We left the parking lot and I hear, “What about the disclaimer, Turkey? We’ve got FNGs” (We didn’t.) So, I knew it was going to be one of those mornings. I was right.
Here’s what went down.
Warm-up in at the hotel parking lot
20 Side Straddle Hops – a few PAX actually did them
15 Imperial Walkers
20 Mountain Merkins
Loch Ness Loops
Lap 1
patio 1 – 7 derkins
patio 2 – 7 Bulgarian split squats (each leg)
Lap 2
patio 1 – 14 derkins
patio 2 – 14 Bulgarian split squats (each leg)
Lap 3
patio 1 – 21 derkins
patio 2 – 21 Bulgarian split squats (each leg)
Flutter-fest
10 regular, IC
10 single leg – R, IC
10 single leg – L, IC
Pull-up/Knee-Up, Fitness Trail
PAX split into two groups
Group 1 – 10 knee-ups
Group 2 – 5 pull-ups
Switch, rinse & repeat
Mountain climbers while we wait for the six.
Snyder-Lance Hill Progression
Round 1 – 10 merkins, run the hill to the bridge, return to start and planks for the six
Round 2 – 10 merkins, 20 Carolina dry docks, run the hill to the bridge, return to start and plank for the six
Round 3 – 10 merkins, 20 Carolina dry docks, 30 mountain run the hill to the bridge, return to start and plank for the six
Round 4 – Round 1 – 10 merkins, 20 Carolina Dry Docks, 30 mountain climbers, 40 plank jacks, run the h hill and stop at the top
for People’s Chair with 40 arm raises
Squat-sational! Synder-Lance parking lot
10 IC regular
10 IC feet together
10 IC wide
10 single count tip-toe
Wheel-O-Merkin
Using the curb, 5 incline, 5 left-arm high, 5 right-arm high, 5 derkins descending to 1 of each
Hotel Lot
20 Freddy Mercury
Vine American Kitchen
Ab-Webb 1 heels-to-heaven 4 LBC up to 4 heels-to-heaven 16 LBC
10 Burpees OYO
YHC on the take-out.
Moleskine
Well, it was a pretty typical Saturday. No one would shut up and most of the time they were talking about co-site Q, the most imfamous PAX in all of F3nation, JRR TOLKIEN. You all must realize that only emboldens him! All in all, it was a great day and I enjoy the smack talk. Have great week!
(Posted on behalf of Floor Slapper)
Probably a 1st for Area 51. Rumor has it that 10 PAX (1 FNG) + 2 (2FNGals) posted at Area 51 for another weekly edition of the region’s original workout. Cannot confirm or deny, but have it on good word from an eyewitness that a co-ed workout make have taken place last weekend. Core Principles of F3 are that the workouts are free of charge and open to all men. Recent headlines regarding Charlotte local law and NC Government veto of said law may have left the Q and PAX in quandary. However, Q carried on as if nothing was amiss and the PAX followed his lead.
Went something like this:
Warm-up: Run to the soccer fields, 20 SSH at 1st light pole (let the grumbling begin – something about the lack of true circle), Run to the next light pole, 20 IWs, 20 MC, 20 Merkins, 20 Squats, Indian Run around the field.
The Thang:
COT – Welcomed new FNG and FNGettes & Q gracefully mentioned slightly better smelling and less vulgar option of FIA
NMM:
10 posted in the rainy gloom and here’s what we did:
Mosey to Football field for COP
400m with 5 burpees at each turn then head to the end zone for some partner work
P1 runs while P2 does Merkins, flap jack and repeat until total of 200 merkins
same with Dolly for total of 300
same with burpees – total 50
100 yd run with 1 merkin at the 10 yd line – increase by 1 merkin every 10 yds then run the 100 back.
Mary/Burpee Combo
Mosey back for COT
So, there was some discussion (no names to be disclosed) as the pax gathered in the parking lot about pulling an audible and heading to Starbucks for some solid (and dry) 2nd F. But our fearless Site Q, dashed the hopes of those wanting to skip the SoakFest that ensued.
