Author Archive midriff

The Homecoming Ultra 5k Preblast

Calling all F3 PAX and South Charlotte friends! The time has come to put on our running shoes, dig deep, and embrace the challenge of a lifetime. We understand the power of community and the strength of our collective effort. But this race will be unlike any other. We will run not only for ourselves but to make a dream come true – welcoming our son from South Korea into our loving embrace through the gift of adoption. Join us as we push boundaries, inspire hope, and transform lives one stride at a time.

🏃‍♂️ Date: Saturday, October 14th

🏃‍♂️ Time: 0600

🏃‍♂️ Location: Lower Providence Community House (9735 Community House Road, Charlotte, NC, 28277)

🌟 What to Expect at the Homecoming Ultra 5k

🏁 Ten Hours, Ten 5ks: Get ready for the ultimate test of endurance and perseverance! Can you complete a 5k every hour, for ten consecutive hours? Not up to the full 50k? There will be options to run/ruck a 5k, 10k or 25k as well. 

💪 Embrace the Grit: This race series will push your mental and physical limits. Embrace the grit and determination it takes to overcome obstacles, knowing that every step you take supports a greater cause.

🏅 Ten-Fold Accomplishment: Completing a 5k is an achievement in itself, but conquering ten of them in a day is a feat to remember! Each participant will receive a special medal as a symbol of their ten-fold accomplishment.

🎉 Fuel and Rest: We’ve got you covered between races! Enjoy a variety of snacks, refreshments, and a designated rest area to recharge your body and spirit. We’re in this together, and together we’ll conquer each 5k!

🎗️ Registration and Fundraising:

REGISTER HERE —> https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeMxhoSfZcn-0Dc67-H8–B3udbna9GSf9WL9Uf8YkpLPLK6w/viewform

There is no race fee! You are encouraged to donate any amount to our fundraising campaign. You can read more about our adoption story and give to through our Lifesong giving page (Lifesong is a 501c3). Your participation in the Homecoming Ultra 5k will raise the funds needed for us to make two trips in November/December to unite with our soon-to-be son from South Korea. Every lap you complete will bring us closer to our adoption fundraising goal. 

By joining the Homecoming Ultra 5k, you’ll not only challenge yourself physically but also play an instrumental role in bringing joy and love into the life of a child in need.

HC now, and let’s unite our hearts and soles for a truly unforgettable day.

SYITG 🌄

– Midriff (Justin Ogden)

The 8-Block

DATE: 2023-01-09 AO: Firestarter Q: midriff PAX: das_boot, Franky, f3bigtuna, chippy, Point Break, Hippie, Rudy, one star, prohibition, Lawfawnduh, wingman FNGs: None COUNT: 11 WARMUP: SSHs, IWs, Mountain Climbers, runner’s lunge, calf stretch, merkins and little/big arm circles. Dynamic running stretches on our way to Target. @Prohibition thought he was at Swift for a running workout.
THE THANG: Journey to the ole cinder block pile on the side of Target. I brought 6 fresh blocks, so we had just enough coupons to go around. 8 sets of 4 exercises, starting with 2 reps each and moving all the way up to 16 reps. First set: block merkins, curls, press and tricep extension. After each set jog to a light on the right and back. Higher rep count means further run. Second set: squats, bent over rows, forearm pulses and block-ees (burpees with an overhead press at the end with block). Block-ees were definitely crowd favorite. Make it three sets in and it’s time to mosey home. Stop for 50 wall presses before making it home.
MARY: Flutter kicks with block in between sets.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: @Franky has done a phenomenal job getting Q’s lined up for the next 2 months! #rockstar
COT: Shoutout to all the HIMs who have helped out to cover a meal while my house has been out of commission from a pipe bursting and flooding the first floor over Christmas. Truly blessed to receive meals and encouragement while we navigate the home repair.
I shared my 8-Block resource for planning my time/effort in 2023. It’s a phenomenal resource for defining my concentrica, and 1st F, 2nd F and 3rd F goals. I’ll share a link to the original podcast and my 8-block for accountability. It’s easy to state a goal, it’s harder to find men to share it with who you know will hold you accountable. That’s what the 8-block is all about!

