Author Archive Paper Jam

Monday Morning at The Matrix

17 PAX (including 1 FNG) some with running shoes others with boot camp shoes, most showed up extra early to welcome YHC back to The Matrix. After a disclaimer that would make Mermaid proud, we were off to the back parking lot for:

COP:

SSH X15, IW X 15, Merkin 5 OYO, LSS X 15, Merkin 5 OYO.

THE THANG:

From the back parking lot, run to the rock pile for 15 curls, 15 shoulder press. Then run to the front playground, climb over the rock wall for 10 reverse chin ups. Upon completing, run to the track and take a lap. At each ¼ point perform 5 burpees. When finished, run to the back playground for 10 derkins and 10 incline merkins. Run to the boats (where the tree stumps were once located) 15 dips, 20 total step ups. Return to starting point at back parking lot for mary waiting on the six.

Rinse and repeat in reverse.

Then four corners of merkins in the back parking lot using the traffic islands as the corners.  Regular, wide arm, hand release and diamond. Each x 15.  

Rinse and repeat in reverse.

Mosey over to the field. Line up facing McKee Rd for field of plank. Lunge walk until YHC calls a plank and perform plank.  Regular plank, 6-inches, elbow plank, right arm high, left arm high, finish with 7 Makhtar N’Diaye.

MOLESKIN:

This was sort of a homecoming for me.  The Matrix was scheduled to be my first workout in F3.  However, it rained that morning so my first post was at Bagpipe the next day, But I became a regular at The Matrix for the next 2 years and developed good friendships with the PAX who were also regulars. Then I got into this running thing and somehow ended up the site Q of Blakovery. Pop Tart pinged me the night before wondering if I was going to show. Good thing he didn’t wait until the last minute.

In planning the weinkie, I knew I wanted to take a tour of the AO. Some things changed: no more cinder blocks or tree stumps, others remained the same: seeing Squid, Joker and Huggie Bear on Monday morning and then a surprise: having to yell “car back” during the COP because a lone vehicle was parked suspiciously in the back parking lot and decided to leave once we arrived.

As usual, Squid, Joker and Laronda were out in front and there was a lot of whining from Pop Tart.

Great work by Dirty Bird, Wham-O and FNG Red Riding Hood.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Speed For Need has expanded to bikes: Here is the link: https://youtu.be/CW211bXQNBM

Thanks for taking us out Squid and it is always humbling to lead such a great group of men.

If You Can Do Pokey…

10 PAX shook off the Monday morning blues with a 5 mile run and stretch at Blakovery this morning.

THE THANG:

Here is the route:

MOLESKIN:

Some observations from this mornings edition of Blakovery:

-Bratwurst was early but still no disclaimer.

-Tuck is on the verge of losing his Italian card. He had a family reunion without Cannolis. If  it is discovered that the event was without gabagool or he is eating at Olive Garden, it is probably over.

-Depth Charge easily covered 6 miles circling back to make sure I was not lost.

-There may have been 2 HCs for the SOBLand/Area 51 Crane Relay on Friday, October 26t. See pre-blast  https://f3southcharlotte.com/2018/07/14/the-crane-relay/ Contrary to earlier reports, YHC was not one of them.

Thank you for taking us out Tuck and see you all next week.

Pokey Runs Free in the Great Outdoors and Finds Kryptonite

7 PAX learned about flexibility and some found their kryptonite at the launch of F3 Pokey.

THE THANG:

We began the workout with some dynamic stretching to warm up the leg muscles for better stretching. Line up at the curb and face the parking lot: (1) walking butt kicks, (2) walking knee ups with a twist, (3) over the gate, and (4) toy soldier.

Calf Stretch by placing heels on parking lot and toes on the curb so your feet are at an angle. Then move to the small trees in front of the entrance to the church and place your toes on the brick edging and let your heels down to the ground.

To the broga mat for a series of stretches designed to target the hamstring, quads, IT band, adductor, groin and lower back.

