On a beautiful morning in Downtown Matthews, nine Pax gathered to begin their journey. They would soon be joined by one……
Here’s what we did:
FIN
Moleskine
A good crowd out today for a good beatdown. The burpees on Corner #3 really helped to bring the pain for everyone.
Hot Corner joined us for his first site visit- Apparently F3 Mint Hill was trying to get in touch with their feelings or stretch or something and he wasn’t having any of it. He was out front steadily pacing us- and also loved the four corners so much, he went back for more. Glad to have you out, hope this is not your last visit to Peak.
Spammer also showed up for the first time! He’s become a consistent presence at Mountain Goat on Fridays (5:15 at South Charlotte Middle) and he decided to stretch his wings and fly onto bootcamp workouts. A lot less running today, with a lot more burpees.
Smokey and South Paw were out front leading the pack as usual. South Paw’s got the stride of an antelope- which helps trying to keep up with the force of nature that is Smokey.
Gullah and Beaver were looking strong the whole way. I hope to one day grow up to be as cool as Beaver- I would say the same about Gullah, but he roots for GA Southern, and that’s just gross.
I also have a confession- Safelite didn’t sleep in the gazebo. But upon arriving fashionably late, he proceeded to run around downtown Matthews until he found us (dedication!). Next time we’ll hide for the first 20 minutes so he ends up running around for 3-4 miles, and eventually has to link up with the Sparta guys.
Slim Fast and Sensei were there as well, talking through how to fix America’s broken political system, or determining the theological implications of different kinds of BBQ- or something.
Prayer Requests
Continue to pray for Slim’s buddy Chris who is continuing to recover from a stroke. He has made good progress but still has a long way to go.
Thanks Sensei and DAS BOOT (Lois) for letting me lead- always a pleasure to be in the Gloom!
On a freezing cold morning in South Charlotte, Nine Brave Pax made there way to Gumby. Here’s what we got into:
Warm up
The main thing
Announcements
F3 Dads this Sunday- This Sunday at 3pm Polo Ridge Elementary school 11830 Tom Short Rd, Charlotte, NC 28277. Bring the kids, and bikes hover boards and whatever else!
Chopper is on Q next week!
Moleskine
A great group of regulars this morning on what was a cold day. Most folks seemed to wimp out on the pre-run with the exception of two brave souls (Tclaps Julep and Jello).
The flow was a classic one- that’s been used before seemed everyone’s IT bands were hurtin, as there were early calls for Pigeon (especially Beaver- he got REALLY into Pigeon today).
Music today was classics from the 1990s- everyone seemed to be into it, especially when we hit Wonderwall. Also food for thought- with the Turn of the decade the 1990 is the same distance away as 2050 is (what???)
Thanks again guys for the opportunity to lead!
On a beautiful Thursday morning, where it was almost chilly, 7 men moseyed on down to Matthews Elementary to see what trouble we could get in. Here’s what we did:
Mosey to the angled parking lot
30X SSH
30XIW
15X LSS
15X Windmill
Mosey to the parking lot by the Farmer’s Market
30X Hillbilly
Mosey to Pizza Peel
30 LBCs OYO
Mosey to the Library
The Main Event
Partner up. Partner 1 is the “Nomad”- they begin some type of moving exercise around the Library Circle. Partner 2 does a called stationary exercise for 30 reps. Once done, Partner 2 meets Partner 1 and they run the Library circle and Flapjack
Round 1:
Partner 1- Lunges
Partner 2- 30 X Squats
Round 2:
Partner 1- Inchworm
Partner 2- 30 x Merkins
Round 3:
Partner 1- Bear Crawl
Partner 2- 30 X CDD
Round 4:
Partner 1- Backwards Run
Partner 2- 30 x LBC
Done with the Main Event
Mosey to the Pizza Peel- and use their benches for:
10 Decline Merkins
20 Step ups (10 Each Leg)
30 Dips
Head back to launch for some Mary and done!
Moleskine
After a long wait, I am officially a 30 year old! And the boys let me know it. Very talkative crowd today Lois and Sensei especially honed in on the hacking chest cough that I had to remind me I’m not a young man anymore (Great Example Site Qs….) Thumper and Sardine were out front looking strong all day- and I learned that Thumper has three daughters with the oldest getting ready to get her drivers license- that’ll be an adventure for sure!