Plenty of MumbleChatter throughout the workout – some intended as payback for some that’s been dished out by YHC in the past. I love it – keep it coming!
Thanks to the men who showed up. The last time that I was supposed to Q, when it was raining, it was also about 20 degrees outside, and no one else came.
Aye
10 Goats with clearly questionable senses showed up at South Charlotte Middle School Port for a rather soggy edition of F3 Mountain Goat. Strange Brew and YHC did a short pre-run and we were wondering who would be silly enough to get out of their warm, dry beds to come get soaked and gassed! The Men of F3 Mountain Goat… that’s who!!!
Everyone was also on time! So we disclaimed quickly and set sail for Strawberry Ln for a warm-up mile and some stretching. The program was very simple:
1. 400m I-Pace/400m recovery
2. 800m I-Pace/400m recovery
We did that 3 times plus 1 extra 400m, followed by recovery cool-down, some quick stretching… DONE!!!
We completed approx. 5.5 – 6.0 miles.
Moleskine
Excellent job out there today in less than ideal conditions! YHC suggested it was just heavy dew… but if I’m honest with myself, it was at a minimum a heavy fog!! Very BRR-esque!
Great to have BOG out for the 2nd straight week! Thanks for starting to make MG a part of your week!
The other regulars are just plain strong… I always say it because it is always true!
I heard Booyah telling Nuke that he regrets taking 13 days off (sickness and M-travel)… and we missed him! Great to have him back… you’ll make those days up quickly!
The Mouth was questioning why his HR monitor was spiking during cool-down. I reminded him that while his body was cooling down, his mouth was ramping up… and obviously that takes a lot of energy!!
Geraldo felt right at home as we were probably a little closer to “rucking” than “running”!
Icicle, Retread and Nomad… knocking it out strong!
Best of luck to Strange Brew on his Fast 5 run tomorrow!
Announcements:
1. Day 0 Convergence at 7:00 on Saturday 5/28
2. F3 Convergence at SouthPark Mall on Memorial Day 5/30… check the website for the schedule of activities.
On Saturday June 4th at 6:00AM outside the Panera in the Arboretum we will launch F3’s introductory Q course – Q 101.
One of the 5 core principles of F3 is the workouts “Are led by men who participate in the workout in a rotating fashion, with no training or certification necessary”
The first half of this sentence speaks to the core mission of F3: Our mission is to plant, grow and serve small workout groups for men for the invigoration of male community leadership. We, as a group, are accountable to each other to grow and energize male leadership which starts by leading other men in a workout. Your active leadership is the cost of attendance to the F3 workouts. The whole ecosystem of F3 does not work unless we collectively support it.
The second half of the sentence is true, training and certification are not required. However, coaching and guidance are strongly encouraged. The Q 101 course is specifically designed to provide you the coaching, guidance and eventual comfort level you need to lead other men in a workout. Q 101 is designed to teach all pax the proper way to lead a F3 workout. Q101 is a hands-on learning experience. Q 101 can be incorporated into any, properly designed F3 workout, and is intended to provide the pax with an example of a proper workout, including Disclaimer, Structure of the Workout, Position Assignments (Q, Sweeper, etc.), How to Count, COT (nameorama), and Ball of Man.
On Saturday June 4th, we ask for any and all PAX who feel this training would be helpful to them to join. We will start at 6AM with about a 45 to 60 minute workout, broken up by instruction and coaching on how to lead. We will follow up with breakfast on the Panera patio for Q&A and discussion. We will conclude by 8AM so you have time to grab your 2.0 and head to F3 Dads.
If you can join, please HC in the comments or just come that morning. Site Q’s – please encourage those at your workouts to join us. This is open to all F3 including Area 51 and SOB.
Looking forward to it.
