Goggins Challenge

 

THE GOGGINS CHALLENGE

You might be wondering, if you're out of the loop...

What is the "Goggins Challenge"?

Why is it worth writing about?

What or who is a Goggins?

Was it actually challenging?

.. among other questions you may have.

DAVID GOGGINS

You may or may not have heard of David Goggins. If you haven't... have you been living under a rock? 
He has over 3.8 million followers on Instagram, and he's been on the Joe Rogan podcast a few times.

(hyperlink below)

David Goggins' has done a bunch of badass accomplishments throughout his life, he's run the Badwater 135 Ultramarathon multiple times, completed Moab 240 (240 mile ultramarathon), is an ex-Navy SEAL, and in 2013 held the Guinness World Record for most pull-ups in a 24 hour period. 
(Among a long, long list of other accomplishments)

Goggins' claim to fame is his motivational speaking, and his message. He preaches mostly that you are able to accomplish way more in life than you think, and that your mind is your biggest obstacle, so you need to train your mind. You do this by voluntarily accepting pain. For example, willing yourself out of bed and not hitting the snooze button would be consistent with this philosophy. 

“You are in danger of living a life so comfortable and soft, that you will die without ever realizing your true potential.” - David Goggins

The man swears like a sailor, and has a few key catchphrases.

"Stay Hard"
"Who's gonna carry the boats, son?"
"You don't know me!"

4x4x48 CHALLENGE 

So with that background, let me introduce the Goggins Challenge 4x4x48

The Goggins Challenge is a 48-hour challenge, whereby a person runs 4 miles (6.44km) every 4 hours, for 48 hours. In total, a person completing this challenge would run 48 miles total, or 77.2km.

I'm a big fan of Mr. Goggins, I find him inspiring - and I started reading his book "Can't Hurt me", my brother Mario is also a big fan. 

My thoughts going into the challenge was that it should be fairly easy if properly managed. A 78km weekend is on the high side in terms of mileage, but the ~3 hour breaks should be sufficient to stretch, refuel, etc. to keep me going for the whole distance. I had tweaked my lower back the previous week - and this worried me a bit going into the challenge, but on Friday night I had good mobility.

Goggins started his challenge at 8 PM Pacific time, which meant I started the challenge at Midnight Atlantic. I had also invited my brother to do the challenge with me. He is not a runner, but he said that he would attempt the first 24 hours. 

I also took 3 pages of notes to document the experience. 

SATURDAY: MIDNIGHT

I ate a large bowl of egg/chicken fried rice after work, and took a 3-hour nap. Mario showed up to my house at around 11:45 PM, and we prepped for the first run at midnight. Went on Instagram for Goggins' live video, introducing us to the challenge. Off we went.

Loop 1: Full of optimism

The first loop was reasonably easy - I took the whole week off running, kept it to an easy pace (~6:30min/km)
After about 5km, Mario started complaining about knee pain. We walked for a little bit, ran the rest, and was back home in around 45 minutes. 

I noted that my left calf was a bit tight at the end of the run, temperature outside was -7.5°C, a bit colder with the wind chill, and we did have a strong East-bound wind that hit us on Killam, for about 300 meters. 
When I got back home, I was quite cold, and needed to thaw, so I turned on the propane fireplace. 

4 down, 44 to go.

SATURDAY: 4AM

We had a big buffet of snacks that we had purchased for this challenge (gummy bears, peanut butter M&Ms, Bits n Bites) an assortment of salt, protein, and carbohydrates. We ate some food, drank more water than I felt like was necessary at the time, I did some minor stretching in the areas I thought might tighten up. And quickly off to bed.

*BRRRRRRT BRRRRRT BRRRT*
At 3:45 AM, my phone alarm goes off. I open my eyes, and stay snuggled in, try to look over at Mario who is on the other couch. Neither of us is moving. My body had "just" started thawing to the point where I was comfortable. Neither of us wanted to make the first move and rouse the other one out of sleep. Eventually I said something, and he retorted "it's your challenge". 

We probably got up at 3:53AM, and rushed to the door for the 4:00AM start. 

It was -12°C according to my outdoor thermostat, but it was so much colder than that with the wind chill. We were f-r-e-e-z-i-n-g on this loop. 

Mario also started really having some knee pain. It was evident to me that this was ITBS. That loop we had three intervals of walking, and I could tell that Mario was in bad pain. I totally get it, when I first started running, I had bad ITBS also. The walking breaks did not help with the cold. I wore clothes expecting to move and generate some body heat. I would also never drop Mario in the middle of a loop for my own sake.

We got back home at around 53 minutes, and I stripped, turned on the fireplace and attempted to dry my clothes for the next loop. I showed Mario a few stretches to help with the pain, gave him a therapeutic gun to focus on his glut medius and lower back. 

Casualties...

The worst pain I was suffering at this point was nipple chaffing - not the worst place to be.

I went back to bed, this time with a heating pad.

8 down, 40 to go.

SATURDAY: 8AM

Katie got back home from her night shift, and I think this woke me up - I made myself a protein shake, applied a generous amount of body glide over my nipples (and all other sensitive areas). Mario had elected to sleep in one of the upstairs beds, and by 7:50AM he had still not come downstairs. I went up to get him.

