9 Goats checked the calendar to see if it was April 7th or January 7th… The temperature was actually colder today than it was on 1/7!! But alas, with Spring Break kicking into gear and beach weather around the corner (in theory!), it was time to rise and shine for another installment of Mountain Goat.
Having assembled and disclaimed via ESPN… we did something like this:
Mosey to the track:
DONE! We completed 5.5 – 6 miles this morning! Excellent day’s work!
Moleskine
You guys are awesome! Here are some notes:
I say it all the time, but Friday mornings mean a ton to me! It is great to spend them with you guys!!
Announcements
Freedom took us out in prayer.
You had to be there… would have been a great Mouth moment… but alas he is still in the Wild West skiing the slopes of Utah! More on that in a moment…
14 PAX arrived in celebration of hopefully the FINAL chilly morning… YHC at least is celebrating… with the anticipation of improving their stamina and running form. Here’s how we did it…
We got from 5-7 miles depending on pace. EXCELLENT JOB!
Moleskine:
Retread, Insomniac, Lois and Tweetsie… you guys are so solid!! You guys are the core of Mtn Goat… thanks for your leadership and commitment!
Great to have Freedom back out… Thanks for transporting Sensei… who is definitely a passenger-seat driver… man, the guy never shuts up… ! (Just playing…) But most of all, thanks for doing something that pushes you harder than it might push others. You give it 100%, and I want you to know it is recognized!
We had several new PAX today, which is awesome! Meatloaf, Chin Music and Picasso are site FNG’s. Great to have you guys join us… please come back as often as you can. All 3 are strong runners, with Chin Music leading the way for all segments.
Also great to have Alf join us. He is not a site FNG, if my memory is good… but it has been a while. Alf is a strong runner, and was at the front pack for all of the segments. For the several years I’ve known Alf and worked out/run together… all I can say is he continues to get faster and stronger! You’re always welcome at Mtn Goat!
Alf gets credit for the “That’s Not My Towel” title… YHC, in reference to the much hoped for warming temps, innocently said, “This will be the last time you will see me [Slim Fast] in pants…” And of course since everyone has the maturity of 11-year olds… 🙂 . Then Alf quipped… “Sensei will be saying ‘That’s Not My Towel!!'”…! So when The Mouth is out, Alf aptly fills in!!
Mr. Brady continues to get stronger as he recovers… running pretty strong to me!! I’m not sure you can call that recovery anymore!! Mr. Brady shed a layer… and he is usually the only one bundled up as much or close as Slim Fast. So when I didn’t see his technicolor running top… I was about to send a search and rescue team… but alas, he was in a different top!
Great to have Drano out… I will be sending him a distance calculator… 1 lap around the track = 400m… he can figure out the more complex math from there!
Also great to see Benny out this morning. He said his arms were sore from yesterday… I can’t think of why that would be…. oh yeah… Freedom gave him a Sledgehammer to swing!! Great to have you out!
Sensei is getting his legs BRR ready! He hasn’t acknowledged that commitment yet… but now that everyone has read it… he will not be able to decline!! Seriously, it is always an honor running with Sensei, and he continues to build his weekly mileage.
Always an honor leading this group!
Announcements:
1. 2 charity runs on 4/29… Richard Sheltra 5k/10k, and Gethsemane Gardens 5k for Haiti orphans
2. Let Slim Fast or Retread know if you are interested in running the Blue Ridge Relay in September.
3. Sign-up for F3 Dads Weekend in August… see website for details.
… but the Mountain Goats managed to keep warm! 7 Goats left the warmth of their pj’s and duvets to endure hopefully the Groundhog’s final fury! I believe this was the coldest Mountain Goat this year… and it is MARCH!! That is MADNESS!!
But I digress… Having been appropriately disclaimed, and allowing for Tweetsie to come in hot on 2-wheels, we set off for the following:
DONE! We got in 5.5-5.8 miles, including 1-mile at an R-Pace… which is very close to 1-mile race pace. Excellent job as always!
Moleskine:
While the numbers were a little lighter today than normal, we still had a great showing! I’m assuming Winter’s final Ball Buster didn’t help, plus some have started Spring Break.
I do like the 200M intervals… deceivingly difficult!
