… at freaking 0530 in the morning? This is not a highway… for crying out loud!!
… but we all made it… even Insomniac after he had been abducted by aliens for the first 40 minutes of an hour workout doing who-knows-what… we all made it out and back!
18 Goats gathered in the SCMS steamy morning, and 19 returned… (see abduction of Insomniac…)
Here is what went down:
DONE! 4.5 to 5-miles covered. Excellent job!
Moleskin
Great to have guys joining us who are getting ready for BRR. You guys are always welcome to join us! This week, we had Picasso, Meatloaf and Pop Tart out. Thank you guys for joining… we’ll expect you to be regulars for the next 3-4 weeks! Pop Tart even took the initiative to lead the PAX in some LBC’s… thanks for the extra credit!
Second week out for Purrell… who once again led the pack on the gassers… extremely strong!
And second week out for Jello… who is obviously addicted to pain! But seriously, he is getting BRR driver ready so he can throw guys out of the van, scoop up waters and gatorades in one hand, AND run a leg or two just for the heck of it!! Drano is the BRR driver captain, and leading by example!! He too, has to be ready to wear several hats over the BRR weekend!
Lois was looking extremely strong on the gassers to Four Mile Creek. Same for Gullah, Sony, Nomad, Benny and Houdini!
Adobe, Early Bird, Slice, Tweetsie and Sensei put in some great gasser efforts… you guys are awesome!
Not sure what Insomniac did after the probing… he didn’t look too upset, so I assume it was what he is familiar with…
Announcements:
Adobe took us out in prayer… prayers answered for Insomniac’s M’s tests!
With only mere weeks away, 16 goats enjoyed a very refreshing morning of some distance and moderate intervals, featuring the crowd-pleaser Yasso 800’s.
Having disclaimed and reminded by Nomad that I’m NOT a professional… we took off! Our first stop… dodge Insomniac coming in hot on 1-2 wheels… then off to Gullah Junction for warm-up mileage. The thang:
Done! 5-6 miles depending on pace… a great morning!
Moleskin
Just a refresher on the Yasso 800. Some thinking supported by studies says that if you run 10 x 800m intervals, then the time you took to run the 800’s becomes the hours/minutes you would theoretically finish a marathon. So if you did your 800’s in 4:00 (and your 400m in 4:00…) you would theoretically run a 4:00:00 marathon. 4:30 would be a 4:30:00 marathon… 5:07 would be a 5:07:00 marathon… etc.
Obviously there are many other factors to consider, and there are many supporters and skeptics of that thinking… mine is not to debate… only to provide the opportunity for you to sweat and breathe heavily!!
Great group this morning with some new PAX to Mountain Goat.
Purell joined us from his normal Ascent AO. Let me say this… Purell is a runner! But I will keep that a secret until he is HC for the next BRR on our team… so SHHHHH!! Purell had ZERO problems running 3:00 800m intervals, and this is only his 4th post! I’m thinking we have a ringer in our midst!! Seriously, welcome, and please come back!
Blackbeard also did awesome for his first post at Mountain Goat! Blackbeard was joined by Picasso and Meatloaf… all training for BRR. You guys are looking strong! Thanks for joining us… you are welcome to join us any time!
Welcome to Jello, who is going to drive for us at BRR and will take at least 1 leg… it’s like being at the candy store… you HAVE to have a sample! Jello… looking great out there! We’re going to make a runner out of you before you know it!
Also… not new to Mountain Goat, but I haven’t seen him in a while is Adobe. Adobe came as a BRR spectator, and left as a participant! Welcome to the Mountain Goat team, and please continue to comeback to Mountain Goat on Fridays! Always welcome!
Happy 1-year anniversary to Tweetsie! He told everyone about the 2nd post he had last August when we did a 3-4 mile tempo run down to the Greenway and back. I won’t sugarcoat it… Somewhere around Spackler Hill, I came across Tweetsie on his knees puking his dinner up. My encouragement to him was first to get out of the road… then to take it easy getting back to SCMS… because there wasn’t any way I was going to be able to carry him! I remember thinking… “He’s not going to come back… I’ve made him puke… this won’t be good for publicity…. !!” 1-year later, Tweetsie has lost around 50-pounds, and is running 20-25 miles/week. He is running in BRR, and is Q-ing regularly!
