18 men including an FNG gathered for my last Q as the site Q at #F3TheMaul on this fine Wednesday morning. We mosed over to the parking lot on the side of the theater and COP was established. A proper disclaimer was given since we had an FNG with us. Welcome Ben!
COP: Slow merkin regular and wide arm x 20; Slow squat x 10. Enough of that warm up stuff.
Everyone was asked to partner up based upon size. We then mosed over across the street to the Thornhill neighborhood. We worked our way down the murderhorn and up to the lifting rock pile next to the Thornhill clubhouse. Each pair was instructed to pick a lifting rock. Once this was done the instructions were given. You and your partner had to carry your lifting rock to a series of pain stations. The stops were made of every cross street between the rock pile and Back Ridge Rd. That was a total of six stops. At each stop one partner does curls x 20 and the other partner does merkins x 20. Once at Back Ridge Rd you planked to wait on the six. A series of right leg high/left arm high and flap jack while in plank.
We ran all the way to the end of the neighborhood so we had to get back. So same deal on the return trip this time partner with the rock does squats x 10 and the partner without the rock does merkins x 20. Stop at the rock pile once complete and wait on the six. Plank while everyone finishes.
Mosey to the bottom of the Murderhorn where instructions were given. With your partner you are doing catch me if you can. The twist is the partner that is running has to run backwards up the Murderhorn while partner two does merkins x 10. Stop at the stop sign and do a series of plank variations waiting on the six.
Mosey back across the street and line up facing the hill next to the theater. Triple nickel. We did five jump squats at the top and five hand release burpees at the bottom. Once again you had to run the hill backwards going up. That would be just dumb running it backwards going down.
Time for seven minutes of mary. Started in elbow plank for one minute. Instructions were for each Pax to call out a mary exercise and lead it. I believe we got through six more exercises.
Done!
Moleskin: It has been a honor and great learning experience being a site Q at #F3TheMaul over the past year or so. I appreciate Madame and Mic Check for the opportunity to lead. The Commish and Wingman have taken over the reigns and helped us come into the technological age with spreadsheets and online signups.
We had a great group today. Some guys who have not been out in a while, some veterans, some Kotters and a FNG. Pop tart came up with a great name for FNG Ben with Band Aids. It was great having you out there and you came to the right place. You will get nothing but support. F3 has a wonderful way of making you feel accepted and wanting to be better in all facets of your life.
The intention was to be tough and not stop today. I do not believe we have explored that part of Thornhill before. It had a nice little incline when carrying a rock. I knew my forearms were burning. Some guys up front made it look easy. I believe it was Squid and his partner. Sorry it was dark and Cheddar and myself were near the back.
Running uphill is a challenge but running backwards is an equalizer. I believe one guy ran into the curve. Double challenge of running backwards and in the dark.
Announcements: Anne Springs picnic and hike this Saturday.
Balrog sign ups are active. We need to know how many to plan for. There should be no excuses unless you are out of town like me. There are all mile options which means everyone can do it. The 2nd F is the best part of this stuff. No one gets left behind and there is no trophy for finishing first.
Don’t forget the F3 gala on March 5th. I know ticket sales are brisk in our part of the world. We need to represent since we were one of the first secondary sites to launch.
That is all. Enjoy your day.
It was a relatively warm but wet winter morning. There, five little puppies 19 men dug a hole under the fence passed the gates of SCMS and went for a walk mosey in the wide wide world. Through the meadow gates they went, over the bridge down the road to 51 and past the street lights (stopping for escalating burpees at each – 1-10), across the green grass sidewalk and up the hill, one after the other with your partner.
And went they got to the top of the hill, they counted themselves did 22s on the fencing beside Davie Park with dips and derkins. But one little puppy wasn’t there.
“Now where in the world is that poky little puppy Semi Gloss?” they wondered. For he certainly wasn’t on top of the hill. He wasn’t going down the other side. The only thing they could see going down was a fuzzy caterpillar lady walking a dog. He wasn’t coming up this side. The only thing they could see coming up was a quick green lizard car going 80 mph.
But when they looked down at the grassy place near the bottom of the hill, there he was, running round and round laying face down, his nose to the ground.
