(Posted on behalf for Dredd)
THANG: Ran 4.5 miles (and back) to the Dave Matthews Sports Complex (aka, “The Dave”), with some random exercises thrown in. The weather was perfect (cold, wet and dreary).
MOLESKIN:
E ala ‘oe!! e holo ana nā kānaka
Amazing what happens when your body decides it’s time for you take it easy for 6 weeks… the last Q I had was Sparta and at the time, I started the BB with..
“Sparta has to be one of the easiest AOs to Q of all the ones YHC has been given the opportunity to lead. The rules are easy.. WAKE UP!! Go run as hard as you can and add in some quick exercises along the way to ensure the PAX is staying together and/or catching your breath.”
Boy was I wrong… sure the Waking up part and run hard thing is right… but the easiest AO to Q….only if you can breathe.. and after 6 weeks on the F3 I.R. that breathing part was more than a challenge… it was more like survival and I was just glad I had 8 other Spartans out there this morning to help push each other along… Literally.
Today’s Spartan beat down was a Speed For Need intro for many of the PAX
YHC brought 2 racing chairs to the AO this morning for good reason.
1) I need to train up all the F3 Area 51 pax I can as the Regional Q for Speed For Need.
2) They are a really good coupon for a leg burn out
3) YHC knew I was going to be sucking wind hard today and needed a good wienke that could challenge the most fit Spartan but keep the PAX together.
Quick disclaimer and quick safety lesson regarding the running strap and breaks and off we roll. These chairs look extremely easy to utilize when running next to them… but once you place a grown man in the chair to train with and step up to drive, it becomes a seriously taxing coupon. The plan for today was to cover 4.5 miles and allow every pax member a chance at some interval training with hill resistance while pushing the team’s chair.
The Thang:
Start AO: Sparta Launch
MoleSkin:
It’s great to be back out in the Gloom with you guys. I knew it was going to be rough off the start as I got back to it.. But had no idea how quickly you lose your cardio conditioning. Lots of new pax out this morning too that made my heart very happy to see Sparta growing like it is. Maybe I need to take more time off and see if the pax keep on multiplying. I would like to call out whoever was killing it today out front… but since I was in the way back 6 most of the morning I will just say great job to all 8 of you guys.
We have a great Q line up shaping up for the remainder of October and November. So if you are looking to continually get better and challenge yourself with a different type of A.M. beat down, come on out and find out why we call this AO SPARTA.
Announcements:
SYITG!!
Respectfully,
Gypsy
E ala ‘oe!! e holo ana nā kānaka
Sparta has to be one of the easiest AOs to Q of all the ones YHC has been given the opportunity to lead. The rules are easy.. WAKE UP!! Go run as hard as you can and add in some quick exercises along the way to ensure the PAX is staying together and/or catching your breath. The hardest part is making sure you don’t run further away from the AO than you can make it back in the 60 mins. Good rule of thumb is cover 60% of your distance on the 1st 30 mins and 40% of your distance on the 2nd. Today’s Spartan beat down was a classic 5×5. Meaning we will cover 5 miles and add in 5 pain stations along the way. This break down helps the non-runners like YHC from getting so bored that you start wondering why you started running in the 1st place. Personally I would rather watch paint dry than go run more than 5 miles non-stop.
The Thang:
Start AO: Sparta Launch
MoleSkin:
2 Weinkes are always prepared when I Q. It may sound like over kill, but depending on the PAX for any given morning I feel I owe it to ALL the guys to be prepared and not just some of them.
That being said; although today’s PAX was small, we consisted of 4 AO site Qs in which YHC has personally been handed 3 of the toughest beat-downs I will ever remember.
So I threw out the 5K option and brought in the 5 mile one. (The 5k one was running the Let Them Soar route and take note where potential bottle necks would occur for the SFN racing chariots.) The 5 mile options was originally set up as a capture the flag situation as we did a Fly-by on Meat Head. But honestly, there was wayyyyyy more guys at Meat Head than I was expecting and I saw more than one runner in the group. After 3 miles to get there and those guys all rested from standing around doing nothing but staring at KBs sitting on the ground, YHC did what every “Not a professional” would do and modified the weinke. I for one did not think I could out run that mob of angry meat heads on this day.. Soooooo needless say, we will mark today up as a dry run on the eventual occurrence one chilly gloomy morning.
