Author: Splinter

  • River Run Duo

    Two gentlemen with a newfound common bond, launched from BWES for today’s River Run. Not knowing who or how many would show up, YHC had a couple of different options planned. Since it was just two, neither of those options held true so we wandered through Tarrington. Route was something like this for around 4.5 miles.

    Route

    • Left on James River
    • Right on Riverton
    • Left on Welby
    • Right on Chatwell
    • Right on Henlow
    • Right on Wilcot
    • Right on Ashwell
    • Right on Powderham
    • Left on Twin Team
    • Right to the baseball fields, by the stadium to a right on James River
    • BTTVSF

    Numbers, names, YHC took us out.

    Moleskin

    Good catching up with Doozy today. Seems like all my social conversations always end up with baseball and today was no different. Hope to see your son on the field some time soon.

    Always good to get back to the old homestead. Glad the SOJ crew is keeping it rolling.

    See ya somewhere else this week.

    Splinter

  • Spider Run – The Fountain of Youth

    Fourteen gentlemen, each getting younger as the days pass, gathered in the sunken bowl to wait for the steam factory to pause so directions could be shared. The steam never stopped. Luckily an oldie but goodie was called. Think of it as a 1950s rock classic, minus the twisting and shouting.

    The Route
    Mount Henrico

    Numbers, names, YHC took us out.

    Moleskin
    Some people just never grow old, neither does this route. Apparently, if you run it enough, you forget your name and your age. To quote James Hetfield, “nothing else matters”.

    Thanks to Flatline for allowing YHC to join. Good catching up, new and old.

    Announcements

    • TYA is taking 1 weekend a month for the Bridge. Come join him or take a Q.
    • Prayers to our PAX member who just started treatment yesterday. We are all with you!
    • Memorial day at Browns Island 7am
    • 6/4 is a big day for blood and the bridge
    • Singer’s birthday was yesterday and we all forgot

  • Level 8 of Nintendo

    Ten Ganymede ganderers gathered to admire the skies prior to YHC declaring north and south routes for the day. Pucker wasn’t awake yet but somehow he still found his way. Here’s how it went, more or less:

    The Route

    • North on Westmoreland to a right on Fitz-Hugh
    • Right on Commonwealth and continue south to a left on Grove
    • Left on Woodlawn and continue north to a right on Fitz-Hugh
    • Right on Sauer and continue south back to Grove
    • 4s take a right on Grove and head home
    • 5s/6s take a left on Grove and north on Antrim
    • 5s take a right on Patterson to a right on Malvern
    • 6s take a right on Grace to a right on Malvern
    • 5s/6s continue south on Malvern to a right on Grove and head home

    Numbers, names, YHC took us out.

    Moleskin

    Lighter crew for this last Friday in April. After Profit asked Google (apparently a him) about the bright star beside Venus was, off we went to what YHC thought was perfectly clear instructions. Pucker clearly didn’t understand so extra time was taken pre-launch to get it all straight. In the end he made it. To be fair, Bone Thugs made it too and he completely missed the instructions.

    Ample conversation post COP about some of the stereotypical things we as men do. Some watch Melrose (sic) Place while others make friends with neighbors who don’t even know who you are. You have to post to understand!

    Prayers to all those in our PAX who are dealing with life’s speed bumps. Slow down, take a breath, pass the hazard, then accelerate through the rest of life.

    Splinter

  • Introducing…

    F3RVAs newest AO. The Sugar. One posted after numerous EH attempts failed. According to the gentleman with the top hat and bow tie who greeted YHC at 0530, this may or may not have happened.

    The Route
    Head south on 3rd, under the overpass (or was it over the underpass?), to continue south on Little Sugar Creek Greenway. Meander around for three miles, briefly passing a few locals doing plank merkins and bear crawls. YHC joined for a few merkins then continued on to Freedom Park. Reverso then BTTVSF.

    Number, name, YHC took YHC out with a few passerbys wondering what I was doing.

    Moleskin
    This is a recurring running route that YHC has done for the last 10 years or so, every time I visit the Queen City. No meth labs, but I did try to get on the local news as the route took us right by the courthouse where there is apparently a big trial today.

    I will not be here every week, but every week I am here anyone and everyone is welcome to join. Heads up to the PAX that a portion of the greenway appears to be under construction from Spring 2022 – Spring 2024. That’s right. Two years. We will have to modify the route for the next few years.

    Satire lives on!

