Peach Podcast
Two guys and an occasional guest breaking open topics on: Purpose, Energy, Attitude, Commitment and Health through shared experiences.
Peach Podcast
S4EP01: A 2 Mile Run by a10 Year Old and the Benefits of Rucking!
Daryl recaps the exciting Wharf to Wharf 10K race weekend where Josephine, Alyssa and Angelina completed the course, while Doug reflects on how fitness behaviors spread through families when we lead by example rather than through pressure.
• Josephine and Alyssa trained together using a walk-run method, crushing their usual 12:30 pace with an impressive 11:36 race time
• Ava, Daryl's 10-year-old daughter, spontaneously joined her mom for a 2-mile run after being inspired by the race weekend
• Doug shares his journey with rucking as an alternative to running while dealing with foot pain
• Discussion of rucking benefits including fat loss, muscle maintenance, improved posture, and better stability
• Research shows rucking has significantly fewer injuries than running (3 vs 18 in military studies)
• Recommendations for starting rucking: begin with 10% of body weight, gradually increase to 20-25%
• Even wearing a weighted vest during household chores can help beginners adapt
Join us for our next episode as we continue exploring fitness approaches that enhance life without causing injury, and follow Doug's 30-day rucking journey!
Hey, hey, hey. Welcome to the Peach Podcast. Just a couple of dudes and an occasional guest breaking open topics from everyday life on purpose, energy, attitude, commitment and health. So, if you're ready, listen in as we live, to learn from our losses, gain from our gratitude and laugh as we level up. Always remember, if you ever feel stuck, all you got to do is just start. Come on, let's go.
Speaker 2:Welcome back to Peach Podcast with Doug and Daryl. Wow, we've got some awesome topics to cover this week, daryl. Wow, we've got some awesome topics to cover this week. This week we're going to talk about rucking, rucking and also leading by example. Leading by example. Before we get into leading by example, daryl, give me a quick recap. I've been seeing photos and my sister, josephine, and you have been texting and Eric just videos these cool videos of the weekend you guys had down in Santa Cruz for the Wharf to Wharf the 10K Wharf to Wharf which, by the way, it seems that according to Garmin or Strava, it wasn't an actual full 10K. Well, that's something we'll get into later down the road. But that man that's. There's nothing worse than thinking you're running the 10K and that sucker comes up 0.1 short. I remember Eric experienced that when you guys did that long-ass run down there. What was that called? The one you guys did down in the farm Silver?
Speaker 3:Moon Silver.
Speaker 2:Moon, yeah, yeah, yeah, and he could have had 30K in or something and was a few tenths short, but anyways, why don't you get to go do a real quick recap on the weekend, daryl? Uh, catch us up on all the fun and all the activities and then, uh, then I want to get into some leading by example.
Speaker 3:Yeah, first of all, um, josephine, uh, in one of our still our most popular episodes it continues to get a lot of run when she was floating down the river and went from a ner to a runner, when she committed to start running and she did probably one of the hardest 10Ks turkey trout with a lot of uphill, and then she stayed very consistent, as you know, doug, right Shamrock and then rolled right into signing up for this wharf to wharf in Santa Cruz. And wharf to wharf is exactly what you would expect. You go from one part of Santa Cruz, on one side of the wharf, down to Capitola. I thought it was a 10k and when I saw the six mile mark, I still thought it was a 10k until all of a sudden they started announcing your name, right, and there's 16,000 people stopped and you're like where do I go? But Josephine signed up, got a big group of us, we went down, had a wonderful weekend down in santa cruz. It's been a while since I've been down there. So eric, maria, angelina got alissa to sign up to do her first nk, josephine and we brought ava and um, I've never done an event like this.
Speaker 3:It was 16 000 people, 16. 16,000 people oh my gosh, that's huge. So it starts at eight. You get up about 530 because you got to make your way to the area. There was four big corrals and we took off and we had a great time and it was wonderful, weather was perfect, everything was perfect.
Speaker 3:Josephine and Alyssa have been training really good together. They've been doing the walk run I think it's a Jeff Effing's approach which is very tried and true where they'll run for two minutes, walk for 30 seconds, and they've been really dialing that in and, as you know, doug, we text each other a lot of our times. They've been in the 12 to about the 12 and a half minute range. They came in at 1136 for the run. That's awesome. They just absolutely crushed. It, had a great time all three of them and we'll hopefully have them on.
