25 men were present for the 3rd of 4 consecutive trips to the Piper Glen hills in the run up to BRR. There is a saying that 3rd time’s a charm. Well this Devil’s Turn wasn’t charming and downright hurt at times.
25 is a big number for Devil’s Turn and even though we know in January we will wonder where everyone went, we relish the short lived popularity in the weeks leading up to the BRR. The more the merrier and it is good to share some pain with so many PAX.
Since the BRR requires certain safety apparatus be worn while running, the PAX are starting to road test their gear. Baracus was wearing something like a reflective sports bra which he swore wasn’t that short last season. Someone also likened it to Chris Farley’s impression of a fat man in a little coat. Of course, Baracaus isn’t fat, but the vest was just that small. For the second week in a row, Hairball went metro with a suspender type reflective garment which resembled something Bruno would wear. Luckily it didn’t include the banana hammock extension which would have been true Bruno style.
Bratwurst, Mr. Brady, Turkey Leg, and ‘Bout Time were kicking the pace with everyone behind them pushing themselves to the limit to try and keep up.
After calculating the difference in average pace between 8/13 and 8/27 (8/20 is neglected since it was a different format), the results showed significant improvements. In fact, The Mouth and Sanka showed a 20 sec/mile and 25 sec/mile improvement respectively. Talk about improvement in a short period of time!
Other gains were present but less drastic. This stuff works guys. Just got to give it some time to accumulate those gains!
Thanks for coming out and we will repeat for the last time next week then it is taper for the big relay. There is a proposal for some stretching activities during DT on 9/10 with Strange Brew taking the lead. More to come if that becomes the plan. Cobains on the late backblast.
Prior to Dromedary proper, 2 men set off into the darkness to run in large complex circles. They happened upon a bald man in a black truck snooping round the AO and then were almost run over by someone driving on the sidewalk. After these encounters, 1 man (Stump Hugger) set off in his vehicle for a “meeting” and became labelled First In First Out (FIFO).
The other man (Bratwurst) joined 5 other men mulling around the parking lot and once 5:30 struck, the disclaimer was disclaimed, and warnings were voiced, the 6 man wolfpack entered the darkness.
After crossing the large parking lot and finding where all the buses in Union Co. park, a COP was called and the warmup began. 10 counts each of merkins, mtn climbers, low slow squats, Mr. Miagi’s, IW, and reverse lunges. Now warm, the PAX continued onto the football field where Bratwurst almost refusniked due to the slight moisture present on the grass. After some chastening, he was brought on board for the first real COP.
Exercise 1: 8 count burpees x 10. We experimented with and without a called 8. YHC recommends saying the 8, Bratwurst finds it confusing. The rest of the PAX didn’t seem to care and just made fun of us for arguing about it.
Exercise 2: 10 x a yet unnamed move described by Bananas as “the roll around on the ground and stand up exercise.” It was actually intended to be a reverse burpee with a heals to heaven, situp, and deck squat, then reverse back to the ground. It hypothetically could have been done to a count of 6, but the moves all strung together. At this point, Enron and Silicon almost denounced F3 due to this exercise’s seemingly pointless nature. However, they stayed for no reason other than to see where this train wreck was headed.
The two exercises were repeated a second time through. Bratwurst Q-jacked the second reverse burpee set and tried to call cadence, which was actually worse than the first time making 6 moves into a 9 or 10 count. However, since he is co-site Q, he was given this leeway.
Before moving to the next set, we virtually had to peel Chanel off the oversized tractor tire located on the side of the field. He may have been caught later trying to load it in the back of his workout mobile. If you get a call from the Union Co. Sheriff, you know why.
The PAX then headed over to the hill by the baseball diamond for sloppy 11’s. Bottom was plank up-and-downs (probably a better name for this) and top was jump squats. The mumble chatter was non-existent during this portion of the workout as it was intense. However, there were basically 6 Larry Birds out there today as everyone kept in near perfect sync. Once complete, a couple 10 counts brought the heart rate back to a manageable level.
An AYG sprint up the hill led us to the benches where 3 rounds of 20 dips and LBC’s were performed followed by a partner up for leg throw downs in the middle of the field. Although suggested by Bananas, this move was not coupled with a squat which would take it in a whole different direction. 2 rounds each of the exercise meant that the person laying on the ground basically got rained on from the person standing up. Very distracting while trying to lift your legs aggressively.