In my best David Goggins impression; "WAKE UP MOTHERFUCKER! WHOS GONNA CARRY THE BOATS"

He was like, "not me" - his knee was totally locked up, and that was the end of his challenge. 

I was mentally tired, physically OK - and this was the first loop in the sun, but also my first solo loop. I thought that the sun might rejuvenate me. The only notes I took for this loop was that it was -11.5°C, and that it was "super windy and cold". There was a 1km stretch where I ran directly against the wind, and it was absolutely soul-suckingly cold. 

The first loop was cold, but the second and third were soul-sucking - I was having some wind burns on my face as a result.

I got back inside the house, sat by the fire, changed underwear, shirt, socks, took a warm shower, brushed teeth, and Katie made me a breakfast sandwich. I think I got 1 hour of sleep in this interloop.

By this time, I started to notice a few people on social media who were doing the Goggins Challenge - on Strava, there were Lindsay McPhee, and Luc Doucet, and we started messaging each other and giving kudos' and "how are you feeling".

Laura Roy from the Amherst Striders also picked up what I was doing, and asked a few questions - she turned out to be my biggest fan throughout the next day. 

12 down, 36 to go. 

SATURDAY: NOON

I woke up from my 1-hour nap. This was the worst I felt throughout the whole 48 hours. Mentally I was so drained and fatigued, I did not want to go out again. Some of my clothes had not completely dried. I checked the weather and it registered -3°C, but in my mind I had convinced myself that though it was -3°C, but probably -20°C with the wind chill, because Murphy's law. 

I started the loop. *This is the proof that running is more mental than physical* - I run/walked this whole loop - I could not sustain a running pace at all despite it being the best physical conditions up to this point. It was nice and warm, sunny, the wind had died down, and I had eaten a meal. I had doubts about being able to complete the challenge at this point - it just felt like the end goal was SO far away.

At the end of this loop, I still had 32 miles left.

I started feeling better by the end of the loop, but still mentally quite tired. My right calf muscle was still straining a tad. 

My lower back was holding up surprisingly well. 

SATURDAY: 4PM

By this time I had established a post-run routine of;

• Eating some sort of leftover food (be it fried rice, pasta, or some other meal that Katie had made, 
• Drink a substantial amount of water, sometimes with Nuun, sometimes not, 
• Stretch my calves, quads and hip flexors, lower back, sometimes use the TheraGun (Wattne)
  
• Dry all of my running stuff by the fireplace or next to the baseboard heater.
• I had a rotation of gloves, toques, running pants, jackets, socks, shirts..
• Try to get some sleep.

Even the slightest wet clothes was uncomfortable in the cold

So I slept about 3 hours, and by this time the body glide was just not working as well as I was hoping - so I took some medical tape and taped over my nipples. Some of my toes were starting to develop minor blisters, so I taped all of the problem areas there.

I was able to manage 3 hours of sleep between noon and 4PM, I didn't feel great when I woke up, but Katie made me a cup of coffee, and within ~10 minutes I was a brand new man!

Elixir of life

The 4PM loop was great. Only -2°C, I was in a great spirits, alert, it was sunny, nice weather. The wind had slowed. I was still feeling stiff in my left calf, probably due to the slant on the road (for drainage) - aside from that I felt really solid for somebody who previously had ran 20 miles. 

SATURDAY: 8PM 

My mom had texted me and asked if I needed company for some of the loops - mom was worried about me, I think.

I would have liked to have her do the midnight loop with me, but I suggested we walk the 8PM loop, because I didn't want her to feel obligated to stay up until Midnight to walk with me. (She 100% would have done it had I asked).  

So we walked the 8PM loop, weather was nice, the sun had set and it was -5°C when we left the house. I elected to wear a new pair of Brooks Ghost that I had purchased, rather than the Hoka Clifton shoe. I thought it might be better for my calf to change the drop.

My body was good, mind was a bit tired, eyes face, and lips showed signs of wind and cold damage. 

Just like that, 24 miles in 24 hours - and I felt pretty good after the first day.
The first few loops were tough, because I didn't really know how to manage all of the variables, but by around this time I had figured out the approximate amount of food, sleep, etc. needed to continue. 

SUNDAY: MIDNIGHT

 I eat another meal (probably pasta), watch the hockey game on TV.

*BRRRRRRT BRRRRRT BRRRT*

And out for another loop. I was reasonably awake for this part, felt good - but the sun had gone down for a while, and I expected the temperatures to dip again. Started the loop at -6°C. I could feel my lips start drying out, my back was a bit sore, but all-in-all it was a good loop without issue. 

SUNDAY: 4AM

I had taken a nice nap, and before I knew it

*BRRRRRRT BRRRRRT BRRRT*

Time for another loop.
At this point, it was an automatic: my phone would go off 15 minutes before the start, I got up, picked out my clothes, dressed and out the door.- No ifs, ands, or buts.