Speaker 3:I took off a little bit ahead. There was a bit of with 16,000 people, doug, you're zigzagging through people and other different things and, um, it was just a wonderful, wonderful weekend. We got to the end of it, some amazing pictures, some fun. Eric didn't officially run in it. He was what you call one of those um, I guess you call them a scab or something else but he became the video photographer so he would run ahead and take pictures. It was a six mile run. Eric ran like 12 miles. He would run ahead. He'd run behind me, take videos and all sorts of stuff.
Speaker 3:So, anyway, wonderful time. Um uh, nate, uh, alyssa's boyfriend, uh, was down there with this cheering us on. Had a great time with him and Ava was there watching it. So just a wonderful weekend, a lot of great memories, a lot of great pictures.
Speaker 2:So great. Thank you for saying Ava was there watching it, because that's the next segue or topic I want to get into. Nero is last week, josephine, after you guys got back from Santa Cruz, josephine went for a what do you call it recovery run or whatever the next day a two mile run, and she texts me or called me one of the two I forget and said that Ava wanted to run with her. And Ava just ran two miles with her on a recovery run and I was like what? That's freaking amazing. And in that, in that moment, on that call, I just started reflecting and remembering you know when you and I started running and, and and you know that was a painful process, man.
Speaker 2:And then just, you know, just getting getting into it and all that. And then I remember I did the marathon and all this other stuff and and then you know, we would plant little seeds or drop little invitations for Josephine to start running and she was dead set against it. Like you know, I don't need to prove myself, I'm good with what I'm doing and a nerd. And then there's the episode that we talked, that you just spoke about earlier, where she's floating down a river, you know, probably enjoying some libations and having a nice float, and maybe she was a little bit buzzed at the moment when she committed to doing the Turkey Trot 10K. And from that moment on it's just been on. Like my sister has not looked back, she has been running.
Speaker 2:And so you know you, nor I, I mean as her bigger brother, you know I would definitely rib her a little harder than you ever would about. Come on, you should run or whatever. But I know you never really pushed the issue, you never really said you got to do this or you should do this. You just you ran, you did your thing and the next thing, you know, josephine's running and she's doing her thing. And then the next thing, you know, alyssa, just for her Josephine's birthday this year back in April she said for her birthday present she was going to sign up Alyssa to run the Wharf to Wharf 10K. That was her gift to herself and so I remember Alyssa was a little resistant about the what, that's, not my present, or whatever.
Speaker 3:They had like a three-week fight of was the birthday gift a 5K or a 10K?
Speaker 2:And so Alyssa was a little resistant to the whole thing, um, but Alyssa, you know, being the bad-ass that she is, she got into it, committed, trained, um, dealt with some injuries along the way, had a ton of questions, but never stopped, always persevered and continued, ended up getting down there doing the wharf to wharf and, from what I understand, she kicked ass. Josephine said man, that girl was doing freaking awesome Like Josephine was trying to keep up with her. And Angelina, also Eric's daughter, she really didn't train or prepare for this thing, but she went down, she knocked it out. Angelina, I think she plays soccer, so she's running a lot. Anyways, she was a little hesitant but she went down and showed up and did it. And so this whole topic I want to kind of jump into before we get into rucking is just leading by example. Because now you have your daughter, ava. How old is Ava now? Daryl, 10. 10 years old, who, without anyone pushing her or forcing her, says I want to run with you, like she just wants to run and she's excited about it and she's doing it.
Speaker 2:And I'm just going to tell you, man, this couldn't come at a better time because there's this shift in this movement in our society right now. I was watching the news with my dad or I wasn't really watching, I was walking by and I heard the news where Donald Trump and a bunch of sport athletes elite athletes from the past had joined him because they're going to start bringing back physical fitness at a higher level in our public school system and they're going to bring back the presidential awards and all that stuff, and so they're really going to raise the bar and raise the level. And as much as I applaud that and I'm all for that I always believe that education, religion, physical fitness, that all begins in the home. That all begins in the home. And Darrell, I got to tell you, man, listening to what I just said and if you heard the progression right, without being forced, your family is completely progressing naturally and organically and enjoying it.
