Author: Gumbo

  • Gumbo’s Last Post with Hate…

    9 SOJers (or SOJers at heart…Handshake) broke the warm hold of the bed and posted to Twin Team this morning for warm bowl of Gumbo…sort of.  This is  how it went:

    Mosey around the side of BWES (the dark side) to the circle at the end of the bus loop for COP, including:

    • SSHs
    • DQs
    • Helicopters
    • Imperial Walkers
    • Merkins
    • LBCs
    • Freddie Mercuries – alternating speeds

    The THANG:

    Triple Check –  classic triple check with merkins (any type you want), flutter kicks and a run around the bus loop.

    Fun with Door Numbers:

    • 10 doors
    • Round 1 – Monkey Humpers at the even numbered doors and merkins at the odd numbered doors – do the number on the door.
    • Round 2 – same but double the number on the door.

    Rings of Fire/Burpee Shuffle – in the covered, dry area by door #1

    • Round 1 – hold six inches and do 10 heels to heaven when it is your turn
    • Lap around the front circle
    • Round 2 – plank and do 10 merkins when it is your turn
    • Lap around the circle – a little faster this time
    • Round 3 – Burpee shuffle – when it comes to you call 1, 2 or 3 but you can’t repeat the number said right before you.
    • Lap around the circle – a little slower this time!

    5 Minutes of Mary, including:

    • APDs
    • Cross Leg Lifts
    • Rocky Balboa’s
    • American Hammers
    • Box Cutters
    • Hello Dollies

    Back to the flag for COT, Number-rama, Name-a-rama, Announcements and YHC took us out.

    Announcements:

    • Marmaduke is still collecting coats and jackets – any kinds, kid’s, men’s, woman’s.  Bring them all.
    • A few prayer requests for some families at St. Edwards that Radar and I know who are going through some tough times or illnesses.

    NMS:

    YHC really had no plan.  I briefly thought about some track work – maybe The Suck, maybe The Cooper.  In the end, YHC wasn’t feeling like that much running this morning.  Had a case of the Wilson’s!  Instead, we stuck close to BWES and stuck together.  Almost a ground and pound but we got a little running in there for some cardio…or for some relief from merkins and monkey humpers.  No doubt the school cameras got their fill of grown men doing monkey humpers and APDs.  Yep, we are on a list somewhere.

    By my count, we did 75 merkins in the tour of the Doors.  Another 20 in COP and 10 in the ROF – so that is 105 plus however many you did individually during the Triple Check.

    YHC is heading out of town to take the kids to Disney for the week.  I hope everyone has a great week and a wonderful Thanksgiving…and hopefully TYA gets some dry weather to drain the moat in my backyard!!  The next time YHC posts in the gloom will be Monday, November 26 – YHC’s 40th birthday.  YHC will be spending time this week looking for an interesting loop to run 40 times for River Run…be ready!

    See you fellas in a week and without any more HATE.  Happy Thanksgiving men!

    No More Gumbo For You!

  • Big Numbers at SOT…

    10 men of the gloom (including a returning visitor from Charlotte) descended upon SOT and with no Q on the sheet, YHC took the reigns for a hot potato that went like this:

    Mosey down the hill toward the dark parking lot for COP, including:

    • DQs
    • Helicpoters
    • SSHs
    • Merkins
    • LBCs

    The THANG:

    Gumbo Q –

    4 Corners  — On the track, using the lightposts at the 100 meter marks perform the following:

    1. Corner 1 – 10 merkins
    2. Corner 2 – 10 merkins, 20 jump squats
    3. Corner 3 – 10 merkins, 20 jump squats, 30 2-ct flutter kicks
    4. Corner 4 -10 merkins, 20 jump squats, 30 2-ct flutter kicks and 40 SSHs
    5. back to Corner 1 and plank for six

    Alternating Shoulder Taps IC x10

    Triple Check  – Partner 1 – merkins, Partner 2 – box cutters, Partner 3 – run up the steps and to the wall of the school and back down.  Three times through.

    Pass the Q to Sugar Sock

    11s on the big hill – 1 merkin at the bottom, run to the top, 10 captain thors, run back down +1/-1 at each until you get to 10/1.  Man that hill got ugly after about 5 sprints up.

