I finished the rucking challenge this morning (see HERE, HERE and HERE for more). It was quite fun, but at the same time incredibly humbling.
The pack weight ranged from a low of 25 to a high of 70. That first day I jogged and walked and I'm not sure how I did it in that pathetic day pack. Having an ALICE pack makes all the difference for those heavy-weight rucks. I enjoyed the running ones, but I got the most out of that one long walk with 65 pounds where I went over seven miles. Lots of soul searching.
I'll say this, I don't know how I survived the Rangers. We would do a ten-mile ruck every Friday and my pack was 60-pounds, plus we took weapons and our web gear etc. How I did it I don't know. We did a 20 miler every quarter with 45-pounds, and a 30-mile ruck once a year with 30-pounds plus our gear. Again, not sure how I survived.
Then there was Best Ranger. I ran that final marathon (plus) with an 85-pound ruck. Now, that wasn't a success at all. I got leveled after that first night, but I did finish the ruck. The highest weight I got on this challenge was 70-pounds and I only went less than 2 miles. Again, not sure how I did it.
For the most part, the mission was a success. I thought about soldiers and suicide and my own life and I got some great workouts in. I miss running and jogging without a pack, got to speak to most of my neighbors about what the hell I was doing and why, but for the most part, the entire challenge was a success.
I was talking about this with my neighbor the Marine. We were talking about how bad ass we once were. He a Marine (every one a bad ass), me a Ranger (just a few of us bad asses) and how we are no longer able to do those things we once did. We got to trade war stories and bond again as we always do with him talking about his son who has just joined the Marines, and my son who is thinking of joining the Army. Crazy ole world.
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