Joker was leading the pack on all of the intervals… made me think of The Kings song “Switchin’ to Glide”… as Joker does!
Great to have Geraldo join us. He is starting his BRR training early! Geraldo and Retread were hanging close to the front throughout the morning.
Beaver, Insomniac and Tweetsie all keep getting stronger! You guys give it 100% without fail!
During stretching, Joker posed the question of what would be a good English Premier League team to follow, especially if you are just getting interested in the game. For those that don’t know, the EPL is the top level of soccer (football) in the UK.
In English Football each year, the bottom 3 teams of the top league move down to the next lower league (called relegation), and the top 3 teams of the lower league move up to the next higher league (called promotion).
It should be noted that Insomniac is a fan of Newcastle United, which were relegated last season from the top league (EPL) to the 2nd league… the “Championship” league. They will most likely be in the top league (EPL) next season, but go to show you that even legacy teams that stink it up can face the shame, not to the mention the economic loss, of moving to a lower level. This would be akin to the San Francisco 49’ers having to play in the USFL instead of the NFL… or a stinky MLB team moving from MLB to Triple A.
So for those that are looking to become interested in following an EPL team, here are some references that might help you:
Top Teams (many would call these bandwagon teams… you will know these names):
Next Tier that are great teams that are not as popular outside Europe. These teams are collectively like the Titans, Redskins, Baltimore… mid-table… some days they are great, some days they are stinky:
Lowest Tier — these are working class teams that won’t be in the EPL year after year… they usually have a season or two up, then down, back up, etc… These teams are always in danger of relegation. These are your Cleveland Browns, Jaguars, Bears…
Relegation Danger — these teams are in the “relegation zone”… meaning if the league ended today, they would move down. They will continue to fight to stay up… but some things are inevitable…
Announcements:
Tweetsie took us out in prayer.
16 PAX gathered in the [hopefully] final chilly morning for a much anticipated installment of 5-5-4-4-3-3 intervals. After disclaiming… I think… we headed to Strawberry for the following:
Done! Finished 5-5.5 miles!
Moleskine
Always a pleasure to spend my Friday with this group! It is great to have Retread on as co-Q, and it is such an honor that you guys have made this workout your priority for Fridays. Truly an honor!
Great to have Mr. Brady join us as part of his recovery regimen. He will be back to his fleet ways in no time at all. Please keep coming back!
Same for JRR Tolkien. He has been out a few times as he has been recovering… always welcome! And thanks to JRR T, I now know the only thing you need to say if you own a Chinese Buffet… “You stay too long! You pay NOW!” Hilarious!
Retread, Marlin and Goonie were all leading the pack today. Excellent job by each of you! And Nomad was never far behind!
Sensei allowed me to lead him this morning, despite the “incident” from yesterday… (ask Nomad). Let’s just say it was not something I’m proud of… old-self was on display!!
Great to have Sensei and Freedom starting to come regularly, all thanks to Freedom providing the transportation… although Sensei has indicated he may start driving himself… more to come!
Sony made a long-awaited appearance! Great to have you… all of the other AO’s that you post to on Fridays are a bunch of losers… you need to keep coming back to Mtn Goat!!
Drano, Gullah, Beaver, Kilowatt, Tweetsie and Lois… solid as always! You guys get stronger every week! Kilowatt only comes because I guilt him… but whatever it takes!!
Again, excellent job! I do encourage each of you to find an app, a device, or a combination of both to track your mileage. Can even be a pencil and paper! But it is important to document how many miles you are running as this will both be an encouragement as you see what you are achieving, and also show how much you need to achieve before the end of the week.
If you are interested, ping me, text me, grab me after a workout and I can share some methods I’ve used in the past pre- having a GPS watch.
Announcements:
Thanks to Mr. Brady for the send-off prayer. Retread on Q next week!
13 PAX, including FNG Groupie (Jeff Buckmann), gathered in the “is it cold, or is it not??” clear morning sky of South Charlotte Middle School for another installment of F3 Base Camp under the Q of Slim Fast. Having disclaimed, off we went into the subtle moonlit, yet star-filled sky… yes… very bro-mantic!