“What is he doing?” the four eighteen little puppies men asked one another. And down they went to see, roly-poly, pell-mell, tumble-bumble, till they came to the green grass; and there, they stopped short.
“What in the world are you doing?” they asked.
“I smell something!” said the poky little puppy Semi Gloss.
Then the four eighteen little puppies men began to sniff, and they smelled it, too.
“Rice pudding GROSS!” they said.
And home to Calvary they went, as fast as they could go, over the hill, up the road, through the meadow left on Rea, and under the fence to entrance 3. And there, sure enough was dinner 7s with backward running, jump lunges, and jump squats waiting for them, with rice pudding 33s with LBCs and Flutters waiting for dessert.
But their mother was greatly displeased. “So you’re the little puppies who dig holes under fences!” she said. “No rice pudding 33s tonight!” And (before they could finish) she made them go run straight to bed back to SCMS.
But the poky little puppy Semi Gloss came home back after everyone was sound asleep finished with bonus Mary.
He ate up all the rice pudding and crawled into bed fell over on his back as happy as a lark.
Moleskine
YHC has either been reading too many children’s books lately OR SG looks like the poky little puppy. Maybe a combination. Anyway, that little bit of plagiarism creative writing mostly covered the workout. And, some of it is mostly true.
YHC was is feeling a bit under the weather, fighting a cold…so calling cadence was not an option today. Instead, opted to go with simple combination exercises targeting different areas: burpees to warm up, dips / derkins (upper), lunges / squats / backward run uphill (legs), and LBCs / flutters (core). And we ran a little bit.
We had to cut the 33s short due to time – and not because Dollywood was about to lap me. I just don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea on the rationale there. Most pax arrived back to SCMS near 6:15, where Stone Cold led some OT Mary that hopefully made up for the shortfall.
Partnering up was for two reasons: 1) Knew we were covering some ground (3+ miles) and going to spread out, and partners make it harder to drop someone. 2) Dumbocrats were planned for the run back #equalopportunitysuck, but we ran out of time. Another day, I suppose.
General observations: Witch Doctor has at least college level DB back peddling skills. He was flying on the backward runs. Dollywood was out front on the 33s – may have caught Bushwood on the run back (6:30 pace I hear). Puddin’ Pop becoming a runner??? Wolfman was there – still alive – and he didn’t leave early. Win win win. First time, I think, seeing Back Office since he ran a marathon for our BRR team last year. Appreciate the help provided by Busch, Bushwood, Stone Cold, and Semi to keep us mostly together.
SG – Thanks for the keys today.
Nine Wise Men showed up at The Charge to see if they were #wickedsmaaht. It turned out they were, and they are also in pretty good shape.
We set off as the LIFO’s rolled in, and circled around the upper lot, then gathered at the stadium for some COP: SSHx25, SquatX20, MerkinX15, MCX20. Mosey to the bleachers to visit the 1st wise man: 10 dips/10 derkins on the bleachers, then run up the stairs and across, then down the next set of stairs. Repeat until you get to the far end of the bleachers, then run up the steps, and down the back stairs to the back side of the stadium. Run back to the upper lot to visit the 2nd wise man at bear crawl alley. Bear crawl through the cones and plank until the Pax is done. Mosey back down to the track to visit the 3rd wise man: 5 Burpees, run a lap stopping at the far end for 40 Plank Jacks, 5 more Burpees at the end. Repeat 2 more times for a total of 3 x 3 = Nine Wise Men.
Flutter x 20, Dolly x 20, Mactar Jack x7, 10 ct, Mactar Jack x10
Mosey to COT
Great work today, always an honor to lead the men of The Charge.
Thanks to Tesla for leading us out in prayer
Aye
All PAX are welcome to join for a great 2nd F opportunity to include the M’s & 2.0. Bring the family for a hike (DISTANCE OF YOUR CHOICE) and picnic. We shall converge at Noon, hike for an hour and then enjoy some quality 2nd F time. There is a $5.00 per adult charge to get into Ann Springs Greenway. See below attachment for directions.
