Ben's month-long mini-log

[Phaedrus49er]

So this morning, about ten minutes ago, in fact, the final update email came in for the challenge. Here's the actual series of events:

5K trail run
timed sit-ups (60sec)
timed push-ups (60sec)
30yd buddy carry
25 jumping jacks
50 overhead presses (assuming with backpack weight: ~20lbs)
25 jumping jacks
30yd buddy carry

WHAT?!?!?! The 5K FIRST??? They also failed to mention we'd be wearing our packs (which will be heavier than what I practiced with) for everything except sit-ups until this last email...

As for any workout today, just foam rolling, movement prep, and stretching. I suddenly don't feel quite so confident about the outcome, but hey, there will be pancakes afterward either way

[GG300]

It actually looks like a good time from a slightly warped fitness point of view. Hope you do well and have a good time.

Whats up with the Jumping Jacks? I haven't done those since I was a Junior in high school.

[LisaS]

so ... how'd it go?

[gregl515]

Was sending good luck vibes your way!

[Phaedrus49er]

Thanks so much, folks. I was trying to put off posting about the event until the results were online, but no such luck so far. Goal #1 was to finish. Check. Goal #2 was to not finish last. TBD (I'll follow this up if/when results are posted). The challenge went exactly as the last email stated (and as I last posted). Some items of note:

--I weighed in at 200lbs with all my clothing for the run, meaning my pack had to weigh 20lbs. It weighed 24lbs. I think the pack on my practice run was 10-15lbs. I know to drop a brick (4 x 4.625lbs for this event) next time as we weren't allowed to alter our pack weight after weigh-in. That hurt I'll also monitor my bodyweight more closely next time as I carried a few extra of my own pounds from a month of not really tending to my diet.

--My 5K blew as I lost perhaps a minute or two to walking, finishing in 37:49 (from what I vaguely remember while staggering across the finish line). I don't blame the weight so much as the hour leading up to the run, during which we were made to literally stand around in an open field (wind chill right around freezing) waiting for the whole thing to get started. I won't complain too much since this was the first time for this event, but we weren't allowed to remove our packs after reporting in, and there's only so much warming up I could do with that weight on (I'd foam rolled and done some movement prep before leaving for the event maybe three hours before that, so not much benefit there).

--I ended up with 16.9999999 push-ups (suck) and 45 sit-ups (surprise). Still waiting on the PT and overall times. I would like to say for the record that the vast majority of push-ups and sit-ups I saw performed were half-reps, but I did the full ROM, so they can all suck it We had to stand in line for about twenty minutes between the run and the PT, so that recovery certainly helped, though my quads got really tight in the interim.

I have a lot of push work in all planes and areas--especially for reps/endurance--to do before another event like this. My arms especially need some attention, which seems counter-intuitive for me since I've long held the opinion of focusing on full-body (read: big muscle) development and letting the distal muscles develop in concert rather than doing isolation work, but let's face it: I have weak arms. Perhaps I've either compensated for or avoided certain movements all this time (my pull-ups suffer more from inadequate upper arm and grip strength than from anything else). I also feel the need to go back to squats and deadlifts for reps (~20 per set), and I can continue to use this weighted pack for running/sprinting until I can afford a proper weight vest. I'll be surfing training programs for the next couple days until I find something that seems to address my needs.

The next event is May 3 at the whitewater center--apparently there is an on-water element involved, which will be cool--so I have about three months to prep. I really wanted to go through Core Performance again, but I have a feeling I'm going to need something a little more strength-centric in the gym while getting back to running 5Ks with a little more regularity (trail runner suggestions, anyone?) My track work will remain as-is (once every two weeks or so, maybe a little more frequently). Hill drills need to be more involved. So many areas/issues to address...

FWIW, my partner wore a 16lb pack (only needed 14lbs), could've done the 5K without stopping (had to stay together, so I slowed us down), did 14 push-ups, 45 sit-ups, and we matched all the PT stuff per the event's requirements (except that I carried her both times across the field). I'd also like to mention that we raised an additional $250 (totally unexpected) in donations, so that was pretty cool. Still awaiting official race results...

