Author: Splinter

  • On a Scale of 1-10

    Seven of Westmoreland’s finest gathered for what may be the last running meetup for a while. Consensus was no one wants to run on crunchy black ice. Regardless, YHC called a route that was only partially stolen from Marv. That’s what you get when you sit in a car and plan a route before stepping out.

    The Route

    • Meander over to Malvern and right into Windsor Farms
    • Do the back loop around to left on Dover
    • Cut through to Lock Lane
    • Inspect to see if we can sneak past the guard gate
    • Right on Charmian
    • Left on Charmian
    • Right on West Hillcrest
    • Left to Cary then cross to Oak.
    • 4s Oak to Grove then back home.
    • 5s/6s Oak past Grove, past Patterson to a right on Park
    • 5s right on Commonwealth (a little short)
    • 6s right before 195 then back on Grove

    Numbers, self-rating, YHC took us out.

    Announcements

    • Pigskin still going to the Bridge tomorrow, see Slack
    • Blank Space VQ at Dogpile tomorrow
    • Frozen Triangle coming up Super Bowl weekend
    • F3 is open to everyone once, then men

    Moleskine

    There were some crazy bikers heading east on Cary when the 5s crossed Cary into Windsor Farms. I mean, who bikes when it’s that cold, doesn’t stop at stop lights, and has music playing on a bluetooth speaker while riding? Must have been some of those millennials. We put them in their place.

    Conversation in COT centered around rating scale of rabbits and how accurate it can be when it’s 0530 and dark.

    Stay warm my friends.

    Splinter Out

  • Strong Hedges

    Nine Spider Run stalwarts gathered for today’s not-so-cold-but-still-frigid edition of riding/rucking/running the streets of Westham. After a brief appearance by TYA who sounded like his tongue had frozen, off we went for:

    The Route

    Numbers, names, Marv took us out.

    Announcements

    • Snowpocalypse is coming. Stay tuned to slack for workout adjustments

    Moleskin

    Bundle up everyone. Depending on if you are a US model or a EURO model fan, we could get a little or a lot! Time to hit the stores!

  • Whiskey Aides Circulation

    Twelve pavement pounders, including one from DR, found the hidden entrance to the Spider Run AO and gathered for instructions. Two launched early, with one more hoping for a ruck partner. Luckily he showed right at 0530 so off we went for:

    The Route

    Out and backs today. Reverse direction from how we normally hit these hills.

    Out around the lake and through the path to University, most avoiding the temptation to turn left over the bridge. Up University to south on Westham. Westham cross River to Country Squire. Country Squire to left on South Ridge. Right on Ross to the bottom then back up to South Ridge.

    4s return via Country Squire.

    5s / 6s take a right on South Ridge and continue to Old Bridge.

    5s return back up South Ridge & Country Squire.

    6s up Highland before returning back up South Ridge & Country Squire.

    Numbers, names, announcements, YHC took us out.

    Announcements

    • Prayers for our DR from Arkansas friend whose dad is receiving end-of-life care 🙏
    • Frozen Triangle on super bowl Saturday
    • Pigskin is looking to fill a car on 1/24 for The Bridge

    Moleskine

    Great to see the crew back out at Spider Run this morning. Even with some grumblings about the out-and-back route and the fact that 5s and 6s were almost back home on Westham Station but were told to reverse course, the PAX had a marvelous time. YHC personally enjoyed hitting those hills from a different approach, which is all that really matters.

    Make it a great day!

    Splinter out.

  • Faceplant Was Supposed to Do It

    Five of us were there. Two walkers, one thought he was solo until two more showed up. Walkers tried to get lost in Windsor Farms, runners did something easy (directions wise).

    Faceplant apparently owes Bodos another backblast from somewhere…

    Coffeteria at Libbie Market was excellent as usual.

    Splinter out

  • A Duel, of sorts

    Four runners and two cyclists gathered for today’s Q-less edition of RAMM. After TYA and Marv agreed upon their lunch plans and invited half the PAX (don’t worry, YHC couldn’t make it anyway 🙄), YHC and Marv debated on the best route of the day. Neither were new and the PAX determined that Snake River hadn’t been forged in a while. So off we went for Snake River.

    The Route

    • West on Grove to south on Granite
    • Cross to Kennondale / Tempsford
    • 5s 2 lefts and 1 right
    • 6s 2 lefts and 2 right
    • Back the way we came

    Numbers, names, discussion of college football before YHC took us out.

    Moleskine

    YHC has been getting into crossword puzzles again over the holidays, hence the backblast title.

    Great to have a running partner with Offshore as the attempt to keep up with Marv and Sippy only lasted a couple hundred meters.

    Always great to start the new year off with a solid run. Let’s get those RAMM numbers back up next week!

    Splinter out.