    Pass the Q to DK

    Bearimeter  – to the Tennis Courts and partner up.  One partner bear crawls counter-clockwise while the other partner runs clockwise.  Swap when you meet.  Continue until you complete the bearimeter.

    Mary – Just enough time for 10 dieing cockroaches IC.

    COT, COR, NOR and YHC took us out.

    Announcements:

    • Marmaduke continues to collect coats and jackets for shelters.  Fill him up.
    • Vinny’s wife has a book signing party tomorrow evening at Ruth & Ollies see Twitter or other BB’s for details.

    NMS:

    Great to see big numbers at SOT.  Let’s keep the momentum.  Also, great to see Bobber back out and Mr. Roper apparently recovered from Monday’s run.  Bullseye and DK are posting frequently.  Always great having Wedding Singer embrace his SOJness and fly a little further south for a posting.  And Gatekeeper was back out.  All good men.  All good!

    Also, thanks to F3-Dana from Charlotte for joining us again.  You are of course welcome any time.

    Strong work by all this morning.  Particularly by Tobit on the 11s – I don’t know how you  had that much left in the tank man, but you crushed those 11s.

    Have a great day men.

    No More Gumbo For You!

  • 2 Beasts in search of the Arc

    YHC pulled into BWES at 0513 in the pouring rain and sat “eagerly” awaiting more PAX members.  A car pulled in.  Looked like a Bleeder mobile but it  headed straight for Gumbo’s second home…the small green building.  Honestly, YHC thought for a minute, “well, maybe it is just a super eager teacher who had to go sooo bad that he/she couldn’t even make it inside.  It couldn’t be another PAX member.”

    Not so fast, it was Bleeder and he was ready to roll.  0530…BOOM.  2 beasts without regard for sanity or safety posted to River Run and literally ran through the rivers and streams flowing through Tarrington and Powderham in search of the Arc.  Surely it was around because the floods were coming.  At one point, coming down Twin Team, YHC had to remove his headlamp because of the blinding reflection in the wall of rain ahead of him.

    4 miles and not a dry piece of clothing around.  Great work!

    Today was certainly one that YHC would have audibled had Bleeder not emerged from the small green building ready to run.  Thanks for being there Bleeder.

    COT, COR, NOR was quick.  We didn’t want to get wet after all.

    No announcements.

    No More Gumbo For You!

  • Fab 5 at SOT

    5 ghosts of the gloom posted to SOT to get their Halloween started right.  With expectations of consuming an unhealthy amount of sugar, pizza and/or beer, here is what YHC had in store:

    Mosey down to the track and 4 laps for our mile of the day….YHC managed 30 out of 31 days.  Not bad but room for improvement in 2019.

    Circle up in the lower parking for COP, including:

    • DQs
    • Helicopters
    • SSHs
    • Spider Merkins – quite a treat!
    • LBCs

    THANG:

    11s with donkey kicks and jump squats and a run around the concession/restroom building in between rounds.

    Plank-o-rama and Alternating Shoulder Taps to catch our breath

    The Suck – 4 exercise stations and 1 rabbit runs up the hill and back to trigger the switches

    • Exercise stations were: Flutter Kicks, Carolina Dry Docks, Good Slow Squats, Freddie Mercuries
    • Round 1 – lunge to transition between stations
    • Round 2 – bear crawl

    Variety Show up the Hill – make our way up the hill as a PAX using method called by Q, including:

    • Polar Bears
    • Lunges
    • Broad-Jump Burpees
    • Backwards Lunges
    • Bunny Hops

    ROF – hold six inches and when it is your turn do 10 box cutters and pass it along.

    3MOM, including:

    • Hello Dollies
    • Rosalitas
    • American Hammers
    • 30 seconds of Superman

    COT, Number-rama, Name-a-rama and YHC took us out

    Announcements:

    • Hampton Roads 2-year convergence this Saturday.  Jville was talking about going…anyone else?
    • Marmaduke still collecting coats and jackets
    • Shakedown is collecting canned food for the Food Bank
    • Hammer & Ales fundraiser to benefit the Tool Bank – November 10 – see Viral or LugNut for details
    • Ghost Flag is up for grabs this Saturday at Dogpile – Region who brings the most adult, male FNGs gets the flag…time to headlock men!
    • Merkin November Challenge…otherwise known as Flipper Patient Drive Challenge

    NMS:

    Absolutely no plan this morning other than getting in the last mile of the day.  With the dreaded 5’some, partner exercises and triple checks were out, so YHC’s old trust SUCK was in order.  Just needed a nice quad busting 11s to get warmed up.