***SHOVEL FLAGS ARE NEEDED, PLEASE BRING ONE.***
Time: 12-2pm
Location: www.ascgreenway.org
Fee: $5.00 per Adult
What to Bring: Hiking gear, picnic, soccer ball, football, shovel flags
Lame title because I’m not feeling too creative right now. But, I’ve still got EEs hairburner plates so why not use them at Thrive for the first time.
Mosey to the side road beside the parking lot.
COP
SSH IC x50
IW IC x10
I walk to the side of the road and pull out the quasi-hidden plate. Instant groans.
Hairburners down the side road and then do the back road behind the soccer field until the stop sign. Merkins x10 for those not pushing the plates.
Once at the stop sign, we did light pole suicide runs. There were 6 light poles that took us all the way from the park to Hwy 74. This sucked on legs that just got done with hairburners. Pick up the 6 or Plank till everyone is done. Roughly 1.5 miles ran in this part in all.
And of course, we’ve got to get the plate back to the parking lot. Thus hairburners with 5 good form merkins by the ones not pushing. When we get near the parking lot, we grab the other plate and we’ve got 5 guys pushing two plates back to my truck.
Mosey to the backside of the building with the bathrooms.
TPC w/ air presses and Donkey Kick rotations. Here’s the reps we did: 25 aps/15 dks, 50/20, 75/25, 100/30, 125/35, 150/40. The crowd is absolutely smoked at this point. There was no rest, no recovery, just pushing through them.
Mosey back to parking lot for 4 MOM:
Dolly IC x50
Rosalita IC En Espanol IC x10 (You guys suck at Spanish so I had to end it early)
Extended round of Protractor with a lot of 6 inch high leg holds.
DONE!
COT
Thanks to Short Circuit for taking us out.
Remember Happy’s family and Glass Joe’s family in your prayers. Just pray, God knows the why.
Moleskine
– This sucked. It was brutal combos with each other that just absolutely smoked the crowd. The run following the hairburners was just difficult. Legs felt extremely heavy. The end with TPC w/ aps and Donkey Kicks was tough on legs that were absolutely tired already.
– Multiple reports of guys feeling nauseous/lightheaded/seeing white spots. #accomplishment
– On the run, I ran back to pick up Hoodie who told me that he thought about staying straight onto Highway 74 to end it all early. Would have been easier. That might be true but it would have been bloodier so thanks for not doing that. Not to mention we’d have sent Horsehead to notify your M and he isn’t known for sympathy.
– Nice work by all the guys though. I was encouraging most of you to try to push a 2nd time on the plate when it locks down on you the first time. There is a certain strength gained when the plate says no, your body says no and yet you force a yes. It’s a strengthening of the will IMO.
– Not sure where some fartsackers were at. Maybe afraid of the rain but then, it stopped raining right before we started. Maybe afraid of some running but then, we all need to run. #repent
– Happy told me before we started that burpees were tough on him. No worries brother, this was a burpee free Q. Looking out for you. Great job pushing through the pain out there. So encouraging to see you hitting that last light pole.
– Short Circuit and I both mentioned the respect we have for Lamont and that we hope that’s us at 55. Truly great effort out there Lamont. You are inspiring us even if we don’t say it.
– Hoodie wasn’t a LIFO but he was a FO of course. Always great to have you brother! Way to push through on that run and glad I didn’t have to fill out suicide papers.
– Thanks to Short Circuit for the running partner on that run. A #HIM I wouldn’t have met without F3.
Thanks for letting me lead.
Glass Joe
Only 7 PAX showed with a 90% chance of rain in the forecast. The elite. They were handsomely rewarded with a high tempo, no holds barred, throat chop. Here’s how it went down:
The Thang:
SSH x 20 IC
Imperial Walker x 20 IC
Mosey to the bottom lot of the church.
