Posted on behalf of Drago (his VQ)
Nine men decided to see what Drago would attempt for his VQ. With Rappers Delight and Drago in the pax along with lower numbers (Ranger and site Q’s out of town), the average age plummeted all the way to 40 (Centurion has more Respects post most weeks than all other Area 51 Friday sites combined).
As we gather in the parking lot, Drago asks me before the start who Chelms is – uh, that would be me. Had to give the young guy a break – he was a little nervous for his first Q and the dude is only 20.
The Thang:
Brief warm up with SSH and Hill Climbers (they looked like Mtn Climbers but Drago called Hill Climbers).
Jog all the way over to to Palentine for the main event (we may have done some more warm up but I didn’t write it down and Drago didn’t give me the Weinke) – Bermuda triangle with 20 merkins at top of Palentine, 30 dips at the benches on other side of building and 1o burpees at street. Repeat 3 times. Next ran up and down Palentine 5 times and then a few minutes of Mary.
Jog back to the parking lot at the school. Run up to top via the long ramps and then some COP. Run down stairs and back to parking lot. Finish up with a few minutes of Ring of Fire (Cheddar had to be a smart ass and call burpees for his turn – Marconi was not happy with the up and downs when one pax calls mary exercise and the next calls something requiring us to get up).
Naked Moleskin:
Good start for Drago on his first Q. He came prepared with a plan and just needs to work on his cadence. YHC suggests all new Q’s to practice cadence at home before leading.
Fight club and The Brave converged at Centurion and we only had 10. I don’t think we will invite them anymore – drove our numbers down and not up. Frehley’s Comet looked like he was ready for some pound and ground work but Drago kept it to mostly running.
Rappers Delight heading overseas for 6 month deployment so please keep him in your prayers. He was appreciative of what F3 has done for him and said he was better prepared for the task ahead. We appreciate your service and sacrifice.
Announcements:
F3 Golf is 10/27 and we need more teams. Sign up at www.f3golf.com.
It’s been over 4 years (I think) since Madam Tussauds split off from Centurion and started The Brave. Lots of friendly kidding back and forth over the years. Sadly, it was my first trip down given my affection for the other Friday morning workout (and my complete distaste for 1 hour workout on a work day). Glad I finally made it down as the AO is awesome and the PAX push hard (even Paper Jam was keeping up this am). 11 men decided to take the DRP and post for my first Q at The Brave.
The Thang:
Fast mosey (some might even call it full run) out of lot and over to parking lot in front of golf pro shop across the street for COP. SSHX10, Merkins X10, Exploding Merkins X10, Jumping lunges X10 (lots of refusniks on this one).
Run up to the big parking deck next to Van Pelt’s office for some deck work. Round 1 – Backward run up ramps, merkins at each level (10 at 1 up to 40 at 4 = 100 total for those that need help with math, especially MT), and sprints on the flats. Round 2 – Sprint up the ramps, squats at each level (10 at 1 up to 40 at 4 – 100 total), and karaoke on the flats.
Run back past launch point and down to random office building for partner work. Partner 1 starts on exercises while partner 2 runs a lap and then flap jack. Team has to do combined 50 burpees, 100, merkins, and 150 squats (veteran Q move to audible from original call of 100, 200, 300 given time constraint).
Jog back to launch point for a few minutes of mary along with 10 imperial walkers and some merkins till the clock runs out.
Naked MS
Got in 4 miles with lots of merkins (or cherkins), burpees (or churpees), and squats and even few imperial walkers just for Mario. Other than Fire Hazard, crew must have been holding back because he was the only one I give Larry Bird to this am. I think Frasier walked the entire workout and still kept up with the pax. An hour with high humidity is awful, especially when Mario keeps asking why we are going so slow. I never leave Paper Jam behind (ok – I did once but we did go back to look for him) so maybe you need to get The Brave pax in better shape so they can keep up.
MT and Paper Jam still think I care about their heckling of my form. You can keep trying but I’m pretty stubborn. FYI – Van Pelt needs some of your “coaching” as well. He agreed with me that men our age have to prioritize how we use our testosterone (no supplements – yet).
Best wishes to Outback as he heads out West (good luck in the land of liberals). San Franciso has F3 workouts so we look forward to hearing about how it compares.
Great to have Jamboree out again. Glad he showed up one week early for the Kotter/FNG workout.
