Hobo Joe and the Greasy Spoon
6 guys showed up for the Madison themed AO that lets us visit the best sights, sounds and even smells of Downtown Matthews.
We encountered neighbors, bus stop people, pizza grease and even a hobo who we affectionately named “Homeless Guy”.
Very experienced, yet clever group so I did a disclaimer just to be sure I didn’t have to use my $1m umbrella policy on a Thursday. I’m saving it for something special – like a freak trampoline accident.
Headlamps up…
The Thang
Run to Brakeman’s coffee shop lot (corner one), and did a long lap over to W. Matthews St. and back up to downtown Matthews, ending back at Brakeman’s to show the route.
Round 1 – Corner 1 – Derkins (20), Corner 2 (Wide Arm), Corner 3 (Tight Grip), Corner 4 (Hand release or Diamond)
Round 2 – Corner 1 – Step ups (20), Corner 2 – Knee Tucks (20), Corner 3 – Sister MC (20), Corner 4 Cross Country Skier (20)
Pizza Peel
Took the PAX on a hot lap around our next route and had to motion to the “Homeless Guy” sleeping in the alleyway. I typically yell “car!”, “curb!”, but things get awkward when you have to let the PAX know not to step on somebody. We realized why he chose this spot, the smell of warm pizza grease from Pizza Peel could nurse anyone to sleep. Unfortunately I had to change my plan due to the infringement.
Partner up – 20 hand slap sit ups, both run stairs, 15 hand slap sit ups – both run stairs, 10 hand slap situps – both run stains
Old Town Matthews
Went to my house on Freemont St. where I had some coupons (pavers) lined up at the end of my driveway.
40 shoulder raises – run to the stop sign, 40 curls – run to the stop sign, 40 shoulder presses – run to stop sign
Greenway
Ran down roughly 1 mile – we had 11 minutes to get back so we scrapped most of my plans and ended back to the top lot at 5:14 to meet up with Peak 51.
Moleskine
PAX was strong here all morning with 5.25 miles in 60 minutes with a lot of stops included. Everyone kept pace with Madison leading the charge.
We got into a discussion about Arena’s name and how Wabbit was perfect. HH suggested Warena? This could be the very rare case where we let Arena decide what he wants to be called after 3 name changes. Apparently he was first called some dirty calculator name (?) which made my mind wander for the rest of the workout. TI-69? AlegeBras? Hard Division? XXX? BOOBS (ya know – 80085)?
What the heck was it!?!?
HH texted me the night before to make sure I had incorporated stops for “puke breaks”, he didn’t need it though
Wild Turkey was a Site FNG and pushed hard – especially up the hills – which seemed like most of the workout.
Wild Turkey also stepped on a pot hole that spewed out Pizza Grease – we could smell it the entire time we were running the stairs.
Madison has signed up for every race in the South if you’re looking to get more involved in races. Not sure if he does strength days anymore but he at least looks as strong as I’ve seen him.
Gypsy mentioned something like he wasn’t able to post on Sunday. Slacker. His last day after many years at Windstream is tomorrow – changing his life one event at a time – congrats!
This was my second 5:15am Q in the past two days so tomorrow is going to hurt.
Not only the fact that I can walk here from my house but this AO literally has endless opportunities. As much as I love Meathead, I think it’ll be my new Thursday since summer Meathead typically turns into my hands looking like rotting meat.
Fault Line has the Q at Kevlar tomorrow and he always brings the heat – make sure to come out tomorrow at 5:30 at Christ Covenant Church. Considering to re-start the 5:15 kettle bell warmup at Kevlar – any takers?
Out- Orange Whip
Throw Mama from the Q Jack Train!
YHC was pumped to do a VQ at a newish site to me. Thanks for the opportunity/voluntold Bottlecap. Luckily, yours truly has been tormented…….I mean lead around this area before for workouts. We even had an guest appearance for from eHarmony. In all we had a lucky 13 ready to rock, what could go wrong?
Warmup:
We started with a short mosey around the block. The disclaimer was given and instructions/information on proper form. We will do things at a good pace to concentrate on good form and not high numbers of reps. And of course, during my Q if I yell Shake N Bake it is 5 Burpees on your own. Bad form triggers a Shake N Bake for sure. Let’s circle up and get moving a little. It went as follows:
SSH: x20
Imperial Walker: x15
Low Slow Squats: x20 Back straight, shoulders back, head up, and squat down as if you are sitting down.
