18 men gathered to work themselves into a finely sculpted piece of kick a*s. No cutesy coupons or venturing into new territory today; just a simple beatdown.
What we did. Tha Thang:
– Mosey in a circle around parking area in front of theatre – karoke, backwards, slide.
– Circle up/Disclaimer:
SSH x 40; 5 burpees OYO
Heels2Heaven x 25; 4 burpees OYO
IW x 20; 3 burpees OYO
Low Slow Squat x 20; 2 burpees OYO
Merkins x 20; 1 burpee OYO
– Mosey to grassy area in front of hill for Grass Drills (run in place with knees high). Warning provided to PAX – No feet dragging or punishment ensues. While running in place, YHC calls out numbers 1 or 2 or 3 for said exercise then start back running in place.
Call out ‘1’ – drop and 5 merkins.
Call out ‘2’ – drop and 5 crunches
Call out ‘3’ – run up to top of hill and back down
– Mosey to Fountain and partner up. Each team – 300 dips; 200 crunches; 100 jump ups/step ups. Partner 1 does exercise while partner 2 runs around building.
– Indian run back to theatre
– Peoples chair – various leg raised with air presses x 25
– Mary – random exercise called and cadence by Pax around the circle. Tried to incorporate Pax that have not led or have only led a few times for them to get used to leading cadence.
Moleskin:
– YHC hadn’t done or participated in workouts at Stonecrest involving partners and the fountain in a while. We’ve been getting away from the bread and butter of this site and have been getting too cute with bricks and ventures down the Murderhorn. Time to get back to basics.
– Is my watch off by 2 minutes or is Chippy’s? …And Poptart’s? …And Go Daddy’s? Seems like I’m in the minority. We’ll just end 2 minutes early.
– Speaking of Chipotle; Tclaps to the ribbing YHC received. That’s a part of what makes working out at 5:30am in the morning better than the Y – having (making) fun with/at friends while making each other stronger.
– Mighty Mite has a good memory. YHC’s workouts must make an impression on him. Post Rebel Yell more to get in on the inside jokes.
– Vineyard worked his tail off today – great partner brother. No comment on the 8 step…7 step…6 step burpees during Mary.
– Good to see Peaches out at Rebel Yell. YHC hasn’t seen him in a while.
– Been seeing Goonie in the gloom a lot. Love to see newer Pax posting regularly. Now if YHC can get back to that…
– BB posted a little over 24 hours after the workout. I’m working on getter quicker at that for my Big (little) brother Purple Haze. If you don’t know what I’m talking about get on Twitter and join the Twitting fun.
Annoucements:
– This Saturday at Stonehenge – Dredd and OBT leading the charge. Should be epic.
– A little crazy? Want to see what the 2nd F is all about? Do a double down and fly over to the #Bugvergence at Day Zero. You won’t want to miss this. Seriously.
– Southern Discomfort. Sign up so you can drink water.
Wednesdays might be made for certain dromedaries… but Fridays are definitely for Goats!! 10 goats showed up today to deplete their 02 levels while increasing their overall running mechanics.
At 0510, it looked like it would be just Strange Brew and Slim Fast. Next came Huggy Bear, and then by 0515, we were up to 8. We moseyed to the track, started stretching, and running our warm-up segment where we were joined by Spackler and The Mouth, so 10 total took on the following challenge:
1. Stretching, followed by 1-mile warm-up
2. Main Event:
4 min running at Interval Pace / 3 min recovery
3 min running/2 min recovery (x2)
2 min running/1 min recovery (x3)
1 min running/1 min recovery (x2)
3. 2 laps Cool Down, followed by stretching… DONE! 4.5-5 miles covered!
Moleskine:
Excellent job out there this morning! The curriculum was short and simple, but man was it tough! Combined with very high humidity, and a BRR-esque “gloom”, the elements alone were daunting! We ran 18-minutes at a high pace… you guys should feel GREAT about that!