I screw up at least once every workout. Called protractor when I meant heels to heaven. Pax quickly corrected me #ISI #10,000 fails.
Great take out by Chelms – best takeout I ever heard.
Announcements:
Isabella Santos run on September 30, Ragner, many Speed for Need races, BRR, and F3 Golf all coming up. Easy to find information so no links posted but contact me if you are so technically challenged that you can’t find.
Chugging up some god awful hill during the Cuda run Chelms casually asks if I can Q Horsey Monday. Uh, sure, but shouldn’t somebody lead Horsey who can actually LEAD Horsey. Have you seen me out there??? I generally hang out mid-way to the back at best. Chelms quickly tells me he actually has two feelers out for other Qs and will only resort to me if he is totally desperate. Well, ok then. Can’t turn down an offer like that.
So, Sunday night and I am asking myself how I can lead this crew when I can’t see most of them during the workout. Hmmm…. “Lead from Behind” was a thing a few years back, right? Something out of Harvard Business School so it MUST be legit. That’s right, now I remember. Just a quick call up to Foggy Bottom and I should be set.
Me: Hello, I need Rex
Operator: Who?
Me: Rex! You know, the SECRETARY!
Operator: Sorry sir, he is a little busy right now. You have heard there are a few things going on right now right?
Me: Uh… yes, but this is important. I need to learn to Lead from Behind and I hear you are the guys to teach me.
Operator: Sorry sir, that is SO last administration. These days its all about MAGA!!!
Me: Hmmm… MAGA doesn’t really fit with my theme ma’am.
Operator: Well, how about America First?
Me: Well — -not really. These guys I work out with are all about being third or something like that.
Operator: THIRD!!!??? Our boss calls third the second loser.
Me: Yeah, well I don’t think he would quite get it. So, no more “Lead from Behind” experts up there anymore???
Operator: No.
Me: Alright, I’ll try elsewhere. Thanks for the effort and good luck with the world and all that.
Hang up the phone and hit the Bing search engine. Yes — Bing! Boycotting Google for obvious reasons. The utter uselessnes of Bing, however, completely disintegrates my principled stand. Back on “Don’t be Evil” bandwagon and quickly find what I am looking for.
Behold — the Alpha Stallion. Herds of horses (yes HORSES, what could be better?) are lead by an Alpha Stallion. And guess what? He leads them FROM BEHIND. Oh yeah. That works. The Alpha Stallion might even bite a beta horse or two just to keep them in line. So consider yourself lucky if I didn’t bite your beta horse self this morning. Seriously look this up and feel free to call me Alpha Stallion from now on.
Oh, and we ran 6-7 miles in a figure eight pattern. Boom!
That is all.
Spooky Jon (your Alpha Stallion)
Rolled up and saw management had blocked our normal parking spot so 14 men had to divert to the unpaved lot – Site Q’s Udder or Margo will wash your car if you drop by their house since they didn’t warn us. My new ride is all dusty.
Thinking back, the pre-tweet Thursday night mentioning pavers was probably a bad idea – only 14 men were man enough to show up knowing it was going to suck compared to our normal 25+. Mermaid wanted to know what was in the trunk of my car but he forgot we have pavers stored on site (this is an advanced AO). I should have pulled out the golf clubs and told the pax we would be working on chip shots down on the practice field but alas I stuck with the original plan and am regretting it now.
The Thang:
Mosey over to our usual parking lot for warm up. SSH X20, 5 burpees, Mtn Climbers X20, 10 burpees, Merkins X10, Stagger Right X10, Stagger Left X10, and 5 burpees
Grab a couple of pavers from the stash before heading up Little toward Carmel. Stop at Carmel for directions. Perform 20 squats at the start and 20 at the stop light at Carmel/51, and 20 at Carmel/Johnston while on the way to entrance to greenway. At greenway entrance, perform 25 pull ups with merkins in between sets (not a good idea – no rest for shoulders). A few minutes of mary while we wait on the six and then head back to campus. 20 squats at the Carmel/Johnston Rd intersection and than over to practice field.
Bent Jacobs ladder – Suicide run with 1-7 ladder of burpees at the starting line.
Mosey back to launch point to drop off pavers and finish with 6 minutes of mary.
Naked MS
Smaller than normal crowd but actually an ideal number. Maybe the site Q’s are more popular than I thought (hard to believe) and that is why the numbers were down.
