A Nice Day For A Ruck

So with the weather improving it was time for some self-improvement.

After doing a thorough cleaning around the place, and having an electrician  friend assist me in adding some lights to some dark spots in the basement, it was time to go rucking again.

More than time to begin getting some of the winter hibernation worked off.

Unfortunately, I seem to have developed tendonitis in my right ankle which makes it ever so much more fun to do any workout at all over the past few weeks.

Today it had settled  down enough so I threw on the ruck with 35 pounds in it and headed out. 

I decided to take it relatively easy and did 2 miles and a bit in 45 minutes.

Nice and sunny and it was a pleasant ruck at a decent pace, 

The ankle while still tender, doesn't feel worse than when I began so that's a good thing. 

Might as well keep it up and get back in shape. 

40 Carried For 10

This is not a 10mm vs .40S&W post.

Instead its about the challenge I did today:  Rucking 10 miles carrying 40 pounds.

In one word:  Ouch.

Ten miles was a lot.

We drove out to Pontiac Lake Recreation Area and met up at 7:45 am.

We then did a little warm up stretching, and hit the trail.

 Beautiful clear and sunny day in the 30s, and we were soon more than warm enough as we rucked on.

 I had on a lot of safety orange as did some of the others in the group as this was an active hunting area, as well as a jogging and mountain bike area.

We passed by a few hunters and while we saw deer tracks we never saw a deer.  We were more in danger from the mountain bikers barrelling away on the trail than anything else really. The hunters we passed by all had excellent muzzle discipline and good situational awareness that there were other people in the woods, which is always nice to see.

The trail was quite rugged with many rocks and roots hiding under the leaves to trip you up. Lots of slipping and recoveries from hidden roots occurred. I did the "Don't Fall Dance" many times.

Switchbacks, and climbs, and dips added to the challenge, and we had an elevation gain of 1,219 feet during the walk.

We did a short break at 3 miles in and another at the 6 mile mark.

About 8.5 miles in,  I asked for a break as my feet and legs were killing me, feeling every rock underfoot and always fighting to maintain balance took a toll and I was starting to hit a wall. Others indicated they appreciated and needed the break as well.

A few minutes sitting down helped and I got up and carried on.

The last miles felt like they were forever, and the last was the hardest, with a lot of elevation change and even more damn rocks and roots.  The last mile was really the last mile plus making it a 10.46t mile ruck. But, no one gave up and we did it.

 

Afterwards we had a campfire and hot dogs to celebrate.

The group lead brought Teton Grass Fed Beef Hot Dogs for the group to cook over the fire, and while the hunger and effort of the ruck certainly made everything taste great, those were really amazing hot dogs.  I mean, best tasting hot dogs ever. Highly recommend.

 He also brought some non-alcoholic beverages and a pumpkin pie. All great stuff.  It was a great time with great camaraderie hanging around the fire after all the hard work.

Feet and legs are all sorts of sore right now.  But the accomplishment makes it worth it.

3.5 Miles Going Uphill Both Ways

Met up with the Rucking Group last night after work on the east side of Oakland County.

It was raining, because of course it was.

That is a photo of me taken during the previous ruck group jaunt in the rain in October. I looked pretty much like that last night.  Except that I did add a blaze orange hat for yesterday's ruck .

The rain eventually petered out, and we continued on without it.  The rain made the roots and rocks a lot more slippery, and it was full on dark as we rucked through the woods. The pace is considerably slower in those conditions.

We went up hills, went around the trail and then did the same hills again.  Then the group leader indicated he wanted to do the hills one more time for good measure so we all obliged. 

Quite a good workout and a good bunch of guys.

Yesterday 4.5 Miles and 45 Lbs

Yesterday I hit the trail once again. I increased the ruck weight again to 45 pounds for this one.

Yet again, the same trail had a difference appearance as fall is really putting on a show and leaves cover the ground.

 Makes your footing a little bit more interesting as you can't see the rocks, ruts, and tree roots waiting beneath the leaves to make you do the Don't Fall Dance. 

