GORUCK Marine Recon HTB ’22

2022.11.04 18:00 | 2022.11.05 22:00 | 2022.11.06 13:00

Training and Preparation

I haven’t been following any specific nutrition and probably should be drinking less. I don’t feel bad about my habits, but I could make more conscious choices.

Reflection: I always feel like I need to ruck more especially knowing we’ll be rucking the Pendleton hills. Not only should heavy miles be increased, but also add elevation. If you don’t have mountains or hills, get on a StairMaster.

Travel

I live ~90 minutes north of the Start Point. I had planned on eating food in the area and a Jersey Mike’s sub to eat between events. The rest of my food and beverages were already purchased and packed. I planned on leaving around noon but was running a little behind. No big deal except for the fact it’s LA. There was an accident, so I decided to pull off around halfway to get food to eat + food for between events. Jersey Mikes x 2. I can’t complain. I sat down and ate. I then navigated around the accident and made it down a little after 1500. I checked into the hotel (~1/4 from SP).

Once in my room (after 3 room key issues), I sorted out my food and drinks for easy access. I laid out all of my event clothes for easy changing between events. I also put out my pre-packed bags of gear (for each event) with my clothes. I laid out clothes for nap time on the bed.

Reflection: I rushed a little through my taping because I lost track of time. This is the same thing that happened with me leaving later than planned. Otherwise, having everything sorted out before arrival made my event weekend easier.

Gear

Pack: Goruck Rucker 3.0

• I’ve used this ruck for every GORUCK event. It’s not too big, but big enough if you don’t overpack
• The only annoyance is that adjusting my shoulder straps on the fly is difficult. I need to sort this out for future events for better hip belt use
• I like the GORUCK packs for events especially when there is PT
• I don’t change my pack from one event to the next, but I do have an extra if something goes wrong

Starting Outfit

• Hiking pants
• Top base layer
• T-shirt
• Baseball cap
• Spandex
• Sports Bra
• Ininji Toe Socks + Darn Tough Socks
• GORUCK Mac-V Boots
• Whoop + Whoop Hydrosleeve
• Headlamp

Packed

• All required items that are listed on the GORUCK event website with important items dry-bagged (phone, id, extra socks, etc)
• Extra items: hand warmers, eye drops, chapstick, tape
• Food & Water (see below)

Reflection: Don’t overpack, but don’t forget items. I made the overpacking mistake in my first HTB for the Heavy. You need less than you think. Your weight will be over your head a lot.

Nutrition

pre-event

• Thursday Night: Decent dinner and a lot of liquid
• Friday Morning: Some normal breakfast + water + electrolyte drinks
• Friday Afternoon/Evening: Jersey Mikes Turkey Sub and chips. A go-to. Simple and satisfying. I know my stomach isn’t upset by it. Water, electrolyte drinks, pretzels, and other small snacks

Event

• 3L water bladder, ~2L filled
• 1L Nalgene with liquid IV, ~75% filled
• Packed: snickers bar, 2 protein bars, 2-3 sports beans (1 regular, 1 caffeinated), 1-2 Clif Blok, 1 PopTart packet, 1-2 small packs of gushers, Fruit Gummy Slices, 2 extra liquid IV packets

Note: For the heavy, the above is what I packed. For the tough, I keep roughly the same minus the Pop Tarts, 1-2 fewer Sport Beans/Clif Bloks, and decrease the number of gummies. For the Basic, I have 1 emergency bar and a packet of Sport Beans. There really isn’t time to eat during the Basic, but I keep them on hand in case of an emergency.

Between Events

• Before falling asleep, I eat at minimum 1/4 of a giant Jersey Mike’s Sub (whether I’m hungry or not) and drink at least 1/2 Pedialyte or some electrolyte drink. I try to eat and drink ASAP
• I will also attempt to have some pretzels or other snacks
• The bonus was after the Heavy, the hotel had a breakfast buffet. I definitely ate this in addition to my sub this time around. Nothing like a hot waffle after an event

Reflection: Staying at a hotel rather than camping/car sleeping was the absolute right choice. It was easy to shower, eat, tape, and sleep.

Admin

Admin for the Heavy is relatively straightforward. Just make sure you have your shit. The cadres for this event were Cleve, GB3, and JC. I have done a few events led by Cleve, but it was my first event with JC. This was GB3’s first event (I think he may have been “training”). For the Tough, Admin is similar. The Basic is more thorough since there are a lot of newbies at these events. Let me make this louder for those in the back. For each event, bring what you’re supposed to and what you need, but don’t overpack. You don’t need an entire dresser and fridge.

