After the lower left front rib popped on Sun Feb 22, I read up on it and
realized this time it was going to take much longer than past injuries in my
five-year BJJ journey. I didn't fret at all. I even felt welcoming a break as I
had a backup mode of exercise.
So far, I had rucked for five weeks, progressing from a 30-pound load over 44
minutes to 52.5 lbs over 90 minutes. The workout stressed my frame, the bones
and joints, from neck down. The result seemed to carry over to movements such as
walking, climbing up and down stairs, and getting up after two hours in a deep
armchair. I felt more sure-footed which reflected on my posture. Typically, my
shoulders and sometimes the core would sore but my rib was never a problem.
My rucksack, a GR1 purchased a few years back, held a bag of brown rice (15 lbs)
and a kettlebell. The load felt crushing towards the end of a long march and
often reminded me of an advice for ultra runners training for their first race:
count not the miles you cover but the hours you can stay on your feet. I figured
rucking four hours would prepare me well for a marathon.
I rarely walk more than 50min at a time yet, over the weeks, have rucked in Xero
Z-Trail sandals over an hour at a time. It feels more like legit training. The
weight makes it less easy to turn my head. In addition to traffic, I pay
attention to my posture, gait, and sometimes breathing. All seem to help mental
focus and make it a kind of meditation. Once loaded, I just keep plodding on,
like a pack animal. Liberman is right again: I am born to ruck.
On route, I often thought of my maternal grandfather who, in the early 80s, used
to visit us. He would push a flat-wooden-top wheelbarrow loaded with produce, bags
of peanuts, millet, coarse-ground corn, etc., over 15km dirt road from his village
home to town. I was then 7 or 8 years old and thought it was an unbelievable trek.
But his feat had only impressed me briefly. Until my 40s, I had remembered more
the lamb dumplings we had the evening he came.
I stopped taking vitamin D3 since I started rucking.
The last two weeks, I upped the load to 52.5lbs, about one third of my body
weight, and the workout started to kick my ass. Often afterwards I had to take a
short nap.
- Tue Feb 17, Reviewed the Michael Easter book "The Comfort Crisis."
- Wed Feb 18, 30lbs/44min
- Thu Feb 19, BJJ
- Fri Feb 20, BJJ
- Sat Feb 21, 40lbs/60min
- Sun Feb 22, BJJ. Popped a rib.
- Mon Feb 23, 30lbs/60min
- Tue Feb 24, 30lbs/70min
- Wed Feb 25, 30lbs/75min
- Thu Feb 26, 30lbs/80min
- Fri Feb 27, 30lbs/90min
- Sat Feb 28, 45lbs/50min
- Sun Mar 1, 45lbs/60min
- Mon Mar 2, 45lbs/60min
- Tue Mar 3, 35lbs/90min
- Wed Mar 4, 50min speed-walking over 2.8 miles
- Thu Mar 5, 45lbs/50min Carrying 45lbs over the same course! (why?)
- Fri Mar 6, 45lbs/60min
- Sat Mar 7, 45lbs/75min
- Sun Mar 8, 45lbs/100min
- Mon Mar 9, break
- Tue Mar 10, 45lbs/90min
- Wed Mar 11, 45lbs/100min
- Thu Mar 12, 45lbs/82min with 42/40min splits, i.e., faster in the 2nd half.
- Fri Mar 13, 45lbs/105min
- Sat Mar 14, 52.5lbs/60min. 1/3 body weight!
- Sun Mar 15, 52.5lbs/68min
- Mon Mar 16, 52.5lbs/60min. The 50min/2.8-mile speed-walking route.
- Tue Mar 17, 52.5lbs/60min. The zippers opened again at the top guided by
the weight of the kettlebell. This is a risk.
- Wed Mar 18, break. Went to SF.
- Thu Mar 19, 52.5lbs/60min
- Fri Mar 20, 52.5lbs/60min
- Sat Mar 21, break
- Sun Mar 22, 52.5lbs/90min. library visit.
- Mon Mar 23, BJJ back on the mat!
- Tue Mar 24, BJJ
- Wed Mar 25, 52.5lbs/65min
- Thu Mar 26, break
- Fri Mar 27, BJJ
- Sat Mar 28, 52.5lbs/67min/3.6mi kicked my ass. Needed a nap afterwards.
