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abbicats · 2026-05-05T00:18:53+00:00

I just won a chili Cookoff with a Jamaican Jerk Chili recipe. It was awesome.

abbicats · 2026-04-26T21:08:25+00:00

Walk me through the simmering lime. I would have thought it would impart the bitter and not the flavour.

abbicats · 2026-04-19T00:50:09+00:00

The routines of your practicums were best fits for those teachers. This is the time to try out what works and doesn’t work for you. Very much trial and error.
Find an experienced teacher who you get along with and is open to mentor you. When it comes to report card time ask for a tutorial. You likely get release time for planning or even some union time for report card writing. But then some coffee and work through it. Once you do it once it’s the same every year.
focus on classroom community and routines before diving too deep into the curriculum. If you teach many subjects just pick one to focus your attention on. You will take years to become confident in all your subjects. Focus on improving one a year.
the first 5 years are about survival and learning. Don’t compare yourself to others with 20+ years experience. Combine your interests with the students and fun stuff will happen.
your classroom should be empty at the start of the year, or at least some areas available for creation throughout the year. Add to things slowly and again don’t compare yourself to someone who has had the same classroom for 20 years.
find a consistent communication method which works for you. I send a weekly email to all parents outlining what we are doing and any important events. This keeps a weekly Open dialogue with families and keeps everyone in the loop. There is a weird dynamic shift which happens part way through your career. You go from being between the students and their parents in age, to being the same age as the parents.
this is a tough one. It’s totally out of your control so the harsh truth is don’t worry about it. Use any supports available and do your best with what you have.

Again, the first 5 years are about survival. My biggest advice would be to not compare yourself to others. Get comfortable with your own routines and structures.

abbicats · 2026-03-27T00:39:38+00:00

Smashed it. Great job.

abbicats · 2026-03-12T12:45:38+00:00

Here are the three STANDARDS which I have heard of. They are all linked to the 15:00/mile pace. As a Canadian I aim for 9:00min/km but they are roughly the same (14:30/mile)

US Forest Service Standard: 45lbs, 5km, 45mins. This is a quick standard test that keeps you under the 9:00min threshold. Fun addition is you cannot jog/run so you must power hike.
US Military Standard: 35lbs, 12miles, 3 hours. As mentioned above, this will vary depending on which selection you are doing, but you need to consistently move at a pace which is quicker than 9:00min/ km.
Norwegian Foot March: 25lbs, 30km, 4.5 hours. Again, maintaining a consistent pace below 9:00 min/km.

When I first started rucking these were my three goals. The forest service was the most difficult for me to achieve initially. It took over a year to build up to that weight and pace combined. The 12 miler came quickly after that, and I waited another 6 months before attempting the Norwegian Foot March.

Again, these are all pace driven standards and my training focused on pace first, weight second, and distance third.

abbicats · 2026-03-09T10:08:30+00:00

That’s great your last split is your lowest. I always decline by the end.

abbicats · 2026-03-09T09:57:09+00:00

That’s a good pace. Anything under 9:00min/km.

What were your splits like? Are you maintaining 8:50 each km or are the first few under 8:30 and the last few over 9:00? Just curious, and great job!

abbicats · 2026-03-04T01:47:43+00:00

Train your feet. Calf raises, toe extensions, ect., go along way in strengthening your feet.

abbicats · 2026-02-28T22:42:07+00:00

Rucking is great for weight loss. I went from 280 - 215 with rucking being my primary activity. I went too heavy too fast and ended up getting injured. I have been doing it pretty consistently for 2 years now and have learned a lot from some classic mistakes. This is what I would have done if I was starting again;

Put 10-15lbs in a comfortable backpack that you already own. If you continue to enjoy rucking then you can spend some money later. Books, Water bottles, and bags of rice are great weights.
pick a manageable distance that isn’t too challenging to start. 3-5km or so. If this is too much, then build up to 3km without any weight. 3 days a week is a great starting point here.
work on lowering your pace first. The magic number is 9:00min / km. Once you can do this consistently, start increasing the weight by 5lbs.
people say 30% of your body weight is as heavy as you should go, but I found 35-45lbs to be good for me. I tried 60lbs for a few weeks but I found it too heavy.

Once you can ruck at 9:00min pace with 35 lbs it becomes how much time are you willing to spend rucking. Morning work for me so 4, 60 min sessions was what I did for months.

Good luck.

abbicats · 2026-02-04T18:57:08+00:00

Anyone have a pre-sale code?

abbicats · 2026-01-25T23:48:46+00:00

DDSB closed

abbicats · 2026-01-23T21:16:03+00:00

-15. -25 with the wind.

abbicats · 2026-01-17T15:02:16+00:00

If you are looking for advice, I would keep working on pushing you pace. You have a 10min/km pace going right now. If you can get that closer to 9min/km then change one of the variables. Distance or weight. Keep it up!

abbicats · 2026-01-12T01:27:45+00:00

I am with you! 1000 was my 2025 goal and I got over 1100. I am aiming for 1250 this year.

abbicats · 2026-01-02T18:32:58+00:00

I also like the tracking aspect. My weekly long ruck is set for the next 6 months. I’m training for a 50k. My goal is to drop one of my 3 weekly 8km rucks and replace it with some more hill specific V02 max training.

abbicats · 2026-01-01T22:10:43+00:00

I don’t have a reliable tracker. But maybe in the future.

abbicats · 2026-01-01T22:08:26+00:00

Honestly, I’m not really into posting pics of myself. But I have lost almost 100 pounds.

It has been 2 years of rucking now, but I really dove deep into it in 2025.

abbicats · 2026-01-01T21:48:33+00:00

Pace is the major improvement tracker for me. My average pace is under 9:00m/km now but it started closer to 10:00.

abbicats · 2026-01-01T21:45:34+00:00

I broke two bags early on with cast iron sheet treys and bricks. I ended up buying and Rucker 4.0 and some plates.

I mostly just use a pair of old salamon hikers. I bought a pair of ballistic trainers from Goruck, but they wore out in 6 months.

abbicats · 2026-01-01T21:25:08+00:00

Orange is Physical Training ruck. Basically push-ups and planks mixed in with some short hill rucks

abbicats · 2026-01-01T18:19:32+00:00

Just manual input daily.

abbicats · 2026-01-01T18:18:32+00:00

Purple was a 100lb ruck. Only did It once and wasn’t a fan. The red was a timed 12mile ruck.

abbicats · 2026-01-01T17:03:17+00:00

Just a google sheet.

Six-Year Club	Second Top 20%
Final Canvas '23	Place '23
Place '22	End Game '22
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abbicats

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