Speaker 2:How could Ava not see the joy and the fun I know you guys had a blast in Santa Cruz and how can your child not see these guys are laughing about this, these guys are having a great time, they're connecting, they're having joy doing this. And then she says, hey, I want in, I want in. So tell us a little bit about that, leading by example there. What, what have you experienced based on what? What I'm just, what I just shared.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think it's huge and, um, a lot of people in my life, um, you know, have been a big influence on me because they've led with example. They haven't been like the coach, like telling you what to do. They do it and you're like, well, wow, you know they're living. They're, they're living proof of what it is.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 3:So at my house it's interesting Ava sees you and I doing a whole bunch of stuff. She always said, yeah, you and Doug do crazy stuff, you and Eric do crazy stuff, and she's interested. She'll go on some bike rides. She likes to swim, she likes to kind of see what I do and be interested. But when her mom started right, she really took notice. And when her sister started running, she really took notice.
Speaker 3:Then this weekend we went down there and, very similar to our events, doug, we talked about running the whole time. We talked about the course. The night before we got up she actually got to experience what it was like. Right, it wasn't like, hey, I'm going to wake you up in the morning at your house and I'll take you to watch the finish line with that. No, she was in it like getting ready.
Speaker 3:We were all in this hotel together. So she saw every aspect and she saw the end when her mom and her sister and Angelina crossed the line and they're high-fiving and hugging each other and we got her and she got to walk at the very, you know, after the race kind of through when we got our shirts and everything else kind of be part of the environment. So we come home and, uh, the next day I was very surprised Josephine actually ran the next day. She ran on Monday, really great for her there. And she ran and she mentioned to Ava and Ava said she wanted to go. Ava went in her room and got on this really cool blue outfit and Josephine said to her the benefits of running you get to wear some cool outfits too. And they were smiling.
Speaker 3:It's on and they left. It was. They left in the morning I'm working and I'm thinking, ah, she's going to take her on the block, it comes back. After a while, ava comes running in my door, opens up the door, cute outfit, face about as red as I've ever seen, her right, just hot, sweaty, like as much as I've ever seen, with the biggest smile on her face. I was just like dad, I did it. I ran two miles Right and Josephine came and she was so excited and, uh, I have not seen her have that much kind of pride and excitement Now, doug, the next day she was sore, ah, and she was like mom, I'm feeling this, I'm feeling that. And I was like welcome to the club, yeah, and um, and so it was super cool.
Speaker 3:And through this time and you know, just like we, when we have our events, get through an event you wait a couple of days Josephine text um, this, uh, this, uh run in November that we're probably going to sign up for, and there's a kid's run for a mile and she said, ava, I'd like to sign you up for that and after the two mile, we're probably going to sign her up for the 5k and, um, you know, super excited. Um, so I I couldn't be more excited and I was like, okay, is this a one-time thing? Did she run with her mom after this thing? Right Last night? Josephine came home and we're very busy yesterday and she said, hey, alyssa's coming over tonight to run. I said, wow, that's great and she goes.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'm so happy that Alyssa, it wasn't a one-time thing, she's going to come over and run and it had to be a family evening. Ava ran, I ran, alyssa ran, um, uh, there. And so she's two days in and, um, I couldn't be more excited. I will just give some credit. I think I have an influence, but I think Ava's seeing her mom and her sister is really a big influence and I just I can't thank them enough.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, that's awesome, daryl, and and and you know, I want to just kind of give it back to you too. You know, you, you lead with, uh, not with a, not a lot of words, you just show up and do the action and it becomes. You know, what happens and I've seen this time and time again is people who choose health and start getting into something. The first emotion that's usually experienced in the family is tension and frustration, like because we are so used to, you know, hanging out eating our bag of chips, having a few of these and those, and and it's like, well, come on, don't you want to just sit down and relax? And you're like, well, I'm going for a run, or I'm going for a bike ride, or I'm going for a ruck or whatever. And and and pretty soon there's this, this frustration, because there's a separation, there's this gap, and uh, and then you've got to decide in your mind okay, well, you know, I can either complain about him or her, or I can get on the bandwagon. And I think, over time, without consciously knowing what happens, is, people make decisions, and I think in Josephine's case, she decided to like you know what, I'm going to start moving, I'm just getting to some and however that came about, it came about and maybe she didn't have the frustration or whatever moving. I'm just getting to some and however that came about, it came about, um, and it wasn't, and maybe she didn't have the frustration or whatever, or whatever. But it, daryl, it just it comes, man, and I just see, and I'm sharing this because I want people who are listening, who especially who have kids, to know that your actions matter and they and they don't make an impact overnight.
