Goggins 4x4x48 2021
With the 3rd Annual Goggins 4x4x48 Challenge quickly creeping up on me, it is time I reflect on my experiences and what I learned from the previous year when I participated in the event. Up until this point, I had not even really thought of what I learned from the challenge. That was until a local coffee enthusiast and regular at my residency gig asked me what I had learned from the event. As I tried to give him some pointers on the account he had told me he was going to participate in, my mind drew blank. My mind drew blank since that was how my mind was mostly through the event. My mind was mush, my body sore, my stomach rumbling, although unable to eat, and my body unable to regulate my temperature. As I prepare to do the event once again, I have to reflect upon my experience, my mistakes, and how I can pull off this event once again.
I first heard of the 4x4x48 Challenge when Lex Fridman discussed his experience on The Joe Rogan Experience. At this point, I was not willing to participate since the only rule of challenge was, you had to run the 4 miles. I can run, but there's no way in hell I am running 48 miles in 48 hours. My hamstrings and lower back can not handle that. The second year, Goggins announced the rules for the second annual challenge. This time, the rules had changed and they were right up my alley.
It's easy to say, I am an avid hiker. I am perhaps considered a through hiker or endurance hiker. When Goggins changed the rules to run or walk, I was in. Just one thing, how am I going to schedule this? Lucky for me, well kind of lucky, we were still in the midst of a pandemic. I was working, and I could make my own schedule, so I took that Friday off. However, like I said earlier, I have a residency gig and I can't cancel that. So instead of starting the challenge at 12 pm, I started it at 12 am. 12 hours earlier. One more thing too. Goggins wanted us to choose a charity to raise money for. What charity or foundation should I choose? I needed something near and dear to my heart and one that I trusted. The TRCP, Teddy Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. The TRCP is a charity that partners with other conservation charities to rebuild American wildlife and ecosystems. This year, I'll be raising money for Blue Star Service Dogs.
With the aforementioned all figured out, I had to plan my “sleep schedule,” my routes, coffee consumption, water consumption, and food. When Fridman was detailing his experience, he had mentioned that he was craving and eating multiple rotisserie chickens throughout the challenge. I decided I would skip chicken and go for the ever so delicious and affordable chuck roast. I purchased 2 chuck roasts and a bag of Black Rifle Coffee Company coffee to keep me fueled up and caffeinated. With everything figured out, it was time to set out on this challenge.
I had plotted out different routes to walk. Local parks, within my neighborhood, on a bike trail near my house and a high school track also located near my house. I had different routes for different times. Since I would be walking at midnight and 4 am, I could not walk in my local parks, it's considered illegal. I also did this to keep things interesting. If I walked the same route or the same two routes for 48 miles, lord knows I would get bored out of my mind. I am also very lucky to have the company of my dog, Elsa. Elsa joined me for 36 out of the 48 miles. By the end, she was done, but she still came with me. The world's greatest dog.
I started at 12 am on a Friday. Elsa did not join me for this walk. She stayed on my warm bed. Early March in Ohio is still considered winter and it gets quite cold. Elsa preferred the warmth of my bed and I can't blame her. I walked in my neighborhood, back and forth, back and forth for an hour and 10 minutes. I got home, took off my gear, and tried to take a cat nap on my couch, however, I was far too wired to do so. Since I couldn't sleep and had to be walking in 2 and a half hours, I decided to start watching the classic sitcom, Cheers. I watched Cheers while resting and recouping. Cheers got me through this challenge. I will forever correlate the two, Cheers and the 4x4x48.
4 am, as I put my gear on for my hike, Elsa wakes up and runs down the stairs to join me. She had her “walking face” on and is excited to join me for my next hike. This time, I took another route within my neighborhood. It was nice to have a companion with me on this hike. At this point, I had chosen not to listen to music or podcasts the entire challenge. I didn't want any distractions. I eventually changed my mind.
As the challenge continued, I started to notice two things. I was starving, however, I wasn't hungry. I had burned thousands of calories, yet, I could not eat. I had to force myself to cook one of my chuck roasts and then forced myself to eat the delicious roast. Once I started eating, I could not stop eating. I'm glad I did. I needed protein and fat.
