My recap of the weekend we did the Goggins 4 x 4 x 48 Challenge…
GOGGINS 4x4x48 (Sept 17-19, 2021)
In anticipation of this past weekend’s event, I was filled with the desire to be “prepared.” Sure, there are good aspects of preparedness but I tried to keep from being sucked into my trap of idolizing the preparation. I didn’t want my preparation and training to be the focus of my life and therefore, a distraction or problem for my family. I’d say I was able to accomplish that.
I took off work on day 1 of this challenge, Friday, September 17 so I could focus and be present throughout, minimizing distractions. I wanted to be present for my Shieldlock meeting in the morning, for the morning conversation with my wife, for the process to get ready for my first run and every run thereafter and finally, be present for the run itself. Whether the plan was to run by myself, with one other person or a group, I wanted to be present.
When the time came to lace up the trail shoes for the first run, I was excited. No nerves or anxiety, just joy. I shared with Fishsticks how surprised I still was that a few guys wanted to do this with me when I mentioned it a few months ago. It’s less the question of “why” we would do this. It’s more the question of “why not” do this. It’s something to challenge us physically, mentally and frankly, emotionally. Lastly, it’s an activity that goes in the category of “GET TO” rather than “HAVE TO.”
Run #1 was a trail run, 4mi long with Gears, World Wide Leader (I’ll abbreviate to WWL), Fishsticks and Rock Thrill. No, they weren’t born with these names, their parents surely loved them more than that. These are their given F3 names. We took off from Allison Park in Fort Mill’s Baxter neighborhood and the run was an out and back on a trail a few of us have become accustomed to. We chatted, complained, laughed and made the obligatory comments about how we were only finished with 1/12th of this effort, once completed. We remained safe, under control and present.
We all parted ways to either get back to work for some or enjoy the day off for me. I drove the road route in our neighborhood to finalize run #2 then took lunch to my wife at her office, without showering. We chatted for a few minutes then I made my way back home for some food, a shower, reading, stretching, utilizing a foam roller and a little rest. Bring on run #2.
2pm was upon us and Fishsticks and WWL were standing in my driveway ready to roll, anticipating popsicles at the conclusion, as promised. After a brief overview of the route, minimizing the neighborhood hills, we were off. We dipped in and out of most of the cul-de-sacs, received a ringing of the cowbell from Grinder and a few walk-by’s from Bonsai. We discussed personal memories from 9/11, documentaries of the time, Disney vacations and first jobs. All watches clocked 4mi and we finished at the driveway to have popsicles with a few of my kids after school. Not a bad Friday afternoon.
Eat, shower, laundry, watch a show with the kids, now time to hang with them for a bit. So far, no pain.
Run #3. 5:30pm rolls around and the process begins again, back on the trails but this time at the Springs Greenway. A few families saw us off as Rock Thrill, Reborn, Walker, WWL (and friend Justin) and I for what we expected to be a 4.25mi run along these beautiful trails. After a few correct turns, a missed turn and a couple of stops to get reoriented, we eventually got back on track. Back on track meant we rolled into the end point after tracking 5.25mi which unfortunately, doesn’t mean we get to take mileage off the next run.
Fortunately for me, my family had some leftover food and I essentially licked the containers clean. It didn’t matter what was in there, I was taking all of it. We all parted ways and we made our way back home. Only about 2 short hours later and we’re taking off again for what will be no more than 4mi back on the road from my house. We filled this 2hrs with a daddy/daughters movie and just some good hangout time on the couch. It was what was needed, mentally and especially, physically.
Run #4. The time is around 9:40 pm, I’m getting the girls to bed and I get a text from Reborn. It reads, “Bill Nye and I are here.” Here? As in waiting outside my house? Seems like I need to get my butt in gear. Dressed, shoes on and out the door to meet them outside and begin the last minute attempt to stretch. But it wasn’t just the three of us. We had us plus, WWL, Justin and Fish Sticks to go on a 4mi jaunt through the neighborhood I’ve run so much over the years. We ran a different route than we did on Run #2 and tried really hard to keep the pace in check. We finished, fist bumped, briefly discussed the 2am plan from WWL’s house and parted ways.
For me, 2 slices of cold pizza, salt water, quick shower and bed. 2 hours later, at 1:27am, the alarm goes off to get ready for run #5 and jump on the struggle bus. Some more salt water, a light snack, I jumped in the truck to go pick up Olaf as he joined WWL, Rock Thrill, Justin and myself. It was a unanimous feeling that this is the segment where the soreness and tightness started to become apparent. It didn’t help we were running in Fort Mill’s Baxter neighborhood again, which isn’t known for flat terrain. Such a great idea for a 2am run. But as the saying goes, no one cares what you can do when you’re fresh. That’s good because we were anything but.
