I checked with weather when I woke up, I knew temperatures had dropped, but “feels like 30” isn’t a spring day. Winter gloom gear back out of the drawers after wearing shorts and short sleeves earlier in the week.
Disclaimer given to 5 Pax and mosey through shopping center towards Carmel Road.
Warm-up
SSH x 15, IW x 15, Mountain climbers x 15, Hold plank and move right foot towards right hand for a good stretch, then flap jack (the noises from the Pax indicated it was a good stretch)
The Thang
Head towards Johnston Rd via Carmel Rd. I had a routine in mind to get the Pax down to the greenway and decided to audible due to griping as we went “into the teeth of the wind” or as the wind hit us in the teeth, whichever way you look at it.
Stop at Living Saviour Church on Carmel (turns out Mermaid and I used to both attend there at the same time) and head down into back parking lot. Partner up. Partner 1 runs back uphill towards Carmel, while partner 2 runs downhill towards the back of the parking lot. Partner 1 performs 10 Carolina dry docks and Partner 2 performs 10 heels to Heaven. Meet back at start and partners flap jack directions and exercises. The hill into the parking lot wasn’t quite as steep as I once remembered, so we left the parking lot and continue towards Johnston Rd.
At the corner of Carmel and Johnston, a cop drives by and Semi-gloss comments on the cop’s music selection. Continue north on Johnston back towards Hwy 51. Alternating lamp posts perform 5 merkins or 5 squats (even if the lamps that are out).
Cross Hwy 51 and head towards Charlotte Catholic parking deck AKA Tartarus. Stop at base of Tartarus for some Mary and shield from the wind. Enter Tartarus and run short ramps stopping at ever landing for alternating 5 merkins or 5 squats. Descend stairway back to start. This time same routine, expect backwards run up the ramps. Waffle House asked “how do we do backwards merkins?”.
Descend stairway again and mosey to bench station by football field. Dips in cadence X 15, incline merkins in cadence x 15, repeat-o and drop counts in cadence to 10. 20 step-ups OYO, then 10 jump-ups OYO.
Mosey back to launch with just enough time for each Pax to call out a core exercise. Snuka – Freddie Mercury, Point Break – windshield wiper, Mermaid – plank and rip slaps, Semi-gloss – Boone crunch, and Waffle House – hold plank for 30 seconds.
End with 10 burpees OYO.
Prayer Requests
Bout Time’s son Jennings, Pre-school’s M and 2.0
Moleskin
Thanks Mermaid for putting me on the Q schedule. As Mermaid was pulling massive bass out of the lake in my neighborhood, he realized there was a need to fill the the date, so I obliged.
Point Break, Mermaid, and Semi-gloss are starting an F3 book club – be on the lookout for the Slack channel. Selections will range from Calvin and Hobbs to WWII non-fiction.
Snuka has a motor on him like no other. The guy is always out in front!
Waffle House site FNG and a few weeks into F3, keep coming out!
Thanks, Mermaid for taking us out in prayer.
Happy Easter!
It was a bit on the chilly side as I rolled into the AO this AM. Not sure when Wild Turkey sleeps, but he looked like he was catching up on his reading when Happy Meal and I drove in. Eventually, settled up with 10 strong dudes looking to get warm. We put aside the time to discuss our feelings. 5:30 YHC dropped a weak disclaimer and we started our warm up run to St Matthews.
Warm Up
We managed to get to St. Matts in one piece, grabbed a lifting rock and completed the F3 requirements SSH and IMW.
The Thang
With 10 speedbumps in our future, rather than explaining the movement, the thought was to get through the first few and then take off the training wheels and you’re on your own the until you finish.
4 exercises: squats, curls, triceps extension and presses x10 per at each speed bump. Then overhead carry to the next bump, backpedal to the last bump, 1 burpee (add one for each bump) and then run back to your rock.
