Savage Race CSAUP Training @ Foxhole (Sign up now!)

Savage Race CSAUP Training @ Foxhole (Sign up now!)

SUMMARY

The Savage Race & Spartan Race is coming! SIGN UP BEFORE 2/16! (shameless marketing for the event Q’s… you’re welcome)

18 men gathered in the gloom at Elon Park Elementary, and a perfect venue for some obstacle course training. YHC loaded almost 1000lbs of gear in the truck (heavy buckets, kettlebells, plates, weight sled, ropes, and “spears”) for my Foxhole VQ intending to work on a LOT grip and core strength, two assets that are much needed to conquer OCR obstacles, and also provide a change of pace with the BIG-SWINGING-DIC… tators Argo and Voodoo out of pocket. Thank goodness the PO-PO didn’t show up to kick us off the astro-turf field, or at least impound my truck at 4:30am in the morning while gear was unloaded…. it’s been a rough week for gear at F3 workouts #ThanksGeneral&Frasier

So much for the weather forecast, the wind was blowing hard, and YHC scored a solid 9/10 on my ‘nipping’ score after wearing only a SOB Balrog racer-back.  Hey, the Spartan tattoo needed some air on a OCR workout day! Five men (Fahvra, Thin Mint, Mario, Bratwurst, JRR Tolkien) rolled up at 5am for 30min of early pre-WORK which included a sandbag run & squats, and some extra time on the gear.  The rest showed up a few minutes before 5:30 ready to rock.

THE THANG

Quick disclaimer given, with several options to modify (easier and harder).  Because Foxhole is 45min workout, the WOD today ended up being a solid 40.5min TABATA workout (9 total stations x 2 rounds = 18 stations total.  Time at each station was 2:05 with :10 second transition time. Plan was to partner up and stick with your partner through all the stations to completion of all 18 stations.

Stations:

1. Shorter thick rope body supine pull-ups and negatives with rope chained to the top of a fence – back/biceps/grip
2. Reverse Burpees w/ 25lb or 35lb kettlebells – core/legs/triceps
3. Tug-O-War or Standing Resistance Rope Row Pulls – total body/grip
4. ~85lb heavy bucket carries – legs/core/grip
5. Partner Resistance band pulls (FORWARD down & BACKWARDS back) – legs/core
6. 35lb & 45lb plate/kb fingertip farmers carry w/ shrugs – shoulders/grip
7. Agility Shuttle Run between cones – legs/ankles/cardio
8. ‘Spear’ throw through target (miss = 3 burpee penalty) – mind
9. ~225lb Rogue Dog Sled Push (HIGH Bar push down sidewalk, LOW Bar push back sidewalk) – legs/hips/total body really

MOLESKIN

Fun morning today at the ‘Hole… for YHC at least. OCR season is just around the corner, so what better way to get ready for the mud run season than to work on refining some OCR skills… add in a trip to Kinetic Heights, and the grip strength will improve quickly… maybe not as fast as the blisters will form.  A few musings from this morning:

• Kirby was so excited to see YHC in the lot, that instead of a bro-hug, YHC got a full on hug… BEAR hug. Polar bear and Panda Bear. We bears stick together. YHC now knows why the buckets are cracking, after seeing Kirby apply the same squeeze he gave me to the Home Depot Bucket during carries.
• Noone got to play with their own bells today. Well, other than Loogie, The Worm, and Frehley’s who insisted they not touch mine, and played with their own in the parking lot for 45minutes.  Seeing knee-unfriendly activities on the astroturf field, the crew broke off for a traditional kettlebell workout which they smashed like they do every week.  Old-man strength redefined.  T-Claps to Loogie for getting brother Worm out in the gloom after a long hiatis.  Hoping to see you out more often!
• Thin Mint & Fahvra tried to one-up each other all morning, and it was a fierce battle worth selling tickets for… but in the end, both men would lose to the gear, which wore them both (and everyone else) out.  Somehow both got an extra turn or two on the weight sled station which was almost impossible to move this morning.
• YHC’s first time posting with the legendary Rachel this morning, who snuck away from the friendly confines of DMZ to get in some OCR work in preparation for Savage Race where he and Team Strongbridge (Rachel, Mermaid, Dori, Sacajawea) intend to ‘chick’ all the dudes. Seriously whats up with all the women’s names?
• Bratwurst held his own for the soccer-armed runner he is, and would be a formidable OCR racer if he were to sign up for a race.  He and Gumbo, a Tough Mudder Vet himself, were solid through all the stations today.
• Wild Turkey’s got some strong legs, maybe from all that leg wrastling, or just wrestling. But he was one of he few men YHC saw push the weight sled from the lowest bar. He also talked himself into NOT putting the bucket down nomatter how hard it was hurtin’.  His partner Soft Pretzel was steady all morning, and even had a “interesting” spear throwing style, since it looked like a spinning helicopter blade, not a dart.  Speaking of helicopters…. I didn’t see it, but I bet Chopper broke the spear target. You owe me another piece of plywood with a hole in it. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
• YHC still remembers Alf’s attempt to climb the rope before the finish line at the Spartan Race last year #30burpees. But after today’s workout, Alf is sure to conquer that rope climb this year, especially now that he has a copy of YHC’s Valentines playlist played this morning to pump him up pre-race (Maroon 5 – Daylight & OneRepublic – Counting Stars).
• After calling out his fellow Respects to join him in the upcoming Savage Race, 777 & Commish showed everyone that age is nothing but a number, outpointing the youngest PAX Mighty Mite & Mario who struggled all morning to push or hold on to anything. It was observed  later that 777 and Commish grabbed some orange wedges, animal crackers, and wet-naps for MM&M for their owee muscles.

