Bratwurst continues his streak of playing hookie from Swift and has passed the reins to YHC this week (along with strict instructions as to what we are to do). In other words, YHC will be your timekeeper and designated yelling guy this week, no more. Here is what we will be doing.
We are back to 2/1/30 intervals in BCC at your 2-mile pace (or Interval pace). Go to http://runsmartproject.com/calculator to get your I-pace suggestions based on your fitness level. Route will be in the Ballantyne Country Club eastern half (which is roughly a 2 mile loop).
The THANG:
See you in the morning.
Thang
Moleskin
Humidity was downright nasty this morning. Pretty sure no one made it through COP without already being drenched. Finished the workout looking (and smelling) like we had jumped in the duck pond rather then spent most of our morning moving around it.
Some PAX who just came for the Saturday morning coffee or who got roped in by Tolkien’s and Wild Turkey’s marketing antics got an unpleasant surprise starting with the burpees around the bull ring.
Grumbles (Haggis), refuseniks (Tiger Rag) and death stares (Mic Check) were aplenty this morning as individuals crested the stairs following various laps around the pond. Those laps were a play on a workout Madame Tussauds threw at us the first time I posted to Bagpipe. Still one of the best workouts I ever had with F3 and one that occasionally gives me nightmares. Felt it only right to share that fun. The plank walk merkin thing that Lobsta Roll dreamed up was just as bad as I remembered it at Anvil. Poor Bucky got the short end of the stick being the last guy to walk down the line having to do merkins while the rest of us stuck our rear ends in the air or laid on the pavement.
Wild Turkey put in a 30 minute solo pre-run before the workout and was drenched before we even started. Not one complaint from this guy though. Put his head down and did the work which is pretty much what I have come to expect of Mr. Turkey. Dude is a bad-ass right along with Cul-de-sac who genuinely thanked YHC at the end for starting his Saturday right. Can’t help but smile at that.
Had a great time Qing this morning — best time I have had in a while. Great group of guys, great chatter, and a great AO. Only wish I could have stayed for the coffee after. Also wish I had gotten this backblast out sooner. Bad habits die hard but YHC intends to kick this recent habit of not getting the BB out the same day. Hold me to it.
Thang
Moleskin
Perfect weather on Thursday morning and a good sized crowd turned up for the weekly edition of Rebel Yell. If you haven’t been out to Stonecrest on a Wednesday (The Maul) or Thursday (Rebel Yell), you’re really missing out. Solid core of regulars, nice mix of A51 and SOBs, huge AO, the Murderhorn, and an awesome bunch of Site Qs (more on that below) that keep a nice variety of Qs coming through their sites.
Pretty sure it was Hearbreaker and Cable Guy out as Larry Birds on the Paula Abdul. No surprise here. It was even fitting as it was Heartbreaker who originally named the Paula Abdul at a Rebel Yell workout that Torpedo threw down a few months ago. For Qs, the two steps forward, one step back works well just about anywhere (parking lot lines, light posts, flights of stairs) and is a great backup set to keep in your bag along with things like Sevens and Jacob’s Ladder.
Did quite a bit more running than expected this morning. Margo was quick to catch on to our taking the long way around to the Murderhorn — ended up being the really long way around. Google Maps can be deceiving and that stretch down BCP seemed to go on forever. Appreciate every one digging in and hanging with me.
Strawberry gently reminded me that we may be running low on time when we started the partner work. Apparently, YHC had strayed from boot camps for too long while getting ready for P200 and was targeting a 6:30 end time for some reason. Roger that, Strawberry — partner work cut off, pull-ups etc. at Elmstone Park out the window (sorry Frehleys), and only time for 1 trip up the MH. Glad Strawberry gave the heads up though as I’m pretty sure mutiny was inevitable if YHC had packed extra time on top of the extra miles.
I have to say that Strawberry and Heartbreaker set an awesome example of what it means to be great Site Qs. These guys are effective. From their reminders ahead of time (two, because I forgot to respond to the first), to their shouts letting me know the 6 was in at each stop, to Strawberry’s eye on the clock. Really awesome stuff and made it an absolute pleasure to Q at Rebel Yell, even while I was floundering around with a busted weinke (TWSS?). If you are a Site Q or are aspiring to be one, take some notes from these guys — I know I was.
Wish I could call out some other guys, but I was kind of lost in my head this morning. I do know that everyone put in a solid 3+ miles, 100+ pushups and a trip up the MH so each and every one of you crushed it. Nice work. Thanks to Champagne for the takeout (and you can all tell him thanks for the second set of Merkins/Mtn Climbers/Plank Jacks).
