Earned, Not Given- Chapter 4: Preparation
Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance
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I was anxious when it came to the day of the event. I made sure to sleep in and get as much sleep as I possibly could because I was not going to sleep much over the next few days. I ate a big breakfast and lunch before leaving. I had to eat as many calories as possible that worked well for me. I knew that food was likely going to be taken away during the Heavy and I had to prepare for that.
The Heavy event was to start at Soldier Field at 5pm on Friday. I took the train down from where I was living in the suburb, Geneva, with two rucksacks. One was going to be for the Heavy and one was going to be for the Tough.
I wanted to have a second ruck completely dry and ready to go for the Tough so I wouldn’t have to even think about what I needed to pack for the Tough. I didn’t have a second weight for the Tough though so I opted to go the old school GoRuck way and duct tape bricks together.
Most GoRuckers now use rucking plates now for their events but before plates were commonly used, people used bricks. You would go to the hardware store, buy six bricks (if you were over 150 lbs) and duct tape the crap out of them to make one solid weight. I actually enjoyed this part of preparing for the GoRuck events. It was like a ritual to duct tape bricks together. I would get colored duct tape and make different patterns within my bricks.
For this Tough, I didn’t go with any fancy colors of the bricks. I decided to make this set of bricks a dedication to my father who had passed away from cancer on my 18th birthday. I took a photo I had of him, put it into a card sleeve and taped it to the bricks. I knew that no matter how tired I was from doing the Heavy, if I saw that photo of him on the bricks that there wouldn’t be anything stopping me from moving forward. The only thing that would possibly stop me was if there was something medically wrong with me.
After taking the train to downtown Chicago, I took an Uber to the Essex Hotel where Harrison and his friend Jason were staying. Jason was a friend of Harrison’s from Pittsburgh that did several GoRuck events with Harrison was in graduate school in Pennsylvania. Jason had attempted to do the HTL the last few years but got sick after doing the Heavy. This year was going to be different. We were all in this together.
In the duffel bag I brought had some food supplies for in between events. I brought six baked potatoes, two rotisserie chickens and some avocados. The idea behind this was to have a balance of carbs, protein and fats for us to fuel ourselves after the Heavy. Baked potatoes are pretty easy on the stomach so I figured this was the best route to go for carbs. We loaded up the hotel refrigerator, set our stuff aside and prepped for the event.
I taped my feet almost like I had a sock on the bottom of it. I made sure to get the heals, forefoot, sides of feet and in between toes that would cause issues. It seemed excessive but I figured I could always take the tape off if I felt it caused problems. It’s easier to take something off during a break than it is to put something methodically on.
After taping my feet, I opted again for the Darn Tough wool socks and laced up my Salomon XA Pro 3D shoes. These shoes have been amazing in rucking events. They have great stability without being heavy like boots. They’re kind of a hybrid hiking and running shoe which is what I like about them and the treads are just right in their depth.
I weighed my ruck and it was 38 pounds including water. Without water it was right at 30 lbs. It looks like I have just the right amount of stuff with me. I wasn’t planning to bring that much food with me. Just a few bars and electrolytes.
Jason has tried to complete the HTL twice but has failed both times as his body gave out after finishing the heavy.
Harrison and I tried to do this last year in Portland, Oregon but after the blisters on my feet took me out of the next event, he dropped out with me.
He didn’t tell me this but I knew that had I not quit, he wouldn’t have quit. That’s the power of a team event like this. If you’re doing an event like this with someone, you’re going to go as far as the people you’re doing it with go. Doing something like this teaches you the meaning behind, “faster alone, further together.”
See the next part of this story in the link below. You can also find the ebook of this story here.