Freedom and Pele keep bringing it week in/week out… and Kilowatt is quickly becoming a regular!!
Stay Puft, Strange Brew and Huggy Bear were all equally solid and steady through the intervals. Stay Puft earned a “Mountain Goat Moleskine Moment” when he took off in a head of steam for what he thought was the last minute interval… when we informed him of one more remaining, he wisely saved a little extra in the tank! YHC knows he had plenty!
Simba continues to develop into a strong runner, and The Mouth didn’t disappoint on several levels, as usual! A hearty welcome to Spackler for his Mountain Goat debut! All three were sharing the lead on several of the laps, and Spackler took a commanding lead on the final cool down lap… then completed the extra 1/4 mile he had missed at the beginning… that’s dedication, folks!
All joking aside, Strange Brew and I both continue to be impressed at the guys that are making this a regular weekly workout! I want to keep encouraging you guys… you’re doing great!! And you guys encourage me every week by being there (group hug…)!
Announcements:
1. Southern Dis-comfort Sat Aug 1. Check your weekly email to get signed-up. 3 running levels available… this group will have no problems at all staying up!
2. Blue Ridge Relay – talk to Turkey Leg if interested in running or driving.
3. Best Wishes to Geraldo and all the PAX participating in the Go Ruck event tonight!
24 men including 2 site FNG’s and 1 true FNG now called Doubtfire (Harry) decided attack the hills and become better for it. Even though the DT PAX are all now all #efficient runners, by the end, it looked like everyone had taken a dip in 4-mile creek. This is a sure sign it is nearly August in Charlotte and that everyone put in a solid effort.
At 5:15 some vague reference to #efficient running was mentioned to give a chance for some #LIFO’s to get out of their cars. Noting that they were not coming and it was 5:16, we were off to start the apartment warmup loop. We would circle back around anyway.
On the loop, pace groups formed and each was given the description of the course of the day. It was the Piper Glen hill loop and chalk marks would mark the turns. With everyone properly informed, we set off to continue the 1 mile warmup heading south on Rea Rd.
Once the watches started chiming and beeping at the 1 mile mark, an audible snort was heard from Haggis and Bratwurst who were chomping at the bit to take it up a notch. Like Ricky Bobby, they wanted to go fast. And fast they did for the remainder of the 6 mile loop.
Mr. Brady was apparently also ready to go fast and attempted to mount YHC at the corner of Rea and Old Course as I bent over to apply the first chalk arrow. After being denied the ride, Mr. Brady settled back in and proceeded with ‘Bout Time in lock step to demolish the Piper Glen hills with speed and prowess. They are fast!
It was good to meet the legend that is Haggis’ brother, Harry. Any man (unlike YHC) that can regularly beat Haggis in foot races is ok in my book. He also ended up with a pretty good name in COT (Doubtfire). Not sure exactly how that came to be. Something about being a teacher, dead poets, Robin Williams, drop the Mrs. and boom, Doubtfire. Strange how these things work out.
The great part of having 24 PAX at DT means the BRR and other fall racing preparations are in full swing and people are coming to the right place to train. The bad part of having a such a massive group is that it is hard to mingle individually and get the intel for a juicy backblast.
Some notables were that Hannibal took the challenge from the Preblast to add 0:15 seconds to the goal pace for track week and take that as the challenge for the hills. He reported he managed 0:25 seconds addition which is fantastic. Haggis (the inspiration for all miscellaneous metrics) also reported around a 0:25 second addition over track week average pace. It seems that 0:25 seconds is achievable, but we can still strive for the 0:15 second mark. #sportygoal.
Also, the sidewalks of Rea Rd. claimed another today as Abicus bit the dust on a particularly broken up section. He said his hands took the brunt of the fall and he looked ok. Be careful out there guys. The sidewalks will jump up and mess you up!
That is all for now. Please sound off in the comments section to add other funny / notable things that may or may not have occurred.
