Author: THE Yankee Aggressor

  • Did we run last Friday?

    10 Redwoods posted for a morning jog on Grove.

    The Thang:

    Pick your poison.  4, 5, or 6 mile loop.  All head east on Grove, 4 mile turn at Malvern, 5 mile turn at Roseneath, 6 mile at The Boulevard.  Run to Grove and Three Chopt, turn back and run back to the shovel flag.

    Moleskin:

    Been a real long weekend and week!  I have a personal deadline of posting backblasts within 24 hours of the workout.  Let’s just say I missed this one by a mile.  Anticipating the run tomorrow, I had to carve time out today to get the backblast up.

    A few injuries and a couple guys getting back into running created an interesting happening today.  About a mile into the run, 5 of us (Swirly, Pelosi 5-0, Lockjaw, Bleeder, and I) were all in the same pack.  Bleeder yelled out “what the hell is going on?  I am used to running by myself”.  Bleeder and Swirly went on to run 4.5 (not an option the Q gave) while the rest of us posted a nice 4 mile jaunt.

    Saab continues to set the pace and prove that just because you are in your late 40’s doesn’t mean you have to slow down. We will see this week if the early 50’s are as good to him.

    Lab Rat kinda joined us for the run. He showed up a few minutes into the run and being an FRNG, he did not know the normal loops. He caught up with us at the end for a COT.

    See you next week in the gloom

  • Man Down

    3 + 1 posted for an early morning trail run.  Although we are starting at 7 am, it is still dark outside for the first half hour or so.  Cannot wait for the time change.

    The Thang:

    Cross river, take buttermilk trail to Belle Isle.  Run the middle of Belle Isle, Rock hop back to the buttermilk at the set of stairs and head back to the shovel flag.

    Moleskin

    Oyster posted early this morning to get a headstart.  When he arrived at the AO, he read the previous nights Twitter activity and noticed that TYA had announced that a new route was in store for the PAX.  Oyster headed out on the usual route about 20 minutes early starting out on the northbank.  We ran into Oyster at the crossover to Belle Isle.  He kept going on the Buttermilk, determined not to be caught.  After we finished the Belle Isle loop, we were in hot pursuit.  Oyster did beat us back to the parking lot, but Saab spied him taking a short cut up the set of steps towards the end of the trail.

    YHC took a good spill today.  I have been running the trails for over six months now and have yet to fall.  After surviving the first 1/2 hour in the dark, I was fine on the run until 3/4 of the way back.  Shortly after the Reedy Creek parking area, I tripped going up the hill.  Went down on my left side, getting a good case of road rash on my knee and thighs.  No other damage, so brushed myself off and finished the run.  No worse for the wear.

    Saab posted after a long day and a late night. He was trying to recruit pucker for the run, but Pucker was burning the midnight oil (with a few cocktails to help him along his way)

    Four seems to the be the magic number for the run these days.  More company is always appreciated.

  • Back to Monument

    8 faithful posted for a Friday morning jog.  Weather was perfect for a run.

    The Thang.

    Commonwealth north to Monument, right on Monument.  4 mile turn is The Boulevard, 5 mile turn is Allison and six mile turn is Stuart Circle.  Back to commonwealth and to the shovel flag.

    Moleskin

    Bleeder was an early runner this morning.  He left 10-15 minutes prior to the workout so he could get an extra mile or two in.  He is training for the 1/2 marathon and needed to get a few miles under his belt.  Probably didnt hurt to add a mile more than Lug Nut as well.

    Saab, Marv, Sippy and Toga were in the early lead.  Saab, breezed by me with more than a mile to go.  I tried to match his pace for a 1/4 mile or so, but to no avail.  Marv and Sippy were running together when they passed me.  They too had a good pace going.  Seems that Sippy is regaining some of his old speed back.

    I think Lug, Toga and Swirly all took the 4 mile option today.  Toga had to leave early so his M he could support his M in the am.  Swirly was having some leg discomfort, that guy tries to work his way through all his aches and pains.  Respect.  Lug continues to get faster and faster.  YHC and other normal 5 milers see the writing on the wall….