Announcements:
SYITG!!
Respectfully,
Gypsy
Things just fell into place for the Q at Rock Zero. For the last month, YHC has had on my home calendar to locate an AO needing a Q for August 4th. However, the issue was that it could not be an AO that YHC had posted at this year (Lexington Ky remains the only Saturday AO I have posted twice to in 2018). Just before I started to reach out to other regions for assistance on this one, I saw the post from Flipper in the South Charlotte Slack. Looks like the Gypsy truck gets to stay home this weekend and enjoy the welcoming humid conditions in my home region of Area 51.
0645 AM Pull into the opposite side of the AO and drop off my trusty coupon that has helped me through the last few Qs. (More to come on this one)
0650 AM Locate the launch spot or group of guys standing around because there was no shovel flag to be found. (BTW..If you have never posted at the RockZero, give yourself a few extra minutes to find the location. This AO is at a local church and the parking lot is bigger than most malls that YHC has been to.)
0655 AM Hoover comes rolling in from the pre-run.. Sorry bud.. We are going to get a few more miles in for you.
0657 AM Still no shovel flag and we will need it for this Weinke.. But no problems, like any good gypsy; I come prepared and return to the truck where I happen to have a spare Shovel flag ready to be planted along our route.
0700 AM Disclaimer: The reason I had it on my calendar for so long to find a post to Q on 8/4 was my one year anniversary of two life-altering events. One was my 1 year in F3 and by no small coincidence after smoking for nearly 30 years it was also my 1 yr for not smoking cigarettes.
I let the PAX know it is my 1 yr on not smoking and I plan to smoke myself during the workout. They can join me if they wish, but if they do, they cannot sue me, F3, of the church. No one disagreed or left, so YHC started the Rock Zero workout for 8/4/18. It went a little like this.
Warm up run:
Ole’ Glory 1M F2 run to the corner of Elm/ 51 and back (No pax member is to be out in front of the Shovel Flag)
Post our flag
COP:
Grab the shovel flag and mosey to the front parking lot
Post our flag: Thang 1: Gypsy Rock with a Hose (hopefully by now, most of A51, SOB, Mint Hill, UC, and Lexington, KY have had an opportunity to utilize the gifts our Unionville Fire department bestowed upon us. If not, just post at my next Q and you can enjoy this favorite coupon of mine as well. There are 9 of them out there in the gloom)
All Pax members grab a rock and line up. Person right of Q starts with the hose as timer dragging it to the far side of parking lot and back as PAX performs called exercise. PAX put the rock down and everyone takes a step to the left getting a new rock and new pax as the timer.
Return rocks after one rotation.
Grab the shovel flag and mosey to Soccer fields
I am not a professional and as such do enjoy the minor comforts available during a workout. Personally, I hate wet feet and the fields were soaking wet, so YHC called an audible to the parking lot.
Post our flag: Thang 2: (Dora 1,2,3)
Pair up: Pax 1 performs set exercise with Pax 2 runs to far parking space to complete 2 burpees and return to swap out with Pax 1
Continue until completion of called exercises or Q calls Omaha
0745 AM with most the PAX somewhere in the middle of the Crab Cakes, YHC calls Omaha
Grab the shovel flag and AYG 1M run to ELM and 51 then back to the launch site.
LBCs for the 6 or ping-pong back.
Post our flag and begin 7 MoM
MoM:
Some mubblechatter on this one. As the Q, I hold for beginning exercise until everyone is in starting position. So from time to time, there may be a 2nd or 3rd call of “Starting position” before declaring “Exercise”.
Dollys, Rosalittas, Heels to heaven, and American Hammers.
DONE!!
Announcements:
August 18th Speed for Need Surfers for Autism
Crane relay October 26th. Must sign up by August 25th (No Exceptions)
Sign-ups for the Santa Ruck on 12/1 have started:
Registration at: https://www.facebook.com/events/418207928670932/
See Geraldo for more details.
Moleskin:
A solid group of men this morning.
Every one of us required encouragement from the pax to the left and right to finish up one part of an exercise or another. WE held strong to the motto of leave no man behind but leave no man where you found him. All of us pushed our limits in one way or another at RockZero on 8/4.
