Author: Vinny

  • High Seas

    With sizable chop, Vinny and his cousin he hasn’t seen in 30 years, safely launched their kayaks for a 45 minute tour of the Corolla seas. No wild horses were spotted and no injuries reported. A stubborn pelican ate in front of us, but never offered to share.

  • F3RVA2K Summer League

    Fourteen NBA hopefuls – one North of the Border but in spirit – posted for what turned into a Hitchhiker floor check exhibition. TYA still has wood.

    Mosey to the scene of the crimes (basketball court) for warm-ups.

    COP: Arm Circles. 6 forward. 3 backwards in honor of Cy Young / Tom Brady. Merkins x 10. LBCs x 20. Scorpion Kicks x 10. Smurf Jacks x 10

    Skills Competition (Quadruple Check): Teams of 4 x 4 rounds, duh. PAX performs REAL partner leg tosses (throw the legs down hard; let the legs drop to six inches without hitting the ground), while third PAX member performs jump squats. Timer dribbles the basketball the length of the black top with one hand, uses the opposite hand on the way back.

    Wojos: A staple of any bball warm-up.

    First Game: Games of 4 on 4 and 2 on 3 ensued for 10 minutes. Winner of 4 on 4 played all five members from court one during the second round, while losing 4 on 4 team split and played 2 on 2 – all for 10 more minutes.

    Combine (Ring of Fire): HR Merkins x 10. Hitchhikes x 5.

    BTTF

    YHC took us out.

    Announcements/Prayers: Puppy Pile next Sat. at 7:05. Also next Sat. is a no excuses workout in DaVille. Next Tuesday is Gumbo’s HR Derby at Huguenot Little League – replacing No Toll. Early Risers this Sat. at 4:00. Meet at DP. July 4th Convergence 7:00. Thoughts and prayers for Hitchhiker’s daughter who has been running a high fever for 4 days.

    Moleskin: Back in March, YHC asked Splinter if he ever thought about a mid-summer bball workout when sight lines would be better. He was one step ahead, and already on the Q sheet. A few weeks ago he learned he had to go to Toronto, so I stepped in. All 5’9 and 1/2 of me – the perfect Splinter replacement.

    Five minutes to tip this morning and the Swirly pace started to quietly increase. Two minutes to go, and he was in full on eyes glazed over, veins popping out ready to lead his men in to battle mode. For his own safety, and the safety of others, I let him know that I was the Q.

    Highlights, via 1990s Sports Center Cast were plentiful: Slippin Jimmy is as cool as the other side of the pillow. Opus, from way down town, bang! Hitchhiker/ Mean Gene Okerlund – well, that’s a different sport. Hitchhiker is a banger, baby! He floor checked TYA so hard, that TYA thought he was back in Baaawstan getting trucked next to a burning tire on a frozen slurry pond. That, and he branded Slippin with a nice left eye shiner. Saab, you can’t stop him, you can only hope to contain him. Kubota, PTPer.

    Highlights were too many to recall, but today was a true blast. On the way out, I thanked Splinter and pointed to the sky. Flipper: Jesus, don’t do him like that. Me: Dude, he’s in Toronto, which is up North.

    Swirly: I like playing in the dark better, it’s easier to foul and deny.

    Flipper: I’m better in the dark. Aren’t we all Flipper, aren’t we all.

    Last night at HDHH. Swirly: Splinter Q tomorrow. Saab: As long as we don’t have to play basketball, I’ll be there.

    Have a great day men!

  • Introducing: Pipe Loop 11s

    Fourteen posted for a new – possible – summer staple of F3RVA. No one was injured during the filming. Here’s what was captured:

    Mosey down to the Pipe Loop. Circle up. Helicopters x 10. Russian Soldiers x 10. SSHs x 20. Time to roll tape.

    Pipe Loop 11s: Divide PAX into two groups to spread out. First group starts out on the run. Second group starts out with the 10 WWIIs at the trail spill-out, then crab walk to the head of the trail for 1 LBC. 10 loops on the trail in total. Enjoy. Plank-o-rama for the six.

    NA Run: Up the hill towards the Carillon. Circle back to collect the six.

