YHC tweeted out not to be late as we could be headed off campus, way off campus, for this week’s edition of the oldest workout in Charlotte South, Area 51. Wanted to make sure OT and Floor Slapper had ample warning so that they would not have to send out a search party to find us or wander aimlessly looking for us, like OT had to do the first time we made the trek I had in store. Apparently those 2 had better options this week. Joker came in hot on 2 wheels in the Honda Civic just as we were heading out and gave us a lucky 7th PAX member for the morning.
SF was planted and we were off. Led the troops down to the bus parking lot and we started off with a few down and backs to get the legs warmed up. Completed the following:
Head back to the teacher parking lot for the proper COP (order in the universe is restored):
Now that everyone had had a chance to warm up and get the kinks worked out, unveiled the destination for the next part of the workout. Plan was to head down McKee Rd to the Promenade on Providence. YHC had taken the PAX down to this destination once before, but a few of the PAX in attendance had not been there that day. Direction was provided to head down McKee Rd until the leaders reached the Fire Station. Once there, turn around and run back to the 6 and everyone continue to the station. Not sure I communicated this clearly as the rabbits out front waited at the fire station for us to arrive. Not a problem as the 6 was not too far behind.
Completed a few exercises here (May have been some Merkins, possibly some Prisoner Squats, maybe one more). Then we continued the trek down McKee Rd. Made our way to the stoplight at the corner of McKee and Providence and planked to wait for the 6. Completed some CDD and one or two other exercises.
Made our way across Providence (of course we waited for the walk signal as any good law abiding citizen should) and headed over to the Green (Nice lawn area w/ Fountain) in the center of Promenade on Providence. Here we completed a little circuit work as follows:
With that out of the way, had the Pax line up on the sidewalk and then we continued with the following:
Had a little over a mile to get back to the AO, so had to call off the fun at this point. We headed back up McKee Rd and made our way back to the school with a couple stops along the way for a few additional reps.
Made one last stop at the rock pile on the way in for some strength work:
Drop the rocks and head back to the parking lot for COT
NMM:
Announcements:
9 members of F3 nation gathered for another edition of everyone’s favorite workout that happens on Rea Road on Tuesdays.
The Thang: Cannon Call
Run to Randwick (cannon entrance) and back for time (1.4 mi round trip).
Do 1/2 of a Murph (50 pullups/100 merkins/150 squats)
Run back to the cannon and back for time.
Do 2/2 of a Murph
If finished before the bell rings, start again.
NMM
It was hard. Sucked when Swiper introduced it back in September. Sucks now and I’m feeling it a day later.
Cheese Curd complained more than YHC, which is saying something. Must be his wardaddy status making him ornery. I like your style. Never let the Q feel too confident in their plan. Unfortunately YHC is impervious to the caterwauling of the pax.
Glad to see some new blood around the place with Nuke, Hammer, and Red Rocks. The regulars are starting to get a little complacent, judging by the coffee clutch going down with 3 minutes left in the workout. Hope you all agreed on the proper panther blue nail color for the big game sunday.
Too many long nights and early mornings at the cracker factory for Sundancer. Glad to be back in the warm embrace of the greatest and toughest tuesday workout in the DMZ. And thank you for choosing SOFAWIB.
Announcements
SIGN UP FOR CHURCH ON THE STREET RIGHT NOW!
LINK TO 2016 CHURCH ON THE STREET SIGNUP
14 of F3’s finest (including an FNG EH’d by Huddle) congregated at PDS in the borderlands between Area 51 and Metro. Some came for the 2nd F, some came for the weather (which was beautiful BTW), all came to work hard.
Jog down to midfield for COP:
Head to the wall under the bleachers for People’s Chair. PAX were told to partner up by size and speed and remember their partner throughout the workout. Big Top said he was big and slow, so he got to partner with the Q. Plank work was sprinkled in below for the early finishers.
Catch Me If You Can for 3 rounds around the (heated) track:
People’s Chair to regroup.
Head around the wall and up to the bottom of the bleachers for circuit work:
Repeato, but replace SMCs with Mountain Climbers and bench squats with bench dips because the Q’s legs weren’t working properly
Back down to the football field, line up along the near end zone, facing midfield. The following is approximate since YHC was winging it a bit. These are the right exercises, but the order might be off a bit. The distances are right though:
Head over to the corner of the track for 4 corners (this was meant to be a Dirty MacDeuce, but we didn’t have time for full laps between exercises):
Head back to the wall beneath the bleachers for People’s Chair with 25 air presses in cadence and 2 10 counts from Baracus and Snowflake.
Run back to launch lot (not “lunch lot”) for 60 seconds of Prairie Fire Mary – 10 x for each partner
Done.
Thanks to Tesla for the takeout in COT.
