1 year ago (3/3), the hills of 5 Knolls were discovered. Like Christopher Columbus sailing off the edge of the flat world (sup, Kyrie Irving), 14 dudes ventured into uncharted territory. Less than 1/2 a mile from one of the biggest AOs in A51, lay one of the biggest hills in A51 – the southern segment on 5 Knolls Drive – affectionately known as LC to those in the biz. Frasier holds the CR and is the lucky lad teed up to take LC to prom. Will anyone dethrone him and take the prom king crown?
**Update: upon further investigation, LC hasn’t decided who she’s taking to prom – Fahvra and Frasier share the CR, and there’s only room for one winner.
The challenge stands 1-year later:
Head north on Rea across 51, switch to left side of Rea. Take 3rd Left on Five Knolls Rd. Head down (and up) Five Knolls til you hit the dead end, about face back to Rea. One lap from the corner of Rea/Five Knolls to the dead end and back = 2 mi. Repeat as many times as possible and head the 1.1 mi back down Rea.
Here’s the breakdown, including the run to Five Knolls, and the return run back:
Adjust your laps accordingly to get back to the start by 0615.
xoxo,
HB
16 rapscallions sauntered into the Stonecrest parking lot with little direction other than: no hills (no Murderhorn), no rocks, and no Radar. Those that skipped the pre-run got what they came for. Here’s what transpired.
We moseyed to Basil Thai (the non-southend/plaza midwood location left out of the Agenda’s “top 5 Thai restaurants this morning”) for COP all IC
Partner up and mosey to the ledge in front of Cantina for the Six Shooter – 6 rounds of alternating partner exercises x 100 (ish). Partner 1 ran a loop around the medians whilst partner 2 did the exercises. Flapjack until you reach 100 as a pair.
Inter-mary: Flutter, Dolly
Mosey to Matress Firm for a Freakonomics lesson on how mattress stores stay in business. Cliff notes: It’s the markup. If you’re looking for a mattress, see Poptart – he knows a guy. 8 years of interest free sleep, aside, MF had the slow jams pumping out the speakers this morning.
Mosey behind Target to where what looked like the two employees were gearing up for work. Turns out, they may have been after the fitness as well.
AYG suicides increasing to the 3rd speed bump
AYG from the 2nd speed bump to the fence along the Regal Cinemas, stopping for 10 HR merkins at each speed bump. Avoiding being a speedbump to the delivery trucks
Line up for Peoples Chair on the wobbly fence. I make no bones about doing sketchy stuff during workout – but this one may make the list. 16 guys of varying size, leaning on a semi-sturdy fence, above a 15 foot drop – dubbed the Trust Fall. The fence held, without casualty.
Moleskynn:
The speed loops and partner work kept everyone pretty bunched up today. First time I’ve posted at Stonecrest in a while where MH got no love. With BRR looming, it’ll get plenty of attention in the coming months. I’ve always though of Rebel Yell as a true, blue-collar workout. Always a solid meat and potatoes workout at an AO that offers more options than most around.
Rebel Yell was my first Q back in July 2014 – back when: I was a nice guy, used all the right words, Radar was in F3, Purple Haze wore smoke boots (before the waiter shoes), Crabcake posted every Q’s backblast, and before Murderhorn got really famous. Turns out Morning After posted that one too. A lot has changed since then: @F3BigBlack came and went, running got popular(maybe?) in F3, the SOB region exploded with new growth, Southern Discomfort and Balrog became things, probably a dozen new AOs launched, hundreds of new guys got plugged into a network of men that changes lives.
It was fun to come back with a (slightly) less complicated gameplan and put in work with you dudes this morning.
Announcements:
They showed up by the case this morning at The Maul. Not to be outdone by Alf, and in solidarity for our brother, McGee, burpees were in the mix this morning. After a robust disclaimer and notation that I’m most certainly not a “burpee guy”, we hit the pavement.
The Thing:
10 burpees OYO
Mosey across Elm to the crest of Murderhorn for COP: IW, SSH, Merkins – all in cadence
Mosey down the ‘Horn to the rock pile by the pool. Partner up and grab one rock per pair.
10 burpees OYO
CMIYC – P1 did 7 HR-merkins, while P2 ran with the rock. We snuck out the back door of Thornhill and stopped at several spots along the way.