The Thang:
Mosey to the first baseball field for COP:
Quick stretching
SSH x 20
Low Slow Squat x 20
Merkin x 10
Imperial Walker x 20
Mountain Climbers x 15
Mosey to Home plate for Left Field Triple Nickel… e.g. down the left field line!
1. Do 5 Squats at Home plate, then run left field line to fence, do 5 CDD’s
2. Rinse and Repeat for 5-times total
Mosey to bleachers:
1. 10 Dips, 10 Supine Pull-ups, 10 Step-ups (each leg); rinse and repeat
2. 10 Decline Merkins, 10 bar-hoppers, 10 LBC’s; rinse and repeat
Mosey to opposite baseball field/outfield:
1. Partner carry across outfield changing as needed; return back
2. Partner drag halfway across outfield; return back
Since it was such a lovely morning with the stars and moon, it was only fitting for some tunnel of love! We went left to right, then right to left.
Mosey back to concession stand for some people’s chair with:
1. 50 overhead arm raises
2. 50 Frankenstein arm raises
DONE!
Moleskine:
Welcome FNG Groupie (Jeff Buckmann), who was EH’d by One Man Band! Great stuff out there this morning! Please come back as often as you can!
Always great to workout at Base Camp! A great AO with a great set of regulars!! Thanks to Goonie for giving me the opportunity to lead!
Speaking of Goonie… definitely missed him this morning! Will have to check-in to make sure he is ok!
Thanks to Jello for the great prayer out!
Announcements:
Men of Rock Zero… thanks for allowing me to lead this morning! Truly an honor, and very enjoyable! 15 gathered in the shadow of The Northface, although we would not be tackling that landmark today. Having been disclaimed, off we went for something like this:
The Thang:
Mosey to parking lot for COP:
5 Burpees OYO
SSH x 25
Low Slow Squats x 25
Imperial Walkers x 25
Merkins x 15
Mountain Climbers x 15
Mosey to next parking lot for some suicide gassers:
1. 3-line suicide, then sprint to the 3rd island (High Tide is still running!); rinse and repeat back
2. 3-line suicide, then backwards run to the 3rd island; rinse and repeat back
3. 3-line suicide, then lunge walk to the 3rd island; rinse and repeat back
4. Repeat #2
5. Repeat #1
Mosey to the snack stand… everyone grabs a bench for Hell’s Ladder (10-15-20-15-10):
1. Dips, Derkins, Merkins
2. Step ups, LBC’s
Q’s note: In the process of doing this, it was evident that I should have mixed some exercises from #2 into #1, and vice versa. Duly noted for next time… my arms were SMOKED!
Mosey down to the field for some partner carry/catch-me-if-you-can. Split into 5 groups of 3:
1. P1 Carry P2, P3 does 5 squats, then catches P1/P2. P2 carries P3, P1 does squats… so on, so forth… Down and back.
2. Repeato with LBC’s instead of squats… and extended the travel distance to allow for more “catching”!
On the field, split into 2’s for under/under work. P2 Planks while P1 crawls under back and forth with the following exercises:
1. 10 Jump Squats
2. 10 Hand Release Merkins
Mosey back to the cars for quick Mary:
Dolly x 20
Flutter x 20
Box Cutters x 10
LBC’s x 20
Hold 15-degree protractor for final 30-seconds
DONE!! Excellent job out there! We covered about 1.8-miles.
Moleskine:
As I stated earlier, it is an honor to lead you guys, and a great start for my weekend! I hope it was a good workout for you! It has been too long since I have posted at Rock Zero, and even longer since I’ve Q’d. I will reverse that trend for 2017!
Great to have Valvano join us from Myrtle Beach! Great stuff out there… please come back and visit anytime you’re here… and safe travels home!
Great to have Dumpster Fire back after a bit of IR for his hamstrings. He has had his fill of Slim Fast for the week…. maybe the month! Great stuff!
Also, great to see such a strong group of regulars! Hoover, Marlin, Red Rocks, Private Benjamin, Drano, Dingo, Jet Fuel, High Tide, Boerewors, Nemo…. you guys are the heart of A51 and Rock Zero!
We missed Flipper, in as much as we want him to recover quickly, and not pass whatever he has on to the rest of us! Get better soon!
The mumble chatter was light because like me, I think we were all breathing pretty heavy! Some of my “worst” memories involve The Rock, and Runstopper… but he knows I mean that in a great way!
