The Eighth Amendment

The Eighth Amendment

19 months ago, 13 unlikely heros achieved the unthinkable by scaling all seven Ballantyne parking decks in a single 1-hr #F3TheBrave workout.  After that feat, Bissell, sensing the SOB’s were ready for an even more colossal challenge, went ahead and (mostly) built another deck (the eight); this one the biggest and baddest of them all.  Here lies the story of how 18 men from 4 regions authored the Eight Amendment.

Now, the Eight Amendment of the United States Constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, but that most definitely does not apply here.  YHC is referring to the eight parking deck that Bissell has constructed on N. Community House Rd. (#1 in below pic) since our last epic adventure in November of 2015.  Truth be told, it is still under construction as evidenced by the construction workers that were arriving to work as we arrived… to work.  YHC has had his eye on this project ever since ground was broken last year, watching as it slowly inched toward the sky and waiting patiently for the day that it was complete “enough” for us to exploit its ultimately EIGHT levels of goodness.  As we now know, that day was Friday, June 9th 2017.  It was clear to YHC that a deck of this caliber (a full three levels bigger than every other Bally deck) needed a name, one commensurate with its badassery.  Leading the maiden voyage, YHC had the privilege of doing the naming.  After much though, it was christened #Room101, a reference to Orwell’s book ‘1984’.  “You asked me once,” said O’Brien, “what was in Room 101. I told you that you knew the answer already. Everyone knows it. The thing that is in Room 101 is the worst thing in the world.”  ‘Nuff said.

The Thang

Huddle up at The Vine at 0515 to quickly lay down the challenge and provide blueprint.  The basic framework is to run up the ramps of each deck, performing a called exercise at the top of each ramp.  A different Q was tapped for each deck ahead of time.  Muscle-up and over the wall that is just after the top ramp on 7 out of the 8 decks.  Stairs back down after reaching the top, then on to the next deck.  In an effort to create pace equilibrium within each deck, exercise reps were assigned in an inverse relationship to each man’s current 1-mile race pace.  Less than 6 minutes = 7 reps.  Between 6 and 6:30 minutes = 5 reps.  Greater than 6:30 minutes = 3 reps.  And, we’re off.  Disclaimer: forgot.  COP: nope.

Lots of ground to cover in 1 hour, so take the most direct route to #Room101 through the golf course (actual route from Wingman’s Strava below).  Thanks to a couple fellas for the headlamp assist.  Box jump up 7 consecutive retaining walls on hill behind destination #1.  Ignore construction workers and enter #Room101 through side door accurately labeled with a Room 101 sign.

From there we followed the plan and it went off without a hitch.  Here’s a summary of who Q’d each deck, and what type of exercises they called:

Deck 1 (#Room101): Tuck / 8 levels / Mary

Deck 2: Argonaut / 4 levels / Squats

Deck 3: Bunker / 4 levels / Merkins

Deck 4 (Met Life Building): Thin Mint / 5 levels / Jumps

Deck 5 (Woodward Building): Mr. Bean / 5 levels / Plank-based

Deck 6 (Harris Building): Wingman / 5 levels / Lunges

Deck 7 (Premier Building): Mario / 5 levels / Mary

Deck 8 (Ballantyne Village): Fire Hazard / 5 levels / Burpees

Arrive back at The Vine at 6:17.  Close enough!  Mission Accomplished.  All in all 8 decks were smashed and 10k traveled with 479 feet of elevation change. Your move, Bissell.

Eight Notes

YHC loves it when a plan comes together, especially one this ambitious.  This was truly a team effort.  We stayed together the entire time and encouraged each other along the way.  Feeling very grateful for these men so here are a bunch of thank you’s and T-claps (and one apology).

T-claps to Argonaut, Tolkien, Joe Schmo, Thin Mint and Reborn for a multi-mile pre-run.

Thanks to the seven Q’s that helped out with this one.  YHC was able to enjoy the workout more without having to remember 33 exercises.

T-claps to Mr. Bean, Pop Tart, Wingman and Fire Hazard for posting at both the original triumph back in 2015 and this latest one.  You guys rule.

My apologies to those guys that were a little uncomfortable w/ the pics/videos that YHC was taking along the way.  The plan was to try something new and make a promotional video to get the word out about #F3TheBrave (YHC’s favorite workout in all the land).  Mission accomplished on that as well, but post-workout it became clear to YHC that some guys would have preferred a more anonymous / undocumented experience. Didn’t anticipate that reaction and YHC feels bad if some PAX were unhappy during the workout.

Thanks to Mario, Fire Hazard and Thin Mint for the opportunity and honor of leading this fine group of men.

Thank you Tolkien for the take out.

Announcements

Chopper VQ at #F3daVinci this Saturday 6/15! (Blakeney Chik-fil-A / 0630)

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