Title: NTB should have bought the road hazard coverage
Date: 2023-06-22
AO: #ao-forge
Q: @Greenbow
PAX: @Don Draper @Dr TryHard @Machismo @NTB @Dealer @Greenbow (did I miss anyone? I swore I had a video of nameorama..)
FNGs: none
Count: 5
Moleskine: GQ (Greenbow Q) as it’s not my first but also it hasn’t happened in a while. We sprinted. Maybe too quickly. NTB blew out a tire on the 2nd lap. Was great to get out there the week before I traveled to India
WARMUP: Running approximately .25 miles. Not quite enough to get the youngins’ warmed up, apparently.
THE THANG: Starting with the Q, a pax member calls out an exercise. Sprint to a place. However many finish after that pax, the exercise called x7 is performed. I believe we started with 21 burpees? Also did others as called. (NTB only) Pop a hammy on the 2nd sprint. Mosey down stairs to the top concrete overlooking the field. Prostitute with WW2s, Merkins, dips. Make fun of Huguenot High for having a mascot other than a Hawk. Some more running.
MARY: stretching the hamstrings, Rosalitas, leg lifts, etc
ANNOUNCEMENTS: breaking bread The Bridge – contact Upchuck
9 stallions and one out of practice last minute substitute Q, showed up expecting Doozey to appear from the fog at any moment, ball & chain in hand.
When he failed to materialize, Honeydo jokingly suggested I take the helm, and I (being somewhat lost this early in the morning), complied. AKA “why I spent an hour after breakfast Monday feeling like I was going to splash merlot”
So, yeah, I blame Honeydo for this mess I got myself into.
THE THANG:
Run across Forest Ave. to parking lot
Intro, merkins, imperial walkers, armcircles
Run South on Forest to next parking lot
Partner up for Dora: 100 merkins, 200 squats, 300 4-count Freddy Mercury’s while partner does a lap
While this was going on, especially for the 300 reps, Pax enjoyed the regret telling Greenbow “those bicycle things” are called Freddy Mercury’s
Run to fenced blacktop
Man Killers in honor of Doozey – like his signup on the Q sheet this morning, this was quickly exposed as a “mistake”. Last Call had to step in lead these, because I forgot how (THANKS!)
Pax divides in half for a crossing pattern – 500 Merkins, 250 ww2s as a team.
The way we did the X, each team decided.. The way we should have done it: split Pax in half, do 20 reps of exercise 1, sprint to opposite corner, do 10 reps exercise 2, sprint back to start. Repeat for 5 rounds.
Lap around the parking lot, to the grass for Mary – LBCs, leg lifts, scissor kicks.
ANNOUNCEMENTS: BRR a long time from now, but almost full. Blood drive much sooner.
YHC took us out: thankful for Easter; be kind; encourage someone
3 met in the gloom at WTH to celebrate the triumphant (slow) return of Greenbow.
The Thang:
Quick warm up around the bus loop 2x waiting for stragglers. There were none other brave enough.
Run East on Three Chopt; North ramp into WBV; Stay right toward lake; gravel path on right to cross Three Chopt; South on Thamesford Way.
At each street (dead end) on the West side of Thamesford Way, run to the end, circle back-to-last until pax is together. Then, perform exercise prescribed by the Q:
Harcourt Ln: Merkin x10; Tottenham Ct: keep running; Tottenham Pl: Merkin x10; unnamed circle: Jumping Jack x1 (because it’s not really a full street); Ivy Home Terr: scissor kick x20
Start the trip back North. Repeat run to end, back-to-last, exercise for each street (dead end) on the East side of Thamesford Way:
Cross Three Chopt; right to continue around lake; back to the parking lot, run loops until Greenbow arrives – optional, burpees in parking lot until Greenbow arrives (weird, no one did this)
Burpee x10; Pinto’s beach body special request aka LBC x25; Rosalita x10
Total mileage: 3.65
In closing:
YHC skipped for a while.. Working to get back at it. Praying thanks for those who were there and quick recovery for those who were not.
Take a moment, reach out to someone. Or, if you have something going on, reach out to a fellow brother!
Writing late night backblasts is not fun.. But I’m just not a write-the-backblast-the-same-day kinda guy. So here we go..
the INAUGURATION of WaThoHuk fell the day after the election of 2020. Too many must have stayed up late the night before watching returns and learning who our next president would be absolutely nothing about the outcome.
2 of us arrived for the 15 min. pre-run. Lap around the West Broad Village lake and back to the flag.
picked up 2 more and Gypsy led us off: Warm up 30 side straddle hops 20 imperial squat walkers
Track work. 400M AYG followed by 200M recovery jog backward. 30 LBCs 400M AYG followed by 200M recovery jog backward. 30 flutters 400M AYG followed by 200M recovery jog backward. 30 reverse LBCs 800M AYG.
