On most of my past long distance paddles I was lucky enough to have someone join me. For this weekend’s long distance paddle which was the longest of this training regiment I was alone. Someone might say ” You were in a river with houses on it how could you feel like you were alone?”. My question for those folks would be “Have you ever been in a crowd of strangers and not felt alone”. For some contestants being alone is not something they have to deal with. Either they are in a sailboat that can accommodate two folks or they are have teamed up with someone. For others they are alone and that happens pretty early in the challenge. I have always been amazed at how fast you lose track of other contestants in these events. I would be on the beach at Ft Desoto with 50 other folks and would be able to see several of them crossing Tampa Bay. Enter Sarasota Bay and all of a sudden the bulk of the fleet disappears. You find yourself alone for the next 15 plus hours until about a half mile out of checkpoint 1. Then just as sudden as the bulk of the fleet disappearing in Sarasota Bay you start seeing these little stern lights and headlamps converging on checkpoint one. Once you leave checkpoint one I usually find myself alone until Flamingo. I might have an occasional passing with a contestant but it is always brief. Either they are on the shore and I am on the water or I am on the shore and they are on the water. So being alone is something Watertribers have to be comfortable with. The interesting thing is that it seems that most folks in the general population really don’t like being alone. I mean it is used as punishment ( solitary confinement) and as a form of torture of POWs by some countries. I guess the reason most folks don’t like it is that you cannot hide or fake who you are when you are alone. You have to rely on yourself for everything. All your fears, insecurities, and flaws are right in your face and there is nothing you can do to hide from them. A Watertribe challenge will flush those fears, insecurities and flaws out and test them relentlessly. Someone might have everyone at work fooled that they are a great problem solver when in reality they are using other people’s work, ideas, and solutions. In a challenge they either solve the problem themselves or quit. Someone might talk a big game about how tough they are and have everyone fooled but in a challenge they will have to prove it. Someone may portray that they have great integrity but are always stretching the true. In a challenge they either do it or not “Acta No Verba” (actions not words). Now with the age of tracking electronics their actions are always being validated. As I have gotten older and I guess more comfortable with who I am , what my fears are ( yes I have them) , and confidence in my abilities I don’t mine being alone. Sure it would be fun to have someone else to share the experience but as my wife says ” He is not right”. Which means there is not a large group of folks to go solicit a team member from. The other issue is you just don’t know how someone will react when the hardships of the challenge come a knocking. That was what made doing things with GitUrNun so special. I knew how tough he was and how he would act when things got bad. Still mad at him for retiring and leaving the area but that is the selfish side of me talking. Some Watertribers have described doing a challenge as a spiritual experience. In fact Chief has indicated that his original idea of the challenges was based on the American Indian idea of a vision quest. I know for me spending so much time alone does cause the challenge to become quite spiritual. A lot of time to self reflect, reassess my life and how I am living it, cause me to experience tremendous emotional swings from pure terror to peaceful tranquility, to talk to myself a lot, to think a lot, to talk to God a lot and sometimes plead and pray like a monk in a monastery ( Like maybe during the night when the seas are rough, I thought I saw a shark fin, and things are not going so well ) For me there are places in the Everglades that feel much more spiritual than any Cathedral I have ever been in. In the UFC I am figuring that there are going to be some long periods of being alone and I am really ok with that. But,
just in case I think I might bring Rocky alone to have someone else to talk to. The really scary part is when he starts talking back. Then I know it is time for me to pull over and gets some sleep.
