Author Archive Retread

Goats Love Donuts Too

17 Pax gathered and galloped at this week’s edition of Mountain Goat. After a couple of warm-up laps around the SCMS parking lot with butt kickers and high knees thrown in for good measure, we set our sights on one of F3 SCLT’s most hallowed and revered landmarks – the Dunkin Donuts at Colony and Rea. Instructions were to run to Dunkin by way of 51 and Rea and back. If time permits, add a repeat or two on the Danger Zone.

Goatskin

  • Welcome to site FNGs Lorenzo and Adobe. Great work! Hope to see you next time.
  • Great to see wily vets Alf and High Tide at Mountain Goat. Strong running guys, you are #BRRready.
  • BRR 9-man teammate Benny logged 30+ miles this past week, successfully running the gauntlet of Horsey-McHorseArse, Fast Twitch, and Donut Run before adding MG on Friday. That’s a fantastic week Benny, but don’t forget to take a day off.
  • Goonie’s dedication and disciplined approach is paying off. He’s getting stronger and faster each week.
  • Tweetsie continues to impress and always brings a positive attitude to the AO.
  • Slim Fast and YHC appreciate all of you coming out and putting forth your best effort each week.
  • Thanks to Insomniac for the takeout. You have an awesome ability to deliver words of wisdom.

Announcements

  • Keep the M of a recent FNG to The Charge in your thoughts and prayers as she underwent surgery for colon cancer and now faces chemotherapy.
  • Thoughts and prayers for Insomniac’s M following her colonoscopy.
  • Drivers needed for BRR teams – Mountain Goat needs one driver, as does Goonie’s team.

 

There Will Be Blood. And Merkins. And Merlot.

24 Pax including one FNG  kicked off Thursday with a visit to Peak 51, one of South Charlotte’s most popular AOs.

The Thang

Proper disclaimer followed by a mosey to the parking lot behind the church between McDowell and Sadie for COP. 15 SSH IC and 15 Imperial Walkers IC.

Partner up for three rounds of suicides and AMRAP work.

Round 1:

  • Partner 1 runs suicides to the first light post and back, second light post and back, and end of parking lot and back.
  • Partner 2 AMRAP merkins
  • Flapjack

Round 2:

  • Partner 1 suicides
  • Partner 2 AMRAP LBCs
  • Flapjack

Round 3:

  • Partner 1 suicides
  • Partner 2 AMRAP low slow squats
  • Flapjack

Mosey to gym equipment behind school parking lot. 10 pull-ups, 10 merkins, 20 LBCs, run one lap around track. Repeato x 2.

Mosey to hill behind baseball dugout for a triple nickel. 5 rounds of 5 burpees at the top of the hill and 5 low slow squats at the bottom.

Mosey to steps/walls between school buildings. Find your partner from the suicides/AMRAP block. Partner 1 runs around mobile school buildings while Partner 2 performs AMRAP dips. Flapjack. Partner 1 runs, partner 2 AMRAP derkins. Flapjack.

Grab some wall for people’s chair and 30 air presses IC. Mosey back to launch (not lunch) for COT.

We mixed in some planking and a bit o’Mary along the way.

Moleskin

  • Many strong performers, especially FNG Precious, who was so named due to his Lord of the Rings fandom, and recent FNGs Lorenzo and Deport. Way to push yourselves guys. F3 works best when you jump in with both feet.
  • This workout may have exceeded moderate intensity levels, but everyone seemed up to the challenge as the Pax stayed close together.
  • Lois alerted YHC of blood dripping from my knee during the triple nickel. Nothing serious, just a minor abrasion. Rub some dirt on it.
  • We had some merlot spillage during COT. Not in the actual COT, but in the bushes nearby. First time that’s happened when YHC has Q’d.
  • YHC would like to take a moment to call out the excellent culture at Peak 51. Geraldo and Slim Fast launched this AO four years ago, and the leadership of Sensei, Booyah, and Lois have continued to make it a special place where Pax of all fitness levels feel welcomed and valued. It’s a great entry point to F3 for FNGs. Great work gents!

