Sardine showed up at The Body Shop with his “Smoky’s Whiteboard” that had the alphabet with set exercises and reps for each letter. 5 PAX cursed their parents for the hospital names they were given while 1 other PAX took great joy in the 5 letters total in his first and last name. William was not a good name to have based on the number of back to back leg exercises it required, and a few others had similar results. It’s like Sardine ran some intense analytics against common names and piled similar exercises together for added punishment.
Happy Baby made it back to back after his debut the day before, so great to meet him. We still don’t get the name and he doesn’t either, but it sounds terrible. High Hat made his Body Shop debut to support his happy friend and we welcome him to come back. Big Tuna can turn on the keys for sprints with sneaky speed, and if not fit his middle name, would have been quite content with the alphabet, too. And Waterboy pushed it, enjoyed his name, and took notes on the board so we might see it in his upcoming VQ!
Some guy named Tuck had his Swift VQ on Tuesday and had the audacity to start an 8-week Fastest Mile training program. The program kicked off with 8x 400m. 13 PAX showed for it; 13 suffered; 13 returned. 8 intervals can wear you down if you haven’t done a lot of speed work recently and YHC has not done a lot of speed work lately, though by some accounts, there is no evidence of any speed work ever. Everyone is looking forward to the promised improvement this program will bring and some agree this Tuck guy has potential.
Four great minds joined YHC at Da Vinci on a fine April morning to workout with a celebration of two great things today — Haiku Day and the 70th anniversary of the major league debut of The Commerce Comet, The Mick, Mickey Mantle. Early on YHC tossed out the question, “What did George Costanza want to name his son?” Seven, of course, after Mickey Mantle.
Mission Haiku
To plant, grow and serve
Male community leaders
The F3 mission
DICCS Haiku
Cell phone, C-P-R
Modify moves as needed
Don’t sue, be alert
WARM-UP
Mosey to the medical center
Hillbillies x 18 IC (number of seasons Mantle played)
Moroccan Night Club x 18 IC
Plank Jacks x 18 IC
Stretching
THE THANG
Go to and through the neighborhood on McIlwayne Dr
Cross AK to the Lash/Dentist/whatever buildings for lifting rock work
Haiku Rock work with 5 of an exercise, then 7, then 5 (5-7-5). Complete one set, run backwards to the end of the island, return normal run. Repeat same set 3x (number of MVPs The Mick won) before moving as a group to next rock work group.
Finish off the rock by bear crawling and pushing the rock back to its home.
2 Laps around the triangle island with alternating exercises at each corner
Head to Blakeney for 7x Wall jumps + 7x dips repeato once more
Back to AK for the hill on the south side of AK for Merkin Clock with 7x merkins as each PAX called a time
Run back to COT (through sprinklers!)
Superman x 16 civilian count (number of All Star appearances)
Mickey Haiku
Amazing player
Terrible husband but which
is more important?
MOLESKINE
It was a great morning to Q at da Vinci and YHC appreciates the opportunity and the support of the PAX in attendance as they put up with some goofy themes for the day. YHC was looking for a different route to the Lash Rocks and none of the PAX remembered using that street before, so mission accomplished. Also may have used the hill along AK across from Blakeney for the first time as well.
Kudos to Soft Pretzel for quickly showing off his Seinfeld knowledge and setting the group up for reps of 7 throughout. He and Sweetwater led the pack throughout and stayed strong. Dwight had the guts to call the biggest shift on the merkin clock going from 6 to 12. Kirby powered through a knee injury, just like Mickey did for years and the sprinklers were a welcome way to clean the profuse bleeding. Maybe not profuse, but fortunately we don’t often see blood at F3. No word whether he’ll attempt to sue the small strip mall of offices for the dangerous rocks they have on site. Kirby also discovered some muscles he didn’t know about between his legs, so that was interesting and may make for a fun Saturday night.
The rock work with the lunges and backwards running, along with gorilla humpers into a mosey was all sneaky difficult and should feel fantastic later tonight or tomorrow morning. The goal was to use some moves to target less-frequent muscles and hopefully that was accomplished.
YHC was a big Mickey Mantle fan growing up, especially drooling (almost literally) in person over a 1952 Topps card. But as the years have passed and off-the-field issues are exposed, it’s a reminder that we’re all human and celebrity isn’t always to be celebrated. YHC has no plans to take a wife and a mistress to a retirement ceremony and will never don the pinstripes for the Yanks, but what YHC can do — what we all can do — off the field is highly important and that’s where the current focus is.
In comic lore Wolverine has an adamantium skeleton, or something like that. When YHC arrived at da Vinci to see Wolverine on Q and sporting a giant bionic knee brace and Doc McStuffins who hasn’t been to boot camps much lately due to OPEN.HEART.SURGERY, there was a sense that the running would be less intense. Terribly incorrect assumption. Wolverine had an agenda of sprints behind the Target that pulled Teddy up with a hobbled hamstring and left all exhausted. The guy with the knee brace and the major surgery were out front while YHC was making sure there was a six.
The highlight/lowlight of the weinke was a Jack Webb of Diamond Merkins and Side Straddle Squats. When the Diamond Merkin is the easy part of a called exercise, you know you’re in trouble. Building up to 40 SSS is some major leg work, especially after the sprints.
Smaller group to finish up spring break ’21, but it was a good group with a solid beatdown.
13 gathered for Swift in some form or another, with the call for 2/1/:30 intervals. The target was 6 sets but 5 braved the Endhaven Hills of Nut Up or Shut Up. Who made the more regrettable decision?
One Star was the scheduled Q for Firestarter on Monday, April 12, and BBs aren’t really his thing, so this is the memoir of a One Star experience.