One paver is not too bad as you can switch between hands and give each side a break. Centurion pax took 2 pavers and found out it is more than twice as hard. No rest for either arm while running over 2 miles. Strong work and the lack of complaining was refreshing (I would have complained if I weren’t the Q). Of course, Mermaid pulls a veteran move and ditches his before we even get out of the parking lot.
Shoe will get your F3 name right eventually – correctly called Lorax this am after calling him Swiper like the last 5 times they worked out together. However, I give Shoe credit for trying to learn guys names and not being afraid to fail (10,000 fails – read about it in Freed to Lead). We should all attempt to remember as many PAX names as possible. If an old man like Shoe can do it then surely the rest of us can.
Mermaid once again protected the pax – making sure the 6 was ok – T-claps. Bout Time was out front most of the morning followed closely by Lorax, Nemo, Rachel and maybe one more. Unfortunately, the pavers slowed me more down then the young guys – duh.
Dumpster Fire is running for office in Pineville – I think he only needs 5 votes to win so surely we can find 5 Pineville F3 pax (or dead people whose name we can use) to vote for him. #drainthePinevilleswamp
Announcements
Sign up for F3 golf to be held on October 27 at f3golf.com. Great way to have fun and support F3 Leap Expansion. As reminder, Centurion will once again sponsor a hole so please give donations to YHC, Margo, or Udder. Tee sponsorship is only $100 but hoping to raise double or triple that amount. Just a few dollars from every PAX that posts regularly will add up.
Isabella Santos 5k with Speed-for-Need is on 9/30/17 and we encourage PAX to sign up and run. These are great events and you will be glad you participated. See the full schedule at https://f3speedforneed.wordpress.com/speed-for-need-race-schedule/
Amrap for Autism is 8/26. See Scabby to for more information and https://www.isabellasantosfoundation.org/annual-5k-for-kids-cancer/
Thanks to Mermaid for the take out. Please keep his niece in our prayers as she battles illness.
5 men and 10 boys from the Bull Dogs Matters program spent another day at the USNWC (what a blessing we have for such a wonderful facility to be in our city). Although it rained for the first half, our prayers were answered and God gave us a break in the afternoon.
Here’s what we did:
Most of the boys had never been rafting so it was a new experience. Several were nervous but were strong enough to see thru their fear and join us Rafting without knowing how to swim can be intimidating. General Patton went over-board but stayed safe (although disappointed that he missed the Class 4 rapid on their last run). Rafting is great for teaching teamwork as the raft goes faster when everyone works together. The guides do a great job of organizing us and the boys at the front are given a chance to lead.
Days like this cover Fitness, Fellowship and Faith plus are 2.0 friendly (service hours in addition to seeing some #HIM’s in action). We can always use more “coaches” as the need is tremendous. Please contact me at pchepul@gmail.com or @pchepul on Twitter for more information. Also, for financial support, please send donations to the F3 Foundation and mark it as support for Bull Dogs Matters. AYE
Clock hits 5:15 and the rain is coming down on the toughest course in Charlotte so naturally only the toughest 15 hombres show up for the first installment of McHorsey 2017. Trophy winner on 8/28 will likely be someone that trains on this motherf#T%3er all summer.
The Thang:
We ran (no COP allowed – site rules state clearly). Straight to top of Yucca Succa and back to bottom (from the words of Horse Head, McHorsey co-founder – touch the man hole cover just like Chester). Next run the Mountainview/Wilby loop and then repeat as many times as you can before Pledge of Allegience at 6:08 (6:09 as we had to wait for some do gooders trying to get extra credit or don’t now how to set a watch). Head pack to parking lot for COT with mileage anywhere from 6 to 7.5 (roughly). Beauty of this is is that the rabbits can sprint all they want and we still have no man left behind.
Naked MS
Right out of the gate the confusion starts.
Checkpoint – “Chelms, did you tweet that we start at 5:00am?”
Me – “Nope”
Checkpoint – “I thought I was late”
Me – “Nope”
Guess Checkpoint supports #FakeNews
Without Horse Head, FW, Honey Bee recruiting for his BRR team, and a few other characters, there was a shortage of material this am. Writing this BB is my only job as Q today and writers block is setting in given no one wore ridiculous outfit, threw up (hard to believe or maybe I missed), or tangled with Chester. Even the guy walking his dog was no where to be found and the flag pole was not lit for us. Ann & Hope ran by it 4 times and still had to ask where we stop at 6:08 (or 6:09 – whatever).
