Blogging
A number of years ago, a friend was going overseas with the Peace Corps and wanted an easy means for keeping people back home informed and up-to-date as to what was going on. I suggested that she start a blog, and she did...and it was a great success.
One of the things I like about blogs is that they allow me to document my experiences and share them with others who are interested. A blog is also a great means for keeping a journal...I had some friends start their own blog recently as part of their mission trips to Africa and Asia.
Finally, there are (at least there were) services that you could use to turn your blog into a book. I haven't tried this, but for someone who spends two years in Romania with the Peace Corps, being able to go back and look at those experiences at any point in the future can be priceless, particularly if it's something you want to make available to your kids.
A number of years ago, a friend was going overseas with the Peace Corps and wanted an easy means for keeping people back home informed and up-to-date as to what was going on. I suggested that she start a blog, and she did...and it was a great success.
One of the things I like about blogs is that they allow me to document my experiences and share them with others who are interested. A blog is also a great means for keeping a journal...I had some friends start their own blog recently as part of their mission trips to Africa and Asia.
Finally, there are (at least there were) services that you could use to turn your blog into a book. I haven't tried this, but for someone who spends two years in Romania with the Peace Corps, being able to go back and look at those experiences at any point in the future can be priceless, particularly if it's something you want to make available to your kids.
My intention for this blog is to allow me to document what I've done, so that over time, I can look back and see where I've been. I think that sometimes it's good to reflect on our journeys. As someone who is one of the older individuals to run these events, I hope that someone finds something useful in what I have to share about these events, whether it be a recommendation on training, of where to stay at a venue, or just how to get started.
My background
I attended VMI in the late '80s, and in addition to academics, the school had (and still has) physical fitness requirements. I was on scholarship, so I had additional fitness requirements. For those of you who aren't familiar with VMI, they have an arduous initiation period for freshmen referred to as the Rat Line, which for us, culminated in Break Out, a rather intense, muddy affair.
While attending VMI, the physical requirements continued well after the Rat Line, and after my junior year, I attended the Marine Corps Officer Candidate School (OCS), a 6 week evaluation course referred to as "Bulldog". The physical requirements were intensive, and included fitness tests, obstacle course runs for time, and a leadership reaction course, which required each squad leader to get a squad of Marines, with their gear, and usually some other impediment (casualty, ammo cans, cargo drums, etc.) through a problem or over an obstacle. These events were timed, and preceded by some sort of arduous physical event.
After graduation, I was commissioned into the USMC, and the initial training period (at The Basic School) included a number of physical fitness events, including the endurance course, in which you ran the Marine Corps Obstacle Course, picked up your gear, and ran a 10K course through the woods, the second half of which included obstacles such as walls, windows, cargo nets, rope climbs, etc.
I attended VMI in the late '80s, and in addition to academics, the school had (and still has) physical fitness requirements. I was on scholarship, so I had additional fitness requirements. For those of you who aren't familiar with VMI, they have an arduous initiation period for freshmen referred to as the Rat Line, which for us, culminated in Break Out, a rather intense, muddy affair.
While attending VMI, the physical requirements continued well after the Rat Line, and after my junior year, I attended the Marine Corps Officer Candidate School (OCS), a 6 week evaluation course referred to as "Bulldog". The physical requirements were intensive, and included fitness tests, obstacle course runs for time, and a leadership reaction course, which required each squad leader to get a squad of Marines, with their gear, and usually some other impediment (casualty, ammo cans, cargo drums, etc.) through a problem or over an obstacle. These events were timed, and preceded by some sort of arduous physical event.
After graduation, I was commissioned into the USMC, and the initial training period (at The Basic School) included a number of physical fitness events, including the endurance course, in which you ran the Marine Corps Obstacle Course, picked up your gear, and ran a 10K course through the woods, the second half of which included obstacles such as walls, windows, cargo nets, rope climbs, etc.
My posts to this blog will cover training (I'm not a certified physical trainer, I'll just be sharing what I do), upcoming events, places to stay, and anything else mudder-related that comes along.
No comments:
Post a Comment