Some arrived earlier than others, some arrived faster than others, and by launch time an even dozen had shown for YHC’s first Q at Fast Twitch. And so began our morning as we set out to do a little bit of a lot of different things:
Thang
Moleskin
Purple Haze came out firing and lodged his first complaint at 0511 this morning, letting YHC know that I had neglected my duty of pre-tweeting and pre-Slacking my Q. This was followed roughly 4 minutes later with a note that my SOB shirt was a less than ideal choice for this Q in A51 territory. For a moment I thought I might have to channel my inner-Swan if he asked me to take off my colors, but it didn’t come to that.
Plenty of additional complaints mumblechatter kept us entertained throughout the morning [stretching (Haze), burpees (Haze, HH, Brady, more), LC (most except One Eye, Rachel and also Purrell who didn’t know what to expect and ran smoked it for his 1st time today), having to count to 5 street lights (more than I care to admit)]. Taking Summer Gate into Five Knolls was originally a way to save time. It was a nice bonus when almost everyone was genuinely surprised to look up and see LC looming in front of them. Each trip up that mother is still near vomit-inducing. #LoveHate
YHC was able to hang with Rachel and Purrell part of the way back but eventually watched them fly off into the distance. Alf put it best afterwards saying Rachel is like a flywheel — takes him a little while to warm up but once that inertia is going it’s all over. Purrell is just plain fast and put himself out front on just about every portion of today’s workout. Brady doesn’t like upper body work on his running days, Benny was running strong coming off his PR sub-20 5K this weekend, and I am pretty sure most of you were probably still sore from Southern Discomfort this weekend. Today likely didn’t help with that.
Big thank you to Haze and Rachel for inviting me to lead. Always great to get out and put in work with the men of Fast Twitch.
Announcements
5 Brave faithful and 1 runner looking for something different arrived at The Vine. Warned ahead of time that today was You vs. You, we headed out.
Thang
Moleskin
There was a time back in late 2016 when AMRAP was all the rage at The Brave. Bunker’s VQ AMRAP around Bagpipe hill including multiple run-ins with building security; Tolkien’s (in)famous AMRAP races at the deck; Fire Hazard’s triple nickel on Ben Nevis; and someone’s (can’t remember who) AMRAP that looked a lot like what we did at The Brave this Friday. Those are the days YHC fell in love with The Brave. AMRAPs suck. If you are doing them right, they hurt (a lot), they can be lonely, and they can feel never-ending. But, man does it feel good when they are over. There is no better way to start a Friday than facing down doubt in yourself and the urge to quit and kicking some butt.
We have had a number of AMRAPs this year (Champagne’s Loch Ness loops, Rachel’s death march, etc.) and today we did one more. It sucked. It was lonely for some. It didn’t even go the full hour and it felt like it would never end. It was great.
Frasier and Citgo were flying like usual. Pretty sure it was Citgo’s first non-running based boot camp and he learned all kinds of new things today (like what handslap merkins and partner derkins are). We may have lost him at the bear crawl, but hopefully he will be back to The Brave some time. Soft Pretzel was on the heels of the lead group all morning which is never a surprise. Great seeing One Niner running more regularly as he heals up and Wild Turkey is one of the most consistent and determined guys I have met. He crushed the final hill sprint on Conlan while all of us (minus Citgo) moaned and groaned our way up to the top.
If you haven’t given The Brave a try, I really encourage you to do so. It’s tough, but it’s fair, and it’s great preparation both physically and mentally for a lot of the things we do. I’ve heard some express worry of being left behind. I can promise you, as long as you show up ready to give it everything you have and leave complaints/excuses/reasons in the car, you will not get left behind and we will all be damn happy you joined us.
Frasier has the Q this Friday. Really hope to see you there.
Announcements
I assumed on a day when it was a pure downpour at 5am that no one would be there for my Q. I prepared to run alone or just go back home, but the guys from the Matrix ain’t no pansies and 10 dudes pulled up in the gloom to get a pavement loaded workout. Sorry, but I’m not the guy who takes you to the mud puddles on a rainy day to prove a point.
