Author: Mr Rogers

  • Bookends

    Like Bookends for our ages, Banjo being the youngest and Pigskins having heaps of respect, I learned a lot from these two today. During the Buffapple Route, Lighthouse and I talked at Banjo for 45 minutes straight about eastern philosophy. Banjo is a fantastic listener. That poor kid hung in there for the entire run. But we might never see him again. Ha! And Pigskin has the blue print for longevity on lock: work out with people, on average, 20+ yrs younger than yourself, volunteer for cub scouts, take 2 language classes weekly, spend time w/ your grandkids, stay married, and give all the people and dogs you encounter cold water. He’s now added to that list helping to translate for (mainly) Spanish speakers in the hospital. These two (Banjo and Pigskin) are some impressive bookends, age-wise, for today’s group.

    Today, we had 2 dogs, 3 ruckers, 3 route runners and Pigskin found his own route.

    Once BTTF we did numbers, names, announcements (LD Convergence 9/7 @ 7a @ Forest Hill Park), and YHC took us out with 15 seconds of silence, allowing everything in God’s universe to be just as it is supposed to be at this moment.

    Moleskin: It’s true, the nature of the mind is to endlessly produce thoughts. Many thoughts coming with a degree of emotion. If we think this stream of consciousness is us, we might attach ourselves to every thought. Judging this. Condemning that. Endlessly. With repeated thoughts creating a stronghold. With a little step back, we can allow the thoughts to come and just watch them. We can accept others as they are, not having to convince them of our worldview. We can pray for the courage to change the one person we have (some limited degree of) control over, ourselves. God knows better than me the best direction for my life and what is good for me. Today, I hope I can allow others to be as they are and allow my stream of thoughts, impulses, and opinions to not be my guiding force, but rather allow God’s wisdom to guide me. And by doing so, maybe I can then put God’s will a little bit ahead of my own, just for today. I hope you gents have a fantastic Friday and I’ll see yall in the gloom!

  • Beasts and Clowns at the Circus

    Step 1. ) Set up speaker and Step 2.) get the rockin’ tunes goin for another week at the circus, where there are always plenty of beasts, a few clowns and no shortage of buffoonery. 5:30am. Let’s roll! Introduction.   Disclaimer.  COP: SSHs.  DQs.  Helicopters (Wojo is a freak yall).  Cherry Pickers.  Mt. Climbers. WWIIs.  Merkins.  Recover. 

    The Thang:

    Triple check: P1 bear crawls across parking lot and runs back.  P2 overhead press.  P3 High pulls. 

    Round 2: Timer lunges across the lot (w/ or w/out the bell) and walks back.  P2 curls. P3 Squats.

     
    Round 3: Timer runs across parking lot, 3 burpees and runs back.  P2 Swings.  P3 Upright Rows.

    Curb Time: 3 rounds: 15 Lawnmower Pulls. 15 overhead pulls.  15 sit and press.  15 AMs. All OYO. Then a round of 10 (Polka modified by sitting this round out). Then 5.

    To the other side of the parking Lot: Death crawls for a bit, all stop for bench press (if ya got it) IC coupled w/ FKs, back to death crawling, stop for Heels to Heaven, death crawls, side crunches, 60 second leg hold…hoooooold it….hoooooooooold it…aaaaand time! 6:15am baby. We made it. Well done gents! Special shoutout to Gypsy for gettin after it on one leg and for the 2 very young men that keep showing up.

    BTTF.  Names.  Numbers. 
    Announcements: None

    Prayers: Prayers for Speakeasy, our brother across town battling cancer. See slack for details from Corned Beef regarding a Meal Train.

    YHC took us out.

    Try to do something for someone else today. Try to think just a little less about yourself and a little more about those around you. Go get it gents!

    Thanks for letting me lead. I’ll SYITG!

  • The Unknown Land of Chaos and Peril: Barrington

    Borat came in on 2 wheels and we were off, leaving an under the weather Pigskin to walk laps around the school (you can’t stop this guy!).  Today, like the brave warriors we are, we fearlessly explored the uncharted, mysterious and potentially-dangerous lands of Barrington.  Introduction. Disclaimer.  COP entailed SSHs, DQs, Imperial Squat Walkers , FKs and Merkins.  Recover and continue on.  Found a good hill for a Dora.  100 Merkins.  150 IWs.  200 SSHs.  Run to a cul de sac for 11s of Burpees and WWII.  Ran out of time (aw shucks) before running BTTF. 
    2 min left: Heels to Heaven, 60 sec leg hold and corpse pose to listen to the birds and consider something your grateful for.  Aaaaaaaand time!  Nice work gents. 