    Annoucements

    October 31 – F3 pumpkin run at Lewis Ginter

    Bear Creek 10 miler on December 10.

  • MAXIMUS !!!!!!!

    11 strong emerged from the fartsack and posted at 45MOM today.  Weather was crisp and clear, 58 degrees and clear,

    The Thang:

    Mosey to far side of school.  Disclosure and announcement of the birth of Maximus Alexander Bleile.  Workout today to be done in his honor.  Little Baby Crunches x89 (Maximus was 8 lbs 9 oz at birth), SSH x20, through the tunnel x 20, arm circles x15 forward, arm circles x15 backwards, Merkins x 10.  Mosey to tennis courts for “The Pusher”.  All plank along side of tennis court.  First PAX run from baseline to service tee, sideways to middle of court, forward to net, sideways to right side of court, backwards to service line, sideways to next court and repeat through the four courts. Next PAX starts when first PAX reaches net.  All plank when finished.  10 WWi situps, Repeato x 4. Mosey to soccer field for 11’s.  Two exercises are Lt. Dans and Merkins.  Run to tree line forward and run back to sideline backwards during the 11’s.  Mosey to field near parking area.  American Hammer’s x 20, Alphabet OYO, 35x Little Baby Crunches.

    COT for prayer and announcements.

    Moleskin:

    Congratulations to Steve and K.C on the birth of their son Maximus.  We started with 89 LBC’s to acknowledge his birth weight and 35 LBC’s at the end to acknowledge Wedding Singer’s current age.  During the COT we said a prayer for Maximus and Steve and K.C.  Maximus has a good start on life with a community of folks who care for him.  Cannot wait until he posts at his first workout.  Shocked that Dad did not post this morning….not.

    YHC was trying to sneak onto the tennis courts to scout out the new exercise this morning.  I pulled up, parked quietly on the side of the road and figured out the exercise.  When I pulled into the AO parking spot afterwards, Swirly said “guess you are Q’ing today”. He said he had a little bit of conspiracy in him,  You cannot get away with doing anything without him noticing.

    Not much mumble chatter this morning.  Fudd not posting slows down the chatting a little bit.  We missed you out there today.  Expected to hear something about baseball playoffs or something else topical.

    We did the 11’s across the soccer fields today towards the big trees.  On the first go, Sippy went down due to uneveness on the soccer field (no damage to sippy).  YHC almost took a tumble as well.  I thought soccer fields were supposed to be flat?  Lots of confusion over whether we were going to the big trees or small trees.  I think people were hoping that we were hitting the small trees because they were closer.

    Happy Birthday Maximus.

    See you in the gloom.

  • Rugged Mania Part-Deux

    6 Pax and 8 friends and relatives posted at 11 am for the second running of the Rugged Mania.

    The Thang:

    3.1 mile trail run, 26 Obstacles, Mud all around and plenty of cold water.

    Moleskin

    Bleeder posted at 10:59:59 for the 11 am start.  He taped his shoes to his body during the first quarter mile and was off from there.  Loose Goose brought the family out to cheer the team on.  Carmen and his 2 children were a great cheering section.  They were joined by Circle K’s M and 2.0.  M Circle K did a great job of capturing a bunch of pictures of the crew.

    Wilson had the best (worst) pair of shoes for the rugged maniac.  At the start, the sole of one shoe was hanging on by  a thread.  They survived the race, but I am not sure they are usable after.  Wilson’s M warned him not to wear any clothing he wanted to keep as she was throwing away anything he wore during the race.  YHC should have taken Wilson’s wife’s advice because after doing his laundry the washing machine is now littered with small pebbles.  Good lesson for next time, either trash the clothes or hose them down before putting in washer.

    Herbie brought her sister, four gymnastics pals and a school friend to the race.  They all ran the race together with new hand decorated shirts.  They all did a great job, handling all the obstacles. They did showboat on the small balance beams by doing a handstand on them on the way across.  M TYA and friend rocked the race as well.

