Uncle Sam is calling…

Uncle Sam is calling…

I knew after Friday morning I would be completely out-of-pocket for a few days so this BB is up a few days late, but my concious wouldn’t let me just skip one.

 

My 19 year old neighbor Sam asked me to recommend him for the Marine Corps on Thursday so I said sure thing – you just have to come to F3 on Friday. Well he came as an FNG and now he’s hooked – he also went to Marine bootcamp on Saturday morning and said F3 was a lot harder.

 

Bang Bang is his name and it has 3 references – the last one I realized on the drive home and was stoked!

  1. He works at Bonefish Grill (Bang Bang Shrimp)
  2. He’s joining the Marine Corps
  3. His last name is Maxwell as in the Beatle’s song Maxwell’s Silver Hammer –  “Bang Bang Maxwell’s Silver hammer came down upon his head…..”

 

Here’s what we did – 

Several warmup laps around middle school median and run to circle in the middle of campus for warmups (SSH, LSS, Merkins)

 

Wall work

20 donkey kicks – run up stairs and back

20 decline merkins with legs on the wall – run up stairs and back

20 Thigh slappers – run up stairs and back

Wall sits with air presses while we wait on the PAX

Round 2

20 squat jumps – run up stairs and back

10 wall merkins (hands on wall down to ground and do merkin) – run up stairs and back

20 of something else – run up stairs and back

Wall sits with air presses while we wait on PAX

 

Run to hill

1 squat jump at top, 2 sister mary catherines at the bottom, 3 squat jumps at top, 4 sister….etc. until we got to 10

 

Run to rocks and partner up – go to gazebo

Cumulative reps – partner 1 runs, partner 2 exercises and flap jack

Round 1 – 300 curls

Round 2 – 150 shoulder presses

Round 3 – 60 step ups

Round 4 – 100 chest presses

 

Run back to main field 

Ring around the burpee – get in a circle and take turns sprinting around the PAX and as you pass each person they have to do a burpee

Up-downs in a circle

Ab work until the end

 

Moleskine

Small small group today…10 guys…are me and Fault Line doing something wrong? According to Alf he would prefer Bull Dog to be his personal trainer so maybe those two were doing a private training session somewhere.

 

The group we had worked really hard. Cotton Tail went Navy on us and started yelling out military lingo to Bang Bang to try to get him used to the abuse.

 

Rhapsody on Q this Friday…

 

Announcements

F3 Dads every Saturday in June at Francis Beatty – 9 am at the softball fields

Convergence with Joust on 6/23

 

F3 Carowinds Day! – 10.14.2017 – It’s The Great Pumpkin F3 Nation!

Hey guys, as some of you know I am a certifiable roller coaster nut and I have had the idea of a day out at Carowinds for F3 for a while now and I’m going to step out and see what happens.  If you want to come, please respond in the comments below, even if you don’t pay until later on.

Here’s the thang:

What – Day out for all Pax, M’s and 2.0’s at Carowinds, located on the NC/SC border.  The park offers world-class (not joking) coasters and thrill rides as well as a great kids section called Planet Snoopy.  If your 2.0’s are able to walk, they will have plenty to do.  If they are younger, there’s even a few rides for them too.  Lucy’s Crabby Cabbie is a thrill you don’t want to miss riding with your kids!  I’m being sarcastic there.

When – October 14 – 10:00 – 5:00

During the fall the park hosts both SCarowinds at night (not good for small kids) and The Great Pumpkin Fest (great for kids of all ages) during the day.  The Great Pumpkin Fest is included in your admission price.

Cost – If you are a Carowinds season pass holder, then admission is free.  If you need to purchase admission, I will am able to get us the group rate for at least fifteen or more.  Cost is $37.00 each including taxes and fees, which saves you about $12 per ticket off the regular rate.  Parking is not included and runs about $20 per vehicle.  When you are ready to HC, please send your funds to Drop Thrill at coasterwes@ bellsouth.net (PayPal).  If we end up not getting 15 people, I will refund your money and we will decide what to do at that point.