I did multiple laps around the trail, keeping an average pace of just under 20 minutes a mile per lap.

Interestingly, I did not see a single deer this time. As it was Opening Day for firearms deer season, they may have decided to make themselves scare, even as there is no hunting allowed in the township, and the deer seem to know that.

Fewer people were on the trail than the last time, and that number will keep declining as fall falls into winter.

 Not a bad ruck of 4.5 miles.

6 Miles

It was a chill 40 degrees outside as I got to the trail today.

Time to up my rucking game a bit.

 Since the Group 10-mile ruck is coming up on November 22, it was time to increase the mileage.

For additional difficulty, I added 5 pounds to the pack, bringing it to 40 pounds.

First three miles were done in just under an hour at an average 19.55 minutes a mile pace. 

The nature trail is different every time I ruck it now.

Can you spot the three deer in this photo? 

In addition to deer, many ducks were hanging out.

Not a ton of people on the trail,  as the cooler weather reduces people showing up, but still quite a few.   But most of the time I pretty much had a good portion of the trail all to myself, occasionally passing others or them passing me from the other direction.  All good and the solitude and quiet while moving through the woods was rather nice. The noisiest thing, aside from passing people talking on their phones, was the squirrels running through the brush.

By mile five, I could definitely feel the hike, and my feet were informing me that they were no longer enjoying the process, and why did I add another five pounds to the pack, anyway? 

But I pressed on, and completed my 6 mile goal.

 Pretty much achieved 6 miles in 2 hours which was the plan.

Not a bad way to spend a beautiful morning. 

A Little Ruck and Tires

I did a 41 minute ruck around the neighborhood this morning still with the 35 pounds in the ruck, and managed to do almost two miles in that time, missing it by just a bit when I got a call while rucking involving tires.

Not much to see, just some Canadian Murder Chickens giving me the side-eye.

 

So, the ruck got cut short by needing to help a friend add air to their tires.  I have an inflator and the friend does not, and the TPM sensors on the car were screaming.  

Tires are showing low inflation today because since we've had a cold snap recently the air pressure dropped, and so it was time to add air to the tires. The pressure had dropped from the recommended 41 psi (found on the inside of the drivers door frame)  to 35 psi which is a pretty decent drop and enough to set off the warning.

I also checked and topped up my tires as well, as they too had dropped due to the cold below the recommend fill amount down to 38 psi. Not so much that they would kick off the TPM sensors.  Back up to the stated 41 psi they went as well.

Still it was a decent little working to get moving this morning, and everyone's tires are inflated to where they should be, so not a bad start to the day.  

So, if you've had a cold snap in your area now that autumn is here, you might as well check your tire pressure and adjust as required.

A Good Ruck With Eaton Rapids Joe

After the range I drove out to Kensington Metropark to meet up with Eaton Rapids Joe, who was coming from the other direction.

Met at the Nature Center, got our packs on, and headed out on the trail.

It was a beautiful fall day to get some rucking in.

 

We walked the trails, chatting and catching up as we did so. ERJ told me about how things are going on the farm, which is always interesting to learn about. Many more topics were discussed and much laughter was had as we moved down the trail.

Along the way, there were some Sandhill Cranes wandering about.

ERJ noted they are often called the Ribeye of the Sky. This sounds quite culinarily interesting. These ones, however, were not on any menu.

We rucked for an hour and 18 minutes, for a total distance of 2.98 miles.  So, we got some exercise in, which is a good thing. The trail was overall pretty moderate in grade and condition, so it wasn't bad. I only rolled my ankle on a hidden rock once, doing an impressive hop and skip performance to regain my footing and prevent from falling.

It was a darn good ruck, as rucking with a friend is better than rucking alone, and it was good to meet up with ERJ yet again.  He also got me some locally sourced organic wood for my smoker from his farm, which I highly appreciate.

We will need to meet up and do this again. 

Ruckin' In The Rain

Yesterday after work I drove out and met up with the rucking group.

It had been raining during the day and the gray clouds threatened more to come.

I had just increased my weight to 35 pounds for this hike. For some reason it felt considerably heavier than the 32 pounds I had carried the last time.