Congrats on the anniversary… and congrats on the life-change! You are a huge inspiration!
At this point, I do have to acknowledge the same anniversary for Lois… who unfortunately LOVES Yasso 800’s, but is out of town in Murrels Inlet for vacation. He loves them sooo much, he calls them “Sucko 800’s”… and Sensei concurs… Lois, like Tweetsie, has demonstrated a great amount of progress in 1-year. He is running BRR, leading sites, and generally kicking butt!
Both Lois and Tweetsie are great representatives of Area 51 and the sites they attend… thank you both!
The regulars were there… getting BRR-fine tuned! Nomad, Slice and Purell joined for the early warm-up.
Retread… solid! Insomniac is kicking butt with multiple runs this week of some pretty hefty mileage. Can’t wait to see him on the BRR course! Houdini, the same!
Beefeater was looking strong… he’s gearing up for BRR 2018!!
Early Bird was keeping a great pace out there! High Tide wasn’t far behind. High Tide is another great example of someone making huge progress in 1-2 years. HT was a 0.0 miler just a little over a year ago… then he caught the BRR bug… now he’s hooked!
I say it every week… but you guys are AWESOME! Thanks for your commitment to the site, and for making it fun!!
Announcements:
11 Goats joined the humidity only found in Central American jungles for some highly anticipated hill intervals, and a special “kill” overview from the legendary kill-machine himself…. Mr. Brady! More on that in a moment… but let’s recap the SIMPLE workout:
We completed around 5-miles.
Moleskine:
All eyes are on Blue Ridge Relay… and today’s workout was a way to expand the VO2 consumption so that when you are in the hills in September, they will seem to be FLAT! That’s the expectation! In addition to developing that capacity, Mr. Brady shared his legendary strategy for making a “kill” in BRR. A “kill” is when you pass someone while you’re running your leg. Mr. Brady has racked up many! He told us to approach a “kill” slowly… you don’t want to go flying past them, then bonk and get re-passed. This can be especially painful when the passer is of the female persuasion… that is called getting “Chicked”.
Anyway, it was great to have Mr. Brady join us this morning! Obviously leading the way on each interval, but then swinging back to finish with the 6! Thanks for the encouragement!
Also good to have Early Bird join us. He has been a bit AWOL for the past several months, but we learned he’s been mixing in biking with running. In fact, he rode in 6-miles, pre-ran 1-mile, did the workout, then rode back home 6-miles… that is impressive! Definitely BRR-Ready!!
I will have to say that Houdini and Insomniac found some extra gears today! You guys stayed very consistent in your times for the intervals, and just really pushed it. Excellent!
Tweetsie is looking strong! He has shrugged off that pesky ankle injury… BRR-Strong!! I inadvertently burst his bubble about the intrigue of someone being at a Country Club at 5:30 in the morning… I’m sorry! Please forgive!!
Nomad did pre-run and was solid as usual! Drano and Lois were also making it look easy! BRR-Ready… Drano especially is ready to jump in as the team needs him!
The Mouth of course was bringing it solid, and then there’s Sensei, who pushes hard every week! I won’t go into details… but Sensei gave some medical reasons for his blindness… and then it devolved from there… just trust the myth!!
Speaking of Sensei… he will be competing with his Beep Baseball team from San Antonio in the National Beep Baseball Assoc. World Series this next week in West Palm Beach, FL. Keep Sensei in your prayers for safety and to have a great time… he’s taking his son. Between the 2 of us, we will try to keep you guys updated on the results of the games.
Tweetsie took us out with a prayer. You guys are awesome! SF
13 Goats stepped into the humid gloom to run some track/hill combo intervals. With a fresh layer of rain and standing water to create a rain forest, we took off to do the following:
Everyone got in 2 full rounds plus a couple of 200’s… 4.75 to 5.5 mi total!
Moleskine:
Excellent job out there… especially for such a humid morning! I know there was a lot of water weight lost! This was a mix of some speed work on the track, combined with some hills on Woodfox. We will continue to mix it up in prep for BRR. Nothing better than to run some hills on tired legs!!
