11 is a good number right??
The Thang….
Since YHC tweeted that the PAX would be warmed up and sweating within 5 minutes of the start of the workout, as soon as the clock struck 5:30 the PAX took off towards the lot in front of the theater.
Here 3 exercises were completed in cadence:
15 – SSH
15 – Low Slow Squats
15 – Merkins
No sweat yet from the PAX so we headed over to the big hill across from the theater and completed a round of 11’s. starting with 10 Burpees at the bottom of the hill and one Squat at the top and going until we were at 10 squats at the top and one Burpee at the bottom.
Finally the PAX were warmed up and sweating. We completed some assorted Mary at the bottom of the hill until the six completed the activity.
A few of us shed some layers and we were off again, this time moseying over to the fountain by the Chipotle.
Here we partnered up. Each set of partners had to complete 100 dips and 100 derkins. One partner would complete the exercises while the other would run around both buildings. Then flap jack until the number is met.
The Pax then took a meandering Indian run to the speed humps behind the target for the next set of exercises.
Complete a suicide run with 10 squats at each speed hump (none required on the return trips to the original speed hump) and end at the far other side of the building. YHC decided that we would all head back to the six and finish together.
One last Mosey to pick up the gear we had shed, and then complete 10 LBC’s at each of the light posts on the way back to the cars (8 or 9 I believe).
Complete some flutters and LBC’s until the clock struck 6:15.
The Moleskin –
I believe that YHC kept the promise to have the PAX sweating within 5 minutes of starting the workout. There was definitely a lot of grumbling around the Q calling 11’s at the big hill instead of 7’s at a much smaller hill closer to the cars. Of course the mumble chatter did not sway YHC’s called exercise and the PAX pushed hard to get the task completed. YHC was glad to see quite a few PAX off of injury or breaks. Loogie was back out after being cleared from the Dr. He only has one good wing so he is now a runner for the next 6 weeks. Maybe now is the time for Brat and Honeybee to EH him into Swift and Devils turn. Also, note from the PAX list that Linus has been added to at least 2 or 3 backblasts as Lioness. Is a name change in order??? Also, a big thanks to Squid for taking us out as only he can.
As usual it was an honor and a privilege to lead this group of men in the gloom
Announcements:
-DaVinci starts this Saturday at 7:00 in Blakney. The Stonehenge workout will be 45 minutes so that we can double down and support Mic Check and Tuck.
-Family Hike on Jan 23rd at Anne Springs greenway.
Sharpening, Devious Face Shields, and BBQ Tips
12 men of Anvil arrived and successfully wound up at the new parking location at the lot closest to the building near Entrance 3 off Rea and the infamous North Face. Pax parked just south of the handicap spots. The Calvary security truck pulled up and parked amongst the pax vehicles. This will be the launch point for Anvil moving forward. T-claps to Van Pelt for posting at the old launch lot and directing the men to our new lot. Champagne gave a brief tutorial on his ascot/scarf, and proceeded to tell the men that he had ordered a few more “face shields,” that were more devious than the relatively tame design he sported today. Angry clown face or something like that. Full disclaimer clearly indicating that the participants assume all risk for participation in today’s workout given.
Thang
Half mile fast mosey around the lots over to the lot at Entrance 1.
COP
SSH x 10 IC
Merkin x 15 IC-hold plank
MC x 20 IC
Fast mosey to CHAMPS pavilion
Jump up x 10/Derkin x 10/Dip x 10
Fast mosey to Rock Pile
Rock Squat x 10/Curl x 10/Press x 10
Fast mosey to entrance through trees to North Face
10 Jump Squat/Down hill to base of NF/Up NF/10 Jump Squat
Fast mosey to benches in front of building near launch lot
10 Derkin/10 Incline Merkin/10 CDD
Fast mosey across campus to pavilion. 4 Stops. That is 1 Campus Tour Circuit.
Campus Tour Circuit
Complete 2 additional repetitions of circuit.
- Keep exercise reps same as above
- Double exercise reps to 20
Finish at pavilion.