  • The Unforeseen Duel Between Tombstone and Clerks

    The Unforeseen Duel Between Tombstone and Clerks

    An unknown number of runners and cyclists convened at RAMM with everyone pointing at one another for routes. One thing was for certain, gears PAX outnumbered running PAX… at least at the published 0530 launch time. It went something like this.

    Moleskin
    The PAX started trickling in as 530 approached. Hugs were exchanged between long lost brewers, people stared, even discussion of opioids before daybreak. However, there was one fine gentleman that stood by himself and just simply absorbed the discussion in front of him.

    One PAX member could not contain his displeasure for YHCs declared route, as said person decided to arrive early (as he normally does) and had already performed said route (I’ll let you guess who). There was brief discussion on whether we could go west instead of east, but everyone went east. We all know west isn’t safe.

    With very little instruction on routes, our visitor from South Cary looked at YHC and declared, “I guess I’ll follow you? No seriously, how fast are you running?” No time for silly questions, just follow along.

    Well our visitor from South Cary, after saying virtually nothing pre-launch, proceeded to have a lengthy, and quite honestly, enthralling conversation about parking lots, homeowners associations, and the cost of private beach replenishment. Hermes, thanks for joining Faceplant and I and making us run on sidewalks instead of pavement.

    Great to see a variety of PAX today. We had a hot dog stand, a brand new (albeit somewhat squatty for my stature) road bike, and two or three runners that never made it back.

    Good luck to all the 10kers tomorrow. May your feet be fleet! Be on the lookout for Wedding Singer as a pacer!

    The route was epic. Hope everyone enjoyed!

  • Wordle, Turdle, or Squirdle?

    Eleven trust wary Spiderlings gathered under the steam for today’s iteration of fun with hills. YHC apparently waited too long to give instructions which resulted in a 5:31 launch. Good thing TYA wasn’t there.

    The Route

    • Left out of the parking lot and right up towards the football stadium
    • Left on Campus, straight through the path and left on Wheeler
    • 4s right on Ridge Top and right on Chandler
    • 5s right on Horsepen, right on Patterson, right on Ridge Top and left on Chandler
    • 6s left on Hampshire to Baldwin, right on Westham, right on Patterson, right on Ridge Top and left on Chandler
    • Everyone up Chandler and through the path to Bandy
    • Left on Three Chopt, right on Kensington
    • Kensington DEAD ENDS!!! Trust me, it does. 6 milers confirmed.
    • Veer right at the dead end and follow Stuart back to a left on Honaker
    • Honaker to Boatwright
    • Left on Campus, right on UR drive, back to the VSF

    Numbers, names, and YHC took us out before Hitch came stumbling in after making friends with a custodian.

    Moleskin

    Boy, you guys really didn’t trust me. Apparently the 4s and 5s didn’t think Kensington ever ended. 5s really didn’t trust me and turned right off of Kensington onto Honaker. 4s almost trusted me but came up short on Chanticleer. Faceplace was in full on trust mode and followed YHC all the way to the end. Trust fall exercise may be interesting with this bunch.

    Sounds like there were ample reports of too much mexican, chili, or loaded baked potatoes last night, resulting in a few of the pax finding their own path through Bandy. Blame it on the dog I suppose.

    Congrats to Faceplant who somehow picked St Peters over Kentucky but didn’t stick with them to the Sweet Sixteen.

    Best of luck to everyone out there, whether it’s brackets, driving an 80s Volvo, or running the Grand Canyon.

    Splinter out.

  • Reminiscence

    A gaggle of runners and a resurgence of bikers convened at RAMM for some running and cycling. No one had signed up so YHC quickly plotted a simple route. Only 3 turns, yet Hitchhiker somehow asked more questions than there were turns. Classic Fan route today.

    The Route

    • East on Grove
    • 4s left on Boulevard
    • 5s left on Shields
    • 6s left on Plum
    • Left on Monument
    • Left on Westmoreland

    Numbers, names, swarming by cyclists before YHC took us out.

    Moleskin

    Today, post run/cycle, we reminisced with stories of a former PAX member. While not a regular and not recent, he always had a way of bringing some excitement to the group. Prayers for all of our PAX that are going through difficulty, current or former, that they find the necessary peace to carry them forward.

    Prayers also go out to TYA, Shakedown, and the rest of the crew heading to the Grand Canyon for their race next week. Go get it!