Speaker 2:I mean, you've been doing this physical stuff for years, for years, and Ava has been joining us on these bike rides and stuff. I mean, you've drug her along where we get up at five in the morning and she's on these trips with us, with all the guys, and it's Ava Jo, right, and she comes along and she sees the excitement and the joy and she shakes her head and is like you know, you guys are crazy and da, da, da, da. But here she is, just like her mama, you know, from going saying you guys are crazy to, she's a crazy one now too, you know, and now she's going to sign up for a 5K in November and that is just man, ava Jo, if you're listening to this episode. Uncle Doug is so proud of you, sweetie, and I'm so excited for you. And, man, make sure I get the date. Well, I think you sent me the link, daryl and I'll check it out.
Speaker 2:I want to put that on my calendar because I got to show up to that for her first 5K for sure. Awesome stuff, daryl. This running is like wildfire man. It just catches with consistency right. Consistency, consistency, consistency.
Speaker 3:And one other thing and then we'll close on this topic is, as we're getting ready to record today, josephine is actually on her way up with Ava to Apple Hill and to go see you and Grandpa Chief for the day.
Speaker 3:And she's already in the car, so I go to give her a kiss goodbye. And what does she have in her hand? And she's already in the car, so I go to give her a kiss goodbye. And what does she have in her hand? Josephine, as you know, always in the morning has her protein shake, right, she's got her little bottle right. Yeah, ava's in the back with the protein shake bottle. Come on, that's so awesome and I was like Ava, what's in there? She goes. I made myself a smoothie. It's got spinach and all this other stuff and she literally it's like mini me, it's mom in the front seat with her protein shake, ava in the back with her smoothie, with the same thing. I was cracking up, wow, wow.
Speaker 2:That's funny, but at the same time that's profound. It is, people take notes, man, and listen in between the lines, in between the words, in between the sentences, here there is magic happening that is going to impact this 10 year old um for the rest of her life. For the rest of her life. And, and I can already see for Josephine something, something that was a challenge for the turkey trot, you know, last year, whenever it was, isn't you know she hasn't? I don't think Josephine stopped running, except when her physical therapist told her to take a break for two weeks to to check out some issues. But, man, I go, it's just, it's just amazing, man, I'm excited about it. And uh, man, I miss you yeah, I mean you're.
Speaker 3:You're one of the ones that it's gosh. Now that time goes by too quick, doug, um man, but it's probably been almost three years since you started your big kind of couch to marathon and you were kind of the original one. I did an amazing job that year, did multiple, multiple big runs. I was looking at your some things online and you did the uh, the 20 miler and then you, of course, hit the CIM and you've been a big runner, um and I know that, doug, uh, you know you, you really have a great love for that and you're really good at it. But definitely injuries has been a real thing for you and you've been battling through it. You've been battling through it for a long time too. So what's going on with you? I know you've been kind of trying some different things and kind of trying to manage around some of those injuries.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, yes, good segue, darrell, but I have definitely, as you know, if you've been listening to this podcast, I'm dealing with some foot issues and also some shoulder issues, trying to strengthen my upper back muscles and my foot. I could run. In the act of running there is very little to no pain, but afterwards and before it is massively painful, like I'm a hobbler. If I choose to run any particular day, I'm hobbling all day long. You know, more so than I typically do. I am hobbling all day long anyways, because I have a problem with my foot. Like I was saying on the last episode, I might need to just pursue some surgery and get that knocked out while I'm still kind of young. Just pursue some surgery and get that knocked out while I'm still kind of young.