No Chester siting and no Fishwrap or Margo, which means we still don’t know the answer to the Sasquatch mystery. There was a truck with the lights on during first lap so maybe Chester or his mom had to leave early for work. Since Prohibition has been riding my coat-tails since he agreed to Co-Q, I am goingt to assign him task of installing one of those cameras to catch Chester on film so we can solve the mystery. Spooky Jon even tried to lure him out (#dangerous) by taking off his shirt to get him out of the house/tool shed but it didn’t work. I think Stone Cold did notice (Spooky Jon and not Chester).
My BRR team totally fart sacked and left me to tow the line for all nine men. Having an old man carry the team, again, is not smart planning (especially since I already claimed the shortest legs). Guess they don’t mind finishing at 6pm on Saturday. Prohibition did claim scheduling conflict several weeks ago but I’m not sure where his priorities are since he had plenty of time to adjust his schedule. I understand EE and Glass Joe have to drive in from so far out in the country that it takes two tanks of gas and they don’t speak the same language as the rest of us (some cajun/creole/jive mix) but the rest are just lame.
I needed a telescope to see the leaders but looked like Federalist, Thin Slice, and Rachel were setting the pace with Turkey Leg, Checkpoint, Disney, and Black Jack not too far back. The best trophy in all of F3 will be up for grabs on 8/28 unless Fishwrap or his 2.0 has become too attached to relinquish. Given I’m partly named after a conservative (Jesse helms combined with Chapel Hill is Chelms), need to get the story on naming of Federalist. Lots of good stuff in those writings and the UNC Chapel Hill library may even have a copy.
Don’t know about the rest of the crew but YHC was not ready for the hills and the hills won this am. However, we have 12 more weeks so it’s not over until its over. Voodoo kept me company and we pushed thru this gloom. This workout starts with dread at 5:15 and ends with elation at 6:15 when done. Pushing our limits is why this site is so popular (except with my BRR team).
JRR Tolkein, the fighting Mongrel per Dredd, is up next Monday. The easy week is over and now the real Parade of Horrible’s starts.
As always, it was an honor to lead (from the six) this great group.
Announcements:
Collecting food for Calvary Baptist Church food pantry. Horsey site looking to collect cans of Tomato paste/sauce and/or 1 or 2 lb bag of rice. Please bring next Monday.
Also, consider signing up to volunteer first Sunday of every month to help with Church on the Street assisting in feeding those less fortunate. Stone Cold and I were there yesterday and it was a great experience – God VERY present on N. Tryon under the bridge at I-277.
F3 Dads is now in full swing on Saturday mornings in both Metro and Area 51. Check the web site for details.
Please continue to keep Slaughter in your prayers for continued recovery. Reminds us to be thankful for every day and to use our time wisely – never know when the Big Man up stairs might call us home.
Time to Giddy Up. 5:15am start on Monday in the gravel lot entrance to McAlpine off Sardis (south of Charlotte Christian Academy). Optional 8 mile pre-run from home with Fish Wrap
Horse Head and Tiger Rag invented this #summersuckfest but we were all better for it when the BRR rolled around last year. Prohibition and YHC will coordinate this year and we have a Q line up that only a deranged mother would love (6/12 – JRR Tolkein, 6/19 – Belly Itcher, 6/26 – Thin Slice, 7/3 – Prohibition, 7/10 – Bratwurst, 7/17 – Alf, 7/24 – Lee, 7/21 – Fish Wrap (aka Chester), 8/7 – Stinger, 8/14 – Rachel, 8/21 – Thin Mint, 8/28 – Ickey Shuffle). The real competition among the Q’s is to see who can write the best BB (the only real job for the Q). Prize to be awarded after Ickey BB posted on 8/28.
YHC will Q on Monday to ease into it, work out the kinks, check on Chester, and let the PAX get an idea of where they stand. From then on it will be a test to see how much better we can get before BRR rolls around and determine the FY17 champion on 8/28. Metro won year 1 so Area 51 under pressure to even the count (this means you Rachel, Fraiser, Thin Mint and probably a few new guys). Remember, show up at 5;00 am if you need COP because after 5:15 we only run.
