Me and the family took a quick 3-day vacation to visit the in-laws in Myrtle Beach this week. As I contemplated how I’d train over the few days we were gone, I considered reaching out to the Crossfit gym in town. But I didn’t really want to shell out the coin.
I figured I’d grab my sandbag and just do some suffering on my own. Then, I remembered an email I got from a ruck.beer reader that had won one of our patches a few months ago. He was in Myrtle Beach and had invited me to put in some miles with his crew whenever I was in town. I dug through my emails and reached out to Paul.
Uh… what?!?
Paul replied to my email and let me know that he had some guys that did a pre-ruck before their F3 workout. The push off time was 4:30… in the freakin morning.
I won’t lie, I initially balked at the time. A 4:30 push off meant waking up at 3:45 AM while ON VACATION. Not exactly the most family friendly and relaxing way to start a vacation. But, before I knew what happened, I replied that I’d be there.
I think the thing that really pushed me over the edge to commit was my need to be uncomfortable.
As I train for my upcoming HTL, I have a pretty standard training plan and it is something I know and am comfortable with. But, GORUCK events are full of discomfort and the unknown. Committing to a ruck at a stupid time in the morning (night?) before meeting up for an unknown “workout” with a bunch of guys you don’t know and doing things you’ve never done is just the sort of thing I need.
Miles are miles
The great thing about rucking is miles are miles no matter where you are. It is a pretty cool that no matter where you are you can strap on a ruck, meet up with some people you’ve never met, grab an hour under weight, and hear some cool stories.
Rucking down in Myrtle Beach was no different. Great guys. Good stories. Miles on miles.
What the F3?
If you’ve been around the GORUCK community for a while you’ve probably come across or heard about F3. I knew a little about the organization, but had never connected with a local chapter.
After we finished our miles we met up with a few other guys getting ready to start the F3 workout. I was looking forward to entering into the unknown.
With F3, it isn’t just about the unknown of what you’re going to be doing during the workout, there is also the unknown of what the heck everyone is saying. Just like most groups of people have their own vocabulary that doesn’t make sense to outsiders (coupon ruck, anyone?) the F3 crew has a whole dictionary full of words that only start to make sense after you’ve been around for a while.
But, being uncomfortable and embracing the unknown was the whole point for me. So, I stepped up, looked to the guy to the right and left, and faked it till I made it.
The workout was great. Not being in control of the movements and the rep counts is just the sort of thing I need more of. When I did my 9/11 GORUCK Heavy it was the PT sessions that brought me the most pain and it was the revelation that doing push-ups and flutter kicks on my own is 100 times easier than when you do them and someone is giving a count that you just can’t keep up with.
The workout delivered all I needed in the mental and physical realm.
Double your fun?
Just when I thought I had checked the training box, Paul emails me to let me know they were doing the same thing the next day. Wanna join?
Um… no. See you at 4:30.
Again, such a great opportunity to put myself into the uncomfortable and unknown.
More miles with good guys. More suffering while pushing yourself and your team.
Heading home.
My training this vacation was exponentially better than I had planned or anticipated. I was able to not just get a good physical workout, but was able to engage on a mental level that needed some much needed training.
Special thanks to the guys from F3 Grand Strand for your hospitality. If any readers make their way to Myrtle Beach, be sure to find these guys. Just bring your alarm clock, because these guys get up stupid-early.