I saw Ruckers running and Runners carrying essential material. I saw “Hate-Hates” running side by side with “Respects”. I saw the men of F3 encouraging each other to get right and finish strong. I saw a Fellowship so strong that an F3 Nation Gypsy could come out in the Gloom and feel right at home beside my brothers under the eyes of our almighty Sky Q as we took turns carrying our Great Nation’s flag.
1 yr of F3 for YHC in the history books.
(to many individuals inside F3 to thank for guidance and accountability along the way.. but a specific T-Clap to my pax brother Christmas who introduced me to F3 and also made sure I was not giving up when it was so easy to stay in bed during those cold winter days. It makes a huge difference when you know someone is waiting on you either for a ride to Post or is in your driveway waiting for you to get in the car)
What will year 2 bring?
Flipper: Thank you for letting me lead your AO and thank you to the PAX of Rock Zero pushing me to finish.
Respectfully,
Gypsy
It began in December: Every couple of weeks or so Posse would send me a text or catch me at the Thursday HH asking me to take on a Q out in Western UC. Doing the best impression of Mahammad Ali, I ducked and weaved and danced my way out of it for many months due to driving my 2.0 to school at 650 AM every morning… and then… 5 Months later, I get the question again with a: Your 2.0 is not in school now.. No backing out now and I finally took up Posse’s invite to Q Watchtower. A 25 min drive to post, but considering YHC drives up to 8hrs to post in other regions, there should be no excuses to not except the honor of leading the Beast of Weddington through a multi-region Gypsy Q on a fine summer morning.
Parked on the far side of the campus to drop off a few coupons and head on over to the launch site. Rounding the corner at 5:29 (with Nutter Butter in tow as we both parked on the other side of the Weddington campus and started the post with a nice F2 pace warmup.), 12 Pax were waiting as I moseyed up to the launch point. Arriving just in time to kick this boot-camp off and make the standard announcements: Can’t sue me, Posse, Weddington High School, or F3… follow me if you like, but I am here to work out on my own and if you would like to join me I just ask that you modify as needed.
Let’s Mosey:
COP:
Short mosey to Tennis Courts
Thang 1: (Hampton Roads VA Dora 1,2,3)
Pair up: Pax 1 performs set exercise with Pax 2 runs to far tennis court boundary line for 2 burpees and return to swap out with Pax 1. Continue until completion of called exercise count is completed.
Mosey to the hills
Thang 2: (Birmingham AL 7 ladder)
Keeping same partner from Dora (for accountability)
Bottom of hill burpees top of the hill Bomb-Jacks
Mosey to the Rock pile and bus parking lot
Thang 3: (Unionville NC fire department coupons)
All Pax members grab a rock and circle up. Count off by 4s. Separate out into your number group… OK… coffee not set in for most the PAX on the 1st try as many forgot to remember what number they were.
🙂 try again… 1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4,1,2..
Well look at that… there are four 25 ft x 5in Firehose there as well. Each number group to a fire hose.
1 pax drags firehose over the far speed bump and back as the remaining pax performs a called exercise with the rock. Rotate pax dragging the fire hose until all members in the group had a turn.
Exercises: Overhead press AMRAP followed by curls AMRAP
Return the rocks and mosey back to the launch site.
5 MoM:
Done!
MoleSkin:
1st and foremost I want to thank Posse for staying on me to come out and Q Watchtower. This was my 4th post to this location over the last year (excluding the Brolympics) and every time it is a SOLID group of BEASTs that post out here. It was truly my Honor to lead today and can only hope the members of the Western UC PAX enjoyed the beat down with 2ish miles of running mixed in.
My partner today was Frack… if you ever need a pax for a partner exercise that includes Burpees, he is your guy…that guy seriously can pump out some burpees!!!
Beware guys of WUC, rumor has it that Damascus enjoyed the firehose so much he is on an all-out hunt to find a set for you guys… I might know where he can find a few.
Announcements:
I hope to SYITG soon.
Respectfully
Wrote up the back blast on Thursday 6/21 and forgot to post it… It was my Birthday Q…Site Q said eyes are the 1st thing to go… I guess for me it is memory. Better late than never..
Yesterday, YHC’s family asked what I wanted to do on my birthday this year. As I outlined my day, I was met with: “Only a lunatic would think starting your birthday off at 515 in the morning at a running focused bootcamp is a fun thing”… I have been called much worse and had intended on a few more during my Q at Sparta; so I shrugged it off and continued to design my weinke with a simple plan in mind… How do I work in 42 burpees over a 4.2 mile track and keep an unknown number of PAX with an unknown fitness level all together over an hour.