10 burpees OYO at the corner of Thornhill Club/Meadow Run
10 burpees OYO at the corner of Meadow Run/BCP – continue up BCP towards Elm
10 burpees OYO at the post office on BCP – took the shortcut behind Wells Fargo
10 burpees OYO at Ballantyne Trace/Elm
10 burpees OYO at the top of Murderhorn
10 burpees OYO at the bottom of Murderhorn
10 burpees OYO at the rock pile – drop your rocks
Line up at the bottom of Murderhorn – AYG sprint to the top
Mosey back to the lot
10 burpees OYO to finish
The moleskine:
We got off to a cutesy start at the bottom of the ‘Horn with the CMIYC, but settled into a rhythm by the time we hit BCP. Pretty positive I didn’t do 100 burpees in 2016 collectively – today was real. Big crowd out there and lots of guys I met for the first time. Not many sites have a Murderhorn in their back pocket – it’s always a treat to humble yourself on it when in the neighborhood. Top to bottom, guys were doin’ work out there.
Appreciate the patience early on and the opportunity to lead you fellas this morning. Please keep McGee and his family in your prayers, with the loss of his Mom this week. We’re here for you brother.
Thanks to Squid for the always spot-on takeout.
Peace and luv,
HB
Things to know:
SOB/A51/U-Co/and lots of others are doing the Savage Race in place of the Mud Run this year. Start gathering your 4-man teams now and save the date – May 13th.
A crew of Mecklenburg’s finest rolled into the Pineville PD parking lot this morning to put in some work. 12 other random dudes showed up too for a wild ride around the charming little town in the southwestern corner of the county. Whim and Daisy answered the 0500 bell for a 2.5 mi preview prerun.
Heres what went down:
Out of the PPD lot we took a right on 51, crossed the tracks, and hung a left behind the buildings for COP.
Imperial Walkers, SSH, Low slow squats, Merkins. All x15IC
We dodged some commuter traffic and crossed back over 51 at Johnston. We took a quick mosey loop around the downtown block together – noting the corner of Johnston and Childers St. as “the spot”. From 51, down Johnston to the rec center, it’s about half a mile. We alternated AYG/jog at each side street on the right, which totaled 3 hot, 3 cold.
We planked at community center lot to regroup and stumbled upon a women’s fitness group in full swing. The lady in charge invited us to join, to which we quickly counter-offered inviting them to join us. After some awkward bodily noises and smells, we dipped out to track around lake for a hot CMIYC partner lap. 7 HR merkins.
We did some mary in rec center lot- probably too close to the fitness group for comfort (theirs, not ours).
Headed back up Johnston alternating the sprint/jog at each side street on the left. Regroup at “the spot”.
We partnered back up for some hot laps around downtown, with P1 running the lap and P2 doing the called exercise.
Indian run back to the lot. Quick AYG out and back in the PPD parking lot.
Moleskinny:
Temps were +/-35 degrees warmer this Monday than last week. Guys were getting after it in a workout that leaned heavier on the running.
Nemo and Whim lit up the streets heading down Johnston to the lake. Nemo never let off the gas all morning. Being 15 has its perks. Thin Mint was more methodical in his lurking and smoked everyone down the stretch.
If my math’s on, we had 2 “Respects” out there this morning. Marlin was crushing it and didn’t let Nemo get too far out of sight. One-and-Done may need a rename. He’s back. Strong effort coming off the Berlin marathon, my man.
Pulp Fiction has never seen Pulp Fiction. Too many one-liners in that movie to count. Pretty sure I’m on probation of some sort – otherwise I’d risk my online credentials with some good Sam Jackson quotes. Sound off in the comments with your fave.
Banana Boat was up front all morning. He doesn’t know if he was named after sunscreen or a man-thong. Can you help?
Private Benjamin has one of the longer names out there. Although, I can relate to being named after “your favorite movie.” Thanks, Splinter, wherever you are. Dude was getting after it this morning- strong as an ox.
Daisy quickly put an end to my thoughts of “relaxing for 30 minutes in the truck if no one shows up for the prerun”. Him and Whim got a couple bonus miles through P-town.
Dumpster Fire and Cheddar have a gold mine on their hands. If you’ve never posted at The Big House, come check it out. This AO has more unique territory than anywhere around- plus, I’d unanimously votebit “AO least likely to have your car broken into”.