I also started to notice that I was constantly cold. Even while hiking in the sunny, yet chilly midday and afternoon, I could not get warm. I remember on the last evening, sitting on my couch, bundled up in all of my thermal gear, wrapped up in a blanket drinking coffee, and I was freezing! I just could not get warm. Something was wrong. To the Google. After a few minutes of Googling, I found that the body has a hard time regulating body temperature when sleep deprived. Since I had only taken a few cat naps on the couch, it was quite evident that my sleep deprivation was the issue.
Even with all of the stretching and hydration, my feet began to swell. They swelled up so bad that at the end of the challenge, I had a hard time taking off my shoes and boots. My feet hurt when I tied my boots and shoes. At the end, it hurt to stretch my feet and calves. Fortunately, I had no blisters or sores. Every step hurt my feet and my. You know the part of your foot where it connects to the lower shin? Yeah, that was swollen and throbbing with every step I took. Fortunately, I had no blisters. Just swollen feet, achilles tendons, and extremely tender calves.
As the challenge went on, I got quite bored and was borderline delirious. Sleep deprived, cold, hungry, physically and mentally exhausted, I needed something to help push me. ABout 24 hours or so in, I can't exactly remember, it was all a bit foggy, so I decided to listen to an audio book. “Can't Hurt Me” by David Goggins. The choice seemed appropriate and it helped me push myself just a little bit further so I could finish the challenge.
I have to say, I learned a lot about myself from this challenge. Before this, I haven't done much of anything like this. I've done an endurance event and hiked the rockies for days on end, but nothing like this. Aside from making you get up off your butt and be active for days on end, this challenge is designed to push you past your limits. Goggins has been known for saying many things, but one of the most important, the one that resonates with me the most is, “When your mind is telling you that you're done, that you're exhausted, that you can not possibly go any further you're only actually 40% done.” Meaning, you have to tell that voice in your head that wants you to quit to shut up. I have had to do that many times while hiking or while participating in this challenge.
This was a fun challenge for me. Lord knows I’m no stranger to pain, but sleep deprivation is no fun. By the time I was done with the challenge, I had been awake for 64 hours.The bad thing about sleep deprivation is, no recovery time for overworked muscles.
There were plenty of times I wanted to quit. 23 degrees with a wind chill of 10 degrees, no sun, exhausted. I just wanted to lay down on the trails. Especially when I was walking around like a drunk old man. Or go home and crawl into my warm bed with my warm dog. Or when my leg buckles from pain. Or I can’t take off my shoes because my feet are swollen. Or I’m confused as to what I’m doing since I haven’t slept in days. Or the loss of feeling in my hands.
The day after I finished the challenge, I had my residency gig. As I was setting things up, Ben, the regular and coffee enthusiast I mentioned before, came up to me and told me, “I respect you for doing that.” To this day, that comment resonates with me. I hold respect in high regard and to earn someone's respect for damn near breaking myself gives me a bit of pride that this ever humble man needs.
For the 3rd annual 4x4x48 Challenge, Goggins switched things up a bit. If you're not a runner, you have the option to workout for the 40-60 minutes that it would take most to run 4 miles. I like this since I am participating in The Crucible two months after and would like to take my revenge on those hills. It's also a good thing because it not only gives me more time to rest, but I can go and support my buddies band and visit with a friend that is in town for that weekend. Since I have friends to support and visit, I have to start early, again, and I have to plan this all out. As of now, this is what my schedule looks like.
Friday-4pm Walk 4 miles
8pm Yoga-1 hour
Saturday-12am Workout-1 hour
4am Workout-1 hour
8am Walk 4 miles
12pm Walk 4 miles
4pm Walk 4 miles-Workout 1 hour
Go support friend
Sunday-12am Workout 1 hour
4am Yoga 1 hour
8am Walk 4 miles
12pm Walk 4 miles Workout 1 hour
Go hang with friend
8pm Workout
