Author: Saab

  • Notable presence of law enforcement

    11 gathered on a damp, dark morning for what YHC hoped would be a sufficient beat-down. Here’s what transpired

    COT: DQ, SSH, LBC, Flutterkicks, Merkins with escalating Burpees in between

    Modified Dora: 150 Merkins, 150 Flutterkicks, while partner runs up Carillon stairs and performs a designated exercise before coming back down

    Touch a Tree: 1-3, 4-6, 7-9. Perform stated exercise at each tree. Repetitions correspond with tree number. (Burpees, Merkins, WWII)

    Down and up hill: Perform merkin at base, and Burpee at top. Jacob’s ladder from 1 rep to 6 reps.

    Field: Squats at each yard line (25, 50, etc). Out and back. Return running backwards. Finish at 8 reps.

    Run Loop: Alternate between Merkins (5) and LBC (10) at each marker.

    Finish: Burpee (drop and roll) shuffle.

    Moleskin:
    A number of PAX noted the large police presence as we arrived at the AO. Out of concern there was a fugitive about, we briefly discussed safely securing our car-keys before venturing into the gloom. All pretty much went down as planned with YHC calling some audibles in the interest of time. As we were preparing for the Jacob’s ladder, Sippy demonstrated his PhD-level acumen by quickly deducing which side the PAX would end up. That routine appeared to tire the PAX out a bit which left YHC pleased. Shout out to those who did the entire loop and went back to complete extra stations just everyone could finish together. YHC experienced some insubordination during Burpee shuffle – with some shifting to stop-drop-roll (Swirly-influenced). That said, I commend such initiative…(YHC wondered later if paid Seal Team instructors have to deal with such dissension in the ranks.)

    Anyway, we welcomed an FNG courtesy of Garbage Plate. Discussion regarding his vocation as a physician lead to “Malpractice”. Welcome sir and we hope to see you again. (Note: YHC/Q is still mulling this one over…favoring “Call-J” instead…stay tuned, perhaps we can get some help from DK on this)

    Good chatting and F3-Corporate planning conducted at ET afterwards.

    Saab out

  • Spider run on Tuesday (inaugural?)

    When: Tuesday 3/29, 5:30 am
    Where: University of Richmond Bookstore/student commons (parking lot near said Commons and lake) – AKA Gryffindor hood
    What: Run (4 miler)
    How: By tackling many uphill climbs

    This run will involve much elevation across a variety of areas in-and-around U of R. For those who may want to do fewer miles (or decide later that the route is too punishing), there will be options to switch to shorter distances.

    Thanks to Marv for initiating this. Please let us know if you are interested.

    Saab

    Starting location: 37°34’34.1″N 77°32’18.6″W
    Route: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=6827798

    Alt Route: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com?r=6838912

  • Nevermind, just follow Wilson…

    A crew of 9 descended upon Dogwood Dell on a chilly Saturday for a mixed bag of beatdowns. This is what transpired

    COT: DQ’s, SSH, Flutter Kicks, LBCs, Merkins

    Carillon: Top to bottom…Merkins at top, WWIIs at bottom. Extended the distance at the bottom a bit to promote more running

    Touch a Tree: Touch tree and perform exercise that corresponds with tree number. First round (trees 1-3) – Burpees. Second round (trees 4-6) – Merkins.

    Amphitheater: Standing jump up to each tier with 3 squats between each. Descending: Gerkins (18 down to 1)

    Up and down hill: Partner performs flutter kicks while other runs up hill and completes 3 burpees. 3 rounds.

    Curb crawl: backwards and forwards curb crawl with 5 merkins/derkins on each curb while partner runs pipeline loop

    Run to street light, 10 merkins, run to next light, etc…(4 stops total)

    Indian Run from pump house all the way back to field. Finished with a few minutes of mary.

    Moleskin
    Wilson was in fine form again. Upon the first pause during instructions at the Carillon, he took off to gain his usual lead. Q had no choice but to end the instruction there and tell everyone to just follow Wilson. Instructions during touch a tree evolved into an extensive Q & A session (guess who). YHC can’t fully attest to what or how many exercises everyone performed at trees 4, 5, and 6.

