Author: Speakeasy

I was concerned I would be in for a solo run this morning after only the two ruckers gave firm commits to posting. Nothing to fear, though, as Anchovy, Phonics, and Spit made for a solid running PAX.

My route planning matched my expectations for the group, so we just did an out and back through Honey Meadows to Kings Charter Drive, turned right, and went as far as we could while still making it back to the flag. Phonics and I managed to time it right and get a bit more than 5.25 miles in. Anchovy turned around a bit earlier. Spit, despite being the youngest PAX member, had to do some old-man stretching before he could depart for his run. It must have worked because we all made it back to the COT for numbers and names. Opus was not there, so Corned Beef took us out.

As a reminder, there will be no Anvil/Anvil Run next week. Instead, post at the July 4th Convergence at Dogwood Dell. Thanks to the Pax for the company. I did not have a great night’s sleep and may have bailed without knowing someone might come out expecting to have someone to join for a run.

Eight runners and one rucker conquered the fart sack and braved the mists of Mechanicsville on a Tuesday which felt like a Monday. The runners covered between four and five miles, generally traversing Giles and Craney Island. We took an old route I kept Handy to avoid the trails today so that no Pax member would Eat It on slick pavement or roots. The (F3) Saga Begins today for our FNG, Polka, whose love of a Star Wars prequel film nearly led to the unforgiveable Jar Jar Binks moniker, but the Pax decided that name would be in an unforgiveable class of Word Crimes. When the Pax heard Polka’s first concert was Weird Al, we cut Like a Surgeon to that fact for name inspiration. As a fellow Star Wars fan who also appreciates Weird Al, the backblast title could easily apply to me as well. Welcome to F3, Polka.

7 brave souls hit the area trails with a bro-code run. Runners launched south into Giles, looping through the northern part of that neighborhood’s paved trails, hitting as many of the paved trails in Taylor Farms as we could, and then finishing off with the generally unpaved, and sometimes rooty, Honey Meadows trails. We saved those for last because they somehow seem dark even after sunrise. We all covered between about 4.3 and 4.7 miles. After numbers and names, Opus took us out. The only announcement was a reminder about the upcoming Memorial Day Convergence.

Trail running is my personal favorite, but we generally do not do it at this AO outside of the brightes two months of the year. The bro-code run kept the PAX together on what is a rarely used route. This also kept the mumblechatter steady. Thank you to Anchovy who knows the Honey Meadows trails better than I do and kept us on the right track.

7 runners took off on what YHC figured to be about the flattest route available as several PAX members were recovering from pushing themselves at the 10k Saturday. The PAX stuck together across the front of the schools, into Honey Meadows, and then crossing into Kings Charter. The more ambitious and YHC went a bit further northwest into Castlewood before crossing Atlee Station and meandering their way back via paved paths and neighborhood streets. The less ambitious used paved paths, grassy shoulders, and private driveways. No one was shot or arrested for trespassing as of this writing.

One more late-arriving runner, Spit, found a few PAX members to run with for a few minutes on the back end of the route. Numbers, names, and Opus took us out. All in all, despite sore legs, it was a good morning for a relatively leisurely run of 4-4.5 miles. YHC now knows we need to repeat this infrequently used route a few more times to sear it into the PAX’s collective memory. The title refers to YHC’s successful effort to recruit Spit to run the River City Half next March. It’s far enough away that signing up is a little less scary. Perhaps we will have more commitments by week 2 of our training plan.

Five runners and two ruckers wandered the suburbs in the predawn twilight. For various reasons the running PAX was happy to keep things on the easier side this week. Runners covered 4-4.5 miles before meeting the ruckers for CB to take us out. We wish our PAX members facing health issues speedy recoveries and look forward to seeing them back out soon.