Welcome to FNG Belle… Evan Buckingham… he was definitely Belle of the Ball! I was ready to give him a strong name based on a VERY STRONG showing on the intervals. Belle can run! However, Belle took it upon himself to offer his own name, and of course, then it is out of my hands… But seriously, Belle it is great to have you join us… keep coming back!
Welcome back Strange Brew!! Brew has been traveling a ton… and then had a bout with Malaria…. yikes!! Great to have you join us, and continued thoughts as you recover back to 100%!
Also, welcome back Beaver, who’s also been traveling. Looked good out there given an extended time off!
Goonie… looking strong and BRR-ready!!
Insomniac, Nomad, Retread, Drano, Tweetsie and Lois… all looking strong as we inch closer to BRR.
Sensei gave 110%! As we rounded corner 2 on the track, I looked down and noticed an object in the track. Before I could notify Sensei… it moved!! It was a frog!! It jumped just in time to miss my step, but I can’t say with 100% certainty it missed Sensei’s step! That was how humid and wet it was… we were basically in an aquarium!!
The Mouth was… the Mouth!
Announcements:
12 Goats double-checked the calendar to confirm it really IS June… and gathered for another promise of tired legs, O2 deprivation and miles tackled.
With a little lite stretching and everyone in place, we set off for the following:
1. Warm-up run on Rounding Run.
2. Increase intensity to Gullah Junction :-), which means attack the hills, shorten your stride, and keep your breathing relaxed and regulated.
3. Mosey to bottom portion of Raintree Ln at RTCC.
4. We ran to the corner of Raintree and Four Mile Creek twice to work on form, attack, etc… with Mosey to the bottom.
5. Attack run back to the corner of Raintree and Rounding Run.
6. Cool Down back to SCMS… Light stretching during COT…. DONE
Excellent job! We covered around 5 miles!
Moleskine:
You guys are awesome! We will continue to work in some hill-focused workouts with other interval training to make sure everyone is in tip-top shape for BRR! I am confident you will be!
I’m thankful every week for you men! Looking forward to next week already!
Announcements:
1. 4th of July Speed For Need 4-miler.
2. Let Slim Fast know if you are interested in running the BRR… not too late (end of June will be too late!!)
“It’s not how fast you run, it’s how well you run fast…!!!” 11 Goats ended a shortened Memorial Day week with a lesson from Dr. Slice on proper hill running! It went something like this:
1. Disclaimer in parking lot… everyone on time… let’s headout!
2. Headed to Windbluff in Raintree. Relatively new territory for many of the Goats!
3. After dynamic stretching, we did 5 ascents of the Windbluff hill… mosey back to bottom.
4. Moseyed to top of other hill, and did descent followed by ascent x2.
5. Moseyed to Raintree CC parking lot; did ascent to Rounding Run…
6. Finished with mosey back to SCMS parking lot
DONE! 4.8 miles including hill work… well done!!
Moleskine:
Lots of talking today… of course, if you ask The Mouth, he will say that is the norm! The focus today was FORM! Most of the Goats just busted through PB’s last week in the timed mile. Now as we pivot towards BRR training, it will benefit us to be running in the topography closer to that of Barnardsville, NC…. HILLS!
To summarize… here are the key points:
1. Attack the hill
2. Shorten your stride… and if you think it is short, shorten it some more
3. Keep your breathing steady and relaxed
That form is different from downhill and flat sprinting… the goal is that as you transition from downhill or flat to “climb”, you shorten the stride to conserve energy and be most “efficient”.
For EVERYONE, this will take practice… just read any book on the subject, or ask anyone that is knowledgeable. Don’t expect it to change overnight! I just ask that you work on it on your own, and when we are together running hills!
Welcome to Help Desk. This is his 2nd F3 workout… he went to Devil’s Turn yesterday! I’m thinking he is a glutton for punishment!! But regardless… welcome, and keep coming back!
Thanks again to Dr. Slice! He brought some credibility to the concepts and helped demonstrate to the other Goats! Plus, he added the incentive that when you demonstrate mastery of the shortened stride, you will receive the nice gift beach tote that he brought to SMR. It is really cute and roomy… with a shoulder strap, and goes with most of his outfits!!
Retread got a double-dose of Raintree hills based on his participation in the Ghost Runner on Thursday night! It didn’t phase him!