Houdini looking strong, pushing along some guy that I didn’t know…. I think his name was Nomad? He’s finally come home- at least for this one workout. Thanks for showing up in honor of the Dirty 30 celebration.
There was a sighting of Slim Fast. but as soon as he saw me roll up with my intimidating weinke he vanished… or he might have had a meeting. You decide.
Thanks guys for allowing me to lead and for pushing me- as I leave my 20s behind and look towards a new decade, I’m struck again about how grateful I am for F3. Comparing where my health is currently vs where I was when I was at 25 I’m just blown away. Five years ago I would have never thought I’d run a half marathon. I would have never thought I’d have run through the mountains over a weekend and not died. But because of the men in the gloom- guys like Nomad, and SlimFast and Sensei who were pushing me- I’m moving into my 30s better off then I was five years ago. I’m grateful for each and everyone of you. See you in the gloom!
It was another beautiful day in Matthews for Peak 51. Here’s what we got into:
Run to the Parking lot
SSHX25
IWX25
Mountain CilmbersX25
Suicides- stop at each light post for an exercise
1st Round: 5 Merkins
2nd Round: 10 Squats
3rd Round- 3 Burpees
From here, mosey to the park, and partner up for some Dora
100 Merkins
200 Squats
300 LBCs
Mosey on back to the school to the wall
People’s chair with air presses
Time!
Moleskine
A pretty straightforward morning. I was initially hoping to travel out to the Matthews Library, but trying to keep up with Sensei and Slim during the pre run wiped me out- so we kept it pretty close.
Good to see Thumper back! He mentioned something about doing tennis or something late at night, so not coming to much F3 at the moment. Glad he could lay down the racket, and put on his big boy shorts again.
Rest of the crew was in good form- the mumble chatter slowly went away the further we got into it. Must have been the humidity- the F3 Dog days of summer are definitely back.
Thanks to Lois and Sensei for the opportunity to lead!
Tweetsie posting on behalf of Damn Gina:
It was a great morning in Matthews as 7 pax got together for a great stretch. Here is what we did:
Moleskine
This beautiful morning was my second Q and I made an attempt at refining and extending our stretches. I was super nervous during my first Q and I felt I moved too fast so today I made sure we held each pose for half a minute and the pacing felt much better. Everyone enjoyed the music the first time so I brought back Dusk to Dawn by Emancipator. Thank you again to all the pax for allowing me to lead them.
On another muggy day in South Charlotte, 5 PAX came to stretch out the kinks. Here’s how it went:
The main thing
Moleskine
So the job is straightforward for a Site Q-make sure someone is leading the workout and (in the case of the Gumby site Q) open and unlock the Scout Hut. I’ve figured out number 1, but this is the second straight time I’ve opened the door (but not unlocked) and left my keys in the scout hut with the door locked.
Thankfully the scouts are trusting, and I was able to find another way to sneak in- and it wasn’t the same way in that I had found the last time. Seriously, if you need somewhere at 2am to learn how to tie a Prusik Hitch (thanks Google), there will probably be a way to get into the scout hut.
Beaver was out here showing us how flexible he is. He looked like some type of circus acrobat the way he was touching his toes.
Madison in particular was feeling the not attending Gumby- mentioning how much flexibility he’s lost. Granted, he also just swam five miles, biked 56 and ran 42 for his triathlon he just completed (distances estimated). Kudos good sir!
Great to see Grave Dancer- the pain I saw in his face reflected the my own creaking joints, which was a comfort. But, when you are prerunning what seemed like 10 miles, that’s bound to happen.
Don’t sleep on ya boy Lois he’s showed up for the pre run, and posted a time showing he’s ready for the 3rd annual (since we started F3) Mountain Goat Timed Mile taking place on Friday. He’s gonna blow away his previous PR, and use the extra time to get some in some ‘Crootin for competitive Depth.
Thanks for coming out- appreciate the opportunity to lead!