Announcements

  • Contact Bullwinkle if you’re interested in Qing at Conviction, a relatively new moderate boot camp that meets at Stallings Elementary on Wednesdays at 0530.
  • Congratulations are in order for Booyah and his M on the birth of Baby Cohen.
  • Sensei will be traveling to West Palm Beach next week as his team participates in the BeepBall World Series. Please keep Sensei in your thoughts and prayers during his journey.
  • An F3 brother in South Carolina lost an infant child recently. Please keep him and his family in your prayers.
  • The next time you’re in downtown Matthews, be sure to check out Brakeman’s Coffee and Supply. Drano and Lois joined YHC there for coffeeteria. F3 Crayola is one of Brakeman’s owners, and the place has tons of character and a genuine feel to it. It’s pretty much the antithesis of the large chain coffee joints.

 

#FastTwitchDeathGoatGhostValley

25 strong for another hot and humid edition of Fast Twitch: BRR Training Season. YHC arrived at 0505, and was greeted shortly thereafter by Rachel, who just turned 40 (but runs like he’s 20) bearing the Fast Twitch shovel flag. Swiper regaled us with tales of Chester’s questionable attire and later chastised Fault Line for his musical selection. You just knew it was going to be a good morning at Fast Twitch.

The Thang

After delivering a Hops-approved disclaimer (yes, I do care about your personal safety), we were off to the cozy confines of Raintree. Mosey up Woodfox, take a left on Rounding Run and regroup at Rising Meadow for instructions.

  1. Run to the intersection of Windbluff and Raintree. Stop there for 10 merkins and 20 American hammers.
  2. Continue up Windbluff, stopping at Providence for 10 merkins and 20 American hammers.
  3. Run up Providence, stopping at Raintree for you guessed it, 10 merkins and 20 American hammers.
  4. Hang a right on Raintree and take it down to Rounding Run, stopping there for 10 merkins and 20 American hammers.
  5. Head back to SCMS and join the Run for Your Lifers on the track for a few laps.
  6. Flag down F3 Pax (thanks for the help Haze) and head to the bleachers between the baseball fields.
  7. Perform 30 dips, run up the stairs to Semi’s home away from home, run back to bleachers.
  8. Repeat #7 twice more.
  9. Swiper led Mary which included Freddie Mercury and over/under.

Naked Moleskin

As you probably deduced from the title of this back blast, today’s workout had a few decidedly non-Fast Twitch elements. That wasn’t by design, but rather a case of Qdrenaline resulting in temporary short-term memory loss. YHC was about halfway up the Providence Hill Suck Strava segment when I realized I had forgotten the first item on the Weinke. Yeah, we were supposed to run a triple nickel on Rising Meadow. Maybe next time. If you’re a glass half-full kind of guy, then you’ll appreciate the fact that without this miscue, you wouldn’t have been able to spend as much time with the RFYLers or experience a bit of Death Valley. Not much to report in the way of mumblechatter as YHC was leading from the Six this morning. I’m sure all you faster guys have some hilarious stories to share in the comments.

Announcements – The new website,f3southcharlotte.com, is live. Post all BBs here going forward. Reminder: select A51 Region when tagging your workout. Area 51 is a Saturday workout.

Thanks to LaRonda for taking us out and thanks to Rachel and Purple Haze for the opportunity to Q the finest Running/Bootcamp workout in South Charlotte.

 

 

When the Q Rolls in Hot

19 Pax made the Monday morning trek to South Charlotte MS for Basecamp and awaited the arrival of their sherpa, who rolled in hot at 05:29:30.

The Thang

Thorough disclaimer following Mermaid’s template that included the word safety three times. Mosey to the track for a warm-up lap, then pause to deliver instructions for Four Curves.

AYG on straightaways stopping at each curve on the track for the following exercises:

1st curve: 20 merkins

2nd curve: 20 v-ups

3rd curve: 20 diamond merkins

4th curve: 20 jump squats

Complete another lap performing the same exercises at the curves, AYG on straightaways.

Mosey to bleachers between baseball fields for partner work. Partner 1 runs on sidewalk to top of stairs and back while partner 2 performs called exercise.

Round 1: AMRAP dips

Round 2: AMRAP supine pull-ups

Round 3 AMRAP step-ups

Repeato.

Mosey to parking lot entrance/exit at Strawberry Lane. AYG on Strawberry, stopping at each speed bump for 10 merkins and 10 LBCs. Turn around after reaching the last speed bump or the intersection of Strawberry and Rosecliff, and head back to launch point, stopping for 10 merkins and 10 LBCs at each speed bump.

2 MOM: flutter x 15 and dolly x 15.

No announcements this morning, and we wrapped things up with a fantastic takeout by Jello.

