Author: Gypsy

  • Just a little mosey

    5 pax joined in for a little mosey around the Western West end… AKA Short Pump.

    We went with the Handshake route to give options for all to get anywhere from 4 to 5.5 miles.

    Right out of Godwin on Pump.
    Left on to Pump
    Right onto Three Chop
    Right onto John Rolfe
    left into the AO.

    YHC ran with Handshake this day. Some good Mubblechatter along the route. He just got back from his 15yr anniversary reunion of VMI. I appreciate him taking the time to find my 2.0 on campus and imparting some knowledge on him. We all know we can tell our 2.0s stuff all day long and they look at us like we have 3 heads.. but if someone else tells them the same thing its the wisest thing they have ever heard. Roger Roger, Whitesnake and Honey Do ran as pack as well.

    No new announcements mentioned this day. Check Slack or Twitter for new items.

    DM PigSkin to help with the FreeToBleed this month
    We will be starting the RVA show Drive on December 1st.. so start saving those gently used shoes now.

    Thank you for allowing me to lead the run.

    v/r
    John (Gypsy) Boles

  • Westend/Short Pump IronPax Challenge week 0

    4 completed full version and 1 modified.. we knew it would suck.. bad words were used.. and yet we did it anyway.

    THE THANG :

    IPC Week 0 – 100 Merkins, 800 meter run, 75 Merkins, 1200 meter run, 50 Merkins, 1600 meter run, 25 Merkins, 2000 meter run

    NMS: its really simple.. You know its IronPax season in Richmond when you see pax laying on a field, track, parking lot… completely exhausted but talking them self into 1 more Merkin, burpee, lap around the track. T-Clap to all the pax that challenged themselves this week to dig deep and do “just one more Merkins”

    IPC will be at Heartbreak Ridge on Tuesday. Come push yourselves.

    Told to Follow.. Free to Lead.

    SYITG!!

  • I guess it counts ?‍♂️

    When 5 pax show up for a pre-run of an AO, I guess it counts as post.
    This morning and hour before GridIron, 5 HIMs showed up to answer the call for a 10 mile prerun.
    Don Draper created a 2021 Marathon Slack Channel and for some silly reason added YHC to the channel.. I’m not running a Marathon that’s just crazy!!! I tried it once and broke both feet 4 days before the race… the great Sky Q told me right then and there that YHC is not supposed to run that far and he SMACKED me back down to reality. but i’m happy to have some buddies to run 10 to 14 miles with.

    Today BoBerry, Rosetta, Homer, BlueMoon and I set out at 6am to get a few miles at an 8:30 pace… welp… we accomplished setting out on time… but once BlueMoon got warmed up, I warned the pax keeping up with him meant a sub 8min pace… Homer took me up on it and headed out with him where the last 5 miles were sub 7:44. At some point we lost them as they went out on their own route.. (i found them later at the boot camp). Roseatta, BoBerry and YHC stayed to the plan and knocked out 10 miles at an 8:22 pace.

    BoBerry PRed his 10 miler!!! looking strong brother.

    Next weekend we are going 11 to 12 miles.. hit us up ion Slack if you want to know the launch location.

    Thats all for now… i need to go eat something… running makes me hungry..

    SYITG!!
    V/R
    Gypsy

  • Its the Bro-Code

    WAKE UP!! PEOPLE ARE RUNNING HERE!!

    Last Friday of the month at Currahee always means one thing… Bro-Code.

    That means anybody but Gomer Pyle is allowed to take the Q. cuz we all know that Gitty Up on a 4 mile run means you are getting lost in some back neighborhood as we turn 4 miles into 5.5 or 6. trying to figure out if he went left or right at that dead end road. Ha!!! jokes on you.. he also knows all the off road paths to connect roads and he went straight. 🙂 Just Kidding with you GP.. although you do know all the hidden paths around the Short Pump area for some reason???

    Bro-Code has become a regular 4 mile route that all pax can run and get anywhere between 4 and 6+ miles in 45 mins. It is basically a big square so at the turns you circle back to the 6 then continue on to the next turn. (you can do a 11:15 min mile pace to a 7:30 pace or more and all still be roughly together) once we hit the 4th corner we all return to the AO together at a Bro-Code pace.