Houdini and Insomniac were drinking up the recommendations… they are hungry to improve!
Nomad, Benny, Tweetsie and Drano made it look simple! Lois also continues to be strong… gets it done!!
You guys are AWESOME! Thanks for committing week after week to make Mountain Goat the best running workout in F3!! There, I said it…. it’s what everybody is thinking… I just said it!
Announcements:
21 Goats showed up at South Charlotte Middle School with one thing on their mind… Personal Best in the Timed-Mile… or “how soon can this be over…” one of those!!
We did some light stretching in the parking lot, then moseyed to the track for some warm-up laps and dynamic stretching… final instructions… then make it happen!
Here the results…. congrats to EVERYONE! YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!!
| Name | 5/26/17 Timed Mile | |
| Frasier | 5:00 | |
| JRR Tolkien | 5:19 | PB |
| Turkey Leg | 5:50 | |
| Top Gun 2(Joker) | 5:52 | |
| Sensei | 6:23 | PB |
| Goonie | 6:45 | PB |
| Retread | 6:59 | PB |
| Benny | 6:59 | PB |
| Huggie Bear | 7:07 | PB |
| Slice | 7:08 | PB |
| Insomniac | 7:48 | PB |
| Tweetsie | 7:52 | PB |
| Drano | 8:00 | PB |
| Lois | 8:37 | PB |
| Gullah | 9:10 | PB |
| Kilowatt | 9:39 | PB |
| Big Bang | 10:30 | PB |
| Pele | 10:34 |
14 out of 18 runners set PB’s!! INCREDIBLE!! Again, I can’t say how proud I am for each of you… !!
Have a great weekend to remember those who have sacrificed their lives for us to have the freedoms we have! I’m thankful for those freedoms, and I’m thankful for each of you guys.
Enjoy your weekend… you deserve a break! Safe travels!
Announcements:
1. #F3SpeedForNeed – Find a way to become involved.
2. Saturday Convergence at Rock Zero – Calvary
3. Monday Convergence at Base Camp – South Charlotte Middle School
Here’s what the critics said about an old skool beat down delivered by Slim Fast:
“It is not often that I have a 250 lb sweaty man on my back [at 5:45 in the morning]!!” – Smokey
“What other weird stuff are we going to do?” – Horsehead
“Is that Slim Fast’s version of a 10-count… to tell a story about some East African long-tailed lemur???” and of course, followed by… “That’s what she said…” – The Mouth
“Do I get extra points for flapping my wings?” – Fireman Ed
“Pants, optional…[during BTTW] ” – Anonymous
“You crawl through Tunnel of Love on your STOMACH…. not your BACK!” – Anonymous
27 men showed up for an anticipated Booyah beat down, which would typically include some yoga at the end… however, Booyah was on call to cover for Mike and Mike in the event they got fired and therefore wasn’t able to Q… so we had to settle for Slim Fast.
Here’s how it went down:
Mosey to Church Parking Lot for some light jogging
COP:
5 Burpees OYO
SSH x 20
Low Slow Squat x 20
Mountain Climbers x 20
IW x 20
5 Burpees OYO
Mosey to field; split up into lines of 3 for some animal relays.
P3 goes to far side, P1 does called exercise, P2 goes to P3, then flap jack… keep going until “stop” is called:
Rd. 1: Crab-walk while partners do LBC’s
Rd 2: Bear crawl while partners do CDD’s
Rd 3: Backwards run while partners do squats
Rd 4: Lunge walk while partners do squats
Rd 5: Partner carry across to other partner… flap jack
Split into two lines for some old skool tunnel of love. 1 time through to the outside, then everyone returns back to the inside.
Mosey back to church wall next to the parking lot for 2 rounds of BTTW.
Done!
Moleskine:
Always a pleasure leading and working out with you guys! This group is strong physically, and VERY STRONG in commitment and encouragement!
Thanks to Nomad for leading Sensei this morning! I’m sure Sensei appreciated some fresh conversation… AND you didn’t lead him into any immovable objects… like trees and poles… so it was a success!
For those new to the Tunnel of Love… I hope you enjoyed! We don’t pull out too often, but when we do, it is always a crowd pleaser!!
