'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