The Events (HTB)

Heavy

We started our ruck to the beach and were instructed to turn off our headlamps and keep them off unless needed (red/green light). I love rucking/hiking without a headlamp, so I was content.

gloves during this process. My thought was to save them from being filled with sand. We then had the lovely deck of cards. I kept my gloves off for this too. This was a mistake. My knuckles and hands were shredded.

We eventually made our way to the base and proceeded up Camp Horno. We moved well. At some point, I became Assistant Team Lead (ATL). A Cadre asked for female volunteers. I jumped on it (I don’t know why everyone is afraid of these roles). I’m pretty sure I was assigned ATL because the Team Lead (TL) specifically asked to not be TL.

We made it to the spot where we saw the sunrise in 2021. We were nowhere near sunrise. GB3 had fun with us. We were in a rocky, rough stretch of dirt. We got up and down. We held our rucks in every position. We started from zero numerous times because the team couldn’t follow directions. It was brutal. There is no strategic way to prep for this other than train hard and not let your mindset break. This is a point where you just need to keep going.

We moved along from there and were able to catch the most brilliant sunrise at the Horno crosses. This sacred space is hard to describe. It’s best to experience it and not attempt to take the story away from someone’s first time there. I know this time is when many participants have a moment to remember those they’ve lost (especially the military). I didn’t quite understand that until this year. We unexpectedly lost my younger brother Caz in May 2022. I took time at the crosses to chat with him and appreciate the beauty.

Two thoughts stand out from the Heavy:

First, all of the females (5 of us total) were told that we were to carry the 200# worm without help from the men. I want to acknowledge that I understand this conceptually. Everyone should have to carry their weight and the load of the team. But, some of us had rucked heavier coupons (including the 200) throughout the event. This bothers me because I don’t believe I’ve seen Cadre single out men who don’t touch heavy coupons or stay under the flag for long durations.

When we were ~5 miles from the SP (and also EndEx), JC told us that he didn’t care how long it would take us to get there. It was the end. We naively believed him and then carried our coupons in many fun ways (overhead, low carries, and more). Right near EndEx, we took a sharp turn toward the beach for more PT and to sing the Marine Corp Hymn that we had

Reflection: My frustrations and mind games often are created by myself. The scenarios are out of my control, but my thoughts are 100% within my control. I know this about myself, but I am also human and will fault. I must continue to worry about myself and what I can do rather than others.

I slept significantly more than the 2021 HTB. Having a bed and a personal bathroom was a game-changer. I was tired but refreshed. I didn’t have to worry about leaving anything in the shower area. Everything I had was in one central location. It is easier to get ready in a hotel room. I recommend a hotel room (for yourself or shared), assuming it’s affordable.

Tough

My plan leading up to the tough was executed well. My sleep was in and out because I didn’t want to miss my alarm. I was running a little behind because I move very slowly when I’m tired. I am also terrible at putting contacts in since I don’t use them often. I ate plenty and drank fluids. I was scattered texting with Jess as she was looking for Mama Marta (who opted for an HZB). Also, I couldn’t get my bladder to hold water. Jess came to my rescue with extras. It turns out I just wasn’t fastening my bladder correctly. As I said, I was tired. I made it to Admin with minimal time to spare.

There were a lot of Heavy participants who opted out of the Tough. The biggest reason I heard was that they didn’t feel like they could endure the mind games again. Honestly, this isn’t something that I understand. To me, it’s simple, if you’re physically able, just show up. You can figure it out from there. This was the mindset I had.

I’m not trying to minimize the difficulty of the events or what we did. But this is where your mindset is key. If you overthink and overanalyze, you’re going to spin into a dark hole of bad thoughts. Focus on what is in your control, set simple goals, listen to what you’re told to do, and execute.

If you’re doing an event with Cleve, know how to do the exercises for Deck of Cards. You can research and find this basic information on any GORUCK group. We got wet and sandy again and began moving towards 1st Sergeant’s Hill.

After we rucked for some time, we began moving up the hill. I believe Crosby was TL. He told me to go under the flag. We still had coupons, so I was hesitant. I can move uphill with weight, but in this scenario, the flag is not your standard PVC pipe – it had some weight and we weren’t rucking on flat ground. It was still dark out and GB3 was leading our charge up and looked at me and said something along the lines of “keep up with me.” Now, this was my challenge. I feel like I did well, all things considered, and we moved up that hill at a solid pace.