Once back at the start: LBCx30 and flutter press x20
Drop rock and mosey back behind Target where there are more speedbumps
3 exercises at each speed bump: Carolina Dry Dock, LBC and jump squats =5x10x15x10x5 at each speed bump
Mosey back to start and done
Announcements: Check out the “new” newsletter for the latest and greatest. We did review on April 24 the workout of all feuding workouts…DaVinci to Stonehenge and back to DaVinci. Approximately 9 miles plus bootcamp
Prayer: Cooter
Ye Old Mole Skinny
Warm Up
The Thang
Now that we were all warmed up on a colder than normal April 1…Weather said April fools. We ran into the wind tunnel for a dinner that was made of a full body workout – arms, abs, and legs.
A Mosey to the Rock Pile to do:
Then a quick mosey between light poles to work on our Abs.
With the sail to our backs, we flew over to the basketball courts for some relay fun. Teams of three for three chances to win. Sprint, Run backwards, and Skipping. Up and down the basketball court we went.
A mosey back to Rudy’s Shed
Now on to the 10 count. 10,9,8,7,6,4,3,2,1 of each
Mosey to the tables for some dips
Then a final mosey back to COT with some pushups, running backwards, butt kicks along the way.
The group was fast, with a minute to spare, the kids picked the next 3 exercises.
The Moleskine
Dinner was served. 2 new FNG – Draw 4, and Ping Power got their names. Welcome
Announcements
I’m ghost writing this BB due to the fact Damascus is a lazy son of a B and we need those ticks in the app! It had been a long 3 weeks on the road but it’s good to be back. I happily setup my tripod in Orlando, New Orleans and Nashville for those famous FOMO Family Photos. It was a hit…
Those that don’t like them didnt like the invention of the radio because they wanted to just garden in the quiet. It’s the same guys that didn’t like the invention of the TV because they would rather use their imagination while listening to rose pruning tips on the radio. It’s the same group of guys that doesn’t “want all those different channels on the TV” because they just want to watch that one show about pH balancing their soil.
What in the hell is happening? Nobody knows but it’s provocative and it gets the people going.
Honestly I saw Orange Whip’s post making fun of our family photos and boy was I triggered. All of the above was said as a joke and I look forward to them taking back their website. But not before we volunteer to clean up a road near them so they can see “F3 Waxhaw” every morning on a sign as they head to post. One love.
WORKOUT
Imagine it.
ANNOUNCMENTS
See today’s BB
Did you hear? Backblasts are required again. It feels like 2015 and it’s great. Waxhaw isn’t gonna know what hit them once A51 takes back our lands. Our forefathers didn’t build AOs across S. Charlotte, indoctrinate middle aged men with beer guts and destroy morning coffee routines with their wives for a town named Wax-Haw to become the premier region in North Carolina. This BS has got to stop RIGHT NOW!!!
By the way, “post workout selfies” are reserved for Orange Theory, Lifetime Fitness pilates classes, and co-ed Cross Fit gyms…which is really just in-person Tinder, but with loud grunting…on that note, maybe they’re exactly the same.
On to the BB….
10 fools got to Seaboard at 0515 and didn’t get back until 0618 after wrapping up exactly 6.2 miles.
A rare Sparta disclaimer was given and we headed out into the cool dark morning.
THE THANG
Ran to my favorite place in Charlotte – Matthews Sportsplex
MOLESKINE
Excellent group out there today. Love when Sparta gets to 10+ guys as it used to have 2-4 when Gypsy first willed the workout into existence. Also love doing COT with Peak 51 because it’s always a 20+ guy group.
Sportsplex is like heaven to me and I can’t believe it’s free to use. You go out there on a sunny day with a football and some sandwhiches and you are good to go.
Mile High was a site-FNG and has posted the past 2 days – I’m pushing for a 3 peat tomorrow morning. He loved the reverse run up the hill so much I’m pretty sure he’s hooked.
Cage, 61 years young, was killing it today and seems to move even faster on cool mornings.
Thankfully Smokey, who Q’d Peak 51, was also running behind and made it back 3 minutes late as well so we could all pray together (thanks to Tweetsie for the take out).
Lex Luthor will do any random challenge you put in front of him. If you tell him that there’s a challenge where guys carry a dog over their shoulders, climb up a mountain in flip flops and can only drink Stawberry Fanta he will sign up. He heard Joker was doing the 4x4x48 or something like that. You run 4 miles, every 4 hours, until you get to 48 miles. He was recruiting HARD this morning for it and if anyone asked a question about it he counted them in. Pretty sure Funky & Christmas got looped into it.