Thanks for the opportunity to lead this morning. Enjoyed it thoroughly.
peace and luv,
HB
Apparently there’s a new star wars movie out. 20 guys lined up at Cinebarre, a measly 6 hours before the first show time. The media was there, it was a big deal. A few guys got interviewed. Check out Alf’s and Tolkien’s interviews here.
After the letdown to many that we were most certainly not there to see that movie, here’s what went down. We ventured up the small hill from the cinema parking lot to the sidewalk along the eastbound lane of 51 with an initial plan of making a safe crossing at the Providence intersection. From somewhere in the rear, Horsehead grumbles “if we cross 51, I’m gone.” With immediately banged a hard left across 4-6 lanes of 51. Horsehead hung around. #emptypromises
Mosey up Providence toward town. Brief rendezvous at the Beverly Crest entrance. Against Gummy’s advice of getting out of traffic, we did +/- 15 low slow squats in the street to get the blood pumping. We moseyed deeper into BC and took mental note of three chalk markings on the pavement. After partnering up with someone of like speed, we met back at the 2nd mark. From there, P1 gave a AYG hustle one direction towards the club house and took a left or right on one of those side streets. P2 ran the opposite direction and turned on another of those side streets AYG til it ended. At the tips, they might have done 10 HR-merkins and hustled back to the 2nd mark. After most guys stood around for a couple minutes while a few guys did merkins, we flapjacked.
Most guys ran hard. It was about a half mile from the mid-point to the tip of each leg, for a hidden mile, of sorts. After we collected erybody, we jaunted back through Beverly Crest back to 51. We turned left towards Matthews and were greeted with collective groan that I’m betting was loud enough to wake Haze, 4 miles away in his bed.
Here’s where things got interesting. The plan was to run to Providence HS (which we did), and do a long lap around the campus (which we also did). When we hit the campus, fear and anxiety became palpable in several folks. A peppering nervous mumbling about there being lots of traffic, general questions about safety, there being too many people around. Instead of ringing the doorbell at PHS and asking if we could use their 2016 election results “safe space” to fingerpaint and talk about our feelings, we ran the damn loop. Sure there were buses and a few students around. Most guys appeared to use common sense and their own judgement to stay out of harm’s way.
We ran dual indian runs back to campus to wrap things up.
Tha skinny:
All y’all have a Merry Christmas. Always a pleasure to run with this crew. Enjoy the time with your families and friend and be thankful for what you have. We’re all blessed to have this strong network of guys to lean on one another through tough times. This season bring’s lots of joy, but can also be tough on folks that may have recently lost a loved one. Reach out to someone this week you haven’t talked to in a while – make sure they’re doing alright.
Convergences the next two Mondays: 12/26 at DMZ (Carmel Neighborhood Park), 1/2 at the Matrix (McKee Rd. Elementary). Check the world wide web for start times.
Hey – Don’t post at SCMS tomorrow at 5:15. You’ll miss all the fun.
Instead, meet in the Cinebarre parking lot at the Arboretum to watch Poptart run the 1st annual egg-nog mile, sponsored by Courvoisier (thanks, Pro!)
Everyone else who’s not Poptart: We’ll be going places you’ve never been – a whole new world, per-say.
We’ll cover most of the “how to Q Fast Twitch” checklist:
It’ll be a wild one – don’t miss out.
HB
NOTE: FAST TWITCH IS NOT ON VACATION.
After the debacle the last HB Q at FT, a trip to the principal’s office was in order. After some long talks, the phrase “banned for life” from FT was floated. Votes were tallied. Things looked grim. Radio silence for a few weeks. Through the a darkness, a beacon of light appeared. Could it be? Some serious underground, black market, backroom Q swaps took place to make this happen. Your fearless Fast Twitch site Qs absolutely got hoodwinked. Shady’s back.
We’re taking this show on the road for a little Christmas Vacation off the SCMS campus. Load up the shiny tenement on wheels and meet at the Arboretum Cinebarre parking lot. Park in the lot between Chicken Fil-A and the movie theater. Tell your boys, tell your whole posse.
Remember: Don’t post at SCMS. You will be there alone.
The havoc starts at 0515 sharp venturing into some new territory.