High Tide joined me for a pre-run, and then a run in/run out for coffee. Thanks for the F1 and F2!
Announcements:
Remember F3 Dipstick… an F3 Brother from Myrtle Beach. He needs prayers for speedy healing and recovery!
Thanks to Hoover for the prayer out!
An emotional 11 Goats wiped the tears from their eyes as Freedom stepped out of his red Jeep, which Sensei drove, to rejoin Mountain Goat after a 1+ year hiatus. After the man-hugs were done, and we were disclaimed… off we went…
Completed 5 – 5.5 miles depending on pace. Excellent job!
Moleskine
This is such a great bunch of guys to workout with each week! It is such a pleasure to run with you boys!!
We had several Kotters who returned from layoffs and IR, and even a site FNG! Welcome back to Freedom! We have missed you!! Hopefully you will plan to come back more often! Great to have Sensei rejoin as well… even though he and I run multiple times per week, we haven’t been together at the Goat since prior to BRR. You both did great out there!
Then there is Dumpster Fire, who is coming off of IR for a strained hammy. Excellent job, and great to have you back! The neighbors were starting to worry about you… I will let them know the Yeti’s back in town! Ironically, DF was out during the months where going shirtless was not feasible. I’m sure the residents of Strawberry Ln will be excited to know of the visual specimen that awaits them!
Gullah… Welcome brother!! I can’t believe this is Gullah’s FNG site visit! That just ain’t right! But better late than never! You are ALWAYS welcome to join!
This is Beaver’s 2nd time in as many months! Glad you are able to join us!!
Marlin is 2nd week in a row… that’s 1-week away from being a regular!
Lois, Tweetsie, Nomad and Retread… solid as always! Thanks to Nomad for joining me for the early warm-up!
Announcements
Thanks to Nomad for taking us out in prayer!
Welcome Tiny Dancer!! I can’t say that name without remembering Elton John, 1984 at Frank Erwin Center in Austin, TX… opened with that song… last tour with Dee Murray before he died… plus Nigel Olsson and Davey Johnstone…. the quintessential Elton John lineup!
I digress…
9 Goats gathered this morning to mock the Arctic air mass and increase our heart rates, breathing rates and mileage!
Retread, Goonie and Tiny Dancer all made the mistake of showing up early at 0500 and were commandeered by YHC to do a pre-run for a running workout… yes, it is definitely an oxymoron!
Once back to the parking lot, we were joined by the other goats, and having been disclaimed, we proceeded to do the following:
Moleskine
I need to start by announcing that Retread has agreed to transition to be the co-site Q for Mountain Goat. He is perfect for the role, and I can’t wait to partner with him on running the site.
And of course that means Strange Brew is going to transition out of the co-site Q role. I can’t thank him enough for all of the input, patience, commitment, and servant leadership! The site wouldn’t have gotten to where it has without his leadership. Thank you, brother!!
Welcome to Tiny Dancer as mentioned above! He came with Goonie, and is a recent transplant to NC from NYC. This is his 3rd workout ever… and 3rd this week! We want you to keep coming back… great work out there!
Also, welcome to Marlin who I think is a site-FNG today! Great to have you join us… please come back! We’ll hold that BRR spot for you!! 🙂
Retread, The Mouth, Tweetsie, Lois, and Insomniac.. you guys are awesome!
Lots of mumblechatter about Elton John during the warm-up run… with occasional lobs to The Mouth for poignant comments!
I also took a lot of grief for the Strides…. which were commented to be spelled Straaaaahighyeds… which is very discriminatory towards my Texas accent. Plus, since they were coined by Jack Daniels… there was only one place you could go with that one!!! So we will get better at Straaaahighyeds…. I’ll get better at saying them, and the Goats will get better at running them!
Announcements:
Thanks for the prayer from Tweetsie.
16 Goats including two on IR started their weekends with good decisions by showing up at South Charlotte Middle School for another installment of F3 Mountain Goat. With that level of effort, everyone is ready to eat whatever they want on Sunday for the big game!
Here’s what we did:
Depending on pace we got 5.5-6.5 miles completed.