    WWIIS: x 50 IC

    Slow Mosey: Up to Putting Green West. 21 Burpees OYO

    BTTF

    Announcements/Prayers: HDHH tonight at 6:00 at Palani Drive. 2nd F at 6:45. Early Risers this Saturday at 4:00 a.m. Meet at Dogpile parking lot. Puppy Pile the last Saturday in June – see Marv. Prayers for Slippin’ Jimmy’s uncle who is having brain surgery today in Boston.

    Moleskin: During one of our winter jaunts on the Pipe Loop, YHC cooked up the idea of Pipe Loop 11s. Today was the day. Five minutes prior to launch, I handed out bottled water, which peaked intrigue. Various incorrect guesses as to what was coming ensued.

    Not a lot of mumble chatter today, as time and proximity didn’t really allow. I’m sure Lab Rat had some things to say …

    Great job today men. Thanks for the indulgence.

  • Forest Hill Lawn & Tennis

    Five gentlemen qualifiers posted for opening rounds of The Championships: Forest Hill Park. Brackets were drawn and opening volleys commenced.

    Warm-Ups: Helicopters x 10. Imperial Walkers x 10. Invisible Jump Ropes x 20. LBCs x 15. Lawn Angels x 10.

    First Set: Partner up. Partner Leg Throws (not tosses). YHC sees to many PAX tossing legs like a Brit. Today’s challenge was to throw the legs down hard. Ground PAX was to try and let his legs all the way down to six inches without hitting the ground. 25 x 4 sets each.

    Second Set (on the tennis courts): Stefan Edbergs: Corner 1/5 = 1 burpee. Corner 2 = 10 burpees. Corner 3 = 20 Merkins. Corner 4 = 30 American Hammers. Corner 5/1 = 40 squats. Perform 1 burpee. Run to corner 2. Complete exercises. Run back to corner 1. The Prostitute, but properly renamed in preparation for the Fortnight. Repeat until all corners are completed.

    Third Set: Whatchamacallits. 1 to 4 ratio. Merkins and Kneeling Arm Raises. Great for your service game.

    Fourth Set: Surface Angels x 10 then mosey to outer courts. Six Trees. Start at tree one. PAX choice. Run to any of the six trees. Perform various exercises that correspond in number x 10 with the tree. Return to tree 1 after each set. Example. If you run to tree six, complete sixty American Hammers. Switch to SSHs half way through. 10 minutes – AMRAP.

    Fifth Set: Clock Work Merkins / WWIIS in the onlookers amphitheater. 2 at midnight, 3 o’clock, 6 o’clock and 9 o’clock. Cross the bowl and repeat x sets.

    BTTF – Smurf Jacks x 10

    Announcements: HDHH Wed. at Palani Drive. 6 o’clock start for runners. 6:45 for drinkers

    NMS: Instant humidity called for a gentlemen’s workout. The Championships: Forest Hill Park may take place on lawn, but prepare you must. Way to push through today gentlemen. Take care of that ankle Hardwood. Rub some strawberries and creme on it, perhaps.

  • All Aboard The Batteau Express

    Eleven gentlemen travelers arrived for a Monday beat down at Batteau, including four SOJ passport stampers. 0:530 – All aboard!

    COP: SSHs x 10. Helicopters x 10. DQs x 10. Merkins x 20. LBCs x 10. Flutter Kicks x 10

    First Stop: Batteau 11s. Both exercises on each hill side. Uphill Merkins + Downhill WWIIs (you’ll thank us later).

    Second Stop: Boulder / Baggage Claim. Partner up. Partner 1 holds rock plank while partner 2 runs down the left path/stairwell to the lake. Repeato. Partners walk down right path/stairwell switching overhead carries to the bottom. Partner 1 runs to the gazebo on the right while partner 2 forward lunges with alternating shoulder boulder presses. Repeat until the duo reaches the gazebo. Boulder carry up the right path/stairwell alternating boulder between partners at various landings.

    Third Stop: Lions Pit. Boo Yah Merkins x 10 then partner 1 runs out of pit and up the hill to the left while partner 2 does dips. Repeato x 2.

