16 men were drawn by a promise of (relatively) flat running at Devil’s Turn today. Even with BRR on the way, it is still nice to flatten things out once in a while. Even with a flat course, one quickly remembers that it is still a tough endeavor to hold a respectable pace for a full 45 – 55 minutes. The challenge was present and the men of Devil’s Turn met it with fervor.
One may ask, “but where’s the brush with nature?” Read on for more on that topic.
We started at 5:15 with a full briefing of the route and a promise of chalk arrows for those not familiar with the route. As the group left the parking lot, Long Haul was spotted driving in. Tiger Rag, being the thoughtful guy that he is, asked whether we should wait on him. Nope, that is not per the policy so we left (knowing it is Long Haul and he’s got legs to catch us).
The warm-up was relatively uneventful except for Cheese Curd and Baracus trading places for the lead. They seemed so giddy battling it out up there, no one had the heart to mention it was just a warm-up. With as much running as they have been up to though, the front will become much more common.
At the 1 mile mark, everyone took the pace up a notch to “comfortably hard” which means different things to different people. The suggestion was ~marathon pace on the honor system. It seemed to be followed closely despite the oppressive humidity.
Out at the track, several chose to lose the shirt and go metro (YHC included). It was steamy. Half way around the track, there was shouting of something like “Honey Bee, come here!” Strange words bringing thoughts that someone may be hurt or someone is making fun of my moobs. Oh well, just carry on, they can deal.
Then, all of a sudden, a deer pops out of no where like some kind of magic show and runs across the track and onto the field. It then proceeded to run all the way across to the other side. A few minutes later after buzzing the majority of the PAX, it proceeded to bang its head on the fence while running at ~ 15 mi/hr down the back stretch.
After that display, it was gone. Not sure if there are any other stories from this event, but it would be interesting to hear in the comments from other perspectives. Just crazy stuff right there. After the deer incident, the rest of the run went somewhat smoothly.
There was ~ 37% participation today in wearing the official day glow yellow. Moderately acceptable. Wingman not only wore the offical shirt color, he added the red, white, and blue head band. #Strong. This almost spurred a declaration of an official head wear, but that vote was postponed.
Gumbo was back after a long hiatus for injury. It is good to have you back with us brother. Stay healthy.
Slice came out for his first Devil’s Turn today. From the sounds of it, he is a committed runner going from zero to 5 half marathons in just one year. We hope you will make us part of your rotation leading up to the full at Kiawah in the fall. Great to have you out.
It was good to have Early Bird out. Unfortunately, it was a #Qfail on not getting a chance to talk during the run. Thanks for coming to DT. It’s going to be the place to be traning for the BRR.
Thanks for another great Devil’s Turn guys!
Announcements:
– #F3Dads community service day on Saturday at 8:45 am at Anne Springs Dairy Barn. See the preblast for details: Preblast
– F3 Golf (July 29th) – See Preblast
– Buy shirts, many options to choose from.
Note: The following announcement does not affect F3 Dads workout at Col. Francis Beatty Park which will meet at the normal place and time at the baseball fields.
However, the SOBDads workout at the Bull Ring is cancelled on June 18. Meet at Anne Springs Dairy Barn instead (see below).
#F3Dads would like to invite the men of F3 to join in a community service event at Anne Springs Close Greenway. Many of us enjoy the trails of Anne Springs on a weekly basis and now is our chance to give back. The Anne Springs volunteer coordinator has created an opportunity just for F3’ers and 2.0’s (age 2 – old).
You don’t even need to have a 2.0 to join in the fun! Everyone’s invited! Let’s show them what F3 is about and show the kids what it means to give back to the community in a big way. The goal is for 30 to 60 men and 2.0’s to join in the effort.