PANDA’S PONTIFICATION PARAGRAPH

Climbing a mountain is tough, whether you’ve been to the summit or not. When you look up at the mountain from the base, you know it’s a long journey to the top, and that it will take time and effort to get there. You also know that once you’re there, the greatest view of the horizon can be seen, far better than the same view after catching a gondola up, and the feeling of accomplishment is infinitely greater. For some, it inspires men to climb even higher, while for others, it’s a constant struggle to reach a lower peak, and reaching the summit may not happen, but it’s worth the journey, because quite possibly greater glory might be achieved in just the attempt.  But it takes a first step… and that can be the toughest part.  We at F3 are about helping each other take that first step to higher ground, to climbing the mountain of physical fitness, mental fitness, and family fitness . We do it by bringing out both friend and stranger FNG to workouts, and sticking with them in the gloom. We do it by encouraging our injured PAX that the best is yet to come, even though the past was pretty good. We do it by pushing each other workout after workout to get even better, even at the expense of dropping a few positions in the final results, so long as we both finish higher. We do it through F3 Dads and investing in each others youth. It’s worth it to climb the mountain.

So here’s a challenge… pick someone to help climb the mountain. Wingman proposed pick someone who hasn’t been in the gloom for a while and stick with them and encourage them to keep coming out. Ask Bucky how to EH someone, since he just brought 4? new PAX to DaVinci the other week. Check in with Mr. Brady who’s got a fractured hip, and MAF it with him while he tries to get back to running form. Heck, YHC could even use some encouragement after losing basically all aerobic fitness from a calf injury post-marathon. Plenty of opportunities to be there for each other in so many ways. Pick ONE.

* So I’ll pick one, while I’m climbing my own mountain all over again.  YHC would like to help a few PAX set a PR in a race soon.  And why not this weekend? If you would like to run the Ballantyne 10miler or 4miler, YHC will do my best to help you PR your race (7:30min/mi pace or slower). Let’s climb that mountain together…. particularly that last hill to end the race. Who’s in? If not this weekend, pick another one, message me.*

https://charlotte10miler.racesonline.com/

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• There are ~58 F3 Dads, M’s & 2.0s going to the Charlotte Checkers Hockey Game on Saturday 2/25/17 @ 6pm. @JRRTolkienF3 is organizing group tickets, which should be ~$16/ticket.  Contact JRR know ASAP to get details
• Join our brothers in Union County to help rebuild a house this weekend for a family in need, contact Transporter to donate $, time, or materials.
• A51/SOB/IL/The Fort/Union County regions have agreed to make The Savage Race OCR a CSAUP in Concord on 5/13/2017… use discount code ‘VALENTINE’ by midnight 2/16 to get 50% off a second entry (find a partner and sign up!) or use ‘GCF317’ to get 15% signing up under team ‘F3 Nation’… Its the weekend BEFORE the traditional SC Mud Run, run Savage or run BOTH like YHC! Savage Race Website:  http://savagerace.com/event/charlotte-2017/?gclid=CNr5r8yQ29ECFYY8gQod4P0MQQ F3 Preblast: http://f3nation.com/2017/01/27/preblast-a-savage-departure-into-the-unknown-aka-spring-mud-run/
• As always, you are welcome and invited to come post or Q the legendary Saturday SOB workout, Stonehenge (YHC is co-site Q w/ Wild Turkey) followed by coffeeteeria @ Einstein Bagel: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090d4aaba729a46-stonehenge
• See the newsletter for other items YHC forgot… like future details on rebuilding stone wall w/ Haggis on Q.

As always it was a pleasure to lead, and thanks Argo & Voodoo & Loogie for the invitation.

SYITG ~ JRR Tolkien