    Names.  Numbers.  Announcements (none I do believe), and then we did a Spine-inspired Highs (we had falling trees missing garages by 6 inches and adult children giving dads atta boys) and Lows (we had a little work craziness including layoffs and even diva singers sleeping through band practice).  We wrapped up with Prayer Requests: Borat’s father who is just rounding the corner after a sickness, prayers for Pigskin to feel better, prayers of gratitude for all that we have and prayers for strength to face our challenges. 

    YHC took us out. 

    Thanks for allowing me to lead! 

  • Jaunt in the Park

    5 Westhoians met at Godwin HS for another round of Currahee. A more svelte Senior Frog, after carb loading last night for today’s run, took off with Pigskin, both carrying weights in each hand, on an unknown route, like the madmen they are. Being more reasonable people, Pinto, Chicharon and myself headed over to Deep Run Park for what turned out to be a challenging run. The humidity didn’t help. And having one head lamp b/w the 3 of us didn’t either. But by 6:15am, after only one fall in the park, the sun was up, we had all made it back to GHS and we were done. Well done men!

    Names.

    Numbers.

    Announcements: 2nd F at The Fishing Pig on 8/11 at 12pm.

    Prayers: Continued prayers for those traveling and for Charlotte’s family as they mourn and adjust to life after her passing. We also petitioned God to help us think a little less about ourselves today and a little more about those around us.

    Thanks for letting me lead!

  • Live, Work, Play, Monkey Hump

    After meeting Dodge Ball from F3Orlando, who is in town for his son’s soccer tournament, 6 of us headed over to West Broad Village, stopping at Trader Joe’s to get a disclaimer in and a little warm up. Tried something new: arm circles that slowly expand forward and slowly retract when doing reverso. It was a mess. Next, all Pax were provided with Burpee Powers: each man may declare it is time to do 5 Burpees at any given moment w/in the workout. This power may only be used once, but it must be used. With the heavy burden of great power and great responsibility, we moseyed toward the parking deck.

    At the top of the parking deck, we paired up. P1 run down the deck 1 story, then run back up 1/2 a story to meet P2. P2 goes down 1/2 a story, does the stated exercise until P1 returns. Then P1 and P2 run down 1/2 a story together. Switch off roles. Continue, ensuring both do each exercise. Exercises: Merkins, Jump Squats and WWIIs. Apparently, parking decks are not all down hills. One side is level, the other isn’t. Who knew? 1/2 of our 6 had to run an upward incline back to their partner the whole way. Those 3 will be the better for it.

    Gypsy executed his Burpee Powers first, cleverly modifying with Merkins and Jump Squats (a deconstructed Burpee).

    Next up, a Lindsay at Golf Galaxy. SSHs and Mt. Climbers.

    Next we stopped at Dodge Ball’s temporarily dwelling, Aloft Hotel, where we all did 20 Monkey Humpers (OYO), hoping his M might see us from upstairs. I’d like to think that West Broad Village’s slogan will now be: Live, Work, Play, Monkey Hump.

    On the way BTTVF, we paired up for Wheelbarrows. This was a first for Banjo. He said that before joining F3 he envisioned us doing Fireman Carries all the time. Thank God he was wrong.

    Back in the park lot of PMS, we spotted Bogey. He earned the distinct honor of being the latest Pax to a workout ever in the history of the universe. With 5 min left, he was provided with Burpee Powers, which he irresponsibly used immediately, demanding the pax do 5 Burpees. Then someone else exercised their Powers. Then I did. It was Burpee madness.

    Last, we did some Mary, passing the Q and worked on leading IC.

    Aaaaaaand time. Well done men!

    Numbers. Names.

    Announcements: Oyster is questioning if F3RVA will continue to devote our time and energy to Breaking Break, as he’s struggled to get volunteers. Years ago, Oyster suggested that we each attempt to sign up during our bday month. Let’s all try this. This system will keep BB flush with volunteers and what better way to help the homeless, vets, those dealing with medical issues and possibly teach your 2.0 how to cook – all at once. This is a worthy endeavor. Let’s step up our game!

    Prayer Request: for those traveling.

    YHC took us out.

    Moleskin: Go do something good for someone else today. SYITG!

  • Hey, it’s Pinto!

    6 launched from GHS at 5:30am doing a modified Bro-Code run, which turned into a modified version of the Buffapple Route (IYKYK).

