Author: Splinter

  • Wash your own Socks

    Twelve pavement (!pickle) pounders gathered at various times for various routes for today’s RAMM. Those that arrived for a 0530 launch enjoyed the following route, curated in the car prior to launch:

    Route

    • South on Commonwealth
    • Continue to Windsor Farms and complete the Berkshire, Sulgrave, Canterbury loop, exiting by going north on Malvern
    • 4s continue north on Malvern to a left on Fitz-Hugh
    • 5s right on Grove, left on Roseneath, left on Monument, right on Malvern
    • 6s right on grove, left on Boulevard, left on Monument, right on Malvern
    • All continue west on Fitz-Hugh to a left on Commonwealth
    • Back to RAMM base

    Numbers, names, YHC took us out.

    Moleskin

    Is RAMM disorganized? Of course. Are there consistent Qs? Hardly. Do we still participate in the 3Fs? Absolutely! Not to delve into the conversation of what is worthy of a point or not, but it takes very little effort to think of 3 different routes for people to run for 45 minutes. Perhaps you want to explore a certain area further? Maybe this time of year you want to see what an area looks like in the daylight? Gone are the days where you have to hop in the car (unless you are TYA) and map out a route by driving it. There are tools available (such as https://onthegomap.com/) that make this really easy. Sign up and give it a shot!

    Post run mumblechatter mentioned personal privacy and other activities individuals will undertake this long weekend.

    Announcements

    • Convergence Monday 7am @ Brown’s Island, r-u-c-k @ 6am
    • See slack for departure details for next Saturday 6/4

    That’s all for today. Enjoy the weekend!

    Splinter

  • No running

    Eight early risers bathed in the late season pollen while keeping the running to a minimum. After some jovial bantering about length and girth, off we moseyed to the back parking lot for:

    COP

    • 25 SSH
    • 10 helicopters
    • 15 arm circles
    • 10 donalds
    • 10 reverse scorpions
    • 10 inverted scorpions

    The Thang

    Stay in the general vicinity for 4 sets of 25 reps of different exercises. Repeat 11 times. Exercises may have been:

    • Star Jacks, merkins, squats, LBCs
    • Imperial Walkers, dips, box jumps, freddie mercuries
    • Mountain climbers, werkins, lunges, flutter kicks
    • Hillbillies, carolina dry docks, monkey humpers,
    • Tuck jumps, diamond merkins, jump squats, heels to heaven
    • Repeat 1-5
    • SSH, windshield wipers, calf raises, box cutters

    Mosey back to the flag, stopping by the side of the church for 5 WWIIs at each sign. of course there were arguments about what constituted a sign.

    Back to the flag for ring of fire, american hammers, and some sort of floating vessel until time expired.

    Announcements

    • Bridge and blood on 6/4. Sign up.
    • Memorial day convergence at tredegar
    • Need breaking bread volunteers this summer
    • Daville takeover day coming up

    Numbers, names, YHC took us out.

    Have a great day!

  • The Baltimore Experience

    Eight gentlemen exhibited their southern hospitality by greeting three northern visitors for today’s edition of Timberwolf. After some brief discussion of appropriate parking spaces, Honeymoon rolled in on his chariot and off we went. Brief mosey to the main entrance of the school for:

    COP

    • 20x SSH
    • 10x Helicopters
    • 10x DQs
    • 10x Copperhead Squats
    • 10x Mountain Climbers
    • 10x Merkins
    • 10x Scorpion Kicks (inverted)
    • 20x LBCs
    • 10x WWIIs
    • 10x Burpees

    The Thang

    Slow jaunt to the back of the building and enter the western cage of tennis courts for line drill variations. Use the space between the courts as exercise zones.

    • Round 1: 15 merkins, 30 squats, 40 flutter kicks, run between zones
    • Round 2: 15 hand release merkins, 30 lunges, 40 freddie mercuries, north karaoke between zones
    • Round 3: 15 shoulder tap merkins, 30 jump squats, 40 LBCs, backwards run between zones
    • Round 4: 15 CDDs, 30 side lunges, 40 HTH, south karaoke between zones

    Pass the potato to Marv.

    Mosey to the bus loop by the 7th grade entrance for triple check. LBCs, plank, tracers for the first 4 lines.

    Mosey BTTVSF, alternating between merkins and burpees based on the lowest number on each door we pass. We passed the 8th grade entrance somewhere along the line as well. 6th graders must have to tunnel into the building.

    Circle up for 5 MOM including american hammers, iron penis, hello dolly, SSH, and one or two arm circles before time hit.

    Numbers, names, and Marv took us out.

    Moleskin

    Major appreciation to the Timberwolf crew for enduring the dual Q today. You guys have great energy and takeover week is a reminder that YHC needs to find a way to break out of the routine from time to time and see the PAX all over greater RVA.

    There were a few attempts at mutiny on the tennis court today. Luckily, all attempts were thwarted. All except for Bullseye. He does what he wants. Kudos brother, you do you.

    Backblast title goes to the mumblechatter theme on the tennis courts as one PAX member was receiving a ribbing for his recent trip to Baltimore. There were many suppositions about the nature of EH that happened. Only one knows best.

    Thanks again for letting us lead.

    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.