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8 years ago, I took 3 weeks annual leave to train with Navy Seals, at a Training facility, in USA, called Sealfit.
I wanted to test my limits...these are my diaries.
THE SEALFIT DIARIES by Jase Lydom
Sealfit: Kokoro Camp: Part 3
We were told to prepare for a mountain ruck.
Equipped with a rucksack, sandbag, water, our weighted weapon, MRE's, we all piled into vans for the hour long drive to the base of the Mt. Palomar.
We were split into teams and we were told that this was a recon mission. We were given a map and told to walk to the top of the mountain, where our main mission would be outlined.
It involved finding a fire tower on the top of Mt. Palomar, surveying it for size, activity, location, uniforms of those inside, timing of guard switches and equipment, and then recording and bringing that information back down the mountain.
Within a few kilometres, our team of 6 struck trouble.
The same SWAT team member who had ditched out on the log carries was wheezing and stopping frequently.
It was hot. 40 degrees plus. It was dusty. It was dry. It was a nasty, unrelenting climb...but it had to be done.
Then another of our group started stopping regularly.....
Again, our group was in last place. I looked around at the others. We also had one of the females, the "outsider", a guy who I knew from the 3 weeks, one of the young Navy officers and another strong silent type.
These other 2 guys were dragging us down though.
We did the team thing.
We encouraged them. We carried their packs...and their weapons.
The 4 of us took turns at carrying a backpack on our front...and our own on our backs. This sucked...but we needed to dig in , if we were going to reach the top of this massive 20km plus mountain.
The Coaches van pulled up beside us and they demanded to know why we were so far behind the other groups.
They soon worked it out. They threw the 2 guys dragging our group down into the van and sped off.
We picked up the pace.
We passed 1 team. Then another....and another.
We made it to the top of the mountain in first place and commenced our recon mission.
Unfortunately the "outsider" read the map wrong and we failed our mission....back down the mountain we went.
By this stage, we were fatigued to the point of exhaustion.
I swear I saw big rabbits running along the road next to us.
At one stage, someone yelled out.
There is a mountain lion on the road....we all ducked for cover into the bushes.
Finally we moved closer...it was no mountain lion.....just a shadow on the road.....it was now dark.
We were hallucinating badly.
My body hurt everywhere. Even though, I had been given permission to wear sneakers, my blisters had resplit and my back was now bleeding also, from the constant sandbag rubbing.
The Coaches pulled up and dropped off 1 of our guys. The other had quit.
At this stage of Kokoro, we knew of at least 5 people who had called it quits.
Our group was now strong. We made it to the bottom.
We hobbled into the vans and were told that no-one was to go to sleep. Everytime someone shut their eyes, we would cop 50 burpees back at Sealfit.
The Coaches turned the heaters up full blast and played classical music..
We resorted to slapping each other in the face and punching and pinching each other to stay awake.
I remember slapping the guy next to me..then next thing someone punched me in the ribs hard. I fell asleep too many times...we all did.
We tried to make each other angry by telling stories about the others mothers'....and girlfriends. It didn't work.
It was funny though..the things that were said & done to keep us awake. Most I cannot share....
It was impossible to stay awake. We were shattered.
12 hours plus, we had been on this mission..up & down the mountain. 42kms covered. A bloody marathon!
We were now 37 hours in...no sleep...
At Sealfit, we were told we had accumulated 1000 burpees!
At this point I did not care. I just did whatever I was told. I was in "zombie" mode.
We were told most groups had failed the mission....and then we did our burpees. This was not pretty.....
Continued tomorrow ....
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“What stood out for me when visiting Geelong Boxing and Obstacle Training and spending time with Jase, Karen and the team was the sense of community and respect for one another. GBOT takes pride in what they do and help their clients and the wider community to express the best version of themselves in everything they do. I would highly recommend anyone who is interested in training, obstacle course racing or just looking to improve their general health and well being to visit GBOT and see what they are all about
Commando Steve
“Jase’s programs vary within and between sessions. There’s also obstacle programs if seeking even more challenging variation. I was surprised at no longer encountering overuse strain or injury since starting his bootcamps. He generates a great atmosphere and its infectious. A great experience even in the cold dank of winter.”
Simon