Food! – We will eat on our own and you are free to do your thang with your family.  You can bring a meal and keep it in your vehicle, then get your hand stamped and leave to picnic at your car, then come back in the park.  The park has a lot of options too available for purchase.

Note: Due to SCarowinds, the regular admission and group admission is only from 10:00 – 5:00 during weekends in September and October.

If you want to stay after we wrap up for the day and attend SCarowinds, you will have to exit the park and buy a separate ticket on your own if you just haven’t gotten your blood pumping enough by then.

Feel free to throw out any questions and please HC below.  I look forward to riding Fury 325, my #1 favorite coaster with you guys and your families this October!

Deadline to pay is October 2!

More info – http://www.carowinds.com/

 

 

#PreBlast – new month, new Q

So the month of May was not a total loss.  While YHC had planned to be out at least a couple of weeks, fabulous Qs stepped in to fill all the gaps and provided some great workouts.  Many thanks to Frasier and his hills of fun, JRR Tolkien and his Chinese Fire Drill, Honey Bee’s out&backs over the bridge, Wild Turkey and his Bull Ring laps, and Thin Mint passing fartleks all over the Country Club.  In all, great leaders leading the PAX through a great month with a lot of variety.

The next several weeks will be a return to what Swift has been previously.  Your same Bratwursty Q and some familiar venues that lend themselves to starting consistent progress for the training cycles leading up to the BRR.

The THANG for tomorrow, Tuesday, June 6th:

  • 0500 – Early crew heads out to get in a little under 15 minutes of easy 2nd F running.
  • 0515 – Entire group leaves the Vine Restaurant Parking lot “disclaimed” and follows the Q to the rear entrance of the MetLife buildling at the corner of Ballantyne Commons and North Community House.  If going through the Ballantyne Hotel lot, you’ll have 10+ minutes to make it 0.98 mile.  If cutting down by the fitness trail, up Bagpipe Hill, and over Hwy 521 (all to avoid crossing 521 into the hotel lot), you’ll have 10 minutes to make it about 1.3miles.  Choose your appetite for warm-up, but make sure the warm-up is EASY and you can talk to your neighbor.
  • 0525 – Commence warm-up drills on the parking lot strip behind Metlife. Q will keep us on time.  We’ll end up at 0530 on the intersection at said strip and N. Community House directly across from the entrance to the Broken Egg / Brazwells shopping area.
  • 0530 – Start rounds of 4 minutes Hard (otherwise known as Interval-pace / 2mile race pace / VO2Max pace) and then 3 minutes of recovery back to the six. Find your Interval Pace here = http://runsmartproject.com/calculator
    • We’ll be running up North Community House, across 485, U turn at the traffic light at Endhaven, and then back all the way to Ballantyne Commons in roughly a continual loop (except for the regrouping of course).
    • Anytime you see PAX on the opposite side of the loop coming back towards your direction, AND TRAFFIC IS CLEAR, feel free to cross the median instead of going all the way to Endhaven or Ballantyne Commons.  This helps to keep the PAX a little bit tighter.  Regroup by still following good traffic rules as runners – meaning run in the roadway (there are bike lanes) in the opposite direction of traffic, or use the sidewalk in either direction.  Call out any pedestrians, cars, bikes, or cross-fitters for your fellow PAX.
  • Round 5 will finish AT THE BACK ENTRANCE of MetLife on Ballantyne Commons.
  • 0605 – Head for home – about 0.98-1.5miles away depending on your route.

The mystery of Sasquatch remains Unsolved

Clock hits 5:15 and the rain is coming down on the toughest course in Charlotte so naturally only the toughest 15 hombres show up for the first installment of McHorsey 2017.  Trophy winner on 8/28 will likely be someone that trains on this motherf#T%3er all summer.