On a (annoyingly) cold spring day, four brave souls made their way to Peak 51 in the heart of Area 51. Here’s what we got into:
Head towards the shopping center parking lot
SSH
Imperial Walkers
Mountain Climbers
7s- 1 Merkin, 6 LSS to start out with
Travel- stop by Mac’s Speed Shop to smell the BBQ, and end up at Cotton Gin Alley for some Hill Billy’s
Continue Traveling to Pizza Peel-then to the Pizza Peel
Partner up- Travel opposite directions, 10 hand slap merkins when you meet
Round 1: Run
Round 2: Lunge
Travel to Brakeman’s
Head inside to get warm, and grab some java
Head back outside and run (with said Java) back to launch
Done!
Moleskine
Upon arriving and realizing it was going to be a light crowd, I decided to emulate the great (and unfortunately now somewhat mythical) Drano and treat the PAX to some Brakeman’s- so all of today was geared towards getting us there.
The “Java run” with actual Java in hand was waaay too entertaining, and may make a return appearance sooner rather than later.
Great group of guys- initially it appeared to only be three, then BullWinkle three wheeled it into the parking lot at 5:31.
It was a little sketch today- apparently (sources after notified me) the 4th graders at Matthews Elementary were going on a trip- but that mean that parents had their kids in one of the parking lots that we use around 5:40. It was mass chaos- parents moving parking spaces for no good reason, kids just randomly appearing out of the gloom, all the while the bus didn’t come until the very end of the workout.
Thanks to Lois and Sensei for allowing me to Q- see you in the gloom! (yes you- it’s warm now so you should make a return appearance and stop slacking).
On another great Wednesday morning six PAX came down to the scout hut and stretched it out. Here’s how it went:
Devotion
Corpse Pose StartQ
Move From Corpse into Child’s Pose
TableTop for Cat Cow (5 Breaths)
Left Side Right Side
Plank
Left Arm High
Right Arm High
Six Inches- 10 Seconds
One Sun Salutation together
Then- Do Sun Salutation non stop for two minutes (Goal is to get warmed up-speed up even if that is needed)
Lizard- 45 Seconds Right
Hamstrings(Straighten out Leg) 45 Seconds
Lizard Quad- 45 Seconds
Right Side
Back to Mountain
Sun Salutation- Meet in Downward Dog
Right leg to the sky and Hold Three legged dog
Lizard flow- Left leg then right leg
One Sun Salutation- OYO
Repeat flow on other side
Sun Salutation Meet in downward Dog
Pigeon- Left Side then Right side 1 minute at least on each side
Depending on time- Tree for balance
Then on your Six
ButterFly
Reach for Toes- right leg then left leg then both
Pretzel stretch
Happy Baby
Corpse Pose
DONE
MoleSkine
Was a good group of the veterans today- which was great since I hadn’t been to Gumby about two months- they made the transition back easy.
Mumble chatter was light- Lois had some words about me traveling to Australia, but nothing crazy.
We did have all the lights on but decided to switch up the mood- hence stretching under the antler lights.
Enjoyed the opportunity to lead- appreciate you guys!
On quite a frigid morning, Five brave souls came out to Peak 51 to shake off the ice. Here’s how it went:
The Thang
Leave launch, and head to the FBC office parking lot
SSHx20
IWx20
Mountain Climbers X20
Mosey to the backside of the Hardware store
HillbilliesX20
Mosey to Pizza Peel- 10 Merkins
Mosey to the Matthews Library and partner up
Travel different directions around the circle and when you meet up- 10 hand slap Merkins
Round 1- Run
Round 2- Run
Round 3-Backwards Run
Round 4- Lunges
Leave the Library, and make a beeline for Stumptown Park
Switch (kindof?) partners for Dora- Partner 1 run the path in stumptown, 2 does the exercise:
60 Merkins
150 Squats
200 LBCs
Mosey back to launch, and hit the wall for some people’s chair, plus arm raises
20XLBCs
5 Burpees
Done!
Prayers-
Glass Joe’s Father in Law Passed- be in prayer for the Family
Continued recovery for Hoffa
Lobsta Roll- hip replacement
F3 guys on F3 mission- safe trip/travels
Moleskine
Man.. it was cold!
The type of cold that makes you unsure if anyone is going to show up. I should’ve known better, as we had a solid group of regulars show up.