    The route.
    Right out of Godwin HS.
    Left onto Ridgefield
    Right onto Copperas
    Right onto Church
    Right onto Pump
    one last turn back at the corner of Pump and Ridgefield for the 6.

    Great work by all … mileage ranged from 4.1 to 5.3 miles .. not bad for 145 on the wet bulb scale.

    Free to Lead men. Be a disrupter of the status quo..

    SYITG

    Gypsy

  • Common Ground in Faith

    The purpose of this AO is to push the PAX along their journey in developing the 3rd F – Faith.  We recognize that PAX are at their own place on the journey and proceed at their own pace.  PAX are encouraged to share.  It is not required to share (wise men learn by listening), but there is a requirement to allow others to share.  What is shared in this 3rd F stays with the 3rd F; it is a COT.  None of the PAX has a monopoly on the truth, though we are all truth seekers.  It is fine to disagree.  If there are not disagreements, then we are probably doing it wrong.

    This 3rd F event:

    1.       Is free of charge.
    2.       Is a discussion based on faith and open to all men.
    3.       Is peer led by volunteer Qs who may or may not be certified/ordained.

    The topic: Finding common ground in faith: Focus on Biblical and Buddhist ideology.

    Baseline for the discussion:
    Counts..
    535 Million Buddhist followers (believed to be a suppressed number by Chinese government)
    2.5 Billion Biblical followers.

    How the life stories of Buddha and Jesus are similar.

    •            Conceived in a miraculous manner
    •            Similar names of mother (Maya for Buddha, Mary for Jesus)
    •            Was a bit of a child prodigy
    •            Underwent a long period of fasting while traveling alone
    •            Tempted by, but overcame, the devil
    •            Began an itinerant ministry around the age of 30
    •            Had disciples who traveled with him.
    •            Performed miracles, such as curing blindness and walking on water
    •            Renounced worldly riches and required his disciples to do so also
    •            Rebelled against the religious elite (Brahmans for Buddha and Pharisees for Jesus)
    •            Dispatched disciples, shortly before his death, to spread his message

    While Buddhism is based primarily on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama (a spiritual teacher from India who lived from approximately 563BC to 483BC and is known as the Buddha or enlightend one), Buddhism incorporates a variety of religious traditions, beliefs and practices. Like Hinduism, Buddhism provides no singular unified view about Jesus, although a number of Jesus’ characteristics are described by many Buddhists.

    Jesus Was An Enlightened Man
    Most Buddhists acknowledge and respect the fact Jesus lived a self-sacrificial life and had compassion on those who were in spiritual need. This kind of compassion is seen by Buddhists to be the key to happiness and enlightenment. For this reason, many Buddhists, including the 14th century Zen master, Gasan Jōseki, refer to Jesus as an “enlightened man”.

    Jesus Was A Wise Teacher
    Most Buddhists also respect the teaching of Jesus to a high degree, especially Jesus’ teaching related to loving one’s neighbor and the need to demonstrate kindness and forgiveness. His teaching related to compassion, for example, impressed the Dalai Lama greatly. Jesus is seen as someone who possessed the correct perspective on life and his teaching helped others to embrace the truth. Some Buddhists including the 14th Dali Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, have even recognized Jesus as a ” bodhisattva” (one who dedicates his life sacrificially to the service and betterment of others). While Jesus is seen as a wise teacher, He is not seen as divine.

    Jesus Was a Holy Man
    The current Dalai Lama often describes Jesus as a “holy man” and includes Jesus in his list of such people. In fact, the Dalai Lama does not typically elevate Buddha to a greater status than Jesus when discussing the two figures. The Dalai Lama met frequently with the Pope in the early part of the 21st century and showed great respect for the teaching and person of Jesus Christ.

    The Questions:
    Are the man Jacob wrestled with, Siddhartha Gautama, and Jesus all incarnations of the same Spirit brought forth at the exact time and place when needed?

    God did not create Religion.. Man did.  Why does man paint themself in a tiny box and label it when they all have the same desire to get to an Afterlife that is peaceful and whole?