Announcements:
– Dredd and OBT will be at Stonehenge on Saturday 6:00 start
– Southern Dis-Comfort is 8/1 signup via the preblast for 14, 10, or 6 mile option
– Tootie is involved in finishthewall.com which serves by finishing missions projects which were postponed due to funding or other issues. There is a trip in January planned. Contact him for details on how to get involved.
– Running options abound: Ghost Rider Thursday Evenings at ABC, Mtn Goat SCMS on Friday mornings
12 PAX including FNG Witch Doctor (Mike Smith) shunned the air-conditioned comforts of home to experinece a sweat-fest at Peak 51. Humidity was high, and so was anticipation! It was noted that Sensei was absent (beach bumming), and then Insomniac was 2-minutes ahead of start time, so YHC knew “Strange Things were Afoot at Peak 51”!!!
After disclaimer, we headed off into the humid gloom for something like this:
We embarked on what YHC terms the “Moving COP”… a circle within many circles… a macrocosm of a microcosms… every man must find his own “circle of pain” and then answer the question… “What are you talking about???” I digress…
Circle of pain consisted of slow jog/mosey with the following stops:
Stretching
SSH x 20
Merkins x 10
IW x 20
Low Slow Squats x 20
CDD x 15
LBC’s x 20
Wide-arm Merkins x 10
Mosey to baseball bleachers and partner-up:
Partner 1 runs “perimeter” (you happy, Insomniac??) of baseball field, while Partner 2 does the following: Dips x20, Step-ups x 20 (10 each leg)
When P1 returns, do 10 partner hand-slap merkins, flap jack, rinse and repeat for 2 complete rounds (40 Dips, 40 Step Ups, 40 Hand-slap Merkins)
Next round rinse and repeat, but P2 does Squats x20, Decline Merkins x10, plus 10 hand-slap merkins when P1 comes back. Flap jack, then rinse and repeat for 2 complete rounds (40 Squats, 20 Derkins, 40 more hand-slap merkins).
Mosey to field behind baseball field:
1. Partner combined wheel barrow 40-yards and back.
2. Lunge walk 40-yards, backwards lunge walk back.
3. Sprint 40-yards, backwards sprint back.
4. Final sprint 40-yards.
Mosey back to parking lot… DONE!! Approx. 1.75 miles
Moleskine:
An honor as always to lead this great group of men! Kilowatt noted that it would be tough going without Sensei, and it was…. but we made it!
Also, Insomniac’s early (aka “on time”) arrival caused us all to pause and wonder what might be afoot… alas it was just sweat!!
Great to have FNG Witch Doctor (Mike Smith) join us! Strong work out there… you are always welcome to join us when you can!
Also great to see Whitesnake back out after a brief hiatus, and good to hear the news on your Mom’s recovery!
Insomniac took us out with a prayer.
Announcements:
1. Southern Discomfort Saturday Aug 1. Check email for distances and logistics, and be sure to sign up so we can gauge hydration stations.
2. Always room/need for BRR runners and drivers. Check email and contact Turkey Leg if interested.
3. Geraldo has ruck event this weekend… good luck from your pals at Peak 51!!
9 men skipped a European Vacation this week, gathering instead in an Elementary School parking lot at 5:30 am. No shovel flag, but our normal (empty) police escort was there. So off we went.
Slow jog over to the field. Line up abreast (what? no circle? crazy!). Proceed with active stretching (I think) by jogging back and forth across the field – high knees, butt kickers, carioca, bear crawl, plain ol’ jog, etc.
Mosey to the concession area (disclaimer given en route – oops). Partner up. Partner 1 does the exercise whilst partner 2 runs and touches the school. Flapjack. Exercises were incline merkins, step ups, dips, jump squats.
Really slow mosey to the nearby dugouts for some active recovery via People’s Chair. Onward to the side of the school for BTW. Continue to the ring of benches around the tree near Rea Rd.