Christmas, Full House and Funky led the charge this morning with most of the group keeping an excellent pace and staying very close together. No one was far behind today.
BRR prep is starting soon so it’s time to get some miles in. Full House expressed some interest in joining a team and can definitely keep a good pace. Keep an eye out for a rookie of the year award if he decides to sign up.
Cage gave us some gardening tips as it’s getting below 30 tonight. Renfrow Hardware has a sweet strategy that has caught me off guard many times. They get a full greenhouse of plants on March 15th and get you pumped up to plant your crops.
I’m a sucker for gardening (it’s a man’s sport, you just don’t know it yet) and I can’t wait to put stuff in the ground. Then, as sure as the dawn, the frost arrives around April 1st and kills everything and you have to buy it all over again. Double revenue.
For those of you who came here for gardening advice, when I moved to Charlotte in 1995 we were zone 7, now we are zone 8 so things do change. Global warming is good news for gardeners, also good news if you have a 2nd row beach house.
Very good pace from top to bottom today. Pleasure leading.
Madison takes a break from frisbee and takes the Q at Kevlar tomorrow. Bundle up!
I took the Ignition Q last minute and was pretty excited to lead it again. See below.
The Thang:
Head straight to Lawson clubhouse, pick up the 6, and circle up.
Trails:
Head down the concrete trails and hang a left into each cul-da-sac along the way, do an exercise, and back to the trail to the next stop. At the end of the trail, we ran into the cul-da-sac and hit some abs. Around the block, we went to the next cul-de-sac that had a trailhead. On the way back we hit each trail to the right all the way back to the clubhouse.
Trail exercises 10 of everything:
10 merkins
10 drydocks
10 squats
10 Dry docks
Some abs, mixed variety
Once at the clubhouse partner up. P1 held a plank while P2 ran around the big island back to the start. Rinse/repeat x3
Back to school
As we mosey back to the AO, I noticed Deflated was moving pretty good, I think the LRC has actually been working a bit!
Once at the school, we did a few sprints along the parking lot to kill the last two mins. Done!
The Moleskine:
I figure out one thing today if you want to slow hurry down off-campus just run slow! Without a headlamp hes crippled in the dark and that speed diminishes quickly. As soon as he could see if was off to the races. Good group today and I think we covered 5.5m but some got more.
YHC was concerned for the safety and well being of his flock of Pax this morning. I am not sure flock is the correct term but you can correct me later.
The Thang:
Due to the shivering pax and the conern of frostbite at 48 degrees we moseyed for .5 miles to the church at the top of the hill.
Warm up SSH X 16 Canadian SSH X16
Moroccan night club X 20.
Hand release merkins X10
Low slow squats X 20
Teams of 3 hit the parking lines. Each team did 10 merkins at each line and while teammates did squats.
Finish and team who won got 10x heals to heaven and losers got 5 burpees.
Repeto with 10 heals to heaven and squats.
Flag carrier run back to school.
Found more parking spots and did more team stuff. Intentional vagueness on my part as YHC will be doing it again.
If you were there you would know😉.
Ye old moleskin.
This workout i stole from different guys and picked it together my on way. I hope that it helps and also makes you a little sore. Big Ben always hits the sprints hard and today no different. That guy is really fast. Das boot was wondering what the heck i had planned and went along with me anyway. One star started out looking OK but due to the ridiculous number of squats he is now gorgeous 😍. Fredo looks like he did like 6000 merkins last month. What a freaking beast. Long haul is still looking for a challenge. This dude backwards ran to launch because his quads weren’t tired enough and Fredo joined him. Much respect for the respects.
Thanks for allowing me to lead.
CSAUPS sign up.
Prayers for premature 🙏
We all know how marriage works, right? It’s hers. You own nothing, she owns everything. “Oh, you spent this month’s paycheck at GoRuck.com? What did you get me?” This was the first lesson 6 men learned today at SACS.