After the work is complete, we will have a picnic lunch at the Nature Center and venture down to Lake Haigler for some lakeside fun! Here’s the plan…
Saturday June 18
8:45 am – Arrive at the main Dairy Barn parking lot at Anne Springs Work Location
(mention you are with the F3 community service group for free entry)
9:00 – 10:30 am – Split into three groups and make a difference
Group 1: Clean up trees and limbs from the sides of the entryway
Group 2: Clean the entry sign area and lights leading down to the Dairy Barn
Group 3: Repair the gravel road where it has washed out over the winter
10:30 – 11:00 am – Clean up our tools and mosey/drive to the Nature Center (Picnic Location)
11:00 – 1:00 pm – Enjoy a picnic lunch together at the Nature Center and Lake Haigler
Note 1: M’s are welcome to join in the fun at the Nature Center/Lake Haigler. Just have them mention they are with the F3 group to get free admission through the Lake Haigler gate at the location in the link.
Note 2: For logistics sake, the picnic lunch is BYOE “bring your own everything” style (or sweet talk the M into bringing it later). YHC will bring some waters and the F3 Dads dodgeballs for fun.
Logistics:
Tools Needed:
If you are like me, you love what Anne Springs Close Greenway does for the community. To have a recreation area like this in our backyard is amazing. Let’s give back!
See you there. Email Honey Bee (jlevins9@hotmail.com) with any questions.
Please comment below or email with your RSVP so that we can plan tools and water amounts.
16 men began the weekly event we call Devil’s Turn. A 17th joined during the apartment warm-up loop, or did they? …We may never know.
At COT, there were again 16 men accounted. It cannot be confirmed or denied if there is a lost F3’er still out in the affluent darkness of Piper Glen. #disclaimer #Qfail
Other than potentially losing someone, the day was a pretty standard running of the Hill Route in Piper Glen. It went something like this…
We first ran the ~0.8 mi apartment loop to warmup then headed south on Rea Rd. Old Course is back open (or at least we thought so) and we headed in our normal way. Once ~1/2 way to the Piper Glen Dr. intersection, there were road closed signs and heavy equipment in the road. Luckily there was a safe way around the 20 deep pit that they have dug in the road and we could proceed as normal.
Everyone seemed to be in a zone today and it appeared there were not many groups and more solo efforts today. #sufferinsilence This is not a bad thing since one must get used to pushing when no one is watching. After all, that is how races are right? Great efforts.
The hills of Piper Glen were as painful as ever. It has been a while since we have been out there and it delivered the same slap in the face that it usually does.
At COT, Frasier made an observation that we have collectively gotten faster (and he is right). The majority of the group was done prior to 6:10 am even with some going extra distance. The Devil’s Turn effect is kicking in (probably with some help of Swift/Fast Twitch). It sneaks up on you but we are all getting better. BRR doesn’t stand a chance.
Welcome to Das Boot (site FNG) up from Union Co. You picked a rough first outing to Devil’s Turn (but what week is actually easy?). We are glad you did not get lost and we hope you return!
Finally, it has been decided by the Board of Past and Present DT Site Q’s that day glow yellow is the official shirt color and bald the official hairstyle of Devil’s Turn. Do with that what you will. #uselessresolutions
Announcements:
– F3 Dads continues – Saturday 9:00 am at both SOB Bull Ring and A51 Col. Francis Beatty park. – Preblast
– Community Service Day (F3 Dads and all other F3’ers) – Saturday 6/18 at 9:00 – 11:00 at Anne Springs Greenway (precise location TBD), Picnic at Lake Haigler to follow (M’s welcome)
— Note: Cobains on the late backblast. —
30 Dads (11) and 2.0’s (19) showed up for the inaugural #F3SOBDads at the Bull Ring in the heart of Ballantyne. Being the first of its kind, no one knew what to expect (YHC included). Here’s what we did.
The Thang:
The disclaimer was given and it was quickly pointed out that YHC is particularly “not professional” since the last boot camp attended was sometime during Christmastide. Even so, everyone followed out to the field of the bulls for a quick COP.
COP included SSH x 20, Mtn Climbers x 20, Daddy Elevators (merkins with kid on back) x 10, and Up & Downs (run in place on Up, plank/squat on Down) x several.
After COP, it was time for some chain freeze tag. However, there were a few new rules. Rule 1: 2 people were it and they must tag others with 1/2 pool noodle. Rule 2: Once someone is frozen, the only way to become unfrozen is to link up with someone. If anyone in the new chain gets touched, the whole chain is frozen until someone joins.