There was the initial question whether he’d slow fully prepared to Q or head to Asylum, a flapjack of the scheduled Q for Asylum a few weeks ago when he posted at Firestarter. He did post and may have been prepared for his, though YHC was a last-minute arrival and may have missed the oh-crap realization moment. He gets the benefit of the doubt though and we’ll assume he was prepared.
He took the PAX to 131 Main for the warm-up where any underlying significance of the number of reps was not clear and never became clear, but bodies were warmed.
Then he finished and began The Thang with the question, “Do you know what my favorite golf tournament is?” I was thinking the old Kmart Greater Greensboro Open or the PGA because nobody cares about the PGA. Nope, it’s the Masters. Maybe the proximity to Waffle House? He explained that the workout would be themed on the Masters and Hideki Matsuyama becoming the first champion from Japan.
First exercise was BLIMPS in the NY&Co parking lot. YHC of not clear how that relates but thinks it may be a resemblance to Japan’s old Rising Sun flag? The sets of 5 reps again weren’t clear but they may have added up to the age of the Japanese empire. Then run the long drive with increasing merkins at each light pole, trying not to get hit by incoming cars. This was a salute to the presence of light poles and heavy traffic in Tokyo. Well done.
On to the front of Target. Pair up and one dies a walking plank on the circles while the other runs to the next circle and back. Relevance? Japan has the most 7-11s, Ballantyne has many Targets. This was scrapped, though, because, like manga and Sailor Moon, it only made sense to some people.
Then Q led the PAX to a wall to do sets of Donkey kicks, air presses and air jabs while the partner ran around a few parking lot islands. Japan gave us Donkey Kong, thus our salute. At this point Fiji asked which country and golfer was there first island nation to win the Masters? Fiji and Vijay Singh! Wait, does he not recognize the dominance of the British Isles from 88-91 with Sandy Lyle (Scotland), Nick Faldo (England b2b + ’96), and Ian Woosnam (Wales)? YHC mistakenly thought Mrs Doubtfire may have won it, but his best finish was a T8.
This was followed by Bento Box cutters and barrel rolls in a parking lot, which Q called a sushi roll. Total refusenik by the PAX for this one, though two did try a horizontal roll. Other exercises omnivores burpees, lunges, BTTW with hand circles, but the ties to Japan or golf was about as strong as the defense of the belly putter.
Overall, like most, this One Star Q was memorable, unique and probably a little on the fly. Strong turnout for the post spring break workout and who doesn’t love the Q’s enthusiasm?
5 PAX met at Kohl’s for a brand new route designed with love by Bunker. Fit the second week in a row the route avoided Marvin altogether but that did not deter or diminish the conversation: shoes, vacationing, beach recs, 23-mile marathons and the heavy reliance on the sensors built into vehicles. PAX also realized a gate is down in lesser Longview allowing for easy access to run that short loop. The Somerset hook raises some questions but you can’t call it the hook route if you complete the circle. Great morning for a run, but hopefully the humidity stops at this. (It won’t.)
YHC got a DM on Slack on Monday from Bratwurst saying that he was unavailable for Swift on Tuesday: “I can’t be at Swift tomorrow and we need a Q. You’re on deck!” YHC debated avoiding the DM altogether because of the anticipated late night with the NCAA championship game (Oh, Gonzaga, why? Why?!) YHC finally posted in the run channel in the evening as the Q.
With no clue what would be on the agenda for the workout, YHC dragged along and on to Swift leaning towards a 3/6/1 interval set. Atlas, Bunker and Tiger Rag were waiting in the parking lot upon arrival and then YHC announced that Brat had reached out about the Q. Then TR or Bunker said, “Yeah, I think he sent that to several guys.” Wow, that hurts, Brat.
With four PAX of varying stages of taper, post-race and general tiredness, we took TR’s suggestion and headed to Target for a non-traditional Swift morning. It turned into a man-date with TR and Bunker pairing up and Atlas resigning himself to YHC’s companionship, but everyone appeared content with their partner — conversations were had, laughs exchanged, world problems solved. It was a change from the norm, but it was a good day to be at Swift.
With Spring Break starting in the area, the crowds looked a little thin on Monday, even at SOB’s premiere Monday boot camp. YHC arrived just as the Firestarter crew was heading out — that made a total of three PAX. But Teddy offered up a solid beatdown with various forms of suicides, a ton of squats and some daunting rock work. It was a good morning to get to chat it up with Flo and Teddy and with just a trio, no one can hide from the regrettable decision to grab an ambitious rock on the backside of Target. It was a good morning in the gloom and the coastal AOs are probably overflowing with PAX, right?
Six PAX gathered at the Morrison Family YMCA at 0630 on Easter morning Sunday, April 4, 2021, for seven miles on, as Astro reminds us, a GLORIOUS DAY. Along with the great conversation at fellowship pace, the highlight of the 2nd F run was hitting the Community House bridge over 485 right around sunrise and stopping for a few minutes of prayer and gratitude.
Props to Purple Haze for organizing the run and huge kudos to Astro for keeping him to it when it seemed like some PAX might not make it. Chopper held strong on the heels of his longest run since he knocked out the virus a few weeks back, Bunker also made this run on the heels of a big trail run yesterday, and it was great to see Gumbo back out.
Thanks to a podcast a couple of days ago, YHC was reminded that even Jesus Christ let someone carry his cross for him for a while. This was some 3rd F and a lot of 2nd F, disguised on the surface as something 1st F, but it was a big reminder that F3 is more than a workout. Don’t be afraid to let someone help with your burdens at times — we’re surrounded by brothers willing to do just that.