Speaker 2:And uh, but what I've looked up? Because, you know, daryl, health and fitness is a priority to me, it's massively important to me, and so I'm looking up things like, okay, what can I do? Cycling is great, I love cycling, but where I live there's you know, there's a lot to consider. It's two lane highways. It's not the safest place. And so if I want to go cycle somewhere where, if I'm going to be by myself and really enjoy, you know, a little more safety. You know it's going to come with a 45 minute drive or something like that, and I mean I do cycle around here. I cycle around here often. I haven't for the last few weeks but I, you know, I take a chance and I go and I have a good time. But with cycling, daryl, there's the helmet, there's the cycling gear, the kit, the water bottles, the nutrition, all the food you got to pack if you're going to go for more than a couple hours, and then your bike and your shoes and all that stuff. And so I looked and I was like what can, what can I do? That's kind of like running. That's easy, I just grab and go. Um, and that's the one thing I loved about running is, you know, you just throw on your running shoes and you're out the door and you go. It's all good. But I remember we talked about rucking a lot in the past. We had stumbled onto rucking. We've had heard about it from time to time. I'm sure you know growing up or this and that, and rucking is a big thing in the military, um, but you know the benefits of it in exercise. And so I started diving deep into it and gosh.
Speaker 2:Back in April my dad and I went for a road trip to Arizona and we were gone for gosh I can't even remember how many, I think it was like 15, 16, 17 days and on that road trip I could not for some reason. I was mismanaging my nutrition for multiple reasons and ended up gaining like 8, 10 pounds or something like that. And when I got back I got back into my routine and just could not get that weight off again. I was frustrated and I wasn't eating junk. I was trying to eat within my rhythm and whatnot.
Speaker 2:So in the last 13 days I reconnected with my nutrition program that I used to coach people on gosh what is it? Eight and a half, nine years ago, and I remember how powerful it was. So I decided to do that. But I didn't want to lose my physical fitness either. I wanted to knock off this weight the fat, not just weight the fat and I wanted to continue to maintain my muscle mass and my fitness level. And so I dove back into what rucking was all about, saw the benefits and saw that you can maintain and build muscle, you can lose fat, you can increase your cardiovascular VO2. And I'm like holy crap that this is, you know, and all from walking with a weighted vest or a rucksack, um, and so I've been on this this uh streak of 13 days I'm. So I'm doing 30 days of dialed in nutrition program and in 13 days I think I'm down probably 14 pounds, all fat. Like it's so cool to see muscle again in the mirror. It's like, oh my gosh, there it is and getting rid of some of this fat and uh. But the other thing I'm noticing is rucking. Like my fitness is getting so much better. My resting heart rate was already because, as because I'm an athlete, you know it's already pretty low. It was like 47, but my resting heart rate has gone down from 47 to about 41, um, in 13 days. Daryl, it just blows me away how quickly this impacts. And I I got to tell you, man, I was telling you before we started pressing record.
Speaker 2:One of the best pieces of information you shared on this podcast and with me was the rule of thirds. A third of the time when you're training, you're going to feel freaking awesome. The other third of the time you're going to feel not bad, not good, you're going to just feel okay. And then there's the other third of the time where you're going to feel not bad, not good, you're going to just feel okay. And then there's the other third of the time where you're going to feel like crap, it's just, it's just part of it. But in but and you have you got to go through all those thirds. They are part of the movement.
Speaker 2:And I tell you, yesterday I did a three and a half mile ruck and I was in the low thirds. I was doing a 20 minute mile pace. I felt tired, I did not feel like rucking, but you know, I'm on this 30 day trip and stuck to my commitment, threw on the vest, the weighted vest, and went out there and did it 20 minute mile. Woke up today, didn't feel one way or the other. I thought it was gonna be the middle third where I'm feeling like okay, it's not bad, not good, it's just, but I'll get it done. Put the vest on, started walking and next thing, I know, man, my legs started just moving and I went from yesterday's 20 minute mile ruck to today an average of 17 minute mile ruck. Knocking out that three and a half miles in an hour, in one minute, as opposed to yesterday, was an hour and 12 minutes and I'm just like, holy crap, like the fitness that you experienced.
Speaker 2:The improvement just in 13 days is just mind-blowing and I'm really excited, daryl, that I may have found something that well not may have. I think I found something that I'm going to incorporate into my lifestyle because there are other small benefits that are gonna be profound as I get older, like I noticed, my just when I stand, my posture is way better. I needed to work on my posture to help get my shoulder back into where it's supposed to be. So my back is stronger. My lower back pain chronic lower back pain that I've always had is starting to improve massively in just 13 days.