Mary/Plank Series
Flutter x 15 IC/Hold/Heels to Heaven x 15/Hold/LBC x 15
Low plank/RAH/RLH/10 count/Swap
Wide arm merkin x 20 IC
Fast mosey to Rock Pile
Rapid Fire Rock Set
All exercises to 10 in civilian cadence count: Squat/Press/Press/Tri Ext/Squat/Press/10 Rockees OYO/Squat/Press/Press/Tri Ext/Tri Ext/Drop rock at pile
Fast mosey to launch lot. Slightly over on time. Apologies men.
COT
Moleskin
Strong group of men today with several seasoned F3 men among our ranks. Covered 5K total distance with quite a bit of strength work mixed in. Turkey Leg, Bout Time, Lorax among the lead group on the Campus Tour Circuit. T-claps to Runstopper for motivating the six. Van Pelt crushing it as usual and schooling the pax briefly on the utility of STAX rub for BBQ/smoking food. Icky Shuffle was moving. Paper Jam, Utah, and Thunder Road keep getting faster and stronger. Champagne and Hops grinding through at a solid clip. Strong work by all. Public service announcement: give Turkey Leg a wide berth if his previous night’s dinner includes lentils. You are welcome. Always an honor and pleasure to lead the men of Anvil.
Announcements
Be mindful of your cars men. 3 cars burglarized at the Rock on Saturday. Anvil will continue to park where we did today.
Blue Ridge Relay: see Turkey Leg or Bratwurst
Impromptu
impromptu |imˈpräm(p)ˌt(y)o͞o|
adjective& adverb
done without being planned, organized, or rehearsed
Perhaps it is best to “have a plan” but sometimes you must simply “wing-it”, and sometimes you choose to “wing-it” …either way, I think we can all safely assume that the expression “wing-it” causes us to conjure the word “canceleer” in our minds & bosoms. This word is specific to the hawk: it means ‘to turn once or twice on the wing before attacking.’ Pronounced — can-sah-leer — the impromptu habits of the hawk in the air, sturdy, graceful, circling, then swooping down with fierce purpose.
What does this have to do with our work-out this morning? …very little, but your vocabulary has expanded – and that’s generally not a bad thing.
The Thang:
Mosey to stadium steps
Up/Down each set of stairs, mosey around back and to the center of the turf pitch.
COP
• SSH x 20 IC + 5 burpees
• Imperial Walker x 20 IC + 4 burpees
• Mtn Climbers x 20 IC + 3 burpees
• Peter Parker x 20 IC + 2 burpees
• Monkey Humpers x 20 IC + 1 burpee
Star Wars: 10 jump squats mid-field to start & in between every station; corner A = 15 diamonds; corner B = 15 wide arm merkins; corner C = 30 LBCs; corner D = 30 Mtn Climbers.
Plank to gather the pax
Mosey to goal line
3/4 Burpee Broad Jump 20 yards; Crab Walk 20 yards; Bear Crawl 20 yards (Repeat …all the way to the other end of the pitch).
Planking exercises to gather the pax
Trot to track
B2W (1 min.), 1 lap, people’s chair (right leg up, flap jack), donkey kicks (20), 1 lap, people’s chair (40 air presses), 30 Russian Twists, 1 lap, people’s chair (50 air presses), plank jacks (30), 1 lap, people’s chair to gather the pax.
Mosey to steps – partner up – partner A does dips, partner B runs up steps 10 Monkey Humpers and runs back down, switch (x3)
Mary & Done.
Moleskin:
Arena needs our help. His beard is coming in nicely, but there is an immanent threat that he will be pressured to shave it off soon (the wife may not tolerate it much longer). We cannot allow this to happen. I propose that each of us write a 2-5 page letter lobbying for the continuance of Arena’s beard. There is a lot of solid Beard Propaganda out there! For instance, “Ladies, if your man has a beard, raise your hand. If he doesn’t… raise your standards!” or “Excuse me miss, my eyes are up here.” Happy hunting.
Why So Resistant to Change?
17 men gathered at SCMC for a trip to Davies Park for a combination of some running, merkins (and merkin related activities), with a few new things thrown in which got mixed reviews.