    Rugged Maniac drastically improved the parking process this time around.  No waiting in line to pay for parking.  Much better experience as a result.

  • Sunday trail run at dawn

    4 Motivated runners appeared just after sunrise on a beautiful Sunday morning in RVA.

    The Thang.

    Back to the trails.  Cross the bridge, onto buttermilk trail, cross over at Belle Isle and take outside loop to Northbank Trail and back to the cars.  7 miles traveled.

    Moleskin

    Pucker was a V-Sunday Run participant.  Having done the trails before, he had no problems navigating the 7 miles.  He was fighting a sinus infection and littered the trail with snot-rockets through out the run.  Trail behind Pucker was a bit slippery.

    Saab and Offshore led the pax followed by Pucker and YHC.  Although I was a bit slower than the rest of the PAX, the group stayed pretty tightly grouped.

    Saab has a good new route mapped out for us for the next trail run.

    See you in the gloom.

  • Venus is watching over us.

    12 eager runners posted at RAMM this morning.  Almost perfect weather for a run, 60 degrees, no clouds, no humidity, a little bit of wind.  Here is how it went down.

    The Thang:

    Run east on Grove, 4 mile turnaround at Malvern, 5 mile turnaround at Roseneath, 6 mile turnaround at THE Boulevard.  All run to Three Chopt, turn around and run back to the shovel flag.

    Moleskin

    Crescent moon out there today nice and bright (i have no idea if it was waxing).  Right above the moon was a planet shining brightly in the morning sky, I am assuming it was Venus.  It was there yesterday just below the moon, today it had moved just above.  It was the brightest I had ever seen a planet shining.  One of the things I love about the early morning workouts is seeing the morning sky with the moon, stars and the planets all around.  Without the workouts I go months without noticing the planet I am living on…

    Quickdraw opted for the full six mile loop today, a majority, if not all, of the remaining runners chose the 5 or 5+ options.  Sippy is on the mend and tried a long run for the first time in a bit.  Hopefully his calve still feels good tomorrow.

    First things first, Saab was not injured.  I knew that there would be speculation that he was having some sort of problem since YHC was keeping up with him this morning.  Truth be told, Saab was gearing down to stay with me.  Great to have someone to chat with on the run.  YHC never got into a groove today and the distraction of conversation made the run bearable.

    Bleeder and Lug Nut are embroiled in an epic battle over total mileage done year to date.  They are within a mile or two of each other.  On any given day one or the other takes the lead, forcing the other to get out and run to catch up.   Let’s see how long they stay close.  Good work gentlemen, if I told you a year ago that you would log 100’s of miles in a year, you would not have believed it.

    One of the PAX today noticed that Saab was in a different vehicle today.  Two funny things came from this conversation.  First, Saab pointed out that his gas gauge is constantly moving downwards because of the gas ineffeciency of his vehicle.  Second, Saab mentioned that he had run out of gas twice in the past couple months in his vehicle.  I don’t know why I find that so funny, but I do.  Back in the day I used to run out of gas, but it has been a while.  What is the cause? Distraction, lack of attention, stubborness, we may never know.  Saab???

    Announcments

    BT announced that a speaker is coming to St. Christophers to talk about raising boys into men in modern times.  Sounded like an excellent program.  BT chime in with details.

    Rugged Maniac this week.  Good luck to all those participating

    Bottom to Tap next weekend

    October 31st F3 Great Pumpkin Run at Lewis Ginter.  Bring the family and represent for F3.

  • Sunday (Not) Trail Run

    3 Determined runners posted at the Pump House for a Sunday Morning trail run.  When YHC entered the parking lot at 659, two pax were patiently awaiting my arrival. Since it has rained straight for the past 5 days, we decided as a group to stay off the trail and hit the roads adjacent to the path.

    The Thang:

    Run over nickel bridge, run past the trail entrance to the top of the hill, left onto Riverside drive.  Follow riverside drive for about 3.75 miles, Cross back over the river at the Manchester Bridge.  Take a left onto Spring Street, follow Spring to end, take a right, go a few blocks, take a left onto Idlewood.  Follow Idlewood all the way to the lake, run around the lake, and back out to Boulevard.  Take a left onto Boulevard and back down to Pump House Road.