Announcements:
Moleskine:
YHC was scheduled to Q last week, but after an early week trip to San Francisco, the old iPad clock remained on Pacific time that morning. After apologizing profusely to Baracus, he kindly allowed me to take his Q this week to try to redeem myself. Hopefully the PAX felt it was worth the wait.
YHC loves Qing at this AO because of the options it provides with a comfortable football field, a (heated) track and bleachers. All of them were used today. Everyone was pushing hard out there, with a number of Larry Birds. Thankfully, it was dark and YHC couldn’t see them so they didn’t hurt his feelings.
Welcome to Old MacDonald, who grew up on a farm and had a very long and detailed life story, most of which YHC missed because he was still breathing heavily. Tesla immediately named him appropriately and then the PAX lined up to submit orders for hogs to be smoked. Aside: Van Pelt, you might want to look this guy up, you could probably do amazing things together. #powercouple OM worked hard the entire time, splashing merlot at one point, but continuing to push. I hope to see you out there again.
Thank you to Baracus for the honor to lead this morning. Please sound off with anything else YHC missed above.
–Posted on behalf of Dollywood–
19 Pax gathered for a warm Wednesday roller coaster ride @Dollywood- Charlotte Edition.
Mosey to the track, warm up lap.
Then the fun began:
The Climb:
The Fall:
Mosey to the parking lot:
Burpee short track-
Mary – PAX choice
Moleskin:
Announcements:
The 4th Annual Joe Davis Resolution Run took place on January 9, 2016, and, for the first time in the race’s 4 year history, the temps were not only not bone-chilling, they were perfect for racing!
As I have come to expect, a whole bunch of you #HIMs joined my family again this year to fight Addiction. We had 723 registered participants and at least 143 of those noted they were part of F3 Nation. (59 ran the 5k, with the Top 5 averaging 19:58. 64 ran the 10k averaging 39:39. #FAST) That is almost 20% and, combined with the 36 women from FiA, makes almost 25%! That spells IMPACT, men, and believe me, the community notices. In fact, they have come to expect a sea of black to descend on Walter Elisha Park one Saturday morning every January to lock shields and honor Joe’s memory by spreading awareness that a battle with Addiction does not mean the loss of Hope!
With your help, we raised just over $30,000 for Keystone this year, bringing our 4 year total to just over $97,000!!! No way this happened without the support of F3 the last 3 years. I am truly humbled.
You guys won’t ever know what your participation means to our family. I love seeing the leadership in motion and one of my favorite moments this year was looking out, as the sun rose, and seeing The Fort’s Worldwide Leader leading a COP/warm-up that was filled with race participants of all kinds in the circle! That is a great picture of what we need to do as #HIM.
WE NEED TO LEAD. If we do, others will follow.
Addiction is a monster and, even with the help of facilities like Keystone, those who struggle need YOU and ME. I wish I could tell you every story of when someone tells me, my mom, or my sister that this race matters. Many of you have told me. That is why we do it every year. We know it saves lives. If you were not there, or left early, the highlight this year for me was having a gentleman named Sean speak after the race. Keystone literally saved his life. He was at rock bottom and got his life back on track with Keystone’s help. It is hard for me not to think that could have been Joe, but Sean’s testimony helps us understand why we had to lose Joe. It was for God’s good.
Please know and be aware that Addiction is everywhere. You have no idea who is struggling. It could be a family member or a friend or a guy doing bear crawls beside you. Be there if you are needed. I hope everyone knows they can come to me if they are struggling. Anytime, anywhere.
So, some of you ran, some slept in for the cause, some volunteered, some prayed. YOU ALL MADE A DIFFERENCE!
Thank you and we hope to see you next year!
If you missed this event, I truly hope you will join us next year. You will no doubt see God’s work being done in a BIG way.
Special thanks to Slim Fast and Bushwood for Qing the event this year and to all the workout Q’s who supported it.
Special thanks also to The Fort Pax who have truly embraced this event on their home turf.
Special thanks to the men of Outland for their “virtual run” and gracious donation.
Special thanks to Subway in Metro and Riptide in Harrisburg for their constant RTs.
Special thanks to our sisters at FiA for their support.
In Him and with gratitude,
Rock Thrill
Please feel free to post comments about your experience below!
The last three workouts I’ve attended in Union Co have involved gear. I’ve had enough of that. It’s time to get back to our first love: Running. No pawn shop sweaty sandbags. No kettlebells. Not even Horsehead’s 55 pounder that he has yet to use in a workout but makes sure we all see it. No Double E Body Blade which if used correctly will slap you where it hurts and drop you to your knees. I’ve repented of hairburners after Saturday. No Countertop tire flipping sending some of us to a chiropractor. No The Late Show carrying cinder blocks for a mile and then carrying them back for no good reason. Save your shake weight for Hairband’s next Q. This is pure running. The way the Good Lord meant it to be. Notice that Paul in 1 Corinthian 9:24 doesn’t say “Swing your kettlebell in such a way that you may win.” Why? Because there is no winning in kettlebells. You must run to win. That’s probably not theologically sound. Regardless, we’ll take our chances with running.