-Alf
A51 Pax were posed that question last night by the ultimate Bear Poker, Chelms/Tater.
Seriously, all that grey hair and soccer arms….what’s the harm?
So 17 showed up in spite of the obvious taunt (and the threat of rain) for a so-so workout that looked like this:
COP in Cadence
Side Straddle Hops x 25
Squats x 20
Merkins x 15
Mosey towards parking deck, too obvious, hard right turn for a lap around football field. Into the deck we go.
Level 1: Hip Slaps x 10 each arm. Squats x 10 IC. LBC x 10 IC.
Run full length straight ahead. 10 Upper Body, 10 Lower Body, 10 Core.
Run straight length again. Rinse and Repeat, each level up.
Run down stairs, rinse and repeat a couple more levels. May have ended up with 8-10 sets.
Back out into the gloom, to the ramp at school entrance. Partner Up.
Partner 1 does Bear Crawl up ramp to front door, 10 Burpees, runs back.
Partner 2 holds plank until 1 returns, flapjack.
Round 2 was Bear Crawl, 10 Diamonds, run back.
Partner Carry Squats. Just like it sounds; Step forward Left, Right, Down, Up. 10 squats each man.
Wheelbarrow up usually deserted side drive. Dodge incoming cafeteria lady. Resume.
Run back to far set of deck stairs, race up, plank for 6.
Utah, give us a “1” count. Sprint to opposite end stairs, run down and back to launch.
Various Mary may or may not have included LBCs to 33, American Hammer (Thank You Dear Abbey), Dolly, Rosalita, Bicycle, etc.
Great take out by McGee.
Moleskin
McGee, who is still adjusting to A51 time zone and LIFO’d, crushed it. Utah and Cane ran in through the slop, T-Claps. Good to see Mermaid back out. Frehley’s Comet, also working out time zone issues, joined us from SOB. Welcome!
Strong work by all –
Announcements
Whetstone Project: A great opportunity to Mentor or be Mentored. Either way, you will come out better for it. Stay Tuned.
Day Zero 3rd Anniversary beatdown May 28 at McAlpine. Many Saturday sites converging there. Except of course #Commitment
Memorial Day convergence at SouthPark for beatdown, 5k, etc. Remember our veterans.
16 SOB’s showed up on a glorious, sunny, dry, 65 degree morning…wait…never mind. 16 bada**es showed up in rainy, cold, disgusting conditions to see YHC’s VQ at The Brave. The Brave is the elite…the best of the best…where grown men (and Tolkien) come to find pain only to make themselves better. YHC was offered the chance to lead these fine men into the gloom and eagerly accepted (was told by Mario I had no choice) the challenge.
The Thang:
Last week The Brave suffered a beatdown from Mr. Bean…who coincidentally did half my planned workout. At first I was deflated…then I quickly realized that Mr. Bean was just brilliant in copying my workout one week ahead of time. It’s like he was from the future and then went back in TIME. #michaeljfoxrules
Here’s what we did…gather the PAX at 0515 and make a beeline towards the parking deck since it’s raining. 4 seconds into the workout make a hard right and start moseying towards the Bull Ring which was turned into a clock today.
Arrive at the Bull Ring/Clock for an AMRAP of the following:
Odd laps – sprint the straightaway, recover around putting green, sprint the straightaway. Then complete one lap around the Clock stopping at the 12, 9, 6, and 3 o’clock positions for 12 merkins at each stop (48 total per lap)
Even laps – Bear Panda Crawl the straightaway, recover around the putting green, bear Panda Crawl the straightaway. Then complete one lap around the clock swapping the merkins for burpees
Round and round we go until 0610
Head back to The Vine
Congratulate Bunker on awesome Q
Moleskine:
The weather was nasty this morning. Before we even got to the Ring, Gumbo was crying (or was that rain on his face) about how much he loved us all. Everyone had 5 lbs of water in their shoes before we did our first merkin. Nipple chafing began quickly….some went shirtless, some tried to go pantless (stop it Tolkien). All of this within 5 minutes…it was going to be a good morning.
