2 /16/14
The Seattle -Tacoma team gathered Sunday morning to test ourselves under specific mission parameters – Cover 12 Miles with a 35+ Ruck as a Team, in under 3:30 min. The original mission was to visit the hallowed grounds of Selection 008 – Mother Nature had other plans.
MOTHER NATURE – 1
TRVLSQD – 0 (Kinda, Sean Honeywell did attack the Cascades in defiance of ANY Weather!)
One of my favorite experiences will always be seeing the Team pulling up in their vehicles….eyeing who has come out to play. Introducing ourselves to those that have never joined a training session before, the smiles, the hugs…it is and will always be the little things that you miss if you don’t stop what you’re doing everyone once in a while and be present in the moment. It’s hard to create opportunities of lasting memories that present themselves – such as pulling (or not) a giraffe from the back-seat of a Mini-Cooper! Seeing everyone leaving that vehicle, only to have Brian Lohr (ADR – All Day Ruck-Off) stuck in the back seat.
PRICELESS
We started the training with the typical start – 2 min Push-Ups, 2 min Sit-Ups. Now usually this is a pretty uneventful series of exercises (other than flatulence from prior – evening indulgence and the typical TRVLSQD sick sense of humor through inappropriate jokes). Since I finished before the hard-core (as in those having atomic-core strength) I happened to glance up and see what I thought was cheeseburger of some sort lying on the ground next to Donna. Upon closer inspection, I verified the object – McDonald’s Breakfast Hockey Puck (Donna’s a Canuck). I’d be lying if I didn’t admit this actually made my morning. And I couldn’t resist pushing the puck under her as she continued to crush those sit-ups.
…..Yes….this is how we started the 12-Miler
We stepped off onto the trail and spirits were high. The conversations flowed – maybe a little bit of Baileys, maybe a few cookies here and there, and yes – a BEER, or …….) 6 miles and the turn-around. The sun made an unexpected appearance, warming the trail and evaporating the water from the blacktop. It was a good ruck. We stayed on pace, shuffled, walked, shuffled, walked….until it was over. We were under 3:30…all that matters.
START TOGETHER – FINISH TOGETHER
I won’t reveal all of the magic that was the Cedar River 12-Miler, some things are just better left unsaid:
Baileys & Cookies BEFORE, DURING, AFTER the 12-Miler
Brian Lohr Sardine Cooper
Canadian Hockey Puck-Ups
Pretzels the Size of Your Face
Wiener Comparisons
Bathroom Greeting from the Hoff
…………………………………………………..
TEAM FIRST – BEER ALWAYS
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