We will meet Thursday (2/4) at Central Academy at Lake Park. Address: 3624 Lake Park Rd, Indian Trail, NC 28079. If you are facing the school, we will park in the lot to the right of the school.
Meeting at 5:15 and we will go for a hour.
Any pace welcomed. We will be using a lot of the Lake Park loops so if you run a 7 minute pace or a 10 minute pace, you’ll be on the same loop.
The only gear needed are your freaking running shoes. Maybe Horsehead/DoubleEE-esque blinky lights from head to toe.
High mileage/low reps….very low reps.
It’s time to restore F3 Union County back to greatness.
Posted by Soft Pretzel for Morning After:
22 worked out in the morning fog – seemed like the Mystery Machine was about to pull up at any time:
The Thang:
Mosey to starting point.
SSH X 20
Imperial Walkers X19 (I like prime numbers?!)
Low Slow Squats x20
Merkins x10, hold plank, x9 hold plank… all the way down to 1.
Mosey to the wall
Dips x20
Jump ups x 20
Derkins x20
Repeato
Mosey to the parking lot
Series of sprints… 8 in total.
Each sprint followed by an exercise:
15 Diamond merkins
20 LBCs
15 Werkins
20 LBCs
15 Merkins
20 LBCs
15 Diamond Merkins
20 LBCs
Partner Pushes up the lot
Partner Pulls down the lot
20 Derkins while your partner planks
Lunge walk up the lot halfway, bear crawl the rest
AB time
15 Dollies
20 Flutter
15 Chippy specials
15 Russian twist
And 5, well, I don’t know what to call them – ask Liger.
Mosey back to the wall and one more set of dips, jump ups and derkins.
And we’re done.
Announcements: 5th anniversary celebration of F3 coming up. Maybe some other announcements followed but my phone stopped working and my short term memory is already failing.
Utah mentioned something to the effect of running for all 60 minutes of Fast Twitch in a passing conversation recently. For some reason it stuck in YHC’s head. Bunch of Twitchers are doing the P200 next month and YHC figured it could do us all good to see how far we could all go in 60 minutes. Now you know. We did exactly what was posted in the preblast, which you can access HERE.
COT
Moleskin
YHC felt the preblast was a necessary courtesy to those who may not be up for running for 60 minutes. Had a fleeting thought that it would be YHC, Utah, Cane, Haze, TL, Brady, and Gerber, given that Utah and Cane ride with me, site Q’s should show, and Brady and Gerber are P200 teammates. Surprised to see 18 guys in launch lot with Joker pulling in and catching the group after launch to make 19. At least Runstopper and Baracus were not in the know. Sorry men, but never a bad thing to get an idea of how far you can go for 60 minutes. Usual suspects opened it up after a warm-up jog. Brady, TL, Gerber, Hairball out front. Not sure where Joker jumped in, but he was moving at the end when I finally saw him. I heard some mileage reports of up to 8.6. Well done men. Bout Time caught YHC at Carmel and 51 and we ran most of the return together. Thankful for the 2nd F and motivation of having a faster guy next me. He took off a bit at the end. Nice to come together the closer we got to SCMS and offer encouragement, as well as, be encouraged by others near the end. Needed that today. YHC hit 7.52 at SCMS at 59:45. Fairly certain most got at least 6.5. It was more like 3.75 to level 4 of CCHS parking deck. Return trip much more uphill. Headlamp came in handy in certain spots. Great work by all. Didn’t do much “leading” today in the Q spot, except for putting the simple plan together and posting the preblast. Feels kind of weird in that regard. Always a pleasure to get out with the men of Fast Twitch. T-claps to Haze for the takeout prayer.
Announcements
Gerber steps up for VQ right here at Fast Twitch next week. 02/09 at 0515. The guy is fast and likes to work hard. All the warning you get. Post and support him for the VQ.
Congratulations to Prohibition on the birth of his new baby boy, Emmet. Baby and M are doing well. Now, getting the beard shaved off at a beauty parlor, that is another story that required a bit of mumblechatter today. Quote: “Men who get beard shaved at a beauty salon don’t deserve to be able to grow a beard.” Not sure who offered that one.
Joker is in need of one or two more pax to help Q a workout at Alexander Youth Network this Saturday. Mr. Brady HC’d on the spot. Get in touch with Joker if you can help out. You will be glad you did.
Breathe deep the gathering gloom,
Watch lights fade from every room.
Bedsitter people look back and lament,
Another day’s useless energy spent.
Impassioned lovers wrestle as one,
Lonely man cries for love and has none.
New mother picks up and suckles her son,
Senior citizens wish they were young.
