GORUCK Triple Heavy 001 Recap Part 4 of 4
The end of a long, grueling journey was only the beginning
Note: I originally wrote this back in 2016 on my old website. My website is going away, but I didn’t want to lose this story, so I’m reposting it here.
This is the fourth and final part of my recap for the first GORUCK Triple Heavy (HHH) event. It will detail what happened at its third Heavy and provide lessons learned from the entire event. Part 1 explains what GORUCK events are and how I trained and prepared for this event, Part 2 covers the first Heavy, and Part 3 covers the second Heavy.
On October 3rd, 2015, seven people successfully did something that had not been done before–complete back-to-back GORUCK Heavies. We finished in a hallway of an apartment at Brooklyn, and Cadre Soul Crusher’s wife and friends had cooked victory food for us. It was amazing to wolf down several servings after the ordeal we went through. Holding the HH patch in my hand was a bit surreal as there was a part of me that couldn’t believe what we accomplished. The other part was dealing with how much my thumb and feet were hurting.
When I badly sprained my right thumb during the second Heavy, I had decided that I wasn’t going to attempt the third one. Prior to the HHH, I had a strong feeling that finishing two Heavies was doable, but starting a third Heavy would be dependent on my physical state and how many people were left. At this point, I was wary of doing push-ups as applying any pressure on my thumb hurt badly. Furthermore, my feet were absolutely wrecked from the 70+ miles traveled during the two Heavies and being nearly constantly wet from Hurricane Joaquin’s storm. Every step I took was agonizing pain, and I wasn’t confident that they would feel better after a brief nap. Two of my HH teammates, Kim McGrath and Dave Merriott, indicated that they weren’t going to do the third Heavy, but my other teammates, Chris Cothran, Doug Otte, John Steele, and Eric Traynor, were raring to go. Seeing the determination on those four persuaded me to at least go to the start point of the third Heavy. There was a remote chance that I might feel better by that time and would join them.
The second Heavy lasted longer than planned, so Cadre Flash pushed the start time of the third Heavy to 1700 hours instead of 1500. That gave us about 2.5 hours to rest on the apartment hallway floor, and it wasn’t difficult for us to fall asleep after what we went through.
“Get up now!”
After about an hour of rest, we were suddenly awaken by a stranger yelling at us. The stranger happened to be the landlord of the building, and he was visibly upset at the sight of seven tired individuals sleeping on the hallway floor. Cadre Flash tried to deescalate the issue, but the landlord was adamant that we had to leave immediately.
What an unfortunate turn of events. One of the biggest challenges the three cadre had to deal with when running this event was finding a safe place for us to rest during the HHH breaks in the middle of New York City. The cadre had originally planned for our breaks to be in quiet parks, but Hurricane Joaquin forced them to adjust because you can’t rest in the cold rain. We were fortunate that George Lee offered his Bushwick Crossfit gym for the HHH’s first break, but faced with very limited options for the event’s second break, the cadre rented an apartment in Brooklyn, thinking that it would be safe for us to sleep inside. We were extremely unlucky that the landlord happen to show up at the same time we were resting from the second Heavy. To avoid making a bad situation worse, we got our belongings and left the building. Realizing that our “grenades” (large rocks) from the second Heavy were still in our packs, we discretely disposed them around a tree outside.
As I got up, I noticed that my thumb was still in pain and every step I took hurt. It was looking less likely that I would participate in the third Heavy. Nonetheless, I decided to go to the start point to see what would happen. I convinced Dave to go with me even though he stated that he was done with the event.
GORUCK Heavy #3
On October 3rd, 2015 at 1700 hours, we arrived at Fulton Park to begin the third Heavy of the HHH. Sadly, the only one who didn’t show up was Kim McGrath. She was the first to answer the door when the angry landlord arrived, and he immediately ejected her from the building. She had decided to not continue with the event and didn’t know when and where the third Heavy was starting, so she went back to her hotel.
The three cadre asked us who were going to participate in the third Heavy. Dave and I were out, but the other four were willing to go. Then Flash dropped a bombshell–unless five participants were willing to go, the event would be cancelled and the HHH would be over. He said that attempting to do a third Heavy with a low number of participants was dangerous, and compared it to small team military missions where if there weren’t enough team members to execute the mission, it would be cancelled. This news nonetheless took us by surprise because we were never told about this requirement until that moment. Dave was still out, and if I didn’t change my mind and said “yes,” then the rest of the team would be unable to continue.
I have thought about this moment for several weeks after the HHH ended, and every time I came to the same conclusion–I made the right call by saying “no”. I would not have been a good contributing member to the team if I decided to continue for another 24 hours. My feet were wrecked and my thumb was badly sprained. Doing enough push-ups for the Heavy PT standard would have been very difficult, and even if I passed the third Heavy PT test, I would not have been able to grip anything with my right hand.
