21 men including 1 FNG shrugged off the long weekend with a solid 5.5 miles across the track and Rain Tree.
The Thang:
Warmup lap in parking lot and track
COP – IWs, lunges
Mosey to track for 100M dashes x8
Off campus mosey Rain Tree, out to Rounding Run circle. One lap around the circle as a group
Pair up. Partner 1 runs clockwise, Partner 2 runs counter-clockwise around circle. When partners meet somewhere in middle, perform called excercise. Turn around, run back, and meet your partner back at the start point, where you do the called exercise once again. Called exercises included 15 hand-slap merkins, 20 partner derkins, 30 partner derkins.
Indian run back to school
Mileage: 5.5
Moleskine
Announcements:
10 PAX launched at 0515 from the Vine Restaurant at the Ballantyne AO for the weekly Speed Fest known as Swift. We almost picked up 2 more PAX on the way. Here’s what we did:
Moleskin:
Announcements:
Mosey to the start
Side Straddle Hops x20
Imperial Walkers x20
Merkins, 10, 9, (Freehly’s groans), 8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1
Mosey to the lake/wall
OYO – Dips x20, Jump Ups x20, Derkins x20, Squats x20
Rinse and repeat
Mosey to the next lot
Partner up – Burpees-Go-Round. Partner 1 – 5 burpees while Partner 2 moseys, Partner 1 Sprints and tags on shoulder… Partner 2 gives 5 burpees while Partner 1 moseys – continue for 4 burpees, each, 3,2,1.
Partner pushes up the parking lot
Partner pulls down the parking lot
Bear crawl half the lot, crab walk the second half.
Repeat the Burpees-Go-Round, except this time, start at 1 and work up to five – nobody likes me at this point.
LBCs x50
Curb Inclined Merkins x15
Ab Toe touches x20
Curb Derkins x12
Mosey back to the lake and wall
Dips x20
Protractor for a solid minute
Dips again x20
Diamond Merkins x10
Mosey back to the start
LBCs x25
Diamond Merkins x10
Mason Twists x20
A little humid today – good work by everyone. Credit to Brisket for naming of the Burpees Go Round… perhaps the start of a regular exercise – one can only hope. Also congrats to Pulled Pork and Patch Adams – both with new babies this past week… not sure why they didn’t make the workout this morning.
The Fort Mill clown car drove in, the virtual shovel flag was planted and around 20 Centurion regulars joined the Pebbles fan club for the weekly weekend downpainment at South Charlotte’s best/toughest Friday workout.
The Thang:
Jog down Little Avenue around to parking loat at corner of Johnston Road for COP – 100 SSH (I was concerned that was the only exercise Pebbles knew as we approached 100 but thankfully he moved on). We also did some mountain climbers, merkins and maybe something else.
Count off 1-4, grab some extra gear Pebbles had stashed, and head down to the field. Partners 1-2 use jump rope for some resistance running across field while partners 3-4 peformed four corners with pushups and squats at each corner of the field. Rotate and complete the exercise.
LIne up on side of field for some suicides and gassers.
LIne up at base of ramp up to street for partner carry up to top and back down steps Rotate so that each many carries partner twice (#Abacusisheavy).
A few minutes of Mary before jog up to shopping center at corner of Carmel and 51. Run 3 trips around the stair ciruit with Merkins in between each round before heading back to launch point.
Naked Moleskin:
Great lead by Pebbles even though I feared we had a mutiny boiling when we got to 95 of the 100 SSH’s. He made sure we worked all the major muscle groups and got in some good cardio. Not sure why we had all the plates but confident I’m glad we didn’t have time to use.
Nice to see the Fort Mill pax show up in numbers to support Pebbles. That was extra pressure to deliver but Pebbles came thru.
Announcements – Too late as I posted BB after the Memorial Day weekend convergences.
107 Days until the BRR and time to start the double down training!
Starting this Thursday Ghost Runner will launch from the Arbo ABC at 7:30 PM.
The goal for this workout is to simulate the BRR and get used to training on short recovery times by running Thursday morning at Devils Turn on your own, run Thursday night, and workout again Friday morning. It will also help train at hotter temperatures than we normally get during the 5am hour.
There are links below to set 6 mile and 4 mile routes which cover the hilliest portions of Raintree. You may choose to modify with more or less mileage, but this is not designed to be your long slow distance run of the week. The average BRR leg is just under 6 miles and this is planned to mimic a BRR scenario.
6 Mile route – http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/723568587
4 Mile route – http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/723571175
You don’t have to be running the BRR to join us. Maybe you missed the morning workout and want to make it up, come on out. #Radar. Maybe your morning was busy at Meathead and you just really wanted to run, come on out. #Brown #HighTide. Maybe you hit HDHH too hard and couldn’t get out of bed in the morning #DoIReallyNeedToListTheObvious
As added incentive we will discuss the merits of double down training over a well earned draught or two at Vintner’s in the Arboretum immediately following (call it 8:30 to 8:40 for those of you who can’t make the running portion of the event.) Bring a towel, dry clothes, and maybe some deodorant to make yourselves somewhat tolerable to the other patrons at Vintner’s.