The Thang:

We ran (no COP allowed – site rules state clearly).    Straight to top of Yucca Succa and back to bottom (from the words of Horse Head, McHorsey co-founder – touch the man hole cover just like Chester). Next run the Mountainview/Wilby loop and then repeat as many times as you can before Pledge of Allegience at 6:08 (6:09 as we had to wait for some do gooders trying to get extra credit or don’t now how to set a watch).   Head pack to parking lot for COT with mileage anywhere from 6 to 7.5 (roughly).   Beauty of this is is that the rabbits can sprint all they want and we still have no man left behind.

Naked MS

Right out of the gate the confusion starts.

Checkpoint – “Chelms, did you tweet that we start at 5:00am?”

Me – “Nope”

Checkpoint – “I thought I was late”

Me – “Nope”

Guess Checkpoint supports #FakeNews

Without Horse Head, FW, Honey Bee recruiting for his BRR team, and a few other characters, there was a shortage of material this am.  Writing this BB is my only job as Q today and writers block is setting in given no one wore ridiculous outfit, threw up (hard to believe or maybe I missed), or tangled with Chester.   Even the guy walking his dog was no where to be found and the flag pole was not lit for us.  Ann & Hope ran by it 4 times and still had to ask where we stop at 6:08 (or 6:09 – whatever).

No Chester siting and no Fishwrap or Margo, which means we still don’t know the answer to the Sasquatch mystery. There was a truck with the lights on during first lap so maybe Chester or his mom had to leave early for work.  Since Prohibition has been riding my coat-tails since he agreed to Co-Q, I am goingt to assign him task of installing one of those cameras to catch Chester on film so we can solve the mystery.  Spooky Jon even tried to lure him out (#dangerous) by taking off his shirt to get him out of the house/tool shed but it didn’t work.  I think Stone Cold did notice (Spooky Jon and not Chester).

My BRR team totally fart sacked and left me to tow the line for all nine men.    Having an old man carry the team, again, is not smart planning (especially since I already claimed the shortest legs).   Guess they don’t mind finishing at 6pm on Saturday.   Prohibition did claim scheduling conflict several weeks ago but I’m not sure where his priorities are since he had plenty of time to adjust his schedule.  I understand EE and Glass Joe have to drive in from so far out in the country that it takes two tanks of gas and they don’t speak the same language as the rest of us (some cajun/creole/jive mix) but the rest are just lame.

I needed a telescope to see the leaders but looked like Federalist, Thin Slice, and Rachel were setting the pace with Turkey Leg, Checkpoint, Disney, and Black Jack not too far back.   The best trophy in all of F3 will be up for grabs on 8/28 unless Fishwrap or his 2.0 has become too attached to relinquish.  Given I’m partly named after a conservative (Jesse helms combined with Chapel Hill is Chelms), need to get the story on naming of Federalist.  Lots of good stuff in those writings and the UNC Chapel Hill library may even have a copy.

Don’t know about the rest of the crew but YHC was not ready for the hills and the hills won this am.   However, we have 12 more weeks so it’s not over until its over.  Voodoo kept me company and we pushed thru this gloom.  This workout starts with dread at 5:15 and ends with elation at 6:15 when done.  Pushing our limits is why this site is so popular (except with my BRR team).

JRR Tolkein, the fighting Mongrel per Dredd, is up next Monday.  The easy week is over and now the real Parade of Horrible’s starts.

As always, it was an honor to lead (from the six) this great group.

Announcements:

Collecting food for Calvary Baptist Church food pantry.    Horsey site looking to collect cans of Tomato paste/sauce and/or 1 or 2 lb bag of rice.  Please bring next Monday.

Also, consider signing up to volunteer first Sunday of every month to help with Church on the Street assisting in feeding those less fortunate.  Stone Cold and I were there yesterday and it was a great experience – God VERY present on N. Tryon under the bridge at I-277.

F3 Dads is now in full swing on Saturday mornings in both Metro and Area 51.   Check the web site for details.

Please continue to keep Slaughter in your prayers for continued recovery.    Reminds us to be thankful for every day and to use our time wisely – never know when the Big Man up stairs might call us home.