Noticing the high chance of rain I decided to try out a few new things I’d thought of over the past year because I assumed the chance of getting ridiculed would be low. Fortunately guys like OT and Turkey Leg were in attendance and didn’t let me off that easily.
Disclaimer and we were off…
Run around school and meet back at the front parking lot for a warmup of SSH, LSS, Head Slap Merkins.
Experiment #1:
Plyometric Work
In my early 20s I used to be a “jump trainer” (yes that’s a thing) for several basketball and volleyball teams. I haven’t done one for F3 but wanted to try a small sample today.
“Cross country skier”(small jumps back and forth over the line) forward – 10 merkins at the end
Reverse “cross country skier” and do 9 merkins…forward 8 merkins, backward 7, down to 1.
2. Guys line up and do broad jump with 2 second pause – lunge walk backwards (x2)
3. Lineup on stomach, run 10 yards then do 5, 1 legged skips on left leg only
Lineup on stomach, run 10 yards then do 5, 1 legged skips on right leg only
Track work – Partner up
Partner 1 runs, partner 2 squat jumps – flap jack
Partner 1 runs, partner 2 sister mary catherine’s – flap jack
Partner 1 runs, partner 2 jump front to back over line – flap jack
Wall Work
Wall Sit Marches – in cadence to 20
10 thigh slappers (my personal favorite, personally and professionally)
10 derkins on the curb in cadence
Bear Crawl to Curb
2X
Experiment #2
4 Team Station Work
Station 1: Chest (merkins, dry docks, shoulder taps)
Station 2: Abs (flutter, situps, 6″)
Station 3: Legs (squat jacks, sister mary catherines, burpees)
Station 4: Lap team (timer)
Split up into 4 teams, team 4 runs around the entire group and when they get back to their station all of the groups rotate. You do 1 workout at each station and you would get to each station 3 times. This worked okay but was a little easier than I thought it would be.
Experiment #3
Football Indian Run
I’ve wanted to try this for a while and learned that this may not be a good idea, especially in the dark while it’s raining.
Rules:
Yea, we did a lot of burpees…
Unfortunately not everyone had a chance to try it as we ran out of time. Ocho Cinco really wanted to channel his inner Ocho Cinco but didn’t get a chance.
Moleskine:
The only two guys who caught the ball were OT and Rachel if you’re looking to put together a flag football team. To be fair, there was a lot working against us on this one, near complete darkness, wet football, street lights, both players running in the same direction and all white people.
Smokey and Ocho Cinco were flying on the track.
On the 4 station workout, whichever team Madison was on had the fastest pace around the lot…didn’t see the other 2 guys but it was a group of 3.
Not much long distance running at all on this one so Rachel and Turkey Leg didn’t break a sweat. The entire PAX stayed together the entire time, which in my opinion, is always a bonus.
I ate it hard on a layout for the football on the concrete and came away with some nice road rash- OT asked at what age do you stop laying out for the football. To save F3 guys from doing burpees, and especially NOT to see OT do burpees, never.
I had to stop Squid from at least 3 exercises because his form is so impeccably thorough.
Regardless, I had a lot of fun and was really grateful that 10 guys posted in the rain.
OUT
The PAX of South Charlotte will depart the Vine Restaurant parking area for what may be the last true Swift “Track” workout of the year to develop “Comfortable Speed”. But, we’re not using a track…
The THANG:
With the threat of a new route and rain, 3 brave PAX showed this morning for Blakovery. With Bratwurst choosing the comfort of home and not knowing his new route, an audible was called. QIC took Enron and Depth Charge on the now famous PJ route. So off we went at 5:15. Run up Rae Rd, left onto Williams Pond, then left onto to Elm, over to Community House, down Ardrey Kell and back to the launch point. A good stretch and we were done.