The first round had 2 people with pool noodles. Second round had 4 people with pool noodles. There was some mumble chatter about there being nothing wrong with a bunch of grown men running around holding hands and giggling like school girls. To those driving by on Ballantyne Corporate, keep driving… nothing to see here people…
After all chains were formed and the last person frozen, we formed groups of young kids, older kids, and adults. Each group was given a challenge to climb over an appropriate sized bull. The challenge was completed twice by most. Boom done.
Everyone found their dads/2.0’s and we were on the move down to the lake where there was a special surprise in store. There were only a few strange looks from the photographer trying to take baby pictures and the fishermen around the lake as 30 guys and girls came rumbling through the forest path down to the lake. Sorry folks, there is a workout that needs to occur.
We all gathered at the chalk words saying “Start Here” written on the sidewalk. Start what? Well an obstacle coarse for the kiddos and a trip around the lake with pain stations for the adults. After some instructions were given and the 2.0’s were ordered largest to smallest. The mayhem began and continued until it was water break time (~15 minutes later).
There were a bunch of child Larry Birds out there. It appears this may have not been their first rodeo on the obstacle course circuit. Nice work!
Once water break was over, the group moseyed back up to the field of bulls. The photographer gave a visible sigh of relief and the fishermen just glared as we retreated from the lake. As you were folks, as you were…
Upon entering the field of bulls for the second time, an Arc Loader (crab walk, bear crawl, duck walk) was perfectly executed by the 2.0’s. Everyone then assembled for a quick Tunnel of Dads for the kids to army crawl through. Stump Hugger’s 2.0 was small enough to squat walk through. Very funny to watch.
To finish things up, we split up into 2 groups of 2.0’s and 2 groups of Dads for a relay race. The 2.0’s voted for boys against girls so that is what we did. For the record, the girls won (but who’s counting?).
The Moleskine:
It was an excellent day for the start of #F3SOBDads and it was a fun group. Everyone gave it their all.
The water break after the obstacle course was not initially planned but was critical for keeping the 2.0’s cool in the hot morning temperatures. Nobody wants a mini-mutiny on their hands. The crisis was averted and the workout continued.
Some lessons were learned in the chain freeze tag. 1) It pays to not help anyone and just run around like a crazy person. 2) Once you are part of a chain, there is no more running. You just keep getting frozen repeatedly. 3) If a dad gets frozen and another dad saves them, there are a few awkward moments where you are running around hand-in-hand with another dude. Thankfully there were no cameras around or Frasier and YHC would be Twitter fodder.
Welcome to FNG John (Muppet) and his 2.0’s Jack (Creeper – self given) and Henry (Porkie – self given). It was great having you out and hope you come back each week in June for some more F3 Dads!
Overall, it was an awesome start! Thanks for making it great!
Announcements:
– Next week Paper Jam and Paper Clip are on Q for #F3SOBDads – Bull Ring 9:00 am
– The first #F3Dads starts at Col. Francis Beatty Park on Sat. 6/4 at 9:00 am Preblast
9 men saw the forecast and still showed up to Devil’s Turn today. It is well known there are no parking decks or shelter at this AO. So those who showed are some hard SOB’s (however not in the Ballantyne sense because we all know DT is a tweener).
One draw for todays DT was the opportunity to go head to head (virtually) with the Strava record on the Murderhorn. A full piece of sidewalk chalk was even wagered if someone could beat the respectable time set during a fateful lunch hour some time back by one of our own. Was the record broken? Read on to find out.
Since we did not move the starting point of DT, there was a 2.2 mile warmup prior to reaching the base of the Murderhorn. On the way, we met up with Rebel Yell and they joined in so we could rumble on the Murderhorn. Loogie’s secret is now out, he really is a #runner.
After a bit of COP to let the Rebel Yell folks warm up, it was time to get to business. We lined up and were off. Many got on it the first time up including sub-1 min times by Bunker, Tuck, and Wingman. But wait, Frasier is here today. What is going on here?
The second time up, Frasier came alive and knocked out a 47 second segment time to take the lead in the Strava-sphere. This means a pastel piece of chalk of his choosing along with the respect of those present. With this feat, he did not stop either. He continued to run up and down the Murderhorn 5 times. Finally, we just left him there running up and down the hill. He can catch us.