The post workout at Vintner’s is a not so subtle ploy to drive attendance at the workout. I don’t see any of the workouts ending at 0615 offering such and opportunity.
(Using the Swift and FT tags to hit the most likely attendees and until the Ghost Runner tag is live.)
-Alf
Swift will launch at 0515 from the Vine Restaurant at the Ballantyne AO. Arrive at 0500 for 2nd F pre-run. Stay until 0630 for 3rd F post-coffee.
You may have been at the beach this mountain and saw nothing higher than a wave or the slope of the beach. You may have been at the mountains this weekend and saw the hills, but didn’t attack them. Maybe you’re like YHC and have a longing to get back to the Higher Ground no matter what the long weekend brought you. This week will be a search for that Higher Ground. We know where that is, but we’ll have to figure out how to maximize it for our purpose. Come for a mix of Hill efforts that will build strength and stamina for the hills you’ll be sure to encounter on the BRR later this summer.
5 Men arrived in the early morning Gloom for this a.m.’s beatdown
The Thang
Mosey over to SVES for warm up COP
– SSH x25
– IW x25
– Perfect Merkin x10
– 4 count Squats x20
– LBCs x25
Mosey over Shiloh Elem Playgroup for She Hate Me x 10 mins
– 20 step ups on Bench
– 20 Donkey Kicks in Swing
– 40 Toe Taps on Bench
– 10 pull ups/Supine Pulls ups
Over to the corner of the track
Round 1
– 2 sets of Core
– Sprint straight away on track and mosey around the corners
repeato
Core Work and back on your feet and mosey back over to the bus parking lots beside the middle school. A little agility work through the bus parking lot (backpeddle, Karaoke right, Karaoke Left, Shuffle Right, Shuffle Left)
Spartan Burpees x10 and COT
Moleskin: strong work by all this morning. The sprints and core work turned out to be a not only a gasser but also a test in coordination with a new core exercise (unnamed) which successfully confused the PAX. Lesson learned. The Late Show pulled out his racing slicks and burned up the track during the sprints, finishing in the lead every time. Well done!
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place: and in the sky
The larks still bravely singing fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead: Short days ago,
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved: and now we lie
In Flanders fields!
Take up our quarrel with the foe
To you, from failing hands, we throw
The torch: be yours to hold it high
If ye break faith with us who die,
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields
Composed at the battlefront on May 3, 1915
during the second battle of Ypres, Belgium
63 pax including 1 FNG posted at South Charlotte Middle School – several SF’s were flying; and off we went for a 5-station beatdown – Q’d by representatives of the 5 Monday Area51 AO’s – Base Camp, The Matrix, Fight Club, Foxhole & DMZ.
The Thang:
After a short COP w/IW x 25 IC, Slow Squat x 20 IC, & 6-count Burpee x 10 IC – pax counted off into 5 groups and went to 5 separate stations, rotating every 10 minutes
5 Stations:
1) Fight Club – no details for obvious reasons
2) Foxhole – Huge Tire, lots of KB’s from Chanel’s arsenal, saw some from Voodoo as well, gear extravaganza
3) The Matrix –
To honor the ~1,354,000 American service men and women who have died for our country we did
4) Base Camp – good bit of running as Q’d by Strange Brew – also a good hike to get from that station down to Fight Club.
5) DMZ – lots of baseball field work with bearcrawls, lunge walk, broad jump, sprints – mixing in some H-R merkins, plankorama; a couple of the groups did dips & supine pull-ups; one group did some Mary including flutters & Russian twist; YHC felt it necessary to mix it up a bit
Ye Olde Moleskine:
Great group this morning. Hope the beatdown was sufficiently delivered by your 5 host AO’s – special thanks to the pax of Base Camp for hosting.
With TR playing the occasion-appropriate tunes prior to launch – the pax gathered in good spirits. I love the convergences as they always remind me of the strength of the community that’s formed in F3 and Area51 specifically. Grateful for all of you brothers. Listed 58 of the 63 below – please sound off below for the 5 I can’t recall – Cobains.
Hope you guys don’t mind me sharing a few thoughts related to Memorial Day. I think of Hacker’s father who was killed in action in Vietnam, Pele’s father who was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery, The Murph who attended the same high school as Geraldo. This is a day to honor and give thanks for the fallen who gave their lives in defense of our great nation.
And stealing a page from DayZero (don’t miss the 3rd annual workout next Memorial Day weekend) – below is the citation for the only Congressional Medal of Honor winner from my hometown of Monticello, Illinois. I went to elementary, middle and high school with his nephews and niece.