    Great effort and fellowship this morning.  Great to have Gatekeeper out again.  Keep posting brother!

    Thanks for letting me lead this morning guys!  Always a pleasure.

    No More Gumbo For You!

  • Brocode Prevails at River Run

    9 runners posted for River Run this morning to take on the headwinds and start their week of right.  YHC feeling the after effects of running 12 miles yesterday, wanted deeply to run 1 mile and head for coffee, but that urge was resisted and instead a nice easy BROCODE run was called – around by the high school, across through River Downs South and then River Downs North.  Total mileage varied depending on circling back efforts but somewhere between 4 and 4.8 miles covered at a moderate pace with plenty of conversation and, unfortunately, one turned ankle…sorry Slumlord, hope you got some ice on that bad boy.

    It’s dark men.  Get those headlamps and other reflective gear out.  Let’s be safe.

    A fun recovery run this morning guys.  Thanks for indulging me.

    COT, Number-rama, Name-a-rama and YHC took us out.

    Announcements:

    • Ghost Flag will be up Sat. at Dogpile. Nano region who brings the most qualifying FNGs wins. Adult males 18 and older.
    • Marmaduke continues to collect coats.  Let’s fill his truck up.
    • Shakedown is collecting canned food for FeedMore – let’s fill his bags up
    • I believe the last 8K Training with Healing Place is this Saturday – see Swiper if you can help out
    • RIP brother Grizzly – see Conspiracy’s backblast

    No More Gumbo For You!

  • A little extra credit (and don’t follow the Q) at Spider Run

    14 runners descended upon Tyler Haynes Commons before 0530 looking for a few miles and here is what they got:

    4-milers – exit campus via Richmond Way, Westhampton Way and UR Drive (i.e., not the Bat Cave), cross River Road through the shopping center and across the bridge.  run the cloverleaf and retrace back to the Flag.

    5-milers – cross the lake to the trail, exit onto College Road and across to University.  Up to Westham and take a left.  Cross River onto Country Squire Lane down to S. Ridge to Westham Station Rd up to the bridge.  Cross the bridge, run the cloverleaf and head back via UR Drive, Westhampton and Richmond Way.

    6-milers: run a loop up Richmond Way and down Gateway back to the starting point, then follow the 5-mile route.

    COT, Number-rama, Name-a-rama and YHC took us out.

    Announcements:

    • Marmaduke is still collecting coats/jackets.  Let’s fill him up – (I got a few for you this morning from Kubota)
    • I think there is puppy pile this Saturday – maybe someone can confirm in the comments.
    • Splinter is throwing out an optional (really?) extra credit start at Spider Run – 0510 – next Tuesday for an extra mile or two, finishing back at the Flag at 0530 to pick up the PAX (i.e., Slackers) and run the normal 4,5,6 mile routes.  If there is interest it might stick as a monthly occurrence.

    NMS:

    So, I had all along planed for the 5-mile route to be a little long (about 5.3), but add in a pre-mature exit (I SAID EXIT) off the trail by YHC – done with such confidence that Swirly, BT and Shakedown unfortunately followed – and a winding trail through the woods, including finding some  hidden frisbee golf holes and the need to double back down College Rd to University and the 5-mile route turned into just over 5.5 miles for us.  No worries, Swirly picked up the pace and found the zone trucking down Country Squire and S. Ridge.

    Unfortunately, Swirly was in such zone that he ran right passed the bridge and had to double back again.  He might have gotten 5.7 in today.

    Crossing the bridge, a blur of a Tron passed Shakedown and me heading back to the Flag….man, Bleeder was pushing it today.  Well done sir.

    The Sixers caught us all on the bridge and Splinter and Faceplant left a vapor trail (not literally, like Wilson) as they passed us.

    Great running with Swirly, BT and Shakedown for a while.  And, thanks to Swirly setting the pace to get us back on track, YHC logged two miles under 8 minutes, with a 7:47 mile — by far the fastest YHC has run in a LONG time…maybe fastest since leaving the Institute.  Still, no match for Marv as he overtook me in the Shopping Center.

