Author: THE Yankee Aggressor

  • Better late than never

    3 Steely old veterans and 3 Wednesday hill run virgins converged on hillcrest on a nice Wednesday afternoon.  1 veteran rider posted at 2 minutes after, but found the group.  70 and sunny was the weather (75 if you looked at the Hampton Roads weather app)

    The Thang:

    3 long loops around Hillcrest, Old Orchard, Hillwood, Chairman, Poplar, Pocahontas and Hillcrest again.  The first counterclockwise, the second clockwise and the 3rd counterclockwise.

    NMM

    Bleeder and Priorities kicked things off by leaving about 10 minutes early to hit the hills.  They stayed together for the whole loop.  Along the way they saw some ficticious tomatoes.  Maybe it was a return of the track teams from UR and VCU.  If so ladies, I’m a little bummed you didn’t come say hello to TYA.

    The rest of us took off at 530 sharp.  Dreamliner and Swirly led the first two laps,  Upchuck hung with YHC for the first loop and then took off halfway around the second loop to catch the faster guys.  As always, I seem to get faster as the run progresses versus slowing down.  Don’t know what that is all about, but I won’t complain.  The third leg I was able to keep us most of the way around.  Circle K posted midstream on his bright orange bike.  He reported that the hills are no easier on a bike!!!

    We hit 5 miles on the odometer for the day with 440 feet of elevation gained over that distance.  I good hilly run, bus still nothing closed to the BRR.

    After the beatdown on the hills we headed to F3RVA studios for second F and the taping of two podcasts.  Look for the podcasts to drop on Soundcloud Friday around noon.

    TYA OUT

  • 3 big circles for Circle K

    3 sturdy redwoods posted on a Wednesday afternoon for a jaunt on Hillcrest.

    The Thang:

    3 large loops on hillcrest two counterclockwise and one clockwise.  Each loop is 1.67 miles.

    NMM

    Circle K joined in on the festivities for the first time this year for the hill run.  Weathers was 85 and sunny, but the trees kept us mostly in the shade.  It is starting to get hot out there and the humidity in VA is starting to rise.  As such, we were all soaked by the end of the run.  Circle K was leading the group today, pushing the pace, especially on the second lap.  Swirly was having some back issues and was really frustrated post run.  As such, he stretched out and headed out on one more lap after we had finished.  The lap went well, and it was mood enhancing experience for Swirly (and probably for the rest of his family).

    Good luck to all on races this weekend.

    TYA OUT

  • Breaking Bread, Mending People

    5 posted on a Sunday evening to prepare and serve food to some awesome folks rehabbing from various surgeries and other ailments

    The Thang and NMM:

    F3 RVA has committed to supporting Breaking Bread on Sunday evenings every month going forward.  This was at the second time we have been out there and the second outing was even better than the first.

    We posted at 530, got dinner ready from folks and began to serve (after an inspiring pre-meal prayer from Toga).  After serving all the patients, we grabbed some food for ourselves and sat down with folks for a meal.  Dinner was pasta with marinara or meat sauce, salad, garlic bread and a cobbler with ice-cream for dessert.  Second F during dinner was awesome.  These are normal everyday folks trying to get back on their feet after some sort of medical emergency.  Great to hear their stories and listen to their optimism.  One gentlemen I spoke with talked about just taking each day to get a little bit better and hopefully in a couple months he will be back to his old self.  These guys are struggling through life with the same vigor that we all put in at workouts.  One day, step, merkin, burpee, or whatever at a time to make yourself a little better than when you started.

    Highlight of the evening was the post cleanup Bingo game.  Honestly, I thought playing Bingo was going to be completely lame.  But, whatever the group wants to do, I was up for.  Boy was I wrong.  The amount of smack talk and enthusiasm during the Bingo game was amazing.  The residents were pumped and Toga, Mudface, Chewie and Lab Rat were letting the smack talk fly.  YHC had the privilege of calling the game and when I suggested we pack it in, the crowd begged for at least one more game.  Added excitement for the game was that we were competing for some awesome prizes (provided by the residents).  Candy bars and $1 scratch tickets were the prizes for winning.  You would have thought we were playing for a million bucks.  I can’t wait to play bingo again with folks (Insert your favorite joke about TYA being old).