Turned out I forgot to eat a decent amount between, I snacked a bit though. I didn't think this would be a huge issue, but it's never good when you run hungry. I ran pretty good during this loop. Even though I was physically tired, and hungry it went well.

Not freezing is a great motivator.

I noted in my journal that it was "cold but not soul-sucking". It was -9°C

I finished this one in less than 45 minutes. I transitioned very fast, as I wanted to have the maximum sleep. Took a hot shower to "thaw", eat, brush teeth, eat a big meal, snooze.

32 down, 16 to go: 2/3 of the way there!

SUNDAY: 8AM

*BRRRRRRT BRRRRRT BRRRT*

Amazing sleep!!!!

As always, clothes on and out the door. -8°C

I started running, gluts were sore and I was quickly out of breath. I had a sharp pain in my butt, not sure why that was, but I took mental note of it. This loop was a bit more of struggle, physically. Aside from my walking loop with mom, this was the slowest one. 

Mentally I was OK, sun was out and we had another beautiful cloudless day - but I still needed to move. 

I had to solve what was the problem with my butt - so I did a lot of stretches, used Wattne. I didn't sleep on Sunday, Katie made me a coffee early in the morning and this sustained me until the end of the Challenge.

After this run, Laura Roy, who had been commenting on my Strava posts took a screenshot  of my ninth run, and shared to the Amherst Striders. - Cat's out of the bag, I couldn't quit now.

SUNDAY: NOON

 

Sometimes I had a STRONG feeling of not going out again, but whenever it was less than 10 minutes to start, I prepped as always and ended up moving towards the door. The left knee was starting to hurt a bit.  The left side had been taking some damage all throughout the challenge - it's really a function of running on the left side of the street and facing oncoming traffic. 

I fixed the butt issue that had been nagging me during the last loop, and I had a decent 6.4km run. 
It was nice out, and I finally had the sense of confidence that this challenge was going to be successfully completed. 

Only 8 miles to go. 

SUNDAY: 4PM

I had a sense that part of the issue on my left side might have had to do with my body not being used to the 6mm drop shoes (Clifton 7). So I decided to try a different pair, the Brooks Ghost - which is not a shoe I had been super in love with - but have a 10mm drop. 

I hoped that this solved the issue. I have to say, it absolutely did! 

I was in a great mood, even was able to not wear my toque!

SUNDAY: 8PM

Final loop, 

My mom had texted me and asked if I wanted company on the final loop. Yep, I'm not gonna break any records. No problem, let's do this.

The parents arrived home shortly prior to the final run, my only issues are my slightly sore knees. 
It's -5°C outside, and I'm in great spirits - my dad said that he would run with me (mom ended up cleaning the kitchen, including dishes)

We head out, and I'm running in a solid pace for somebody who had already ran 44 miles. 

First mile, I run it at 6:30min/km pace, and I'm feeling great. 
The old man, not so much. 

We then decide on a run 5 minutes, walk 2 minutes intervals. 
Oddly enough, this final loop was faster than most other loops on Sunday, and I had enough legs left to solidly run the last 200m. 

Done! 

I had an amazing sleep, 30 minutes later. 

FINAL THOUGHTS

The challenge was very difficult for me - the toughest aspect was the mental piece, for a few reasons:

1. Very limited sleep overall, you're reduced to ~3 hours to get in food, drink, sleep, stretch, foam roll, prepare for next loop.
   
   
2. At night where I live, it was cold, very cold with wind chill. Voluntarily putting myself through that was difficult, and my brain sometimes just did not want.
   
   
3. Getting out of bed when I was super cozy ~8 times in 48 hours was tough. 

Physically, if you've done a half-ironman, possibly if you've done even a half marathon, you should be able to complete this challenge. As long as you are reasonably prepared with food and hydration, and you properly stretch and foam roll between laps.

I don't have a treadmill or any way to do indoor activities, I suspect indoor loops would make  this challenge easier, especially during the winter

I learned a lot about myself during this experience, and I think it was a good way to train for an ultramarathon. I learned a lot about food intake, and how to "feel fresh" when I'm not fresh. I learned that I had way more in the tank than I thought. The last loop I ran with my dad - and I could have dropped him as a "pacer". I also learned that if you change shoes from a 6mm drop to a 10mm drop, that you stress different parts of your legs. It really gave me confidence moving forward as an ultrarunner.

A lot of success in ultrarunning is problem-solving on the fly, this provided me an opportunity to do exactly that, but where you have a bit more time to solve the physical issues, while at the same time going through the mental and emotional problems that came with the challenge.

David Goggins' whole philosophy is about training your mind. Once you do that, you can push yourself in a more focused way. I would say that this challenge did exactly that. Mentally, this was one of the toughest things I've ever done, but physically I was perfectly fine. I look forward to do this challenge again in the future, and also complete other unique challenges (12-hour/24-hour, 50 miler, and perhaps even a 100 miler one day). For some reason, I feel more confident when faced with adversity. I don't know if that's temporary or not, but time will tell. 

 You are confined only by the walls you build yourself. 

– Andrew Murphy

Update:
Shortly after the event, John Leygraaf and Diane Trites interviewed me on their Motivate to Move Podcast. Below is that episode.