"Do you suppose they will choose to make war against lean, solid dogs rather than against fat and tender sheep?"
One school of thought says, “If you lack skill in some athletic event, you can compensate for a lot of your suckage by being strong and brute-forcing it. Therefore, make strength your top conditioning priority.” I have reservations about that, about which I’ll post, but in this particular event, being strong saved me. Had this... Continue Reading →
We all made it! The all-night ruck confirmed some clichés that are cliché for good reason: 1) People metamorphose in shocking ways. A bantamweight guy who struggled with sand bags early in the night turned into the Incredible Hulk around 5am. Either he was free-basing something or he’s really, really a morning person. 2) When... Continue Reading →
"ἢ τὰν ἢ ἐπὶ τᾶς" --Spartan moms in a time before enlightened parenting I am ready to ruck! I’ve trained for weeks, obsessed minutely over man-toys Vitally Important Equipment Choices,™ and I just managed to give myself a second-degree burn with a piece of paracord that caught on fire. (Don’t ask.) But now I’m ready!... Continue Reading →
I had my first encounter with one of the hill dwellers who, I'd been cautioned euphemistically, "isn't real social." As it turned out, we just ignored each other. I was taking a break at the side of the road, he was watering Some Kind of Plant Life 100 yards away, and neither of us acknowledged... Continue Reading →
Maybe I'll just never wear pants again. That's how awesome it is to ditch hiking in 2-lb. pants and a pinchy belt for the sublime freedom of the Silly Yoga Shorts. I took advantage of cold weather today to simulate the much lower temperatures at GoRuck (55-60°F), and I learned a couple things. First, nothing... Continue Reading →
Backpacking brings to life a lot of dead metaphors. When someone drives past you on a dry dirt road, you literally eat their dust, and on day two of a long hike, you really do have to tighten your belt. But “jackboots?” To me, “jackboot” is just a metonymy for fascists, as in “jackbooted thugs”... Continue Reading →
To prep for the all-night ruck, I'm going out for a couple of days again in the Marijuana Highlands to conduct Official Scientific Inquiry. Here are today's dumb experiments Highly Dignified Research Questions. 1) How little food can I get away with? When I’m ketotic, I can go a long time comfortably without eating. This is... Continue Reading →
Needing some Macho Meditative Solitude™, I made my first overnight backpacking trip. It must be true that "God takes care of fools, drunkards, and the United States," because I identify with two of those things and I survived my own rash enthusiasm. But I did get in a little trouble. I was taking The Belgian... Continue Reading →
In this upcoming all-night ruck, everyone moves as a team, so the slowest person sets the pace. Hopefully that's not me--there will be a lot of cardio studs with lungs like jet turbines. I can live with it if I end up as the "weak sister," but actually I think I'm in luck. The team... Continue Reading →