Pulling into the AO on 2 wheels at 513 as I try to get my watch on, keys hidden, and headlight on (crap.. I forgot my headlamp again). Nothing is working right… and the mubblechatter begins with Madison giving YHC a hard time about getting older and eyes being the first to go as I fight with my key ring. (To bad it was not my hearing instead.)
Alright everything is squared away and I give the disclaimer that each pax is here at their own risk and can follow me if they like… but they can’t fault me or anyone else because they decided to wake up before 5am and go run around in the streets (in the dark) with a bunch of guys that call each other funny names.
I mean seriously… how would that go in court anyway?
Pax: “Yes your Honor… I was sleeping quite well and thought it would be a great idea to get up and go follow a guy named Gypsy around in the dark.”
Judge: “His name is Gypsy? You were following him around in the dark as he went on his morning run? Did he make you do this against your own will? “
Pax: “Well not exactly… that’s not his real name… I don’t know what is real name is and no he did not make me. He just said lets mosey and took off so I followed him”
Judge: “aaaaaand you’re suing him why? Sounds like you were stalking him?!”
Pax: “Your Honor: I’m suing because I got hurt while following him”
Judge: “You are lucky he did not mace you and whack you with a Billy club… Case dismissed”
Off we go.
1st stop Stumptown Park:
Mosey to 4 mile Greenway stopping at baseball fields to perform SSH holding for 6
Mosey to Bridge: Sprint AYG over the bridge
2nd stop Squirrel lake park playground for modified partner DORA
Mosey to Pleasant Plains Rd turning right
3rd stop Arthur Goodman Memorial park parking lot.
Mosey to Gumby AO
4th stop Parking lot (Matthews United Methodist Church)
Mosey back to Sparta AO for 5MOM
DONE!! Meet up with Peak 51 for COT
Naked Moleskin:
That was horrible. Lunatic was right… To be honest, I called a trusted F3 peer on Wednesday after Qing Conviction and witnessing the way our current humidity impacted the PAX (YHC included). Asking what his thoughts were on modifying the Weinke to reduce the distance due to the weather conditions. He indicted I should not and continue on with the original plan. By time we hit the 3rd stop I really wanted to kick him in his bum knee for the advice, but quickly realized that I would have to carry his Monster inc. tattooed self out if I did and we still had a mile and half to get back. Note to self… don’t call an Iron Man for workout advice if you have ZERO intentions of ever doing an Iron Man yourself.
Thank you for allowing me to lead.
Respectfully,
Gypsy
Not a Site Q in site, but 3 HIMs are present to hold YHC accountable for leading the boot camp beat down this week at Conviction. All 3 have been Q so we all know the drill.. can’t sue me, can’t sue F3, can sue the school, modify as needed, and follow me if you want… although I would rethink that one as busted up as I am it may not be a good idea.
Let’s mosey… what the heck?! Google Maps does not show a fence that runs the length the school property. Ok, circle back to the start and around the fence to the blacktop.
Square up.. wait a minute. If there are only 4 of us is it still a COP (Circle of pain) or is it now a SOP or maybe even a TOP if the Q is in the middle of the triangle.. oh sorry.. A.D.D. got the best of me there. Wait, what we were doing.. oh yeah.. backblast.. at the COP.
COP
The “Thang” Part 1
The “Thang” Part 2 (Modified Dora)
Ok..overshare here at the expense of my buddy H.B. I picked this Thang because he stated at Thrive that he was coming out this morning….and wellllllllllll… the pull-up bar has a step up bar… because it’s for those individuals that are more vertically challenged since it is an Elementary school…
Pair up
LBCs to catch our breath… and LET’s Indian run to the front of the school for some Mary.
6MOM
Flutters, Dollies, American Hammer, Rosalittas, heels to heaven.
DONE.
Naked moleskin:
I WANT MID 30 DEGREE MORNINGS BACK!!!
These swamp humidity temperatures are horrible. The crew out here this morning was solid… low mileages for a Gypsy Q at 1.75 miles, but the intervals were quick.
Thank you for the opportunity to lead.