    We were graced with the company of Shinnecock (pronounce that anyway you want, he’ll go with it). He grew up in N. Carolina, spent some time in New York, then Houston and most-recently settled in Leesburg (to be closer to his family and his M’s as well). We’ll be seeing him quite a bit this summer, as he’ll be working at Colonial Downs. Welcome to F3RVA Shinnecock!

    About 1/2 way through the run, we spotted Pinto – ahead of us, coming back towards us. He reverse engineered the route after trusting his gut that I probably forgot it was the final Friday of the month when posting the route. His instincts, wit and keen knowledge of Westhoe’s streets paid off as he joined our roaming gang of merriment.

    Once we reached the top of Buffapple, Salt Lick broke away, heading back to GHS to give Gloom (his 4-legged friend) a little break. The rest of us modified by hitting up Old Prescott, cutting the route a little short.

    We arrived BTTF a little early, but all a little stronger.

    Numbers. Names.

    Announcements: Convergence 7/4 at Grid Iron at 7am. F3RVA’s Founding Fathers are leading. Ask Pinto what you can bring, food and drink-wise. Great time to bring a 2.0 or an FNG. Come on out!

    Prayer request: None today.

    YHC took us out.

    Go do something for someone else today, gents! Thanks for letting me lead and I’ll S(Yall)ITG!

  • No 6 Today

    Despite Gypsy protestations, there was no 6 to return to today. 5 rabbits and 1 newly-trimmed dog got after it this week at WTH. After a little stretching at the local Wells Fargo, we headed to Kroger for 4 corners, prostitute style. After explaining what prostitute style is, and what a prostitute is, to Banjo (he’s young people, give him a break), we went to work. 10 Merkins at the 1st corner, 15 Jump Squats at the 2nd, 20 WWIIs at the 3rd and 25 SSHs at the final corner. Thinking there was limited time to complete the final round, we headed back to PMS. Discovering that this group runs like the freakin’ wind, we had extra time and stopped along the way to complete the exercises.

    BTTF for some Mary and Q training. Nice work introducing exercises and counting. Aaaaand time!

    Names. Numbers.

    Announcements:

    -A good rumor really can work wonders.

    -4th of July Convergence at Grid Iron. Bring the 2.0s. There will be jugglers, fireworks, a couple food trucks, and an Apache Helicopter for the kiddos to check out – all because of America, heck yeah! 250 baby – let’s go!

    -Congratulations on multiple Personal Records set today by Gypsy. You are a champion. Your new phone knows it and so do we.

    Prayers for safe travels for our brothers vacationing and traveling for work. YHC took us out.

    Moleskin: It’s natural to take for granted anything that is stable in our lives. F3 is a rock in my life and it’s there, whether I fart sack or not. But it’s only there because other men set their alarms, pry themselves out of bed, work around spouse’s and children’s morning routines, drive somewhere, plan Qs, encourage one another and lead prayers – and all by 6:15am. When I do stop to think about it, I’m deeply grateful for all of the Pax grinding daily to make this thing happen. You are all appreciated.

  • Say Yes to Life

    When you show up to a workout and get voluntold your the Q, you just say yes to life and do it. That’s the culture we have developed at WTH. We rarely sign up, but we’re ready to go at a moment’s notice. This week, Pigskin decided to hang back at the school to work with kettlebells, increasing his grip strength with some light cardio added in, as he just gave blood recently. He should be back to running Friday at Currahee. The rest of the crew took off to the tried and true route that is the cul-de-sacs of Whitesnake’s hood. COP: Introduction, disclaimer, SSHs, DQ, DMH, touch the sky, recover. The Thang: at every cul-de-sac we did 5 Merkins, 10 Jump Squats and 15 Heels to Heaven.

    BTTF with 2 min to spare: another round of the aforementioned exercises followed by a 60-second leg hold. Aaaaand time! Nice work gents!

    Names and Numbers.

    Announcements: 2nd Tuesday for 2nd F will be on 6/9 at 12pm at Tazikis Mediterranean Cafe.

    Summer Tour is 1/2 way through it’s second week. See slack for dets.

    Prayers: Pinto’s father-in-law is going to a rehab facility. Prayers for Pinto and his family as they navigate this adjustment. Additional prayers for a family Pinto knows that recently lost a teen-aged child to suicide. YHC took us out.