Announcements
16 men came to Anvil this morning and completed 3 miles and 2 challenges (almost) in what can only be described as 45 minutes of pure joy. Here is how it happened.
Thang
Moleskin
If we ever find ourselves in a drought situation in the coming months, someone should just get YHC on the schedule at Anvil. I have Qed Anvil a total of 3 times and it has rained either the night before or the day of (or both) each and every time. When the rain started in earnest last night, Northface was once again removed from this morning’s plans and will have to wait until next time.
YHC has been participating in 2 recurring acts of stupidity challenges going on in our region lately (Tuck’s Pull-Up/Merkin madness and McGee’s daily dose of 100 Burpees). The goal today was to complete both of those challenges before the closing bell. We managed to finish one and got in our 150+ merkins and 20 pull-ups. Came in just shy of the burpee goal at 90. Would have been 80, but Mermaid talked his M into letting him post this morning and wanted his money’s worth so his rogue call of 10 hand release burpees during Mary was a welcome surprise. I expect none most of you went home and did the last 10.
Grumbling was high today, but the work got done. Two respects (Van Pelt and Snowflake) put in some running pre-workout and all 3 (including Snooka) pushed the pace today. Shockingly, Rachel lapped almost everyone during the partner work, including his own partner and was spotted doing plyo merkins in an effort to handslap himself. On the upside, he got in some practice for his VQ at Fast Twitch next Tuesday calling cadence to himself until the rest of us arrived for Mary. Shrink Wrap is a recent recruit of Tagalong who has quickly become a regular. A back-to-back Bagpipe/Anvil post is no easy feat — keep up the good work. Even given the option to call off the last burpees early due to time constraints, everyone opted to push through and got their 30 in. Awesome stuff.
If you didn’t go home with sand in your hair/eyes/nose/mouth, work on your flexibility and get your toes all the way to that bar next time. Appreciate all the effort put out today. Thanks to Lobsta and McGee for the opportunity to lead.
Announcements
Last time YHC Qed Centurion, it was the day after Thanksgiving and ended up being a workout of 1. Today, we had a 2,800% increase in PAX with a whopping 29, including 6 respects and 1 wannabe respect (Hops). Watch struck 5:30 (as Run Stopper peeled into the lot) and off we went.
Thang
Moleskin
I showed up early today to feel out the AO and found Champagne, Paper Jam and Van Pelt heading out for a little pre-run. Champagne quickly inspected the truck for plates or other items of torture, but today’s plan called for the classics. They can hurt just as much.
Definite grumbles after the merkin/wide-arm merkin/low plank jack combo. Hopefully the grumbles drowned out the sound of my voice cracking on the count in the last few reps. Four corners instructions likely could have been clearer or less complicated. Saw many combinations of merkins/HR merkins/headbobs as well as squats/jump squats/whatever Paper Jam was doing. It’s no secret that YHC usually love burpees. Hated them today though, so I can only imagine how Ickey Shuffle those of you who don’t like them must feel.
Great effort all around today. Rachel, unsurprisingly, led the way through just about everything. Unlike Chelms, he also shows impeccable form on the exercises. Word has it Rachel has his VQ on 3/31 at Centurion. If that’s true, rest on Wednesday and Thursday and then get out and try to survive support him.
Mermaid, Alf, Bout Time, Brilleaux and a few others out front in the deck as well pushing the pace. Thanks for the help leading mary/planks while I sucked wind. Great to meet BoG and Flutie — heard talk of you guys (mostly good) and was great to put faces to the names. T-claps to Fredo, Toolbag, Hops and Paper Jam who showed up today after attending YHC’s somewhat burpee-heavy Q at Bagpipe on Tuesday. Might need to work on my variety. (Probably not going to happen).
For any of you looking for a little more, I would highly recommend attending The Stand (or any 3F for that matter) at Panera right after Centurion. Great discussion every week and a great way to get to know some guys, as well as yourself, on a deeper level. As much as I love and find incredible value in the workouts and the 2ndF, the 3rdF opportunities have definitely been the most rewarding and impactful on my life outside of F3. We are lucky to have these options and the men who step up to lead them — definitely worth your time (if you have it) to at least check out. See the Announcements for a new 3rd F opportunity launching soon in SOBLand on Wednesday mornings after The Maul.