Deck the Halls: The 12-1 Decks of Christmas Preblast

Tuck and I decided that 10 decks weren’t enough last year. So we’re taking it up to 11. Tuck also decided that he wanted YHC to lead this thing. The annual tradition must continue so here goes nothing. We had over 40 guys last year, can we get 50 this year? 

For the uninitiated, this event is quite simple:

  • Launch from the Brave
  • Run up to the top of a parking deck
  • Take the stairs down
  • Run to the next parking deck

Only this year it’s bigger and badder. Can you hit all 11 decks within a 2-hour period while running approximately 10 miles?

Feeling a little daunted by 11 concrete corridors? Take on 7 parking decks in 1 hour. Either way, it’s a fine opportunity to push yourself and share in a unique experience. 

The Thang

  • Friday, December 16th at the Brave (AO)
  • Launch from the parking lot in front of the Gibson Woody’s, Broken Egg cafe at intersection of Community House and Ballantyne Commons
  • 4:30 a.m. launch to hit the first 4 decks and run about 4.6 miles in less than an hour. Here’s the route
  • 5:30 a.m. launch to hit 7 decks in an hour and run about 4.32 miles in less than an hour. Here’s the route
  • Psychos will hit all 11 decks and cover just about 10 miles in two hours XD
  • Whether you take on all 11 or just 7, we’ll finish at 6:30 with Christmas cookies + coffeeteria back at launch

When in doubt, bear crawl it out

DATE: 2022-11-29 AO: Bagpipe Q: midriff PAX: Spitball, Chopper, Palmolive, snowflake, Saigon Sam, Olaf, war_eagle, picasso, Carny FNGs: None COUNT: 10 Dang, it’s really been 3+ months since I Q’d a workout! Will I remember how to call an exercise in cadence? Will I thoroughly smoke myself halfway through the workout? I should probably keep it simple. So simple we went. Stick to bear crawl and running. Yeah, that sounds about right.
THE THANG: Mosey in 30 seconds prior to launch. Olaf or Chopper mentions something about not wanting to bear crawl – great! Share the mission and motto of F3 and we’re off into the endless and eerie parking lots of Ballantyne Corporate Park.
Focus on proper form when crawling like a bear, which means keeping the back straight, taking smaller steps and keeping the hips in line with the elbows. Partner up for proper form and execution. With partner, alternate between bear crawls and 10 merkins, 20 LBC and 30 squats. For some reason Spitball couldn’t figure this one out until we got rolling. Mosey to parking lot in front of building next to the bull ring. Bear crawl 5 parking spaces, crab walk 5 parking spaces until we reach the median. Killer B’s to the final median: bear crawl 3 spaces, 5 broad jumps. Mosey to Loch Ness for Indian Bear Crawl Run. Last person in line does 5 burpees, then runs to the front of the bear crawl line. Switch to lunges to give the shoulders/core a break until all pax have done 5 burpees. Mosey to next parking lot for 3 count bear crawls and merkins. Mosey to launch for final round of Bear Crawl Death March. Crawl in a circle until I yell stop, each pax takes a turn doing 10 merkins, hold plank until all pax have individually completed merkins. And that’s time.
SHOUTOUTS: Miss you Rousey, can’t wait to see you in the gloom soon. Great seeing Palm Olive add weekday workouts to the repertoire – keep accelerating my friend! Not enough CFB trashtalk today, but there were some good Clemson zingers and Florida State appreciation in there. @JerryWorld even dropped an Aggie Emoji on Slack, which shows that he’s still lurking in the shadows even if he’s not out in the gloom with us. Love having you join us throughout the week Saigon Sam and bringing your Florida rays and energy to our region. Great work Spitball keeping the energy and silliness high for SOB’s finest Tuesday workout. Always a good time at hitting the bag at the pipe.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: Lots of ways to serve this weekend: Impact Local SIGN UP to run, walk, hang out or just donate! Taco Stand’s Death Race: still need runners and aid station volunteers. CHRISTMAS PARTY!!
COT: F3 is a gift that keeps giving to me in my life. Precisely because of the high-impact men that sharpen me and I have the honor to sharpen throughout the week, when we’re crawling together on pavement, or opening up in personal conversation before, during and after workouts. Let’s keep giving this gift away by helping FNG’s and kotters embrace the suck. Thanks Citgo for the reminder where true hope, love, joy and peace comes from during this season of the year. Appreciate your prayer and invitation to dig deeper into our faith in the Creator.