Swiss Miss and Slim immediately began competing in the “who is the most layered up.” But the real winner was Lois, sporting his new Balaclava- which I learned is different than Baklava. You can eat a Baklava while wearing a Balaclava, even though it might be difficult- but you definitely don’t want to wear a Baklava and try to eat a Balaclava. It won’t work- or it will and just be really really messy.
In addition, Lois, regaled the story of Stone Cold’s continued calling of a ninja during Skunk works earlier in the week- which was proven true when 30 seconds after rallying with Sparta for COT all of a sudden you heard SC yell “NINJA” as loud as he could at Lois.
Things went smoothly until we hit the Library and I called for Partners. Lumber Jack and I immediately partnered up and were good to go. But for some reason, Slim, Sensei, Swiss Miss and Lois could not figure it out. I mean, there was going to be a mix up in groups, but they took like five minutes just trying to figure it out.
Going to Stumptown, complaints abounded (mainly from Slim Fast)- apparently we were not doing enough reps, while at the same time doing too may reps. Typical.
Speaking of which- kudos to Slim Fast and Sensei for pre running. It was the first times I’ve done an “angry pre run”- we ended up talking about the state of politics in America, and we shaved off all kinds of time off our mile pace #angryrun
Consensus of the group was not any crazy superbowl plans- though I did learn that Beantown Tavern is owned by a Patriots fan so it’s gonna be LIT. In case you need a spot to watch the big game.
Thanks to Sensei and Lois for the opportunity to lead in the winter Tundra- SYITG!
On a nippy morning in the southernmost tip of Mecklenburg County, 7 men decided to go run around town. Here’s what we did:
Start Running
Left out of Matthews Elemntary
Right onto Main Street- Stop at every Stop Sign to get some pain stations in. (SSH, IW, Merkins)
Right onto John Street, then cross over onto Ames Street- SQUATS pain station
Right onto E Matthews, Left onto Independence Parkway
Run downhill until you hit Target, take a right into the Parking Lot
Sevens- Jump Squats and Merkins
Once we were all done, gathered and left onto 51.
Left onto N Trade Street
Right onto Charles.
Left onto Ames.
Left on Main Street
Back to Matthews Elementary and finish!
Total around 5.5 Miles
MoleSkine
Let’s get it out of the way- it was cold. But perfect running weather- cold enough you want to get moving, warm enough that you’re not frozen once you do get moving.
In my mind, Sparta is one of the underrated workouts out there- A good mix of running with just enough bootcamp to make it interesting, right in the heart of the beautiful downtown Matthews.
Gypsy apparently had been promoting that I would provide a local, scenic tour of Matthews, however, I had already decided on the cold, coporate approach- heading to TARGET, by way of passing the Harris Teeter Coporate office, and the (I think) gears or sprockets office.
Great group out there- all cold (figuratively and literally) blooded veterans who know what’s up.
Christmas was out in the lead- but he’s so nice he didn’t open up the throttle on a couple of occasions because he in fact several times you could tell he was waitin on me. He got tired of that and disappeared from view once he opened it up on 51.
Gypsy wasn’t far behind but it took him a bit to get warmed up- he was still feeling the pain that is Skunkworks (only the biggest and the baddest show out there on Tuesday’s morning).
Full House was cranking it out today- fun story, while I was running one Monday with the legendary Slim Fast and Peak Q- guru, Sensei when all of a sudden he materialized in his car. So I learned he lives right down the road from Sensei, and is close to a couple of the other guys! Truly a small world.
Arena and Retread were coming on strong- both veteran runners who were knocking it out.
And of course, Joker who rated this Q highly- I was on his podium for one of the top 2 workouts he had been too in January! (he had only been to two, but we won’t talk about that).
All types of good mumble chatter, but can’t remember it all.
But on a serious note, right before I Q’d this morning, I listened to the Nations Podcast on runners’ safety, and tried to modify the workout as much as I could with the suggestions. Good news- it works. Keeping an eye on the 6, adding an additional bit to the disclaimer- it’s not hard to do. But even the little things can make an impact- especially as Q, where what you do sets the tone for the entire workout. Whether running, or bootcamp, or stretch, the key is we are all out there getting better- safely.
Thankful for these guys- thanks Madison and Gypsy for letting me lead!