Swiper on Q next week and Abacus will be joining the rank of the Respects as he turns 50. Come on out to Centurion to suffer celebrate. Appreciate the turnout today, it was an honor to lead.
Announcements
Thang
Moleskin
Had to bail on my Bagpipe Q a few weeks ago (thanks to One Niner who stepped up to take the spot) so I was happy to be able to get back on the calendar and get out to Q. The hope was to keep everyone together but keep fairly constant work going as well and it seemed to work. Pine needles at the base of the 7s hill were slightly dicey, but we were dislcaimed and everyone kept their feet under them.
Our FNG crushed the workout this morning and obviously came well prepared. Consistently among the top 5 or 6 guys finishing every round of exercise and picked up on the lingo pretty quickly. He was brought out by Blackbeard. Carnie is a Marine veteran (logistics unit) who has been in Charlotte about 6 years and works with Northrop Grumman now. Logistics originally landed the group on Big Brown but didn’t feel right and was too close to Brown. Carnie happens to be from Perry, GA which, as it turns out, is home to the Georgia National Fair (I know, something you always wish you had known). Great work today and welcome. Hope to see you back out there soon.
Lots of other guys crushing the workout today as well. Cable Guy was consistently at the front and just got stronger as the runs/string of exercises got longer. Long Haul was right behind or in front of him every time — dude might have a couple years on many of us but is an absolute beast. Frehleys continued his reign as king of the mumblechatter starting about 4 seconds before the workout began (complaining we hadn’t started yet) and running right through the last 4 seconds (complaining about cars not moving out of his way or arthritis or something like that). Paper Jam was king of a different kind of mumblechatter and could be heard mumbling “he did say modify as necessary” through most of the workout. All out mutiny almost ensued when the PAX saw how many lightposts there were for the final burpees, but YHC was able to stay in front of the mob and calm them with talk of heading home as soon as we were done.
Unfortunately, I have been unable to post regularly on Tuesdays lately at either Swift or Bagpipe. It was great seeing a ton of fresh faces out there this morning and to see that the Tuesday Vine crew continues to grow. Appreciate and enjoyed the opportunity to lead you all.
Announcements
Finally felt a bit like winter again this morning and it was a refreshing way to start the day. After Fahvra came sprinting in from who knows where at a pace that very few humans could match, this is what happened.
Thang
Moleskin
Have wanted to bring my sled out for a while, and always love playing with the sandbags, but have had trouble finding a way to do it where we have enough to go around. Then I remembered some of Argonaut’s previous station workouts at Elon Park and this was the result. Tried to keep the stations close enough that no one would feel lonely and succeeded for the most part, but tunes would have been a good addition. This was definitely something a little different today (for me at least) and if you have any feedback, especially negative, I would love to hear it and learn from it for next time.
Great group of guys this morning as always at Fat Camp. Transporter showed up early and was kind enough to help YHC haul all the gear down to the soccer field in my trusty wheelbarrow. YHC was worried at first that he was a security guard or concerned school administrator wondering what the hell I was doing pushing a wheelbarrow around the school at 5:00 in the morning. Even better, he loaded that thing up and pushed it back up the hill when the workout was over. Big thanks to Transporter and everyone else for helping bring the gear back to the truck.
Bounty Hunter didn’t bring gloves and quickly regretted that decision when we laid our hands on the cold, wet turf of the field. Seeing as he is a Site Q of FC, he should’ve known better so I don’t feel bad.
Tagalong called me last night to let me know he was coming but I forgot to remind him that Fat Camp starts at 5:15 and he showed promptly at 5:30 ready to work. After consulting Wingman, it turns out that we have the schedule posted in multiple places online as well as on Twitter, so I also don’t feel bad.
Thanks for the opportunity to Q and thanks to General for taking us out.
Announcements
First of all, if you were there this morning and didn’t know that this would be the title of the Backblast then you either weren’t paying attention or give YHC more credit for creativity than is obviously due. Doc McStuffins was kind enough to come up to SOB Land last week and lead the Friday workout known as The Brave. YHC offered to return the favor and made my way south this morning to Flash. The rain held off and the following is more or less what went down.
Thang
Quick lap around lot in front of school and back to launch for COP
Mosey to the rockpile and grab a rock you will be comfortable lifting for a while. Form an oval on the large sidewalk at the top of the hill for the main event.
