Green Beret Fitness (GBF) Operation BLACK BEAR ’23

2023.03.25 08:30:00

Training and Preparation

I wonder how many times I will have to write “I should have rucked more heavy miles” before I actually start to do it. So, I’ll put it here again. I should have rucked more heavy miles, especially with the elevation leading up to this event. I knew this and didn’t do it. My excuses? I was limited for a few weeks after GBF Op OCALA (2023.01.14) with a foot injury. It wasn’t major but walking short distances was difficult and painful. It turns out I walk incorrectly which caused bruising on my foot. Once I was back on my feet for longer distances, L.A. got dumped on with rain and the truth was that I didn’t want to go out and hike in it.

My training and nutrition were otherwise consistent. Gym 5-6 days/week, 20-minute mobility 4-5 days/week, nutritional food, and working on drinking a little less beer.

Travel

An easy 45-minute drive to the Start Point made for easy travel. Sorting out my gear at home the night before wasn’t overly stressful. I stopped at a gas station for water jugs and arrived ~45 minutes early. I was able to get ready at home. It was great.

Gear

Pack: VOG GLOBAL ASSULT RUK

Second time using this pack (see Op OCALA for more details). I really like this for rucking. Not stellar for jogging in, but that could be because I haven’t actually trained enough (or at all) with it.

I debated using a GORUCK pack but wanted something I could easily adjust on the fly, had accessible pockets for quick grabs, and wasn’t bulky once packed with all gear and water.

Outfit

• Hiking pants w/snacks, chapstick, whistle, and phone in pockets
• T-shirt
• Baseball cap
• Goodr Sunglasses
• Spandex
• Sports Bra
• Ininji Toe Socks + Darn Tough Socks
• GORUCK Mac-V Boots
• Whoop
• Flip Belt w/snacks
• Trekking poles (in-hand)

Packed

• Front/side/belt Ruck Pockets: med kit, wipes, all snacks, pocket knife, salt tabs, phone charger/battery pack
• Drybag: extra socks and t-shirt, headlamp, batteries, ID, car keys, eye drops, disposable contacts
• Additional required items on GBF list: emergency shelter, compass
• Vog Global hoodie jacket (wrapped plate with this since I didn’t plan on needing it)
• 5kg plate + SOS 0.5L Nalgene to meet the 25# minimum dry weight requirement (note: this water was for emergency purposes, which is more useful than dry weight)
• Food & Water (see nutrition below)
• 1 local-ish beer – Pure Project Rain (I would have “Rove”, the “Adventure Beer,” if I could have gotten it!)

Tip: If you are short on weight, packing useful items like an extra Nalgene with water or emergency rations that you don’t plan on needing is better than more useless weight. Though you can also ditch plates if you really need to.

Nutrition

Pre-Race

• Friday Night: Burger, fries, and a beer. I consumed many snacks, electrolytes, and water throughout the day.
• Saturday morning: pita bread, crackers, banana, electrolytes, and water

Race

• 3L water bladder (full)
• 1.5L bladder with 2 Liquid IV + water
• Packed 2 snickers bars, 2 Stroopwafels, a baggie of fruit slice gummies, 1 caffeinated sport beans, 1 caffeinated Clif Blok, 1 liquid IV packet

I ate the Sport Beans, 1 snickers bar, 2/3 of the Clif Blok, and 1 Stroopwafel. There were no checkpoints/aid stations. There was 1 water tap, but not until the last few miles. I did not refill my water. There was a lot of moving water due to the amount of California rain, but I did not bring a water filter. This route is generally 100% unsupported.

Reflection: I realized I was HUNGRY at one point and should have preemptively fueled before my body had to tell me I was hungry. My water and electrolytes were good. I had ~0.5L left of each at the end. If I were aware of my bladder’s water level, I likely would have drank more.

Admin

Leading up to the start, I removed my base layer and sorted out my ruck to get to the 25#. I brought an assortment of light weights to not carry more than the required weight. I filled my water bladders, put on my boots, and caught up with friends. Admin was straightforward, no frills, just weigh your ruck before adding water and food, confirm you have the required items, head to the Start Point, and go. We started a little after 08:30.

The Ruck

There were only 3 of us that did BLACK BEAR and maybe 7-10 for Baby Bear. Believe it or not, I actually went into this event with an idea of a plan. My poor teammate Brandon had to put up with many texts from me.

The Plan

Execution

Note that I started my AllTrails ~0.25mi after starting. Whoops. I’m basing these on estimates of split times. So, they aren’t perfect, but they are directionally correct.

Section 1 (Miles 1-2)

Plan: 1.8 miles – speed ruck/warmup, but don’t burn out, 0.5hr, 15min/mi

Execution: Generally nailed this. We held right around a 16-minute mile. Started with quick walking and then jogged the flats and downhills. Walked all uphills. If you gauge that first section at 1.8 miles, we came in just under the 30-minute estimate.