Now Brothers, go fight for the ones you love

Three ways of the warrior:

  1. A warrior knows what and who he is fighting for
  2. A warrior never fights alone
  3. A warrior sharpens other warriors

Workout adapted from Darebee’s 3-minute Warrior WOD: https://darebee.com/pdf/workouts/3minute-warrior-workout.pdf

HIIT Workout

  • 4 exercises: punches, kicks, pushups, jump squats
  • 3 intervals
  • 3 sets each, 1 minute rest in between sets
  • Added a hill sprint, bear crawl and 2 called ab exercises
  • Daft Punk’s Discovery album on speaker

Moleskine

  • Lots of pre-runners today (Circuit, Hops, Happy Meal)
  • Thanks Wild Turkey for bringing the shovel flag and reinvigorating this site
  • Thanks Happy Meal for making the drive from Mint Hill
  • Mic Check questioned the Daft Punk music selection when the playlist hit Digital Love but kept us going throughout this beatdown
  • Hops and Mic Check were throwing out names for our Joey, our Friendly New Guy (FNG), basically the minute the workout started. Hops gets so giddy when throwing out names, but it was Mic Check’s recommendation that stuck
  • Welcome Joey to F3! Ali with an “i” because of all the Karate Kid chatter
  • Wild Turkey is going to crush his GrowRuck event tomorrow!
  • Thanks Wingman for the photo and your tremendous selfie skills (way #4 of the warrior)

Announcements

  • Christmas Party at Patent Pending’s house
  • Ruck-CPR event in November
  • Pool Party 8/27 at Kirby’s crib
  • Patent Pending is hosting an FNG day at The Maul in the next month with prizes for FNG’s and whoever EH’s the most FNG’s

Truth Nuggets

  • Jesus answered them, “Do you finally believe? In fact, you’re about to make a run for it—saving your own skins and abandoning me. But I’m not abandoned. The Father is with me. I’ve told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world.”
  • “There will be days, usually after a dry season of discontent, when you will find yourself standing in the sunken road of your life, facing something dangerous coming your way that you can feel but not quite see. Gathered behind you will be the people who have chosen to rely upon you for no other reason than you have told them that you were a man upon whom they could rely. And in that moment, you feel very alone. But it will also be at that moment that the dirty breeze will briefly part the clouds, and for just an instant the sun will cause your battered armor to shine brightly. It is then that a voice will whisper in your ear; you are here in harm’s way because I called forth a warrior, and you said Aye. Now go fight. And with a shove, the owner of that voice will push you forward to fight another day. And as you draw your broadsword, as you knew you would, you will be thankful that you had the help of your Brothers in keeping it sharp, for just as iron sharpens iron, one man sharpens another….. Now Brothers, go fight for the ones you love.”

Don’t worry Napoleon, I’m sure there’s a babe out there for you too. Peace out.

Posting for LaFawnduh

14 pax joined me for my VQ at the Maul! Started off with a mosey to Regal to see if Napoleon Dynamite 2 was out. Got a warm up in where YHC (Your Humble Correspondent) needs to improve on calling exercises in cadence.

Mosey over to Chipotle as Napoleon wanted a dang quesadilla. Proceeded to do a modified Walls of Jericho (7 reps, 7 reps, 7 laps) of Merkins, jump squats, step ups, burpees, dips, plank jacks and shoulder taps.

Mosey over to Gamestop, grab a copy of Dance Dance Revolution to work on our dance skills. Run to each median (4) and do 15 merkins, back to the line to do 15 lunges. Next was 2 medians and 15 jump squats and 15 merkins. Final median and 15 merkins and 15 lunges.

Mosey back to Tap and Vine for some wall sits and air presses before circling up and half the circle called an exercise for Mary. Ending with Rooster’s call of Big Boy Situps.