In Honor of Air Force MSgt William J. Kerwood
These training sessions are dedicated to MSgt William J Kerwood, assigned to 20th Special Operations Squadron ” Green Hornets”, who lost his life on Nov 23,2003 in Afghanistan. As I indicated in my last post last weekend started muscle chaos with not having Sunday as a rest day. I suffered through all the workouts this week. I was just plain tired all the time. I did get through the workouts and it was good prep for the UFC. I will not get the luxury of a rest day in the UFC. The workouts this week were the following:
Monday – 5 mile walk 35 lb weight / 80 minutes
Tuesday -10.8 mile bike / 31 minutes – Lifted weights
Wednesday – 3.5 mile run / 33 minutes – Lifted weights – Row 11,500 meters / 50 minutes
Thursday – 4 mile elliptical / 33 minutes – TRX1 – 7 week routine – Paddle 5 miles / 62 minutes / 4.8 MPH
Friday – 3.5 mile run / 33 minutes – TRX2- 7 week routine
Today was a long paddle. 35 miles in 8 hours 35 minutes which gave me an average speed of 4 MPH. I did the first 21 miles in the Hillsborough River and unfortunately on this paddle I was fighting an incoming tide. Sure felt different from last week when I was riding the river current with an outgoing tide. On exiting the Hillsborough River I had another 14 miles to go to complete the workout. Decision time – go back up river 7 miles or go out into the Bay. The wind had been very mild and in fact at times almost non-existence. Since my muscles were so tired I didn’t want to push it too hard but I also wanted to get some big water time. I assume, that right there tells you I was not thinking right, I mean I do carry a VHF radio with weather on it, that the winds would be the same for the next 3 and half hours. I had about 7.5 miles to go when I turned around and started heading back to Tampa. That was when I felt a little wind. Hey, nice, a little wind to cool things off I thought. For the next 2 and half miles I was paddling near a spoil island that was acting as a wind break so I really didn’t detect that my future had a promise of some waves. I did say I wanted to get some big water time, right. When I cleared the spoil island I had completed 30.5 miles and I had a 2.5 mile paddle where I would be exposed to the wind, waves and would have to cross the shipping channel. I don’t know why things always happen to me mid way through a difficult stretch of paddling but it always does. Today was no different. I have commercial traffic coming from my port side. I am still not completely clear of the shipping channel. I have confused seas for some reason that I don’t totally understand, and low and behold, I have a LARGE fin and tail pass by my starboard side. There is a different between a shark’s fin shape and a dolphin’s fin shape and in the motion on the surface. As much as I wanted to believe it was a very large dolphin I knew it was not a dolphin. About this time I am feeling kind of small and way too close to the water. I can only hope that this shark is not confusing me with a twinkie and I am the soft inside. Talk about some motivation to not get swamped and to get out of a particular space of water. Nothing like a good rush of extrusion for the last few miles of your longest training paddle to date. Obviously I survived, no pulled muscles, and I finished the workout. No muscle chaos this week. Looking forward to a nice rest tomorrow. This paddle was a long one and a grind but it all ended as soon as I finished. For the family of MSgt William J Kerwood (USAF), that included a daughter, the grind of facing life without him never leaves . A donation to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation will make it easier for the families of fallen warriors such as Msgt Kerwood. http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/billwhale/ufc2012
In Honor of Army SFC Mitchell A Lane, Special Forces
These training sessions are dedicated to SFC Mitchell A Lane, assigned to 3rd Special Operations Group (Airborne), who lost his life on August 29, 2003 while conducting combat operations in Afghanistan. Muscle chaos is the theme of this week’s training. Over the past six weeks I would end the week-long training session with a long paddle on Saturday and a big time rest on Sunday. Not so this week. I did my longest training paddle (30 miles) of this training regiment and instead of resting on Sunday the schedule called for a 12 mile easy paddle. I think my mind, muscles , and overall body was in a state of shock. I really didn’t want to do this paddle.
Peanut was in full-time whine mode but Rocky prevailed. I ended up doing a 12 mile paddle with an average speed of 4.2 MPH. As much as I didn’t want to do the paddle I felt pretty good after it. Today I did a 5 mile walk with a 35 lb weight and I felt pretty spent after the workout. This really is good training because in the UFC I will not get a day of rest. Each day I will have to get back into the saddle after completing a long day. Along with the training the planning for the event is consuming my evenings. It is amazing how much time I am having to spend on the planning phase. The workouts this month have not been easy and the future ones don’t look to be any easier. For the family of Army SFC Mitchell A Lane, Special Forces, that included two young children, the days without him are not easy. A donation to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation will make it easier for the families of fallen warriors such as SFC Lane. http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/billwhale/ufc2012
In Honor of Navy ABH1 (SEAL) Neal C. Roberts
In Honor of Capt. Joshua S Meadows, USMC