Speaker 2:When I stand, I have this sense of just great strength and stability. Throughout the day I feel great balance and I'm just thinking I've been watching my dad for the last. He got knee replacement surgery back in the middle of June and you know he's 83 years old and watching him move from place to place while he's recovering. I see one of the main things that elderly people need to worry about is stability and I'm like, oh my gosh, this is like massively improving my stability. Even at 59 years old I can feel the benefits and, man, I know I'm doing it every day right now, but if I kept rucking in my lifestyle at least three days a week, I think it would serve me well into my seventies, eighties, nineties and beyond God willing that I lived that long. So I'm really excited about this whole rucking thing.
Speaker 2:I noticed that I'm losing body fat, not just weight, it's fat. My clothes are much more loose. Again, nutrition has a lot to do with that, but overall fitness with the ruck sack or the weighted vest has been. It's just been a joy to experience, man, and I'm glad to share it here on the podcast today. I know you did some deep. I've been sharing, I've been sending you text messages and some articles and stuff and I'd love to hear what you've learned about rucking, because I know you, daryl, I know when you hear something and you get interested, you start doing a deep dive and you get some stats on that stuff. What, what have you learned so far and what can you share with the audience today?
Speaker 3:Well, our big intro was when we read the book by Michael Easter and our book club called Comfort Crisis, and a great book. I couldn't recommend that highly enough. It's probably that and Atomic Habits that are kind of our, our two, kind of one, two kind of go-tos, um. But one of the things in there is Michael Easter spent, I think, almost two months out in the uh Alaskan outback and he had like an 80 pound pack on Right Um and when he came back right Um and he talked about some of the key items there, about when he came back he did some research on rucking and he has a great article, uh, that we'll put in the notes. And then, doug, you sent an amazing one and you know, overall, should people rock and a couple of things is what is rocking? It is some sort of a weighted walk, brisk walk.
Speaker 3:They say overall there's been studies in the military, there's actually studies. Actually they even go back into like like medieval times as people would carry different things there. But big time in the military and they talked about what is it? So for an average woman, probably something between a 15 to 35 pound vest overall, a male between 25 to 45 pound vest. They kind of have that upper limit, doug, that we they talked a lot about shouldn't really go over 50 pounds. That's kind of like the max. Now of course you can I'm not saying you can't but overall a lot of history, even in the military, 50 is kind of that top end there. And so what are some of the benefits? And you're seeing them. But overall one of the things it's weight training for people that don't like to go to a weight room. Right, a lot of people don't like to go do that and it's a very easy way to go get those. It absolutely across the board. It strengthens bones Period.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, Bone density big bone density.
Speaker 3:You know a big time injuries. I'll just give a couple of things. There's so many different ones on there and, doug, I know you this. I'll just give you a couple of them. One of the research in University of Pittsburgh they tracked 150 soldiers. Of all the injuries they had, there was three rucking, eight weightlifting, 18 running. So let's just take that Doug right there, like 18 running, three rucking. So even though you're with the weighted vest, the amount of injuries in rucking is literally minuscule to what people were seeing in, in, in, in, running, right. So so the idea is that you can still do a lot of this weighted stuff, but the injury level seems to be a lot safer than running or lifting. You know, which is great and some of the things that you talked about. And I'll just kind of hit some of the stats which I think are just amazing. It's almost exactly what you said. Some of the calorie burn numbers are amazing. They had runners and I love the fact that you know what day are. Are you? You're 12 or 13?
Speaker 2:day 13 was this morning this morning.
Speaker 3:So they did one research that they had there. They had these uh backcountry, uh hunters, uh 12 days they were only 12 days, you're in 13 and they measured them body fat down 14 percent. Muscle mass up uh 1%. Vo two max up 8.4. Bad cholesterol down 28. So it's, it's, it's almost exactly what you just described. You know what I mean? Yeah, um, you know that's incredible stats.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and so that's kind of a reflection. I love it, because it was a 12 day they just they were kind of saying that, um, that this doesn't and I'm not saying it's a quick fix, right, doug, but people see benefits, um, you know there and, and they did that and um, there's a lot of other ones, but you know it's, it's an interesting concept. It's not new in any way, doug, right, like literally, the military has been doing this forever, um, but it's definitely something. I've done it probably five or six times Right, and I was doing about three miles and I remember the first mile. I was like this is easy about mile.