After handing off the flag after the initial trek up (we still would be going up more hills), I had a moment later on passing by a group not carrying anything and made some comment about how they should be moving faster and that they could, in fact, carry extra weight up the hill. It was petty. I recognized my frustration, realized this was out of my control, and moved on.

I hallucinated pretty aggressively at one point overnight. I have had this happen a few other times, but usually, it’s lights and colors. At one point, I saw a burger on a shelf in front of me and moved out of the way to avoid it. I wasn’t the only one that experienced this. There must be something in the air or ground up there. Once we got to the memorial site, it was still dark. I realized I hadn’t eaten for most of the night and felt weak. I managed to grab a snack within the hour after that. Honestly, a lot of the night blurs together.

During the day, there were some fun tactical-type movements that the Cadres led us through. It made the rucking more enjoyable overall. We cycled through a few TLs and ATLs, some better than others. One lead got fired and didn’t know it. I feel that the opportunity to lead during these events is underestimated. There’s the idea that if you’re a leader, you shouldn’t carry weight because your job is to lead the team. I think some people use this as an excuse to get out from underweight. For these events, it doesn’t matter. If you’re a TL or ATL, you will still have to take some weight. If you don’t, there will be team members who will have to carry extra loads. Anyways, I feel that this gives you a chance to be in an uncomfortable situation with people you mostly don’t know and get real-time and constructive feedback. If you’ve done events and haven’t volunteered to be a TL or ATL, do it at your next event. It’s good to be humbled and learn about yourself.

The event ended “on time” after we sang the national anthem and did some final sprints and pushups. The plan was the same as always. Have a few sips of the beer and electrolytes. Walk to the hotel. Eat. Turn on alarms. Shower. Take out contacts. Unpack/repack my ruck. Eat a little more. Sleep until ~75 minutes before Basic Admin. Wake up, change, tape, snack, fill water bladder, and walk over to SP. I feel like Ed Norton in Fight Club.

The Tough felt like more rucking than PT. I think we only had 1 drop on the beach.

Reflection: This one is for my fellow female ruckers. You have to be more efficient during short stops. Once I realized I hadn’t eaten I knew, at our next stop, I needed to grab something. But I also needed to fill my bladder and go to the bathroom. Luckily, Brandon filled my bladder when I went to the bathroom. I was able to do all three things during a very short stop. It goes for everyone that you have to be prepared to move quickly and be smart about time, but again, as a female, you likely have to be more efficient.

Basic

A few changes to my plan occurred. I showered first because, as I walked into the hotel, the beautiful smells of a breakfast buffet hit my nostrils. I forgot what time it was, especially since I was walking in with a beer in hand. I’m sure the families staying there loved it. The change of food was welcomed and made me happy. I then slept for a few hours and woke up ~75 minutes before the Basic start. I went through my usual process, got ready, and casually strolled to the Start Point.

We then rejoined with the rest of the Basic team and rucked around. We had team races to the finish. It was fun, but there was noticeably an extra load in my pack.

Reflection: You can hold the weight over your head even if you don’t think you can. This was a test of grit. We were tired and sore. The Cadre knew this and still pushed us beyond our comfort zone. These are the times when you need to dig deep and embrace the suck. If you drop your ruck, your team will suffer and you’re just going to have to pick it back up again. Stop telling yourself you can’t do something and start imagining all the things you are capable of.

Personal Reflection

The Dark Side

There are two dark places that you can go to. One is what I would consider good and the other is bad. My “bad” dark place is when I start to worry about things out of my control, especially when it’s the actions that others are or aren’t taking. My “good” dark place is where you go when you push beyond your comfort zone in a workout. Whether it’s sprints on the echo bike or the last push during the acid bath WOD, this is where you dig deep and get better.

Learnings

1. Focus on yourself. I continually remind myself that I am the only true thing I can control. I will continue to grow in this space.
2. Always have a plan. When you have time to stop, know your order of priorities. The typical order I follow for priorities is bathroom, feet, water, and then food. I often am good to skip my feet.
3. Keep it simple. Set simple goals that are achievable in short time frames. It’s an easy way to keep looking forward and not dwell on how shitty you might feel.
4. Enjoy yourself. You are capable and have the opportunity to do an awesome thing. Make sure you enjoy it and have fun. There is plenty to complain about over the 48 hours, but what is the point of that?

Final Thoughts

Until the next. 🧠☀️🪨