The Thang:
Mosey from SCMC to Davies Park
Circle up in the parking lot and start with some Mary:
LBC X 20
Flutter X 20
Wave of Merkins (we will get back to this)
Mosey over to the hill that takes you down to the dog park and partner up:
Partner #1 – Run to the button doing 3 burpees at each light pole on the way down and 10 diamond merkins at each pole on the way up
Partner #2 – Wide armed merkin X 5, LBC X 10, double squat X 15, and side straddle hop X 20 (repeat until your partner gets back and flap jack)
Bear Crawl Inch Worm:
Form 2 lines with each PAX in a plank position with his head at the heels of the PAX in front of him. PAX in the back bear crawls to the front while the others stay in the plank position. When the PAX gets to the front of the line, the next in the back does the same. Similar to an Indian Run but only doing a bear crawl.
Mosey back to SCMC and:
All you got from one end of the parking lot and back X 2.
Round of Mary including Russian Twist, Heals to Heaven, and something Spackler called out which I I have no idea what its called.
Moleskin:
Even with the recent car break-ins (me being one of them) I decided to lead an off-campus workout down to Davies Park. I heard a few negative comments about this (you shall remain nameless) but needed to change it up a bit. The goal was to try and use the soccer field for the majority of the workout but unfortunately the ladies were there that don’t take too kindly to the boys of F3 intruding on their “turf”. Went to Plan B and headed to the parking lot.
Feeling that some of the usual exercises get a bit stale at times, I looked to change it up. This wasn’t 100% successful. I went with a exercise called Wave of Merkins. Basically, circle up in a plank, Q starts with 1 push up while remaining PAX stay planked. Moving counter clock-wise each PAX repeated 1 merkin. Repeat until 10 was the goal. I could tell this wasn’t a good idea with 17 men so we modified to 5 rounds. Truth be told, likely a good exercise with a much smaller group. Quite few were caught cutting corners on the planking but will remain nameless (ie, Spackler). The Bear Crawl Inch Worm was met with less resistance but I think the jury is still out on that one. You can grab some new workout ideas on F3nation.com if you want to try and change up your next Q.
All in all….felt like the 45 minutes was productive. A lot of regulars and a few faces I haven’t seen in a while. Pretty certain that Puddin’ sharted himself during the Mary at the end which was the only real downer of the workout. Always a pleasure leading you guys. Looking forward to next time.
Announcements:
Happy Hour today at the Lodge. Spacker will be there around lunch time but for the rest of us, the hours are more like 4-6pm.
Keep your head on a swivel with the recent car break-ins. Bring your ID in your car but leave your wallet at home. Park in a well lit area if possible.
Better Late Than Never!
15 men waited in their vehicles until 0528 to avoid the 23 degree weather as long as possible. YHC gave short disclaimer and off we went.
THANG
Run South on Pineville-Matthews. Pit stop at Elm Ln intersection for some SSH. Continued running to Day Zero AO for the main event.
SSH X 10
Merkin X 20
Mountain Climber X 20
Imperial Walker X 20
Find a partner and one lifting rock per team. 3 rounds of lifting and running around the 1/3 mile circle.
Round 1 – Partner 1 performs chest press while partner 2 runs a lap (flip flop)
Round 2 – Partner 2 performs curls while partner 2 runs lap (flip flop)
Round 3 – Partner 2 performs triceps extensions while partner 2 runs lap (flip flop)
Plank up while waiting on the six.
Run back to Anvil parking lot for 5 minutes of Mary.
Flutter
Freddy Mercury
Dying Cockroach
LBC
Russian Twist
AYG back to launch spot and we’re done!
MOLESKIN
YHC slacked in posting this back blast but had to get it out before the next posting. The goal for the day was to keep moving. YHC did not realize that a FiA group meets at Day Zero on Wednesday. They were running the track as the PAX arrived to the site. It definitely pushed the PAX to run a little faster and lift a little more as they ran by. YHC learned a lesson about lifting cold rocks in 23 degree weather for an extended period of time. Not the best call. The PAX worked hard and covered 3.2 miles. Hairball was the overachiever of the group with a solo pre-run at 0500. Always an honor to lead at #F3Anvil.
Bulls on Parade
Nine for second running of the bulls, or something like that, this morning at SOFA WIB.
Tough morning to post, especially after enjoying a few of a friend’s grapefruit Sculpin-cloned homebrews and watching the end of the Clempsun / Bammer game last night. Weather was a bonus.
THANG
Partner up and run the HT mile. (Attempt not to fall into the hole in the sidewalk near HT, narrowly avoiding an even colder, wetter start to the morning). Continue past the school to the fire hydrant.