A quick jog back past all the idling buses to get some diesel in the lungs brought us back to the original launch point in time for some Mary to finish things off. Dolly, Rosalita, Mason Twist, J-Lo’s, Monkey Humpers, Heals to Heaven, and a sprint up and down the parking lot completed the mayhem.
The Moleskine:
Pretty much an experimental workout today with some strange exercises. There is probably a reason that no one recommends reverse burpees. They are just awkward. Some of the other experimental exercises had some comedic factor, but it seemed that once 5 or 6 reps were completed, the laughter died off as the pain set in. Hopefully, today shocked a few of those under utilized muscles or at least made you laugh a little.
Announcements:
– October Mudrun preblast is up Link
As tends to happen at Devil’s Turn, 25 men started the run, 24 ended (Madame had a nature’s call that not even the resident porta-pot could handle), and after COT we were suddenly 26. Mall Cop and Wolfman got a late start to the morning since WM had to wake MC out of the fartsack. We were glad he did though.
The plan for the day was to hit the hills of Piper Glen in a last big push toward the BRR. We will continue to repeat this course for the next 3 weeks until it is time for taper week going into the main event.
Since we will be repeating the same route each week, there is an excellent opportunity for metric tracking (Haggis would have been so proud if he would have actually showed up today). The current observation is that the average track week pace is 15 to 30 seconds faster than the hill week pace. The challenge today was to hold “marathon” pace even on the hill course and minimize the gap between the track week pace and hill week pace (meaning you are a better hill runner). For those rule oriented types, the average pace AFTER warmup until COT is what is counted.
Unfortunately, our arm computers were not fast enough on the draw to allow a real time tally of the results in COT. A few spot observations though showed that at least two (Strange Brew and Simba) actually went faster today on the hills than they do at the track. What? It seems that we are being hustled here. Either that or these men are up for a challenge.
Since it seems the PAX are out to destroy the track/hill hypothesis, here comes a revised challenge. YHC has broken out a spreadsheet and captured the average pace of those currently on Strava and will do the same for the next 3 weeks (4 weeks total). Let’s see if you can improve on your average pace over the next 3 weeks. Boom… the gauntlet has been thrown.
Besides the record performances of Strange Brew and Simba, there were many others pushing themselves to new levels today. Turkey Leg seems to have not yet cleared up that wild hair situation and was again on a tear. In fact, TL now shares a record time with Frasier and Bratwurst on the Old Course (in) segment in Strava unseating YHC. Ouch.
There were many cotters today and it was great to see those long lost DT brothers such as Baracus, Fletch, Exlax, and Brisket. There could be a correlation with the fact that BRR is only 4 weeks away, but whatever the reason, it is great to have everyone out.
Since it was a challenge week, there was not too much 2nd F going on. Everyone had their game faces on. If there were other notable occurrences, sound off in the comments.
Great morning running with you guys!
We are now 4 weeks out from BRR so we are hitting the hills for the next 3 weeks until the week of the event (when tapering should be in full swing). As several of our PAX learned last weekend, the hills of the BRR are big and brutal. We will do our best on the mighty hills of Piper Glen to prepare.
We will meet at 5:15 in the greenway parking lot at the corner of Rea Rd. and Bevington Place and proceed for a 1 mile warmup loop around the apt complex and south on Rea Rd.
The pace after the 1 mile warmup will be roughly “marathon” pace from http://runsmartproject.com/calculator/ . Let’s call that the stretch goal pace and that should be your goal on DT Track Day. For the hill route, there is some evidence that the pace slows 15 to 30 seconds per mile in pace. So if you normally average 8:00 min/mile on DT track day, your average on the hill route may be 8:15 or 8:30 min/mile.
In an ideal world where we are all hill conquering beasts of nature, we could bring these two paces closer together. Let’s see what we can do tomorrow. Look back at your track day average paces and at your hill route average paces tonight. Then let’s see what you do tomorrow and compare. We will take note in COT.
See you tomorrow!
Before setting out of the greenway parking lot, the PAX were forced to get in rough formation and count off to prevent what, in previous weeks, has been described as leaving people for dead. After the haphazard counting was complete, there were 24 … wait … possibly 25 in attendance. Prohibition or Hairball (maybe both) were in the portapot. And then PoP got moved in to the circle late. Whatever, we have a rough estimate let’s go.
There was a quick disclaimer about the route and the fact that the sidewalk from Bevington to 51 is jagged and has claimed one of our own already. The PAX seemed satisfied with that and headed out to cross Rea and head north to 51 and beyond.