These training sessions are dedicated to Capt. Joshua S Meadows USMC, assigned to 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion, who lost his life on Sept 5, 2009 while conducting combat operations in Afghanistan. Wednesday started out with a 10 minute rowing warmup and a weight lifting routine with 6 exercises with 12,10, and 8 reps and a 30 sec rest between sets. Wednesday evening was interval time. The positive part was that the scheduled distance for this workout was not as long as the previous weeks. Ended up doing 4 miles of intervals with an overall average speed of 5.3 MPH. The original schedule for Thursday had a bike ride, a TRX workout and a 4 mile easy paddle. I completed the bike workout covering 11.4 miles in 33 minutes and a TRX-1 7 week workout but I had a conflict come up and was not able to fit in the paddle. Since it was an easy short paddle I am not that concerned with missing it. Friday was an elliptical workout of 4 miles in 33 minutes and a TRX-2 7 week workout. The workouts seem to be going ok. I am starting to be a little conservative on how much I push my max effort sessions to avoid a pull muscle and an injury. At this stage of the training I think it is more important to get my body conditioned for long periods of effort versus multiple short periods of max effort. Tomorrow will be a long paddle – 30 miles. Spending lots of time planning routes, figuring out gear needs, ordering food, and thinking through different scenarios. Lot of concern right now in the Watertribe about the water levels on the St Mary’s and the Suwannee River. They are both very low which makes passage on the upper parts of these two rivers very difficult. Praying for rain over the next few months. The workouts this month have not been easy and the future ones don’t look to be any easier. For the family of Capt. Joshua S. Meadows (USMC), that included a young child, the days without him are not easy. A donation to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation will make it easier for the families of fallen warriors such as Capt. Meadows. http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/billwhale/ufc2012
In Honor of Sgt David P Day, USMC
These training sessions are dedicated to Sgt David P Day USMC, assigned to 2nd Marine Special Operations Battalion, who lost his life on April 24, 2011 while conducting combat operations in Afghanistan. Sunday was a rest day and it was needed after the long distance paddle on Saturday. Monday stated out with a run of 3.5 miles in 33 minutes and a weight lifting routine. Still keeping the weights to 3 sets with 12,10, and 8 reps and a 30 sec rest interval. Monday evening completed a 10 mile strength paddle in 1 hr 57 minutes which gave me an average speed of 5.13 MPH. In both my long paddle and this strength paddle I probably was pushing it too hard. During most of the workout I was exceeding the max heart rate targets. Incurring an injury at this point would not be a good thing so on future workouts I am going to bring the intensity down to stay within the target heart rate range. Tuesday I walked 5 miles with a 35 lb pack in 80 minutes over various elevations. The strength workout was a painful one but the pain left as soon as I finished. For the family of Sgt David P Day (USMC) the pain of his loss never leaves . A donation to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation will make it easier for the families of fallen warriors such as Sgt Day. http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/billwhale/ufc2012
In Honor of Navy ET1 (SEAL) Jeffrey A Lucas
Mental Toughness – (4) Resiliency
“In Honor of Army Sgt. First Class David Metzger” Nov 23,2011 post, I talked about the mental toughness of Watertribers. In that post I stated that there were fours areas of mental toughness. As I have stated in past post I am not a psychologist and the thoughts I am sharing are strictly from my prospective. Dr. Nick Hall, who is an accomplished Watertriber http://www.brnickhall.com, has probably done the most work in studying the mental side of Watertriber http://www.watertribe.com . The four areas of mental toughness that I have targeted are: (1) Fear management, (2) Pain management, (3) Decision making while fatigued and (4) Resiliency. In my post ” In Honor of Navy SEAL Senior Chief Petty Officer Theodore Fitzhenry” Nov 25, 2011 post I addressed fear management. I explained what I go through with pain management in my post “Mental Toughness – (2) Pain management” Dec 04, 2011 post. In my December 17, 2011 post I explored decision-making while fatigued. In this post I will explore resiliency. In the military I often heard the phase ” No plan survives first contact with the enemy”. I kind of viewed that the purpose of this phrase was to get folks to think about contingencies. I had an old salt give me a different prospective. His opinion was that yes we should be thinking about contingencies but even with multiple contingencies there will be some thing that will happen that no one had thought of. That was the real environment to prepare for. In my civilian job I have observed a similar phenomena when we are trying to restore power after a hurricane. We have restoration plans that have been perfected over the years. We train, drill and come up with improvements to the plans each year. But it is uncanny that each new storm throws us something unique that was not in the plan. In both the military and in my civilian job the level of success in dealing with these unique situations hinged on the ability of people in the field to absorb the fact that things are not working according to plan, to assess the new situation and then change tactics to address the issue. I think the US Marine Corps was the originator of the phase that goes ” Improvise, Adapt, and Overcome”. That for me means resiliency. For myself I have yet to complete a Watertribe event where my original plan worked. Stuff happens, gear breaks, things get lost, injuries occur and the weather just doesn’t cooperate. Throughout my life I have observed folks that when things did not go their way they got upset and spent