    If you have not had the opportunity to do this 3rd F yet, jump in.  It is a blast and the residents could not be more grateful for the little bit of help we provided.  Honeydo is Q’ing next month, so reach out to him for details for our next outing.  It is 2.0 friendly.  Thanks to Hardwood….Ok, Lab Rat for finding this opportunity for us.  It was a great way to top off my weekend and start a new week.

    TYA OUT

  • Midnight Lasagna Party

    3 1/2 marathon virgins and three veterans posted for our countries toughest 1/2 Marathon (Blue Ridge Marathon in Roanoke)

    The Thang:

    13.1 miles, 1890 feet of climbing, 1890 feet of descending, a trip around the star and an ascent onto Peak wood drive for some champagne and strawberries.

    NMM

    We all successfully completed the actual event.  The run, with its elevation changes, was no joke.  I think of it as running the two mountain goat hard legs of the BRR (legs 31 and 32) back to back with a few extra miles thrown in for fun.  A few notes on the race itself

    • Times were (approximately) Rosie 2:05, EF Hutton 2:15, Splinter and Taxi Cab 2:22 and Swirly and TYA 2:35
    • Splinter had another occurrence of his post grandfather mountain experience.  When I saw him right after Swirly and I finished, he looked awful.  No color, shivering and generally looking miserable.  He grabbed a couple space blankets, rested and ate for a bit and looked much better a 1/2 hour later.  He had been battling a cold for a few weeks and knew right from the start that pushing the run wouldn’t be wise.  Smart move, given how he looked afterwards
    • All the virgins slayed the race.  For a first 1/2 experience, this was a tough one to bite off.  Each runner easily (relatively) tackled the race.  Impressive performance gents, couldn’t be happier to see you accomplish that
    • As mentioned by the PAX several times there was a lot of talent in the race (having nothing to do with actual running skill).  Swirly and I, despite all our best efforts, could not shake several runners right in front of us for the last 6 miles.
    • Best marked and one of the best organized races I ever done.  Volunteers were awesome, tons on folks out there in the rain cheering people on, and pre and post race activities were awesome

    Now on to the real story of the weekend, the other crazy things that happen along the way at a CSAUP

