Author: Marv

  • It’s Worth It for the View

    While the county of Henrico has many amazing vistas…coming over the railroad tracks on Hillard off of Staples Mill, pulling into the Costco parking lot on a Saturday, Sandston…there’s nothing quite like that scene between 5:50 and 6:00 am when you arrive at the highest point in the county, the seat apex, if you will and you find yourself at the crest of Mt. Henrico.

    The Blue Ridge Bank (with electric charging stations (@Faceplant, @Sippy). The Burger King. The CAA Offices (did you know that they are no longer the Colonial Athletic Association, but the Coastal Athletic Association? Thirteen years ago that league had JMU, ODU, VCU all playing quality hoops against each other and UofR making up what was widely regarded as the best FCS football league in the country. Now all those schools are gone, including UofR, who bolted to the Patriot League for football).

    I digress.

    Anyway, it was a georgeous morning to grab your oxygen tank, your sherpa and your SLR Camera to head to the Zenith of all things Henrico at the intersection of Julian and Parham…which is exactly what a dozen post Memorial Day exercising guys did.

    The thang…

    Lakeview to the parking lot by the baseball field. (Anyone know what they are doing on the baseball field at UofR?). Down to College. College to Lakewood to Wood to Baldwin. I mean, we all know this, right…kinda playing the hits here. Baldwin gets ya to Rock Creek which, if you take a leo, you end up at Forest. Forest to the other University, not to be confused with the one 1 mile away. University all the way to Glendale (like where the Arizona Cardinals play, thanks @Splinter) to Julian. Run to the end of Julian…take a deep breath, think about all those fantastic CAA Tournament basketball games in the Coliseum, turn around and head home.

    Where have you gone, Eric Maynor?

  • No Lockjaw, No Splinter, No Problem

    For the first time since the dog days of summer someone other than Lockjaw or Splinter showed up at Spider Run with a route to run. YHC joined twelve guys at the lowest point in the Tuckahoe Area (not an official measurement) to run around the hills of Westham on a beautifully cool and crisp morning.

    The Thang–

    Everyone to College Road via the baseball field parking lot. Right on Lakewood and left on Wood. This should all be very familiar. From there, Aha!, it takes a bit of a change…instead of the normal right on Baldwin, everyone went left…and we took that to Woodberry. Left on Woodberry.

    The 4s-Take a left on Sweet Briar…to Stuart Hall. Left on Stuart Hall and a left on Baldwin. Baldwin to Westham, to Baldwin…right on Wood, left on Lakewood…then back to the flag.

    The 5s…They went Woodberry to Hollins. Left on Hollins then right on Baldwin to the top up to Patterson. Back down Baldwin to Westham. Westham to University to College to the parking lot…back to the flag.

    The 6s…They went left on Baldwin after Hollins…right on Rock Creek…left on Forest and then right on Spottswood. There’s a loop on Spottswood to take that more or less dumps you back out on Forest. Left on Forest, right on Rock Creek…right on Baldwin. Then pick up the 5s trail on the way back to the flag.

    Full disclosure…I think YHC days of running 6 in 45 minutes are pretty much over. The crew had a brisk pace this morning and I wasn’t really close to running 7:30s. Anyway, I think 6 mile routes are worth brining up…but know there may be an extra minute or two at the end that you wait for YHC to come trundling in.

  • 78 Is Just a Bit Warm

    When I turned the car on after the workout this morning the themometer read “85”…at 6:35am in the morning. 85. Now, there’s some variance on that temperature, when I turn it on in the middle of the afternoon it can read 105 and then it quickly drops, but still.

    Eventually the temperature, on the way home, dropped to 78, but stil…

    Just going to be transparent here as someone who has logged my fair share of workouts, both boot camps and runs…you dudes can have 78 degrees in the summer. Count me out. Call me whatever you want to call me, I’ll gladly wear it, and I’ll gladly find something else to do on mornings where it’s over 75.

    I’ll miss you those mornings, I really will. And I’ll see you when it’s 3 degrees (or more) cooler.

    The Thang…

    This was your basic UofR to Hillcrest in the City run. It’s fun to cross the county lines, in my opinion. That’s a unique part of Spider Run…you can truly get to, what, three different municipalities from the launching point at the UofR commons? You can get across the river into Chesterfield (right? Or is that a bit more down Huguenot road?) and then into the city, and obviously Henrico.