Naked Moleskine

YHC arrived just in the nick of time for my first Q and first post at Base Camp. Hopefully the Pax weren’t too worried about the possibility of a no-show. There were more red lights than usual. Fine group of Pax at Base Camp, some familiar faces, and some new ones, including two 19 year olds, Drago and Bestie (would they be considered Hate-Hate-Hates according to the lexicon?) Kudos to the two of you for getting up before dawn during the summer to post to an F3 workout. When YHC was 19, waking up before noon was a major accomplishment. Hopefully everyone got their money’s worth this morning. The idea was to mix in some exercises with a fair amount of running and keep everyone moving. The weinke called for a triple nickel, but YHC audibled to 10 merkins/10 LBCs on Strawberry due to poor clock management. We’ll hit that triple nickel next time.

Knight Rider and his partner (sorry, can’t recall his name) were out front all morning, followed by strong performances from Hannibal, Margo, Drago, and Bestie, just to name a few. We hit one mile on the Garmin about 15 minutes into the workout, which is an unofficial record for Base Camp according to Drano. Quality mumblechatter throughout the morning, including a brief discussion on the merits of step-ups vs. jump-ups. YHC believes jump-ups should only be performed in areas with grass or dirt landing zones. Simba had an appointment at the offices of Semi Gloss & Co.

Thanks to Drano for the invitation to Q; missed Goonie this morning but looking forward to his Mountain Goat Q this Friday.

Special shout out to Wingman for his behind-the-scenes work on the new f3southcharlotte website, and his tireless dedication running the Comz channels for us.

SYITG

 

Baker’s Dozen 5k

13 PAX took advantage of an uncharacteristically cool June morning to undertake another journey to The Matrix.

The Thang

Quick mosey to the parking lot in front of school for an abbreviated COP: SSH X 15, LSS X 11. Too much running on the weinke, no time for standing around in a circle.

Exit the parking lot and head west on McKee, turn left on Knox, right on Helena Park, stop at the bottom of Karras Commons. 7s on Karras Commons Way starting with 1 burpee at the bottom, 6 jump squats at the top, working our way to 6 burpees at the bottom and 1 jump squat up top. Regroup and run back to the AO, stopping at the rock pile near the McKee Rd. sidewalk and futbol fields. Instructions were to partner up and choose one lifting rock per set of partners. Run to the track with your lifting rock in tow. YHC heard a few moans and groans about running with lifting rocks. Just wanted to give the PAX an opportunity to push themselves a bit harder than they were expecting.

Once at the track, P1 performs called exercise while P2 runs one lap. Flapjack until partners reach cumulative total reps for each exercise.

Round 1 – overhead press x 150

Round 2 – curl x 150

Round 3 – flutter press x 100

Return rocks to the rock pile, then mosey to the playground for 10 pull-ups, 20 derkins, 30 dips followed by one lap around the school. There were about 40 seconds on the clock after finishing this sequence, and the PAX were awarded that time as free play. During free play, YHC observed a few PAX in some sort of surfing/squatting maneuver on the bouncy bench (probably not the real name for that piece of equipment). Orange Whip did a few hundred one-fingered pull ups. Smokey with the strong take out in COT.

Nekkid Moleskine

  • We were blessed with an awesome morning today. A most welcome break from the heat and humidity.
  • The goal of this workout was to break the three-mile mark. It’s BRR training season and all that, plus running conditions were excellent this morning. We totaled between 3.1 – 3.4 miles. Well done men!
  • Strong efforts by all today, with the Larry Birds of the bunch being Orange Whip, LaRonda, and Square Root.

Announcements

Ground Level

12 Pax entered the muggy Gloom of South Charlotte and left having endured an hour of tough interval work.

The Thang

After disclaiming the Pax, we set out at a moderate mosey pace on Woodfox to Rounding Run. YHC had instructed the Pax to run the Rounding Run loop in a clockwise direction, but upon arriving at the start of the loop, YHC promptly turned right, or counterclockwise. Looks like YHC will be spending a portion of Father’s Day studying Clocks for Dummies. Or maybe the anticipation of seeing everyone’s favorite low rider, Ground Level, was just too great. After completing the warm up, the Pax regrouped on Strawberry for a bit of dynamic stretching (toes, heels, B-skips) before embarking on the main event.