Thanks for all who offered great advice and feedback to make my next Q better. Stay focused guys!

Laying out for D’s like a 25 year old

The thought of playing frisbee brought out 6 pax + 2 other pax who showed up for the first time in a long time. Welcome back Drago and Clubbers to the gloom.

We sprinted, twisted ankles, laid out for defense, flicked, tossed, burpee’d and merkin’d for a full 45-minute workout heavy on ultimate frisbee.

Drago won match MVP as he accounted for 3/4 scores for team Shirts. Team Skins never quite managed to make it to the end zone.

Consensus was to do this next week and for the foreseeable future – Ultimate Tuesday’s at The Bottom Line!

Invite a friend out to throw some disc next week and get in a solid workout too. Drago said he’ll be bringing out four guys for next week’s round.

Tabetha and the Butt Weinke

Q’ing the Brave is quite simple:

  • Run 4 miles
  • Call a few exercises along the way

Hmm, let’s see how many rock piles we can hit while running the Community House – Bryant Farms – Elm – Ballantyne Commons loop.

  • First stop: tire flips and ascending merkins at the YMCA
  • Rock Pile #1: Curls in cadence and squats with rock
  • Rock Pile #2: Bent over rows, flutter kicks with rock
  • Rock Pile #3: Shoulder press, “heavy humpers” (sky humpers + rock)
  • Rock Pile #4: Ground pounders, american hammers with rock
  • Along the way: Tricep dips, assorted Mary (heels to heaven, plankjacks, LBC’s, flutter kicks)
  • Back at Launch: 3-count burpees, 6-count burpees and Abe Froman

Moleskine

  • While recanting Lex’s awful Q yesterday, I completely mispronounced “Tabata” in a way that sounded like Tabetha. This somehow morphed into a joke about Fire Hazard’s feet
  • Sweet Water nearly took Soft Pretzel out during tire flips
  • We found Gruden’s doppelganger running South on Elm. I yelled out his name and then quickly realized it was not him. Gruden, do you have a twin???
  • The Boston Celtics punk’d the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. #CELTICSIN4
  • Soft Pretzel and Fire Hazard led the pack for much of this morning, demolishing the last mile. Well done
  • Wingman will be hosting a selfie and photoshop session next Friday after the Brave. HC now for your session!
  • Pray for Thin Mint’s uncle, my sister and brother-in-law and Kirby’s sister-in-law

This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave

It’s a Hard [Rock] Life for Us

Exactly a year ago I q’d a rock-themed workout at Da Vinci. Why not run it back??

Props to One Niner for the pre-run. Disclaimer and we’re off to the CFA parking lot for a warmup.

Rock Pile #1 (behind the auto shop, next to the apartment building)

  • 10 curls (in cadence) and 10 heavy humpers (air humpers with rock) x 3 sets –> Quizzical look from an innocent bystander as to why a group of men were circled up thrusting rocks in the air from their lower torsos
  • 10 ground pounders (in cadence) and 10 heavy freddies (freddie mercury with a rock) x 3 sets
  • To Failure: Curls, then ground pounders once you can’t do any more curls
  • Mosey doing 10 jump ups by the fountain, al gore and mountain climbers on way to next rock pile

Rock Pile #2 (nail salon parking lot)

  • 7’s with a rock: 6 merkins, bear crawl push the rock to the other side and do 1 squat with the rock, carry the rock back across. 5 merkins with right arm on the rock, bear crawl push the rock to the other side for 2 rock squats. Continue until 1 merkin and 6 squats. LBC’s with rock until the 6 is in.
  • People’s chair with rock overhead, bring rock down and then out in front with arms straight (in cadence), 10 flutter kicks with rock (in cadence) x 3 sets
  • Rocks down, take a quick lap around the parking lot. Realize that we don’t have enough time to make it to Rock Pile #3 (by the Montessori school), so stick with same rock pile for last set