Reflection: This was a good warm-up. Not too hard, but it got the blood flowing. Brandon led – his jog is much quicker than mine, so I did work to keep up.

section 2 (Miles 3-5)

Plan: ~3miles, 2k elevation, push steady effort, but don’t kill yourself, 2 hours, 40min/mi

Execution: We completed miles 3-5 in ~1h40m. This was exciting to see after the fact. Pace uphill was consistent and robust, but not too fast. Brandon led some, I led some, and then Brandon led again. Our general thought was that my uphill was quicker while Brandon had a faster downhill pace. The “slower” person should lead for better pacing and avoiding burnout. He also knew the route from his hike in 2022. Some less noticeable turns sneak up on you if you don’t know they’re there. I used my trekking poles for some of this but put them away when we started scrambling.

Reflection: I didn’t realize we completed this section in the planned time. I did feel like we moved well. Brandon likely would have navigated through the scrambling quicker without me, but he’s a good teammate. If I was solo, I wouldn’t move as comfortably through this terrain. I would not change the game plan in this section.

Section 3 (Miles 6-9)

Plan: ~4mi, some up and down, pick up the pace, 1hr, 15min/mi

Execution: I didn’t gauge what it would take for the 3 out and back peaks very well. The trail in some areas were not very noticeable trails. Two guys we passed asked what we were doing and said, “it looked cool where you were going, so we just followed you up!” I pushed ahead slightly when Brandon had muscle aches, knowing that he would easily make up the time once there were more technical areas and on downhills. We were around ~25min/mi for these 4 miles, but it ranged where 2 miles were about 20 minutes while the other two were closer to 30 minutes. We had one slight navigation error (<0.1 miles), but some was an annoying up-and-down area.

Section 4 (Miles 10-13)

Plan: ~4mi, downhill, 1hr, 15min/mi

Execution: Our average pace was around 18 minutes per mile. I believe that 15 is realistic, pending on the ground. My knees and hips were starting to really blow up here. I took a strong Ibuprofen at some point during this section but wished it had already been in my system. We jogged occasionally but then switched to a fast-paced hike. The fast hiking was likely very close to the same pace as jogging.

Reflection: I mentioned that L.A. has experienced more rain than usual. It makes for beautiful views, but it washes out the trails. The trails become like a little valley making it difficult to run down because it’s uneven. There are also a lot of loose rocks. If I could go back, I would just hike fast. I think a 15min/mi is realistic but didn’t execute effectively.

Section 5 (miles 14-15)

Plan: ~2mi, 1k elevation, 0.75hr, 20min/mi

Execution: Held around 23-minute miles. Good, not great. We took a handful of quick stops (20-30 seconds to catch my breath) and kept moving.

Reflection: At this point, we knew we weren’t making the 6-hour dog tag time hack. We likely knew this around mile 10 when we had less than 2 hours for 7-8 miles left. We knew that we would be able to hit under the 7-hour pass. I believe our pace reflected this. 20-minute miles would be tough but achievable here.

section 6 (miles 16-17ish/end)

Plan: ~3mi, down and then slight up, 0.75hr, 20min/mi

Execution: This section is less than 3 miles. Mile 16 was downhill. We had a ~22-minute pace. We knew we were going to make it in under 7 hours. Mile 17+ was uphill – we put out under 20min/mi. Gregg met us at the bottom of the fire road and finished the last ~1.5mi with us. We finished in 6h45m, technically a “pass” (<7 hours), but not fast enough for dog tags (<6 hours).

Reflection: If you are close to the time hack, you can make up time here even though it’s uphill. You’re on a cement road, and it’s not an easy last push, but don’t miss the mark because you’re tired.

Helpful Links

• AllTrails Navigation

Personal Reflection

Finding Balance

This was the first hike I’ve done that required the type of technical movements we did. There is a balance between trusting your body and smart decision-making. While navigating up, this was a perfect time to remember that “slow is smooth, smooth is fast.” I became more confident the more we moved up. A few times I stood up too tall and it caused my weight to pull me backward. This was when I recognized that I would have to “fall forward” in this scenario. Staying balanced both physically and mentally leads to success.

Learnings

1. Always have a plan. If you have a plan, you can adapt as you go. Without a plan, you’re working against minutes and scrambling.
2. Just having a plan isn’t enough. You have to execute and understand where you are in it. I didn’t actually gauge where we were in the plan until reflecting after.
3. Focus on what’s in front of you. You can’t be distracted by what you just did or what is in 3 miles. When navigating new or difficult terrain you must focus on the current, highest-priority task. If you want to take a picture or take in the beauty, stop walking, take a second, and then refocus.

Final Thoughts

challenge, or just wants to try something new to give GBF a try. They take you to beautiful places. If it’s your first experience, try one of the shorter operations. Be honest with your self-assessment and don’t just “do the hardest thing” if you aren’t ready. If you’re looking for a challenge, give yourself a challenge just out of your reach. Always come prepared. Do hard things, not dumb things.

Having Brandon as my battle buddy was awesome. We met a few years ago at a GORUCK event. He is always there to push and encourage me. We talked when we weren’t out of breath and quietly suffered through the harder sections. We knew where each other’s food was so we could quickly grab it and not have to take time opening up our packs. Find yourself a good buddy, but never let each other hold one another back.

Overall, this was a very challenging event. The elevation is difficult. Technically, I passed, which I am proud of, but I can do better. I will train harder and get back out there in 2024.

Until the next. ☯️ 🧗‍♀️🐻

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