MOLESKIN
This morning I found out I was running with a former track star/college football player (Depth Charge) and an ultra athlete (Enron) who gets 50k advice from Haggis. No wonder Bratwurst decided to fartsack. He blamed the rain, but it ended shortly after we began and so did his excuse. Maybe next time we will get to run around the high school.
This week was a true recovery run (at least for the Enron and Depth Charge) 5 miles at about a 9:15 or so pace.
Shout out to Bunker and Gumbo, two Blakovery regulars, for their marathon work over the weekend. It must have been a tough one, since both showed up the Monday after BRR.
As always, thank you for allowing me to lead especially since #notarunner
1 braved the rain for a 3 mile pre-run. Immediately as Hamlet opened his door at 5:29, the rains stopped. The man controls the weather!
Run down Camilla stopping at all driveways on the right and the school entrance for 10 merkins (10 stops)
-25 Flutters IC
Up to Brandermill for 7’s (7 jump squats at the top, 7 diamonds at the bottom, repeat 7 times)
-15 LBCs IC
-15 MCs IC
Run up Camilla stopping at all driveways on the left and the end for 10 squats (10 stops)
Head to Church at Charlotte and partner up
-Partner 1 does 20 derkins, 20 LBCs
-Partner 2 runs the long way around the bottom of the church
-Flapjack and repeat for 3 complete sets
-20 Russian Twist IC
-20 Flutter IC
Run to the bottom of the lot
-AYG to the 3rd light pole
-AYG to the 3rd light pole
-1 minute wall sit with 15 shoulder presses IC (for Runstopper)
Moleskinsssss
Oh man. Last time I was at DMZ it was still 2016. My last Q was almost a year ago! Been too long! Also, only posting at 2 bootcamps in 2017 shows. I am spent. We did 200+ merkins and 200+ squats.
Runstopper’s son just started at Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO #prouddad. But I think know why he chose CO for college. There are over 600 dispensaries in CO. That is more than the number of locations of McDonalds, Starbucks and 7-Elevens combined! Also, in 2015, Coloradoians purchased 121 tons of weed. If my math is right, that is 329,414,938 joints (average joint is 0.32 grams). Colorado has a population of 5,541,000 (2016). That is a remarkable 59.5 joints per person per year. I gotta say, CO is crushing weed. The productivity of CO has be off the charts. Just kidding, Runstopper, I’m sure he’s staying pure. Or maybe he has Glaucoma, like the rest of the population of CO.
Speaking of high this morning, Rock skipped most driveways both times. Bout Time was fast. Aquafresh and Hamlet were arguing like an old couple about some new exercise named a Jerkin. Great to see Lewinski and Scratch & Win out there!
Annoucements:
On 11/9/2017, Runstopper is looking for runners to run with a veteran who is running 31 marathons in 31 days in 31 different cities. He will be running around Freedom Park at 7am. Great idea and a great cause!
Been looking forward to this ever since me and Wildturkey switched AO Q’s. He’ll be coming to daVinci one day soon. Stay tuned. You guys have seen Tagalong and Shrinkwrap traveling together right? Not sure if they switch it up and not sure it matters, but Tagalong came up to where we were gathering and said “who’s on Q?”. Someone responded “Fredo”. And he let out a solid groan. So…not sure how to take that one, guess I better live up to the hype.
The Thang:
Mosey from Vine to workout trail past Lockness (LOP, it was a line)
Mosey around Snyder Lance to the fountain (there’s no wall on this fountain, fail) used short posts in front of building.
AYG up Ballantyne Corp Place across bridge to first driveway on left.
Plank-o-rama
Mosey to Premier parking deck
Start at bottom level for suicides
Mary, in cadence
Exit down the stairs
Mosey back down Ball Corp Place to pond across from Goddard
Partner up – similar speed
Mosey out and left on Brixham towards home
Moleskin:
MarketTimer thanks for the takeout.