Sure enough, not more than 3 minutes into the ruck, the skies opened up. Not a little rain, but not a torrential downpour either.  Still, we all managed to get good and soaked and was glad I had my rain jacket on.

It also got dark while we rucked so we hiked through the woods by flashlight, making it a bit more difficult to see the tree roots, rocks, slippery muddy areas and  other trip and slip hazards to make the ruck more enjoyable and slowed us down a bit as a result.

We did 2 miles in just under an hour under those conditions, which isn't all that bad.

Not a bad bit of exercise with a fun bunch of people. 

A Ruck In The Woods-ish

After the range I went home, dropped things off in a secure manner, and did a ruck today on the nature trail.

The leaves are a-changing.

 

Overcast, but it was a very pleasant day to get out and move about. 

I did a 3 mile walk carrying 32 pounds in my ruck in the woods. I did it in an hour, with a varied pace, stopping or often walking at a slow and quiet pace to take the occasional snapshot of the wildlife.

  

 

Quite a number of deer were out asking to be photographed. 

Also got to see the ducks work on the synchronized mooning of passers-by.

 

It was a nice relaxing activity outdoors in very enjoyable weather.

Head Clearing

To escape much of the ugliness online with Leftist's celebration of the murder of Charlie Kirk, including by many people whom I thought knew better and would act better (Boy, was I wrong about that), and the other horrible events of the week, I decided to get a bit of a break in this morning.

So, I drove out and then hit the West Bloomfield Nature Trail this morning, increasing the load in the rucksack with another 5 pound soft weight to 30 pounds for a solo ruck. 

30 pounds felt somehow markedly heavier than the 25 pounds from Tuesday, which of course was heavier than the previous 20.   I figure I will keep adding weight as I go to increase the workout.

That this ruck hopefully would clear my head a bit was the goal, as well as the bonus of getting a workout in. 

Of course, it started sprinkling rain as I began, which was not in the forecast, but that soon cleared up.

 Getting into the trees and away from the sounds of traffic and the day-to-day was rather nice.

 

Quite a few people about, but I soon managed to get on my own and just concentrate on maintaining a decent pace and enjoy the quiet.

I was doing a 19-minute mile pace for most of the ruck, but by mile 4 I was slowing down to a 20-minute mile pace.

Solo rucking is different from group rucking.  No banter or chit-chat or conversation, just moving along looking at the greenery and keeping moving. Quite calming, actually.

Certainly a bit more introspective, and it lacks the internalized peer pressure that makes you not back off your pace in a group.  You don't want to slow down the group or be one to give up during a task. It also lacks the outside encouragement that others in the group give including regular check-ins to see that people are ok.

Surprisingly, I'm not the slowest and most out of shape person in the rucking group, which is nice.

 I ended up doing 4.7 miles in 1.33 hours and an overall average pace of 19.55. Not a bad beginning.

It did help clear my head a bit, and I got to be inn a calm space and see some wildlife, too.

If you're getting all wound up about the terrible news and events of the past week, put the phone down, step away from the ugliness of social media, get outside, and get yourself refocused. 

The ugliness will sadly all still be there when you get back, but you deserve a break from it.

Rucking

I have decided to try and get into better shape, so I joined a rucking group.

A friendly bunch of guys and there's all levels of rucking there. It's once every other week and a good way to met up with people and get some fitness in. Done it a couple times now and it has been fun and a good workout.

The group is held at one of Oakland County's parks with a decent trail course with a mix of fields and forest to traipse around in.

I had a backpack with a 20lb plate that I picked up, and I added a 5 pound scuba soft weight that I had around to it to bring it to 25 pounds this week. I figure I'll add more weight as we go.

Tonight was a 2.25 mile ruck with an added surprise. In addition to rucking, we got to rotate carrying a log in teams of three which was a challenge. Kinda fun challenge and I had not been expecting that. 

A very fun activity in the outdoors, good to get out and move around with a  good bunch of guys. We're apparently going to be building up to a 10 mile ruck which should be fun.