    At the Amphitheater, descending Derkins appeared to take the wind out of everyone – particularly Wilson…forcing several who were down-wind (YHC) to move more promptly to the next tier.

    Most everyone seemed to agree that their pecs were smoked from all the merkins. YHC enjoyed the extended Indian Run from the pump house, up Love Hill, all the way back to the field. Way to push it Aisle 5!

    We broke promptly. Splinter and Rosie were departing to double-dip (note Corporate Challenge…way to go gentlemen), while others had to adjourn for other family commitments…or rest one’s back on a heating pad (Saab). YHC reminded Mr Rogers that his handle is not long for this world (but it will NOT be Minotaur).

    Saab abides

  • May have way-exceeded the necessary amount of Burpees

    A fairly large number descended upon MM to get a jump start to their day. This is what transpired…

    (Pre-meeting – F3 Corporate Office…)

    COT: SSH, DQ, Flutter Kicks, Merkins, LBCs. Perform Burpees between each (ascending count)

    Incline/Decline Merkins off benches next to school (10 each)

    Groups of 3: One person bear crawls 10 yards, performs 10 merkins, then bear-crawls backward start. Meanwhile, remaining 2 in rotation perform flutter kicks and LBC’s, respectively

    Sprint back and forth across tennis courts

    4 corners around track: Group 1 – burpees (15…should have been 5), group 2 – Squat Jumps, Group 3, Merkins, Group 4, WWII Situps. Groups progress around loop as group complete prescribed number of burpees.

    Burpee shuffle: Jog in place, person says go, everyone does a burpee. Repeat around circle. Indian run back to flag

    Finish with a few Minutes of Mary: Flutter kicks, Merkins, LBC’s in rapid succession.

    Moleskin:
    YHC started out by reminding everyone he had an injured back, thus explaining why he wouldn’t be his usual sunshine-and-lollipops demeanor. There was quite amount of mumble chatter during the COT which I couldn’t quite hear, but I’m certain it was both entertaining and likely at my expense. Enjoyed DK’s usual insight and guidance as I solicited input on the next Burpee count.
    As YHC then asked the PAX to count off by 4’s, Tramp Stamp made a brief attempt to form a 5th group, but was quickly brought back in line and asked to stay with the rest of the PAX. Note: Prescribing a count of 15 for the Burpees segment turned out to be a mistake which left the remaining groups going too long. This was a result TYA articulated all too clearly (in his “gentile northern-style” manner of course.)

    Finished up with a ring of burpees (a la Swirly). Appreciated PAX (Fudd?) calling me out for not raising my knees high enough near the end (did I mention my back hurt?).
    Appreciated the audible in the end to split the line for the Indian Run (or rather “Indigenous People” run – in the parlance of our times). FlashDance – way to kick it out buddy and for embracing those things which challenge us the most.

    Announcements:
    Fudd is still looking for golf teams (and sponsors) for the charity he is coordinating to support suicide prevention. To that, TYA is looking for 4th man for his team…

    Still have open slots for BRR (9 and 12 person teams). Bleeder also mentioned the mountain house we’ll be renting for use afterward.

    Lab Rat will be hosting the happy hour in Mechanicsville this month (following the new F3 AO he is coordinating!) Word is, if you get a couple beers in him, he drops his quiet demeanor and becomes a bit chatty.

    Weight challenge and running-mileage challenge this month. Not too late to sign up for one or both.

    Friday – Run/Gears around MM (don’t let a little frozen precipitation dissuade you)
    Saturday – Saab Q for Dogpile, DK Q for GridIron (Looks like potential for a double-dip folks).
    Sunday – Trail run (chip-away at those 100 miles, and/or prep for the BRR). Shorter routes are also an option for those not accustom to longer runs.

    Saab out.

