It was the land of affordable chicken, it was the place of overpriced bagels. It was the original home of the SOBs, it was new land utterly devoid of hills. It was grit and focus, it was endless mumblechatter. It was pearls on a string, it was suffering in place under weight. It was a glorious sunrise, it was dark, wet gloom. It was the best of marketing, it was the worst pain.
da Vinci (2/9/2019)
One Niner, Cobbler, Escobar, Twinkle Toes, Mary Kay, Dora, Taco Stand, Purell, Teddy, Chopper [R], Mighty Mite, War Eagle, YHC
After some Mighty Mite / Wild Turkey marketing that went over most SOB’s heads (but was still entertaining) and a lack of Bucky (aka the carpool driver), numbers were slightly lighter than usual at da Vinci in spite of all the cars parked in the lot courtesy of an early run crowd consisting of Bunker, Gumbo, Enron, Meatloaf, Woodson and Turkey. Nonetheless, 12 left Chick-fil-a in search of a way to earn our delicious breakfast.
We did lots of merkins on our way up Ardrey Kell to our base of operations for the morning – the parking lot behind Mickey’s Nail Bar. Here we found some lifting rocks and did something like the following:
Round 1 – 20 Curl & Press, 20 Rock Thrusters, 10 Merkin Right Hand on Rock, run a lap (repeat all this 3 times)
Round 2 – 20 Tricep Extensions, 20 Rock Squats, 10 Merkin Left Hand on Rock, run a lap (repeat all this 3 times)
Round 3 – maybe? Actually no. Can’t remember.
Round 4 – Grab your rocks and line up facing long way up lot. 5 Rockies, 10 walking rock lunges, 5 Rockies, 10 walking rock lunges, go for a while
Then we returned our rocks to the pile, and did more merkins and mary and step ups and dips on our way back to launch.
Notable performances included Taco Stand who has gotten exponentially stronger and faster each time I have seen him. Pretty sure this guy is pulling a pool haul style hustle on all of us and will begin challenging people to competitions for money sometime soon. #dontTakeTheBait
Escobar was almost late, again. War Eagle lied to Mary Kay and told him the workout wouldn’t be too hard. Mary Kay killed it anyway. Really, everyone did. Cobbler picked the wrong workout for a bum shoulder but made the most of it and put in some good miles while we all suffered under the rocks. Purell won the prize for biggest breakfast burrito eaten in the least amount of time. He also gets a prize from everyone else who attended for pointing out the rock pile to YHC on the pre-run. Had to scrap the original weinke when I realized there were no street lights in the other direction on Ardrey Kell. For everyone else who had trouble walking for a few days after last Saturday, you can thank our bald friend.
Chick-fil-a breakfast right after sunrise was pretty damn awesome as usual.
Stonehenge (2/16/2019)
Wild Turkey, Nard Dog, Frehleys Comet [R], Cheese Curd, Cheddar, Strawberry, Cul de sac, Haggis, Fire Hazard, YHC
None of the same guys from last week. Either (1) they still hate me (2) they like chicken (3) the cultural divide between da Vinci and Stonehenge will never be bridged. Still, 10 guys (including 6 of whom are named after consumable products) made their way from The Vine parking lot on this rainy Saturday morning. Two of the guys had been personally EHed into showing up at Stonehenge with the promise that we would hit the deck. They showed.
Here’s what we did instead of the deck:
- Mosey towards the bull ring
- COP: IW, cotton pickers, merkin/shoulder tap ladder (1 that’s what she said, 1 refusenik)
- 4 corners at Bull Ring putting green (Bobby Hurley, CDD, Sister Mary Katherine, Merkin). 3 rounds with reps of 5, then 10, then 20. 4th round of 5 for Haggis who did 15 on round 3. #notListening
- Top of the steps at the pond that’s not Loch Ness with a partner
- 10 handslaps, down stairs and opposite ways around pond, 10 jump squat when you meet then go back the way you came (remind Haggis to go back the way you came #stillNotListening)
- Repeat but go the other way around pond
- Mosey towards the deck and stop under an overhang for 6 minutes of Mary (and 7 minutes worth of mumblechatter)
- Triple 7 (man I miss that guy) at the big hill up to Costigan Park
- 7 jump squat at the bottom, 7 sister mary katherine at the top, 7 times
- Mosey home and elbow plank for about 80 seconds until time
Really did have a plan for the deck but when it wasn’t raining too hard it just seemed like a crime to go inside. What we ended up with was a little more Brave than Stonehenge with 4+ miles and lots of exercises, but there was enough joking and chatter that it still felt like Stonehenge.
Wild Turkey was tearing it up today on 4 corners, Haggis made us all look like bumbling children on the hill sprints, Frehleys Comet was cutting weight and wore his heaviest sweat proof jacket. Cul de sac was kind enough not to compare this morning to the beautiful days he has been spending out at F3 Mountain View and Cheese Curd was kind enough not to mention that this workout was child’s play next to dragging his 120 lb sand bag around his garage while balancing a slosh tube on his noggin. Cobains to FH for abandoning the deck plan and props to Nard Dog for consistently coming out on one of two mornings he doesn’t have to get up at 3 in the morning.
Awesome seeing Strawberry back out in the gloom after a hiatus and hope it becomes a habit again. And while Einstein’s still may not be the best place to eat, it’s still top 2 in best dang places to hang out on a Saturday morning. We had Mario, One Niner and the man himself, Cooter(2-if you follow Slack) join us for coffeeteria. Cooter is on the up and up and looking to ease his way back into the gloom with some zero running options.
In Conclusion
- I never read “A Tale of Two Cities.” Just got caught up in life and never wrote last week’s BB so this seemed like the time.
- Posting on Saturdays, anywhere, is really worth doing if you don’t do it already. Different kind of energy when no one is heading to work after.
- The pullup/merkin/core challenge thing has officially gotten awful. Tried to get the guys to 200 merkins today and bailed around 130 for leg exercises. Ouch.
Announcements
- Joe Davis Run is on 3/9/2019. Sign up to run, or sign up for the “sleep in” option. At the very least follow this link and watch last year’s race video. https://joedavisrun.racesonline.com/
- COTS – get in touch with Strawberry if you want to get out and serve the homeless of Charlotte one Sunday. People are always welcome (bring your family) and the experience is consistently a great one.
- Christ’s Closet is holding an event at Freedom School on 3/2. Get in touch with Ice Nine or Transporter to help set up/distribute items to the community as well as if you have things you would like to donate (clothes, books, etc.)
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