Once the PAX negotiated the crossing of 51 with no one getting hit (small miracle) and the 1 mile warmup was complete, Turkey Leg got a wild hair up his rear and took off like a scolded dog. At one point he was flirting with breaking the 6:00 min/mile pace. This reckless pace continued all the way out to Colony Rd and back until the hill up to 51. At this point, Grant (now Mudflap) caught him and passed him handily while running through the underbrush on the side of the sidewalk. He must be a trail runner. Moments later, the shirtless Frasier also caught the ‘Leg and gave chase to Mudflap. The 3 of them battled it out the rest of the run. At one point, Mr. Brady also attempted a run at them, but it was too late. A look at Strava showed the aftermath of some scalding paces. Craziness.
For those of us without wild hairs up our rears, it was also a satisfying day and Strava shows many with record 5k and 1 mile times. Even though there are some good hills on this section, it seems that this route is a fast one. Either that or the #F3DevilsTurn effect is kicking in and we have a bunch of bad arses on our hands. Probably the later.
Overall, it looked like good groups formed and most everyone had a running partner out there today. This is key for a good iron sharpens iron effect so it is great to see.
It is definitely evident that BRR is coming and people are getting in some miles to prepare. Even though we started with 24 or 25 today, by COT there were 27 (+1 Outback in absentia due to a hurt foot). That is a serious day at DT and hopefully everyone got what they needed. The hills on Rea between 51 and Colony are long and grinding. Good prep for some of the rolling hills sections of BRR.
Enjoyed it men!
Announcements:
– Ghost Runner tonight. Also some talk on Twitter of a WWC option also.
– Gladiator games in Indian Land on Saturday
– BRR prep running / camping trip this weekend. Madam Tussaud / Mr. Bean have details.
So last time we tried this route, Stump Hugger busted his knees and contracted Hungarian body rot. With the kinks now worked out, we will head back to the scene of the crime and show it who’s boss. The hills on this section of road are great for the long grinding hills of the BRR.
The basic plan will be to start from the greenway parking lot at the corner of Rea Rd. and Bevington Place at 5:15 am. We will then head north on Rea Rd and cross over 51 until the 1 mile warmup is complete. Then it will be on like donkey kong.
(No relation to the creator of the A51 mudrun trophy or the GoRuck Heavy finisher. It is used here simply because it sounds good. This concludes the legal speak.)
For the duration of the 1 hour workout, the PAX will run north and south on Rea Rd. between 51 and Colony. For ~4 miles, it is once down and back. For ~6 miles, it is twice down and back. We then make our way back to the start ideally fully satisfied with the hills and valleys of this section of Rea Rd.
For descriptive and actually useful instructions, see SH’s original post for this route. Stumpy’s New Route Instructions
Go to http://runsmartproject.com/calculator to learn your marathon training pace. For this week’s Devil’s Turn, your challenge is to keep it near that number after the 1 mile warmup all the way to COT.
25 men including 3 to 4 LIFO’s headed into the dark woods. It was greenway day at DT and as referenced in the pre-tweet, it was intended to be a taper going into Saturday’s #CSAUP event – Southern DIS-Comfort.
The key word there is ‘intended.’ As wise old Tiger Rag predicted, once a bunch of guys get together and the warmup mile is complete, it inevitably becomes a pissing match and the pace becomes unreasonable. Today was no different. Mr. Brady, Frasier, Turkey Leg, and ’bout Time were the primary perpetrators, but there were others, the dark just hid their identities. You know who you are. Not sure if it was #ISI or #CSAUP. Either way it was another painful Devil’s Turn.
Even though it was a full moon (which entranced Hopper for a moment), the greenway was dark and gloomy. Some had headlamps, others utilized ESP to avoid the sporadically spaced poles in the middle of a perfectly good greenway. For a second, it was rumored that Hannibal had mounted one at 3/4 speed, however, this was later dispelled.
The course today was ‘hypothetically’ (imagine air-quotes here) simple. Just an out and back on the greenway. In the parking lot, TR dropped several hints to use chalk to mark the course to which YHC scoffed and later mentioned to Frasier how it is impossible to get lost on the greenway. Today it was proven possible. Upon turning around and starting back, 2 PAX were observed circling a manhole cover hoping for direction. Once they were gathered up, another group was found to have been distracted by bouncing lights and took one of the turns into a neighborhood. At COT, it was noticed that Mistaflex was not in attendance and was later found by Marvel. (not sure how we missed him on the return). So it was a bit chaotic on an intended easy day at the ‘Turn.
