Yeah, not really. They (and every other branch of the military) won't accept me as a recruit (DQ'd for having laser surgery to repair torn retinas). Oh well, the next-best thing I can try is participating in a
series of boot camp-style events put on by our local USMC
coordinating council that also benefit various USMC-related charities. Personally, I'm in it for the physical challenges, but the philanthropy part is a bonus (not to mention that it's a tax write-off
).
I decided to enter the
first event about a month before it was scheduled (this past Saturday, January 26). You can review the haphazard prep work I did leading up to this in the
mini-log I kept on here. My comments ending the thread speak for themselves, hence this new log.
The next event is Saturday, May 3, at the
US National Whitewater Center just west of Charlotte, and according to the council's website on the event series, this particular challenge "will encompass nearly every activity available at the whitewater center to include but not limited to: rock climbing, high & low ropes courses, mountain biking, off-road running, team brain games, white water time, etc." Awesome. I don't have a bicycle. I also need two additional people to make up the required four-person team. Without them, this event (and the one in August) won't be happening for me (if you're willing to travel, I have crash space
). I can't control the teammate situation, but I can control my own prep in case this actually does end up happening.
I have just under fourteen weeks (with a couple hiccups for travel) from the date of this post to prepare for the event. As I noted in my other log, my deficiencies are many, but particularly troublesome are: near-maximal output for extended time (read: energy system development), upper-body pressing, and (not noted) overall strength relative to bodyweight. I'm not interested in packing on muscle--I have a deep-seated aversion to excess size as my obese childhood would attest--but that doesn't mean I can't improve my strength and energy system capacities. So, here's the tentative plan, starting this week:
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Jan 29 - Feb 8 (2 weeks)
NROL - Break-In (no two-day rest between these two weeks so it'll fit the schedule)
Feb 11 - Mar 7 (4 weeks)
NROL - Strength I
off week - March 9-15 (Washington, DC)
Mar 18 - Apr 11? (4 weeks)
NROL - Strength II (beach trip planned at the end of the fourth week, so may have to tweak some rest periods along the way)
Apr 14 - May 2 (3 weeks)
event-specific prep (as close as I can guess; the final setup for the first event wasn't revealed until the day before)
--in general, I'm thinking cycling (stationary bike HIIT if I haven't gotten my own mountain bike yet, if needed), balance/stability/core work, rock climbing (maybe worth a couple day passes to a local climbing gym... or I could just go to the mountains
), various running and/or rowing (a la Saturdays as mentioned below), regeneration, and rest
post-race (? weeks)
NROL - Strength III (if optimal; otherwise perhaps a re-run of Core Performance)
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Given this schedule, I'm looking at gym time four days per week (usually Mon, Tue, Thur, Fri). Wednesdays will likely involve a similar "regeneration" routine to what I picked up doing Core Performance. With race season starting up, I'm sure a couple Saturdays will be devoted to 5Ks; otherwise, I'll try to make those "outside" days, meaning my own 5Ks, sprint sessions at a track, hill drill sessions, or if the weather sucks, rowing intervals at home (I <3 my Concept2). All this AND making sure I get plenty of saddle time--er, mental recovery on my Harley
I'm not going to log my nutrition, just my training. I obsessed over my FitDay log for years, so I have a good idea of what my needs are. If I feel like I'm slipping, I'll do my own FD tracking; however, I will say that I intend to consume more daily protein during this preparation than I have been the past two months or so. I haven't been eating horribly, but it certainly hasn't been optimal, and with the Cosgrove-inspired ass-kicking I'm sure is to come, I'll need the right fuel to survive. I appreciate any thoughts on supplementation, but my current regimen is fairly inclusive (multivitamin, fiber, flaxseed oil, fish oil, low-dose Greens+). PWO shakes are taken care of, but I may start adding creatine to them just for kicks. I also have a protein-only blend that goes into my morning oatmeal.
As always, I'm open to suggestions for tweaks, additions, subtractions, and complete overhauls. I promise that the rest of my posts here (save maybe for the final one) won't be as long, involved, or snarky as this one (okay, maybe I lied about not being snarky). Also, while it'd be awesomely entertaining, I'm refraining from putting up an
Alpo challenge since it might encourage some to pull more for Alpo than "hoo-ah!"
"Next time" starts today.