    Fourth Stop: Hill of Ill Repute. Bro Code up the hill, stopping at various lamp posts for exercises all x 5. Merkins / Werkins / Clerkins / Chuck Norris / Burpees.

    Back to the station. Wilson welcomed us to town and took us out.

    Announcements: Shakedown is shaving his head for a great cause and is seeking donations. Summer Tour is on. Hippie Olympics tomorrow at Hearbreak Ridge – see Lab Rat. Pavarotti VQ tomorrow at DaVille. Breaking Bread is always in need – and it’s part of Summer Tour, so get on it.

    NMS: It’s great having numbers at Batteau. Today was perfect for a tour of the grounds. Way to push Nancy Lopez, we see you pushin’ and postin’. Awesome! Great words by Wilson this morning. One thing I always try and do is send hand written notes. I’ll be sure and send one today.

  • Last Saturday in May: June 1st

    Eight early risers (including one double dipper) and their dads rolled into Puppy Pile with visions of post workout bacon. But first they had to earn it.

    Shark Bait Q: Mosey to the amphitheater stage for COP: With only ten days of school left for RCPS students, all exercises were done at 10. Helicopters / DQs / LBCs / Flutter Kicks / SSHs.

    Triple Check: 2.0 does donkey kicks on stage while dads run to the top of the stairs and back. 2.0s run up the number of steps that correspond with their age while dads do donkey kicks.

    Husky Q: Mosey to Carillon Field. Wheelbarrows with 2.0s on the ground. Stop and do 10 Boo Ya Merkins. Repeat to the middle of the field. Switch to partner carry halfway.

    Tunnel of Love. Dads hold elbow plank while kids craw through. Dads hold regular plank while dads crawl through.

    Tidwell Q: Touch-A-Tree Shuttle Run. Dad’s perform flutter kicks while 2.0s run to three different trees. Run back to dad after each tree. Reverse and repeat.

    Mosey to the end of the field. Kids run. Dad’s do 10 Merkins then run backwards in a catch me if you can experiment gone awry. Audible half way through. Dad’s turned and ran to catch their kids. 10 squats when caught, then repeat to the end of the field.

    Po Q: Mosey to Penny’s Stage. Touch-A-Tree. 5 trees x 3 sets. Exercises were LBCs and/or Merkins. Dealer’s choice.

    Willie Q: Mosey to the Rusty Cage. Partner one does Australian Pull-ups while partner 2 runs to the fire hydrant and does 10 Monkey Squats. Triple Check.

    Back to amphitheater. Kids box jump up each step while dad offers back-up.

    Karaoke from gravel road in between amphitheater and shovel flag to dog park. Say hi to the puppy who had escaped, then run back to the flag.

    Vinny took us out.

    Announcements: Shakedown is shaving his head for a good reason, not just some weird Shakedown thing. Summer Tour is on. Sign up if that’s your thing. Get a patch for your jean jacket, if that’s your thing.

    NMS: Marv announced Friday morning that he had a baseball game this morning at 8:30, so YHC agreed to lead a hot potato. These workouts never disappoint. The level of fun is just different. It’s so great to see the 2.0s being active and having a great time. And the workouts are no joke. T-Claps to Willie and Flatty for double dipping today. Solid!

    This week senseless acts of violence against struck in our background and in our home state. Being out with our 2.0s carried special meaning today. A reminder that every minute counts. I for one am glad I got to spend this morning with Shark Bait, and each of you.

    Welcome Bacon, Merlin and Pong.

    Have a great weekend folks.

  • Swirly’s Return (F3 RVA Feng Shui)

    Six of Batteau’s Finest posted, Swirly among them. F3 RVA Feng Shui is right again. Let’s see how we decorated:

    Swirly Q: Mosey to the kitchen. SSHs / DQs / Helicopters / Imperial Walkers / Merkins / LBCs

    Faceplant Q: Mosey to Living Room. 25 couch dips in cadence. Mosey down to the basement. Partner up. Dora Dora Dora. Merkins / LBCs / Squats while partner runs up to the front parlor and back.