Partner wheelbarrow to the parking lot, switching as needed.
Head to the playground for 10 pull-ups, 20 merkins, 30 Russian twists (each side)
Mosey to the Bull ring – sprint the straightaways and burpee broad jump the turns.
Lather, rinse, repeat – most got +/- 3 full circuits, then re-run the HT mile.
MOLESKINE
Another difficult morning at SOFA WIB. Every workout is designed to be full body, and this was no exception Burpee broad jumps were the worst. We went six months without recycling this one because it was so awful the first time. Today wasn’t any better. Thanks for creating, and shameposting, Talkbox.
The cold perhaps made the run slightly worse. YHC took off at the outset, aiming to go sub-6:30, and then slowed considerably after narrowly avoiding the sidewalk reconstruction project. Lower mileage of only +/- 3.5 today.
Partnership of Swiper and One Eye led the circuits. Voodoo’s heavier than he looks. SG contrasted that to himself, #humbleorselfdeprecating, and attributed that to muscle. Nice to have Snowflake #respect join us today, which made One Eye feel positively young. Also, as the video intends to reference, we were missing a few regulars today, including the other site Q, who only 36 hours earlier had committed himself to the “SOFA-Fecta”, whatever that is. No one really knows. Best just to say that they were missed.
Good work out there today, gents! Handing the keys over to Daisy next week, so we will all anxiously await what he creates.
- Kirk
National Championship Lame
13 fans of teams not wearing Crimson or Orange got enough sleep to post #allin #rolltide. We’re now that much closer to being crowned champion of the Bagpipe AO. Wannabe ‘Swift’ pretenders didn’t stand a chance!! They didn’t bring their ‘F3’ game.
<<>>
What we did:
Mosey to Ballantyne Village parking deck
– Imperial Squat Walkers x 20
– Hillbillies x 20
– Peter Parker x 10; Peter Parker Merkin x 10
– Regular Merkins x 15 then 6 inches: hold for a very slow Big Tuna 10 count.
– Run backwards all the way up BV deck; stopping at every turn for 50 flutter kicks; plank and stretch at top.
– Run forwards stopping at every turn for 30 Carolina Dry Docks; plank and stretch at bottom. 6 inches and hold for a quicker 10 count courtesy of BOG.
Mary in the basement
– Heels to Heaven x 20
– LBC x 20
– Rosalita x 20
Mosey to Costigan Park
– Bulgarian Squats each leg in single cadence x 20 each leg. 20 again; then 15; 10; 5 each leg.
– Knee tucks x 20 single cadence (fast) then another 20 (slow cadence)
– Dips x 20 in cadence (fast) then another 20 (slow cadence)
REPEAT knee tucks and dips
Mosey down Durant and across Ballantyne Medical Pl. and around the long way back to the cars.
Dolly x 50 to end. Swifters joined in the winner’s circle.
Moleskin winners:
– Only late hit was Strange Brew who stepped up to the 1st string. At the end it did feel as though he missed his fellow bench warmers.
– All Pro, Peddles was in attendance – made YHC a little nervous that our game plan wasn’t sound enough for him.
– No sign of that other Mud Run team…..I know for a fact Mr. Bean isn’t a Bama or Clemson alum so I’m left wondering where they were.
– We had a ‘Walk On’ today. He earned a scholarship.
– We also had The Commish make sure that form was correct and kept within the rules.
– And we had a true Professional Athlete in our midst…and Blades of Glory posted too!
– YHC is glad that we can now concentrate more on college Bball. We do live in the heart of basketball heaven for goodness sakes.
Announcements:
– This weekend is the hard launch of daVinci: Saturday in Blakeney Shopping Center at 7am. Some lunatic Pax want to double down Stonehenge and then daVinci. Stonehenge is letting out early to oblige. Let’s all become a little more crazy and join in. HC in the remarks.
Blame Derrick Henry
15 guys were either really tired this morning, or went to bed not knowing our CFP national champion. Notably, no proclaimed Clemson or Bama fans posted. Gummy proactively managed expectations yesterday listing his probability of posting as “doubtful.” YHC tossed out the notion yesterday that if Bama won, we’d head to 4MC, and if Clemson took the trophy, we’d be going somewhere new. In retrospect, no indication if we were taking the spread, or straight up, so technically we could have gone anywhere. The heisman winner sealed our fate with just over a minute left in regulation. 4MC it would be.
