9 of the fastest pax in Isotope jumped the wall and stormed the summit of Granite Hell over and over and over again. Here is their story:
0515
Wait on Cherry Bomb
0516
Continue waiting on Cherry Bomb
0517
Ok he's here and tying his shoes. LET'S GO…
0518
Hard to the top of Granite Hell. Disclaimer given en route. Burpees at the top, burpees at the bottom. AMRAP. Wait on the six at the bottom before heading back at 0607 0610. MQ was sick. Swing State was judging a convergence. FKT was wide open for the taking except it wasn't. Ducky was feeling it. Got his numbers back, kinda. Next time Swingy just post the FKT on the window at Summit Jason's Deli so we know when you are in for soft serve and when you're in for going hard. Ducky thanks you. Strong work by the GB's showing out this morning and to Mr. Holland and Cherry Bomb for crushing their virgin trip to Granite Hell.
Granite Hell never gets easier in fact she only gets steeper. She baits you to walk and merlot and try to bail on burpees. You question all life's choices on her slopes until you hit that glorious lamp post when she gives you a glimmer of hope that the pain will cease soon.
Lots of questions about shield locks lately amongst the pax and how to find them. There is no sign up genius. No secret formula. You can't just show up at Shake Weight. You have to put in the work. You have to go through life's trials and tribulations with some other men so that you gain their trust and them yours. It's no different than any other worthwhile relationship in your life. The more time you spend, the more life you live with those men, the stronger the bonds become.
YHC was fortunate enough to get pulled into a BRR team in my first year of F3 and never looked back. In my opinion, the bonds built at overnight CSAUP events is enough to kick off a shield lock and strengthen those bonds. Those events when you spend a weekend with another man doing hard stuff, getting to know that man at his best and worst, and at yours, is when you find out if he is a man that you can trust and lean into. You find out if he will hold you accountable and you the same. Its not just the event itself, its the many hours training with those men. Its all those mornings when you know you have hill repeats at Granite Hell waiting for you. Do you have other men that will pry you out of bed and you them to do hard things? Those are the men that you are confident calling at 0300 to show up when you or your family need help. They are also the men that will grab coffee or a beer at the drop of a hat to talk through hard stuff. Work to find those men.
There are probably lots of ways to find men to join a shield lock. You have to be intentional. You can't force it. One of the best ways, in my opinion, is to find other men to set a hard goal with, train to crush that goal with them, then go spend time obtaining that goal with them. It could be a long relay race. It could be a ruck event. It could be R2R2R. But it needs to be outside your comfort zone.
One of those options is QRVIII. If you have never rucked, get a ruck and some weight and join us at Spearhead. We will find you, or you can pick, a battle buddy. Commit to training at Spearhead and beyond with them. Then come out and crush QRVIII with the team. Bonds are formed under weight doing hard stuff. Just like in life.
Happy one year of FKT men. Hopefully FKT has done a small part in getting the pax outside of their comfort zone even if only for the couple of minutes at a time, like the time spent sumitting Granite Hell. It always feels easier with your brother suffering just as much beside you. YHC is thankful to have a bunch of other men willing to put in the work and suffer alongside. Thank you to Frodo for the opportunity to lead. Prayers up brother, hope you are feeling better. Prayers up for Hoodie's 2.1 that he recovers quickly. And prayers up for the men of F3 looking for shield locks. Go find them. Put in the work and continue the pursuit until you find those men. You need them. They need you. AYE! Until the next time…
DH