    Naked Moleskin

    Perfect weather for a run.  62 degrees, slow rain.  Winds were swirling a little bit but it mostly felt good.  Only time the wind was an issue was coming over the Manchester Bridge.  The wind was directly in our face and blowing hard.  It was brutal.

    Map My Run says we did 7.44 miles on the route today.  We kept up a pretty steady pace today and all stayed together the whole time.  Thanks to Offshore and Honey Do for the company.  Honey Do was able to join us today because his 1/2 marathon was cancelled because of the weather in Hampton.  After the run, we all talked about the upcoming F3 announced races.  Lots of interest in Bear Creek run and the Colonial 200 next year.   YHC broke out the running tights today.   Great gear for running in the rain…

    See you next week in the Gloom.

  • The British are coming!!!

    16 Dry and Driven men emerged from their Fartsack to attack the day (and the british) at 45 MOM.  The weather was nearly perfect.  60 degrees, slight rain, no stars.  YHC was hoping for much worse weather, man do I like it when the gloom gets gloomy!!!!  Despite the lack of driving rain, the PAX left 45MOM drenched and muddy.  A great time was had.  Here is how it went down.

    The Thang

    Mosey to the basketball courts, Paul Revere Starter (1 if by land two if by sea, so everything is either and 11 count or 22 count).  Merkins x 11, SSH x 22, Don Quixote x 22, Burpees OYO x 11, LBC x 22, and Merkins x 11

    The BBC, ascending.  On the tennis court start at the baseline.  Bear crawl to the net, run to other baseline and down the 4 courts, Crab walk to the net, run to the baseline and across the 4 courts, 1 Burpee.  Repeato, adding one  burpee each time, until you reach ten.  Plank for 6, then all mosey to the tree line.

    Pair up for Double Decker 11’s.  Teams alternate piggy back carry to next tree, each team does 20 Merkins, 2 WWII sit ups at tree, piggy back to next tree, 18 merkins and 4 sit ups, repeato until 2 merkins and 20 WWII sit ups.  Mosey back to the shovel flag for COT and inspirational dedication by Fudd.

    Moleskin

    We got to exercise in the basketball court area today.  A rare treat as the Tomatoes are usually hunkered down in that space.  Since they took refuge under the pavilion, it gave us the opportunity to use their area.  Nice place to do a warmup, but we will cede the area back to the tomatoes when it is not raining out.

    YHC had been wanting to bring back the BBC exercise again so I decided on a British theme for the workout.  It seemed even more appropriate given the weather that we had yesterday.  I was going to try to pull out my best british accent while counting cadence, but given that it would most likely sound like an indian accent, I decided to spare the PAX.

    Sippy slayed the field during the BBC exercise, lapping YHC twice during exercises.  Fudd and I had an epic battle with Swirly and ?? during the Double Decker 11’s.  Lot of fun trying to catch them.  Thanks to Fudd for pounding out a majority of the merkins at an amazing clip.

    Announcments

    Rugged Maniac next Saturday, a couple of spots still left see TYA

    10/17, Bottom to Tap.  F3 will have a booth.  Thanks DK

    10/31 Great Pumpkin Run.  F3 will have a booth.  Thanks Abacus

    Pre blast for colonial 200 is up on the site.  Commit early.  Should be a great time.

     

  • Preblast – Colonial 200

    Ok, the BRR was awesome.  It was a great challenge physically and mentally and a hell of a good time.  Given that I wanted to keep my fitness level up and better prepare for next year’s BRR, I searched far and wide to find another relay in the Spring.  The good news is that I found one.  The Colonial 200, from Charlottesville to Williamsburg.  Not quite the elevation changes that we experienced in NC, but still a good challenge and should be a great run.  I am hoping that we have enough interest to get one or two teams together for this years race.  Let me know if you are interested.

    TYA

    http://www.colonial200.com/