So the HHH adventure came to an end, but the cadre took their time to give us a debrief on how we did in the event. I won’t go into detail on what they said as that is between them and us. I will say that they spoke highly of our team, and these are the kind of guys who would not dole out praise unless they absolutely meant it. It was definitely a highlight of my life.
At the third Heavy cancellation, Doug was talking about doing the HHH02 in April 2016. I felt that it was too close to this event, and wouldn’t provide enough time to recover and train for another HHH. I honestly wasn’t thinking about doing another Triple Heavy at the HHH endex–I had Selection on my mind and was planning to do the event in 2016. However, my attitude changed within the next couple of days.
Cadre Soul Crusher posted a video AAR of our HHH. He said that he was so impressed with our team that he decided to join it by doing the next Triple Heavy as a participant! That was crazy news. Doug later announced that the second HHH would take place in San Diego on September 29th, which was a few weeks before GORUCK Selection 2016 (10/13/2016 in Bellbrooke, Ohio). If I were to do the second HHH, I would have to abandon my Selection plans for 2016.
I kept thinking about how we didn’t have enough participants to start the third Heavy. It was clear to me that in order to finish the Triple Heavy, we need more teammates who are determined and strong enough to do all three Heavies. This, by the way, is not a knock on my teammates who could not continue to the end of the second Heavy. This event has never done before, and those guys will always have my respect for being out there and putting themselves on the line to do such a crazy event. But in order for us to make it to the end of the third Heavy, we need more of us who can go the distance. There is no other way.
Everyone else who finished the HH was on board to do it again, and so was I. I abandoned my Selection goals for 2016 as I strongly felt that we all had some unfinished business. Finishing a Triple Heavy can be done. We just need to assemble the strongest GORUCK team possible to do it.
Lessons Learned
Sharpen your mental toughness.
I trained very hard for this event (if you missed Part 1 of my recap, here’s a sample of what I did), but one of the key components that allowed me to get as far as I did was my mental toughness. Even thinking about doing 72 hours of a ruck endurance event is daunting on the mind. One of the mental toughness techniques that got me through two Heavies was to only concentrate on the current task. You’ll psych yourself out if you think about how many more hours you have to go, so focusing on only the present will prevent that from happening.
Mental visualization was another mental toughness technique that I used prior to the event. I saw myself with my teammates finishing the second Heavy, but admittedly I didn’t see myself getting to the end of the third Heavy because I wasn’t sure if there would be enough people to make it to the third. It’s strange how that actually came to pass, and now I wonder what would have happened if I tweaked that mental visualization. One thing is for sure–I’ll be envisioning myself standing tall with my teammates and getting the GORUCK HHH patch from the cadre leading the HHH02.
Mental toughness is a skill you can learn and employ in your endeavors. I recommend Mark Devine’s Unbeatable Mind book to learn those techniques.
Your team is your strongest resource.
Mental toughness was one of the key components to complete the HH. The other was my teammates.
I would have not finished two consecutive Heavies if it wasn’t for my team. I was only strong because my teammates were strong. You can’t complete a GORUCK Heavy on your own–you need to overcome its physical and mental obstacles as a team. When it was down to us seven in the second Heavy, we resolved to finish together. We kept each other in good spirits and made sure we were all doing okay during the event. When I badly sprained my thumb during the second Heavy, I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to continue helping my team. I was more annoyed by that prospect than getting the injury itself. I had the mental fortitude to continue after the injury because I wanted to do whatever I could to get my teammates to the end of the second Heavy. Focusing on my teammates prevented me from thinking about my own state, and that played a big role in completing consecutive Heavies.
Pack better for cold weather.
I had a thin Marmot jacket, but decided not to pack it for the HHH because I felt it would have added more space and weight to my ruck. I regretted this decision as the weather got colder during the second Heavy. The merino wool long sleeve, athletic shirt, windbreaker, and beanie was just barely enough to keep me warm, and having that jacket would have made the experience a little less miserable. However, after reading James Vreeland’s advice on packing for cold weather (sadly, link no longer available), I would have been better off packing an extra compression layer and a thicker Merino wool long sleeve. The extra compression layer would have taken up less space than the jacket.
Have a foot care plan.
I really didn’t have a good foot care plan to implement during the HHH breaks. I was confident that my combo of Injiji toe socks, merino wool socks, and Trail Toes cream would be enough to prevent blisters on my feet. However, I underestimated the effect of rucking 70+ miles would have on my feet, nor did I anticipate them being constantly wet during the Joaquin storm. It hurt to walk after the second Heavy because I had a bunch of blisters on my feet, and I was so tired and mentally fatigued that I didn’t even think to address them during the break. I was reading through Fixing Your Feet again after the HHH and realized that there were tips and techniques that could have helped lessen the pain from my blisters. Before attempting this event again, I will ensure that all team members read that book and have a solid foot care game plan.