Speaker 3:I was in 1.2. I was like this was hard and I did three miles. It was an incredibly tough workout, Right, um and um, so three miles, like you said, you're probably in the 15 to 20 minute miles. It doesn't have to be some ridiculous thing, um, but real excited that you're doing it and I can't wait to see, kind of, what this does for 30 days, but then also how you incorporate it in your life. Yeah, but, doug, that's what I kind of went back from the comfort crisis. You sent us a really cool recent article, so can you hit a couple of the high points of some of the things when they talked about the benefits for running and endurance.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so that's why I sent the article. I was reading this article about running. So now that I'm rucking and I'm noticing things, so now that I'm rucking and I'm noticing things, I'm the type of person that when I notice a shift or a change mentally, physically or emotionally, I want to know why it's happening, what's going on with my brain, what's going on with me physiologically, biologically. And so I start digging it and knowing that you know, you and and Eric are, you guys are on on this big trajectory or journey of getting ready for 125 mile run in Arizona in May. You know you've got plenty of time, you've got training, you got, you got your plan, all strategy, all all lined up, ready to go. It's good.
Speaker 2:But I noticed that in this article it talked about how rucking can improve. It helps improve your pace and it helps improve your um, just your endurance and how long you can last. And I know that you and, uh, eric, when you guys, I know part of a long, when you're doing a hundred mile run, part of the strategy is walking, walking like, walking the hills and running the flats, doing that stuff. And I notice, while I'm out there rucking, there's you know where I live, there's a ton of hills, a lot of rolling hills, and so I just uh like even this morning, you know, my cadence was probably 120 steps per minute yesterday, where today was probably like closer to 135, 140 steps per minute on these hills. And I'm like man, this, this imagine if I didn't have this vest on, if I was doing an endurance run, you know, cause that that's a big factor when you're doing 125 miles, because that's a big factor when you're doing 125 miles Can you maintain a 15-minute mile pace as you're walking up the hill, and if you're rucking, that 15 minutes will probably turn you into 13 minutes.
Speaker 2:If you've trained with some rucking, and I'm like, wow, what a huge benefit that can do if you put in the work over time with some consistency. And so I wanted to share that article with you guys that you know rucking isn't just for you know going out and walking, but that's how you train, you walk, you don't. You don't have to. Some people do run with the vest on, but I highly recommend when you're just first out going, it's just just walk, just put the weight on and walk. You're not going to feel anything. You might feel a little sore. By the way, I want to just throw out some recommendations If you're brand new to rucking. They recommend that you start with maybe 10% of your body weight just to get a feel for it, and you probably won't feel a lot. Then you can move up to 20, 25% of your body weight as you build strength and endurance and time, and be patient and be patient.
Speaker 3:One of the things I saw. I was just curious. Some people, they, they, oh, shoulder pain. One of the things I read to get started, maybe just wear it around the house for 10, 15 minutes doing chores. Right, they, they, they. They were like hey, do it vacuuming, or you?
Speaker 3:know if you want to ease, if you want to ease into it, doug, you don't have to just throw it on there and go for a three mile run. Right, right, it was. They had those things like get used to it if, if you know there. So it's um, like you said maybe a little lesser weight.
Speaker 2:Maybe just try it at around the house before you go take off. I love that. That. That's a great, great uh idea and that's a great way to start. Just try it on, just do your chores.
Speaker 2:But I want to mention a name who a lot of people who are in extreme sports know and have heard, and it makes sense that the guy is a beast, but David Goggins. David Goggins is a beast. He's like one of the all-time greatest endurance runners and I started as I was rucking uh the other day. I was like you know what he's? I think one of the reasons he's a beast is because he wasn't like. He went through Navy SEAL camp like three times. He went through ranger school. He was in the military for a long time and what do they do in the military? They ruck their asses off Right. And I'm thinking he may not even maybe he does know, but he's had this built-in training that has absolutely contributed, whether he knows or not, to his being such a badass. And when you're rucking like that for all them years, years in, years out, of course you're going to be really good at endurance sports and he's one of the most extreme athletes that I know who kicks ass in endurance sports on those hundred miles and those 200 mile runs. He gets it done. And but now I realize, okay, well gosh, he's had a, a huge foundation that a lot of people don't get. You know a lot of people who, who aren't in the military. They got to spend years building up that base that he has. So it just makes a lot of sense. So I'm excited about where this is going to go. We'll check in every week to see how my rucking program is going, what I'm learning, what I'm gaining. I know mental clarity I'm feeling stronger, like this morning was awesome.