Route – Mosey down Old Bell to bottom of Blue Ridge. Alternate the following as many times as possible until 6:08 with goal being to run faster each successive time so start at moderate pace.
Pledge of Allegiance at 6:08 at the flag (if its still there) at intersection of Blue Ridge and Mountainview.
Out
It’s hump day and 14 pax took a #DRP to get better. Mermaid was itchy for a Q jack, especially after the comprehensive disclaimer was out of the way, and Gummy started whining before the antenna flag was firmly affixed to my SUV.
The Thang:
Mosey over to other side of lot for quick COP. SSH X15 (no credit for Gummy), stagger right and left merkins, each X10, Parker Peters X15, Mtn Climbers X15, and slow lunges X15.
Line up for extended four corners with 10 of called exercise at each corner and bear crawls on the two shorter segments. Four rounds:
Mosey over to playground for some pull ups (trying to do pull ups as often as possible). Four rounds with 5 pull ups and 10 merkins each round.
Mosey over to rock pile and find a partner and one lifting rock per team. Partner 1 sprints down to end of lot and back (about 100 yds) and partner 2 does called exercise until partner 1 gets back for flap jack. Three rounds
Mosey back to rock pile to drop off rocks and lunge walk while we wait for six.
Mosey over to parking lot for a few minutes of mary. Flutter X15, Dolly X15, Rosalita X15. Due to harassment of Q regarding form, audible to sprints with hand release burpee ladder to run out the clock. The PAX can thank Gummy and Baracus for the switch from the relative comfort of six minutes of mary to the discomfort of sprints with hand release burpees.
Naked Moleskin
2nd Q in a row where my scheduling assistant (ie me) signed me up to Q the morning after an event the night before that involved adult beverages. I paced myself accordingly both times the evenign before and was able to avoid any Merlot (pale ale actually) spillage. However, it does increase the discomfort of an F3 workout, which is painful enough on a good nights sleep. The Wall gave me a nice complement by noting that he was afraid to show up for a Q where I had not been out the night before since last Friday when I Q’d Centurion was his first time out with me at the helm. Gummy and Baracus made sure that this did not go to my head and pointed out the many flaws of my Q.
During the partner work, Rachel asks me when to run since he doesn’t have a partner. Next, I look over and see Pre-school working on his own (he says it’s better that way since he can start running whenever he feels like it). I look at them with a WTF expression and they figure out they can partner up with each other. Guess I’ll have to spend extra time next Q making sure everyone pairs up.
I have a mental block when it comes to differentiating a dolly from a flutter (among many mental blocks – probably should just stop calling either one). Baracus and Gummy were happy to “educate” me on the difference. The pax were then “treated” to the hand release burpees because I’m to old to be “educated”.
Rachel and Mermaid were competing for Larry Bird award but I only give that to guys older then me. Lorax and Brilleaux were right behind with solid efforts. The rest of us did break a sweat.
Enjoyed the privilege of leading this am. I encourage every man to step up and Q or lead the PAX in prayer. F3 is about getting outside your comfort zone and growing. Q’ing or leading the PAX in prayer are both good ways to start. Plus, you can’t do it much worse me (making up the workout on the fly doesn’t help but that’s how I role).
T-claps to Lorax for taking us out.
Announcements
Contact Mermaid at F3mermaid@yahoo.com (not aol.com) for all the ways to get plugged into F3 communications (web site at www.F3nation.com, twitter, slack, facebook, linked in and probably 5 new Apps YHC never heard of).
Contact me at pchepul@gmail.com if interested in mentoring middle school kids that don’t have the support network we do.
Look out for Memorial Day convergence information on above mentioned communications channels.
Somewhere between 12-18 guys showed up to run (not my job to count or write them down). RS is getting old so he decided to go with bootcamp (we actually did pull ups at Fast Twitch) since he can’t run more than 200 meters before having to dial it back and decided not to write a BB (has he started working out in Metro). We did make it all the way to Davy Park and back so he probably accomplished more than he thought possible. The site Q’s were sweating, not because of the workout, but because Fast Twitch had never, ever, been less than 4 miles. I do think we made it over 4 but that’s not official.
I’d give Rachel props for Larry Bird but he’s under 40 so actually he should have been further out front. #slackingoff Most of the other guys beat me also but RS was not one of them. #winning
RS did not pay me to be his Ghost Writer for this BB
PS – I will happily delete if RS posts a real BB with names and all.