*BURKE, ROBERT C.
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps, Company 1, 3d Battalion, 27th Marines, 1st Marine Division (Rein), FMF. Place and date: Southern Quang Nam Province Republic of Vietnam, 17 May 1968. Entered service at: Chicago, Ill. Born: 7 November 1949, Monticello, Ill.
Citation:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty for service as a machine gunner with Company 1. While on Operation ALLEN BROOK, Company 1 was approaching a dry river bed with a heavily wooded treeline that borders the hamlet of Le Nam (1), when they suddenly came under intense mortar, rocket propelled grenades, automatic weapons and small-arms fire from a large, well concealed enemy force which halted the company’s advance and wounded several marines. Realizing that key points of resistance had to be eliminated to allow the units to advance and casualties to be evacuated, Pfc. Burke, without hesitation, seized his machinegun and launched a series of 1-man assaults against the fortified emplacements. As he aggressively maneuvered to the edge of the steep river bank, he delivered accurate suppressive fire upon several enemy bunkers, which enabled his comrades to advance and move the wounded marines to positions of relative safety. As he continued his combative actions, he located an opposing automatic weapons emplacement and poured intense fire into the position, killing 3 North Vietnamese soldiers as they attempted to flee. Pfc. Burke then fearlessly moved from one position to another, quelling the hostile fire until his weapon malfunctioned. Obtaining a casualty’s rifle and hand grenades, he advanced further into the midst of the enemy fire in an assault against another pocket of resistance, killing 2 more of the enemy. Observing that a fellow marine had cleared his malfunctioning machinegun he grasped his weapon and moved into a dangerously exposed area and saturated the hostile treeline until he fell mortally wounded. Pfc. Burke’s gallant actions upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
With 3 shovel flags planted firmly into the earth, 52 men and one photographer spent an hour honoring the brave men and women who have fought for our country. It went something like this:
0700 – Radar, Purple Haze & Prohibition take the flags and carry them out to the middle of the field.
PART I: COP – Radar on Q
Radar had the Pax count off into 4s (to make your team) and then had the odd numbers step forward to create two circles. Radar then asked everyone to all take a knee and then informed us that there were approximately 455,000 American deaths in WWII…an average of 297 deaths per day. He then read Citation #1 – Sgt. Sylvester Antolak (see full citation below)
Radar asked the 2.0s to take the flags and lead us in three lines to the Yellow Rose parking lot.
Part II: Main Exercises – Purple Haze on Q
Purple Haze asked everyone to take a knee and then informed us that there were nearly 60,000 American deaths in the Vietnam War along with over 150,000 wounded. He then read Citation #2 – Pfc. Gary Martini (see full citation below)
In your groups of 4:
Repeat above except with 10 squats for the CMIYC.
Again the Pax lined up into three lines behind our flag carrying 2.0s and returned to the fields.
Part III: Final Exercises – Prohibition on Q
Back on the field, YHC had Pax bring it in tight and elbow plank shoulder to shoulder around the flags. The Pax remained in the elbow plank position while listening to a Ronal Reagan speech found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzUU-hdtxv8
YHC then asked everyone to take a knee while I read Citation #3 – Corp. Jason Dunham (see full citation below)
YHC then encouraged the Pax to “suffer in silence” as we do 100 burpees and asked that guys who finish early, help out a fellow brother by doing additional burpees to help them finish. At the very end, YHC asked everyone to do an additional 5 to help out those that couldn’t.
Ball of Man:
Purple Haze took us out with fine words about remembering and honoring those that gave their lives for our freedom and that we always endeavor to uphold the ideals for which they died. We then concluded with The Lord’s Prayer.
Moleskin:
Thank you all for joining us at Day Zero today to honor America and those that have fought for it and paid the ultimate price for the freedoms we enjoy every day. It was a great group of men and 2.0s out there today and everyone truly gave it their all. This was the second year we have done this workout and I would like to make it a tradition going forward. I hope you will continue to join us.
A special thank you to Purple Haze and Radar for creating Day Zero two years ago today. I know it has been difficult to let it go, but Hairball and I are honored to keep your legacy alive and I hope we are continuing to build it the way you intended it.
Also, thank you to Alf and TR for bringing the hairburner plates. You are welcome to thank them personally however you see fit.