No confusion this morning from the PAX…probably because directions were so clear. The chalk was used at 4:45 and by 5:15 it was gone….YHC still gets an A for effort. Maybe if I had borrowed Frasier’s Murderhorn Championship chalk it would have been visible…or perhaps it would have disappeared just as fast as that dude can run. Seriously…he’s already done with next week’s Swift workout.
The PAX was strong this morning. Right out of the gate Mario, Panda, General, Tuck took off like madmen. YHC thought surely he would catch them later while he “rested” on the running portion. You guys were strong this morning…couldn’t catch you guys today.
Outback was a beast AGAIN. He showed up early, ran 72 miles, did 500 burpees, and then ate my workout for a snack. #checkhisbagforhgh
Madame Tussauds was awesome leading up to my VQ. Offering advice, videos, moral support, twitter updates, and I even think he had a plane flying overhead with directions in case I got lost in the Q. Thanks for the support brother.
Speaking of Overhead…welcome FNG Overhead. Nice to have you out there…your first post at The Brave was awesome. Glad to have you out and look forward to more.
Flint was running in galoshes…or at least that’s what he thought he needed. No one told you that you need a life preserver for The Brave did they.
I heard Mic Check once this morning….I heard him say (or at least thought I did so I’m sticking with it), “man…is this a Black Diamond workout?” #boom (I know, I know…I haven’t posted to BD yet. Chill out).
One-niner showed up late and still crushed it. He told me it was horrible….perfect.
Soft Pretzel and Argonaut stayed with YHC for pretty much the entire workout…awesome to have you guys out there pushing me and each other. Softie and I had the countdown going on the last lap. #sub6minmilepacers
Kudos to you for your comment Wingman….had a great point about hearing the rain and choosing between a Fartsack and a workout with the PAX #dontleaveQhanging
But the best part of the day was learning Tolkien HATES bear Panda Crawls….I’m sure we’ll see a lot of those in the future. It helps us keep up with him. Of course I’m sure he’ll come after me and make me do 700 lb bucket carries, push me to have my heart explode trying to go sub-20 on a 5k, or some other insane strength exercise that he crushes and I can’t do. #muchrespect
Not bad for a day’s work. #bunkermorethanjustarunner
Thanks for the opportunity to lead today.
In the spirit of #GhostRunner, comes a new Spring/Summer option in the Ballantyne area for an evening run at 7pm on Wednesdays. Yet to be named (and we may adjust the time eventually to 7:30pm depending on the PAX), we will launch from the parking lot at Brazwell’s at . Various routes (4, 6, or 8mi options each week) will take advantage of Ballantyne Country Club, the Murderhorn, Piper Glen, 4MileCreekGreenway and the plentiful options to start training for BRR via a challenging 2nd Run / workout in your day. Of course, with it being Wednesdays, it still leaves the option open for:
Eventually, we’ll even have some “lecture sessions” certain weeks afterwards at Brazwells on run topics for BRR Training, Kiawah 13.1/26.2 training, etc.
Starts on Wednesday, May 25th! 7pm. Stay tuned to this PreBlast for any updates.
Last Friday Pop Tart reached out looking for a replacement Q for Monday. I accepted thinking, this will get me off the hook for my double Q week in early June when I was slated for Kevlar and The Matrix in one week. Well, then Brown didn’t show. No note, no text, no call, no “it’s not you, it’s me” story, nothing about how we’d “really be better off without him” or “I’m holding you back.” He just disappeared. Sort of like the fathers of every great serial killer and lady of the night.
So at 5:29, with Horsey McHorsesArse blasting 80’s rock ballads on his Bluetooth speaker, we all sat looking at each other figuring who was going to step up. So I looked around at the options:
– Horse Head – He and his Outland crew ran an entire workout, like 5K backwards. – I don’t want him leading.
