JDoes... Goggins 4x4x48

     On March 4th at 10pm, along with thousands of other crazy people throughout the US, I went out for my first of twelve legs of the 4x4x48 put on by David Goggins. To quickly shed light on the challenge, you run 4 miles every 4 hours for 48 hours. I'm not sure how many years Goggins has been doing this himself, but to my knowledge, it was the 2nd year that he had "sign-ups" and the ability to get a T-shirt for participating. All of the proceeds from shirt sales go to a charity of Goggins choosing. This year, I thought it would be good to raise some money for a cause close to my heart, Movember. 

    Movember is an incredible organization that raises money for Men's health. The cash funds all sorts of research, from men's physical health to mental health. The latter is why I got involved with the organization. I've struggled with some level of mental health issues since my early teens. I'm not sure when I first heard of Movember, but it wasn't long after I started participating in their annual fundraising event. It's a month-long event where you grow out a mustache for November and raise some money. I usually do some physical challenges and stay sober for the whole month. 

    I recently decided that I didn't want to raise money for that organization once a year. Whenever I choose to do a challenge, i.e., 4x4x48, I want to get Movember involved. Besides giving them a few more bucks, it also adds a little more motivation on what my "WHY" is. Why am I waking up at 2am to work out for 45 minutes, turn around, and do it again at 6am with virtually no sleep? Well, because there's a chance of losing another man due to suicide. So if I am bringing just a little awareness to that organization and only a slight inconvenience on my sleep schedule, it's a no-brainer when I am faced with the question I ask myself, "Why the fuck am I doing this?"

    Last year's 4x4x48 challenge was brutal. Up to that point in my running career, I hadn't done that much mileage in a single weekend. This year went a lot smoother. It helped that a friend of mine tagged along for the FULL thing. We met a couple of weeks ago, and while having dinner the night before the challenge, he asked me to join him for a few legs. He ended up showing up at my house at 10pm Friday and did the whole damn thing. His wife was on a retreat that weekend, so he had to set-up baby sitters. He brought his daughter along for a couple of legs as well. 

    Logistically speaking, the whole challenge went well. I had a 4-mile loop that started and ended in my driveway. Both of the 2am legs would be done on the bike at a gym 2 miles from my house. 

    Physically I am still not healthy from the 9 Hour Challenge I had done a few weeks back. My left leg has been having consistent issues once I reach a mile. The pain can be so intense that it'll stop me on a dime and make me yelp like a wounded dog. 

I won't break down each leg but will note a few things that stand out. 

Leg 1 (10pm Friday): Ran 4 miles at a slower pace. My leg started hurting less than a quarter-mile into it. 

Leg 2 (2am Saturday): 10 miles on the bike. Very easy.

Leg 3 & 4 (6am & 10am Saturday): Went by alright. Tons of pain. Joined by one of my best friends, which made it easier.

Legs 5-7 (2pm, 6pm, 10pm): Besides the pain, it went by smooth

Leg 8 (2am Sunday): I could hardly walk. I couldn't think straight. The bike felt like it took forever. 

Leg 9 (6am Sunday): Slept in by accident. Started this leg about 30 minutes later than I was supposed to. Which means I had less time to recover between runs.

Leg 10 (10am): I did this one alone, so it felt like it took me forever to get through, but I had to get it done faster to make it to 11am mass.

Leg 11 (2pm): Ran this one without stopping to walk. Averaged less than 9-minute miles.

Leg 12 (6pm): I did this one even faster than the last. Felt like I was running more quickly than I ever had. Averaged 8:30/mile. 

I felt so good when I finished that last leg. I thought I could have gone another 24 hours. 

To top it all off and celebrate, I had a rec league basketball game 20 minutes later. Where I played most of the hour-long game. Somehow I didn't collapse on the floor. 

After my game, my wife and I went to my parent's house to watch a movie, drink some beer, and eat pizza. 

I am a week and a half out from the event, and my leg is still sore and bothering me. Overall I had very little soreness. The mileage didn't bother me at all. The lack of sleep messed with me for a couple of days. 

Kudos to you if you made it through this whole blog. 

JD