Announcements:
CITATIONS:
*ANTOLAK, SYLVESTER
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company B, 15th Infantry, 3d Infantry Division
Place and date: Near Cisterna di Littoria, Italy, 24 May 1944
Entered service at: St. Clairsville, Ohio
Citation: Near Cisterna di Littoria, Italy, he charged 200 yards over flat, coverless terrain to destroy an enemy machinegun nest during the second day of the offensive which broke through the German cordon of steel around the Anzio beachhead. Fully 30 yards in advance of his squad, he ran into withering enemy machinegun, machine-pistol and rifle fire. Three times he was struck by bullets and knocked to the ground, but each time he struggled to his feet to continue his relentless advance. With one shoulder deeply gashed and his right arm shattered, he continued to rush directly into the enemy fire concentration with his submachinegun wedged under his uninjured arm until within 15 yards of the enemy strong point, where he opened fire at deadly close range, killing 2 Germans and forcing the remaining 10 to surrender. He reorganized his men and, refusing to seek medical attention so badly needed, chose to lead the way toward another strong point 100 yards distant. Utterly disregarding the hail of bullets concentrated upon him, he had stormed ahead nearly three-fourths of the space between strong points when he was instantly killed by hostile enemy fire. Inspired by his example, his squad went on to overwhelm the enemy troops. By his supreme sacrifice, superb fighting courage, and heroic devotion to the attack, Sgt. Antolak was directly responsible for eliminating 20 Germans, capturing an enemy machinegun, and clearing the path for his company to advance.
*MARTINI, GARY W.
Rank and Organization: Private First Class, U.S. Marine Corps, Company F, 2d Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division
Place and Date: Binh Son, Republic of Vietnam, 21 April 1967
Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. On 21 April 1967, during Operation UNION* elements of Company F, conducting offensive operations at Binh Son, encountered a firmly entrenched enemy force and immediately deployed to engage them. The marines in Pfc. Martini’s platoon assaulted across an open rice paddy to within 20 meters of the enemy trench line where they were suddenly struck by hand grenades, intense small arms, automatic weapons, and mortar fire. The enemy onslaught killed 14 and wounded 18 marines, pinning the remainder of the platoon down behind a low paddy dike. In the face of imminent danger, Pfc. Martini immediately crawled over the dike to a forward open area within 15 meters of the enemy position where, continuously exposed to the hostile fire, he hurled hand grenades, killing several of the enemy. Crawling back through the intense fire, he rejoined his platoon which had moved to the relative safety of a trench line. From this position he observed several of his wounded comrades Lying helpless in the fire-swept paddy. Although he knew that 1 man had been killed attempting to assist the wounded, Pfc. Martini raced through the open area and dragged a comrade back to a friendly position. In spite of a serious wound received during this first daring rescue, he again braved the unrelenting fury of the enemy fire to aid another companion Lying wounded only 20 meters in front of the enemy trench line. As he reached the fallen marine, he received a mortal wound, but disregarding his own condition, he began to drag the marine toward his platoon’s position. Observing men from his unit attempting to leave the security of their position to aid him, concerned only for their safety, he called to them to remain under cover, and through a final supreme effort, moved his injured comrade to where he could be pulled to safety, before he fell, succumbing to his wounds. Stouthearted and indomitable, Pfc. Martini unhesitatingly yielded his life to save 2 of his comrades and insure the safety of the remainder of his platoon. His outstanding courage, valiant fighting spirit and selfless devotion to duty reflected the highest credit upon himself, the Marine Corps, and the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
*Corporal Jason L. Dunham
Date of Issue: 01/11/2007
Organization: U.S. Marine Corps, Company K, 3d Battalion, 7th Marines
Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as Rifle Squad Leader, 4th Platoon, Company K, Third Battalion, Seventh Marines (Reinforced), Regimental Combat Team 7, First Marine Division (Reinforced), on 14 April 2004. Corporal Dunham’s squad was conducting a reconnaissance mission in the town of Karabilah, Iraq, when they heard rocket-propelled grenade and small arms fire erupt approximately two kilometers to the west. Corporal Dunham led his Combined Anti-Armor Team towards the engagement to provide fire support to their Battalion Commander’s convoy, which had been ambushed as it was traveling to Camp Husaybah. As Corporal Dunham and his Marines advanced, they quickly began to receive enemy fire. Corporal Dunham ordered his squad to dismount their vehicles and led one of his fire teams on foot several blocks south of the ambushed convoy. Discovering seven Iraqi vehicles in a column attempting to depart, Corporal Dunham and his team stopped the vehicles to search them for weapons. As they approached the vehicles, an insurgent leaped out and attacked Corporal Dunham. Corporal Dunham wrestled the insurgent to the ground and in the ensuing struggle saw the insurgent release a grenade. Corporal Dunham immediately alerted his fellow Marines to the threat. Aware of the imminent danger and without hesitation, Corporal Dunham covered the grenade with his helmet and body, bearing the brunt of the explosion and shielding his Marines from the blast. In an ultimate and selfless act of bravery in which he was mortally wounded, he saved the lives of at least two fellow Marines. By his undaunted courage, intrepid fighting spirit, and unwavering devotion to duty, Corporal Dunham gallantly gave his life for his country, thereby reflecting great credit upon himself and upholding the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.