Speaker 2:I took some notes on some of the physical benefits. It's improved cardiovascular, increased muscular strength and endurance, weight management and improved bone density. Some of the mental and emotional benefits is reduced stress and anxiety, improved mood, increases self-esteem and confidence, and some additional benefits are improved functional fitness. Functional fitness is just the daily tasks you do every day, right? Also, there's an increased caloric burn, right?
Speaker 2:If you want to burn a few more calories, like you said, put the vest on while you're doing your daily chores. Driving the kids to school, don't matter, just throw the damn vest on and wear it, and it doesn't need to be a huge amount of weight 10 pounds extra, it's all good. And also the other thing I love is it does give you improved mental clarity and focus, and again, you don't need to. I'm on a 30 day kick right now because I really want to lean into some fat loss and I also want to maintain the muscle. I struggled years ago, leading myself and others on how to lose weight without losing muscle. Right? So to focus your health on just losing fat and rucking big time does that. And you don't need to do it every day. One to three times a week is all you need If you start once a week, rucking, ruck.
Speaker 2:Find one day a week where you're going to ruck, Just get it in man, and once a week, over time, with consistency, it'll turn into twice a week and all that other stuff, and then only 30 to 60 minutes per session. When you're starting out, go for 30 minutes, don't make it all day. Or, like you said, darrell, I love the fact that when you're starting out, don't even go anywhere. Just do your damn daily routine. Wear the vest, you will notice something you will notice. So overall, incorporating a rucking or rucking routine one or three times a week can have numerous physical, mental and emotional benefits. I'm encouraging it 100%. I'm going to try to build a rucking community out here where I live.
Speaker 2:I'm out in a rural area. There's two lane highways. People got acreage in between them so people don't see. But I go down this one road, perry Creek Road, and there's cars that go by that are driving to work same time and stuff like that, and now I'm getting people waving and they've got cars, and so I think what I might do is make a little flyer and dump them all in the mailboxes and just create a little rucking club out here and uh, so it could be great for community as well, because it's something most people can do. It's it's not all, as you're walking with a little bit of weight or a lot of weight, depending on what you're ready for.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so I can't wait. I feel like you're a guinea pig and you're halfway through the lab experiment, so I'm super excited to see that. And also remember Joe. At World Gym in Hillsburg they actually one evening or morning, they have a rucking evening or a class where they literally put those stuff on and they get a group of people and they go out and rock around Hillsborough, Right.
Speaker 3:So, um, uh, so yeah, it's great. Well, it's been a great episode. I'm super excited about your journey. I can already tell in your face and kind of a little bit in your attitude. Um, you know, we talked a couple of days ago and I could tell and you're very excited about this. So I'm excited about the benefits you've already seen and where you're going to be in 30 days.
Speaker 2:Yeah Well, thank you, darrell, I appreciate it and I'm glad you see. You know I'm shrinking up a little bit. It's all good, um, and I'm I'm excited to see what comes of this. So what another great episode. Ava, jo, I'm looking for you, girl, I'm looking for you on the 5k. Hopefully I can run it with you. I could probably get in a 5k, and who cares if my foot's throbbing afterwards? We're going to get it done. And then congratulations to you, daryl, eric, angelina, josephine and Alyssa for crushing you guys' 10k run last week. I look forward to hearing what's coming down the pike for the rest of you guys. And and uh got to stay tuned in. I got to stay close to you and Eric on seeing what's going on. Make sure you don't slack. 125 mile run is going to be here before you know it. Man, make sure you're doing the work.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and, by the way, tomorrow starts our 10 week training plan. So we've got a kind of a two 10 week training plans with the week in between a little bit of downtime. So we got some direction from some people that have done ultras. So, uh, we're starting, so we'll, uh, we'll give a quick update, um, in the next couple episodes, of how that's going.
Speaker 2:I look forward to hearing about the plan.
Speaker 3:Good stuff.
Speaker 2:Good stuff, all right, man. Well, we'll just sign off like we always do, and I'll say God bless and peace out, Peace out, we're out, we're out.