    Moleskin: “Be more kind to those around you. You have no idea what they are going through.” The quote goes something like that. The sentiment being that many are out there fighting silent battles we are unaware of. Let’s at least make an effort to not tear each other down. Make an effort to at least live up to the part of the Hippocratic oath which calls for doing no harm. And perhaps, we could even attempt to lift up some of those we cross paths with today. Go out there and do something for someone else. Thank you for allowing me to lead & I’ll SYITG!

  • Only 14?

    Offshore will be missed as he heads out to Oklahoma in about a month or so. And his impact on Circus Maximus will be felt long after he becomes numb to tornado warnings. His impact at Circus (from making coffee weekly, which has led to a huge increase in weekly numbers) is so immense that having only 14 men at this AO felt like a small number. This was accentuated by a lack of mumble chatter, as Attila, Fudd, White Deer and White Snake, our typically chatty Cathys, were all absent.

    With fresh batteries in my speaker, I pressed play on my new rockin’ playlist, featuring the greatest rock anthems from the last 50 years, gave an introduction and a disclaimer and then we got down to business.

    COP: SSHs, DQs, Deadman Hang, Reach for the Sky (w/ a calf raise), AHs, WWIIs, Merkins aaaaand recover.

    The thang: We worked our way down the body: OYO, 21 Overhead press, high pulls, curls (these got forgotten during round 1, thx for keeping me on track Pinto!), swings, sumo squats, AHs (single count) and Sit ‘n’ Press. Then we took a lap around the bus loop. Then a round of 18, followed by a lap. Then 15, 12, and 9. After doing 6 of each, we did 25 SSHs and after the final round of 3, we did 5 Burpees.

    Move to the curb for 10 Overhead pulls (it might be called that), 10 Bench presses and some Flutters. Repeat. 60 second leg hold -aaaaand that’s time. Well done men!

    BTTF. Names. Numbers.

    Announcements: 2nd Tuesday, 2nd F, June 9, @ 12pm. This time we’re hittin’ up Taziki’s Mediterranean Cafe (in the same shopping center as Joey’s Hotdogs).

    Handshake has officially launched the Summer Tour. See slack for updates.

    Congrats to Joey Chestnut for graduating high school, for Lighthouse’s son graduating 8th grade, and mine for 5th grade.

    No prayer requests. Nevertheless, YHC took us out.

    Moleskin: Be kind to yourself. Watch your self talk. Speak to yourself as you would a close friend. Why? Because it will help you better achieve your goals. Research supports this. This all came from a great podcast that Lighthouse shared with our Shield Lock. It’s on Emotional Regulation. Here’s a link if you’re interested: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/10-happier-with-dan-harris/id1087147821?i=1000767805055

    I often end BBs reminding us to go do something for someone else. Maybe today, try to be a little extra kind to yourself. That guy counts too!

    SYITG!

  • Wally Fartsacked

    10 studs didn’t let a little rain deter them from the grind. 8 runners. 2 ruckers. And no dogs this week. Wally was itching to go actually, but doodles hair is a bit like Bob Marley’s after playing in the rain.

    Everyone took various routes through and around Deep Run Park. Hutton and Up Chuck exited the back of the park and were spotted going down Cox (hehe). Pinto braved the park, but took a shortcut back to GHS. And the ruckers returned to the flag in time for the end of the prayer at COT. It’s U V U and we all got in 45 minutes of movement. Mission accomplished. Well done men!

    BTTF 4 COT: Names. Numbers. Announcement: Memorial Day Convergence at Dog Pile at 7am. Check with Handshake if you’d like to bring some water, gatorade, etc. Handshake’s son, Trip, and Pinto’s son, Ethan, both celebrate b-days today. Happy Birthday young men!

    No prayer requests. YHC took us out, Pigskin sytle (dropping a little knowledge before the prayer). The knowledge, summed up by AI:

    “The human body operates as an inescapable ledger for our emotional truth.

    When we engage in denial and suppression, we do not eliminate our pain; we merely force it underground. This trapped psychological distress routinely manifests as physical pathology, driving genuine psychosomatic illness and chronic dysfunction. The body cannot sustain the burden of a divided self.

    True healing begins only when we stop resisting our reality. Crucially, acknowledgment is not a passive surrender, but an active, necessary confrontation that relieves the physiological toll of deception and allows the nervous system to return to equilibrium.” There are no stone-wall men amongst us. Life on life’s terms impacts us. Acknowledge what you experience, and move through it. Allow it to guide you. Don’t get buried beneath it.

    Happy Memorial Day weekend gents! Go out there and do something for someone else today. SYITG!