    Is the afterlife segmented like our physical life?  Is there multiple heavens or does the division of man’s faiths disappear when we leave this current life?

    The Answers are COT… and what is said in COT stays in COT.  If you want to know more, join in on the next 3rd F on 8/3 when we continue our Faith journey.

    Thank you for letting Homer and YHC lead today.

    v/r
    John (Gypsy) Boles

  • Alphabet soup

    3rd F: (Faith)
    Thank you White Deer for taking us today.
    3rd F this Tuesday at 8pm see Slack for Zoom details: YHC and Homer Co-Qing a creative discussion of the differences/Similarities in after life and faith between Buddhism and Biblical ideology.

    2nd: (Fellowship)
    14 of 15 pax showed up for the post work out bagels and coffee. (BAMM!)
    7/17: Hitchhiker Karaoke 6pm
    7/31: BoneThugs night at the baseball park.

    1st F:  (Fitness)
    The Thang: (The GridIron:  It all happens in the confines of a football field)
    Mosey to the bottom Football field.

    Warmup:
    Side Straddle Hops, Micheal Philps, Big arm Circles (warm up the upper body.. Its a ground pound day)

    Four corner: Run the outside of the football field. At each corner perform a called exercise and return back to start. Each corner you pass you perform that exercise for that corner on the return as well.

    • Run to Corner 1: 10 Merkins and return to start.
    • Run to  Corner 1: 10 Merkins, run to Corner 2: 10 Full sit ups, run to corner 1: 10 merkins and return to start.
    • Run to Corner 1: 10 Merkins, run to Corner 2: 10 Full sit ups, run to corner 3: 10 jump Squats, run to Corner 2: 10 Full sit ups, run to corner 1: 10 merkins and return to start.
    • Run to Corner 1: 10 Merkins, run to Corner 2: 10 Full sit ups, run to corner 3: 10 jump Squats, run to corner 4: 10 Burpees, run to corner 3: 10 Jump Squats, run to Corner 2: 10 Full sit ups, run to corner 1: 10 merkins and return to start

    Mosey to the center of the field

    BLIMPS:
    5 burpees, 10 lunge each leg, 15 imperial walker, 20 merkins, 25 plank jacks, 30 squat

    Mosey around both goal posts and back to the center.

    ATMs
    All done in order, with no rest, without leaving plank position. 
    Count is to 10 for each exercise

    • Alternating Shoulder Touches In Cadence (4-count)
    • Tempo Merkins (down on the 1-2-3, up on 4),
    • Merrkins.
      Run around the goal post and back to center.

    Rinse and repeat 2 more times.

    CLIMB
    5 Crab cake
    10 Lunge
    15 Imperial walker
    20 Mountain Climber
    25 Box cutters.
    LBCs to 30 and continue for the 6
    Rinse and repeat 2 more times.

    Mosey to the endzone and back

    Jack Webb:
    A merkin then 4 air press with an ascending rep count of each. 
    Ie 1 Merkin 4 Air press, 2 Merkin 8 Air Press, 3 Merkins 12 Air Press….  10 Merkins, 40 Air press.
    (Why in the heck do air presses in the Jack Webb hurt so bad.. its litterial just raising you arms)

    Mosey to the endzone and back

    Motivator:
    Full SSH, ¾ SSH ½ SSH, ¼ SSH bounce. 10 of each with out stopping, then 9, 8, 7…down to 1
    (THIS REALLLLLLLY SUCKED.. Doesnt sound bad.. But my calfs and cardio were both dying) 

    Mosey to the endzone and back
    LT Dander: 
    Lt. Dans plus a merkin.
    The sequence goes lunge-lunge-squat-merkin. (10 times)
    30 LBCs
    Rinse and repeat 3 times
    At this point Merkins were more like falling to the ground and trying to push myself back up.  

    Mosey back to AO launch site.

    MARY:
    LBCs, Reverse LBCs, WW2, American Hammer

    NMS:
    Great work by all today!! I about spilled merlot at my own Q????
    I appreciate everyone joining me for a 1hr beatdown at the park. The acceleration of the West Side pax is amazing right now. There are now a few new AOs that are really pushing the pax beyond status quo. Currahee posting double digits for pax members to push the cardio and speed training. Circus Maximus and strength conditioning with Kettle Bells, Wednesday there is WTH that is pushing the limits of the PAX with 3 plus miles of bootcamp. Tuesday the good ole Heart Break ridge that will leave you HATING grassy hills…. and if that is not enough, there is always a pax member ready to bike, ruck, run, grab a lunch, happy hour, or bible study.
    Thank you for allowing me to lead today.

    As always: Call a pax member you have not seen in a while.. it may be what he needed to get through the day.

    v/r
    John (Gypsy) Boles

  • Rinse and Repeat

    The last will be 1st: Matthew 20:16

    3rd F: Faith

    • Thank you Gomer Pyle for taking us out today.
    • Unspoken TAP for our brother Johnsonville
    • Homer and YHC are co-Qing 3rd F on the 20th. Open discussion on the similarities and differences of Buddhism and Christianity with regard to after life.

    2nd F: Fellowship

    • 7/17: Hitchhiker cook out. see slack for location and details
    • 7/27 Home run derby at 0530 Tuckahoe Little League see EF Hutton for details
    • 7/31: Richmond Flyers baseball game. See Bone Thugs for details

    1st F: Fitness

    Currahee brought out 10 pax this morning to enjoy a beautiful 70 and sunny workout. A simple plan but made sure everyone that wanted to push themselves was given the opportunity and yet we all still stayed together.
    Warm up was 1.5 miles: Right out of Godwin, Left onto John Rolfe, Left onto Glen Eagle cross over Ridge Field and assemble at the cul-de-sac of Old Prescott.
    The THANG: 5K race pace (or all you got) from the end of Old Prescott to Pump rd. (.42 miles)
    Recover back for the 6 then all recover back to the cul-de-sac.
    Rinse and repeat until 6:10.

    Most of us landed somewhere between 4.5 and 5.2 miles today. Lots of hard work put in and lots of pounds lost in sweat. (unless you are Bluemoon who just seems to make it all look easy)

    NMS:
    The PAX did well today. Many of which are preparing for a Marathon or 1/2 Marathon in the coming months.
    Stay hydrated during this heat guys. YHC posted an article in SLACK about the impacts of the weather on your training.

    The Summer tour continues: many are unofficially hitting other AOs as others are signed up on the Monthly challenge. YHC will have the patches for those pax that signed up.

    Gomer Pyle: I hope you start felling better brother. RICE

    Looking forward to hitting the streets of SOJ on Sunday with the OTB crew. Sounded like Roger Roger might be interested in joining in as well.

    I appreciate you guys running with me this morning and i cant wait to SYITG!!

    AS always: Call a PAX you have not seen in a while. it might be just what he needed to make through the day.
    v/r
    John (Gypsy) Boles

  • 1 lap around the neighborhood

    3rd F: (Faith)
    Thank you Probation for taking us out this morning in Prayer.
    Openings for the Breaking Bread are still available. DM Upchuck for dates.
    Homer and Gypsy hosting the Virtual 3rd F on the 20th. (Multi-faith discussion)

    2nd F: (Fellowship)
    July 31st Flyers game. DM Bone thugs for details.

    1st F (Fitness)
    We all know the core principle of F3: to plant, grow and serve small workout groups for men for the invigoration of male community leadership. But sometimes you get to see it in action with energized FNGs that come out for their 2nd post in 2 days. Today, YHC watch every member of the PAX encourage, fall back for, and lift the spirit of our new brother Carfax as he joined us in a regular WTH WIB (Workout in a Bag). There was no man left behind and we left no man where we found him either. The PAX got stronger though the fellowship and bound of supporting a pax. We all started together and we all ended together. That is what we do in RVA F3…

    The THANG:
    Left out of Pocahontas parking lot onto Three Chopt
    Right onto Thamesford.
    On the way down toward Church we turned into each cul-de-sac on the west side and did 20 Merkins at the end.
    on the way back to Three Chopt we turned into each cul-de-sac on the east side and did 25 LBCs.
    Back to the AO for 5 mins of Mary

    Total counts:
    120 merkins in total
    100 LBCs
    3.5 miles of running
    1 min of American hammers in Cadence (about 30ish of them)
    1 min of LBCs in cadence
    1 min of Flutters
    1 min of Heels to Heaven
    1 min of stretching.

    Not to bad for a Wednesday morning in the GLOOM. Hope to see more of you guys soon at WTH. Can wait to see you stamp your passport at this AO.

    No NMS today.. slammed at work with interviews and midyear reviews.

    Don’t forget to put on your calendar the RVA townhall on the 8th at 8pm. See Slack for details.

    as always…. Call a pax you have not heard from in a while.. it may be what he needs to pull himself through the day.

    v/r
    John (Gypsy) Boles

  • Cant remember what we did?

    No Q at Heartbreak ridge this Tuesday so it was another hotpotato. YHC did not realize the rule was who ever is last writes the BB.. Thought who ever took the lead wrote it. But Handshake helped remind me that was not the case. Soooooooooo.. because i didnt think i was writing a BB i didnt really pay attention to what we did. Maybe Handshake can add it into the comments field. 😉

    I remember doing lots of triple checks…
    I think i watched everyone do a 100 burpees..
    i bet we did Merkins..and LBCs along the way..
    Oh yeah… i remember playing wheelbarrow bumper cars with Attila and Handshake until Handshake wasn’t nice about it…. ? (Ouch)
    Homer was singing some song when he was doing Bear crawls.
    5 mins of Mary.. i remember this part.
    90 seconds of American Hammers
    90 seconds of Flutters
    60 seconds of LBCs
    60 seconds reverse crunch.

    COT

    Then Homer and YHC did a 10k run to round out the morning.

    Lots going on over the next few weeks:
    6/30 – Lockjaw Paddle after work (PM him)
    7/1 – Start of Summer Tour 2021
    signup sheet:
    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-L8e9W24ygnU0suaGyKxzi1PgPqY1CBd57hLrKTZI-g/edit?usp=sharing
    7/1 – Ultimate Frisbee at the Forge
    7/3 – 7am Dogpile Convergence (CB on Q)
    7/6 – 3rd F Virtual 8PM (see slack for zoom link)
    7/8 – F3RVA Town Hall at 8pm (location TBD)
    7/10 – Puppypile following Dogpile
    7/17 – Hitch House Party at 5:30p AYE!
    7/31 – Flying Squirrels (DM BoneThugz)

  • The Bro-Code run

    Last Friday of the month is always a Bro-code run at Currahee. All paces run the same route, but we all finish at the same time. This is due to the circle back for the 6 at each major turn. Some pax will get 4 miles and other will get 5.5, but the over all rule is we always circle back for the 6 along the way and not wait until the finish line.

    Bro-Code run tends to turn into a COT between like speed running partners and this week was no different. Lots of mumble chatter on the route. but much of it was COT between pax members. One piece YHC can share is the Johnsonville LOVES the hills and wants all pax members to know that if he is running with you, he wants lots more hill training. 🙂

    The route for the Bro-Code in June:
    Right out of Goodwin on Pump
    Left onto Ridgefield
    Right onto Copparas
    Right onto Church
    Right onto Pump
    Left into Godwin.

    Lots of up coming opportunities in the RVA area in coming weeks:
    6/29 – Ultimate Frisbee at Daville (Atlee HS – mtg at teacher lot behind school)
    6/29 – Drinks w Fudd at The Answer (5-8p)
    6/30 – Lockjaw Paddle after work (PM him)
    7/1 – Start of Summer Tour 2021
    7/1 – Ultimate Frisbee at the Forge
    7/3 – 7am Dogpile Convergence (CB on Q)
    7/8 – F3RVA Town Hall at 8pm (location TBD)
    7/10 – Puppypile following Dogpile
    7/17 – Hitch House Party at 5:30p AYE!
    7/31 – The Fling Squirrels game. DM BoneThugz for more info

    Thank you for the opportunity to lead the Bro-Code Run.
    v/r
    John (Gypsy) Boles

    As always: call a pax member you have not heard from. it may be just what he needed today.