YHC pulled into the parking lot at SCMS around 0510 to find most of the pax assembled and watching Cheese Curd unload his car. Midriff was site FNG today, and not one to slouch on the job, brought 2 cinderblocks with his own handmade F3 stencil painted on the side. Someone asked if his kids did it, and he proudly proclaimed to be the artist responsible for such a fine masterpiece. Based on YHC’s observation of said arts and craft skills, he’s safe from any copyright infringement lawsuits. Geraldo stayed away from cinder blocks today, something about PTSD from murdering bunnies.
What was heard repeatedly, as Cheese Curd unloaded the gear from his car, was “that belongs to my wife”. Midriff was curious about which ruck to try and which sandbag to grab. Everything Midriff picked up, Cheese Curd quickly acknowledged he didn’t own. As if it was a veiled request to return it exactly as you found it, Cheese Curd doesn’t want to sleep in the garage again. He may have paid for it, but it was hers.
The second lesson? If your phone is in your ruck, put it in a Pelican Case. Because Cheese Curd happens. As YHC unpacked the car, the Bag of S#!t (BOS) was brought out as the coupon of choice. The BOS is a large army surplus duffle that weighs in at 50 pounds +/-. YHC had his ruck placed on top of BOS with said phone inside the top pocket. Cheese Curd, in an attempt to discover what the BOS was, flipped YHCs ruck off the BOS and crushing YHCs phone under the ruck plate. Damage was contained to the screen. But the screen replacement is more than the phone is worth, so YHC is currently shopping a new phone. That likely puts Cheese Curd and I at even since YHC broke his M’s hand last year. And resolves an awkward “you owe me” involving tornadoes, wood, and a certain person’s hands being at the wrong place at the wrong time.
You will note, the workout hasn’t even started yet.
0516 we get down to it.
The Thang:
Ruck down 51 to the first street light at William R Davie Park
At the light, rucks off
10 Merkins IC
10 Low slow Squats IC
10 Sit Ups
Rucks on, grab coupons and ruck to the next light
1 Coupon OH Presses
1 Coupon Front Squats
Ruck to the next light and up the reps to 2 of each and continue to the end of the road
At the back end of the road, coupons down bear crawl part way and overhead carry your ruck all around the little traffic circle.
Back to the first light, rucks off
10 Push Ups IC
10 Low slow Squats IC
10 Sit Ups
Rucks on, grab coupons and ruck to the next light
5 Coupon deadlifts
5 Coupon rows
Ruck to the next light and reduce the rep count by 1 until you get to the end of the entrance of the park
Ruck back to SCMS parking lot with coupons
Still have 10 minutes to kill so ruck over to Semi-Gloss’ office curls, triceps, ruck to chest squats, some mary and that got us to time.
Moleskinny:
This didn’t seem like much on paper but everyone was sweating well before the end. Moving under weight with coupons and rucks is a challenge. We didn’t try for any land-speed records but we moved at a decent clip. The BOS was an awkward choice. It’s bulky and doesn’t have convenient handles. Making it a challenge to stand up straight while under that coupon. But that’s the point right? Getting comfortable being uncomfortable.
The crew today was solid. For Midriff’s first time out to SACS he jumped right in like he was a veteran. Cheese Curd must like to play with all the new toys that come to the yard, because he decided that of the 200+ sandbags his M let him borrow, he took one of Midriff’s cinder blocks. Wild Turkey and Cheese Curd are both working through Pathfinder and have a coupon challenge coming up soon. This was a good practice run for them. Geraldo is the consummate veteran professional. Smart choice on weight, no need to humble-brag because this guy knows his way around a ruck and sandbag. He also knows how to hum along to every Led Zeppelin song out there. I have only posted a handful of times with Focker. Nice guy and I remember him getting the name at that frisbee workout on Fridays. Glad to see he’s gotten away from that crew and sticking to something smarter, like hauling around weighted backpacks.
Announcements:
Somewhere along the way we put all the CSAUPs happening across 3 regions together and figured that over the course of 4ish weeks most pax could hit all the CSAUPs, and would likely cover 60 miles or something like that.
YHC had the take-out.