Mountain Climbers: x10
Potato Diggers: x10
Hey what’s that sound? Train coming! Burpees until it’s gone. Felt like 10 minutes, but was maybe only 5 minutes worth. After getting Q jacked by the train, decided to get started with the workout.
The Thang:
We took a quick mosey to the “short” wall. The first exercise was a partner workout. Partner ‘A’ does Derkins with their feet on the wall while Partner ‘B’ is the time keeper doing 20 squats. Flapjack when you are done. Next, Partner ‘A’ does wall/box jumps(Donkey Kicks were the modify) as the time keeper doing 10 in all while Partner ‘B’ holds the people’s chair position.
Now let’s head to the bottom of Keith Jong Hill. It went as follows:
- Sprint to the top of the hill, rolled dice and did the rolled exercise of 20 Inch Worm Merkins. (The Q was a little overzealous on the amount put on the die so I called an early stop seeing that is was a bit too much for some of the Pax)
- Run back down the hill. Next was 10 Diddle Merkins(I made them up, so I named them). Its merkins that mixes in regular Merkins and Diamond Merkins by shifting from Widearm Merkin stance to Diamond while alternating between the two in cadence. Yeah I know you don’t get it if you weren’t there.
- Back to the top of the hill and roll the dice. 20 Carolina Dry Docks
- Run back down the hill. Next was 10 Hurpees(Hand release Burpees). A little something Madison brought back from one of his trips and shared with us.
- Back to the top of the hill and roll the dice. 25 Freddie Mercury’s.
That was it for the hill work. Now time for some running. After turning the corner and checking on the PAX, I noticed running was not in the cards for everyone and needed to cancel the last half of what I had planned.
Next up, lunges from stop sign to stop sign. Plank up and wait for the 6. Now time for some curb work:
- 20 Dips on your own
- 10 Incline Merkins in cadence
- 20 Toe Tap LBC’s in cadence
- 20 toe raises on your own
- Hold a squat position by almost sitting on the curb, don’t let the cheeks touch. Three rounds with counts of 10, 15, and 20
Now let’s mosey back from whence we came. One the mosey back we performed High Knees, Karaoke(spelling) left and right.
Now for some stretching so we can all work today with minimal pain:
- Legs shoulder width apart, bend at the waist and extend down as far as you can go. Each time you exhale, go a little deeper.
- Right leg over left, bend at the waist and extend down as far as you can go. Each time you exhale, go a little deeper. Flapjack and repeato.
- Right arm extended in front while the left arm comes around to stretch your right arm in from of you while keeping your body square. Flapjack and repeato.
- TIME!
Moleskin:
In the excitement of being on Q and “bringing the pain” we sometimes concentrate more on quantity than quality. It doesn’t take much to give a good “beat down” but it also doesn’t take much to get hurt. I made jokes about it, but having good form is important in the effort of not getting hurt. Stretching and performing exercises in good form is key. When we are leading we must make sure that we aren’t rushing counts/cadences or setting the speed at a pace that the PAX cannot follow in proper form. I was guilty of this twice today. I caught myself both times by paying attention to the PAX.
This is the same in our daily lives. Keep your eyes on your Family, Friends, and co-workers. We are in this together like it or not. Don’t just go through the motions of the day rushing through things just to get done. Take your time and make sure you are taking the proper steps to not only your goals, but the goals of your family or team. By keeping an eye on those that are leading you and following you, you make everyone including yourself better, safer, smarter, and prepared.
That’s enough of that babble. It was a honor leading you guys this morning.
Announcements:
F3 pool party June 8th. Sign up now to reserve your spot so they know how much food/drink to supply. You can pay when you get to the pool if you cannot find the link to pay. It will be at Lawson’s pool.
Shake N Bake, OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Davie, Davie… King of the wild…
Have you ever had one of those morning when everything was going perfect and then…. DOH!
I roll up to Death Valley, seven pax, and no Q.
Well, an appropriate bitter and resentful disclaimer was given.
20 x Side straddle hop
20 x Imperial Walker
10 x Merkin
(and I am still bitter)
Off we go to the meat and potatoes workout alternative for Death Valley – good ole William R. Davie Park.