Rolled into SCMS to see an apparent rear-end collision between a large Ford SUV and a Toyota sedan. Didn’t see who parked first, so not sure if Pro pulled in tight, or if Haze backed in. Regardless, looked like one of these guys has some valet experience from a prior life.
The Thang:
Fast mosey to the base of Smokerise for some obligatory merkins/MCs. Onward to the 4way stop at Raintree/4MC.
Triple Nickel on 4MC. HR merkins at the bottom (stop sign down the left side of Raintree Ln), jump squats at the “top” (speed bump at the bottom of 4MC on the right side, down by the lake).
Plank up at the 4way til er’body got in. AYG out Raintree to Providence Rd and back. Lotsa chatter for a true AYG #justsayin
Single file Indian run 1.3mi back to campus with a jailbreak up Woodfox.
Moleskinny:
-Strong work from top to bottom today. Lots of Hokies up top. Not a new thing at FT, but noteworthy.
-TL ran away from everyone. Also nothing new to FT (or anywhere for that matter)
-Asked Gerber where he went to school, you know, for record keeping. He informed me he went to Carolina. Didn’t seem amused when I asked “which one?”
-great seeing Horsehead making the trek up from Wadesboro this AM. Hard to miss in his light up shoes.
-Sturnbridge Squad – Mermaid, Cain, Utah- looking strong today
-Ironsides making big strides in prep for his 1st half marathon this spring
Announcements:
– keep your peepers peeled for some VQs coming soon at Fast Twitch
– Per TL, if you run at FT, you will run the BRR. Get with him if you’re looking to join a team. I know at least one team with a spot
– Be vigilant about locking your car and securing valuables when you post. Don’t bring more with you than you need (I.e. Bring your license, leave your wallet at home).
– New parking location at Calvary AOs. See Mermaid’s tweet for more info: https://twitter.com/ogmermaidf3/status/686945414566678532
F3rtlek not so much, just Fartlek
At 0515 on Tuesday, an Actual Shovel Flag was planted, and 11 PAX headed off into the Gloom for the weekly Running Interval workout known as #F3Swift.
The THANG:
- Warm-up (1 PAX drops)
- Drills (1 PAX adds)
- Preblast was here = http://f3nation.com/2016/01/11/preblast-fartlek-danish-style/
- 5 rounds of (30seconds at a jogging pace, 20 seconds of a normal training pace, 10 seconds of a SPRINT), 2 minutes jogging recovery – done on the Bull Ring CounterClockWise
- 5 rounds of (30seconds at a jogging pace, 20 seconds of a normal training pace, 10 seconds of a SPRINT), 2 minutes jogging recovery – done on the Bull Ring ClockWise
- 5 rounds of (30seconds at a jogging pace, 20 seconds of a normal training pace, 10 seconds of a SPRINT), 2 minutes jogging recovery – done on the “Square” around the Putting Green
- 5 rounds of (30seconds at a jogging pace, 20 seconds of a normal training pace, 10 seconds of a SPRINT), 2 minutes jogging recovery – done on the Rushmore Hill
- At 0600, head back to COT, 2 options A) The direct route of 0.5mi, or B) The indirect route of 1.3mi.
- Get back to COT early, so let’s A) take off like Honeybee (LIFO); B) join in some Bagpipe COP with Dolly or Merkins, or C) Refusenik
Moleskin:
- What a fabulous morning for Swift following the JoeDavisRun showing by the Area51 PAX. Of the PAX that posted this AM, we had three 10K finishers (StumpHugger, Gumbo, Abacus), a 5K 2nd Place Age Group winner (JRR Tolkien), a 5K 2nd Place Overall winner (Haggis), and a 5K finisher that ran with his 2.0 in their first 5K together (StrangeBrew).
- Goal this morning was to get back to some good running, stretch out the legs, and look forward to another cycle of training that starts next week. While the workout seemed easy starting out with over half including some easy jogging, there’s definitely an opportunity to push yourself. It’s go at your own pace, and some of the PAX took that literally.