Another observation from the day was that there is an increasing amount of nakedness going on in COT. After running with Mr. Brady a few times, I have come to expect him to basically strip down to skivvies immediately following a run. However, today there were at least 7 who had followed suit with sweat soaked chest hair becoming more the norm than the exception. Highly disturbing. Who knows though, YHC may join in this trend if the temperature stays this high.
Thanks coming out today and see you Saturday!
Announcements:
– Saturday is Southern DIS-Comfort – even if you’re not signed up – SHOW UP!
– Saturday (8/1) is the last day to purchase BRR running shirts. Turkey Leg says they are great. Buy one. BRR Shirt Link
– There are also reflective, high vis yellow shirts for sale. Tiger Rag says they are so reflective they will blind you. Buy one of those too. You have a little more time (8/17). Reflective Shirt Link
24 men including 2 site FNG’s and 1 true FNG now called Doubtfire (Harry) decided attack the hills and become better for it. Even though the DT PAX are all now all #efficient runners, by the end, it looked like everyone had taken a dip in 4-mile creek. This is a sure sign it is nearly August in Charlotte and that everyone put in a solid effort.
At 5:15 some vague reference to #efficient running was mentioned to give a chance for some #LIFO’s to get out of their cars. Noting that they were not coming and it was 5:16, we were off to start the apartment warmup loop. We would circle back around anyway.
On the loop, pace groups formed and each was given the description of the course of the day. It was the Piper Glen hill loop and chalk marks would mark the turns. With everyone properly informed, we set off to continue the 1 mile warmup heading south on Rea Rd.
Once the watches started chiming and beeping at the 1 mile mark, an audible snort was heard from Haggis and Bratwurst who were chomping at the bit to take it up a notch. Like Ricky Bobby, they wanted to go fast. And fast they did for the remainder of the 6 mile loop.
Mr. Brady was apparently also ready to go fast and attempted to mount YHC at the corner of Rea and Old Course as I bent over to apply the first chalk arrow. After being denied the ride, Mr. Brady settled back in and proceeded with ‘Bout Time in lock step to demolish the Piper Glen hills with speed and prowess. They are fast!
It was good to meet the legend that is Haggis’ brother, Harry. Any man (unlike YHC) that can regularly beat Haggis in foot races is ok in my book. He also ended up with a pretty good name in COT (Doubtfire). Not sure exactly how that came to be. Something about being a teacher, dead poets, Robin Williams, drop the Mrs. and boom, Doubtfire. Strange how these things work out.
The great part of having 24 PAX at DT means the BRR and other fall racing preparations are in full swing and people are coming to the right place to train. The bad part of having a such a massive group is that it is hard to mingle individually and get the intel for a juicy backblast.
Some notables were that Hannibal took the challenge from the Preblast to add 0:15 seconds to the goal pace for track week and take that as the challenge for the hills. He reported he managed 0:25 seconds addition which is fantastic. Haggis (the inspiration for all miscellaneous metrics) also reported around a 0:25 second addition over track week average pace. It seems that 0:25 seconds is achievable, but we can still strive for the 0:15 second mark. #sportygoal.
Also, the sidewalks of Rea Rd. claimed another today as Abicus bit the dust on a particularly broken up section. He said his hands took the brunt of the fall and he looked ok. Be careful out there guys. The sidewalks will jump up and mess you up!
That is all for now. Please sound off in the comments section to add other funny / notable things that may or may not have occurred.
Announcements:
– Dredd and OBT will be at Stonehenge on Saturday 6:00 start
– Southern Dis-Comfort is 8/1 signup via the preblast for 14, 10, or 6 mile option
– Tootie is involved in finishthewall.com which serves by finishing missions projects which were postponed due to funding or other issues. There is a trip in January planned. Contact him for details on how to get involved.
– Running options abound: Ghost Rider Thursday Evenings at ABC, Mtn Goat SCMS on Friday mornings
Runners and those aspiring to be runners,
Come to Devil’s Turn to test your resolve on the hills of Piper Glen. We will meet in the greenway parking lot at the corner of Rea Rd. and Bevington Place at 5:15 am. We can answer any #efficiency related questions and then we will proceed into the 0.75 mile apartment loop warmup / 2nd F run. After turning south on Rea Rd. and reaching the full 1-mile warmup distance, the pace will be increased.