    For this morning, we shot out of UofR, up Towana, south on Three Chopt to Grove. Grove to Oak and then Oak to Hillcrest. From there you were out and back depending on what your watch said. The 6s got a couple of loops of Hillcrest in, for what it’s worth.

    But still…78…just too darn hot.

  • Mt. Henrico…a Bit late

    A good crew headed up the mountain this morning, the mountain of Henrico. For those that are new to the program, it’s named Mt. Henrico because the top of Julian and Parham it’s known to be the hightest point of the entire land of Henrico County. There and back from UofR, ironically, is about 6 miles…if you do the Arlington Road circle twice.

    Anyway, sorry for the belated backblast.

  • Better Late than Never…part 2 (execused)

    This one is a bit more execused. It was a hot potato Q at Hoedown on this Monday morning. EF Hutton started things off and then YHC basically hijacked the cue after Hutton. I guess I had pent up leadership needs inside or something.

    Totally forgot what we did but we ended with some four corners and then box jumps without the box. We couldn’t figure out what box jumps without the box were called…but they looked pretty goofy and I probably won’t be doing them again.

    All told, it took about 10 minutes to post these backblasts. Not really a ton of time when you think about it. I’ll do better next time.

  • Better Late Than Never…Part 1 (unexcused)

    This run around the neighborhood happened over a month and I just blatantly forgot to put it in. I’m sorry about that and I hope you guys forgive me.

    This was the annual “don’t want to pay $40 for the 10K run? We’ve got you.” juaunt down Commonwealth and then east on Monument. Run for 22:30 minutes and then run back to the flag.

    I think next year I might plunk down the cash…get in early and then run it. It’s a fun event with lots of people cheering you on. That is taking nothing away from Splinter and Sippy who cheer me on in their own way, but it’s been a few years since I’ve run it, so maybe I’ll start saving for it today.

    Again, sorry that I was late posting this. Really late.

  • Hoe-T Potato

    It was a collaborative effort this AM in the gloom of Tuckahoe Elementary and Hoedown. An absent Q left 7 of us making it up on the fly…and making it up on the fly, we did.

    The Thang…

    Handshake took us on a nice little jaunt to the east side of the Walgreens parking lot. COT with some side straddle hops, Donkey Hoteys, LBCs, calf stretches, some LBCs, Mercans.

    The PAX then stayed and did a 3X Check…jog around the pharmacy, while the other two did dips and hand release mercans.

    EF Hutton took the spud from there and we headed back to the TES parking lot. This was a Dora with pairs. Bernie up the concrete hill three times while we did 100 Imperial Squats, 200 Monkey Humpers and 300 SSHs.

    From there Bodo’s took us to the black top where we did a 4 corners. Burpees, Mercans, Carolina Dry Docks, Squats, maybe another one.

    YHC, took us out at the end with some American Hammers, 1 minute of elbow planks, Alabama Prom Dates and one (1) Richard Kimball.

    Fun mumble chatter on the way to Walgreen’s about the morning Conspiracy showed up 90 seconds late at Munford and TYA basically took the Q to the Museum District to workout. Conspiracy had brought props and wasn’t really all that happy with that.

    We’re thinking about our friend Chippendale and hoping Wojo is doing fine.

  • March Madness Westham Style

    How’s your bracket looking? No, not your men’s bracket. Your women’s NCAA bracket.

    To honor the other March Madness Tournament (quick factoid…did you know that this is the first year the women have used March Madness for marketing their tournament? Depending on what half hearted internet research you do, you may find that the women originally didn’t want the phrase…that they wanted to do their own thing. That’s changed in recent years and now it’s all under one big March Madness Umbrella).

    Anyway, to honor that bracket, we figured we’d all run through the women’s college part of the Westham neighborhood (although I don’t believe any of these colleges are playing this weekend in the D1 WBB Tournament).

    The Thang…

    Head towards the baseball parking lot and get to college (street number one with college ties). Take a right on University (street #2). Take University to Westham Parkway (street #3…West Ham College of Technology is in London).

    From there…hang a right on Baldwin (Street #4).