After a brief stop in front of the preschool for 20 x LBCs, we all mosey to the the rock pile.
The thang
We paired up. Each pair chose a lifting rock.
Partner 1 began 200 cumulative curls while partner 2 ran a lap around the island (rinse and repeat till done)
Next
Partner 1 began 200 cumulative shoulder presses while partner 2 ran a lap around the island (rinse and repeat till done)
Next
Partner 1 began 200 cumulative merkins on rock while partner 2 ran a lap around the island (rinse and repeat till done)
Next… mosey over to play ground and…
Partner 1 began 100 cumulative pull ups while partner 2 ran a lap around the island (rinse and repeat till done)
Next
Partner 1 began 200 dips while partner 2 ran a lap around the island (rinse and repeat till done)
Did I mention I am still bitter!
We ran back to launch and did a burpee at every light poll.
Moly, Moly, Moly (Austin Powers)
Funky Cold barely arrived before Floor Slapper. As both pulled in I thought they were the aforementioned missing Q. Floor Slapper blamed his tardiness on the long light at the Arboretum. My bitter guess was that it was a long snooze before the light. My bitterness increased! Said bitterness did subside as Chin Music brought me up to speed (did you see what I did there) with his training to run a sub 5 minute mile. In the last month of training, he has been able to shave 15 seconds off a mile. It is unbelievable to me the type of goals Chin sets. One thing is for certain we will all laugh about them in the sweet by and by… and his goals may get him there before the rest of us!
Always good to listen to and work out with Puddin’ he always has something good to offer. Haven’t seen Jet Fuel in a long time. He was cranking this morning and was complementary of the beatdown. Also, good to see Tackling Dummy and Harley at the Valley. They are staples at Skunk.
Complete Game!
16 men gathered in the gloom for another Hannibal beat down. At some point, Bugeater joined us and we became 17 and better for it. Also, a decent number of new faces, mixed with some old timers made it a fun crowd.
Brief disclaimer (YHC was a bit grumpy – the longest short week ever) and we were off.
The Thang:
Mosey around the back of the school to the East parking lot. Normal Hannibal warm-up
- SSH x20
- IW x20
- Slow squats x20
- Mountain climbers x20
- Peter Parker/Parker Peter x10 (each)
Mosey back to launch by way of the front of the school
Main Event: 5 x 10 x 5 4 (5 stations for exercises, 10 reps each, 4 times)
- Station 1: Pull-ups on the playground
- Station 2: Dips on the benches on the East side of campus
- Station 3: Merkins in the front and center of school
- Station 4: Step-ups on the benches on the West side of campus
- Station 5: AYG around the short track
Mary while waiting for the 6 (various on-your-six exercises)
Mosey behind school to near the playground. Get in 3 main groups. Grinders from this point to the concession stand. Squats and Dollies at end points.
AYG back to Launch. Done.
Moleskin:
YHC might have his Q-card revoked after this one. Last night, Marge tweeted that YHC would be on a pitch count not to exceed 4 miles. Well, that lap around the school is ALWAYS further than I think it is, and at the beginning of the second lap of the main event, we had already broken a mile. With the threat of Marge going to the bullpen early, and with all of us sucking wind pretty good, YHC audibled the original 5 cycles down to 4. No one complained.
Really proud of everyone pushing through on that. Marge and Queen were killing it. Jet Fuel wasn’t far behind. We will all be better for it (though it may take us a few days). Mary while the six came in was a welcome break, even on the cheese-grater parking lot that is Olde Providence Elementary. The grinders at the end brought some good conversation among the PAX (which is when YHC noticed that Bugeater had shown up at some point during the workout).
All in, we did close to 3 miles without ever leaving the campus. Not bad. Great to see some new blood out there. Prayers specifically for Utah’s father and Jennings Palmer. Please lift these guys up today!
No other announcements. Pleasure to lead a fine crew.
The Angel is here
For about 3 weeks now Bernanke in his old age has mistakenly preblasted I was on Q at Thrive. Well, his wish finally came true… of course he didn’t show up to experience the satisfaction of said Q.
Oh well, lets mosey! A quick #HairbandMile to get the blood flowing ending in a different spot than usual for COP just to be different.