EDIT: I forgot to mention my current physical state. Quads are sore but nothing major. Chest is moderately tight, again nothing major. My back is oddly sore, perhaps from carrying that pack for as long as I did. My shoulders are oddly unaffected; hopefully that means I loaded and wore my pack appropriately. I know my running form suffered from both the weight and trail terrain, but a lighter pack in the future will keep my form as it should be, so no worries with that. A little rolling and stretching today, and I'll be ready to hit it again tomorrow.

[RacerBill]

Wow, that sounds really tough, especially with the cold temps. Congrats on getting through it, Ben.

[K-Court]

Yes, indeed. The cold weather must have made that really tough. Congrats, Ben. Awesome job, man, seeing this through!

[Phaedrus49er]

Still no results posted, but there was a TV story about it (the Tiffany they interviewed was my partner; too bad they didn't show all of her *drool*)

[GG300]

Nice job finishing Ben.

[Phaedrus49er]

Thanks again! Results finally posted. We weren't last... there were five teams behind us (out of 77)

Of course, I've been scouring all my training program links and haven't really found anything that address all my (compatible) needs, and I suck at designing my own. Hopefully I'll get a flood of inspiration in the next couple days. I know what I want to achieve, and I know what outside-the-gym things I need to incorporate, so it's just a matter of getting them to mesh. Meh.

[Phaedrus49er]

Okay, I wanted to do the math before posting the details of the scoring. The goal was to get the lowest score. First, the equation:

-----

5K time counted for 1 point per second

+total team sit-ups multiplied by 5 and subtracted from 500 (if your team
completed more than 100 total, your team received a negative score)

+total team push-ups multiplied by 5 and subtracted from 500 (if your team
completed more than 100 total, your team received a negative score)

+buddy carry event (both buddy carries, side straddle hops, and POWs)
counted for 1 point per second

+ 60 points per buddy drop

= total team Marine Buddy Challenge score

-----

This meant that for my team:

37:48 5K = 2268pts
500 - (90 total sit-ups x 5) = 50pts
500 - (30 total push-ups x 5) = 350pts
3:15 buddy carry event = 195pts
no drops = 0pts
TOTAL: 2863pts

By comparison, the overall first-place team scored 1404 The overall last-place team scored 4345 (something must've happened to them--injury, emergency, etc--because the next-to-last team scored 2987). We placed 72 of 77, meaning goal #2 (not finishing last) was fulfilled; however, to be honest, I'm disappointed at my own performance and so will be busting hump for the next three months to prep for the May 3 event (and trying to find two more people to make a team *ahem*). Hint hint

EDIT: The answer was sitting on my bookshelf the whole time: NROL (duh). There are just under fourteen weeks until the next event. That means two weeks for the break-in, then three four-week strength phases, though I may just make it two strength phases and stretch it out a bit since I have a week-plus of vacation in there. Time to break out the calendar and a new log

[K-Court]

Congrats on not finishing last, Ben! Thinking positively .... the chances of placement improvement next time around are signficant!

[Phaedrus49er]

Thanks, Rob. I share your enthusiasm for having finished and not being last; however, the clientele was much different from the weekend warriors and because-everybody-else-is-doing-it crowd I typically encounter at road races. No, these folks, for the most part, were hardcore, even the open "community" category. But hey, that's okay. I'm creating a new log and will link this and that thread together, and hopefully my plan will put me in better shape for the next round. Of course, I could just be blowing sunshine up my @$$

P.S. I love how facetiously your pity of our "cold" weather plays out in my head

EDIT: Voila. The new log.

[K-Court]

Originally Posted by Phaedrus49er

P.S. I love how facetiously your pity of our "cold" weather plays out in my head

HAHA. Don't worry about it, Ben. By Canadian standards, I'm a weather weenie too.

[Phaedrus49er]

First round of pictures posted to my MySpace and Facebook profiles. There were about 150 hi-res pics taken, so when I get a CD copy of them, I'll upload those as well.