Best 4 miles was at indoc, 26:32...haven't ran that fast since!

Never ran 4 miles before, but my best 3 mile run was in 21:06

You should try it sometime, you may want to write this down, but it's one additional mile than what you are now running. Good luck!

Ran 4 miles in 20:40 during a 10K race back in the day. Haven't been that fast since the 90's and don't care to be. I was 152 lbs and had nothing but endurance going for me. I don't think running in PT shorts and running shoes is a very good indicator of your ability to move with a purpose carrying your body armor, ruck sack, ammo, and weapon. Last time it mattered (and it was a while ago) I was up to the task of a 10K traverse through three valleys with an elevation change of 3,000ft thrown in while keeping up with a SEAL team carrying about 10-20lbs less equipment than I was. That is something I'm proud of and I know that a lot of current Operators are able to do and improve upon. That is a goal I think we should be striving for; practical endurance/performance, not all out speed.

I do, sometimes focus on my speed when I am running long distances- I guess because I want to get my run in under a certain amount of time. I feel like if my time is above 21 minutes or so in a 3-mile run, then I feel like I am not putting forth enough effort. And Guard MC, I am doing your PJ/CCT Pipeline Train Up... and it's helping me out a lot. I appreciate you taking the time to put some exercises together to help each individual who is training for PJ/CCT Pipeline. Recently I just hurt my knee while playing a baseball game, and can't do any running at all due to the fact that everytime I try to run, or put pressure on it, I get this really sharp pain. Now, I know this is kind of a rhetorical question, but I would like somebody's opinion on this please! Should I lay off the running for a week or two to let my knee recover, or should I suck it up, and push through the pain to help prepare me for my PAST test that I am taking in a week. I don't want to get out of shape whatsoever just because I am not able to do my running. I want to ace the PAST test, and I know I can.

I'd postpone the past. Describe your injury and it's mechanism more on here. Seriously, contact your recruiter and put off your PAST due to "unforeseen circumstances" and take at least a week off. Pushing through soreness or lactic build up is one thing, but the only time you should push through anything like what you are describing is when your life or team depends on it. None of which you have to worry about right now. Take it from someone who "pushed through" and now can't join. Good luck dude.

Ok! It's kind of going away. The injury happened last week, but I know my knee is still not fully healed. Should I rest it up another week, or start back running again in a couple of days? I don't want to screw myself over and not be able to get into Pararescue Training, because I want to become a Pararescueman so bad. And I don't want to screw myself up in the long run either. Also, I would like to know. Do most people who tryout for Pararescue get kicked out by quiting on there own, or failing to meet the PT Evals? I'm not saying I can't meet the PT Evals cause I can, and I will, but I'm just curious of how one gets washed out of Pararescue Training.

The majority of people that don't make it are SIE (self initiated elimination), they quit. We started with 87 guys, 60+ were straight out of basic training and had no clue what they were getting into. We graduated with 17 which was a pretty large team, thanks to strong leadership.

My perspective on your situation: If you are hurt now, then you will get injured during indoc. Indoc is all about durability, you need to be able to push through pain and meet the standards. You're going to hurt, you're going to get shin splints or stress fractures, or something that's going to hinder you but you have to be able to push through that and get the job done. I was fortunate and went through indoc injury-free but I was one of a few. Most guys had some sort of issue that they had to work through...and they did. You need to really think about it and figure out whether or not you are going to be able to withstand 9 weeks of brutal physical training. Nurse your injury all you can but at some point you just have to go for it dude. Good luck to you!

TAKE A BREAK! You are more likely to do MORE damage if you keep running than you are to make important performance gains in the week you have remaining. I recommend you don't do ANY PT at all for the two days prior to the eval and maybe just some easy cals three days out.

ight, thanks for the tips!

How long until you leave for boot camp? Like guard said, take a break. REST, REST, REST, man. If you're not leaving anytime soon, taking a good amount of time off won't affect you. You'll have to spin back up to the level you were at before you quit training, but you'll be back to yourself in no time. You're useless hurt so give your body the proper maintenance - and maintenance is the most overlooked thing when training (from what I've seen).

I'll try and find the article, but i read somewhere that if you take just 1 week off working out, out of every month it can be very beneficial.

I wonder then why the USAF hasn't incorperated a stronger sense of land nav and weekly timed ruck marches with weapons into their selection courses as it is with other services? I don't really want to debate, or come across like I have any room to talk - but sadly I think the military will always try to balance the fine line between upholding traditional standards (ie: "...back in my day") - and functionality towards what todays battlefield airman are seeing in operational tasking.

TACP has some timed ruck marches and some land nav in their tech school. CCT and PJ have timed ruck marches in later Pipeline Courses but not selection. I think it could be added but most new Trainees legs can't take the abuse that early in the Pipeline. TACP does only a few timed rucks and only after serveral weeks of other PT. CCOC and PJ Indoc are too short for the adaptation of lower extremities to occur so the ruck is deferred until later. Both CCT and PJ do add the ruck with weapon later and I would say that they are quite challenging. CCS has a timed ruck every week and the land nav in the field is pretty tough. PJs do so at various phases at Kirtland.

The PT Eval events are chosen because they are easily tought, easily evaluated, are a general indicator of fitness and don't require much infrastructure to support or time to complete. The PT Eval may change as the members of the Careerfields get more experience with functional fitness techniques but I think it will be a while before we see any changes.

What is a good bulidup for rucking? I haven't really done any heavy ones yet. Yesterday I did an 8 mile boot run in bdus with a 10 lb camelback and am feeling it today. Kept a pretty good pace up until the last 2 miles, then I was absolutely spent and looked reminiscent to an old lady walking down the street. Just wondering if you had a good program for that.

Get a good pair of boots and break them in slowly. Get 3 or 4 sand bag, fill one with 20lbs of sand and the others with 10lbs of sand. If you go to Home Depot or similar stores, you can buy sand in plastic bags for levelling side walk stones, etc. Just be sure to buy a bunch of duct tape and toatally wrap the bags so the sand doesn't get wet or come out. Get a ruck, preferably a medium frame ALICE pack.
Start at 20lbs and 3 miles. Build up by half a mile a week. Every mile, add 10lbs. No need to go more than 40-50lbs or more than 8 miles. Ruck only once a week.
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Guard MC, I just want to clarify. When you say "ruck" you mean 15 min a mile pace or so, not running with a ruck correct?

No one on this forum will advise you to run with a ruck.

Thanks for the info. I guess I had the wrong idea I talked to a recent PJ grad and I thought he said they would run with a ruck, maybe it wasn't actually a real run. I figured with 10 lbs. it wouldn't be bad. Now I know. Fortunately no damage done, great idea with the sandbags, I have plenty of those.

From searching this forum I hear that running with a ruck does happen in the pipeline. However it isn't recommended for someone who is training. Very hard on joints and back.