COP:
Side Straddle Hops X 25
Imperial Walkers X 25
Low Slow Squats X 20
Some random #Mumblechatter was in there, a few short jokes I think but they probably went over my head. #OwnIt
Lets mosey!
The THANG:
Grouped up at the road with instructions… You know the Beast, run stopping at 6 stations, 6 reps of called exercise at each stop then run back to the starting point and regroup.
Well,The Bible says 7 is the perfect number so we will use the trees as markers and there are 7 of them ahead of us and 7 reps at each. Beast? No, Angel… or Angel of death?
Here are the exercises for the Angel:
- Merkins
- Monkey Humpers – while it is still dark
- Squats
- Jump Squats – #Crowdpleaser after squats
- WWII Sit ups
- Rockhoppers
- Burpees (Start at 1 and add a rep at each stop)
Mosey over to the picnic tables for:
20 step ups (20 times off the ground)
15 Carolina Dry Docks
Run to Carolina Courts building and back
Repeato until time called.
Roughly 2MOM:
Flutter x 25
Rosalita x 20ish
Maybe something else I can’t remember a the moment.
DONE!
Ye Olde Moleskine:
As we were waiting for the PAX to assemble I see an oddly familiar red car pull in… That looks like… Nah… Wait, it is Jabberwocky! #Tclaps for branching back out to add another post to your week!
During the Angel after the first round we regrouped doing LBCs while waiting on the six, thanks for the call out by Gypsy that we may be there for a while so I called an audible for us to run and pick up the six. We did the same for the second round, after that it was deemed we were all close enough and nobody would get lost so just move on to the next round as you get done.
Overall we were close to 2.5 miles which for one of my Qs is rare and surprised many PAX. #KeepThemGuessing
And Thurston correctly pointed out I had us hit basically every body part, summer is coming we need to impress our wives. #BeachBody
Solid work by all, guys pushed themselves and modifications made where needed. The growth continues when you come back and don’t need to modify like you did the last time and with this group the encouragement is always there to be better. #AlwaysPushedAlwaysPushing
A little PSA as we head into Summer, stay hydrated! It is really important and easier if you just make it a daily thing not just before a workout.
Thanks for the opportunity to lead, always an honor!
Aye!
Hair Band
Bro-lympic Team competition #WINNING
27 men came to stomp on and make fun of Participation Trophies at Dromedary on a 100% humidity morning. After YHC’s preblast called out all the competitors, I was interested to see who showed. Not To my surprise, there were only a few that took the morning off for good reasons. #DoctorsNote. Thanks to some brainstorming with Foundation the night before, YHC tried to implement some friendly competition into the workout.
WARMUP:
- Disclaimer given prior to launch about not suing F3
cuz we have no moneyor Marvin Ridgebut they are flush with cash - Short mosey to front of parking lot with 90’s Rap on the BoomBox #IceIceBaby
- SSH x 15
- Imperial Squawkers x 15
- Tempo Merkins x 10
- Mountain Climbers x 15
THE THANG:
- Mosey to back of parking lot where lots of weights await
- 7 different stations set up with 2 weights each . . . Heavier weights at first station and getting progressively lighter down to seventh station
- Weights consisted of 45lb buckets of sand, 45lb plates, 35lb dumbbells, 30lb kettlebells, Cinder blocks
- 4 PAX to 1 station and partner in teams of 2
- Team 1 does exercise while Team 2 runs around island at top of parking lot with weights
- Flapjack x 2 rounds
- Cumulative total of reps wins
- Winners move up a station and split partners
- Losers go down a station and split partners
- LET’S GET READY TO RUMMMMMMMMMMMMMBLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLE!
- Round 1: Handslap merkins
- Round 2: World War II situps
- Round 3: Partner jumps over planking partner
- Round 4: Burpees
- Round 5: Squats with weights (other team runs backwards up hill)
- Round 6: Derkins on planking partner
- Winners’ Rewards = Grab weights and mosey to my “FamilyTruckster
- COT for some Mary
- Heels to Heaven x 15
- Diamonds x 10
- Hourglass x 10
- Amy Grant x 10
- DONE!