On said benches, do 20 right leg, sideways step ups (I don’t know what those are called). 20 Left leg. 20 Derkins. Repeat with 15.
Mosey off campus to the left. Stop for a little recovery Mary. Continue down the road to the bottom of the hill. More Mary to recover and start the next set fresh.
Triple Nickels on the hill. 5 HR merkins at the top. 5 lunges (each leg) at the bottom. Repeat 5 times. Stupid hill.
Mosey through the trail. A little Mary on the football field. Onward to the front field for 3-man grinders across the field for about 5 minutes. Done.
Moleskine
I knew I was in trouble with Kirk and One Eye showed up. The old “lead from the back” technique would have to be used today. Turns out most everyone was faster than me. I wasn’t last on the Triple Nickel, but it was close. Bunch of fast old men showed up too (IH, Chelms). Really strong work.
I’ll probably get a letter from Corporate for not starting with a circle, but I felt like active stretching would be more fun today. And I knew IH would give me crap about SSH, so we skipped the circle altogether. I did, however, use (overuse?) the Mary-as-recovery technique to make sure I didn’t die. It’s hard to lead from place to place when Kirk, Chelms and One Eye are breathing down my neck. So I’d just stop and call Mary, and I’m not ashamed.
Good to have the PwC gang out at Hyrda – Furball and Delta did well. Furball went back-to-back with DV yesterday and Hydra today, so I don’t expect much from him at the office today. I didn’t see Queen much during the workout since he was so far ahead of me. Nice work. Semi Gloss wouldn’t stop talking to me during the Triple Nickel. I think he may have been sent back by the PAX to keep me company.
Good stuff guys. Fun workout.
Announcements:
Southern Discomfort August 1.
SOFA WIB on Tuesday’s at OP
9 men showed up at Elizabeth Lane Elementary this morning to get some work done before the sun came up.
Disclaimer: None because YHC forgot there were no new pax.
The Thang:
Mosey with bells down to the track for COP:
25x SSH IC
15x Good Mornings OYO
15x IW IC (I had planned to do more, but my IW muscles were sore from the 51 IC Van Pelt called at Anvil the day before)
5 halos each direction OYO
20x Mountain Climbers IC
5 figure 8s each direction OYO
15x merkins IC (because it’s not an F3 workout without a few merkins)
Iron Mile™:
Luggage carry R down the straightaway
Corner 1: 10 cleans per side
Waiter carry L around the (weird) bend
Corner 2: 10 1H swings per side
Luggage carry L down the straightaway
Corner 3: 10 high pulls per side
Waiter carry R around the bend
Corner 4: 10 snatches per side
Repeato x 2 (on third time through, skip the bends and go luggage carry/racked bell along the straightaways only)
Mosey back to the parking lot:
10 goblet squats
10 1H OH presses per side
10 lawn mower rows per side
Repeato
Mary:
10x Russian twist IC
Brushback called: flutter with press for 15x(?) IC
Fletch called: knees to chest (weightless) 15x(?) IC
TR called: Louganis 10x(?) IC
COT: Thank you for the strong takeout, Les Mis.
Moleskine:
Work has been busy for YHC, so I was looking forward to getting out to Meathead and taking out some of my aggression on the bell. YHC had planned to do 4 laps around the track, but due to time constraints and my failing grip, we abandoned the mile after three circuits. Losing my grip on my kettlebell during the last round of snatches was a first for me. #lookoutforflyingkettlebells
Ickey Shuffle reminded YHC of the prolonged agony joy of loaded carries during his Q at Foxhole on Monday, so YHC tore up his weinke and decided to try something a little different today. I hope everyone got their money’s worth. If not, see our absentee site Qs, Brown and High Tide
YHC made the strategic miscalculation of offering his 20kg bell to Les Mis before the workout and keeping the 24kg bell for myself. After Les Mis crushed the first lap, we switched. It didn’t make much difference as Les Mis still basically ran through carries and crushed the single arm work, but YHC was glad he had an excuse to downsize.