12/20. 0515. Arbo Cinebarre parking lot. Be. There.
F3 Men of Area51 and SOB land (together known as “F3 South Charlotte”) – WE WILL ANSWER.
Operation Sweet Tooth (“OST”) is in full gear and we need your help.
The Mission: Keep 8-year old Sweet Tooth’s memory alive. Let her parents, Olive (F3 Nation) and Jager (FiA Nation), know that she lives on in the Hearts of the PAX through their own for the Charlotte community.
The Reason: Our brother Olive shared his story with us earlier this year. Read it here….or here.
The Need: 1) Toys for children of all ages, and 2) Everyday living supplies.
With Olive’s endorsement, F3 South Charlotte have chosen the Alexander Youth Network as very deserving recipients for our holiday season toy and supply drive. Alexander Youth Network (“AYN”) provides quality professional treatment to children with serious emotional and behavioral problems. We deliver an effective and efficient array of services, enabling children and their families to exercise self-determination, achieve their potential, and become positive contributors to society.
THE ACTION (ALL OF US):
The Facts:
For Loved Ones.
For Families.
For Children.
For Peace.
For Strength.
In Cadence.
Ready?
Begin.
#SERVE #OperationSweetTooth #HIM
Plus/minus a year ago, Chanel (probably over some Hopslam at the Lodge) swindled me into signing up for a Foxhole Q. Sure thing – not training for anything and who can’t use a little extra strength. Fast forward a year or so, and two or three Q reschedules later to somewhere around October 12, 2016.
Text from @voodoo: “Hey man, you’re still good to Q Foxhole next week?”
Text from @HB: “Yeah buddy, 100% IN” [translation: poo emoji]
So…never Q’d a KB workout before? Here’s how it works.
The Thang:
COP: Merkins x 20IC, SSH x25 IC, Imperial Walker x20 IC, Mountain Climber x20 IC
Grab your KB and head to the turf fields. Circle up around the midfield circle for a twisted game of duckduckgoose. Perform called KB exercises. One guy sprints a lap around the circle, next guy goes, etc. Keep performing exercises until everyone completes a lap around the circle.
Partner up on the midfield stripe. P1/P2 sprint opposite directions to the goal lines, meet back in the middle for hand slap merkins. Each time, drop by 2. Start with 10, 8, 6, 4, 2. Recover actively with some plankorama.
Grab your KBs and high-tail back to the playground by the parking lot for more partner work.
10 clean & press each arm OYO
Mosey back to the parking lot. 10 burpees OYO.
The skin:
12.5 guys started together, and 13 finished together. Tolkien MAF’d his way into the circle somewhere shortly after kickoff. Somewhere between KB swing #6 and #7 of the duckduckgoose circuit, someone suggested we “may be on pace for a record number of swings at a workout.” Unsure if that was a good or bad thing, we persevered, Dingleberries and all. We kept it simple on the KB moves and most guys were cool with that. Front to back all 13 guys were hustlin’ this morning. Heisenberg mentioned that the heckling supportive texts he’d been getting from some of the guys got him back out after a week off. He was crushing it out there. Dude, I hope you’ve got an unlimited text plan, ’cause you opened yourself up for some more inbox traffic. Marlin and FC were the war dads this morning – not sure who took the trophy, but both were absolutely smoking dudes half their age – strong effort gents. Yogi was in town from south of the border and was out front most fo the morning – good having you visit, brother. Met a lot of other guys I haven’t seen much before and enjoyed Qing a KB workout a lot more than I expected. Beach season starts sometime around noon on 12/11. See y’all on the regular then. Appreciate the opportunity from Argo and Voodoo to lead this morning.
Southern Discomfort – Next Saturday. Launches from Centurion and ends at Hydra. Be there.
17 fine gentlemen clearly did not know what to make of the preblast and childish bickering on Twitter last night. Confused? Pissed? Intrigued? Bored? Most that showed this morning could probably check at least one of the above. We checked some more boxes with a robust disclaimer and no FNGs in tow and were off.
The Thang:
Quick mosey 13 yards to the adjacent parking lot:
SSH x 20 IC
Imperial Walkers x 20 IC
We regrouped to discuss the plan for the day. Nobody present knew what a T-pace was, so I scrapped the original weinke and winged it.