Round and Round

20 PAX this week at Devils Turn.  Now the better-late-than-never back blast.

The Thang:

The original plan was to head down the greenway for some off-road miles.  After a short pre-run revealed that the ‘off-road’ included ‘the great flood’, YHC decided the South Charlotte Middle track sounded like a better option

Moleskin:

It seems like the warm-up mile has turned more and more into an acceleration to full speed these days.  Perhaps one day we will actually try a warmup.

After the ‘warm-up’ the group was ready to go.  Tiger Rag, Haggis, Thin Mint, and Woodson made off to an early lead this morning.   Apparently, having arrived at the track, Tiger Rag opted for an alternative route out and back down Woodfox Dr.  The rest of the group enjoyed some rounds on the track with Cheddar and YHC taking a few salmon laps in the reverse direction to balance out the legs.  It would appear that not all the group was as excited about the track today as Haggis.  Thin Mint and Woodson left for a side-walk stroll down 51 before rejoining the group for the trek back to COT.

Great effort by all today.  We continue to pick up a few more faces each week as we get closer to to the BRR.

FOOD DRIVE: Calvary Church Food Pantry

I am asking all A51 workouts to participate in a food drive for Calvary Church Food Pantry.  This pantry feeds our hungry neighbors.  They have asked for our help.

HC your workout below in comments– You don’t have to ask the site-Qs.  You want to Q it, then do it.  Read on.

Choose ONE food item for your workout to collect and put it in comments: 

Dry Beans: 1 or 2 pound bags

Soup (hearty; not “cream of”)–NOT LARGER THAN 16 OZ

Tomato paste or Tomato Sauce

Peanut Butter

Rice–Brown or White–1 OR 2 POUND BAGS–OR UNFLAVORED BOX

Get the word out this coming week at your workout.  

Collect the following week: 06/12/2017-06/17/2017

Coordinate drop off/pick up with me.

Delivery to Calvary Church Food Pantry Saturday 06/17/2017.  I will need help with this.

Each workout can designate a Q to collect the food and coordinate with YHC.

No Scary Clowns at Stonehenge and Nothing in Capone’s Vault

16 PAX made the right choice and posted at #Stonehenge for their #DRP and her’e’s how it went down.

COP:

Move on over to the Ballantyne Village parking deck, stopping at each ramp for 5 Merkins.

  • SSH X 20
  • IW x 20
  • Merkins x 15
  • Squats x 20
  • Crunches x 15

Head back down the parking ramps stopping again for 5 Merkins each time.

The Thang:

Mosey down the parking deck and over to Loch Ness for a variation of the MARSOC Short Card

  • Merkins x 15
  • Squats x 15
  • Burpees x 5
  • Windmills x 10
  • Take a Lap
  • Merkins x 15
  • Mountain climbers x 15
  • Flutter kicks x 15 (4-Count)
  • Burpees x 5
  • Cherry (Cotton?) pickers (4-count) x 5
  • Take a lap
  • Merkins x 10
  • SSH x 15
  • Back Extensions (“supermans”) x 15
  • Burpees x 5
  • Chain breakers x 10
  • Take a lap
  • Merkins x 15
  • Lunges x 15 (each leg)
  • Hello dollies x 15
  • Burpees x 5
  • Take a lap

Circuit Work:

Mosey along Loch Ness stopping at the next half wall for two rounds of the following.