Same rock pile, new exercises

  • 25 tricep extensions with rock
  • Play a little game of rock scissors paper: Choose a partner. Both in plank position. Play rock scissors paper. Each round: loser does 1 Rockee (burpee with a rock), winner does 1 Merkin. Stay in plank and play 10 total rounds. Every tie, both do a Merkin.
  • To Failure: Shoulder press, then flutter kick with rock press once you can’t do any more shoulder press
  • Mosey back to launch. Stopping for 10 merkins (in cadence) by AT&T parking lot while I scoped the 5k finish line to see if we could dash through it on our way back

Moleskine

  • One Niner nearly shattered the glass during People’s chair with a rock. Sigh of relief when he clanged that rock against the brick wall. Props to One Niner for the 2.5 mile prerun
  • This Omnicron’s first indian/native american/first nations run. Congratulations
  • Jerry World must have a twisted mind because he really enjoyed this workout. Probably more than I did, considering how sore I am feeling the day after
  • Gilbert wins the award for heaviest rock and consistently pushing for the most reps to failure, followed not far behind by Jerry World.
  • Teddy’s a silent killer at these workouts, save for the few gasps of exasperation towards the end of the workout. That’s when I know it’s been a good q.
  • Was hoping we could crash the 5k by going all-you-got through the finish line and douse each other in gatorade. Hopes were dashed when I realized we were running into hundreds of eager 5kers making their way from the finish line (in front of the new gym in Blakeney) to the starting line (next to Old navy). Not gonna lie, it felt very satisfying running against traffic, 5 minutes away from reprieve knowing that these suckers still had to run their own races that lay ahead of them.
  • Someone pointed out that Gilbert was the only one wearing an F3 shirt, so I guess we missed out on a marketing opportunity. Maybe we should just always work out with at least 1 SOB shovel flag..

Announcements/Prayer Requests

  • Memorial Day Murph at The Body Shop: Firestarter converging for that
  • YHC shared how important moments in COT are to our mental and spiritual well-being. Sacred spaces to ask for help, share burdens with each other and be grateful for the blessings we have
  • Pray for Kirby’s sister in law who was just diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in the mouth
  • Pray for my sister Rachel and her battle with bipolar. Pray for her husband Mike
  • YHC took us out in prayer

My midriff brings all the boys to the bag(pipe)

At least that’s what I tell myself. It’s actually Rousey’s brilliant marketing. Early on in his Site Q days, he created the strangest photoshop creations for promotion. Now he’s moved on to fabricated promotional statements. I’ll take the compliments!

Before taking off into the gloom, issue challenge for each pax to learn 1 interesting fact about another pax. Otherwise penalty burpees at COT. And we’re off.

Warmup in parking lot next to Sabor. Frehley’s comments about finding a wet spot.

Mosey across the street to parking deck. Run up a level and complete called exercise OYO: 25 merkins, 50 squats, 75 MC’s, 100 SSH’s

Mosey to fountain, partner up: 50 jump ups, 75 inclined merkins, 100 squats while partner 2 runs to end of sidewalk and back.

Mosey to PNC parking lot for Bear 1-2-3 with partner: Partner 1 bear crawls to ATM and crawl bears back. Partner 2 chips away at 100 merkins, 150 squats and 150 LBC’s. Bear crawls was quite the crowd pleaser

Mosey back to launch, stopping for burpees at each stop sign to stick together. Back at COT for interesting facts – and no penalty burpees!

Did you know? 

  • Tagalong first started playing Pickleball as a COVID sanity hobby in the middle of his street
  • Spitball was a pitcher in high school and grew up 5 minutes away from where he lives now
  • Happy Meal met his wife at a dance party in college. He knew it was love at first sight when they both saw each other jamming out to “Independent Women Part I” by Destiny’s Child
  • Kirby and Macarena’s M’s are both named Eileen
  • Macarena has been in 5 car accidents. It’s a miracle he’s still alive.
  • Abba has 6 children and is returning to Bangkok, Thailand for another 2 years of missionary service
  • Frehley’s and Odd Job both work for Canadian companies, dealing in the municipal bonds market to varying degrees of success
  • Wingman grew up in Germany, where his father served in the Air Force
  • Frehley’s comment about Kirby will not be disclosed

Grateful to have the opportunity to lead a fine group of men. Thank you for closing us in prayer Macarena and sending off Abba in true ball of man Bagpipe style!