We did our thing but for the first 2mi, Olaf serenaded us with dad jokes he was reading from his phone. As if running in the dark at 2am isn’t enough of a challenge, do it while looking down at your phone. I’d love to tell you about the rest of the conversation we had but honestly, I can’t begin to remember. I was securely sitting in my pain cave. The calves and quads were talking to me but I just kept telling myself, “I GET TO” do this. We finished at 2:39am, said a few words to each other, said goodbye via the fist bump and quietly looked forward to the 6am run when we knew we’d be joined by a few more guys.
I dropped Olaf off, had a snack, salt water, shower and got to sleep in the guest bedroom. Oh wait, head fake…no sheets on the bed so let’s try that sequence again. I drop Olaf off, had a snack, salt water, shower, made the bed, salt water, lay down on a tightly made bed. I caught a few Z’s and the alarm started talking at 5:30am, giving my body 2 additional hours of sleep! Fortunately, this prep time felt more like getting ready for a normal post so I chose not to take the struggle bus and settled for the drive filled with anticipation of seeing a few more friendly faces.
Run #6 and I was right. Pusher, Flat Tire, Italian Job, Tinker Toy, Spiderman, Shady, Vuvuzela and Gekko joined WWL, Reborn, Fish Sticks and I on the friendly grounds of Walter Elisha Park in Fort Mill. This was such a welcome change. We took off toward the Fort Mill Golf Club, made our way back with a brief tour of Whiteville Park, avoiding the “zipper” so many of us have become accustomed to (nice try Spidey) and rolled back in right as the watches clocked 4.02mi. Why 4.02? If you’re a runner, you’re likely familiar with the .01mi that can get cut off in the transfer of information from your watch to your tracking app. We weren’t about to have that occur now.
We got some good stretching in as the sun started to rise and the Boot Camp boys were getting after it for The Fort’s 9th Anniversary Convergence. We discussed soreness and solar panels. What, is that pairing not normal? Hmm, it was today. Back home for some Tailwind, a shower, a real breakfast and some coffee. The house is now alive and I’m choosing to treat this segment like a normal day…until 9:30am rolls around.
Run #7. And then it happens. It’s 9:30am, we now have kids in different directions and it’s time to get ready for the 7th of our 12 runs. This time, another trip to Allison Park but now, on the roads for our 10am mosey. We learned our lesson on the first trail run at this park and we weren’t going to repeat that. With heavy legs, Justin, WWL and I were off. It was a clean, uneventful 4mi. We did notice however, the heat was starting to climb and our 2pm run was going to be “special.”
Back to the house for the same recovery routine. Hydration and food, followed by a shower and rest. The temperatures are steadily climbing and it gets to 89 degrees quickly, which is less than ideal. The 8th run takes us to Cherry Park in Rock Hill where Reborn was leading an F3 Dads workout. You know, since running this much isn’t enough, he should definitely Q a workout. He never misses an opportunity to give back so it wasn’t a complete surprise. As for the rest of us, Justin, WWL, Fishsticks, Walker, Gekko and I took 3 laps around the mostly-shaded path at Cherry Park and that was that. 4 up, 4 down. This time however, I tried something for the first time during this run. After commenting about the tightness of my lower calves, WWL suggested I go buy myself some calf sleeves. If you’re not familiar with these, think of long, tight socks without the foot portion. The idea is that they help blood flow throughout your lower leg in order to minimize soreness and cramping. I bought a pair prior to this run and whether it was the placebo effect or not, my legs didn’t hurt as much as earlier runs.
As we were parting ways, this is where the conversation about the Springs Market pumpkin pie soft serve ice cream began. You see, WWL shared with us that his afternoon plan included just that, a trip to Springs Market for their new seasonal flavor. We all began to drool but let’s be honest, something far less tasty could have induced a similar response. My afternoon included a 1hr nap so call it a draw. Fast forward a few hours and we reconvened at the Greenway again for run #9 and what was to be no more than 4mi. After talking with Topham for a few, Justin, WWL and I embarked on what was assuredly going to be a quicker experience than before. The chatter was minimal, the scenery was nice and after 4mi, we were finished with our 9th run. Back to the house for PORK CARNITAS, a much-needed recovery meal followed by a movie (or most of it) with the family.
Overall, I was feeling ok. My lower calves were still sore but manageable. My ankles and smaller muscles in my feet were tight and my hips, man, my hips; they were making themselves known. That last part was what surprised me the most. I wonder if as my legs started feeling heavier, I was engaging my hips more, or, it’s just a lot of miles so of course it’s going to be sore. Regardless, I had to make sure I was taking care of them. I used the foam roller for a bit, got dressed, loaded up and made my way to pick up WWL. This time, we were heading down into Rock Hill to run with Reborn and Ponytail for the 10th run of 12. It was a 10pm run in Reborn’s neighborhood which consisted of blue driveway lights used to land planes, pitbulls that sounded like chihuahuas, pitbulls that actually sound like pitbulls, construction, coconut ice cream and world peace. All in all, it was typical conversation at 10pm on a Saturday night while trying to complete more physical shenanigans.