Wild Turkey chose quite a day to post for the first time at DT. While we never take it easy, today was difficult in the rain and intensity. If you can dodge a wrench, you can run DT.
All put in some great work on the hill today which made the 2.2 mile return difficult to maintain a solid pace. We did it though and are now better for it.
Thanks for joining in on this adventure in Stonecrest! Next week, Bunker (the other bald guy) is Q. New blood.
Long, long ago (Feb 18), Devil’s Turn visited the Murderhorn to brutally attack the Strava Segment of the same name. Records were established.
Not long after, a man running in Pink Nike shoes used a free lunch break to topple those records.
Tomorrow is the day of reckoning. Devil’s Turn will again visit the Murderhorn.
Will Rebel Yell show up again for a street fight of sorts? We will find out.
Route Summary:
0) Meet at 5:15 am in greenway parking lot at corner of Rea Rd. and Bevington Place
1) Head south on Rea Rd to Stonecrest
2) Turn right into shopping center
3) Turn right onto main street headed toward movie theater
4) Stay on road past movie theater until intersection with Elm Ln
5) Cross Elm Ln onto Elmstone Dr. and head down the Murderhorn to the stop sign (approximately 2.2 miles to this point)
Once everyone is assembled at the stop sign, the challenge begins. Goal is for 3 – 4 trips up the Murderhorn before heading back. Everyone should calculate when to leave to run the 2.2 miles back to the parking lot by 6:12 am.
A full stick of DT sidewalk chalk will go to the man who beats the record of the man in the pink shoes. Bring your best…
UPDATE – NFL Play 60 has been cancelled. July 23 is now open. See below for updates.
The F3 Dads workouts at Col. Francis Beatty Park and at the Bull Ring in Ballantyne have been huge successes with up to 30 or 40 in attendance each week. The workouts were such a success in Ballantyne, they were extended into July/August. Please see below for the remaining workouts this summer.
#SOBDads Workout 9:00 – 9:45 am @ Bull Ring
Honey Bee (jlevins9@hotmail.com) Site-Q
July 23 – NFL Play 60 – Cancelled – Rest up for next week!
July 30 – #SOBDads – Bull Ring – Wild Turkey Q
Aug 6 – #SOBDads – Bull Ring – Bratwurst Q
Aug 12-14 – F3 Dads Camp – Camp Thunderbird
10 men showed up at a given time at a given place.
2 other men showed up at a different time at the same place.
All ran.
There you go. Not sure if that qualifies as a Haiku, but that is what happened. For more details, see below.
The order of the day was Piper Glen hills. The majority headed for the 0.8 mile apartment loop while Haggis warmed up by himself. #loaner
Once 1 mile was reached, people settled into their preferred pace for the morning. Since it is a hill route, there are natural intervals of higher and lower effort. Pace is not as important as effort. Old Course Rd is closed so we continued down Rea to Piper Glen Dr. Once in Piper Glen, the standard route was followed.
Haggis set a blistering pace early and then began grumbling. This did not seem to slow him down though. Soon we may actually be able to witness his legendary metrics on Strava since his new arm computer is on its way.
O’Tannenbaum was initially troubled to find out it was hill week and had feelings he may have made the wrong decision for this morning’s workout. However, once in Piper Glen he forged a gnarly self-fashioned route that only the brave would attempt. The man has creativity and is now stronger for it.
Being the safety conscious man that he is, Cheese Curd requested double chalk arrows at all turns. This request was fulfilled on at least 2 of the turns (one which even had the word “Double” spelled out for him). That’s right, at Devil’s Turn, customer satisfaction is king.
Stone Cold, Hairball, and Bunker were pushing each other hard today. Those guys are beasts of nature. Serious iron sharpening going on there.
Baracus made another appearance at DT. This is becoming a regular occurrence now. Glad to have the company!
Long Haul (cotters) was back after a long absence from DT. There was word he was making the rounds at the boot camps, but until today, YHC was unable to confirm or deny these claims. However, he was there in the flesh today. Excellent to have you back brother. Also, a belated congrats for your son’s recent 61 minute 10-miler. Wow, that’s fast!