  • Derkins/Incline Merkins x 10
  • Dips x 10
  • Step ups x 10 (each leg)

Mary:

  • Russian Twist x 10
  • Flutter Kicks x 15 (4-CT)
  • Rosalita x 15
  • Hello Dollies x 15
  • Heels to Heaven x 20
  • Merkins x 10

Moleskinny:

  • Great effort by the PAX, the Stonehenge crowd never disappoints.
  • The MARSOC Short Card is always a good one, plenty of exercises to get a good workout YHC needed a printed Weinke to remember them all yet I still forgot the Russian Twists added them to Mary so we wouldn’t miss out. YHC halved the reps for each exercises and added running to mix it up.
  • There was some question on the Cherry Picker form, maybe they were Cotton Pickers, oh well.
  • We got somewhere between 3.3 an 3.5 miles in today depending on the GPS satellite.
  • Admittedly, YHC is not as familiar with the AO as I should be and should post more often because it is expansive with a lot of opportunities for the Q. Thanks to my navigators this AM.
  • It’s been some time since YHC had been to Stonehenge and it was great to meet some new PAX like Carmen Sandiego, Tag Along, Shrink Wrap.
  • Good to see Mr. Bean back out there again and his beard is coming along. He and MT shared some beard grooming secrets at Coffeteria,
  • Mr. Bean didn’t disappoint in the #MumbleChatter, from YHC’s merkin from at COP to his burpee form, he always keeps it lively.
  • Wild Turkey is beast mode with pre-run and the workout.
  • Haggis and Frasier out friend on the laps, no surprise there, they were crushing it.
  • Welcome Overnight from @F3LexSC in town with his son for the NASCAR experience, glad you were able to join us.
  • Thanks to Wild Turkey and Nard Dog for the opportunity to lead and please sound off with any mumble chatter.

Announcements:

F3 Dads does the Hula

35 Dads and 2.0’s showed up to Beatty Park this morning for the first A51 Dad’s workout of the year. I wide range in ages and F3 Dad’s experience but we got right down to it.

A bit of a disclaimer upfront to watch out for Ant Mounds all over the field.  There was a bunch of them but I didn’t see anyone get bit.

The Thing – Mosey from Left field to Right field and Circle Up for COP.

Coach the 2.0’s on cadence count and hit some SSH, Merkins, Squats and Mountain Climbers.

Mosey over to outfield fence to find a stretch of grass with no ant mounds.  Dad’s plank up and kids go for 2 rounds of Tunnel of Love.  Got to get this in early because the kids love it and the dads weren’t sweating too much yet.

Head over to the 2nd base line and line up for animal walks.  Bear crawl, Unicorn Walk, Mountain Lion, Crab Walk and a few PAX picks – Penguin, Scorpion, and Bear Crawl with a push up every 3 steps (who teaches their kid this?)

Water break and set up for Hula Relay’s

5 teams.

Relay one – run to each hoop (3) pull them over your body and drop them down, turn around cone and come back through all 3 hoops the same way.

Relay two – Dad’s hold 3 hoops and kids crawl through each hoop, around cone, and back.  Repeat with kids holding and dad’s running and repeat again with the kids running.

Relay three – Shuttle run – carry wiffle ball to opposite hoop, drop one ball, pick up the other and bring it back to 1st hoop.

Water Break

10 minutes of Hula Hoop Freeze tag.  If you have the hoop you are a tagger.  Ring the hoop over someones body and they are frozen.  Someone else pulls hoop over them to unfreeze them.  Now that person has the hoop and is a tagger.

Hand out all the Hula Hoops as door prizes – one to each family.

Done.

Moleskine:

Certainly looked like everyone was having a great time and got some exercise out there.  Not too bad this morning but certainly going to get more muggy from here!  Encourage fellow PAX to come out and spend time with their 2.0s.  It’s a great way to spend a Saturday morning.

Now I have some chores to knock out!

Thanks to Lex Luthor for once again stepping up to lead F3 Dad’s this summer.  Also thanks to Mermaid for the great takeout.

-Alf

This is OUR turf!

It was an honor to lead the first SOB F3 Dad workout. In true SOB fashion, I broke the rules and brought “props’ to the Bullring.

At 8:50, it was just me and the 2.0s and I was starting to get concerned that no one was showing up. Turns out a few guys were driving around the Bull Ring (.5 mi) trying to find our spot. If you’ve never been before, we meet by the bronze bull statues/swing set. Erector and his son were first to arrive and not long others soon joined.

