Swift like Eagles

Swift like Eagles

Isaiah 40:31- but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

The PreBlasted THANG:

#PreBlast – Swift 3year Anniversary

What we actually did:

• 19 men took a tour of the Ballantyne Corporate Park to locales that we’ve used over the last 3 years.  Along the way, we did some :30 second sprints and 1:00 sprints (some longer or shorter depending on the challenge) with at least 2x recovery (1:00 or 2:00) after each.
  • 1) The Bull Ring – the roughly 800m circular parking lot ring around 3 buildings where there are conveniently landmarked 200m intervals.
  • 2) Bagpipe Hill – now easily the busiest street in the park with the opening of the new Y, it’s on Ballantyne Corporate Place running from the fitness trail, past Chiquita, TIAA, and BofA up to the bridge over 521.  It holds a sought after challenge of being a Segment that several men want to try to fly up a very challenging hill.
  • 3) Rushmore Dr – a mostly flat and long quiet street that borders the park on the northside from the Bullring to Ballantyne Commons past Lending Tree and ESPN.
  • 4) Ben Nevis – the steepest hill in the land, and while technically outside the corporate park, it’s the most challenging hill for length and steepness in the area.  Over 1/4 mile long.
  • 5) The Brixham Green – another roughly 800m semi oval around two buildings and a nice fountain that is pretty quiet, well lit, and mostly flat (watch dem bumps!)
• Even though we didn’t get to the strip in front of SPX (love that out and back starting from the bridge), to the “landing strip” of North Community House (generally the widest and most well lit of any street in the area), or anywhere into Ballantyne Country Club, we got in a full tour of the places we normally go that are nearest to our starting point with everything within a 5 minute jog away.
• Challenges included the Bagpipe Hill (trying to beat Frasier’s 0:36 course record – which all gave great effort to, but no one came close – must have been the wet streets?) and Ben Nevis (which is a whole lot worse to do later in the workout because the country club entrance never seems to get closer) to do as All You Got.  Otherwise, :30 and 1:00 segments done at your 1mile race pace.
• In all, we got in about 5ish rounds of the 30/30/1:00 intervals.

Moleskin:

• One of the very first Swift workouts was PreBlasted with, “If you are looking for a little more cardio in your weekly workout with a break from boot camp style, give Swift a shot.”  In reality, it may have started as a way for Haggis to get back at the “Twits” (a.k.a. the Fast Twitch PAX) after a beatdown they gave the SOBs at a Mile showdown, but it also coincided with YHC changing jobs and leaving the SouthPark area SIB (Speedwork in a Bag) workout in capable hands. The first three Swift workouts were billed as “extra credit” for Bagpipe PAX, but in subsequent weeks the Swift crew broke off and did their own thing at 0515 while still pulling back into a joint COT with Bagpipe at 0615.  Two of the first Backblasts http://f3nation.com/2014/04/29/f3swift-entrance-to-entrance/ and http://f3nation.com/2014/05/06/f3swift-conquering-ben-nevis/
• This week, as a tribute this week to some of the “feeling sillier” warm-up drills we have done in the past, we reinstated “flapping wings like eagles” borrowed from the Rhythm Skip drill at http://runcoach.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=itemlist&task=category&id=8:training-videos&Itemid=105
• This workout would have continued solo if it wasn’t for the PAX like Haggis, StumpHugger, Frasier, and Madame Tussauds, who were at the very first few of the Swift workouts and are still posting at Swift even today.  Honeybee is another longtime attendee, but the fartsack must have gripped him today.
  • Newer PAX to the Swift workout there today that have kept the momentum are DepthCharge, Bunker, ThinMint, Chipotle, Hairball, TigerRag, Gumbo, FireHazard, DasBoot, Teddy, and JRR Tolkien.
  • And the newest PAX to join us that continually bring new community like Rebar, Birdcage, Picasso, and Tuck.
  • Other Swift PAX regulars (and semi-regulars) we missed today that may or may not have had valid excuses are Outback (Qing Bagpipe today), Cheddar (coming off the Smokey Mtn Relay), WildTurkey, OneNiner, Ringer, NardDog, Fahvra, LongHaul, Citgo, Tootie, and General_.
  • Thank you to you all for helping me not run alone on Tuesday mornings.
• Eric Liddell, the Scotsman for whom we thought of when naming this workout (after all, Haggis lived in a dorm named after him in college), was the inspiration behind “Chariots of Fire”.  If you’re a “hate” or “hate hate”, then you probably never saw the movie, but can still gain inspiration from the running story and the post-Olympics life of Eric Liddell.  Here’s a short summary.  Eric Liddell was a champion sprinter who specialized in the 100meters.  He was a favorite going into the 1924 Olympic games to win the gold medal, but when he found out the 100m event finals would fall on a Sunday, a day on which Liddell had religious convictions against competition, he pulled out of the event and decided instead to run the 400meters.  The video linked above is a record of that race where Liddell, who was known also for a wild running style (we all can’t be as picturesque as Fahvra), went out very fast but ended up winning the race in an event he wasn’t expected to be competitive in (does Usain Bolt run the 400m?  Uh, no) and setting a new world record.  After Olympics life, Liddell went on the mission field in China where he ultimately died in a Japanese prison camp, but his impact on China was lasting and there is now a plaque bearing his name with the verse from Isaiah 40:31: “but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”  From that verse and eagles, we got “Swift” like an eagle.

Announcements:

• Tuck, WildTurkey, and JRR Tolkien were thankful for the assistance at the Brolympics.  Here’s the Backblast with links to Videos and Pictures from the event – http://f3nation.com/2017/03/03/f3-brolympics-sat-april-22/
• Richard Sheltra 5K/10K in Pineville this Saturday.
• Frasier is on Q next week 5/2.  Q spot still open for 5/9.  Let me know if interested.