Finish with a: DEVOTIONAL:

One of the best ways to get rid of discouragement is to remember that Christ is coming again. The most thrilling, glorious truth in all the world is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. When we look around and see pessimism on every side, we should remember the Bible is the only Book in the world that predicts the future. The Bible is more modern than tomorrow morning’s newspaper. The Bible accurately foretells the future, and it says that the consummation of all things shall be the coming again of Jesus Christ to this earth. If your life is dismal, depressed, and gloomy today, Christ can turn those dark clouds inside out. The sunlight of His love can still shine into the darkest part of your life.

Longing to see Your face, Christ Jesus, I rejoice in the anticipation of Your coming

MOLESKIN:

This was the inaugural launch of F3 Pokey.  It is designed to help runners (#notarunner) and other PAX avoid injury by gaining flexibility.  The concept for this AO was started about 2 years ago by Swiss Miss and High Tide in Area 51. That AO, which is located in downtown Matthews, is aptly called Gumby.

I have been a regular attendee at Gumby and enjoyed pre-runs with Madison, Arena, Lois, and once with Stone Cold and Geraldo (I discovered that Geraldo could run faster with his ruck than I could without one).  I learned a lot of great flexibility exercises from all the men who led Gumby.

But it was time to import Gumby to SOBLand.  There were several SOBers making their way to downtown Matthews but others who wanted to attend but could not make it there and get back in time for their morning routine.  So it was providential when Bunker explained his new marathon training program that left Wednesday as an “off” day and others were recognizing the benefits of stretching after Blakovery.

We have kept a similar format-no running, only stretching and flexibility exercises and end with a short devotional.

We added our own twist by going outdoors, incorporating dynamic stretching movements and music is optional.

Originally this AO was planned to run until October. We will gauge the interest and participation and evaluate then.

I appreciate all the encouragement and support from the PAX, our Nantan Thin Mint, and the leaders of Gumby.

It was great to see BeBo back at an F3 workout after battling injury.

And Superman aka Haggis struggled greatly with some of the moves and his lack of flexibility threw his form off. Think Chelms.

Thank you Chopper for taking us out and thank you for allowing me to lead.

Fleetwood is Fast But He Won’t Flash

It was another soupy summer morning and 7 PAX gathered at the fountains of Blakeney Shopping Center for our 5 mile Monday run. It was 5:15 and we were about to leave until we saw the silver bullet carrying Bratwurst. With a spring in his step and no disclaimer he passed the baton to YHC to choose the course. It was time for the PJ route, so we were off.

THE THANG:

Up Rea Rd towards Stonecrest, make a left on Williams Pond, left on Elm St, past the Morrison YMCA, left on North Community House Rd, left on Ardrey Kell and back to launch for stretching by Paper Jam.

MOLESKIN:

We enjoyed a guest appearance from General this morning. He was a little confused when we told him he did not have to swing a kettle bell, do 100 pull ups or use any other gear except a broga mat.

Fraiser and Bratwurst have clearly defined a recovery run as an under 8 minute mile as they were out in front with Fleetwood, Enron and General not too far behind.

While performing the broga butterfly we discovered that Fleetwood can place his knees and thighs on the ground. Accused of being a Brogi, he was kind enough not to face the rest of us while he was showing off his flexibility.

Thank you General for taking us out.

SYITG!

 

Bizarro Blakovery in Ballantyne

With our fearless leader DR the torch was passed to Bunker to pick the route and get us started. Two things were guaranteed, (1) Bunker would arrive before 5:14 and (2) we were running the hills in Ballantyne.  Gumbo appeared in the gloom in his Superman shirt, so he was the natural choice to lead the fast guys and Bunker covered the 6 and with the plan in place it was time to get started:

THE THANG: 

Up the long gradual hill of Adrey Kell Rd, past Lorenzo’s Pizza and make a left into the neighborhood across the street. Find all the hills and valleys and come back out on Community House Rd make a right and back to launch.

Here is the route fancy watch style: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/17990484

MOLESKIN:

Great to see Jello make his Blakovery debut. He had been hinting at coming out for about a month. He picked a great Monday to start, with probably the toughest route we run. This is the Bizarro route for Blakovery. Almost all the other routes are relatively flat. This was a great Monday morning jolt. Thank you Enron for taking us out and what a great way to start Monday.