MOLESKINE:
- Kudos to the group for being able to pull this off with
my usual poorminimal explanation - Thanks to the guys getting and returning the cinder blocks (Goodfella, The Grease Monkey, Rockwell, Run Flat, Halfback, Delta)
- Great to have some of the Cuthbertson crew venture away from the comfort zone (Hooch, Longhorn, Big 10, Foley, Duck Dad, Easy Button, Moneyball)
- Jingles was back to his usual SJT (Standard Jingles Time) after a few days of posting early
- Happy Birthday to 2.0 Tupperware (or is it Rubbermaid)
- Nice work by 2.0 Epsilon staying towards the top groups
- StubHub and Halfback are doing a great job pushing each other to post often . . . They are getting Fast
- Great to see Soft Pretzel pushing through an injury
- Shake n’ Bake and Boucher are country strong . . . and not slow either
- Das Boot and Bratwurst claim to be runners but didn’t see much issue with them running with those weights
- Hollywood and Dasher continue to set the pace . . . Way not to slow down so we can catch you
- Much respect for Johnny Utah for the effort each week (and for taking us out with an awesome prayer)
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
- F3 Pool Party Friday June 8th: Please find Signup Genius link on Slack and/or GroupMe or reach out to Soft Pretzel or Transporter for more details
- Please sign up so we know how much beer and pizza to get
- $40/family goes to benefit The Sandbox charity
- 8-10pm at Lawson neighborhood pool
- Shake ‘n Bake on Q at #TheFloater Thursday morning at 0530 in downtown Waxhaw
- Delta on Q next week at Dromedary
Honoring the fallen: F3 Nation Convergence + Patriot 5K BB
Photo Post “Extra Mile” BOM w/ TC Fred (Coast Guard 1952-1960″
H.E. remembers at convergence Starting off the Patriot 5K
- Event Video to follow courtesy of F3 GasHouse – HIPPA
(Posted on behalf of F3 – Little Mike)
Even the rain couldn’t keep approx. ~100 PAX from posting in the Gloom at Symphony Park for the 5th annual Memorial Day convergence. Checkpoint, Maverick, H.E. and Gnarly Goat had the Q and gathered two concentric COPs in the field that usually sees blankets and rumps for Pops in the Park. Today it saw the standard exercises, intermingled with extended planks, during which H.E. and Gnarly Goat shared stories of men with whom they served who gave their lives for their country. They told us the stories of their gallantry and they told us about them as men – very moving tributes and vivid descriptions of what others have been called to do on our behalf and how they gave so much so that we and others around the world could have what we sometimes take for granted. The planks were long and burned, but how could we complain or groan while we heard about the tribulations that these men so willingly endured.
H.E. remembered:
Sergeant George Ulloa, KIA 8/3/2006
Staff Sergeant Dwayne Williams, KIA 8/24/2006
Lance Corporal Billy Koprince, KIA 12/27/2006
Lieutenant Colonel Chris Raible, KIA 9/15/2012
and Gnarly Goat remembered:
Lt. Tristram Farmer
LCDR Bob Elsworth
PFC Abbie Leazer.
Wiping away collective tears, the PAX broke into four groups that took over the SouthPark AO, returning to a giant COT across from Coca Cola HQ, where the traditional COT was replaced by a callout of those we were remembering on that day.
After COT, many of those present posted for the Patriot Military Family Foundation 5k, where SPEED FOR NEED launched the race with Korean War Veteran Fred Peterson (Coast Guard, 1952-1960) in the orange Racing Chair. Italian Job gave us a recap about his experience driving Fred with the Team:
“Today we ran as an honor to and in remembrance of the men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice so we can enjoy our freedoms today. We acknowledge that all gave some and some gave all. It was a privilege to honor our fallen heroes by pushing our new friend and Korean Conflict Veteran, Fred. I cannot think of a more fitting way to spend the morning than sharing fellowship and camaraderie with the men I consider my brothers.
Fred was a trooper, riding strong as the Chair Commander being pushed by men of all service branches. It brought a tear to my eye and a smile to my face to see him grin as General David Guyton pushed his chariot at what seemed like Mach 2. It warmed my heart to see men, women, and children smile and clap as the flags flew high and Fred sped by. Thank you Speed for Need for the opportunity to push the chariots in honor of our fallen soldiers.”
