Official Website:  http://enduringwarrior.org

Hi!  I've been accepted into Ph II of the Indoc process en route to becoming part of Team Operation Enduring Warrior.  There are three phases of the Indoc process with the culmination being a three day selection weekend in January.

The Ultimate goal is to become part of a team that serves to Honor, Empower and Motivate Wounded service members through a physical, mental and emotional rehabilitative cycle modeled for overcoming adversity and hardship through innovation, teamwork and perseverance.

Awareness and fundraising is the objective in this phase.  Those who continue on to Phase III will be announced December 1st.  I need your help!  


There are a number ways you can support the organization and my selection process.  

1.  Visit the official website and my Community Athlete Page:  Search Holly Di Giovine.  Tax Deductible Donations can be made in honor or remembrance if you wish.  

2.  Become a Community Athlete today!   http://enduringwarrior.org  Community Athletes support and race with the team at official events and are a huge asset to the organization.  

When the contestants arrive to Project Runway, they first settle into a super hip boutique hotel and then meet Heidi and Tim on the roof for a warm welcome and champagne toast.  When prospective Gut Check Fitness Affiliates arrive in San Diego, they check into a Real World size house and prepare to meet Joe and Nicole Decker for the festivities they have planned for us...just bring your headlamp, life jacket and 30-50# sandbag.  Hey wait...where's my Champagne?


The nine of us had traveled from as close as LA, Sacramento and Vegas and as far as PA, NJ and SC on the East Coast...and Melbourne, Australia.  What better way to shake off a 6 hour drive, or 24 hour flight, than to storm the beaches at the Torrey Pines Gliderport for a little workout known as Eisenhower.  

This is what the Gliderport looks like during the day...
But we arrived well after sunset and hiked down the steep grade with loose footings and unpredictable drop-offs.  Tide was low and the surf was a good 200 meters out, complete with a dark orange crescent moon hanging low over a single star.  Right away we knew this was going to be an epic workout. 

Joe welcomed us to Eisenhower and explained how we would be storming the beach and breaching the high-ground...with 9 x 25 reps of other exercises thrown in, plus low crawl/sand sprints, chilling ocean dives and "running" to the top with and without our sandbags.  The record finish time is 57' and our fastest came in just over an hour...the rest of us tried to keep the FML's to ourselves as we pushed to finish below 1:30.  The mid-workout ocean plunges were actually a refreshing opportunity to take in the awesome-ness of the workout and realize you were surrounded by your favorite brand of Crazy.  This was the first of many times I would be humbled over the next five days, as I was surrounded by eight great athletes, each with a ridiculous amount of heart--a Gut Check Pre-Requisite.  

Thursday morning...less than 10 hours after we successfully captured the high-ground at Gliderport...we were introduced to the Cave Man Workout composed of trail running up and down the hills I assumed were the famed "Ass Scraper" and "Chin Scraper" I had been hearing about.  After an hour of ladders from one point to another, with or without a rock and squats/situps...I met the real Scrapers....see pic above.  Most. Ridiculous. Thing. Ever.  Dirt so loose you sunk in mid-calf deep on the way down and climbs so steep I was essentially on my hands and knees to move forward or should I say up.  It was definitely SUPER slow-go for dismounted troops.  And apparently the norm is to do it wearing a heavy ruck...in the dark.  
Again, I found myself pushed to my limit and dealing with the stress of feeling slow and weak.  I don't often near that point in my workouts--even when I think I am working hard I am now fully aware there are many more levels to push through in order to be the athlete I want to become.  Once I finally arrived at the top of Chin Scraper and the rest of the gang was already out of site, I began the descent. Amazing how "just running" feels when you've been moving at less than 1 mph.  I felt light and quick and capable...and then I had to climb back up the original hills and recover my rock so I could return it to it's home.  Can I get a STAR BUCKS??

I will cover the Gut Check Challenge in a different post...b/c it was that awesome.  By this point in the week, the instant bonds from Like attracting Like had been reinforced to create a synergy that will only build from this point forward.  I feel like I now have eight brothers and the coolest mentors in Joe and Nicole Decker.  It's rare you find yourself challenged on a physical, mental and emotional level and this experience exceeded that by Eisenhower dimensions.  Standby for Gut Check Challenge Race Report...I'm going to title it REDEMPTION.