    • Post race the boys ordered a take out pizza for the crew.  YHC was very skeptical as they got one pepperoni pizza for five people.  Please people, you just ran a 1/2 marathon, live a little and get a couple pizzas, you earned it.  I was proven completely wrong when Splinter got back in the van with Pie.  It was enormous.  I don’t think it would fit most cars.  It clearly wouldnt  fit in a compact or subcompact.  It might fit in a midsize car, but I am not sure.  The delivery vehicle must be a flat bed truck or full sized pickup.  Despite its size, the boys eventually finished all 8 enormous pieces of the Pie
    • Post race four of us jumped into Smith Mountain Lake.  It was awesome.  The water was a bit chilly, but could not have felt better.  It completely reinvigorated me after the race.  As a side note, here, Swirly did not get into the lake and did not shower until Sunday morning.  How he could do that, I do not know
    • Swirly had an awesome dinner the night before the race.  He ordered an appetizer sized portion of ribs with a side of fries.  What came for him was 3 very small ribs, and the tiniest baked potato I have ever seen.  Despite the fact that Swirly ordered this himself, he blamed all the other PAX members for this outcome because somehow we all should have know that this would happen.  Side note, I went to the Kroger post race since YHC cannot eat pizza, looking at the choices, I really wanted to get some chick breast, but upon seeing the 1/2 rack of ribs, I had to order the ribs because of Swirly’s prior night experience.  Dinner was good, but service could not have been worse.  Our waitress couldn’t have been older that 14 and couldn’t seem to remember anything that Taxi cab asked for.
    • Prior to the race all PAX were giving advice to the 3 1/2 marathon virgins.  One of the big subjects that was discussed was bag balm.  The BRR veterans were extolling its many virtues and explaining all the places it must be applied.  The virgins seemed a little skeptical until splinter joined us and reiterated the importance of it and negative implications of not using it.
    • As you all know, swirly has a way with works (e.g,, Steady is the drip that wears the rock away).  He was up to his old antics and during the trip came up with what I think should become Bag Balms tagline: “Bag Balm is WD-40 for the Balls”
    • I will say from the beginning, that YHC did not participate in the event described below.  I went to bed before its occurrence. At about 8 pm, Taxi Cab, Hutton and Rosie went to the store to get something for dinner.  When they arrived back they reported that the ribs they were looking for were all put away.  In its stead, Taxi had purchased a frozen Lasagna.  Not an individual serving, but a party sized platter.  He popped it in the oven at 9pm and it was ready at midnight.  Since I was asleep, I do not know how many participated in the Lasagna party, whether keys were dropped in a basket, or any other details.  I do know there was a significant amount of bag balm missing in the morning
    • We watched a ton of playoff hockey on Saturday.  Swirly is learning the sport, but could not stop asking what quarter it was, how many people where on the court at the same time and where was OTT (Swirly, it is somewhere between Belarus and Belize)
    • I love F3 guys.  When it was time to get ready to leave and clean up the house, not a work was spoken, no duties and responsibilities were assigned.  The PAX with no direction, simply completely cleaned the house up and got the van packed for home.  Everyone just jumped in and did what needed to be done.  We were gone in 20 minutes and the house was back to its pre-event state.
    • Thanks to Rosie for hosting this event.  Vanna was awesome and the parents lake house could not have been better.

    If you haven’t been on a CSAUP road trip yet, schedule on this year.  The weekend was a series of comedy routines with a little run in between.  A true please, gents.

  • Bleeder is back

    3 idiots showed up for a Wednesday afternoon hill run.

    The Thang:

    2 or 3 extended loops on Hillcrest, reversing directions each time.  Each loop is 1.66 miles and has a few hills

    NMM

    Great to have Bleeder and Swirly back out to the Wednesday Hill runs.  Been a long time since both of them have been out there running together on a Wednesday.  Bleeder did great for his first time back out logging two extended laps with relative ease.  Swirly is working his way back in to shape, extending to 3 full loops this week.  His speed is a little down, but that will come back with time and when his ankle fully heals.

    Now is the time to start hitting the hills in preparation for the fall races. Come on out and join the crew, we will start the post run happy hours soon.

    TYA OUT

  • Breaking Bread – Help Needed this Sunday

    Breaking Bread is the Sunday, from 5:30 – 7:30, I am Q’ing.  This is a 3rd F opportunity where we prepare and serve food to needy folks at a medical rehabilitation house.  .  I am going to make it easy for you.  I will bring all the food/drinks/dessert that we need.  I just need a couple of folks to help serve the food, talk with the folks there and hang out.  It is at most 3 hours out of your Sunday evening.  It is 2.0 friendly (over 12) and incredibly rewarding.  We have been getting a ton out of F3, time for us to give back.  

    Comment below that your interested and I will get you the rest of the details for Sunday.  Thanks in advance for jumping into this with me.

    TYA OUT

  • Quiet Easter Sunday

    Four faithful posted on an Easter Sunday.  Trails were quiet, yet beautiful.

    The Thang:

    Buttermilk to Forrest Hill back to Buttermilk and finish up at the Pump House.  7+ miles for some, 5+ for others.

    NMM:

    LabRat got an early start by posting at Reedy Creek and running back to the Pump House.  He turned around with us and did the return to Reedy and around Forrest Hill.  TSB had a good first half of the run, but was feeling ill half way through Forres Hill.  She stumbled her way back to the Reedy Creek parking lot and Lab Rat was nice enough to give us a lift back to the pump house parking lot.

    Missed Saab out there today.  (Bad Mental Image Alert) He was out tanning himself on the beach.  I assume that most of the other PAX were at church praying for the rest of us heathens.  We appreciate it greatly.