Moleskine:
I will say that as I put this workout together… meaning I went to Jack Daniel’s Guide to Running and pulled a workout from the 5k/10k plan (Phase II for anyone keeping score)… I was honestly thinking this would be pretty easy. I mean, come on!! 8×200 with 200 recovery in between? This won’t be one of our harder workouts!
Wow… was I mistaken! It felt really tough…. really good, but really tough! That is the type of workout that is going to get you guys ready for BRR… so just know this… there will be more!!
Frasier showed up again and made us all look like we are using walkers…! Never far behind were Tiger Rag and Retread! Good to have TR join us after a bit of a hiatus!
Great to have Udder out with us! He’s been threatening to come out awhile since his last visit… so great to have you, and always welcome!
Great having Pele back from IR. Getting BRR-ready!
Not a lot of mumblechatter… I think everyone was trying to catch their breaths like me! Even The Mouth was quiet… something about being in San Francisco this week being a good excuse for missing Peak… it’s not….
Solid work from the regulars… Lois, Tweetsie, Kilowatt, Early Bird, Benny, Nomad, Insomniac…
During COT, it was definitely a Christmas Vacation moment when Eddie and Catherine suddenly “appear”…. that being Mr. Brady and JRR Tolkien, who were suddenly just “there” in the count-off… I won’t determine who is Eddie and who is Catherine… that will be for further debate. They were doing self-directed IR recovery… good to have you both join at least the COT!
Announcements:
Groundhogs are not usually indigenous at such high altitudes… but given the festivities of a day such as Groundhog’s Day… the excitement couldn’t be contained!! 27 bleary-eyed PAX shunned the comforts of their beds to join in the festivities… and after a sincere disclaimer, here is how it went down:
The Thang
Mosey to bus parking lot for COP:
SSH x20
Merkins x10
Low Slow Squat x20
Imperial Walker x20
Mountain Climbers x15
Miscellaneous Planking
Mosey to playground, and line up in two STRAIGHT lines behind Beaver and Sensei…. the Principal of Matthews Elementary would have suspended everyone of you… but I digress.
Partner with the hog across from you. With your partner, do:
Mosey to the bus parking lot for some grinders… not the sandwiches… the exercises! Split up into teams/groups of 5 x 5… again some were math-challenged by the advanced calculations… but I don’t think we lost anyone! Next time we will allow calculators!
P1 – LBC’s
P2 – Step-ups
P3 – Incline Merkins
P4 – Dips
P5 – Runner from P1 to P2… then P2 runs and P5 does step-ups…
Everyone did every exercise 2 times… because it’s Groundhog’s Day 2/2!!! Get it??
Mosey back to parking lot… are we done? Are we circling up??
No… YHC disclaimed again, and we mosey’d back to the bus parking lot for a COP replay (only we ran out of time… )
SSH x20
Merkins x10
Low Slow Squats x20
Out of time!! Back to parking lot for COT.
Moleskine
Ok… parts were lame… I wanted to have a little fun with Groundhog’s Day… which is one of my all-time favorite movies. Hopefully everyone got a good full-body workout, and as I always like to demonstrate… it doesn’t take a gym membership to get a good workout. Just some good exercises and all of sudden you’ve worked out for 45-minutes!
I also really like the partner exercises like the over/under stuff… that was highlighted by the Sonny and Cher rendition of “I Got You Babe”, played twice for total annoyance maximization!
Great to have Elrod back out with us from his premier last week! Great stuff out there!! Keep coming back!
Also great to have Sheldon join us on loan from Columbia, and One Man Band, who was christened in Greenville. OMB also gets t-claps for running in/out from down the street near the baseball fields. Very strong! Come join us for the pre-run!!
Great to have a few other new faces… Bonhoffer and Beaver… you guys aren’t regulars, but AWESOME to have you join us!
Kotters to Lamont!
Geraldo gets props for bringing the ruck, then expertly transferring it to Smokey midway through the workout!
Announcements
1. Sign-up to Q… see Sensei or Booyah
2. Sign-up for BRR in September… see Slim Fast
3. Ronald McDonald House volunteer activity over President’s Day weekend
4. Richard Shelter run April 29.
Pele let us know that his wife is 2 years cancer-free today! Amen! Thanks for the take out prayer from Little Mike!