Author: Lockjaw

  • …And the Creek Don’t Rise

    Four intrepid Pax fought lightning, zero visibility, and torrential downpours to make it to Tomato Run.  Once to the AO, the rain held back for perfect running conditions.  We went through King’s Charter and picked up some trails returning us to the AO.  Mudface defied lightning and science to ruck with a pack full of steel plates.

    YHC took us out.

    While the entire drive up 301 was washed out and zero visibility, the last quarter mile next to the construction was the most hazardous.  Driving along the jersey wall with the train on the other side, there was a nice cross current of flow coming through the wall.  Then you come to the deep water which was akin to a river crossing.  In the end, cars and SUVs made it through, though a longer, but dry, route was elected for the return trip south.

    It was a great day for a run after the storm.  We had the subdivision to ourselves joined only by a few rabbits, and a frog or two.  We got to experience the rising creeks when traversing the trails, evidence of all the runoff from the recent deluge.

    Thanks to Mudface and Phonics for showing us around and ensuring we weren’t the only ones posting on such a day.

    Time to Taper,

    Lockjaw

     

  • Kind of Just Backed Into It

    24 – Now that has to be a record of sorts.  Great weather brings out great runners.

    YHC went over the routes a couple of times with a mixed degree of reception from the Pax.  It turned out to be effective as no one was lost.

    To put all route questions to rest, here is a picture of the six mile route.  5s turned at Broad St and 4s at Monument.

    Fudd took us out.

    NMS

    YHC wanted to revisit Broad Street, but after a show last night at Agecroft, Windsor Farms was calling as well.  Here is a route to do both!

    It was great to run with Fireman Ed and Ponch as it was Ponch’s first RAMM and Ed’s return after some time away from the roads.

    Announcements:

    • Summer Tour is still underway.  Not too late to start.
    • Puppy Pile this Saturday at 7:05 at Carillon
    • August 3 – Amateur RAMM Gears part deux.  Rumor has it that No Tools will provide guidance in the repair of our old bikes.  See him for details.
    • “Dirt Church” Sunday mountain biking is in full effect.  See No Tools.
    • CSAUP late October – Running loops around Forest Hill Park; one an hour.  Last man standing takes all.

    Always Be Tapering,

    Lockjaw

     

  • Monkey Humpers – On Me!

    An impressive 23 showed up for this week’s Mary.  Perfect weather and not your average summer morning.

    Mosey to the soccer field for COP.

    • Don Quixote
    • Arm Circles
    • Russian Soldiers
    • Imperial Walkers
    • SSH
    • 5 Burpees

    Line up on the end  zone of the field and form two columns for Bode Miller.  Pax planks head to toe while the “six” bunny hops up the column in a serpentine fashion.  Inchworm your way down the line to the other end of the field.

    Next up was the Beast with modifications.  YHC would name an exercise and call on a member of the Pax to be the restrictor plate setting the cadence with an emphasis on FORM.  The Pax could not move forward until the restrictor plate called it.  Certain members of the Pax took this as meaning to increase the quantity as well.

    • Merkins – Swirly
    • Copperhead Squats – Keymaster
    • Box Cutters – Hardywood
    • Carolina Dy Docks – Vinny
    • Monkey Humpers – Handshake
    • Flutter Kicks – Mr. Holland

    Line up again on the end zone in two columns for the Tunnel of Love.  The Pax planks and forms a tunnel that the  “six” army crawls through.  Two times through and Al Gore.

    Mosey back to the small field on the side for some Mary – American Hammers and the 10 burpees.

    Hardywood took us out.

    NMS

    Great turn out today and it was terrific to see so many FNGs.  YHC renamed FNG “Townie” to “Mason Dixon”.  Feels like a better fit.

    Quote of the day has to be today’s backblast title from Handshake.  When YHC asked him to lead the Monkey Humper leg of the Beast, he responded with a “Monkey Humpers on Me!” response.  The Pax’s response must has jostled him somewhat as he was quiet as a whisper for calling cadence.  YHC has a feeling Swirly will be giving corporate lessons on presence later today.  It’s all in good fun.

    Time to Taper,

    Lockjaw

     

  • Your gauge or mine?

    Four road warriors fought the the rush hour traffic for today’s field trip AO.  We arrived at Triple Crossing Fulton, exchanged stories and we were off.  A couple quick road name changes and we were on New Osbourne Trpk.  Dodging traffic, no shoulder, and a surprisingly long hill we persevered.

    YHC had a cut through along the railroad tracks in mind, but there were all kinds of foreboding signs.  The Pax informed the Q that another Pax member (aka the Deli Llama) had been ticketed for messing with CSX and we elected to continue on our known path.  Eventually, we intersected Old Osbourne Trpk and the Capital Trail.  We headed east beyond the historical marker commemorating Lincoln’s arrival in Richmond with his brief stop over at the Route 5 7-11.  It would appear that a Slurpee and Big Bite has a timeless appeal.

    Just beyond this marker, we retraced our steps to the makeshift AO.

    NMS

    It seems Offshore just missed us.  He was inside with some friends enjoying the local beverages and awaiting our arrival.  He gets Big Data credit since he biked there and biked home to the West End.  That’s either mad props or a Whisky Tango Foxtrot.  Probably a little of both.

    Conversation was what one would expect when you get data scientist, IT professionals, accountants, and accountants of IT professionals together with beverages.  Offshore’s friends among these ranks, we rediscovered history (seems the gauge of train tracks was not a standard until the middle of the Civil War), fully embraced the metric system in all its splendor, and realized there were two degrees of separation between the Mars Rover miscalculation and Osama Bin Laden within this Pax.

    Always Be Tapering,

    Lockjaw

  • HDHH Pre-Blast for 7/18

    This wednesday we are going to combine two great things:  Running/Biking and Triple Crossing.  We are going to meet at Triple Crossing Fulton location ready to depart at 5:45 pm.  We will pick up the Capital Trail for a country side run.  F3RVA bikers, feel free to join us on two wheels.

    We will return to Triple Crossing at 6:30 for HDHH.

    See you then.

     

  • It’s Not A Cult

    A beautiful mild summer morning with cricket in the air set the stage for a Great Eight to return to the birthplace of F3RVA.

    Leave the parking lot with a short mosey over by the sand volleyball nets for COP.

    • Don Quixote
    • Helicopters
    • SSH
    • Russian Soldiers
    • Imperial Walkers

    Strut to the sand volleyball courts for Lindsays.

    1. 30 Merkins
    2. Bear Crawl half way across the sand court
    3. Lunge the other half
    4. 10 Box Cutters
    5. Run Back and complete the rest

    Quick trot to the picnic shelter and a rearrange of the tables for 11s.

    • Abyss Merkins
    • Box Jumps on the tables (watch your head)

    Long mosey to the middle school soccer field for the first ever Honeymoon Suite Beast.

    1. APDs
    2. Pickle Pounders
    3. Oblique Crunches – right side
    4. Diamond Merkins
    5. Oblique Crunches – left side
    6. Monkey Humpers

    Partner up for PLTs: 25 reps three times through.  Follow up with some elbow plank time.

    Off to the front of the middle school for Triple Check.

    1. Run the bus loop
    2. Flutter Kicks
    3. BTTW

    Mosey back to the shovel flag where YHC took us out.

    NMS:

    It was great to be back at Gridiron; the cauldron that forged F3RVA.  This AO is not as frequented as others, but offers so much ground to cover.  We barely scratched the surface this morning.

    The Honeymoon Suite Beast was performed in front of a Tomato running group using the upper track.  This prompted Hardywood’s declaration that “this isn’t a cult”.  If Offshore was present, I am sure we could have done a 7th round incorporating the elusive upright APDs into the mix.

    It was great to see familiar faces on the summer tour, old friends, and new folks from the Short Pump nano region.  YHC, Sugar, Shake, and Hardywood were asked which state we were from which prompted our response of “Richmond”.  This is the beauty of the Summer Tour:  bringing people together across RVA.

    Announcements:

    • Puppy Pile next weekend – Bring those 2.0s
    • Weekly paddle group – see Lockjaw if interested.  I will be out there this weekend.

    Time to Taper,

    Lockjaw

  • Hark the Screech Owl Nevermore

    A cool dozen runners, including one FNG, took off for a cruise down Westham Parkway.  4, 5, and 6 mile options were invoked and all returned safely.

    Big Tennessee took us out.

    NMS

    The rolling hills of Westham Parkway never disappoint, nor does the Westham Station extension.  Today’s backblast title comes from a story Saab shared pre-run.  Imagine Homer Simpson running out of the front door in his underwear to dispatch with a screech owl that disrupts his sleep invoking memories of Poe’s “The Raven”.

    Welcome Brita!  Hopefully we will see you out soon.  It’s always great to have a Trophy siting as well.

    Announcement:

    • July 21 – Puppy Pile – 7:05 @ the Carillon
    • October 20 – A CSAUP shrouded in secrecy.  TYA is doing research in South America as we speak.

    Always Be Tapering,

    Lockjaw

  • Smoke on the Water

    A magnificent 7 opted for some running as a way to enjoy this unseasonably cooler weather.

    We headed down to Robious Park where we picked up the trail for the next 30 minutes and then headed back up to the VSF.

    Sugar Sock took us out.

    NMS

    With this crew there is always a fair amount of mumble chatter.  We stayed together as a group until a few made some diversions along the way.  Ample discussion of upcoming brewing opportunities as well as progress on the summer tour.

    The first few minutes on the trails reminded YHC of Ragnar.  Trails in the dark is an entirely differently feel.  The crew teams were the only ones sharing this morning with us as the waters were flat and enshrouded in a deep fog.

    Announcements:

    • YHC has a combined HDHH and hill run Q on 7/18.  New location information will be available soon via pre-blast.
    • Puppypile on 7/21 – Bring those 2.0s
    • Summer Paddling Session continues with next put in this Friday or over the weekend.  Sounds like we have a few interested.  Let YHC know.

    Time to Taper,

    Lockjaw

  • A Different Type of River Run

    A duo of kayakers arrived at Huguenot Flatwater to enjoy reasonable water levels and an escape from the heat. Upon departure, we headed to the north bank where a nice beach had formed.  Worth exploring next time.

    We kayaked upstream to the dam and checked out the fish ladder and the semi-blocked portage on the other side.  We chatted with a couple of kayakers who were hauling heavy boats over the portage path.  It was a team of father and young son who were on mile 93 of a 100 mile journey that started in Charlottesville last Saturday.  The dad explained that the son was born in America to two British parents and this was a float trip to study colonial history.  In particular, old trade routes used by the batteau of years past was the route they were retracing.

    The boats were heavily laden with all the supplies one would need to camp on the river for a week.  Kubota and YHC assisted with the carry over the rocks and they were off to set that night’s camp a little ways down river.

    Kubota and I hit the river to return to the take out.

    For interested Pax, if we go next week it will be Friday or over the weekend.  Just let YHC know and we can plan something.

    Lockjaw

  • Infinity Wars

    9 Pax arrived and YHC called the infinity loop.  Off we went with Opus catching us a little later.

    Some did 4 loops, some dig 3 and some time around the lake, and others did 2 plus a cross campus excursion.

    Shakedown took us out in observance of his race this weekend.

    NMS

    Though we had done this route one time before, the speedy Pax was a little unaware of the course.  YHC said that they would all stick together for the first lap, but none the less a trio took off.  Let’s just say they missed the turn and got some extra miles in.

    Three Qs in 24 hours.  YHC is starting to feel like F3RVA’s Ryan Adams with prolific backblast publications across a diverse backdrop of AOs.  It’s been fun.

    Speaking of fun.  There was a Keymaster sighting as we wrapped up the COT.  Keymaster was leading his local running group.  (But wait! F3 has a Tuesday run location in this very location.)  Not satisfied with making just one pass, they circled the lake a second time provoking Swirly to provide commentary on his ass kicking prowess.  That is reason #38 why it is better to be a part of this Pax then against it.

    Announcements:

    • Paddling Thursday after work.  Looks like there are two or three of us going.  This will not be the only time we go this summer, so plenty of future opportunities.
    • July 4 convergence downtown – Kubota is on point

    Time to Taper,

    Lockjaw