  • We don’t really need a map do we…

    A mix of runners and bikers showed up for a Friday workout from Mary Munford…

    Route: All PAX travel West on Grove and then make a left on Oak Drive to Cary St, then make a slight hop over to HillCrest (TYA’s hood). Make a counter-clockwise loop through the neighborhood. 3 milers make 1 loop, 4 milers make 2 loops, etc. Return on same street (if one does not lose their way of course…)

    Moleskin:
    With BRR in the distant future, and Lockjaw’s inspirational challenge for 100 miles next month, Q felt it was time to hit some hills in the MM neighborhood. That said, YHC preceded the workout by walking everyone through the directions. I enjoyed TYA’s response when I attempted to elaborate on the route through Hillcrest….”it’s just a friggen street” he said. (TYA has the gift of distilling the most elaborate of situations into concise poetic form.) So enough was said…It looked easy on the map so we ventured forth.

    As Sippy, Offshore, and I rounded the “bottom” of Hillcrest, YHC was persuaded to go left instead of right. Not what I had mapped, but it was dark and I hadn’t been through the neighborhood, so I was not one to argue. After two rounds of what turned out to be an “inner loop” (i.e. what they had trained on for the BRR last summer), we doubled back and began looking for others who may have run astray (or perhaps run THE proper route…shout-out to Aisle 5 for doing so!). After seeing Lugnut and TYA, they had shared our wonder regarding where everyone had gone. In an attempt to further comb the neighborhood for strays and complete our run, Sippy brought us through what had to be the steepest street in the city and neighboring counties (awesome climb Sippy).

    Anyway, looking at our watches we high-tailed it back to MM. YHC was in overdrive near the end just dreading the flack he was about to receive for the poor directions and planning.

    In the end we welcomed two new FNG’s: Mr Rodgers (we need to work on that one), and Tool…(Started out as No-Tools, went to the singular No-Tool, then landed on just “Tool” per F3-Corporate review.)

    Announcements: Sippy’s anniversary Q and beatdown at Dogwood Dell…this is one NOT to miss! Trail run on Sunday (TYA’s grand return to buttermilk trail). Lab Rat will be hosting a HH next month in Mechanicsville – workout and homebrew involved.

    (Offshore…Saab expects to see you in your “Seinfeld” shoes next time…Saab doesn’t like disappointment.)

    Saab out.

  • Cool, Comfortable, Bit o Mud

    4 PAX embarked on the trail run today logging in various distances, trails, and start times. This is how it went down…

    Course A: Travel across bridge to buttermilk trail, cross at Brown’s Island, then return on North-side.
    Course B: Arrive and depart early, traverse the above route in reverse (Oyster)
    Course C: Take a 2 or 3 mile course with man’s best friend (Flipper)

    Offshore and Saab took off at the prescribed start time. Discussion immediately went to thoughts of TYA and hopes THE Yankee Aggressor will be back in the gloom as early as possible. YHC enjoyed the chat with Offshore on such topics as Dogpile, busy Saturdays, and growlers (always my favorite). Learned Corks and Kegs has very aggressive pricing in this space so I will have to re-visit them.

    We eventually happened upon Oyster who was traveling in the opposite direction. It then became our goal to keep pace and get to the parking lot to meet Oyster in the end. No abandoned vehicles on the trail this weekend, but tire-tracks were still visible. Timing was just right to meet up with Flipper and Oyster in the end. Briefly discussed future runs where we will work to offer alternative distances/trails for this who want to get started but find the standard distances too daunting.

    Saab out.

  • No Geometry but a little Multiplication…

    21 intrepid souls joined together this morning in very frigid temperatures to get a beat-down (and hopefully warm up a bit). This is how it went…

    Partial run around MM. Meet up at basketball courts

    COT: Don Quixotes, SSH, Squats, Merkins, Flutter Kicks, LBCs – range 25 to 30 of each

    Mosey to field at “end-zone” and line up.