  • Distracted by Starlink

    Nine champions of the snooze gathered at First Watch waiting to see if the godfather would show. When 0500 arrived and no truck was in sight, off we went to the front of the church for:

    COP

    Various exercises including the ever popular SSH, helicopters, arm circles, jazzercises, mountain climbers, flutter kicks. After a comment on the non-traditional COP completing, off we went to the back of the church for:

    The Thang

    We broke up a Dora today into individual performances. 10x arms, 20x legs, 30x abs. Burpees were scattered throughout as well.

    Round 1/5 – Staggered merkins, jump squats, LBCs

    Round 2/6 – Staggered merkins, monkey hummers, box cutters

    Round 3/7 – Werkins, reverse lunges, HTH

    Round 4/8 – Diamond merkins, ball dippers, APDs

    Round 9-10 – Merkins, jump squats, LBCs

    Various runs and burpees were to be had with the occasional bear crawl to no where in particular.

    Numbers, names, YHC took us out.

    Moleskine

    Great morning for a workout with mild temperatures and energetic PAX. Kudos to Big Spoon who was back in town from Tulsa. Lots of Tulsa references from the PAX this am.

    Enjoy the goodies. See y’all soon.

    Splinter

  • Lighted Runway on Iris

    Nine Spider Run regulars stiff-armed the brisk weather for a solid Tuesday morning date with the pavement. Route was posted early so there were few questions.

    The Route

    https://onthegomap.com/s/3ruisnvl

    • Everyone do 1 lap around the track
    • 4s take a right out of the track on Maple back to York/Iris
    • 5s take a left on Maple, right on Patterson, then right on Seneca then back via Grove and Iris
    • 6s take a left on Maple, right on Patterson,  then a right on Albemarle then back via Grove and Iris

    Numbers, names, YHC took us out.

    Announcements

    • TYA is offering women’s communication advice every Tuesday after Spider Run
    • 12 Days is next Tuesday, looking for someone to cover Spider Run

    Moleskin

    Rather than run immediately up Gateway to get to Campus and Three Chopt, YHC decided on a slower burn up the hill. Seems like it worked as there was positive feedback around the group.

    Splinter out

  • Do you have one of those for your…

    Nine runners and two or three riders, including one with a new pair of battery powered gloves, convened for today’s snow-less edition of RAMM. After a quick route creation from the warmth of YHCs heated seats, and a possible reverse (or regular) Carillon route was almost suggested, we chose for the newly created route. Which in reality was simply retracing of old routes with a goal of maximizing holiday lights.

    The Route

    6s go west on Grove to Wisteria, Wisteria to east on Patterson

    4s / 5s north on Commonwealth to east on Patterson

    4s turn right on Roseneath

    5s / 6s turn right on Allen

    Everyone turn right on Floyd and work their way back to Grove an the VSF

    Announcements

    • See this thing called Slack for details on Swiper’s son’s Eagle Scout project. Small donations accepted. Beware of the tip.
    • Prayers for those in our PAX that are dealing with various health and life issues, especially in this holiday season.

    Numbers, names, YHC took us out.

    Moleskine

    So much for holiday lights. Data centers must be drawing all the power for LED twinkle lights. Lots of dark segments out there today. Still a pleasant route through the fan.

    Apparently YHC can’t follow his own directions. Enamored in conversation, we missed the turn at Allen and went all the way to Lombardy. My bad.

    For those that haven’t noticed, Bodo’s has moved onto a new pair of shoes with a much darker cause associated with them.

    Thanks for letting me volunteer a route with 2 minutes to spare. Glad Sippy caught up to us all.

    Splinter out.

  • Oops, We Did it Again

    Thirteen eager holiday beavers launched whenever they wanted, with a goal of finishing right at 0615. Some were early, some were late, everyone was thankful.

    The Route

    https://onthegomap.com/s/1kaubs8k

    Numbers, names, YHC took us out.

    Moleskine

    Always great to do this route annually. Even if this particular race is a thing of the past, it’s always fun to run the same route and reminisce of past events.

    This year, YHC is thankful each and every one of you. Each of you contribute in your own way to making this community a better place. There are those in the world that try to bring us down but the strong individuals we surround ourselves with will only allow us to continue to seek to be better people. Better people for ourselves, our families, our friends, and our coworkers. Take this week and be thankful for the people that make life truly a blessing.

    Announcements

    • 0700 Thanksgiving day celebration of southern Thanksgiving at Mary Munford, led by Handshake
    • 0530 Thanksgiving day ultimate (where I’m told there will be lamps) at Timberwolf

    Splinter out.

  • Stellar Citizens

    Ten guardians of the polls gathered for this week’s Spider Run. With no one on the Q sheet last night, YHC grabbed it and decided not to post a route. Partly to see if people thought intervals were coming and partly because I was lazy. Either way, we had 10, 9 on foot and 1 on wheels.

    The Route

    • Mount Henrico

    Numbers, names, where one forgot his age, before YHC took us out.

    Announcements

    • Those not running the richmond races can join EF Hutton for a trip to the bridge on 11/15. See him for deetz

    Well done fellas! Get ‘er done today!

    Splinter out.