– Tiger Rag – He’s had 5 months off to prepare a weinke that would contain nothing but squats and modifications. – Nope.
– Pop Tart – I really want him and Haze to swap one all yellow shoe with one all black shoe. Like Bumble Bees – The BUZZ is Back in Charlotte! – Yeah, no.
– Puddin’ Pop – He was wearing his blue shirt today. Made me sort of nervous to not see him in grey. Plus he might grab Horse Head’s Bluetooth and jam Rush Chronicles the entire workout – No Chance.
– Turkey Leg and Fletch – I didn’t feel like running that far or that fast – Not today.
– Harley – I don’t think I have ever seen him Q without a KB. – Fat chance
– Fault Line – He’s been swimming a lot and I didn’t want the rain to give him any ideas on that new drainage pond on the Fullwood side. – No life guard – so out.
– Cotton Tail, Tackling Dummy, and Blazing Saddles – I don’t think I have been at one of your Q’s, looking forward to it, but not prepared for the unknown – Next time.
So at 5:30 and out of options, I grabbed reigns, tossed out the disclaimer, and 12 men moseyed off.
Now for the part no one actually reads: The Workout.
Run in circles to collect all PAX with lunges, butt kickers and high knees while I think of something.
COP – Merkins, Wide Merkins, Diamond Merkins, SSH, IW, more lunges, and squats.
Run to dark front of school and grab a rock from the big rock pile.
Round 1 – 40 OH Presses, run to other side of church and back.
Round 2 – 30 OH Presses, 40 Curls, run to other side of church and back.
Round 3 – 20 OH Presses, 30 Curls, 40 Good Mornings, run to other side of church and back.
Round 4 – 10 OH Presses, 20 Curls, 30 Good Mornings, 40 Louganis, run to other side of church and back.
Return rocks and go over to other side of church on benches.
Partner up.
P1 Run around lot. P2 Dips. Flapjack to 200.
Repeat with 200 Little Haze step ups
Back to launch for flutter, Freddie Mercury, and Protractor.
Done
Moleskine:
Brown no showed. TR modified. Fletch was late and just barely able to pick up the speed and catch up to the group. HH modified. Puddin’ Pop was leading all PAX on the rock/running combos. Puddin’ Pop slowed down considerably on the Partner exercises when I was stuck back at the bench doing dips. No one knew the rock pile was there. Surprise! Turkey Leg won the rock size to body weight ratio award. It rained. I proofread none of this for grammar. I expect Gummy to cover me there. Puddin’ Pop claimed that I was Brown. If Brown was there the workout would have been lower mileage and funnier. I have to get back to my day job. The one that pays.
Thanks to Harley for the takeout. Thanks to Horsehead for not attempting to stop my coup.
Announcements:
June 4 – F3 Dads and F3 Q School – look for Pre-Blast.
-Alf
Charlotte Running Co calls it Mount Charlotte (Charlotte could not be reached for comment) and, as the legend goes, uses it to train for BRR hills.
The A51 brain trust mocked their simple names, yet couldn’t come up with one of its own: Puke’s Peak, Hillbilly, an obligatory Zombie reference, Bug Light (a nod to the green LED flag pole at the top of Blue Ridge)–but no name could be decided. There were, however, plenty of names to be had for the unibrowed snot-licker that suggested the stupid route in the first place, so the workout is named in his honor: Saddle up for Horsey McHorseArse.
WHEN: Mondays–0515 – 0615. Rotating Qs.
WHERE: Old Bell Road and Sardis (Greenway Parking Lot)
WHAT: Strava segment (more or less) is here: https://www.strava.com/segments/6431126. More info to be given on site.
WHAT ELSE: Headlamps and blinkies. It’s a dark place–physically, emotionally, spiritually.
NOTE: No overpriced quiche or designer monkey bread awaits you when it’s done. When you mount up on McHorseArse, you get double baked; not the croissants.
Giddy up.