    Exercise: Ponzi Scheme or Madoff (still taking names for workout which was a mix of the Beast and a steady progression…with a little math involved):
    Run to 25 yard line, perform exercise, advance next 25 yards, repeat. Advance to end and back. Should involve 8 stops including where you started.
    Number of repetitions corresponds to stop #. For example, if at stop #5, perform 5 repetitions of exercise. Last stop should be 8 repetitions (i.e. starting line). Plank up once done.
    Multiplier: COP calls out a multiplier before each round (x1, x3, what have you…). PAX applies that to the number of repetitions (i.e. stop #). Example, when traversing the field, if at stop 5, and multiplier is 2, you do the math…

    Exercises order: Burpees (x1), WWII (x2), Squat Jumps (x3), Merkins (x4), LBC (x5),

    x Minutes of Mary: Flutter kicks (30), Superman
    Moleskin:
    As anticipated, there were a few comments regarding the initial run halfway around MM. Getting past that, we gathered for a COT. I could hear commentary in the background – probably DK – but I was concentrating on MY COUNTING so I didn’t pick up on it. I’m sure it was colorful and entertaining per usual.

    We moseyed to the field….yes, no triangles this time. We moved from Geometry to Multiplication.

    At the onset of the “Madoff”, thanks to BT for pointing out I had personally started out with the wrong exercise (Merkins), and should have been doing Burpees as I had instructed everyone to do just moments earlier (thanks for having my back). Otherwise workout turned out to be a bit of a beatdown. I personally was regretting the multiplier we applied to the Merkins. Shout out to Tramp Stamp and Swirly leaving me in the dust on the out-and-back…at least there would have been dust of the ground hadn’t been so completely frozen.

    In our final circle during the Supermans, DK astutely pointed out “why Saabs were discontinued…” Nice one DK…

    TYA made mention of a half marathon in the spring. If you have any questions see him…my fingers were too frozen by then to write it all down.

    Saab abides…

  • Still plenty of ice to go around….

    13 maintained the fortitude to crawl out of their respect fartsacks and show up for a 6:00am workout at Dogwood Dell. Included a PAX from Charlotte and Chesney for his fairwell beatdown before he departs Richmond. This is how it went down.

    Mosey to a circle: SSHx30, DQx20, Squatsx20, LBCx30, Merkinsx20
    Carillon Stairs: 10 Merkins (bottom), 20 WWII Situps (Top) – 3 rounds
    Touch a Tree (Variation): PAX does Merkins at each tree. Merkin count corresponds to tree number you are at (1, 2, 3…). 3 Rounds (3 trees, 6 trees, 10 trees)
    Amphitheatre: From bottom to top…Progressive dips corresponding to each level. Standing-jump to next level. From Top to Bottom…progressive Derkins on way down.
    Field: Run suicides to 25, 50, 75, 100 yard line. At each point perform a squat jump. Increase count with each turnaround point.
    Pull Up Bars: Two sets of pullups (5) and “horizontal” pullups (5)
    7 minutes of Mary….

    Moleskin:
    Saab struggled with his cadence – particularly during the Merkins. He is re-thinking those lessons he received from Lockjaw. Progressive Merkins back-down the amphitheatre seemed like a good idea at the time. As HoneyDo said near the end, “it may as well be a million.” Should have just kept it at 1 each step. Consensus was triceps were too burned on the going up trip. Swirly, however, made it look easy and appeared to be the one to complete all steps. Awesome job Swirly!

    Field turned out to be too icy for proper suicides so Q called it after one iteration. Moseyed to the pull up bars before finishing up with 7 MMM. Charlotte PAX said it was one of the better workouts he had attended. He also had his first exposure to the Alabama Prom Date (in name only I presume) and quickly found the humor in it.

    We all bid a fond farewell to Chesney….Save travels

    Saab abides….

  • “It’s a Frickin’ Triangle People…”

    20 strong gathered at Mary Munford – about 1 for each degree it was above zero…

    The Thang:
    Mosey to far corner of school grounds along Grove.
    Warmup:
    Side Straddle Hop x 20
    Don Quixotes x 10
    Imperial Walker Squat x 10
    Merkin x20
    LBC x20

    Mosey to Field. Break into 2-4 groups (depending upon number). Each group advances to a different corner (i.e. station).
    Station one: Complete 10 Burpees. Run to next station*
    Station two: Burpees x 10, Merkins x 20. Run to next station*
    Station three: Burpees x 10, Merkins x 20, WWII Situps x 20. Run to next station*
    Repeat ….until Q says stop or 2 rounds (or rather triangles) completed:
    *Advance from station to station by running diagonal, then running to the right along the perimeter – thus forming a triangle.