Quick mosey down Woodfox, hung a right on Rounding Run to the corner of Rounding Run and Rounding Run. Partner up with someone of similar speed. Partner 1 run the loop CCW, partner 2 run CW. When y’all meet, do 20 hand-slap merkins.
Mosey down Woods End Ln, one of the branches off Rounding Run where you’ll occasionally see a RFYL’er disappear. Then we ran clockwise 0.5 mile loops from Autumn Leaf, along Old Spice Ln (best street name in Raintree- prove me wrong), and back up Woods End Ln. Suggested exertion levels: lap 1 = 80%, lap 2 = 90%, lap 3 = faster than lap 2. Actual exertion levels = not that. Dudes were hustling though. Between each lap, 10 HS merkins and a spritz of Mary for good measure.
Moseyed back towards RR and hit the Triple Nickel on the (small) hill back up to RR Ln. Merkins at the top, squats at the bottom.
When err’body got done, we finished the original RR loop. Ish got confusing here. The idea was to have the quicker guys give the group a brief head start, ideally having everyone finish together. Somewhere between bad direction giving and bad listening, it was a free for all. Everyone lived though.
Final lap around RR with your partner – 10 HS merkins on the flip side.
Everyone except Purple Haze planked after this round. Do as he says, not as he does… or you’ll be dead to him.
We moseyed back to Woodfox and hit a quick round of suicides back to the school. All part of the master plan, Hannibal, all part of the plan.
Astute observations:
Headlamps are for weenies and my night vision is beyond poor. Your Fast Twitch dues may be going up in FY 2017 to fund better lighting on the street signs. Haze, when do the books close?
Hannibal’s been carrying around this dirty, cream-colored yellow shirt in his car ever since BRR. Says someone left it at his cabin. Nobody will claim it, and it’s got him really torn up. Someone take one for the team and grab the shirt from him.
For at least the 2nd time this summer, Gummy seemed to take issue with YHC wearing a hat backwards. Take note, if he’s on Q, he’s got dress code expectations tighter than Uptown Cabaret. Instead he suggested a headband to keep the sweat out of your eyes. Looks like this one’s on sale if you’re doing early Christmas shopping.
Haze posted this morning like a bloodhound on a scent trying to find out who’s behind @Dead2Haze. USC’s got a better chance of finding the endzone on saturday than Haze does at figuring this one out. Keep doing you, Keith B. Angry.
Mermaid had a late night last night. A rabbit (that he paid cold hard cash for) kept him up. If he gave some CPR and took home that jumbo black snake dead on Autumn Leaf Ln, no doubt he’d sleep better at night.
Van Pelt continues to dominate Fast Twitch. Smokin’ dudes 70% of his age. Take a page out of this guys’ book, I’m telling you.
Shocker: Beaker, Brady, TL lead the pack. Brady and TL have a combined 200+ miles between them in the last 4 days – what did you do this weekend? Strong running on tired legs.
Pro talked the whole time. Him and Hannibal bickered about who’s (beard) was longer. It got weird.
Bugeater posted wearing gloves – and clearly the only person to take the preblast serious.
Old Spice Lane had a nice jingle to it – Utah kept whistling and flexing his pecs like the dude from the commercial – it was a sight that can’t be unseen
If you’re still following along, first T-Claps on the perseverance. Some important announcements shared today. Check em out.
Announcements:
What are you doing Friday night? Come hang with your boys and enjoy a little fellowship and perhaps a frosty barley pop or two at Anne Springs Close Greenway Friday night. F3 has a huge contingent of dudes running the Ragnar Trail Relay. Most of our teams start mid afternoon on Friday. The running goes through the night and each loop circles back to a main campsite area. Grab a couple buddies, and come hang out for a bit Friday night.
Joe Davis Run – 1/7/17 – Sign up now for a race that benefits a tremendous cause. Our bother, Rock Thrill lost his brother to an accidental drug overdose 7 years ago today. This race brings awareness to and supports Keystone, an organization providing much-needed help to people battling addiction.
Southern Discomfort – 10/22/16 – Preblast/Sign up for a great way to challenge yourself in Area 51’s 2nd annual signature CSAUP event. Raising funds to support The Relatives – a system of resources that helps children and youth find shelter and support.