Cold hearted orb that rules the night,
Removes the colours from our sight.
Red is grey and yellow white.
But we decide which is right.
And which is an illusion?
Nothing like some lyrical magic from the Moody Blues to start things off; one of the Bands that Should be Erased from Rock History according to a random internet survey that I found this morning.
Other notables included:
While the above list is sure to foster much heated debate throughout the day, there was none about the intensity of butt whoopin that went down this morning as 11 men of unquestionable intestinal fortitude posted at foggy Chestnut Park for this weeks rendition of . . . The Thrive.
The Thang:
Simple in design, sinister in nature. 3 Rounds, all written out in chalk.
The Gear:
We had enough gear to go around, so everyone just picked up the nearest object and got to work. Switch gear when done until you finish the list in whatever order you please. Run lap at the end.
Round 1:
Round 2:
Round 3:
Mary:
Done
The Thang:
It seems that if you try to please everyone by incorporating elements that certain individuals love into a workout plan, then you are sure to create something that everyone hates equally. This one delivered big. The gearheads hated the laps, the runners hated the sandbags, and everyone hated the hairburners.
Not sure how far everyone got, but I think we all made it into the third set. I had just finished the third set of exercises (after vigorously crossing out the sandbag burpees on the pavement) but we did the Mary thing instead of running the third lap.
I haven’t sweated this much since I ran out of cash, fuel, and Stuckey’s Pecan Logs on my last Myrtle Beach road trip and had to make tough decisions.
Thanks to Alf for the continued usage of the plates. Please take them away now. The #fred.g.sanford walk should last me for the rest of the week after our Saturday adventure at Outland, two days of mountain biking, and today.
After logging thousands, even millions of running miles over the years, Hairband’s knee has finally thrown up the white flag of a torn meniscus. He and Happy are looking to compete in the next Winter Olympics (or maybe it was the Shiloh Elementary Field Day, #qsmoke) on the three-legged race team. We hope that he can recover soon and that the repairs are not too intensive.
It is said that Glass Joe somehow managed to drive his #hairburnermobile directly into a drainage grate and go #shinyhead first over onto the pavement. Given that the parking lot at Chestnut is approximately 1000 square miles, it is very special that he somehow found this one obstacle and managed to run directly into it. Unfortunately, I did not witness this firsthand.
Not a lot on the mumblechatter front this am, mostly just guys working hard (or hardly working) and enjoying the mysterious smell of the Pawn Shop Army Duffles and my sweet Rhapsody playlist (which did not include any of the above listed bands).
Announcements:
Glass Joe testing the waters on a Thursday UC run group. Will be meeting at 5:15 this Thursday in Lake Park to test out some routes. No Drop – all speeds welcome.
Horsehead
Metro and South invaded the DMZ to see if the Brilliant Comrade (aka Great Leader) would show up this time. He did show up, and was appropriately dressed for the weather….unlike Agony who heard it was going to be fifteen degrees rather than fifty…oh well, you can never go wrong with camo.
Mosey to Carmel MS. Circle up for some SSH x25, merkins x15, mountain climbers x25, Parker Peters x20, LBCs x20. Tighten up the circle, and hold the plank while each of the pax sprints around the circle. Various combinations of hands high, legs high and 6 inches, and some very saggy planks (Swiper). Counts were difficult to maintain because of the wall of sound coming from Agony and Swiper, who were entertaining themselves, and eventually the rest of the pax with a long and sordid sounding story. I didn’t catch much of it, but it seemed to revolve around Agony and a Latin American cabana boy called Luis (or was it Juan?).
Audible called on the plank circle, partly due to the numbers of pax and partly because continuing would have meant further installments of Agony’s Latin escapades. Sprint around the school and back to parking lot. Get into groups of three, one on each side of the lot and one sprinting between; merkins at one end and LBCs/flutters etc. at the other. Each person 5x across the lot.
Sprint around the school and back to the ramp. Plank holding on to the railings all the way up the ramp. Person at the bottom bear crawls underneath and all the way up, then back to where they started. Cycle through 2x. Some folks seemed to have trouble holding their plank (so to speak), while Agony just had trouble with the basic instructions.
Sprint around the school and back around to the wooden benches for some dips x30, derkins x15, dips x20, derkins x10, dips x 20. Watch the suspicious white van pull up to the school…..apparently it had something to do with Luis but we don’t need to go back there. Over to the wall for peoples chair, two legged and one legged versions, and then the decline mountain climber…a crowd favorite.
Mosey back up Camilla. 10 burpees at each speed bump. Back to the parking lot for some Mary… 20+ each of dollies, flutters, rosalitas, knee-ups and Russian twists.
Good crowd, mild morning, and plenty of jaw exercising going on….all-in-all a fine start to a Monday. Appreciate the chance to lead, and thanks to Agony for taking us out. Au revoir…