– Fredo
It was a chilly morning, but we warmed up quick. Here’s how it went down:
Warmup:
SSH x 20
IW x 20
Run lap around track
The Thang:
Partner up
P1 – runs to top of steps, 5 pull ups on playground
P2 – merkins at bottom to 100 combined
P1 – runs to top of steps, 5 jump squats
P2 – LBCs at bottom to 100 combined
P1 – runs to top, 5 Russian twists
P2 – decline merkins to 100 combined
P1 – runs to top of steps, 5 squats
P2 – flutters at bottom to 100 combined
P1 – runs to top, 5 lunges
P2 – incline merkins to 100 combined
Jog a lap around the track
Line up in endzone
R Karaoke to 10, 30, 50
L Karoke to 10, 30, 50
Backwards jog to 10, 30, 50
Sprint to 10, 30, 50
Jog a lap around the track
Mosey to Grandma
25 LBCs at bottom, run to top and back, repeat
25 flutters at bottom, run to top and back, repeat
jog a lap
25 dolly at bottom, run to top and back, repeat
25 rosalita at bottom, run to top and back, repeat
Mosey to front lot
Done
.
COT
BOM
Moleskin:
As usual, a strong group at Joust today. With the smaller crowd there was nowhere to hide. That being said, not many refusniks out there, besides more than a few “knee brace adjustments” by Semi.
We covered 2.5 miles today – most of it on stadium steps and Grandma Mtn. Solid work by all.
Thanks for the opportunity to lead. Always an honor.
At what seemed to be a short mosey from one end of the parking lot to the other, soon the PAX would discover that it was to be naught.
COP
15 SSH IC
5 Burpees OYO
15 Imperial Walkers IC
15 Hillbillies IC
Continue the mosey up the hill, past the farmers market and across the street to Don Griffin Park. Stop on the other side of baseball field.
The Thang
Burpback Mountain
Partner Up
Partner 1 Runs backward up the hill and forward down 5x
Partner 2 Does Burpees at the bottom
Switch, Rinse and repeat until cumulative burpees reach 100. Since the geezers…I mean double respects teamed up together, it left Shepherd, I and Kiefer as odd men out.
Mosey over to the steeper hill… or the cliff if you want to be dramatic.
Everest
One leg lunge forward, one squat, other leg lunge forward, another squat until the top of the hill is reached. This soon became a botched attempt as we had to bear crawl when the “cliff” turned into an actual cliff.
Once at the top of the hill, mosey back to Belk Tonawanda, specifically to the steep hill behind the bleachers
Heartbreak 1-2-3’s
Partner up again. Seemed only fitting that we ended up with the same partners again.
Partner 1 run up the hill and back down.
Partner 2 do choice exercises.
Switch, rinse repeat until the following have been completed
Just when you thought there couldn’t be anymore hill workouts, YHC threw in another two.
Triple Nickle
Run up the hill do 5x choice exercise, run to the bottom another 5x choice exercise. Rinse and repeat 5 times.
Round 1. 5 bombjacks at the top, 5 bobby hurleys at the bottom
At this point the M interrupts the Q with a phone call on the digital Weinke. Apparently wires were crossed and the memo did not get out about YHC Q’ing The pax continue
Round 2. 5 burpees (pax heard bobby hurleys) 5 bombjacks at the bottom
Round 3. 5 Clap Merkins at the top 5 burpees at the bottom
Round 4. 5 CDD;s at the top 5 clap merkins at the bottom
Round 5. 5 LSS’s at the top 5 CDD’s at the bottom
Quadraphillia
Pax run up and down the hills backwards repeatedly until the Q calls time.
Mary
COT
Moleskine
Announcements
22 Pax showed up at Impromptu including 1 FNG for an F3 version of Pong
Warmup:
Mosey to rock pile and grab a smedium sized rock and head over to middle school alcove
Thang:
Over-sized Bucket Pong Competition
Break into 3 teams
The goal was to be the first to make all 4 buckets. Losing teams had to do 20 burpees as penalty
Return rocks to original spot
Finish with 5 minutes of Mary
Moleskin:
Announcements: