A gaggle of thirteen convened for an early morning tacky light tour. There was no music but there was enough lighting to keep everyone entertained, even Marv. Route was as follows:
The Route
East on Grove across 195
Left somewhere then right on Hanover
Continue east on Hanover, wandering around the museum then continue on Hanover
Take a right at 22 minutes, run a minute south to Floyd, then west on Floyd
Jog back over to Grove, cross 195 then BTTVSF
Announcements
Cold weather ahead
Bridge caravan still on for tomorrow?
Moleskin
We are clearly in the season of giving with two of our regulars giving their pitch as to why their church is the better church for NYE (or Christmas Eve). One sounds very fun and entertaining whereas the other seems enlightening and intellectual. We almost had a weigh in for a 175lb weight class sparring match to determine the winner.
Prayers to all for a great holiday season and to all those traveling that they have uneventful trips to their destination.
No mentions of General Motors nor scrotums before the PAX departed to start their days.
Sixteen bootcamp dodgers settled into the UR maintenance bowl (er… not that kind of bowl) for today’s Spider Run. After TYA briefly attempted to hijack direction calling by informing us of his latest educational podcast, YHC spouted off <<mostly>> clear directions and off we went.
The Route
4s / 5s / 6s all follow the same basic loop
West, around the baseball field, across the parking lot to a right on College
Up Boatwright, across Three Chopt and north on Honaker
Right on Patterson
Right on Maple
Right on York
Down Iris around the golf course and BTTVSF
5s / 6s take a right on Stuart from Honaker
Bear left when it ends, left again when it ends, then back west on Kensington
Right on Ripley, believe it or not (thanks Bodos :/)
6s left on Patterson, right on W Franklin, meander around before taking a right on Maple
Numbers, names, YHC stumbled through taking us out.
Announcements
TYA is hosting the bridge on xmas eve and is collecting money for shirts
HDHH 12/21 @ Final Gravity
Honeydo strums and sings this Sunday @ Fudds
12 days of xmas next tuesday
Moleskin
Leave it to TYA to provide us with great thoughts leading into our run this AM. Luckily, the festive lights around Patterson this time of year got us back on track.
Nine fine gentlemen gathered at the no longer darkest AO in RVA to compare winter gloves and who wore them best. Eight launched promptly at 0530 to the front of the school while we picked up one that ran to the AO on the way. COP was frosty and was as follows:
COP
SSH x25
Imperial Walkers x10
Helicopters x10
Copperhead Squats x10
Don Quixotes x10
Mountain Climbers x10
LBCs x20
Merkins x10
The Thang
Very short jaunt across the street to the church parking lot, avoiding curb obstacles, for the first set of exercises. This exercise is called Escalating Fibonacci Arrow Trifecta Plus Bonus. Start at the first arrow (arrow 0). Three exercises at each arrow, running back to the start after each arrow’s exercises were finished. Exercises were Merkins, Squats, WWIIs. When we made it back to the start we finished the set with said number of burpees. There were 8 arrows (plus the zero’th arrow) so we did sets with the following reps 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21.
Mosey back to the now very well lit blacktop for a similar format but following the numbers painted on the ground. We ran to a number, did 3 exercises of that number, then ran back and did burpees for that number. Exercises were Diamond Merkins, Jump Squats, WWIs. Numbers were 1, 2, 3, 6, 5, 4. Wait for Fudd to collect his sweater and off we went.
Medium length meander to the top of Lindsay for more exercises and running. Partner up. 1st partner runs 25% of the way down the hill while the other performs an exercise. Flapjack and repeat. Then 50%, 75%, 100% with different exercises. Exercises were Werkins, Lunges, SSHs, LBCs. We didn’t get to 100% so we did LBCs to collect the 6.
BTTVSF where announcements were made and YHC took us out.
Announcements
Happy hour 3-6 Saturday at Hardywood West Creek with some F3 brothers from The Capital region
Honeydo Sings the Carols @ Fudd’s house on 12/18. Details on Slack.
Moleskin
YHC was promised questions a plenty, only received a few, with the rest being substituted for $h!t talking. Said talking subsided after number 2 of Mr. Fibonacci’s sequence. YHC believes everyone was disappointed there was an 8th arrow. Well done fellas.
Kudos to Pigskin who showed up, modified, and still crushed many of the exercises. Find a way to post. He did. What’s your excuse?
Mumblechatter was high between exercises but not so much during. Too much counting? My 5th grade math teacher would be proud.
Thirty four truth seekers, including one aggressor from Quincy, MA, convened in the dusk for this year’s iteration of alternative history. After a few reminders of where they sold shorts in Virginia off we went.
Quick mosey to Commonwealth. Form two lines for Native American run south towards Cary then veer unexpectedly to the middle of the field.
COP
Don Quixotes
Windmills (we call them Helicopters around here)
Cherry Pickers (we called them cranberry pickers in the Qs honor)
Probably a few other exercises
The Thang
Mosey to the end of the field for a PAX accurate prediction of 11s. Merkins & WWIIs at each tree. Some may have only done 10, some 12. Either way, great fellowship with your nearby PAX.
Short mosey over to the side of the school for triple check. Peoples chair, LBCs, run to the fence and bernie sanders back.
Even shorter mosey to the west side of the tennis courts. Split up equally to four corners. 10x Lt. Dans / 20x LBCs / 30x SSHs / 40x Jump Squats. Repeat 3 times.
Collect ourselves on the eastern side of the courts for a reminder of what has been created and what is reborn in front of us every day.
Work our way back over to the bus loop, partner up. One runs 3/4 the way around then lunges the rest of the way. The other is doing merkins, LBCs, something else.
Mary for 5 minutes before TYA took us out.
Moleskin
YHC leaves this backblast here as a token to help memorialize Thanksgiving of 2022. Let us all be thanks for for those around us, our family, friends, co-workers. Regardless of who posted first, this was a Thanksgiving convergence.
Twenty-two on the 22nd launched at different times but all convened generally at once for today’s Turkey Trot themed Spider Run. After watching three groups launch at different times, the final group launched for:
TYA led history lesson Thursday from 6:00AM – 7:00AM @ Mary
TYA led loops Friday from 7:00AM – whenever @ Shelter 1 of Forest Hill Park
Fun CSAUPs coming soon, be on the lookout
Mustaches and sorts at Dogpile on 12/3
Join the Slack community for communications and friendly bantering
Numbers, names, YHC took us out.
Moleskin
The title of the backblast is courtesy Bone Thugs. Apparently making sure he didn’t get lost was more important that paying attention to his kid last night. Now you know the route for next year!
Clearly everyone loved the route and my newfound obsession with making sure it reoccurs every year (regardless of what the local running club decides to do). TYA expressed his gratitude for a route that passes the start three times.
A few PAX members took the blue lights instead of the first path by the lake. Either way you should have gotten the same result. Up the hill followed by down the hill.
Six peaks by my count. Kind of makes you feel good. Kudos to Florence for completing his longest run to date?! Great work.
Today I give thanks to each and every one of you. To those that traveled extreme distances at 430am just to partake in this event today. To those that have been a part of this group for a long time and offer memories of the fun times throughout the years. To new newer PAX for offering an opportunity to get to know you. To those that I have not met yet but are a part of our greater RVA PAX and that I can’t wait to meet at an AO soon. This very organic group we have is quite special, let’s keep it that way.
Tuesday 11/22 at Spider Run we will be running a 10k. The link to the route is below and I’ll also describe it for individuals that have not run this route previously. The trails are slightly modified from the official route but everything else is the same. Headlamps strongly recommended.
It’s 6.2 miles with plenty of elevation. Ideally, we will all be finishing at the same time, right around 615. If you think you need an hour and 15 to finish a 10k, play your departure for around 5am. I’ll be there just before 5am to assist with any questions.
This section starts by heading back towards the lake, taking a right, and then up behind the football stadium before exiting campus by taking a right on Campus. Continue up Campus until you hit Roselawn and then make a U-Turn to head back down Towana. When you get to the bottom, take a left and head up Roselawn. First right onto Ridgeway then back to the Commons.
Section 2 – Trails Through Campus
Once you pass the start, take a left at the commons and head across the lake, veering right onto the path around the lake. After you pass the cafeteria, take your first left up the path. At the top, take an immediate right on the path and head behind the Greek Theatre. Once you pass behind the Greek Theatre you will see tennis courts ahead of you. Take a hard right down the well lit path back to the lake. Don’t cross the bridge. Take a left, watching your step on the gravel and take the path over to College. Right on College.
Section 3 – Westham
This part is pretty easy (directions wise). Once on College take a left on Lakewood. Lakewood all the way to Westham. Left on Westham. Left on Club Vista (last road before River). Left on College and an immediate right on Westhampton Way.
Section 4 – The Westhampton Campus
Continue on Westhampton, straight across the first intersection onto Keller. Right on Westhampton Way then right on UR drive. First right onto Crenshaw. This next part is in my mind arbitrary but nevertheless part of the route. Go up Crenshaw until you get to the Modlin Center parking lot. It’s essentially at the top of the hill. Then turn around and come back to a left on UR drive.
Section 5 – The Big Finish
Continue on UR drive like you are heading back to the starting point. Except, you have to finish with the big loop. Up Gateway to the top, left to head back behind the football field and back down to the lake. Long downhill finish back to the parking lot.
The END
I’ll come up with some turn by turn directions that can be printed for those that may be completely confused at this point.
If 6.2 is too much there are two options for you. One is to eliminated the Roselawn/Ridgeway loop and just return back to the start via the path at the bottom of Towana. The second is to eliminate the Crenshaw out and back and just head back to the finish. The final is to cut off the hill loop at the end but I wouldn’t recommend that as it is a fantastic finish.
This should be fun. See everyone on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving!
Fifteen engaged citizens, most of them concerned about the safety of our headgear, came out to sweat off all the simple sugars consumed last night. Two words were spoken and off we went.
The Route
Mount Henrico
Announcements
Loops on Black Friday
Turkey Trot on Tuesday 11/22
Reminders on where the Q signup sheet is located
Moleskin
Everyone was concerned for the health and safety of our fellow PAX members. The wilderness is scary.
Ten box hunters gathered, in shorts only of course, for today’s super creative First Watch Q. After Handshake and Marv rolled into their positions, we took a short lap around the lot before COP.
COP
DQ x10
Arm Circles x15
SSH x20
Hillbillies x15
Mountain Climbers x10
Scorpions x10
Inverted Scorpions x10
LBCs x20
The Thang
Short mosey to the near corner for some fresh air and instructions. 4 corners with 5x burpees, 10x dips, 15x jump squats, 20x WWIIs. Bear crawl the shorts and bernie the lengths. Repeato.
Medium mosey through the carpool lane and settle on the back side of the church for medium sized 4 corners. 10x burpees, 20x merkins, 30x Lt Dans, 40x 2 count flutters. Run length 1, karaoke 2, bernie 3, karaoke 4. Repeato with squats instead of Lt Dans.
Short mosey to the northeast corner and settle for large 4 corners. 20x burpees, 40x CDDs, 60x humpers, 80x LBCs. Run to the corner of river & ridge, carpool entrance, northwest corner, northeast corner.
One burpee then mosey to the traditional COP area for Mary which included HTH, Freddie Mercuries, Reverse Crunches, Dying Cockroaches, APD, right leg high APD, left leg high APD. BTTVSF where Marv improved to take us out.
Announcements
10/29 beer mile @ Faceplant’s
Clydesdale shirts for sale only for the mega chungus in the group. Handshake was first to order.
Call your parents for no reason
Moleskin
No overshare this week but the overflatulence award goes to the entire PAX whose GI apparently doesn’t adjust well to the cold weather. Multiple stains ensued.
Marv was the second to last to leave the parking lot and head east. YHC believes that Marv almost went left of the median on ridge, quickly adjusted, barely missed the sign, then scurried home. Only Marv, who likely won’t read this backblast, can confirm or deny.
I enjoyed it fellas. Splinter’s 195159th Q out, but who’s counting.