T-claps to Sensei, Nomad and The Count for the pre-run… although The Count nearly got clotheslined by Sensei and Slim Fast as he came out of the darkness, head-on, on a non-lighted street… wearing all-black and NO headlamp!! Right before Sensei went roundhouse on him, we recognized who it was… Good thing… I would have hated to call his M to tell her what happened!!
Announcements:
55-minutes… perfect running conditions… last 5-minutes… torrential downpour!! I’m sure Matt Ryan, Dan Quinn and Arthur Blanks all said… “When it rains Brady… it pours!!”
I digress… 9 goats chose wisely to end their week with a dose of #F3MountainGoat! The program was simple, and having disclaimed, off we went to do the following:
DONE! Total 4.75 to 5.5 miles depending on pace.
Moleskine:
Excellent job out there! The 4-minute run is a good time to really gas the lungs/legs, but takes you to just short of death… good times, good times!
Great to have Houdini out! I think this was his first Mountain Goat… unless I missed one! Regardless, welcome!! I know you will make it as often as you can! Great job out there!
Kilowatt was a great host!! I just hope he had fully disclosed to Houdini about what to expect!
Lois and Tweetsie, excellent job as always! Tweetsie coming in strong following an excellent VQ at Peak yesterday, and Lois is planning his VQ for Peak next week. You boys are doing AWESOME!
Benny keeps bringing it strong! Plus we got him committed to BRR, so that is 2 great things!
Great to have Geraldo join us after a long period of absence! He goes off and finds himself eating shrooms and other plant life… Time to get BRR ready! Strong today!!
Slice is becoming a regular as he is getting BRR-ready… although his strong performance at Smoky Mountain Relay followed by a HUGE performance at Nashville Half means he just needs to maintain! Great stuff!
Insomniac continues to get stronger! Have fun camping this weekend! Give us a review of the mountain runs when you get back! Thanks for the prayer!
We didn’t lose anyone this week… (Gullah…), so I call that a success!!
You guys are awesome! Thanks for hanging through the downpour!
Announcements:
9 Easter-ready Goats “hopped” out of the fartsack to start off the Easter weekend celebration on a BEAUTIFUL Good Friday morning with some strong running and heavy breathing! Here’s how it went down:
Most goats got 2 rounds on the track and 1.5 laps down Strawberry (approx. 1 mi). Meaning everyone got 4.5-6 miles completed depending on pace. Excellent job!!
Moleskine
This is a slightly new format… weigh-in if you liked the format. It allows for several options to mix-in faster intervals with longer-distance running… which is what we do at Mountain Goat!!
Today was a big homecoming! Half and half regulars plus site FNG, semi-regulars and Kotters!
Welcome Mountain Goat Site-FNG Jello… I think! At least I can’t recall Jello ever being there when I was there. Regardless, Jello is getting stronger all the time… across many workouts! Great job out there today! Please come back as often as you can… especially as you get ready to run BRR… now that you’re soft-committed!
Welcome “home” Strange Brew!! We’ve missed having you, but understand your schedule has been turned upside down! It didn’t look as if you’ve missed too many runs! I know you’ve been spending more time with the meatheads… a.k.a the Donkeys!! But Mountain Goats can love Donkeys… so come back as often as you can!
Equally welcome back to Tutti… he pops in and out as his schedule allows, but I’ll tell you this… you have gotten fast!! Great job today! Tutti was leading the pack the entire morning!
While we’re at it… welcome Fireman Ed… who pops in at least once or twice/quarter. Since we run in FE’s neighborhood, it isn’t really like he is ever “gone”… but always great to have you join!
And last Kotter, but not least… welcome Slice! Great to have you join us! Looking forward to running Smoky Mountain Relay with you in 5-days!! You are running strong as usual!
Beaver… way to push it… !!
Benny… great stuff… strong….
Insomniac… strong as usual… glad the allergies are minimized!
Announcements:
1. Two runs on 4/29… Richard Sheltra Run, and Gethsemane Gardens Run
2. F3 Brolympics – 4/22
3. Let Slim Fast know if you’re interested in running the BRR… Jello… I’m looking in your direction!! 🙂
Great prayer by Jello! Everyone have a great Easter weekend! He is Risen!