Quick warm-up lap
Side straddle hops x 10
Imperial walkers x 10
Squats x 5
Daddy elevators x 5 (‘Merican with kid on your back)

Game 1
Three legged race. (I used my winter infinity scarves to lash our legs together.)

Game 2
Capture the flag. 2 rounds
The kids won both rounds and dad’s really didn’t take it easy.

Game 3
Sharks vs. Minnows
A version of tag that starts with one “shark” who tags the “minnows” as they attempt to “swim/run” to safetey. If one is tagged, he/she becomes a shark for the next round. Repeat until one minnow is left. The winning minnow becomes the shark for the next game.

Game 4
Night at the Museum
The pax may only move toward base if the “looker” is turned away. If the lookers turns around and spots you, you are out. The first person to cross into base become the looker the next round.

Game 5
Volleyball
The M bough an oversived, inflatable volleyball and net and we put it use. We split into even teams of kids and dads. Kids have priority for hitting the ball. The net was too narrow for the amound of people, but everyone was a good sport.

Game 6
Water Gun Firing Squad
Kids with water pistols formed a two lines and dads had to run, bear crawl, crab walk and backwards run through the gauntlet. Then dads and kids switched. Some kids were not as enthusiastic about being sprayed.

Game 7
Water gun free-for-all
Everyone got wet!

Moleskine
I love F3 for so many reasons and F3 Dads is among my favorite activities. There is no better way to show leadership than to take time to be with you children. The games are just for fun, but we are teaching good sportsmanship, how to take turns, share and how take instruction and follow rules. We are also getting kids away from TV and tablets and showing them to have fun outside.

About halfway through the workout, a YMCA bootcamp mosey up to our area and proceeded to workout for about 15 minutes. It was pretty annoying because there are plenty of other spots in the vicinity to do what they were doing. If I ever Q and a group is in a spot I planned for, I would adjust and go somewhere else. It’s courtesy.

Tolkien ran Metro’s Goat CSUP earlier in the morning and showed up with no shirt and no kids. (His wife did drop them off soon after his arrival.) By the end of workout, he was lying in the grass and kid’s were lighting him up with water guns. It was funny and sad. (Get some rest!)

Please spread the word of F3 Dads at all your AOs. It was great seeing newbie’s Caboose, Escobar and Erector, plus regular’s Fire Hazard, Soft Pretzel and Voodoo.

Sun’s out, time to bring the guns out

With 8 brave souls lined up in the parking lot (and another late roller, you know who you are), YHC hatched a heavyweight plan to smoke the arms, and not skip leg day either

The Thang
Warmup
20x IC SSH
15x IC IW
15x IC Moroccan Nightclub (both forward and side)
Good Mornings
Toe touch to Plank to Downward Dog and back up stretches
10 Merkins at the plank
Pair up and do a little catch me if you can, 5 merkins. Down the field and back

The work
30sec A – 30sec B – 30sec C – 30 sec Rest. Repeat x3
Set 1
Upright Rows
Curls for the Girls
Overhead Press

Set 2
Teabag Squats
Figure 8s
Suitcase Lunges

Set 3
Swings
Clean and Press
High Pulls

Part Deux
An OYO circuit of Pull Ups, Lawnmower Rows and swings or a lap around the baseball field

Mary
PAX Choice
Flutter by Mall Cop
LBC by Toothpaste (FNG)
Freddie Mercury by El Rod
American Hammer by Heisenberg

Naked Moleskine
Great work by everyone that was here. Somewhere along the line Drano ran away. But we are not the marines, we will not send a search party for a lost PAX, especially one that gets lost standing in a circle. He returned during the OYO circuit, claiming to have ran down to the HT.

Great to have Mall Cop, Moon River, and Goon all out from their time on the IR list. Hope this was a good workout to get you back out and sweating but not re-injure anything.

Always a pleasure leading. The Q schedule at Ascent is open, and the upcoming weeks need some love, feel free to sign up, or message me on Twitter (@F3Sony), Ascent Signup Genius