    Vinny Q: Mosey up the back deck steps to the rock garden. Same partners grab a rock and partner carry to the back yard. Touch a tree – Batteau style. Round 1: Partner 1 holds plank with boulder on his back. Partner 2 bear crawls to three trees and back. Rinse and repeat. Round 2: Partner 1 polar bears to 2 different trees while partner 2 does WWII presses. Round 3: Partner 1 crab walks to designated tree while Partner 2 does curls.

    Posh Q: Partner carry the rocks back where we found them. Partner 1 sprints to the light pole and back – switch. Leap frog back to the depository. Partner up. Partner 1 performs merkins while partner two drops down into the cellar and performs 15 dips. Repeat the cycle x 3.

    YHC took us out.

    Announcements: Memorial Day Convergence at Tredegar. 7:00 a.m. – I believe.

    Puppy Pile the last Sat. in May (June 1st). 7:05. See Marv

    New DaVille AO launching May 30th. The Anville. See the PreBlast

    NMS: Plenty to be thankful for today. Having Swirly back means his M is recovering. We are glad she is feeling better, but continue with our thoughts and prayers as she continues to recover. Whatever you need brother, just let us know.

    My FIL was diagnosed with kidney cancer this past week. The good news is they say they can fix it, perhaps even without operation. Either way, the M and I are thankful for him and the fact that the doctors are upbeat about the prognosis.

    Have a great week, men. And take the time to “stop and smell the roses.” This is a busy week for many headed into the holiday weekend. Slow it down, and enjoy it. The weekend will get here soon enough.

  • Rock River 7 Miler

    Five bandits hopped on the race course sans registration to see what Dominion had in store for the River Rock Half Marathon. All started and finished at Pump House. The routes in between varied, unintentionally.

    No one took us out (I wasn’t the Q until just now, so I blame TYA).

    NMS: Hot and humid this morning. The 8:00 start for River Rock was way too late. We made it most of the way through the course before we ran into the leaders. Along the way Lab Rat tried to convince a black snake to get off the trail. Ultimately, the convincing worked. That said, never touch the wild life, Lab Rat.

    We saw Furley on the course and Saab ran today, but Lab Rat has rules.

    The gloom is getting warm.

  • Field Day Hangover

    Three Amigos posted for morning coffee at Batteau. Here’s what we ordered.

    Mosey through the lion cage and up the hill to the bottom of the farmers market parking lot. COP: Helicopters x 10. Imperial Walkers x 10. Hill Billies x 10. SSHs x 10.

    Flash Dance’s Coffee House Pop Up Shop: A Twin Team favorite sprinkled in to a Batteau beatdown. PAX choose between Crab Walk and Bear Crawl to descend to the bottom of the hill – stop at the shelter by the small lake / large pond when finished. When switching from Crab Walk to Bear Crawl, and you will switch at some point unless you’re Flipper, perform 10 WWIIs. Reverso, perform 10 LBCs. 10 lunges were available for 50 SSHs.

    Adventure Guides Triple Check: Mosey away from Burpee Pond and back out to the top of the hill to the swing sets. PAX 1 – Swing Planks. PAX 2 – Squats. PAX 3 / Timer – run to the Maple tree and back.

    Bob Ross: Six trees. Start at tree one and run to tree six. Perform 2 Merkins at 12:00, 3:00, 6:00 and 9:00. Run back to tree two. Admire it, then back to tree six. Repeat until all the happy trees have been visited.

    Frozen Mary: On your six. Hold V-up position for :60. Recover. Hold Russian Solider left leg for :60. Repeat with right leg.

    YHC took us out.

    Announcements: See the Field Day BB for all of them.

    Moleskin: YHC was curious to see how Flash Dance’s Coffee House would go over at Batteau. I was particularly curious to see how my boy Swirly would enjoy it. Unfortunately, his M is not feeling well so he had to miss today’s festivities. Don’t worry brother, it’ll come back out. I hope your M gets better soon.

    When we got to the top of the hill to start the downward climb, it was noted that only the Q had gloves. Sorry boys, the show must go on, and it did. Posh and Sippy Cup crushed it. Lunges were never even considered. Given that the descent only took about 15 minutes, instead of the 42 required at Twin Team, there was plenty of time for more pain.