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Intermission
When everyone finished 2nd set of Rockies in Round 3, we took a little break. Leave your rock and mosey down the sidewalk to the bathroom building for:
Round 4
Finale
Moleskin
Thanks to Doc McStuffins for the invite to Q this morning and thanks to all the UC men for a great turnout and a warm welcome. This was my 3rd time in UC and, from what I have seen, turnout is always high and everyone shows up with a great attitude and ready to put in work. Makes me want to head down to Union County more often and certainly plan to do so.
Cuthbertson Middle School is the most expansive AO I have seen yet. Took a scouting trip out there on Sunday and was quickly overwhelmed by the all the options and all the room to get lost run. Bad news: I took the easy way out and used about 3% of the available space. Good news: plenty of ideas left for future weinkes.
Everyone pushed hard this morning but a few Larry Birds led the way (Doc McStuffins, Hollywood, Transporter, Jingles and Troylet that YHC can recall). It was either Flipper or Landshark (sorry!), but pretty sure it was Landshark who smoked us all on the way back to our rocks from the People’s Chair. He can run backwards faster than most men run forwards. Impressive to watch.
Doc tried to skip forgot the Rockies a couple times but was quickly called out by his neighbors who were worried he might not get his money’s worth from the workout. #brotherhood. He and Troylet treated us to a sprint showdown on the last round and I believe Troylet took the day.
Frack walked past all the rocks and pulled a boulder from the earth that probably weighed more than Goodfella. He then proceeded to shut up all the naysayers and beast through every round with that boulder.
I had a great time with you men this morning and really appreciate the opportunity to come south and lead. Hat tip to Alf of A51 who inspired this weinke with a Q he led at Anvil last summer. YHC can only hope this sucked as much for you guys as that Anvil workout did for me. Big thanks to Transporter for the take-out.
Announcements
Thang
Moleskin
Rachel led the way most, if not all, of the morning. YHC was in the 4 or 5 o’clock position, not quite the 6 but almost there — too many Larry Birds to name. Strong work going on at Anvil today. Good to see Champagne lifting and working the arm and Mermaid almost looks like a runner again. Ascending exercise sets at the end worked out pretty well and we might just need to make a full workout of that sometime soon.
The M has been taking Wednesdays lately so I have not made it out to Anvil in a while. Anvil was my V-post (back when Purple Haze used to workout) and is still one of my favorite places to go. Great AO and, more importantly, a solid core of guys who always push hard and make sure to bring the 2nd F, usually in the form of complaining to taunting the Q. Plenty of that today when it came to cold rocks, wet pavement, and low plank jacks. Not a word about burpees though. After McGee’s 200 burpee beatdown last week, today was child’s play. The workout was tough but the time flew by thanks to this group of guys. I had a blast and appreciate the opportunity to lead.
It’s late, that’s all I got.
Thang
Moleskin
Cobains on the delayed backblast. No excuse, just didn’t do it. First sub-freezing post of the year so we got off to a quick start with plenty of burpees to get the heart pumping. The call for 15 burpees OYO was the first (but not last — burpee box jumps, hariburners, burpee broad jumps) time this morning that Frehleys cursed YHC. Starting to like this guy.
The Brave serves up a minimum 4 miles of running every week and YHC had the intention of getting most of those miles out of the way early. No better place to do that than Ben Nevis. If you haven’t run this hill, come give it a shot. The thing just keeps going. Strava segment called Ballantyne Soul Crusher is right on. It was Mermaid (and I think Utah’s) first time on Nevis and Mermaid left a 5 star review on Twitter.
Kotters to Fahvra who returned this morning 3 weeks post-hernia surgery. If we thought Fahvra with a hernia was trouble, healthy Fahvra is a nightmare. Led the way up and down Ben Nevis (and through the entire workout) without breaking a sweat. Welcome back!
Things went a little off the rails in the basement of the parking deck due to the arrival of a 9th person (aka – the Qs inability to count himself). Much dismay over hairburners in the deck being too loud for all the sleeping folk nearby as well. Worries possibly a little overblown, but getting us kicked out of the last deck available to us didn’t seem like a good risk one week into my newly minted Site Q duties at The Brave. Audible called with the benefit of the plates being carried back to my truck saving me some gas. We will call it a q-jack win-win.
Thank you for coming out in the cold to post and thanks to Mermaid for the take-out. Everyone pushed hard and put in the requisite 4+ miles at a healthy pace. If you would like to Q at The Brave, we have some open dates in early 2017 so please step up and give a shout out to myself, Fire Hazard or Mario.
Congrats to all the men (and Ms) who completed the Kiawah Half or Full marathon this weekend.
Announcements