Utah was back again killing it today. Talk about a regular of DT. Glad to have you out and awesome effort!
Mall Cop and Wolfman hit the Bevington Place route today out to the track. As promised, if you run in our general vicinity, we will count you. Mall Cop even joined in COT today. Wolfman had to leave early (sun came up).
Announcements:
– Bunker has accepted the Co-Q position at Devil’s Turn succeeding Long Haul in this position. Thanks Long Haul for helping wrangle these wayward cats for a year plus.
– Haggis is orchestrating a community service opportunity on May 14 at Providence Presbyterian Church to rebuild their 200 yr old wall. Signup at http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0a4eaaaf2ba1fc1-f3community
– There was another announcement but it was forgotten. Cobains! Sound off in comments.
Bunker has carried the torch valiantly the last two weeks and has even overcome a coup attempt by Hairball for last week’s Q. Devil’s Turn is just that popular. There are fights to be Q!
Alas, YHC is back and to celebrate, we will go to Piper Glen and run hills. If Old Course is still closed to traffic, we will continue up to Piper Glen Ln and turn left into Piper Glen. From there, we will follow the normal route. Chalk will be on the street for those who may not know the route.
The Garmin connect route is posted below. If it doesn’t work, contact someone who actually knows technology.
Show up at 5:15 am in the Greenway Parking Lot at the corner of Rea Rd. and Bevington Place. We will run a ~1 mile warmup 2nd F pace warmup, then people will start running at various speeds causing some to make animal noises. We will then converge back at the starting point at 6:15 am for COT.
That’s pretty much it.
14 men read a blank preblast and posted anyway to Devil’s Turn. What could have easily been a technically inept Q, turned out to be a website issue. Alas, people showed up to run, and that is what we did.
5:00 am – Bunker made a suggestion of a pre-run boot camp which is the opposite of what some consider savory. Tuck and YHC decided to join him, and it was actually a good warmup. Plus, we then got to run looking all swole and stuff. Ya bro!
5:14 am – Another 10 hapless soles showed up and mulled about until YHC gave a vague description of the plan for the day. It was something like this…
Run 1 mile toward SCMS through the neighborhoods, brief dynamic stretching routine up the hill by Haggis, then run the rest of the way to the track. At the track, do what you want. Run 2.2 miles back to the cars by 6:12 am.
It was as simple as that.
The Naked Moleskine:
– Haggis talked us into dynamic stretching and sneakily inched us up the daunting hill and around the corner before anyone knew what was happening. This threw off the 6 mile at marathon pace which some were planning, but that was remedied later. He then took off like a crazed Scotsman and held an unsavory pace the remainder of the workout.
– Bunker, Tuck, Ironsides, Gumbo, and many others (in absentia) are running Racefest this Saturday. One may question why they are running 6+ miles while on late taper, but look at their total miles for the year on Strava and you will find out why. They are mileage beasts!
– Welcome back to DT Semigloss and Exlax. It has been a while. Hopefully the run treated you well and you will be with us in the lead up to BRR. You are always welcome!
– Icicle was back again and seemed to pull in Early Bird who potentially was a site FNG. If so, welcome brother! If not, sorry I missed your debut. Come again next week. It will not be easier, but that’s the point right?
– Fireman Ed made DT a stop on his one week of training for the Leatherwood Ultra. Swift, Devils Turn, and then a long run on the weekend? Yep, that will be fine to prep for the ultra. #disclaimer
– Outback apparently runs with an accent since Haggis was able to pick him out ½ way around the track. Luckily Outback turned around to run with us since there would be no catching him otherwise. #fast
– Stone Cold and Marvel put in some discreet mileage today. Stone Cold put in a solid 6+ and Marvel showed up at COT looking fresh. Was he there the whole time? With the inherent super powers, we may never know.
– Ironsides was there at the start and then went rogue some time during the workout. Strava shows him entering some unsanctioned lands and apparently encountering Black Diamond. The man is a loose cannon. Good luck on the Racefest 10k brother!
That is all for now. It was another great Devils Turn!