KB suicides:
Called exercise – 10 reps
Run to first median and back
Called exercise – 20 reps
Run to second median and back
Called exercise – 30 reps (15 each side)
Run to bottom of the hill, backwards up the hill, and back
First set:
Overhead press
Upright rows
Snatch
10 swings
Second set:
Tricep extensions
Skull crushers
Lawn mowers
20 swings
Third set:
Diamond merkins on bell
Wide arm merkins
Stagger merkins on bell
30 swings
Fourth set:
Goblet squats
Dead lifts
Lunges with bell
40 swings
Fifth set:
Flutter with press
Louganis
Russian twists
30 swings
Sixth set:
Squat and press
Curls
Clean and press
20 swings
Mosey back to lot
Jack Webb with bell (1 overhead press x 4 lawnmowers) up to 5 and back down
COT
BOM
The Moleskin:
A quiet group this morning, but that only meant they were more focused on the task at hand – setting the tempo high and putting in work.
YHC planned a tough workout, but with all of us finishing each round together, there were hardly any chances to catch a breath. With that tempo, this workout went from difficult to extreme, and each of the PAX dug deep to finish it. Strong work by all.
Thanks to Dollywood for the takeout and to Fletch and Harley for the chance to lead.
– Sanka
Fell asleep with the deck and cars covered in ice. Woke up to rain. No snow. And into these warmer than expected temperatures three of us launched.
Thang
Run around the block +/- 1.5 miles.
Run to the covered aka dry area behind the school. Mary for awhile.
Merkins and squats here. 7 pull-ups at closest playground. 14 knees to elbows at the far playground. Rotate between the stations until 6:05.
Run the Summerlin / Chadwyck mile to finish.
Moleskine
YHC not feeling 100%, trying not to mail it in. Now and then. What was conceived as a somewhat original take on 3-man grinders got a little sideways with the modifications due to weather. The timing just didn’t work, so it became a bit Montessori #freeplay. The worst part, if you ascribe to the Doc(k) school of backblast-writing (no creative license), is that it makes for a terrible backblast. Fortunately, no.
Nuke arrived while YHC was assessing whether the raised playground with terrible drainage was floating. It wasn’t. Nuke rocked out the entire workout. Seemed like a “Best of the Grammy’s” playlist #SwiftyNation. I have no idea how he fit into that dress, but the bare midriff was not as off putting as you may imagine #hemustworkout. He took the obligatory passive aggressive swipe at Kanye, but the best part was that he almost has the dance moves down. Very metronomic from him today – same pace and strong effort throughout.
Happy Birthday to our War Daddy today, One Eye. YHC struggled to keep up with him. Crushed it, and maybe it was the headband, but the IceMan hair didn’t move. At all. It was a little odd when he demanded that we sing while he blew out all 45 birthday candles, but we went with it. Odder still that he used trick birthday candles on himself #actsurprised.
Weather really wasn’t too bad this morning. No real rain, and it only felt cold on a few gusts.
If you haven’t, sign up for F3 is Five. Early head count is important.
YHC has the Q at Death Valley tomorrow. Plan to cover some ground.
In order to know how those three words are connected you had to participate in a unique double down–Bagpipe and Timekeeper. I had the privilege to start the morning with my VQ (Bagpipe) followed by leading the 3rd F (Timekeeper). Those who attended the 3rd F, can now talk about the legend of Buck Naykid to the generations that follow. But I digress…a quick disclaimer and 12 PAX were off to the parking deck as 2 more PAX were just nestling into their parking spots at the Vine. But everyone made it to the basement of the our favorite parking deck (where we are not chased out) for the festivities that followed.
THE THANG:
Warm up: SSH (15x), Mountain Climbers(15x), Imperial Walker(15x), Hillbillies(15x), Peter Parker(15x).
The Main Thang: Rounds began at the bottom of the parking deck, running up each ramp and at each turn performing the called exercise.
Round 1-Upper Body: Crucibles (25x), Merkins (25x), Wide Arm Merkins(25x), and Hand Release Merkins (25x). Plank while waiting for the six, jog back down to the bottom for Round 2. Plank while waiting for the six.
Round 2-Legs:This round required the PAX to run backwards up each ramp. Squat (20x), Sister Mary Katherine’s (20x), Lunges (20x each leg), Monkey Humpers (20x). Plank while we wait. Then mosey to the adjoining building via the 2nd deck bridge for more upper body work.