    Plank up in center of field. Circle of fire. Complete 10 merkins, then Bear Crawl around circle until back in original position.
    Line up facing far end of field. Break up into groups of about 5 each. Group planks up extending across field about 6 feet apart. Person in back does alternating bear crawl (under) and jump (over) each member in line…indian style until entire field is traversed.
    Mosey back to flag:
    American Hammers x20
    Superman x 1
    COT

    Moleskin:
    Most showed up in long pants, while a few die-hards arrived in shorts. Those who couldn’t decide (DK), showed up in both (British-style we supposed). Saab was not coordinated enough to perform the Imperial Walker Squats, but he gave it his best attempt. He also understands now it is NOT Russian Twist but American Hammer (in the parlance of our times…). Ground was way too cold and resulted in many frozen appendages, and a few receded-ones I imagine.

    Started out with a lofty goal of 7 iterations of the triangle, but realized quickly we needed to scale down to only two in the interest of time, exhaustion, and potential frost bite on the fingers. Toga complimented Saab on his VQ. Saab reminded Toga it wasn’t his first, which either meant he was terrific on his second go-around, or his first time was that forgettable and it ended in a whimper. Bear crawls were equally as painful…frozen ground was described as crawling on rocks or gravel. Some said they even saw imprints from the Christmas Eve splashdown/mudfest.

    Anyway, learned not to ask somebody why they got to bed late the night before (DK). I didn’t consider the handcuffs or the spoon.

    Rock on TYA, Lockjaw… I’ll work to hit the trail run on Sunday, albeit in a conservative fashion.

    The Saabinator abides.

  • Christmas Eve Splashdown

    A total of 18 turned out for the Christmas Eve workout at Mary Munford (and to witness my VQ). Couldn’t ask for more pleasant and inviting weather…

    The Thang:
    20 x Merkins, 20 x WWII Situps, 10 x Mexican Squats, 10 x Turkish Prison (apologies Aisle 5)

    Bermuda Triangle Derivative: Broke into groups of 5 (or more). 3 stations. Each group does 10 of each exercise at each station. Rotated between Merkins, Burpees, and WWII Situps. Maxed out at 10 stations.

    Looking North (For Santa, Star of Bethlehem, or what have you)…One partner does burpees while other partner runs to mid-point of field (backward), does 10 Squats, then returns (forward of course). Alternate until 10 iterations (5 rounds each)

    Merkin Ring of Fire: Circle up (Plank), then Bear Crawl (one rotation), Then progressed Merkins (1-18) around circle, then descending count

    Moleskin:
    I took some heat for my Mexican and Turkish references, either misnamed or not entirely PC. (Learned later that Aisle 5 was somewhat taken aback by the Turkish Prison reference. Have it on authority he’s either of Turkish descent, or from New York…whichever.)

    As we descended upon the playing field, there were concerns expressed by Wilson regarding its condition and the further damage we would do. (The field was really more like an olympic-size swimming pool with a Mud-base.) Bleeder assured us this was the City of Richmond and not a neighboring county, so we could press-on. As for everything that happened after that, it was a blur to me. There were a few “airing of the grievances” but only in the most constructive light.

    As we circled-up, offshore introduced his (FNG) brother in law (Jamie Cox) from Alabama. Despite a respectable introduction and distinguished background given, Bleeder jumped right to (Alabama) “Prom Date”…everyone pounced and thus Prom Date was born (welcome!).

    In the end, DK said he had never been wetter, Saab had to continually pull his pants up since they were past the saturation point, and – by my understanding – Aisle 5 and Wilson drove home without any clothes on.

    Thanks to all for showing up today and for helping me along. As mentioned, unlike my other first-time, this one lasted much longer and I got a lot more out of it.

    Reminder, no workout/run on Friday.

    Abidingly yours, Saab