Breathe Deep in the Gathering Gloom

Breathe Deep in the Gathering Gloom

Breathe deep the gathering gloom,
Watch lights fade from every room.
Bedsitter people look back and lament,
Another day’s useless energy spent.
Impassioned lovers wrestle as one,
Lonely man cries for love and has none.
New mother picks up and suckles her son,
Senior citizens wish they were young.
Cold hearted orb that rules the night,
Removes the colours from our sight.
Red is grey and yellow white.
But we decide which is right.
And which is an illusion?

Nothing like some lyrical magic from the Moody Blues to start things off; one of the Bands that Should be Erased from Rock History according to a random internet survey that I found this morning.

Other notables included:

• Styx
• Kansas
• Journey
• Asia
• Culture Club
• Air Supply
• Europe
• Huey Lewis and the News
• REO Speedwagon

While the above list is sure to foster much heated debate throughout the day, there was none about the intensity of butt whoopin that went down this morning as 11 men of unquestionable intestinal fortitude posted at foggy Chestnut Park for this weeks rendition of . . . The Thrive.

The Thang:

Simple in design, sinister in nature.  3 Rounds, all written out in chalk.

The Gear:

• Kettlebells ranging from 35 to 55lb, plus some #gumball toy kb that somebody snuck out of their center console when I wasn’t looking
• 60 lb sandbags made from Army duffles, filled with play sand and pool noodles
• 45lb plates for hairburners

We had enough gear to go around, so everyone just picked up the nearest object and got to work.  Switch gear when done until you finish the list in whatever order you please.  Run lap at the end.

Round 1:

• 50 KB swings
• 30 KB snatches
• 30 sandbag squats
• 20 sandbag ground to overhead press
• 2 hairburners – down and back between the curbs
• 1 lap around the property – 1/2 mile

Round 2:

• 30 KB lunges
• 40 KB high pulls
• sandbag run across lot and back
• 25 sandbag shoulder to shoulder press
• 2 hairburners – down and back between the curbs
• 1 lap around the property – 1/2 mile

Round 3:

• 15 KB Louganis
• 20 KB high clean and press
• 10 sandbag burpees
• 20 sandbag bent over rows
• 2 hairburners – down and back between the curbs
• 1 lap around the property – 1/2 mile

Mary:

• 20 LBC IC
• 5 Burpees
• 15 Flutters IC
• 5 Burpees

Done
The Thang:

It seems that if you try to please everyone by incorporating elements that certain individuals love into a workout plan, then you are sure to create something that everyone hates equally.  This one delivered big.  The gearheads hated the laps, the runners hated the sandbags, and everyone hated the hairburners.

Not sure how far everyone got, but I think we all made it into the third set.  I had just finished the third set of exercises (after vigorously crossing out the sandbag burpees on the pavement) but we did the Mary thing instead of running the third lap.

I haven’t sweated this much since I ran out of cash, fuel, and Stuckey’s Pecan Logs on my last Myrtle Beach road trip and had to make tough decisions.

Thanks to Alf for the continued usage of the plates.  Please take them away now.  The #fred.g.sanford walk should last me for the rest of the week after our Saturday adventure at Outland, two days of mountain biking, and today.

After logging thousands, even millions of running miles over the years, Hairband’s knee has finally thrown up the white flag of a torn meniscus.  He and Happy are looking to compete in the next Winter Olympics (or maybe it was the Shiloh Elementary Field Day, #qsmoke) on the three-legged race team.  We hope that he can recover soon and that the repairs are not too intensive.

It is said that Glass Joe somehow managed to drive his #hairburnermobile directly into a drainage grate and go #shinyhead first over onto the pavement.  Given that the parking lot at Chestnut is approximately 1000 square miles, it is very special that he somehow found this one obstacle and managed to run directly into it.  Unfortunately, I did not witness this firsthand.

Not a lot on the mumblechatter front this am, mostly just guys working hard (or hardly working) and enjoying the mysterious smell of the Pawn Shop Army Duffles and my sweet Rhapsody playlist (which did not include any of the above listed bands).

Announcements:

Glass Joe testing the waters on a Thursday UC run group.  Will be meeting at 5:15 this Thursday in Lake Park to test out some routes.  No Drop – all speeds welcome.

Horsehead