    Happy Easter to all. This is YHC’s favorite holiday.

  • 3 big loops

    Four posted for the beginning of the Wednesday hill run

    The Thang

    3 loops on the extended hillcrest loop.  Just under 5 miles

    NMM

    Swirly was back at the Wednesday hill run.  Good to see him back out there today. He was a good boy and took it easy on the hills.  Its hard for a man like Swirly to give anything less than 150%.  But sometimes discretion is the better part of valor.  Hopefully Swirly can someday see that.  Maybe, maybe not.

    Jville and Honeydo were back out on the hills and setting the pace today.  Honeydo had to get home quick so left a little bit early.  The Q consulted with corporate to see if someone posted to a workout, but did not stick around for the COT if that counted as a post for Big Data.  Corporate said yes.

     

    TYA OUT

  • No ex Marines or Hockey Players

    6 studs emerged from the fartsack and tackled the trails around Richmond

    The Thang:

    Northbank to Potterfield bridge to buttermilk to forrest hill to pump house parking lot

    NMM:

    All PAX opted for the 10+ mile route this morning.  It was a glorious morning to be running the trails.  45 degrees to start out, nice and brisk for a run.  Hat Trick was burning up the trails this morning.  He was in the lead the whole way and was circling back often trying to get his 1/2 marathon in today.  He did an extra loop or two at the end to finish the 1/2 and came in under two hours for the distance.  Taxi Cab continues to extend his “longest run” streak.  He put in ten miles this morning for the first time in his life and seemed to have not trouble at all.  He has a half marathon in two weeks.  I think he will slay it.  Congratulations Taxi Cab on continuing to push your limits…Awesome work my friend.

    Saab started 5 minutes late but caught up to us on the Potterfield bridge.  He was a little spent (for a few minutes) from there, then started to ramp it up again in Forrest Hill.  Hardywood, after a few minutes feeding his obsession of women dressed in civil war era garb, joined us for the trail run this morning.  He was rocking his Jerusalem cruisers for the run.  Just one reminder from the higher power to pick his feet up on the run…otherwise no harm from the choice of footwear (I did mention to him that I knew someone who sold athletic footwear, and that I be happy to make an introduction).  As always, when Lab Rat is missing, Helix fills in on his role and is talking the whole run.  The man has a prolific ability to talk and run.

    At one point during the run, I referred to Hat Trick as a hockey player.  He told me that he no longer played and therefore was no longer a hockey player.  I, respectfully, disagree with that assessment.  There are a few things in life, that if you have done more than recreationally in your life, that you are always entitled to take ownership and credit for.  One is a serviceman (Marine, Army, maybe even Navy, and all others) whether they are currently enlisted or not.  You have served your country putting your life on the line, you are forever a serviceman (or women).  I know hockey does not come close to that kind of dedication and commitment, but there is a special group of folks in the world who know what a hockey team is about and what the real rules are on the hockey rink.  If you have learned those and lived them, we are always honored to call you a hockey brother. Hat Trick, you will always be a hockey player to me.   I am beginning to understand as I write this that the same thing is true for our F3 brotherhood.  When you commit yourself to F3 and dedicate yourself to it and its principals, you become and always will be the member of a special group of people in the world.   I am honored to be learning what being a true F3 brothers is all about.

    TYA OUT

  • Track team practice

    2 Studs posted for a Wednesday evening run and were met, yet again, by the women’s track teams from VCU and UR.

    The Thang:

    45 minutes of hills around hillcrest, random loops and directions

    NMM

    Great to have some male companionship out on the run this morning.  Last week was a real burden being by myself and having to take care of both track teams on my own.  Jville’s presence was much appreciated, and he got to personally witness the joy that is hillcrest running.

    I think the track teams are like the baseball field on Field of Dreams.  If you do not believe in them, you will not see them.  I kept telling Jville that they were with us, but he could just not see them.  They so much wanted to interact with him, but he could just not see them.

    TYA Out