It had been 3 1/2 months since I busted my ribs on a job site and had been training 4 days a week to get this done in the least ammount of time possible and still be relativly fit to carry on with work with minimal recovery time.
For those of you that would like to build up leg endurance I can reccomend this method but you may just want to hit the gym. Those of us that have a masochistic side it works great! :p
0400, I roll into the training sight to get my ruck (backpack) weighed and to fill up 2 camel backs and 2 canteens. Next up was weapons draw and inspection.
Final weight on the ruck, 60 lbs.
Water, 14 lbs.
Individual Equipment, 15 lbs.
Weapon, 6.5 lbs.
Clothing, 3 lbs.
Total, 98 lbs. I might be off a little I forget how much a Kevlar Helmet weighs.
0530, streaching, tightening boots, gobble a power bar, drink water and wait for 0600.
0600, start time for the 12 mile timed Road March. Here is where I have to explain something. The Army's idea of a road is anything that a traked, wheeled vehicle or bi-pedal individual can traverse.
I hit the first 4 checkpoints right on time, my 4 mph pace was on the money, the temperature was 75 and humidity 85%. The sun had just cleared the tree tops and it was getting warm quick.
By check point 6 the hot spots or friction points had begun to rear their ugly heads( These little buggers are the beginnings of blisters). 1.5 hours in and still on time. At this point I had emptied the two liters of water in the canteens, temp hit 80 in a half hour and the humidity had jumped to 100% around me. There was no wind and Woodland Camo atracts light, not to mention doesnt breath well with all that equipment on.
CP's 7-10 went by in a relative blur, drink water and put one foot in front of the other. The weapon seemed to have gained another 5 lbs. in the past 3 miles.
After CP 10 the wear and tear of the tennis ball sized gravel that paved this paticular road was taking it's toll on my feet and ankles. By the feel of it I had developed two lage blisters on my heels and a few on the bottom of my feet. The ones on the bottom of my feet were the most annoying due to the fsct they were right next to the balls of my feet.
Almost to CP 11 the "road" was actually paver and I could "Shuffle," think of cross country skiing and slide my feet over the pavement. Talk about a break! The change in posture and foot movement was a breath of freash air for my feet that I was sure were nothing more than well tenderized cube steak.
CP12 and the end of the march was a building #erd 300. It was eassily spotted by the water tower that was right next to it. By this point the demons are really talking to you. The "Why are you doing this? and "What was I thinking?" questions are constantly pinging around in the brain pan. The fact that you can see the damn tower from CP 11 is the worst part of the whole march, you know your close but will the body have enough juice to finish?
The End: When I stumbled into the parking lot and the grader yelled time I was litterally spent. I started shucking gear left and right. I think I actually hit the ground befor my ruck sack I think. :)
First things first, drain about a quart of water from the camel back and then get those damn Iron Maidens called boots off. The moment of truth, "How bad are they Doc?" I asked the medic, as I began to notice that the lactic acid had started building up in my legs, ouch! Turns out the blisters where about what I expected, two the size of silver dollars on each heel and a number of smaller ones on the pads of my feet. I had two on the top of my toes that had blown open and bled. Yup, hamburger! :eek:
Final time 3 hours 11 min. Could have been worse, but I'm happy.
For those of you that would like to build up leg endurance I can reccomend this method but you may just want to hit the gym. Those of us that have a masochistic side it works great! :p
0400, I roll into the training sight to get my ruck (backpack) weighed and to fill up 2 camel backs and 2 canteens. Next up was weapons draw and inspection.
Final weight on the ruck, 60 lbs.
Water, 14 lbs.
Individual Equipment, 15 lbs.
Weapon, 6.5 lbs.
Clothing, 3 lbs.
Total, 98 lbs. I might be off a little I forget how much a Kevlar Helmet weighs.
0530, streaching, tightening boots, gobble a power bar, drink water and wait for 0600.
0600, start time for the 12 mile timed Road March. Here is where I have to explain something. The Army's idea of a road is anything that a traked, wheeled vehicle or bi-pedal individual can traverse.
I hit the first 4 checkpoints right on time, my 4 mph pace was on the money, the temperature was 75 and humidity 85%. The sun had just cleared the tree tops and it was getting warm quick.
By check point 6 the hot spots or friction points had begun to rear their ugly heads( These little buggers are the beginnings of blisters). 1.5 hours in and still on time. At this point I had emptied the two liters of water in the canteens, temp hit 80 in a half hour and the humidity had jumped to 100% around me. There was no wind and Woodland Camo atracts light, not to mention doesnt breath well with all that equipment on.
CP's 7-10 went by in a relative blur, drink water and put one foot in front of the other. The weapon seemed to have gained another 5 lbs. in the past 3 miles.
After CP 10 the wear and tear of the tennis ball sized gravel that paved this paticular road was taking it's toll on my feet and ankles. By the feel of it I had developed two lage blisters on my heels and a few on the bottom of my feet. The ones on the bottom of my feet were the most annoying due to the fsct they were right next to the balls of my feet.
Almost to CP 11 the "road" was actually paver and I could "Shuffle," think of cross country skiing and slide my feet over the pavement. Talk about a break! The change in posture and foot movement was a breath of freash air for my feet that I was sure were nothing more than well tenderized cube steak.
CP12 and the end of the march was a building #erd 300. It was eassily spotted by the water tower that was right next to it. By this point the demons are really talking to you. The "Why are you doing this? and "What was I thinking?" questions are constantly pinging around in the brain pan. The fact that you can see the damn tower from CP 11 is the worst part of the whole march, you know your close but will the body have enough juice to finish?
The End: When I stumbled into the parking lot and the grader yelled time I was litterally spent. I started shucking gear left and right. I think I actually hit the ground befor my ruck sack I think. :)
First things first, drain about a quart of water from the camel back and then get those damn Iron Maidens called boots off. The moment of truth, "How bad are they Doc?" I asked the medic, as I began to notice that the lactic acid had started building up in my legs, ouch! Turns out the blisters where about what I expected, two the size of silver dollars on each heel and a number of smaller ones on the pads of my feet. I had two on the top of my toes that had blown open and bled. Yup, hamburger! :eek:
Final time 3 hours 11 min. Could have been worse, but I'm happy.