    My thanks for the day go to Faceplant and Marv for the thought provoking social discussion this morning.

    Spiders (and Rams) still playing! Cheer for your local teams!

    Splinter out.

  • F3RVA 2022 Bracketology

    F3RVA 2022 Bracketology

    Bracket challenge is back again this year after a 2 year hiatus. Pretty simple. Give me $10 and you might get it back. Splitting the pot this year to top 2 spots. Yahoo again.

    • 67% goes to the winner
    • 33% goes to first loser
    • $10 per entry by cash, venmo, paypal, zelle
    • bbischoff78 at gmail dot com
    • password is sunny70

    Questions? Hit me up on Slack.

    https://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1/group/76356/invitation?key=08f142c287dace97

  • In College There Was A Girl We Called Sharrow

    In College There Was A Girl We Called Sharrow

    A relatively light crew of 8 launched from RAMM for some fun around the city streets. Two launched at 5, the rest quickly huddled prior to 530 for the following instructions. YHC was reminded that today was Friday and we were only supposed to run. Regardless, this is what we did:

    The Route

    • 4s go north on Commonwealth to a right on Monument
    • 5s / 6s go west on Grove
    • 5s take a right on Lexington, right on Patterson, left on Chantilly, right on Monument
    • 6s take a right on Roslyn to Harlan, left on Patterson, right on Willow Lawn, right on Monument
    • Everyone take Monument to a right on Boulevard
    • Right on Floyd
    • On Floyd, every time you passed a “Sharrow” you had to do a burpee. There were many.
    • Right on Nansemond, left on Grove BTTVSF

    Numbers, names, YHC took us out.

    Moleskin

    Light crew today, must be either spring break or the UVA fans didn’t want to show up after a 13 point first half last night. Either way, those who showed up ran.

    YHC was inspired the other day while driving down Floyd to somehow incorporate this road into a workout, given the ample number of Sharrows that were painted on the road. Faceplant proceeded to disclose his company is responsible for many of the bike lanes that now exist throughout the city. He also disclosed any of the Sharrows that have a painted background are not federally recognized, so we skipped those burpees. Pays to have someone on the inner circle in your running group.

    While sitting in my car at 515 looking to see who had the Q and realizing it was open, YHC took the opportunity to introduce the PAX to all the Sharrows on Floyd. Everyone rejoiced.

    Good luck to everyone running this weekend, wherever they may be running.

    Announcements

    • Prayers for Roger Roger and his family as they navigate the next few weeks of recovery
    • The port-o-jon that the city installed at the bus stop on Monument near Willow Lawn is locked. Apparently only bus drivers have the key.

    Have a great weekend gentlemen.

    Splinter out.

  • Don’t Mind the Gas, It’s Simply Water Vapor

    Seventeen All-Americans emerged from their vehicles early to enjoy this morning’s pre-spring 59 degree treat. Shiplap even donned short sleeves today, you know it’s going to be a good day. Huddle up for directions which included heavy routes for all three charters:

    The Route

    • West around the lake and through the woods, being careful over the gravel path
    • Left on College, Right on University
    • Continue on University, crossing Westham and Ridge before turning left on Ralston
    • Right on River, Right on E Glenbrooke Circle
    • Left on W Glenbrooke Circle
    • Everyone takes a right on Summit
    • 4s traverse summit one time then return the way we came
    • 5s traverse summit two times then take a right and complete the Glenbrooke Circle loop before returning via River
    • 6s traverse summit three times, right on Glenbrooke, left on Hillaire, left on Shadow, right on Twin Lake, right on Twin Lake (again), then left on Glenbrook to complete the circle and return via River

    Numbers, names, and YHC took us out.

    Moleskin

    A teaser was dropped on Slack yesterday that routes would be a little heavy, so be prepared. Routes were heavy, but maybe not to the degree disclosed. Either way, it was intended that we take a little longer today. YHC has gotten into a stale habit of running the same mileage on every run. Sometimes even adding half a mile makes me feel it that much more. Just trying to mix it up a little instead of 4s, 5s, and 6s every week.

    EF Hutton made a point to call out how much his ass hurt after yesterday’s pounding at Hoedown. Gotta get those glutes activated on a regular basis.

    Prayers today were not only for those around us but those living in extreme uncertainty in Eastern Europe. While it may seem half a world away, we should always try to do what we can to eliminate preventable casualties. That’s YHCs geopolitical statement of the day. God bless.

    Splinter out.