Professional Soldiers ® - View Single Post - What are you currently doing to prep for SFAS or SFRE

Malone · 06-02-2019, 16:59

Attended SFRE for 20th GRP this past weekend. Most of the events were gate events, so I will focus on those. Here is some insight and observations on the training I've posted over the past two weeks:

My feet were probably the only one without blisters after the weekend. Tuf-foot works after only two weeks of treatment. I've always gotten blisters on stand-alone road marches and after this weekend, I have zero. I combined antiperspirant deodorant, tuf-foot, and some foot powder in my boots before events.
If it is going to be hot outside, train in the heat. Most of our events weren't super early in the morning (none before 7am), and it got up to 91 degrees both days. We were still training in the heat.
The ruck route was a 6-mile loop done twice. The route was way more difficult than I had imagined and I was sucking by the end. You will not be prepared for this by rucking on the improved/unimproved roads. It was a combination of the heat and terrain. The loop went up and around the backside of a mountain (~700-800ft elevation gain). Moving as fast as I could the first 6 miles I completed it in 1:30, but my joints felt like they were going to explode from the pressure. The second 6 miles I could not fast walk at all, I was depleted and on the verge of being a heat cat. I finished in 3 hrs 40 min total. I puked 30 minutes after finishing and was experiencing vertigo the rest of the day. I was very disappointed in my ruck time/performance, and it was a humbling experience. Don't be like me, ruck on difficult terrain with rocks/roots in training, but do not hurt yourself.
The 5-mile run was much harder after the difficulties I experienced in the ruck. I fought a cramp from mile 1 that lasted the entire duration of the run, which eventually added around two minutes to my time as I was puking on the side of the trail. I did lots of stretching and rehydrating the night before the run and still had issues. I ended up running it in 39 min on easy terrain, where my route in training was over hilly terrain I was averaging 36 min. So, I would recommend getting your times down as much as possible so that if you do run into a cramp/dehydration on your worst day, you still make time.
The cadre running the events were very professional. They were extremely knowledgable and able to answer any questions we had. Out of ~100 people that said they wanted to attend, only 14 candidates showed up.
All the candidates were a mix of enlisted/officer/civilian. Most had attended previously. Everyone worked together well and it was refreshing being around people motivated to better themselves.

I hope this information can help someone else out there. I plan to return for the next SFRE and crush that mountain.

06-02-2019, 16:59	#422
Malone Asset Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: GA Posts: 9	Attended SFRE for 20th GRP this past weekend. Most of the events were gate events, so I will focus on those. Here is some insight and observations on the training I've posted over the past two weeks: My feet were probably the only one without blisters after the weekend. Tuf-foot works after only two weeks of treatment. I've always gotten blisters on stand-alone road marches and after this weekend, I have zero. I combined antiperspirant deodorant, tuf-foot, and some foot powder in my boots before events. If it is going to be hot outside, train in the heat. Most of our events weren't super early in the morning (none before 7am), and it got up to 91 degrees both days. We were still training in the heat. The ruck route was a 6-mile loop done twice. The route was way more difficult than I had imagined and I was sucking by the end. You will not be prepared for this by rucking on the improved/unimproved roads. It was a combination of the heat and terrain. The loop went up and around the backside of a mountain (~700-800ft elevation gain). Moving as fast as I could the first 6 miles I completed it in 1:30, but my joints felt like they were going to explode from the pressure. The second 6 miles I could not fast walk at all, I was depleted and on the verge of being a heat cat. I finished in 3 hrs 40 min total. I puked 30 minutes after finishing and was experiencing vertigo the rest of the day. I was very disappointed in my ruck time/performance, and it was a humbling experience. Don't be like me, ruck on difficult terrain with rocks/roots in training, but do not hurt yourself. The 5-mile run was much harder after the difficulties I experienced in the ruck. I fought a cramp from mile 1 that lasted the entire duration of the run, which eventually added around two minutes to my time as I was puking on the side of the trail. I did lots of stretching and rehydrating the night before the run and still had issues. I ended up running it in 39 min on easy terrain, where my route in training was over hilly terrain I was averaging 36 min. So, I would recommend getting your times down as much as possible so that if you do run into a cramp/dehydration on your worst day, you still make time. The cadre running the events were very professional. They were extremely knowledgable and able to answer any questions we had. Out of ~100 people that said they wanted to attend, only 14 candidates showed up. All the candidates were a mix of enlisted/officer/civilian. Most had attended previously. Everyone worked together well and it was refreshing being around people motivated to better themselves. I hope this information can help someone else out there. I plan to return for the next SFRE and crush that mountain.
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