    4s–Right on Rock Creek (not a college). Right on Sweet Briar (Street #5), right on Woodberry (Street with college ties #6). Take that to Horsepen. Horsepen to Devon. Devon to Ridge Top. Left on Chandler. Right on Gardiner. Gardiner more or less dumps you out on the trail connecting to College. Head south on College through the baseball parking lot and back to the flag.

    5s–The head to Hollins (Street #7). Right on Hollins, right on Woodberry, right on Sweet Briar back to Baldwin. Baldwin to Brookside (probably a college somewhere, right? #8). Brookside to Bryn Mawr (definitely a college #9). Bryn Mawr to Woodberry. Woodberry to Horsepen. Horsepen South all the way to the dorm cut through…back to the flag from college.

    6s–Same as the 5s but then left on Devon, right on RTop…left on Chandler. Up Chandler. Back down Chandler. Left on Gardiner. Gardiner to College from the trail…from there, we were supposed to go up Boatwright…instead we just went to Towana and came back to the flag that way.

    Lots of Hills. Go Baldwin!!

  • It’s Still A Triangle, People

    Fourteen dudes showed up at Mary Munford’s Elementary School on a warmer March morning (it was 27 degrees on Tuesday, 62 today…life in VA is never dull) for a jaunt around the southside of Cary Street (which, by the way, is closed for the next few months west of MM. Keep that in mind).

    The route was an oldie but a goodie through Windsor Farms and then Hillcrest…for more detail…

    4s, 5s, 6s

    Take Kingscrest to Malvern. South on Malvern until it dead ends in Windsor Farms. Take a left on Canterbury and circle around to make the Millenium Falcon lookin’ design on your MapMyRun app. Don’t take your first left on Dover, but take your second (Dover cuts through Windsor Farms). That runs you into Lock…right there there’s a cut through that gets you on to Pocohontas.

    Head West on Pocohontas and then north on Hillcrest Avenue.

    4s head out of the neighborhood at the top of Hillcrest. Take Oak to Harlan to Patterson. Patterson to Commonwealth and your back at MM.

    5s take another lap around Hillcrest and then leave the neighborhood like the 4s.

    6s take that same lap, but then head back up via Charmian to Cary. Uturn on Cary back south on Lock. Left on Dover (again) and then left on Berkshire. That leads you out of the Wonderful Windsor Farms neighborhood and to the Flag.

    I hope everyone has a good weekend. I’m looking forward to trying to catch TYA on Tuesday.

  • Friday Trail Run (for 8 feet)

    Once again, YHC busted out the ol’ Windsor Farms to Hillcrest route…and I’m pretty sure, once again, I got one direction wrong out of the multiple twists and turns. I was very disappointed Bodos wasn’t there to not run the route explained…but then again, I got a direction wrong, so maybe it was for the best.

    I do think one of the reasons for the confusion is that as a former left handed pitcher, I truly don’t know my left from my right. I struggle with it constantly. Probably somewhat hazerdous when giving directions. Next time, I’ll just say “reverse Carrilon”.

    Here it is…

    Take Wilmetta to Kingscrest to Malvern. Go right on Malvern into The Farm. Take a left at the dead end in the Farm and run around the Millenium Falcon loop. Bypass your first Dover left, but take your second. From there, cross Locke Lane and get on Pocohontas by going off road for about 8 feet…between two big wood poles who were obviously placed there for such a run.

    4s–Y’all don’t actually get on Pocohontas, you take Locke all the way to Patterson and then east on Patterson to Commonwealth…it’s about 4.2

    5’s and 6’s–Pocahontas down to Hillcrest.

    5’s–Take one lap all the way around Hillcrest and get out of the neighborhood, across Cary to Oak and Oak to Patterson. Patterson all the way to Commonwealth. It’s about 5.2

    6s–Take two laps on Hillcrest and come up on Charmain…Charmain turns into West Moreland. Hairpin to go South on Locke then left on Dover….get yourself to Mary Munford as quickly as you can from there.

    Gents, on Friday the Rams play UofR at the Siegel Center. It’s been previously noted how I like to circle the arena the Rams are playing in on gameday. If anyone wants to do that Friday when the Rams play UofR…it’s a 7.2 mile jaunt from Munford to Siegel…circle Siegel and come back…all on Monument. (you can head north to Monument from Grove on any streets, really…I’m heading north on Malvern, then coming back on Commonwealth.