TR refusenicked a few exercises, mostly in the warm up, but as usual crushed the kettlebell work and helped us all improve our form, especially on the rows at the end. #thanksfornothing
Announcements:
Southern Discomfort – 8/1 with three different distance/pain station options. Please register via Sign Up Genius so the Qs can get a head count for hydration.
Mud Run – 10/24. Sign ups will open soon. Start pulling teams together. Mermaid is the Area 51 Q and will help you put a team together if you need a hand.
Sound off below if I missed anything else. It’s definitely possible based on the amount of heavy breathing on my recording.
We started off with a mosey down though the parking lot in front of HT.
COP:
20 SSH
20 IW
15 Merkin
The Thang:
Partner up and run “Catch Me if You Can” all the way down through the parking lot across Ballantyne Commons Pkwy to the front of St Matthews Catholic Church. Partner 1 runs, Partner 2 performs 5 Diamond Merkins. Once we got there, the Speed Hump (SH) Challenge 2.0 began. Run around the church and perform 15 merkins at each SH. We hit 10 SH for 150 merkins then planked it up.
Circle up for some ab work.
20 X Flutter
20 X Crunch
Continue the theme around the church a second time with 10 wide armed merkins per SH. We hit 100 more merkins, then planked again.
More circle work.
20 X Low Slow Squats
20 X Freddy Mercury
Once completed we split into two groups, lined up on opposite sides of the median in front of church. Reverse plank walk with feet on the curb, and hands on the ground, moving towards the front of the church. First idea was to perform 1 merkin every time you completed a full plank walk, but that was quickly audibled and the goal was to just get to the end.
Partner back up and run “Catch Me if You Can” back to the AO. Partner 1 runs, Partner 2 performs 10 Monkey Humpers.
300+ Merkins total
COM
10 x right leg can opener
10 x left leg can opener
40 LBC OYO
10 x side crunch right
10 x side crunch left
Moleskin:
Squid continues to have a laid back attitude, but crushed the Speed Hump Challenge along with Fire Hazard. I think FH was even doing one handed Merkins for awhile. The workout wasn’t too original from my Q last week, but I was determined to get the PAX to 300+ merkins which we did. Great work by all. Next time 350+.
Announcements:
Dredd and OBT will make their first appearance at Area 51 at Stonehenge this Saturday.
Southern Discomfort, August 1. 14, 10 and 6 mile options.
12 soon to be drenched in sweat PAX entered the gloom this morning for some humid good times. Here is what we did.
The Thang:
Warm up with a lap followed by 20 low, slow squats, 25 SSH, and… Jack Webb?!?!?! That’s right. Only went up to 5 and back down so perfect warm up.
Line up across parking lot. Lunge walk across with burpees mixed in on a JW style count. So 1 burpee, 4 lunges, 2 burpees, 8 lunges, etc. Stop for 30 flutter IC then repeato to get back.
Mosey to the bottom of the hill facing the school. 25 LBCs IC. Then a set of “11’s” with squats at the top, merkins at the bottom.
Mosey down to the track. Partner up. P1 runs a lap while P2 does 2 called exercises, alternating each in sets of 10. 1st set = CDD/jump squats, 2nd set = Dolly/Freddie Mercury, 3rd set = diamond merkins/monkey humpers. For the 4th, do as many merkins as you can while partner runs, hold plank if you need a rest in between.
Mosey back to base with stops for LBCs and merkins along the way.
Moleskin: Welcome back Chanel and many thanks for the “southern high school football coach” imitation of Protractor. I won’t try to explain. Stumphugger had an interesting post this morning… pre-run followed by 6 minutes of workout and then Peace Out! Whatever works man. I know I’m forgetting somebody in the PAX so my apologies in advance and please someone reply and correct me for my lack of diligence. Great to see everybody out pushing each other and always an honor to lead.