    Great morning guys.  A hearty Lab Rat’esque apology to Swirly, BT and Shakedown for the detour.

    Have a great day men.

    No More Gumbo For You!

  • Who doubles back to the Six in the middle of the biggest hill?…

    The answer, of course…ROSIE.

    5 brave SOJers arose from the warmth of the sack this morning and braved the sub-40 degree temps (I mean, 70 and sunny, of course).  YHC called out the River Downs Roller Coaster with a bro-code twist – the rabbit (ROSIE) would double back for the six every 3-4 minutes and each PAX member would double-back with Rosie when passed, pick up the six and continue on.  Well damn near the top of the Queens Grant hill (a big one), what does YHC see but a headlamp coming back at him…OH SHIT, I thought.  You mean I have to turn around and go back and then do the steepest part again…and, right on cue, Bullseye (Kotters) says “who turns around on a hill?”  Well, Rosie does and since he is the rabbit = we do.  As Bullseye or Roper (can’t recall?) said, I guess that is our punishment for being slow!  Amen, brother.

    Great run this morning guys.  Look for another bro-code (i.e., Rosie Fartlek) style run again soon.

    Have a great day.

    No More Gumbo For You!

  • Time to check out the new sidewalk

    6 men arose from the slumber to ward off a case of Mundays and to log a few miles.  YHC wanted to test out the new sidewalk on the southside of Robious Rd.  The plan was as follows:

    Left out of BWES and circle around by JRHS to Robious Rd.  Right on the Northside sidewalk heading West and first right into River Downs North.  Loop around (with a slight left near the park and a left onto Lennox Forest) back to Robious Rd and across to the Southside.  Then the fun begins…first right, first left, first right  to get onto Post Mill Drive (easy peasy, right?  Sorry for not clarifying which Post Mill).  Follow Post Mill Drive around and up a short but steep climb to River Downs South – 4 milers go left and back to the flag; 5 milers go right, then left at onto Royal Crest and up the roller coaster hill and down the long Queens Grant hill (otherwise knows as Aisle 5 Hill), then right on River Downs South and back to the flag via the new sidewalk.

    Here is the 4 mile route:  https://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/2248376716

    COT, Number-rama, Name-a-rama and YHC took us out.

    Announcements:

    • CSAUP is Saturday – see TYA’s pre-blast for details
    • Healing place runs on Saturday – see Swiper
    • Bring your coats and winter clothes out for shelters and get them to Marmaduke

    Great running with Rosie as always, especially watching him kick it into that extra gear a few times, including up the roller coaster hill.  We had a few opportunities for flying EHs but those guys were moving.  Rosie could have caught them if he wanted to.

    Great to  have Mr. Roper back out after his best Terry Tate office linebacker impression on a tree in Pocahontas State Park.  Way to push.  Hope those ribs are healing.

    Have a great Monday and a great week men!

    No More Gumbo For You!

     

  • OTB…is this thing on?

    3 SOJ regulars eschewed the late finish of the Hokies-Irish game and conveined at Urban Farmhouse for some miles, just under 6 miles were slayed.  Coffee/Tea was ingested.  Sweat rolled profusely.  Apologies to any UF visitors who sat in those chairs later in the day.

    Great times.  Thanks Rosie & Honeymoon.

  • Tarrington Fog and Slog

    4 men broke the hold on this Columbus Day/Indigenous People Day holiday Monday morning to start the work-week off right…with some miles.  The traditional Tarrington route was called and off we went with Shakedown and McFly leading the way.  It was dense and foggy in patches.  Overall it was a slog but everyone pushed through.  Well done guys.

    Great to have Wheelbarrow back out and looking to get back into the routine.   Well done brother.

    COT, Number-rama, Name-a-rama and YHC took us out.

    Announcements:

    • CSAUP 10/20 – road, trail, foot, bike – come get some miles in any way you can.  TYA to put up a pre-blast with more details.
    • Winter clothes drive – Get jackets, coats, sweater, etc. – mens, boys, womens, girls, whatever.  If you have winter stuff to donate, bring it out to Dogpile and Marmaduke or another SOJer will take it and get it to Marmaduke.  Same at Gridiron.
    • “Conspiracy” Q or some other mystery Q at NoToll tomorrow.  Post and find out what is in store.

    No More Gumbo For You!