Hand off to Greenbow.
run back to parking lot 15 merkins sprint to end of lot, lap back 10 burpees sprint to end, lap back 20 WW2s sprint to end, lap the bus loop, lap back 10 dips another lap
3 suburban warriors showed for the 5:15 WaThoHuk (Or as I prefer, WTH!) pre-run of 1.7 miles. West on Three Chopt, North on John Rolfe. East into West Broad Village (WBV), round the lake and reverse route back to the flag.
We picked up another 4 passengers, for a total of 7 brave souls, and departed into the gloom.
The Thang:
Quick warm up waiting for Don Draper: SSH x10; Merkin x15; LBC x25
Mr. Draper, as it turns out, drove all the way to Short Pump, but realized when exiting 288 he had FORGOTTEN HIS SHOES. ? Not gonna work for a run/PT AO, folks.
Off we go. Run East on Three Chopt; North ramp into WBV; Stay right toward lake; gravel path on right to cross Three Chopt; South on Thamesford Way.
At each street (dead end) on the West side of Thamesford Way, run to the end, circle back-to-last until pax is together. Then, perform exercise prescribed by the Q:
Harcourt Ln: Merkin x10; Tottenham Ct: Burpee x10; Tottenham Pl: Squat x1 (celebration of the 2 mile mark); unnamed circle: WW2 x10; Ivy Home Terr: Squat x10
Start the trip back North. Repeat run to end, back-to-last, exercise for each street (dead end) on the East side of Thamesford Way:
Ivy Home Pl: Merkin x10; Thamesford Ct: WW2 x10; Harcourt Terr: your choice x10
Cross Three Chopt; right to continue around lake; back-to-last until we all reach the gazebo on Geese Landing.
Burpee x10; Trip & Stunt Roll x1 (although I was the only pax who completed this one)
West on Geese Landing, take ramp on left to Three Chopt; back to flag; back-to-last
Last few minutes – Mary: Merkin x15; Flutter x20; LBC x10
5:30-6:15 mileage: 4.5 – 4.9 miles (depending on your speed and how much you doubled back to last)
Total mileage, including pre-run: 5.3 – 5.7 miles (!)
NMS:
YHC hasn’t led a workout in a few months, other than Curahee runs.. So, in the spirit of Saw Walton (“Most everything I’ve done I’ve copied from someone else”) I borrowed from an earlier WaThoHuk beta workout by Gypsy..
Enjoyed leading this one – as a slower runner (9-9.5 min mile) it’s a puzzle to figure out how to push the pax and get a good workout for the faster guys, without them leaving me in the dust.
We did a lot of back-to-last running in a previous bootcamp workout group, and I love it. It’s a push for all – the fast guys can chase each other down – and when they come back to last, it’s a great incentive to chase / push for those of us a little slower.
Announcements:
Shoe drive was a great success – nice work Gypsy!! Maybe some others I had in my draft of this post, which was eaten by wordpress.
Side note: Don Draper, if you’re scared of WTH, just say you’re scared.
Take a moment, reach out to someone. Or, if you have something going on, reach out to a fellow brother!
6 warriors in search of an organized run AO converged on the parking lot at Godwin to welcome the gloom.
YHC provided no guidance, and off we went. The pax knew “this is a well-managed run AO”, so, without complaining, they followed right along.
The Thang:
Mosey up the trail through the vast wilderness separating the high school from Raintree. Stop at Willowick Ln for intro and to tell the pax we’ll be doing sprint drills today. (Surprise!)
Warm up run North on Willowick to dead end, then South to end of road at Windbluff Dr.
Turn left onto Windbluff – without stopping, start a sprint (approx. 150 yd) – turn around at stop sign at Raintree Dr. or when you get to pax who has already turned around. Walk / light jog back to Windbluff.
Go north to the next street, repeat: (Ashcresh, Maremont, Avenham, Willowick North cul-de-sac).
After sprints were done, we took a loop of left turns back down Willowick, Ashcrest, Raintree Dr, Avenham. Run back through trail to Godwin, 2 loops around the bus loop, and done.
Announcements / prayers:
Windy Gap men’s retreat is Aug. 27-30, near Asheville. No big agenda, mostly rest, hike, swim. Cheap price, good times. Talk to Greenbow or Doozy if interested, we both went last year and loved it. Thanks to Splinter, who took us out, including a prayer for my son – who visited the Ortho Friday. His X-ray turned out good, so he was able to get his arm cast removed and is doing great!
Moleskin:
Gomer and I didn’t run together last week (he’s WAY too fast, and I was late..) but we had a great conversation, including me asking for advice how to get my run a little faster. He suggested some track work and sprints. The advice, along with Gomer being out of town, and a Spider Run where Splinter had us do sprints, led me to today’s workout!
Sprint intervals were different from the usual, but allowed a slow guy like me to keep up with everyone – and we all got to push to see what a run at a faster pace / sprints feels like.
Signing off from “the most well managed RVA Friday run AO”
Pax met on a less humid morning for my first turn at the helm at Currahee (what’s a Currahee anyways?)
Mumbling commenced before we started. Gomer, always the overachiever, started handing out maps before realizing I had signed up.
We instead took the route of my simple but effective “Target Run”. Short Pump natives know it well!
Depart from AO headed North on Pump (which becomes John Rolfe)
4 milers turn around at Liesfield Parkway, just before Broad
5 milers run across Broad to the front door of Target, continue to Hobby Lobby (of course!) before turning South to square off the quintessential Short Pump shopping trip, returning South on John Rolfe / Pump to the AO.
We didn’t have any 6 milers but I’m sure they could find more big box stores to visit if we ever want to repeat!
The course made for a somewhat mindless, gently rolling course, compared to the West End neighborhood tours Gomer prints up for us weekly (although I appreciate those in their own right!!)
Light traffic these days makes this fun for me, although my shin splints wouldn’t enjoy this as much running on sidewalks.
No announcements, at least none I remember specifically.. As a nod to his more creative trip-planning skills, I asked Gomer took us out. He obliged with a well-said word!
Sorry for the posting delay, guys – was planning to pop this up first day of vacation but my 6 year old broke his arm within 4 hours of our arrival!! Never knew someone made waterproof vacuum sealed cast covers before now! (Check out https://drycorp.com – pretty slick)
16 fine Southern gentlemen (ok, maybe a few semi-reformed Northerners in disguise) – and 1 FND (Friendly New Dog) – arrived across many dimensions of time and space, almost all separately, to start their Friday morning the right way.
How it went down (for the 6 of us who departed together):
4 milers run East on Grove; 5 milers North on Commonwealth, East on Patterson; 6 milers North on Commonwealth, East on Monument.
Everyone turn right on Roseneath.
Everyone turn left on Cary.
Everyone turn left on Boulevard.
Everyone turn left at respective streets they ran out on to head back West (4 milers, Grove; 5 milers, Patterson; 6 milers, Monument).
The route also was ~.25 miles short, so we ran a little further after returning to AO. Some chose to circle Munford, others did a loop East on Grove.
Let’s just say the route is still a work in progress ?
Other options:
5am Friday crew did a extra-credit crazy mileage thing.
Gears did their gear thing.
NMS:
YHC thanks the runners (well, at least the original 6 or so) for trying this route. Since my inaugural Carytown run one morning after Dogpile, I’ve aspired to call some sort of RAMM loop through the ghost town that is Carytown at 5:45am.
From today’s run, I see I still have some work ahead of me..
Although the mostly-empty street parking provided a decent running lane this morning, running with the flow of traffic on Cary is not ideal any time of day. According to Handshake, Hitchhiker “might” have been grazed by a passing car (maybe a slight exaggeration – not that Handshake would ever exaggerate ?)
Anyhow, in the unlikely event it was as bad as Handshake made it sound, sorry about that, Hitchhiker.. I’ll make it up to you on the next ‘Tour’ with a better, more Westwardly-facing Carytown segment. Also have to add a few blocks to get the mileage dialed in..
RE: Arriving in different dimensions — met up with Bootleg on Cary Westbound, met up with Double Fault and FND River on Grove (now known as Snot since he had to stop and sneeze on the way back).
Announcements: Prayers for Marv’s mom, Pullout’s friend, and anyone else who needs it. See preblast for Vinny & Gumbo mustache charity!
YHC, in an effort to free Saab from the cortisone-high heavy load of writing BB for yet another City of Richmond run, signed up for the Q, somewhat last-minute, and began preparation late Monday night. Then, only seconds later, fell asleep.
Awoke to sunny and 70 weather, picked up the also-last-minute FNG (who insisted on a run as his first workout), made our way to the gloom, and we were on our way.
The Run / Thang
Your Q was excited to plan a route cutting from campus to Roselawn to Grove, but the mob PAX insisted it was closed, flooded, too dark, under construction, infested by angry CCV bears, I dunno. So anyways, the route I had labored over for hours was abandoned for something similar / simpler / safer.
Depart on Richmond Way east, stay left on Gateway.
Right at stop onto Campus to Three Chopt, cross Three Chopt and continue on Towana Path / Henri to Grove.
Left on Grove, 4 milers turn around at Oak (actually ~4.4 miles), 5 milers turn somewhere just past that (Wisteria / Bunting?), 6 mile man/machine hybrids turn at Mary Munford.
On the way back, reverse, with the additional challenge of dodging Seal Team runners not paying attention on Towana Path.
Numbera, Namearama, welcome to FNG Double Fault.
No announcements (or at least none that I allowed) and YHC took us out.
NMS:
Well, they can’t all be this perfect, fellas.
For my 3rd Q, attempted to fill a spot that had been empty a few weeks in a row, but the PAX, surprised to see someone actually volunteering to Q Spider Run, successfully performed a coup.
In my post-run, 4-miler PR fog (and attempting to get DF home on time), YHC tested the PAX by completely skipping announcements, and tried to skip taking us out, but alas the PAX stepped up and roped me back in to close us out.
By far, this was the most well-prepared Spider Run Q I’ve experienced in my few visits there.
At one of RPS’s brightly shining beacons, 21 masonry apprentices gathered in the gloom.
70 & sunny (ok maybe a little warmer than 70), off we go:
COP: Mosey to the blacktop
Welcome to Greenbow’s 1-year-versary & mumblechatter
5-count SSH x20 IC
s-l-o-w merkins x10 IC
4-count WW2s x20 on your own
BRICKS: Mosey back to the parking lot & Greenbow’s truck
collect 2 coupons per PAX, plank on bricks in the bus circle
Brick run on Grove (I-95 for runners/walkers)
At intersection with W. Lock Ln, 10 brick merkins OYO
al gore for the 6
Continue run along Grove – at intersection with Albemarle/Lexington, scare a walker half to death, then, 20 1-brick American Hammers OYO.
continue hammers until the 6 has arrived and completed 20.
Continue run along Grove – at intersection with Roslyn, 30 brick plank-jacks OYO
al gore for the 6
Mosey to church lot, plank for the 6
Partner up, bear crawl holding bricks while partner runs the parking lot circle, switch, repeat until full circle done
Ambitious PAX members volunteered for flutter kicks for extra credit
Partner up, lunges holding bricks while partner runs the parking lot circle, switch, repeat until full circle done
Brick merkins for the 6
Brick merkins x10 IC
Brick Run back to the flag on Grove:
first few who arrive, run back to the 6 for extra credit
Next few who arrive, brick curls while we wait for the 6
Mary:
While waiting for the 6, started with Freddie M x40 IC
Bricks deposited back to Greenbow’s truck
Death march the additional 15 feet to the flag
Heels to Heaven x30 IC
4-count WW2s x31 IC
COT:
Counterama
Namerama
Announcerama
see pre-blast for Vinny/Gumbo Inaugural Stache Challenge
YHC kids’ school is having a swanky Poker Night 11/9, for more info, reach out to me
YHC took us out in Prayer (prayers for a surgery, an interview, other brothers’ needs)
NMS:
YHC did my best to pay homage to my first workout, Black Hawk Down 10/4/18 at 45MOM. Until yesterday, I falsely believed Upchuck had Q’d it – alas, it was his younger brother, Lockjaw.
Saab’s dreamsliterally came true (YHC appeared to him in a vision earlier this week) when the rear door of my truck opened and friendly old-world-style (i.e. ‘no holes’) bricks greeted him. Unfortunately, the coupons increased his dry weight by 30%, leading to a brick lunge -induced tweak of existing injury in his knee. Get better soon brother.
I remember this workout often, and have been anxiously waiting to repeat it. The mark of my first year of gloom with F3RVA seemed an appropriate commemoration. The moment I finished the first workout (thanks Don Draper for inviting me), I knew you all were my people, and this was my workout (outside, boot camp, etc).
Mumblechatter was reduced, perhaps eliminated, as the brick-jog began down Grove to our final destination (thankfully, as someone commented to Bodos, the pastor of that institution was NOT in our PAX).
Additionally, this is YHC’s 101st workout with F3. Will be shooting for more next year, which should be achievable – unless the M decides we need yet another Greenbow 2.0 (slowed me down March-May, but totally worth it.) More recently, having strengthened my legs in bootcamps, I’m excited to be enjoying running for the first time in my life.
Thankful for you all beyond words. This group has been a brick by brick transformation in my life.
How do you accomplish something big? For me, having not worked out regularly in many years, it was one workout at a time, one day at a time, one foot in front of the other, one brick at a time.
If you are struggling with a brick too heavy (or even a pile of bricks), I’m here to tell you – many brothers in our PAX have probably struggled with the same at some point, and have ears open to you. Lean on your brothers, be open and honest with them.
Tell me how I can pray for you or ask me to get together sometime.
Most of all, talk to another guy about your triumphs and your challenges. We are all carrying bricks and need a little encouragement sometimes!