If you have experienced Devil’s Turn track week, you likely have a pace in mind which is the goal for this course. For the hills, Haggis has consulted his science books and sun dials and has pronounced the pace for the hill route should average 15 sec/mile slower. From personal experience, this is sporty, but now you too have a goal pace for this week.
For instance, if your average pace for track week is 8:00 min/mile. Your goal this week is 8:15 min/mile average. Note that this is “average.” Your pace up hills will naturally be slower and down will be faster. If you don’t meet the goal, no worries. There will be another chance in 3 weeks.
As in weeks past, there will be chalk arrows denoting 4 and 6 mile options. Wear blinking lights and headlamps if you desire to be safe. We will be on public neighborhood roads which are dark and on sidewalks that can jump up and mess you up (right Mall Cop and Stump Hugger?).
Note: There is also rumor of a mutiny afoot to head to different hills than Piper Glen. If the crowd rule wins, the path may change. In any case, there will be hills! The chalk is locked and loaded and works on any road. See you in the morn!
11 men came for #F3Dromedary even with the Twitter chatter warning of utter mayhem. It turns out no one made animal noises, but there seemed to be a few (including YHC) that were dazed and confused by the COT.
Here’s how it went:
Zig-zag through the parking lot circling back to pick up Bratwurst who was still putting on his shoes and Strawberry who LIFO’ed even after poking the bear via Twitter. Would have never heard the end of it. Completed the zig-zag through the parking lot for ~0.2 miles.
Arrived in warmup COP back by the cars. Got it started with 20 of the old favorite and then went right into Imperial Walkers, (internal dialog) Wait… why is no one in the plank position like YHC, let’s do some IW guys! (external dialog) That’s not IW, that’s Mtn Climber starting position.
After some minor ribbing, the IW continued through 20 or so reps, then mtn climbers x 20, and then some merkins to flex the chesticles. Then it was time to get the real party started.
We moseyed to the first set of medians and instructions were given to run to the other end of the parking lot around the median and back. Once first person got back, a called exercise would be called in cadence and as each PAX arrived, they would join in. This was repeated on the 3 median set away from the cars.
First exercise, 6 count burpees x 10-13 with a run to the end and back, repeated 3 times.
Second exercise, low slow squats x 20 with run to 1/2 way and back, repeated 3 times
Third exercise, dying cockroach x 15 with run to end and back, repeated 3 times
Pause for some fence work: peoples chair x 1 min, 45 sec, 30 sec with balls to the wall hold in between
Back for fourth exercise, Russian Twist x 20 with run to 1/2 way and back, repeated 3 times
And that was that… It doesn’t look like much on paper and the numbers don’t look huge like 100 burpee ladders or something, but the secret of the day was good form. The exercises were picked so that they almost had to be done properly and were called in cadence so it didn’t become a big race out there. We kept the racing for the running sessions. It is amazing how hard a workout becomes when form is maintained.
Even though Mr. Bean ran to the workout from his house, he was pushing the pace on all the running segments. Impressive display. I couldn’t understand what he was saying but that is usual.
Bratwurst was yelling random things from the back of the PAX at the beginning of the workout. Something about this isn’t a running workout and YHC should have gotten the running out during #F3Swift on Tuesday. He was mainly appeased during the second set when the distance was cut to 1/2 the parking lot. By the last set though, he was challenging the fastest of the fast (Big Tuna, Mr. Bean, and Dasher)
Speaking of Big Tuna, Bratwurst, and Dasher. They brought the heat on the final set of runs. Where it was the rest of the workout is not known. #hustleandflow
Camacho came out of summertime hibernation to post with us this morning. Hopefully it is not as long next time.
Meteor and Comet were talking of being sore from basketball and other practice related activities. They pushed it out there today though. #tough
Strawberry, Abacus, and Soft Pretzel are basically stalwarts of physical fitness and just plain get it done. YHC was watching Strawberry closely to ensure he recieved a proper beat down today due to the jibber jabber on Twitter last night. In COT, he looked fresh though. Next time, YHC will need to try harder it seems. Looks like team ODSOB is preparing to dominate some Mudrun action.
Thanks for the opportunity to lead!
Announcements:
– Signup for future Dromedary Q’s, spots open – Click here to Signup http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d4baeaf29a46-dromedary
– 7/25 Dredd and OBT visit Stonehenge 6:00am
– 8/1 Southern Discomfort
– 8/8 Gladiator Games (Indian Land)