The run ended in his driveway and we celebrated by eating freezer pops, some even injected with Pedialyte…who knew? We stretched, shared discomforts and parted ways. WWL and I were on the way back home and he pulled out a sunbutter and homemade strawberry jam sandwich on Dave’s Killer Bread® and it was perfect. As he said, if we eat before getting home, it allows sleep to come faster. Brilliant!
With 1hr 45mins more sleep on the body, the alarm goes off while sleeping in the guestroom, which has become my dorm for the night runs. Fast forward through the typical pre-run routine, go pick up Olaf as he is our 2am running wingman and arrive at WWL’s house for the 11th run of 12, another Baxter tour with he and Justin. We made our way through an uneventful run discussing things like first concerts, being dropped while crowd surfing, first cars, jobs, high school sports and I don’t remember what else. Again we finished, bent over with hands on knees, and started to feel a little joyous at the idea of only having 1 run remaining. The tightness had set in but we knew the drill, stay focused with one foot in front of the other, walk some hills and keep moving. When our momentum stops, it’s twice as hard to get it started again. We parted ways again and began to look forward to putting a bow on this endeavor.
I arrived home to a still-quiet house, ate a little, rinsed off and raced to bed. 2 hours later, the iPhone reintroduced me to the 5 o’clock hour. Our 12th and final run was to begin at 6am at the Riverwalk in Rock Hill and I was quickly motivated, knowing we’d have more guys running (jogging really) with us for the final 4mi. I tried to stretch again, roll again and drink more salt water, again. I made my way out the door, into the truck and on the road to head to our final launch point and be greeted by some of the best guys you’d meet. In our circles, 4mi isn’t much but as we all know, they weren’t really there to log 4mi. These men were there to be a motivation by purely being physically present. They wanted us to know they cared and supported us in our effort to complete this challenge.
Rock Thrill, Winchester, Car Boy, Vuvuzela, Walker, Cobra Kai, Gekko and Topham joined Fishsticks, Reborn, Justin, WWL and I for the final trek. It was a 2mi out and back along the paved path running parallel to the Catawba River. It was dark at 6am for run #12 but it was so cool to hear the river flow over the rocks and all the sneakers hitting the pavement. This was a great reminder for me that no matter how alone I feel, whether running or otherwise, I’ve got men of high character, and many more outside those with me this morning, who have got my six. Men who care if I show up or if I don’t. Men who care about the choices I make and the words I speak. They didn’t have to say anything, I knew they cared simply by being there. I hope you too, have people in your life like that.
We got two miles out, the turnaround for this final run, then turned back. This is when I looked to my left, saw WWL and commented, “last 2mi here, brother.” He looked at me and said, “let’s get it done.” At the time, I didn’t understand the magnitude of that exchange and frankly, I’m fairly certain it didn’t sit with him as much as it did me. I was about to run the final 2mi of our 48mi challenge with the same man I ran the previous 46mi alongside. No matter the darkness of the night, or the heat of the day, if I followed WWL’s lead, I just knew things were going to be alright. He was a calming presence during a time I could easily spin myself into a ball of nerves. Thanks to him, I never had to run alone and deal with those nerves.
We made our way back, came across the “line” and I did as I typically do after long events. I dropped to the ground. In the distance, I heard, “Max are you ok.” In this group of men, I’m known as Maximus thanks to my high school mascot being a gladiator, so my name often gets shortened to “Max.” I responded, “Yeah, I’m good, just taking it in.” I was laying flat on my back looking up at the combination of a starry sky with a hint of sunshine and the men that encircled me talking and sharing memories. At that moment, I was present. I was present in the discomfort and in the accomplishment.
Several months ago, I had this feeling. This feeling that now was the time to complete this David Goggins challenge I’d thought about for a few years. Fortunately, I had a few other guys who were willing to do this with me. We started at 10am Friday morning and proceeded to run 4mi every 4hrs for 48 hours. This meant we ran 48mi over 48hrs. And as I lay on the ground having just completed what we set out to complete, I felt joy. It was now about 7am on Sunday morning and the event was in the rearview mirror but not without the memories and the soreness.
I hope there is a challenge out there that you’ve been thinking about. I hope you think about why you’ve put it off and what it would take to give it a try. Whether there is a medal and a finish line or “just” the knowledge of completing something you had to train for, there is a discovery in the training process. Don’t become so focused on the finished product that you neglect the steps along the way. Steps are where true growth happens and those same steps could include sharing dreams of pumpkin pie soft serve ice cream. Don’t miss the teaching that pain can provide and please, don’t miss opportunities to be present with those around you.