Don’t experiment with new things the day of the event.
I willfully violated this rule by adding Tailwind electrolyte powder in my hydration bladder to mitigate our food being taken away. I had never tried it before, but teammate Doug Otte recommended it, so I took his word and got some at the last minute before the event started. Luckily for me, the product did not adversely affect me, but my stomach could have disagreed with it and made my life miserable during the event. Test your stuff before an event and be wary of any last-minute changes or additions, no matter how helpful you think those changes will be.
Use vacuum-sealed bags for food.
Putting food and the Tailwind powder in vacuum-sealed bags was a great idea, as it kept those items fresh and dry in my ruck until I needed them. I had a steak sandwich in one of the bags, and boy was it great to eat after the 12-mile ruck from the first Heavy PT test. I’ll definitely use them again for the next event.
Don’t do too much before an event.
Get rest! There were some who dropped after the first Heavy because their bodies weren’t well rested. One did GORUCK events in consecutive weekends prior to the HHH (including two HCLs in the span of a few weeks). The other, who was a last minute entrant, had run a marathon the weekend before the HHH. I am extremely impressed that they finished one Heavy after everything that they had done, but there’s only so much that the body can withstand before it gives out.
I learned that a two-week taper before a big event is ideal because it allows the body to recover after an intense months-long training plan. This allows you to show up to the event fresh and strong instead of fatigued. My success with finishing the HH lends credence to this idea, so I’ll be advising HHH02 participants to consider incorporating a two-week taper into their training plans.
At some point, I’ll need to have a roundtable with the other finishers on how we all trained for this event. It will be an interesting exercise to figure out how our training differed from each other and establish a baseline in regards to “you need to train this much to have enough to potentially finish two Heavies.”
Thanks
I want to thank a lot of people who helped me while I pursued the GORUCK Triple Heavy.
First, my HH teammates, Chris Cothran, Kim McGrath, Dave Merriott, John Steele, Eric Traynor, and Doug Otte. I was able to make it as far as I did because of you. My life was truly enriched by knowing you all and I’m so fortunate that I completed this event with you. We will forever be family.
To my other teammates who completed the first Heavy of the Triple Heavy, I thank you as well. To complete ONE 24-hour team endurance event is a major accomplishment, and your efforts in the first 24 hours laid the foundation for our team to complete the second. You guys rock.
Thank you to Cadre Glenn “Flash” Wells, Daniel Stokes, and Chris “Soul Crusher” Sanchez for running such a superb event. I can’t imagine how difficult it was to plan and run three 24-hour events, and yet you all did an exceptional job. Despite how difficult and insane this event was, not once did I feel that my life was in grave danger. You guys are true professionals. Thank you for sharing your stories and wisdom with us. There’s not enough words in the English language to describe what an awesome job you guys did. For those of you who will do a GORUCK event with any of these three guys, you’re in for a great (yet tough) time.
Thanks to George Lee for letting us use his gym, Bushwick Crossfit, during our first HHH break and the second Heavy PT test.
Thanks to Soul Crusher’s wife and friends for cooking us a meal after the second Heavy ended. That food was so good and you are all saints.
Thanks to my mom and Lourdes for looking over me after I recovered from the event. They treated my blisters and kept me fed while I recovered, and for that, I will be eternally grateful.
Thanks to the GORUCK community who supported our HHH endeavor, especially GORUCK Norcal and NYC GRTs. It was nice to go back and read all the comments that were said while the event was going on. Special shout-out to James Gibson for his HHH update thread. The cadre even joked about you being the fourth cadre since you knew where we were during the event before some of them did.
Thanks to my physical therapist, Lisa Drew, the team at Silver Creek Fitness and Physical Therapy, and my podiatrist, Dr. Brooke Dix, for getting me back to 100% after my calf tear.
Thanks to Lyell Petersen for his Team Spearhead Pathfinder program. It motivated me to add more ruck training sessions when I incorporated it into my HHH training plan. If you want to thrive at a GORUCK event, I highly recommend you check it out.
Thanks to my friends, coworkers, and family who supported me and told me to please not die while doing this event.
Thanks to our awesome shadows, Pete Silver, Joanna June, and Jessica Walkup, who followed us at certain legs of this event and took great pictures (some of which were used in this recap).
And thanks to Doug Otte (again) for coming up with this crazy idea in the first place. You dared to dream big and crazy, and I’m glad that you asked me to do this nonsensical event with you. I now truly understand what you were going for when you created this–the ultimate TEAM event. Love you, brother! I’ll see you at the next HHH!