    In honor of Orange Crush’s VQ on Friday, some frozen exercises were introduced to his brothers down river. Sippy – as expected – stayed frozen during the Russian Soldiers. Posh thawed out a little bit. Your boy Vinny was wet from start to finish, but the hip flexors got the message.

    Well done boys!


  • F3RVA: Field Day 2019

    FIFTY EIGHT (58) 4th graders at heart posted for Vinny’s Second Inaugural Field Day. The bell rang, we slammed open the double doors and hit the school yard. Scoring was explained, and teams lined up ready to fight for the Ghost Flag, the only way we know how.

    Crab Soccer: Two, five minute rounds. Winners and losers squared off in round 2.

    Wheel Barrow Relay: Teams lined up on the start line and partners wheel barrow-ed to the cone. Boo Yah Merkins x 10, switch wheelbarrow and return to start/finish line. PAX did Jump Squats while cheering on their classmates.

    Sack Races: Teams lined up on the start line and one at a time, hopped in the sack and raced out to the cone and back. First team across wins. SSHs for the PAX.

    Tunnel of Love: About 1/4 length of the Carillon Field. First team to have their entire team across the finish line wins.

    Merkin Egg Toss: PAX partner up and line up across from their partner. Toss the egg and perform various 10 count Merkins and 5 Burpees on the whistle. Teams could finish first, second and, third in this one. Once eliminated PAX moved to the side and joined in on the called exercises. Finalist were about 50-75 steps farther apart from where they started.

    Fifty Yard Burpee Dash: Teams line up on the start line. One at a time they sprint to the cone, perform 5 Burpees, then race back to the start finish line. American Hammers for the PAX.

    Tug-O-War: Round Robin style tug-o-war. Every nano region squared off.

    Back to the Flag – YHC took us out / handed out crowd pleasers in the form of Pixy Sticks and Hugs Fruit Barrels.

    Announcements: Of the many, these are what I can remember. HDHH next Wed. at Palani Drive. Breaking Bread needs volunteers. Please do this if you haven’t. It’s an awesome experience. You’ll get more out of it than they will. Ask if you don’t know what it is. Lab Rat’s M is in Phase II of her brilliant effort to prepare young adults with special needs for jobs. They are raising money for RAISE. See Lab Rat for details. Shakedown is shaving his head in June, I believe. See prior BBs or him for details. It’s for charity, not just some random Shakedown thing.

    Moleskin: WOW!!! What a morning. 58 guys, that’s awesome! As I was making my way to DP to set up, Kubota texted me to say that he just saw Swirly. Not possible. Swirly was in beautiful Blue Field, VA. He would have told me if he was back in town early. I wasn’t falling for that, especially after BT texted me yesterday to tell me he was out. Fool me once.

    05:45 Breakfast Club rolls in, and sure enough there’s Swirly. Sleep deprived and fired up baby! My man drove 5+ hours late night to post. Love it!

    05:50, Mr. Holland rolls in with a box of ox blood bow ties and cummerbunds for Team RCP (winner’s of the best dressed, going away).

    06:00 and grumblings from TYA, hey Swirly, what’s your watch say?

    06:01, teams finalized and off we went to meet head referee Bleeder, red and yellow cards in hand just in case. He was supported by Cliffhanger and Red Bird.

    The events went off as good as could have been expected. Tons of all out competition, and good fun. No serious injuries – Wedding Singer, get better brother.

    Special shoutouts to the Team Captains – Gumbo, Kubota and Spit. Great job recruiting and getting your teams fired up. As Handshake said at ETs, y’all were perfect class moms. T-claps to Bleeder, Kubota, Cliffhanger, Red Bird and, Shakedown for all of their help today. I was really hoping Bleeder got to use a red card, but all-in-all, we behaved ourselves.

    Congratulations to SOJ for capturing the Ghost Flag today in dominant fashion. Here are the official standings:

    SOJ: 14

    Tuckahoe: 10

    RCP: 9

    DaVille: 4

    I invite you all to add your anecdotes from today. Possibly my personal favorite was TYA in his classy F3 tux. That, and the awesome showing of brotherhood. Oh, and the team uniforms. They were fantastic!

    See y’all May 16th 2020.