During the planning session for this new event to debut in November, something hit me like the six-bricks in a GRC – TRVLSQD really is the “TESTING GROUNDS FOR STUPID”. So very soon the details of this will be revealed once all of the proper authorizations/clearances are in hand (yes, paperwork needed to be filled out and sent up the chain…)

Details soon……For now – TRAIN LIKE YOU HAVE 3 MONTHS (you only have 3 months to prepare, and Cadre Bert’s edit of ICABW will be verified)

I have no idea who will complete this……

TRUTH

I know quite a few of you have been asking about where you can get one of these. Since it’s on the GORUCK Store, might as well think about whether or not you need one of these OR possibly need a backup to your existing reflective strategy for GORUCK events. TWO IS ONE…..

It’s Aloha Friday and something cool has just hit the GORUCK Website!!! A new GORUCK FLAG! Very cool! Never hurts to have one…or more of these!!!!!
(CLICK THE IMAGE & RUN:)

Today is the last day of Christmas in July!!!!! Last chance to save a TON of BEER MONEY!

Always moving forward with the evolution of our Team, this past Sunday’s morning SS7 was a different kind of session. Yes we did some PT….

…..worked on water exploration and aqua-dynamic cooling procedures….

…carried awkward AND heavy items of strategic importance….

….all the while preparing the Team to prepare for the mission………….

So I hope all of you enjoyed your Sunday morning – I know those that were able to participate in the horrible smoke-session that occurred – may possibly never show up again, since it was an hour a half longer than I had planned. Man….I hope folks come back to train. Maybe I’ll make it interesting so they will…..crossing my fingers…..

fkh

Train….Train…Train…..

We all do it, some with more intensity than others. Caught up in the quest to be better. Whatever life’s direction seems to take us…..

LIFE

BUSY

This past SS7 in at Stadium Bowl was no different. Show up, get the workout done, then move on. Pretty typical…..
..or was it?

I haven’t seen Kyle in quite some time. His life – just as busy as anyone else’s I suppose. And here he was, 7am on a Sunday morning, probably an hour’s worth of a drive down from the north, just so he could come work out. There wasn’t any special “hook”, no special event tagged alongside the workout that would really entice you to get up on a slow Sunday morning to go suffer in arguably the most intense set of stairs that stand guard over the Thea Foss Waterway – The Stairs at Stadium Bowl.

And yet there he was – the one who would happily invite you to his VQ (Vision Quest – no not the 80’s movie….something much worse, involving the spirits of animals and such…) and then tell you how the guys at his work don’t understand that a video game character “can’t move and fight like that with a ruck on!” For Kyle, the experience has taught him what you can or can’t do with a ruck on your back, and to hear him passionately tell me this story about the challenges he faces at the office, makes me smile.

It’s seeing Kyle that reminded me of this very simple and true fact about TRVLSQD: You can be caught up in life, go away for a while, and jump right in at any time, at any workout, and the promise you have from me and everyone else – You’ll receive the kind of hugs, high-fives and smiles that accompany the return of an old friend. Yeah so he’s been gone for a while….so what! There are plenty of folks that many of us don’t see too often, and the same thing seems to happen every time someone shows that we almost forget what they look like…..Not that we could forget you Kyle:)

It was great seeing you again Kyle – way to crawl yourself right back into the heart of the Team!
Sometimes time really does fly by, and then a friend gives you that reason to smile:)

fkh

It’s almost always brisk at 6am when you’re getting the Team together for a workout. This time of the year there’s plenty of light already, and it’s simply a matter of getting after it. Those of you that came out were treated to spectacular instances of elevated heart-rate, a few servings of Sugar Cookies, and maybe a drink or two (of Puget Sound’s Best:)

Pictures are worth….well…they’re worth the emotion they evoke when you were the one exerting yourself and then you get to see them after the fact! Well done to Mike D, Chuck, Leah, Seth, and Chris. You were a tight fire-team, until you took two casualties that left only three of you to charlie mike. And the 3 of you successfully brought the components home with no damage!

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Chris Mickelsen – Your education into the ways we create teamwork has only begun – I’ll see you in the suck brother!

……So what did you do Sunday morning at 6am?

Everyone can train for a GRC, a Light, or any other GR Event. To be able to participate in an Event that isn’t designed to “crush” you (don’t confuse with easy – climbing at elevation “sucked” the wind from my lungs) is a welcome reprieve from the standard PT beat-down.

This past week/weekend I was fortunate to join a 1/2 dozen or so other TRVLSQD folks as we converged down to South Lake Tahoe to attend the Custom NAVIGATOR. I know a little bit about logistics, and to see an event of this scale pulled off by Team Maris was simply awesome! From Grant and his Chef Boy-I-Am-Hungry skills, to the surprise trainer (Mykel Hawke – Man, Woman, Wild & TV Personality, Ex-Green Beret) and the sporadic bear sightings, this event was one of the greatest gatherings of Cadre & GRT’s ever! I won’t divulge too much of the magic of the event, and would like to say that although we were gathered to learn and explore, we all shared in mourning the passing of Jeff Proietti. We may have been on the other side of the country from where this unfortunate accident occurred, and we still felt his presence as we stood outside the Lodge in the sunshine. In your honor Jeff – Rest Easy, your GORUCK Family has picked up your torch and we’re carrying it forward.

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Special Thank you to Team Maris, Team Goggiano, all and every Cadre involved in this events’ success!

So whether it be NAVIGATOR, ASCENT, BEACHED, or any other GR Expedition – go out and get after it,

TEAM FIRST – ADVENTURE ALWAYS

fkh