Announcements: Next three Saturdays have a lot to offer: 7/25 = Dredd and OBT at Stonehenge, 8/1 = Southern Discomfort at various Area 51 AOs, 8/8 = Gladiator Games at Indian Land.
Runners and those aspiring to be runners,
Come to Devil’s Turn to test your resolve on the hills of Piper Glen. We will meet in the greenway parking lot at the corner of Rea Rd. and Bevington Place at 5:15 am. We can answer any #efficiency related questions and then we will proceed into the 0.75 mile apartment loop warmup / 2nd F run. After turning south on Rea Rd. and reaching the full 1-mile warmup distance, the pace will be increased.
If you have experienced Devil’s Turn track week, you likely have a pace in mind which is the goal for this course. For the hills, Haggis has consulted his science books and sun dials and has pronounced the pace for the hill route should average 15 sec/mile slower. From personal experience, this is sporty, but now you too have a goal pace for this week.
For instance, if your average pace for track week is 8:00 min/mile. Your goal this week is 8:15 min/mile average. Note that this is “average.” Your pace up hills will naturally be slower and down will be faster. If you don’t meet the goal, no worries. There will be another chance in 3 weeks.
As in weeks past, there will be chalk arrows denoting 4 and 6 mile options. Wear blinking lights and headlamps if you desire to be safe. We will be on public neighborhood roads which are dark and on sidewalks that can jump up and mess you up (right Mall Cop and Stump Hugger?).
Note: There is also rumor of a mutiny afoot to head to different hills than Piper Glen. If the crowd rule wins, the path may change. In any case, there will be hills! The chalk is locked and loaded and works on any road. See you in the morn!
21 PAX left the comfort of the air conditioning at home to embrace the slight humidity at 90% today and Anvil. 1 FNG joined the party and was thoroughly disclaimed, along with the rest of the PAX. Off we went with the shovel flag waving.
Posted by Mermaid for Van Pelt
Thang
10 Burpee OYO
Mosey through a few of the lots of AO. Theme for the day was “Age Matters.” Glad to have a few more respect-level PAX join today.
COP
IW x 51 IC
Low Slow Squat x 19 IC (2.0 age)
SSH x 28 IC (age given by IH when asked)
Monkey Humpers x 15 IC (other 2.0 age)
Mosey over to the Avenue of Trees.
Mile of Pain
1/4 mile laps x 4 repetitions
First 3 laps with 5 pain stops: Merkin x 10/LBC x 10/Squat x 10/Burpee x 10/Heels to Heaven x 11 (51 total)
Final lap with no pain stops. Plank or Al Gore between reps.
Mosey to the pavilion (sweat box) and partner up.
Partner Stacks
Partners flapjack between run and called exercise to called total number. Run to light pole in near parking lot and back.
1: 68 Jump Up 2: 84 Dips 3: AMRAP Derkin (1 cycle)
Finish sweat box work with People’s Chair and 51 Air Press IC
Short mosey across thoroughfare to parking lot.
Parking Lot Sprints
WWII Sit Up x 10/Sprint 50 yards/10 Jump Squat/Sprint Back x 3 reps
Merkins for WWII Sit Up for rep 2.
Mary
Freddie Mercury x 20 IC
Rosalita x 20 IC
Russian Twist x 20 IC
James Brown (Get on Up!) x 5
AYG to launch lot.
COT
Moleskin
Humidity made it a bit steamy, especially in the sweat box
Boutique is fast out of the gate
Crabcake planks like no other
Great to have brothers from the Dash, Starfish and Butter, post in Area 51
1 FNG, Colby, F3 Tank. Big dude. Welcome
Thanks for showing up for the VQ. Glad to have a day job.
Thanks to Baywatch for taking us out.
Enjoyed being with the PAX. Quite an honor.