Everywhere I went, Monster wasn’t. The grief was raw and the absence overwhelming. I’m not an expert nor do I want to be, but I have gone through this before. Time helps, but it helps more when I do something physically painful to dull the other pain.
RUCK OR Die 003 was a beautiful tribute. A bunch of us weirdos met at 1am Saturday and rucked all over Jax together. We had just launched the GR MONSTER — and thank you for the support — and it was the only obvious rucksack for me to use. We ended up ruck shuffling somewhere between 13-17 miles depending on the source, and fighting the Grim Reaper back in other exciting ways — then we tacked on a 5K for more fun. The best part about GORUCK is the people. We’re at our very best face to face and shoulder to shoulder. Sometimes you’re looking for a little affirmation from the world that it’s gonna be OK, and I got it.
As for the GR MONSTER. I took the prototype that I had hundreds of miles hiking and traveling in, and wanted another reason to think of Monster during Ruck or Die. It worked. And in terms of a hiking or a travel pack, there aren’t many out there that you can load with 40 lbs (20 lbs in the laptop compartment) and ruck shuffle all night with and say damn, that feels really good. The point is not that this is the perfect ruck for Ruck or Die — it’s that it’s built for moving weight comfortably so you can be uncomfortable in other, more rewarding ways. Like finding somewhere for your love to go.
For the final workout “Monster Forever”, inspired by our driveway style and Monster’s last day (8/15) we did 10 rounds of:
8 Overhead Presses 15 Push-Ups (Monster’s favorite time to lick your face, and I felt him there) 100 meter front rack carry — because someday you may have to carry your dog like this, be ready for it.
What you do with the things gives them the meaning that you need.
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