a whole lot of energy on things that did not help the situation. For a Watertriber yelling and being pissed off at a piece of gear that failed will not repair the gear. Staying angry at yourself for not packing a piece of gear will not make the gear appear. Screaming at the wind and giving the sky the finger will not make the weather change. Might be a good way to have a lighten bolt hit you. Sitting on the beach having a pity party because things are not working out will not get you to the finish. There are multiple stories of Watertribers overcoming some unbelievable situations to finish races. For myself I have found that approaching a challenge with the mind-set that one of the many satisfactions of completing a challenge is the number of problems that I found a solution for. In fact I have tried to view it as a game. The other thing that I try to do is to remember a principle Stephen Covey explain in his book ” The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People“. This principle is to concentrate on the circle of influence versus the circle of concern. So for a piece of gear that failed, that is in my circle of concern, being pissed off at it is not in my circle of influence to fix the situation. Figuring out a way to repair the gear or to do without it is in my circle of influence. For bad weather, that is in my circle of concern, but screaming at it is not in my circle of influence. Figuring out a different course to get me out of the weather, or getting different paddle clothes, or deciding to stay on the beach until the weather passes are all in my circle of influence. What is neat about this concept is that it can be used for everyday problems and in fact I view that work and everyday life give me plenty of opportunities to test my mental abilities in this area. I think about Wizard, a Watertriber who has completed multiple events, and the problem he encountered in the UFC that he completed. He had a flat tie on his 40 mile portage that could not be fixed. He could have spent time being angry about what damaged his tire, he could have been upset about his bad luck and that there wasn’t a store close by, he could have just sat down, had a pity party and said it is hopeless. Nope not Wizard he took the old tire off, found a piece of rope and with a hose clamp made a rope tire and finished the portage. Now that is staying in the circle of influence and being resilient. I am kind of amazed that he isn’t half nuts after hearing that hose clamp go click click every time the wheel complete a revolution. In my past post I have tried to touch on the four areas that I feel make up strengthening my mental toughness for this event. I am sure for others they might have a different viewpoint. Please consider a donation to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation to help reduce the burden that the families of our Special Operations Warriors are carrying. That act will help them have resiliency to face life. http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/billwhale/ufc2012
In Honor of Army SSG Leroy Alexander
These training sessions are dedicated to Army SSG Leroy Alexander, assigned to the 7th Special Forces Group, who lost his life in Afghanistan in 2005. Wednesday started off with a 10 minutes rowing session as a warmup and then a Lift 2 weight routine. During the month of December I lifted on Tuesday but the walk workouts on Tuesday are going long so I have shift the lift routine to Wednesday. In the afternoon it was interval time. I hate these workouts but they are a necessary workout. I completed 5 miles of intervals with an average speed of 5.3 MPH and man they hurt. Today in the morning I biked 10.8 miles in 30.8 minutes and performed a TRX workout that worked the lower body. In the afternoon I 
completed a 5 mile easy paddle with an average speed of 4.8 MPH. The water was like glass and I was able to observed a beautiful sunset. It was so nice to have an easy paddle after yesterday’s torture paddle. My interval paddles are painful but the pain goes away once the workout is complete. For the family of SSG Leroy Alexander, that included a son and daughter, the pain of his loss never leaves . A donation to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation will make it easier for his children to get a college education. http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/billwhale/ufc2012
In Honor of Army SFC William Bennett, Special Forces
These training sessions are dedicated to Army SFC William Bennett, assigned to the 5th Special Forces Group, who lost his life in Iraq in 2003. Sunday was a rest day and even though I felt much better after Saturday’s workout I still needed the rest day. Monday I ran 3.5 miles in 33 minutes which was a faster pace than I was doing during the month of December. All the workouts except the weight lifting sessions are going to be increased from the December levels. Finished off the morning session with a weight lifting session and in the afternoon did a 10 mile strength. This paddle was a tough one because of the high winds Tampa Bay was experiencing from an oncoming cold front. The weather killed my speed but it was great training for the weather I might face in the UFC. For this paddle I ended up with an average speed of 4.7 MPH and a time of 2 hours 8 minutes. Today I did a 5 mile walk with a 35 lb weight in 77 minutes. This workout was a mile longer than the walks I was doing in December and at a faster pace. As the workouts increase in January I am wondering if any of the days will be easy days. For the family of SFC Wiiliam Bennet, that included his son Seth, there are no easy days without him. A donation to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation will make it easier for his son to get a college education. http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/billwhale/ufc2012
UFC 2012 