home.  I did a binary rotation between a fast walk at 3.5 mph for ten minutes and a slow run at 5.5 mph for five minutes.  The total distance was just over 12 miles and the ruck itself weighed in at just less than 57 lbs.  Details on where I went and how fast/slow are below if you click the link :  


http://runkeeper.com/user/IVIanOnTheIVIove/activity/65511660.  

  

I’m not going to lie, I am a hurtin’ puppy dog today but I plan on doing the same thing next Sunday only with a longer distance ( If you care to join me, just shoot me an email).  It should be interesting.  I will keep you updated in the form of one additional post before the event. 

  

I have been receiving a lot of emails and messages about this blog; mostly from people that I do not even know on a personal basis.  If you have been spreading the word about my efforts, thank you.  But I am merely writing this blog to connect the dots for you; my personal friends and family. 

  
 

I’m sorry to be so short but I must get back to work!  Thanks for reading and following!