Some Hope for Flexibility

5 PAX became much more flexible and hopeful this morning at the latest edition of Gumby. After an adequate disclaimer it was time to open up You Tube, get the music started and then begin:

DEVOTIONAL:

Courtesy of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association based on Titus 2:13:

One of the best ways to get rid of discouragement is to remember that Christ is coming again. The most thrilling, glorious truth in all the world is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. When we look around and see pessimism on every side, we should remember the Bible is the only Book in the world that predicts the future. The Bible is more modern than tomorrow morning’s newspaper. The Bible accurately foretells the future, and it says that the consummation of all things shall be the coming again of Jesus Christ to this earth. If your life is dismal, depressed, and gloomy today, Christ can turn those dark clouds inside out. The sunlight of His love can still shine into the darkest part of your life.

Longing to see Your face, Christ Jesus, I rejoice in the anticipation of Your coming again!

THE THANG:

Dynamic stretching-walk the length of the room and back getting the legs warmed up.

Grab a folding chair as a prop for stretching the calves, hamstrings and another dynamic stretch.

To the mat to work on IT band, hamstrings, groin, aductor, front of thighs.

Finish off with some shoulder stretches.

MOLESKIN:

It was good to be back at Gumby. Some schedule changes and my laziness has kept me from one of my favorite workouts, especially when I post two running workouts on Monday and Tuesday. Shout out to Arena who showed up early for a pre-run and thank you to Swiss Miss and Tweetsie for allowing me to lead.

ANNOUCEMENTS:

F3 Dads every Saturday in June 9am at Colonel Francis Beatty Park and the Brixham Greens in Ballantyne Corporate Park where they meet at the white tent.

A Strange Monday for Marathon Training

The morning started out strange. But doesn’t every Monday when we are committing to drag ourselves out of bed after a summer weekend in order to run 5 miles. This is where we ran:

THE THANG:

Up Adrey Kell Rd past the high school and make a right into the first neighborhood. Make an immediate left onto Zackery Ave, right on Pomerane Pl. left on Brandon Brook Drive and right on Old Adrey Kell. Into another neighborhood running on Honeynut, Hazelview, Linden Tree and  Society Street. Leave the neighborhood, cross Community House Rd to do a short loop of  Highgrove Street, Fortbridge Lane, Summer Club Rd., Pemswood St and back out to Community House, left on Adrey Kell and back to the AO for stretching by Paper Jam

MOLESKIN:

The morning seemed normal enough, as I rounded the corner there was Bunker’s SUV parked in his spot and I was ready to do my warm up routine. The next thing I knew there was a silver pick up truck pulling up. I figured it had to be Depth Charge. I was wrong. It was Bratwurst arriving a little after 5. If that was not strange enough, Bunker announced that he is running with me this morning. I became immediately concerned that he injured himself or may have been feeling sick this morning. He assured me that all was well, this was a new marathon training program that he is working on which requires a PJ pace on Monday. So I guess I am now training for a marathon. To top it off, Bratwurst started running in the opposite direction (towards the big fountain) to go thru the shopping center instead of in the direction of the new Shake Shack.

Glad Enron brought us back to normal with a nice take out.

Another Monday in the books.

Running, Monday and E101

As the popularity of a 5 mile recovery run grows in SOB Land, 12 PAX eagerly awaited instructions from Bratwurst for the start Blakovery.  At 5:15 the Flat Branch route was declared and we were off and this is where we went:

THE THANG:

Thru the parking lot to McDonalds, across Rea Rd. to Tolleson Ave, right on Bullock Greenway Blvd., left on James Blakeney Ave, right on Alexander Martin, right on Alma Blount Rd, right on Darcy Hopkins, (past Paper Jam’s street), left on Dennington Grove, right on to Bryant Farms, left onto Lacken and left onto Providencetown Dr all the way to Williams Pond. Cross Rea Rd, left on Elm, left on Blakeney Heath, left on Parks Farm Ln to Rea Rd and back to the AO for stretching led by Wingman.