-Italian Job
The PAX showed F3Strong again for the Go the Extra Mile – with shovel flags at the head of the phalanx of runners making an Extra Mile loop in honor of those service members who went and continue to go the Extra Mile in service to us and our country.
And while we went (about) an Extra Mile after a full morning of a beat down, it was so small compared to what others have sacrificed. After the race, I got an email with a devotion from Chuck Colson about Memorial Day – examining the movie Saving Private Ryan and the immense sacrifice that its story represented:
The film Saving Private Ryan opens with a harrowingly realistic reenactment of the D-Day invasion of Normandy. We see the action through the eyes of Captain John Miller, played by Tom Hanks. Following D-Day, Hanks learns that he is to lead a search party to find a certain Private Ryan, whose three brothers have just been killed in action. The last living son is to be sent home to his grieving mother.
No sooner do Miller and his party begin their search for Ryan behind German lines than we see a Pandora’s box of moral questions opened: Why are all these men risking their lives to save one man? Don’t they have mothers too? Are they just pawns in some cynical public relations maneuver by the Pentagon?
As first one and then another of the soldiers in the rescue party are killed, the questioning intensifies. After all, just how much is one man’s life worth?
The answer comes in a stunning scene at the end of the film. It’s now fifty years later, and Private Ryan is visiting Captain Miller’s grave. “I lived my life the best I could,” he says to Miller’s gravestone. “I hope in your eyes I’ve earned what you’ve done for me.”
But we can see that he has gnawing doubts. Clearly distraught, Ryan turns to his wife: “Tell me I’ve led a good life,” he implores. “Tell me I’m a good man.”
“You are,” she answers him.
But the answer is not convincing. How could it be? Behind Ryan’s question is the inescapable reality that however good we are and however much we have accomplished, we can never repay such a debt. How could we? We have to admit with humility that we cannot: We can only express our gratitude. In fact, columnist George Will has called the film “a summons to gratitude” for the generation that died so we might live.
The parallel to the gospel is powerful: God himself gave his Son’s life that we might live.
Are you grateful for the price Christ paid for you? How do you express that gratitude?
-Little Mike
The Long Way
10 pax avoided the fart sack and posted on this gloriously moist morning.
The Thang
We warmed up – light yog, couple rounds of swings x 20, merkins, IW’s.
CMIYC around the church with your partner – Partner 1 carries both bells, Partner 2 10 diamond merkins
We finished that wonderful lap and reconvened over at the tennis pavilion aka Hot Yoga Studio
Complete 3 rounds and run down yonder and back – 20 one armed swings, 15 push press, 10 snatches
Complete 2 rounds and run down yonder and back – 20 merkins on bell, 15 high pulls, 10 lawn mowers
CMIYC back around the church going to opposite direction – crowd pleaser
COP – stomache’ exercises with a few rounds of swings
Done
Moleskine
Not sure how it happens that YHC doesn’t Q for months and then gets 2 Q’s in 4 days, at the same AO. Pretty sure those who made it both Friday and today got their $$$ worth. See you guys again in a few months.
It was unbearably moist today. Very thankful that none of us had to see Gloss this morning. That shirt would have been off during the warm up.
Chatter was minimal – it was almost as if everyone was saving their energy for the last CMIYC lap. Those were brutal. Forearms were gassed which hasn’t happened to YHC since high school :-/
You know what? This is all I got. I’m tired and this is work for me. My creative juices only flow once per week, not twice in 4 days. Ask my …nevermind.
Announcements
NONE
The Journeyman AO Challenge: Preblast
Here is a challenge where size and speed do not matter, and where only inner strength, determination to beat the fart sack and the ability to set an alarm clock and follow Waze directions will help you.
With the dog days of summer approaching, the challenge is on to keep pushing towards your fitness goals while mixing up the scenery a bit. The Journeyman AO Challenge will kick-off this coming Friday, June 1st running thru Saturday, July 28th.
The challenge is simple; hit as many of the SOBland AO’s between June 1st – July 28th. Official 2018 Journeyman AO Challenge Dog Tags awarded to those hitting ALL AO’s.
We will be using a Googledoc (link below) to keep track. Simply enter in your F3 name and keep track of your attendance at each AO by entering the date that you attended that AO. You can reference my row (General_) as an example.
The Journeyman AO Challenge Google Doc
Get out and post!
-General_