- Haggis shot out of the cannon on the first SPRINT, but then decided to modify later by doing a jog for 30 and a solid run for 30. Probably better for taper for the 26.2 this weekend.
- HoneyBee decided he would try to get Haggis to push as much as possible and gave LOTS of verbal encouragement. Probably smarter than racing considering he is also in taper mode for Charleston 26.2.
- JRR Tolkien looked in Sprinter form today with great leg lift, arms, and stride. If the F3 Football stuff was full contact, YHC would not want THAT running his direction.
- Bunker and Tuck seem inseparable and can probably now use their workout time to bill for overtime work hours.
- Abacus, still happy about coming off his 1:06 victory over Chelms in the JoeDavisRun 10K, was not holding back.
- Great to see CableGuy knocking the rust off the running legs. #Kotters
- A healthy Outback makes for a swift Outback. 2 week streak continues.
- Stump Hugger, after his drive from the SouthEastern-most tip of SOB Land, did find the PAX on the BullRing despite us using an alternate location. Leveraged his inner bloodhound.
- Brew, Brew, are you there? Evidently switched sides mid-workout and playing for the other team when we got back to COT. Pretty sure that is a first for any PAX. Several choose Bagpipe for the day but do Swift Pre-run, but until now, none have switched mid-workout (at least it was before it got real serious).
- Gumbo (and other Endurance PAX), even though the SouthPark RaceFest 13.1 is next, DO NOT FEAR the Swift schedule of the next couple of months. Even though DevilsTurn aligns closer with more Endurance intervals required for Half-marathons, Swift will build that strength needed to make Speed seem easier.
- So, what was all of the running back and forth and around this morning you ask? You may have seen these reports of runners doing odd shapes for running routes before:
- And you’re probably familiar with this:
- So the goal with the route this morning was to have fun and “write” something like the F3 logo – hence F3rtlek. While 85% successful, it looks like a Q-fail because it’s hard to figure out – check out the results here from Tuck (which only looks even halfway there if you have a login):https://www.strava.com/activities/468672934
- Thanks for the opportunity to lead you gents!
Announcements:
- Swift starts a new cycle next week – 1Mile training! Goal will look forward to a planned 1Mile time trial when the weather warms up! 1Mile training will feature fast and short intervals. 3minutes or less, but most in the 1 and 2 minute length. Perfect for ANY F3’er or Swift FNG.
- F3-DaVinci at Blakeney starts this Saturday at 7am. Doubledown opportunity since Stonehenge will run from 0600 to 0645.
LIFO
8 strong men braved the not so frozen tundra of Chestnut Square Park in pursuit of betterment. Here is how it went down.
Q arrives at 5:29..or was it 5:30…we’ll never know.
The Thang:
Hop out car straight into HB mile.
COP
SSH IC X 30 Imperial Walkers IC X 20 (Q unbalanced and out of cadence)
Let’s Mosey:
Round One
Head over to street for a bit of running to keep blood flowing. Up 2 trees back 1 until we reach the stop sign at end of street. A bit of confusion on whether to use trees or islands for markers but we figured it out by 3rd time.
Head to hill for some bear crawl hill work.
Merkin X10, Run down Hill, Up downs X5, Bear Crawl up hill. Next station.
WW II situp X10, Run down Hill, Up downs X5, Bear Crawl up hill.
Bomb jack X10, Run down Hill, Up downs X5, Bear Crawl up hill.
LBC X10, Run down Hill, Up downs X5, Bear Crawl up hill.
Mountain Climber X10, Run down Hill, Up downs X5, Bear Crawl up hill.
Low Slow Squat X10, Run down Hill, Up downs X5, Bear Crawl up hill.
Sprint across grass field to wall.
Air Press X50
Picnic Tables for Step Up X50.
Round 2
Rinse and Repeat with following adjustments:
Air PressX75
Step Ups X75
Round 3
Street Run Only.
Indian Run back to circle up for Mary.
Freddy Mercury X30
LBC X50
Dolly X30
Done!
Moleskin
Some mumbling on the true meaning of an up down, not sure it was resolved, saw some slight variations so may have to settle on it is what you want it to be. As long as you do the up and down part. Transporter thank you for keeping us in line on the step up counts.
Nice work today men, great effort by all, and my honor to lead.