MOLESKIN:

It was one of those mornings where everything in me wanted to fartsack. It is Monday, lingering cold and congestion, and #Imnotaruunerstill. I had already committed to picking up a chain saw from Bratwurst this morning, so there was no excuse. I knew it was going to be a slow morning and as I quickly surveyed the crowd, I figured another short cut was in order or I needed to bring a head set and listen to some music as I would be alone.

It was just about that time when the fast guys separate from the slow guys (and when I say slow guys I mean me) when I noticed Picasso to my left. He was sporting a fancy watch that one of the fast guys tricked him into getting, but he could see I was struggling and decided to run at my pace. So for the next 30 plus minutes a discussion about entrepreneurship ensued. For someone getting ready to take the leap, talking with someone who understood the fear that comes with the leap was truly God ordained. The discussion was filled with words of encouragement, wisdom and practical application to running. It it one of many Holy Spirit moments I have experienced at Blakovery just because I decided to show up instead of staying home and because someone else showed up too.

Thanks again Wingman for leading the stretching and Doc McStuffins for taking us out.

Never quit on the way up the hill, because once you get over the top, you won’t quit on the way down.

Enjoy the rest of the week and see you next Monday.

 

Stretching Around a Fountain Gets Damp Chakras

9 PAX were not dismayed by the delayed Memorial Day start or threat of rain to post for 5 miles and damp chakras at Blakovery.

THE THANG: 

With the sun up (although we could not see it for the clouds) and light on our side, Bratwurst called the PJ route. Here it is: up Rea Rd towards Stonecrest. Make a left on Williams Pond Rd, left on Elm and continue on Bryant Farms Rd. Go past the Morrison Y, make a left at North Community House, left on Ardrey Kell and back to the AO.

MOLESKIN:

This morning we had some of our core group (Bunker, Gumbo, Fleetwood, Madison), two site FNGs Marlin (R) and Mighty Mite. and a new regular One-Niner.  This morning marked the first (and probably only) Blakovery double down. Mighty Might posted a Voodoo led  Fox Hole then made the short drive to join us for a run. Quite impressive.

There was no rain but it was still damp but another great start to the week.

ANNOUNCEMENT:

In June there are alot of F3 Dads events happening. Workouts on Saturday in SOB Land and Area 51 and a Knights Baseball game. Get on Slack to keep up.

Thank you for the take out Marlin and the reminder of the sacrifice of the brave men and women who fought for our country and the ultimate sacrifice by Jesus Christ who willingly died for us so that we could live.

Going Forward in Reverse

It was a little after 5am and there was Bunker’s car faithfully parked in his traditional spot. As I began my dynamic warm up routine, a familiar face with white hair emerged.  Nomad arrived to make his Blakovery debut. With the rest of the PAX in place, and 5:15 on the clock, Bratwurst jumps out and 10 of us were off and running.

THE THANG

Originally billed as the reverse Providence Country Club route, a premature left turn had us going in from the front instead of the back. This is how it started: leave Blakeney Shopping center and cross Rea Rd up Ardrey Kell going pass the Chic-Fil-A. Make a right turn on Tom Short Rd, left into the rich folks neighborhood, left on 3 Lakes Dr., right on Congressional Club Drive and right on Colonial Country Lane.  At that point, it was clear that it was a very slow morning for me as the fast guys, injured guys and one guy who began the morning concerned that he was too slow raced ahead of me. Bratwurst circled back, found me and led me to the short cut back to Tom Short Rd while the others went the long way and we all arrived back at the AO for some much needed stretching.

MOLESKIN

It was a rough Monday. The body and mind were weak but the men of F3 gave me strength to show up and run.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

-F3 Dad’s weekend camping trip to Julian Price Park. Here is the link. https://www.recreation.gov/camping/julian-price-campground/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=74043 Details July 20-22. $20 a night so $40 total. There are 10 foot pads at each site. Reach out to Fraiser by the end of May (next week) to reserve your spot.

-Memorial Day convergence on Saturday May 26 at Calvary Church. Launch at 7am, most sites closing down.