Respectfully,
Gypsy
Tuesday morning…I think it marks 5 straight days of rain and YHC seriously dislikes those boot camps that end up being rolling around the mud or planking in the biggest puddle at the AO just because we are F3 and can. Knowing we were expecting heavy showers again overnight, YHC had a different idea. Keep the feet dry and no planking at all.
5:30: Disclaimer given and advanced warning about the above did bring in some mumbles that the wrong shoes were selected for a “Dry” workout. (Sorry HairBand)
7 Pax begin the Mosey to the Indian Trail town Hall.
Set of headlights coming around the corner hot.. We all know this vehicle so we modify the run to include a detour to collect the good Shepard… (We leave no man behind at Thrive) … and continue to the Town Hall.
Circle up from some COP
(But 1st we must honor the UC traditions: 5 burpees OYO as down painment for Shepard. ? )
Reverse Indian Run around the Town Hall front lot circle
Leaving the Town Hall with an F2 pace mosey to the steps overlooking the outdoor Volleyball courts
Short Mosey to the Tennis courts. (Side note… been attending Thrive for almost a year now fairly regular and have never seen the Tennis Courts used in a bootcamp so I was unsure if there was an unspoken rule against using them…Hope not)
DORA 1,2,3: Partner workout (pax one runs to the far line of 2nd tennis court, performs 2 Burpees and returns as pax two is performing set exercise. As a team completing the count. When your team completes final exercise you join in with a team not completed to help finish their sets.) #NOPLANKING
Short Mosey to “The Wall”
2 mins of Mary
MoleSkin
Solid Union County PAX today to help push YHC through the workout and I appreciate them allowing me to try out a few new things I have picked up on my gypsy style adventures to other F3 regions. (Reverse Indian run (A51), 1.5 Merkins (Hampton Roads), tennis court Dora (Lexington KY), LBC for 6 vs Planking (Birmingham AL), and slow flutter kicks (Lexington KY). I encourage all pax to get out and visit other areas to meet the members of F3 Nation that are beyond the confines of your regular AO. Listen to their stories and see what drives their region. Then bring it back and share it with us. If you need a ride to one I will pick you up. ?
Also: if you have not read Glass Joe’s BB from his Q on Saturday, you need to!!
I will help you find it: ( https://f3southcharlotte.com/2018/05/19/be-more/ )
T-Claps to Lumberjack for taking us out in the COT.
Announcements
As Always: Thank you for allowing me to lead today. Stay Strong!!!
Respectfully,
Gypsy
Homage to Kevlar and Orange Whip for pushing YHC to my breaking point and making me decide which direction I would go on 8/11/2017.. was it back to a sad clown lifestyle of smoking, fartsack, can’t run more than 100 yds, non 3rd F… or take the DRP, power through the 1st month of F3 with Aleve, in bed by 9 pm (or passed out on the couch) and back up by 4:55 am to post. Since YHC is drafting this BB you can guess which direction I took for the F1 and now find myself at church every Sunday now with some top notch 3rd F individuals. Hope to see you all at the F2 HH tonight as well.
Short story:
5 miles at 8:30 pace, 90 Merkins, 40 Bomb jacks, 40 LBCs, 30 dips, 30 Squats, 30 Step-ups, 6 interval Wind sprints and, 3 sets of stairs.
The Long Story (aka: The THANG)
Moleskin:
Love the format of Sparta.. Run until you think your lungs are going to jump out of your body and hitchhike home without you… then stop… give the lungs a break as you beatdown your muscles to just about failure… then stop… and do it all over again for 55 mins.
Its not easy at all..
The name of the AO is perfectly established for the #HIMs that decide to Shieldlock together here and post regularly putting in the work it takes to get better every day.
Thank you Smokey for taking us out at the combined Peak51/Sparta COT.
Announcements:
F3 Nation has a excellent AOs all over the place. But for those that have read this far, you might want to take note of next week’s A51/UC Q line up at a few choice sites.
SFN: Looking for F3 men to help support the Lake Norman and MECA races on 6/2 (See Exit 54 or Gapper for info)
Shirts: order your A51 shirts now or miss out.
It’s an honor to be with you all in the Gloom.
Respectfully
Gypsy
***Post on behalf for Christmas***
The Warmup
Warmup lap up Chestnut Parkway over to Indian Trail Town Hall
The Thang
Moleskine
I wonder if that field is ever dry?
Enjoyed my first Q at Thrive. I will be back ASAP for more rock running.
Announcements: