Donut Run – Preblast
“Per capita, Canada has more donut shops than any other country.”
This is unacceptable. I love Canadians, but I love donuts more. Tomorrow we will discuss how we can remedy this.
Start at the Dunkin Donuts at Rea/Colony.
We are running the REGULAR route (Rea to 51 to Providence to Candlewyck to Rea). All left turns.
Route: https://www.strava.com/routes/7470827
Launch times and paces:
510: 930-9:45 pace
515: 815-8:30 pace
520: 730-7:45 pace
530: 645-7:00 pace
On Two Wheels and No Sleep
YHC was nominated to Q as a way to get me out of the fartsack. It worked.
The Thang (no surprise)
20 x SSH in cadence (IC)
20 x Imperial Walkers (IC)
10 x Merkins (IC)
Mosey to the Fitness Trail
count off by threes
3 stations, 3 rounds
1. 10 Pull-ups
2. 15 Burpees
3. 20 Supine Pull-ups
Plank-o-Rama
Mosey to Small Hill
Set of 7s on the hill
6 squats, 1 LBC
5 squats, 2 LBC
Up to 4 Stop
10 Merkins at each St Light and the Stop Sign
40 Merkins total
Mosey to the Photo shoot Lake
MT Special Backward Bear-Crawl up the stairs
Mosey to the Loading Dock
1 min wall squat + 25 air-press
Rinse-Repeat
Mosey to Ballantyne Village Deck
Run to the top
5×5 Merkin Challenge
Regular, Wide, Diamond, Stagger Right, Stagger Left
Run down stairs, Up Stairs, back down to bottom
Thin Mint led Ab workout
Mosey back to Launch
1m Boat-Canoe
Thanks for the nudge Tolkien. Enjoyed leading the PAX. Saturdays at Stonehenge are the best!
Solid crowd mixed with old-new pax. Always a pleasure. Covered some ground and managed to smoke shoulders in the process.
When in Doubt, Dora it out!! But only after you figure out where to park
Pre-story to YHC coming out to Q at Flash in Union Co. this morning.
1. I Q’ed The Brave Friday.
2. I left my cones (those red nasty little devils) and my hat and gloves.
3. Doc McStuffins picked them up and after a short conversation on twitter he asked me to come out and Q Flash.
19 came out on this glorious Monday morning to see what kind of shenanigans we do in the Fort. After 5 texts trying to figure out where to park (Cuthbertson is a huge campus) an introduction was given followed by a little disclaimer.
The Thang
Mosey behind the school complex where there was a nicely lit path and a gravel lot. After some high knees, butt kicks, toy soldiers, and karaoke we stopped at the gravel lot and circled up for a warmup of:
20 x SSH
10 X Windmills
10 x IW
10 x Merkins
10 x Mountain Climbers
10 x Squats
Got back on the main path and partnered up for some Dora 1,2,3 (love using Dora when visiting an AO for the first time cuz all you need is pace to run and a place to do exercises)
100 Merkins
200 Squats
300 LBC’s
Plank when finished
Mosey back up towards the school hitting each of the 6 light-poles for Merkins
2 Merkins at the first
4 Merkins at the second
6 Merkins at the third
8 Merkins at the fourth
10 Merkins at the fifth
12 Merkins at the sixth
LBC’s once finished
10 Burpees OYO once the 6 arrived
Mosey over to the school for some people’s donkey balls
People’s Chair
10 Donkey Kicks
Balls to wall
Rinse and repeat
followed with 10 Dips (IC)
Mosey to the other side of the lot
Walking Lt. Dans – 1 squat then 4 lunges forward, then 2 squats 8 lunges forward, keep increasing the squat by 1 and using the 4:1 ratio until you reach the other end of the lot (about 100 yards)
Sprint at 60% back to the start. 100% Sprint back to where we came from.
Finished with Mary
15 x LBC’s
15 x Flutters
15 x Rosalitas
15 x Freddy Mercuries
15 x Dying cockroach
15 x Plank Jacks
Superman
Plankarama
COT and BOM
Announcements – Debbie’s house, if you can contribute time or money to the effort. Link here http://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/union-county-volunteers-renovate-longtime-family-home/495475242
https://www.gofundme.com/debbies-house-improvement
Prayers – Turtle and the screws in his ankle
Moleskin
Just want to thank Doc McStuffins for getting me out to this awesome group in Union Co. I’ve been blessed to guest Q all over the greater Charlotte/Upstate SC area and if I’ve noticed one thing that each group has its guys that trying to get better. Some guys are out just trying to get in better shape. Some guys need the accountability from other males. But I’ve never met a PAX that is willing to get his butt out of bed before 5:00 that isn’t trying to get better either physically, mentally, or spiritually. Whether its your third day, third month or third year, keep trying to figure out where you need to get better, then find someone that will hold you accountable to that standard.
Longshanks out!! (mic drop)
#Preblast – Life of a Bull
Swift will continue to work on the Speed this week. A little bit of switch up at the end to make the theme of the day sink in…such as “the Bull Ring is round…”
The THANG:
- 0500 – Early bird option for extra warm-up. 2nd F pace for about 1.25 miles.
- 0515 – Depart the Vine Parking Lot and head down the normal parking lot connectors to Rushmore Dr. Head towards the Bull Ring. Meet at the putting green at 0525 after a 10 minute warm-up. For some of you this means go around the Bull Ring to come out on the other side, and for others it means to head straight for the putting green. This is a WARM-UP. It should be nice and easy, so don’t come into the putting green already at Max HR. No PRs on the WARM UP!
- 0525 – Do the dance of drills
- 0530 – Start rounds of Repetition Pace Intervals (1 mile race pace – find yours at http://runsmartproject.com/calculator) that are slightly longer than last week (because they are based on Distance and not time) but also a lot flatter. Goal here is to run all of them even.
- 200m (marked by the entrances of the buildings along the Bull Ring) at R-pace, 200m jog recovery
- 200m at R-pace, 200m jog recovery
- 400m at R-pace, 200m jog recovery
- Repeato until 0555 or if you hit 3 rounds, whichever is sooner. Regroup at the top of the circle.
- 0555 – Start a 15 minute Progression Run on the Bull Ring. This is a run where you are trying to pick up your pace by :20sec per mile every 400m (which is the same as running each 400m split faster than the rest). Use the building entrances to gauge every 400m. Instead of everyone ending at 2 miles, we’ll try to end at 6:10 to head back to the Vine. If you want to get the full 2miles in, go ahead! We’ll be there for you.
- Start wisely…for example, starting at 2:00 per 400m (8:00/mi pace), your splits SHOULD look like this for a progression run:
- 2:00 (8:00/mi)
- 1:55 (7:40/mi)
- 1:50 (7:20/mi)
- 1:45 (7:00/mi)
- 1:40 (6:40/mi)
- 1:35 (6:20/mi)
- 1:30 (6:00/mi)
- 1:25 (5:40/mi)
- Some other starting splits and what that brings them down to:
- 2:15 per 400m (9:00/mi pace), will bring you down to 1:40 (6:40/mi pace)
- 2:30 per 400m (10:00/mi pace), will bring you down to 1:55 (7:40/mi pace)
- Start wisely…for example, starting at 2:00 per 400m (8:00/mi pace), your splits SHOULD look like this for a progression run:
See you in the Gloom,
Bratwurst
Some bounding ALONG the Meadows
Several PAX (more than a squad, less than a company) descended on the weekly interval workout known as Swift. Not certain about who was in attendance (still waiting for PAX list), but there was a great mix of new faces, kotters, and regulars.
The THANG:
- While there was a Preblast (http://f3nation.com/2017/02/13/preblast-hopping-through-the-meadows/), it vaguely described the plan. At least we got some PAX to set their watches the right way, but many did not know in which direction we would continue in.
- Here were the actual sets of 30 sec, 30sec, 1min:
- 1: Up Ben Nevis on the sidewalk (or risk your own life in the street) for 30sec at 1mile race pace effort. Recover jog down. 30sec up Ben Nevis, recover down. 1min up Ben Nevis, regroup at the top and head over to Ballantyne Meadows.
- 2: Along the flat of the Meadows, 30sec run, recover to the six. 30 sec run, recover to the six and then to the bottom of the hill. 1min run up the Hill, recover back down the hill.
- 3: Up the hill on Ballantyne Meadows for 30/30. Backwards run up for the 60.
- 4: 30/30 along the rolling flat, 60 along the flat with a finish up the hill.
- 5: 30/30 up Ballantyne Meadows. 60 is Bounding up the hill. Recover out to Ballantyne Commons.
- 6: 30/30 down Ben Nevis. 60 back up Ballantyne Commons towards the AO.
- Recovery rest of the way to COT.
Moleskin:
- I started writing this Backblast while watching a soccer practice and my thumbs gave out. Days later, I’m recalling I never finished as it’s time to post the Preblast….
- Interval pace is Repetition Pace, or 1 mile Race Pace found here: http://runsmartproject.com/calculator
- Partial list of 21 PAX were from the Strava Flyby and YHC’s limited memory – Cobains if you aren’t there… Get on Strava!
Star Gazing at Base Camp
13 PAX, including FNG Groupie (Jeff Buckmann), gathered in the “is it cold, or is it not??” clear morning sky of South Charlotte Middle School for another installment of F3 Base Camp under the Q of Slim Fast. Having disclaimed, off we went into the subtle moonlit, yet star-filled sky… yes… very bro-mantic!
The Thang:
Mosey to the first baseball field for COP:
Quick stretching
SSH x 20
Low Slow Squat x 20
Merkin x 10
Imperial Walker x 20
Mountain Climbers x 15
Mosey to Home plate for Left Field Triple Nickel… e.g. down the left field line!
1. Do 5 Squats at Home plate, then run left field line to fence, do 5 CDD’s
2. Rinse and Repeat for 5-times total
Mosey to bleachers:
1. 10 Dips, 10 Supine Pull-ups, 10 Step-ups (each leg); rinse and repeat
2. 10 Decline Merkins, 10 bar-hoppers, 10 LBC’s; rinse and repeat
Mosey to opposite baseball field/outfield:
1. Partner carry across outfield changing as needed; return back
2. Partner drag halfway across outfield; return back
Since it was such a lovely morning with the stars and moon, it was only fitting for some tunnel of love! We went left to right, then right to left.
Mosey back to concession stand for some people’s chair with:
1. 50 overhead arm raises
2. 50 Frankenstein arm raises
DONE!
Moleskine:
Welcome FNG Groupie (Jeff Buckmann), who was EH’d by One Man Band! Great stuff out there this morning! Please come back as often as you can!
Always great to workout at Base Camp! A great AO with a great set of regulars!! Thanks to Goonie for giving me the opportunity to lead!
Speaking of Goonie… definitely missed him this morning! Will have to check-in to make sure he is ok!
Thanks to Jello for the great prayer out!
Announcements:
- Richard Sheltra 5K April 29 benefits the Pineville firefighter that lost his life fighting a fire last year.
- Also April 29 – Gethsemane Garden 5K to benefit orphanage in Kenya to help kids with HIV/AIDS. Here is a link to GGCCKenya website.
- BRR sign-ups with Slim Fast if interested Sep 8-9-ish
Us Vs. the Gladiators
Brisk President’s day morn and 12 pax decided to not let me go back to bed.
Items that we did.
Mosey to carmel middle
Cop
Iw – 20 CAD
Merkin – 15 CAD
Mountain climbers 20 CAD
Mosey to track
4 corners.
3 rounds
Merkin 5 each corner
Cdd 10 each corner
Lbc’s 15 each corner
Mosey up to top
Partner rock work
One partner runs while other does
100 curls
100 overhead press
100 triceps extension
Mosey to front of school
Triple nickel on the front parking lot – merkin and squats
Bench work
Dips – 20 CAD
Derkins – 20 OYO
Dips – 10 CAD
Mosey back to launch
Mary –
Boone crunch – 20 CAD each leg
Merkins – 10 CAD
DMerkins – 20 CAD –
Flutters – 15-20 CAD
Merkins till failure
FIN
Moleskin
Was curious how many guys would be out this am considering that it was presidents day, I was leading and it was a bit chilly. Regardless we had 12 strong pax out. I got up this am around 4 to write my weinke for the first time in 4 years #yahtzee, even went out there early to get a lay of the land and make sure the rocks were still there behind the school. Apparently there is another workout called ——- Gladiator (can’t remember) and the guy must have thought I was going to run off with his weights because he followed me out.
Kirk showed up in a goalie outfit so there’s that. Thankful for Steinbrenner for the time keeper award. Silent Bob made me think about the Gladiator show on USA back in the day when the contestants would try and make it through the obstacle course. The pay to play folks didn’t have that much stuff but it was intimidating especially with the Techno music blaring.
Every guy out there was really pushing themselves and it was great to see. Got to see some new faces and some guys I haven’t seen in a while. DMZ is always a great workout and AO.
Also don’t ask Runstopper to do Mary, he turns everything into Merkins. My arms hurt.
SG – OUT
Angry Q
15 men gathered did this:
1000 meter sprint
1000 sprint… again
SSH, IW, Squats, Slow Merkins, LBC, Dolly, Flutter
Lap around school
Station Work at playground – pull ups, incline merkins, decline merkins, dips, squats
Parking lot work… shuffle right, shuffle left, karaoke right, karaoke left, backpedal, bear crawl, lunge walk… with descending merkins between each circuit
LBC, Dolly, Flutter
Finish with burpees X 10, then X 5
Moleskin:
Oops, I forgot the disclaimer… and oops, I forgot the standard warm up. I know Alf enjoys it when I get out of my car at 5:30 to lead the workout, then say “go” immediately for an AYG 1,000 meters before we’ve done nary a side straddle hop. Back when I was a young lad, one of the things I enjoyed the most about F3 workouts was the unpredictability. Guess what… this requires more work as time goes by. I’m as guilty as anyone, give that on most days guys can guess at least half of my exercises before I Q a workout. So, this morning was an attempt to bring back just a bit of mystery. Of course I couldn’t help myself on the station work. After all, who doesn’t benefit from three solid rounds of pull ups, dips and squats… it’s meat and potatoes [is that the Dan Quayle spelling??].
Thoroughly enjoyed the workout this morning guys. I think the grumblings at the beginning were a good sign. A few random observations…
-Pound for pound, O’T may be the fastest man in F3 in terms of running sideways and backwards. It’s a gift he has… just need to figure out how to really put it to use.
-Pop Tart claims to have retired from the beer mile. Maybe, but I suspect he will still be drinking beer and still be running miles… so, why not just combine the two from time to time.
-I think I’ve seen Smokey at about every workout over the past few weeks. Smokey likes to run, he likes to compete, and he likes to wear his Tennessee ball cap. Rocky Top baby!!!!
-Squid, by far, demonstrates the best form in F3. It’s like he goes into a zone where he is oblivious to cadence, but he absolutely nails the form.
-Alf loves Mondays. I mean, the guy just like to get his week started off at 5:30 at the Matrix, even though he’s got the day off. I’m putting you on the Matrix Mount Rushmore.
Blame it on Lex Luthor… Spartan Race UB CSAUP
YHC is a man of action, and a man of his word. Lex is a man of few words, and a bad@$$. The following conversation can be found on Twitter today 2/18/17… This is a preblast for self accountability, because YHC promised to do it… and Lex you can’t back out either!
Lex Luthor (12:49 PM): “Can you just run an event for me? Great work boys.” <speaking in regards to Udder’s PR earlier today at Charlotte 10 miler>
JRR Tolkien (1:25PM): “Lex U r more of a Spartan Race guy. Something gritty. Let’s do it!” <referring to Lex’s blue collar nature, like wearing corduroy pants when posting>
Lex Luthor (4:03PM): “let’s take it to the next level boys Death Race and I am there” <Lex not valuing his life apparently>
JRR Tolkien (4:24 PM): “I’ll meet you in the middle… World’s Toughest Mudder or Spartan Ultra Beast. I’ll event Q it” <YHC writing more checks his body can’t cash>
Lex Luthor (5:34PM): “Let’s get this on the calendar. I’m in.” <YHC walks over to computer to write up pre blast… what you are reading now>
#$#$%^!!!! Once again my big mouth gets me into trouble. Just like the 320 burpees for Joe Davis Challenge #PAID. So we’re doing one of these as soon as we can agree on a event… YHC will organize and Q, as promised.
*DM me @JRRTolkienF3 or in comments below if you are interested in one of these, and we’ll put a distribution list together. YHC already knows there are a lot of maniacs in F3, so looking forward to a nice group of brothers to join.*
Prospective Dates:
- 4/29/17 New Jersey Spartan Race Ultra-Beast (Longshanks HC)
- 4/29/17 America’s Toughest Mudder – Atlanta (8hrs)
- 8/5/17 Hawaii Spartan Race Ultra-Beast ….
- 9/16/17 Vermont Spartan Race Ultra-Beast
- 9/30/17 Lake Tahoe Spartan Race Ultra-Beast / World Championships
- 2018….
SYITG ~ JRR Tolkien
Smoking Allowed at Rock Zero
Men of Rock Zero… thanks for allowing me to lead this morning! Truly an honor, and very enjoyable! 15 gathered in the shadow of The Northface, although we would not be tackling that landmark today. Having been disclaimed, off we went for something like this:
The Thang:
Mosey to parking lot for COP:
5 Burpees OYO
SSH x 25
Low Slow Squats x 25
Imperial Walkers x 25
Merkins x 15
Mountain Climbers x 15
Mosey to next parking lot for some suicide gassers:
1. 3-line suicide, then sprint to the 3rd island (High Tide is still running!); rinse and repeat back
2. 3-line suicide, then backwards run to the 3rd island; rinse and repeat back
3. 3-line suicide, then lunge walk to the 3rd island; rinse and repeat back
4. Repeat #2
5. Repeat #1
Mosey to the snack stand… everyone grabs a bench for Hell’s Ladder (10-15-20-15-10):
1. Dips, Derkins, Merkins
2. Step ups, LBC’s
Q’s note: In the process of doing this, it was evident that I should have mixed some exercises from #2 into #1, and vice versa. Duly noted for next time… my arms were SMOKED!
Mosey down to the field for some partner carry/catch-me-if-you-can. Split into 5 groups of 3:
1. P1 Carry P2, P3 does 5 squats, then catches P1/P2. P2 carries P3, P1 does squats… so on, so forth… Down and back.
2. Repeato with LBC’s instead of squats… and extended the travel distance to allow for more “catching”!
On the field, split into 2’s for under/under work. P2 Planks while P1 crawls under back and forth with the following exercises:
1. 10 Jump Squats
2. 10 Hand Release Merkins
Mosey back to the cars for quick Mary:
Dolly x 20
Flutter x 20
Box Cutters x 10
LBC’s x 20
Hold 15-degree protractor for final 30-seconds
DONE!! Excellent job out there! We covered about 1.8-miles.
Moleskine:
As I stated earlier, it is an honor to lead you guys, and a great start for my weekend! I hope it was a good workout for you! It has been too long since I have posted at Rock Zero, and even longer since I’ve Q’d. I will reverse that trend for 2017!
Great to have Valvano join us from Myrtle Beach! Great stuff out there… please come back and visit anytime you’re here… and safe travels home!
Great to have Dumpster Fire back after a bit of IR for his hamstrings. He has had his fill of Slim Fast for the week…. maybe the month! Great stuff!
Also, great to see such a strong group of regulars! Hoover, Marlin, Red Rocks, Private Benjamin, Drano, Dingo, Jet Fuel, High Tide, Boerewors, Nemo…. you guys are the heart of A51 and Rock Zero!
We missed Flipper, in as much as we want him to recover quickly, and not pass whatever he has on to the rest of us! Get better soon!
The mumble chatter was light because like me, I think we were all breathing pretty heavy! Some of my “worst” memories involve The Rock, and Runstopper… but he knows I mean that in a great way!
High Tide joined me for a pre-run, and then a run in/run out for coffee. Thanks for the F1 and F2!
Announcements:
- Richard Sheltra 5K April 29 benefits the Pineville firefighter that lost his life fighting a fire last year.
- Also April 29 – Gethsemane Garden 5K to benefit orphanage in Kenya to help kids with HIV/AIDS. Here is a link to GGCCKenya website.
- BRR sign-ups with Slim Fast
Remember F3 Dipstick… an F3 Brother from Myrtle Beach. He needs prayers for speedy healing and recovery!
Thanks to Hoover for the prayer out!