Round 3-Triceps: Dips (20x), Diamonds (15x), Dips (20x), Diamonds (10x), then Bear Crawl over the bridge back to the deck, run to top level and take the stairs to the basement.
Round 4-Abs:At each turn a chosen PAX would call out 2 exercises. The QIC started with Heels to Heaven (Go Heels!, Beat Dook) and LBCs, Frehley’s Comet followed at the next level, choosing Russian Twist and Dolly. Time for the youngins to join the fun, so Mario was next up, and side crunches were his choice, and last but not least, Madam Tussauds wowed the crowd with in and out planks and ski planks. Run back down to the basement and finish with Burpees (15x), then back to the Vine where Bratwurst took us out.
Moleskin
I wanted to thank Outback, Madam Tussauds, and Wild Turkey for their help with my VQ and the support of my fellow SOBs. I have been in F3 for almost a year, spend most of the time towards the six, but felt the Spirit calling me to step up and lead a workout. Last week, providentially, Soft Pretzel, told me to Q this workout. I am better for it, look forward to the next chapter in F3, and my next Q.
Announcements:
With a nice veteran crew, QIC decided to mix it up and provide a beat down a little different than the normal Lobsta version.
All exercises will be done for a 5 min duration….and we are off
First up – 5min jog around the AO
Settle by the play ground
Next up 5mins of SSH followed by 5mins of Squats and the cherry on top 5mins of IW…Ouch!
Pop tart had a lot to say during this set. He might have completed 5 SSHs, 5 squats & 5 IWs….I did say the PAX could modify…
Next the QIC took the PAX on another 5min jog around the AO…
Again we settled by the playground for a 5min circuit of 10 pull-ups, 20 dips and 20 decline merkins (complete as many rounds as you can in the 5mins)
5 min wall sit
5mins of abs (sounds like a video)…1 min each of Crunches, Flutter, Back scratchers, hip raise (L) for 30sec) hip raise(R) for 30 sec, Twists
Time for another 5min jog around the AO
This time we ended up at the block pile
5mins of block exercise (1min each of): presses, curls, back row (r), Back row (L) & Tricep ext
Last one – 5mins of various plank holds
Mosey back to the launch
Limited announcements…check the website
Thanks squid for taking this group out in pray.
Always a pleasure to lead a great group of guys who continue to push each other.
Following some chilly weather the past couple days, pouring rain last night, the air was warmer than normal with no rain as 10 PAX set out at 5:15am to achieve an aggressive hour long workout. Not wet asphalt nor first time cadence jitters would get in our way…let’s do this!
The Thang: Quick disclaimer then off we went up Strawberry, mosey down 51 into Raintree.
COT at Willow Point landing pad: SSH x 20, IW x 15 then the real fun began.
First Branch: Run to end of Willow Point, 20 step-ups on concrete barrier (10 each leg) then run back to pad and do 20 Merkins. Mosey down Raintree to top of Windbluff Dr.
Second Branch: Run to end of Windbluff at Providence, 10 squats then run back and to top and do 10 Carolina Dry Docks. Mosey down Raintree to top of 4 Mile Creek Rd. Plank up.
Third Branch: Run down 4 Mile Creek Rd to light (Whitethorn Rd.), 10 Merkins then run back to top and do 5 Jump Squats.
Indian Run back up Raintree to Rounding Run Rd. Mosey to Woodfox then AYG back to SCMS.
Moleskin: Great tight group today with 10 PAX on a wet but warmer than normal morning. We were missing a couple speedy regulars so Alf stepped up to lead the charge through Raintree. Hairball and About Time also kept a quick pace up and down the hills. Lots of encouragement and teamwork amongst the group. The morning was a success with mileage ranging from 6.5 to 6.9 along with enough reps to loosen the upper body. Thanks to Purple Haze for inviting me to lead this morning. It’s been great getting to know everyone, week after week. It’s not always easy getting up this early and I’m always motivated and impressed by the dedication and commitment of this group.
Announcements: F3 Party at Metro on March 5th, Signups Now Open. Available Bib for Corporate Cup (see Hairball). 10 Mile Run this Saturday at Earthfaire Greenway Loop.