5:00 @ interval pace, 4:00 recovery, rinse and repeat;

4:00 @ interval pace, 3:00 recovery, hey look at that, it’s 0609, head back to launch for name-o-rama and COT.

ΝΑΚΕΔ ΜΟΛΕΣΚΙΝΕ

  1. Strong work by everyone this morning putting forth maximum effort. Five minutes seems like forever at I-pace.
  2. It’s only the second bullet point, and YHC is running short of moleskine items. There was some lively Twitter banter about Tweetsie living the low rider lifestyle back in the day.
  3. Thanks for bringing soup and contributing to the Area 51 food drive to benefit the Calvary Food Pantry.

Announcements

  1. Goonie has the Q at Base Camp on Monday, June 19 to mark his 2 year F3 anniversary. He will be collecting donations for Speed for Need. He will be doing one burpee for every dollar collected at future Base Camp workouts. Full details here: Base Camp Pre-Blast: Burpees for those who can’t
  2. Anvil and Death Valley are converging at the Calvary Church AO on Wednesday, June 21. Dredd will join the Area 51 Pax for the workout from 0530-0615, followed by coffee and truth nuggets from 0630-0650. This is a great opportunity to meet and listen to one of F3’s co-founders and original Nantan.

 

The Ol’ Track Coach

14 PAX assembled at SCMS on a warm, humid morning to get faster and fitter.

The Thang

After a brief disclaimer, warm-up mile to the end of Strawberry Lane, turn around and head to the track.

Four rounds of dynamic stretching to ensure the leg muscles are firing properly.

1:00 intervals consisting of a 30 second mosey, 20 seconds at medium/hard pace, and a 10 second sprint. After completing five of the 1:00 sets, recovery mosey of 2:00. Repeato x 2 for a total of three rounds or 15 1:00 intervals.

Call an audible suggested by Coach Slim Fast. Instead of 800s as shown on the Weinke, head over to Rounding Run for some hill work.

Return to launch for stretching until the clock hits 0615.

Thanks to Insomniac for taking us out.

 

Goatskin

Another morning of quality work was recorded by the Mountain Goat PAX. Everyone was pushing hard and leaving their mark on the SCMS track and surrounding areas. Had a couple of quality sweaty shirt wrings after COT. The 30/20/10s don’t look hard on paper, but the second time through YHC was definitely feeling it, and the third round featured more surviving than thriving. Hopefully everyone enjoyed Slim Fast using his whistle to signal when to change gears during the 30/20/10s. YHC is fairly certain that Sensei was not a big fan, as his ears are probably still ringing from being in such close proximity to SF. The audible to finish with a trip to Rounding Run was a veteran move on SF’s part. Running hills on tired legs is good BRR training.

Joker continues to amaze YHC. He crushes every workout he attends while bringing great 2F and leadership. #A51GOAT

Don’t know if anyone else caught this, but we had a near-miss Tiger Rag flyby this morning. He was cruising up Woodfox as we left the lot for RR.

Announcements

Timed mile next Friday (May 26th) at Mountain Goat. This will be a great opportunity to set a PR and/or establish a baseline for training.

F3 Speed for Need read all about this charitable initiative being spearhead by JRR Tolkien and Nash (Metro). Thus far, nearly $17,500 has been raised to purchase specialized racing chairs. Please contribute in anyway you can.

CLT Craft Course is tomorrow, May 20th at 12:00PM. The course starts at NoDa Brewing Co and stops at five other breweries along the way. Sign up here CLT Craft Course to RSVP and consider making a donation to benefit the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation.

Run Slow to Run Fast

12 PAX started their Friday off on the right hoof foot for this week’s installment of Mountain Goat. We kicked things off with a mosey to the end of Strawberry Lane, switched to dynamic stretching, and then embarked on our journey through Bevington. We alternated between periods of hard running and recovery for the majority of the workout, working our way to Rea, 51, and back to Strawberry. The finale consisted of 3 x 200M AYG with equidistant recovery.

Naked Moleskin

  • Great work by everyone today trying something a bit different and less structured than you typically experience at Mountain Goat.
  • Tolkien was tapering for Savage Race, but that didn’t stop him from dusting everyone on the 200M sprints. It was truly a Usain Bolt-like performance.
  • YHC encountered Insomniac around 0550 after having not seen him the entire morning. He was a minute or so late arriving and searched in every direction for us, except for the one we actually went.
  • Great to see The Mouth back at MG just in time for BRR training season.
  • Drano established a new vertical leap PR avoiding a dead snake in the road. Or was it a stick?
  • Slim Fast sang a few lines from a Van Halen song.

Announcements

  •  JRR Tolkien is leading a new charitable initiative for F3Nation called SPEED-FOR-NEED. It involves pushing children with disabilities in specialized racing chairs to create an experience impossible by themselves due to their physical limitations. Please read the pre-blast linked below and contribute in one or more of the ways detailed in the pre-blast, including spreading the word about SPEED-FOR-NEED and providing financial support.
  • Mountain Goat has openings for both its 9-man and 12-man teams. Reach out to Slim Fast or Retread if you’re interested in joining.
  • Next Friday, May 19th: special guest Q.

 

Ebony, Ivory, and Rainman

7 determined and dedicated GoatPax braved Cantore’s foreboding forecast to become faster and stronger.

YHC kicked things off with a succinct disclaimer before departing the SCMS parking lot for a clockwise warm-up around the Rounding Run loop via Woodfox. We regrouped on Strawberry and proceeded to the main event, after a bit of dynamic stretching.

The Thang

0:30/0:30/1:00 intervals: 30 seconds at I(interval)-pace followed by 30 seconds of recovery; 30 seconds at I-pace, 30 seconds of recovery; 1:00 minute at I-pace, 1:00 minute recovery. We completed 4 full rounds and 2/3 of round 5. Final recovery run back to the lot for stretching and COT.

Moleskin

  • Solid, consistent work by all this morning. Everyone maintained their pace throughout the intervals.
  • Tweetsie keeps getting faster every week. Your hard work and discipline is paying off brother.
  • Lois crushed it as usual, despite a bit of nervousness about the Gamecock’s Final Four match up with Gonzaga tomorrow. YHC thinks we’re all pulling for a UNC vs. USC title game.
  • Insomniac and Beefeater arrived in their matching ebony and ivory Volvos and ran in perfect harmony. YHC observed a transfer of a large stack of one dollar bills between the two compadres at the end of the workout. #uptowncabaret #moneylaundering
  • Mr. Brady ground out some miles while battling a balky back. Way to persevere and post with us. #noshouldertouching
  • Slim Fast led the pack this morning, displaying his trademark Texas speed. He did so despite recovering from a soccer-related injury suffered earlier this week while scoring his eighth goal of the match on a bicycle kick. Much respect to SF for managing the Garmin and the Pax on these types of runs. He makes it look easier than it is. YHC has no idea how he does it when guiding Sensei. Great work!
  • As a result of YHC’s last two Mountain Goat Qs featuring wet weather, there was a movement underway to call YHC Rainman. YHC can’t argue this one. #judgewapner #imanexcellentdriver

Announcements

Thanks to Insomniac for taking us out!

Lightning, Rain, and Pain

10 PAX braved a stormy Friday morning to get stronger, faster, and fitter. And soaking wet.

NAKED MOLETHANG

We launched promptly at 0515 after YHC gave the veteran crew a mostly weather-related disclaimer with thunderstorms in the vicinity. At approximately 0517, the skies opened and drenched the PAX as we headed out for the counterclockwise Rounding Run warmup. The plan was to complete the loop and meet at the third road hump on Strawberry Lane. Things went well until YHC made a wrong turn at the corner of Rounding Run and Rounding Run and ended up running the loop again. YHC realized his #QFail after passing the extremely low #lowrider truck for the second time. No harm, no foul however, just an extra half-mile or so.

The PAX regrouped for 400 meter intervals on Strawberry for the rest of the rainy morning. We completed 5 rounds at R-pace with 400 meters of recovery in between. Joker beasted the intervals, setting a blistering pace with Marlin and Slice not far behind. YHC felt pretty good for the first 350 meters of each interval, but those last 50 meters hurt, in a good, mitochondria producing way. Strong work by everyone today, giving their all despite less than ideal conditions. Store this workout in your memory banks and retrieve it when you need a boost, when you’re struggling or not feeling 100%. Thanks to Tweetsie for taking us out.

Announcements

Richard Sheltra Memorial 10K/5K/1Mi Run April 29, 2017

Also on April 29 – Gethsemane Garden 5K to benefit orphanage in Kenya to help kids with HIV/AIDS.  GGCCKenya website.