Author: THE Yankee Aggressor

  • PRE-Blast: HDHH on Tuesday

    PAX, I am hosting a celebration for the near completion of one of my house renovations.  The celebration will be next TUESDAY (yes this is a change from Monday) at the house.  Address is 910 Baldwin Road, Richmond VA 23229.  Festivities will begin at 5pm.  We will have barbecue, beer, wine and soda’s.  Everyone is welcome.

  • 45 MOM with a Russian Twist

    14 faithful and one FNG posted in the post rain gloom this morning in RVA.  Upon leaving the car, temperatures was a cool 70 degrees…no sun, but it felt that way to me.

    The Thang:

    Mosey across Cary street to Windsor Way entrance to Windsor Farms.  COP just beyond the bus shelter.  25x Side Straddle Hops, 35x Little Baby Crunches, 15x arm circles forward, 15x arm circles backwards, 10 burpees OYO, 20x Russian Twists.  Line up in two columns, Native American run to the field at Dover Baptist Church (?).  Elevens on the field, two exercise are mountain climbers and Freddy Mercury.  Mosey back towards the school.  Stop at intersection for planks, 15x 3 count Merkins and 15x Russian Twists.  Mosey a few more streets down, stop at intersection for 10 Burpees OYO, 20x Russian Twists.  Mosey back to Mary Munford school, stop at field nearest Cary Street.  Partner up 20 each leg pushes, followed by 10x Stuart Scott Merkins, Repeat 4 times, plank up.  Last exercise is…..you guessed it, Russian Twists x 15.  Mosey back to shovel flag, COT and out….

    Moleskin

    Not sure, but heard that Conspiracy was going to Q the workout today.  Since he always arrives at 5:40, YHC took the opportunity to usurp the Q privileges for the day.  Plan was to run off the AO to Windsor Farms so we could lose Conspiracy.  To my dismay, he found us at the first COP. He does indeed have good recon skills.

    When we hit the field at the Church the sprinklers were on.  For a quick second I thought about adjusting the workout and doing something else, but decided a little water never hurt anyone.  Luckily for the PAX the sprinkler only covered half the field, so we were able to avoid the active sprinklers.  All seemed good until we got the far end of the filed where the sprinklers had previously been working and got more than a little bit wet on the feet.

    Most asked question at end of today’s workout was where is Bleeder.  This is the first time in a very long time that he has missed a workout at Mary Munford.  He is away for a two week vacation in Austria.  At Tuesday’s workout, Bleeder announced that he was going to Austria and Honey Do retorted “Good Day Mate, Shrimp on the Barbie”  Austria, Australia, whatever…Too Funny.

    During one of the Burpee OYO sessions YHC, commented that we should try to hit the jump shot on the jump up portion of the burpee.  Wedding singer spent the rest of the session naming slow caucasian ex-professional basketball players that TYA reminded him of.  I will admit that my jumping prowess is lacking, but I was leaving the ground and hitting a vertical jump of at least 4 inches.

    Toga is going on a shopping spree today to get himself some new shorts…he had an odd fascination with one of the PAX’s choice of biking shorts for workout attire.  Was Burt Reynolds wearing biking shorts in his famous poster???

    Announcements

    Regular run tomorrow, Dogpile and GridIron on Saturday.

    Sign up for Q’s slots for next week.

    TYA having a party next week at this flip house.  Look for Pre-blast in next day or so.

     

  • ABS and Arms…please help!

    9 faithful posted on a glorious Richmond morning.  Weather was 70 degrees and sunny.  No humidity, not heat, perfect weather for a nice beatdown

    The Thang:

    Slaughter Starter – 20 Burpees OYO, Mosey past policeman to entrance of park for a COP.  All exercises in cadence Moroccon Nighclub x 30, LBC x 30, Carolina Dry Dock x 20, Russian twists x 30 (crowdpleaser).  Mosey to field with nice soft grass for Merkin Wave.  All plank, first PAX does 1 merkin, then next pax, so on, increase reps up to 10, then back down to 1.  We switched up to LBC  instead of planks when we started to descend back down the ladder.  Mosey to other side of field.  3 minutes of mary.  LBC x30, Slow count Merkins x 15, box cutters x 30.  Partner up.  Each partner does 20 leg pushes, then partners do 10 Stuart Scott Merkins together, repeat x 5 for a total of 100 leg pushes per pax and 50 Merkins

    Moleskin:

    YHC was determined to minimize the running today and focus on the arms and abs.  Since I can hardly type on the computer, I am going to call the workout a success from that standpoint.  I tried to alternate between arms and abs every other exercise, giving us a healthy dose of Merkins.  My rough count had us doing 200+ Merkins in the 45 minutes.  My abs say we focused plenty of time on them as well.  Russian twists continue to be a crowdpleaser.  They are the Burpee of the ab world.  YHC is happy that we did a ton of these back in my ice hockey days.

    Conspiracy does not like doing exercises on the pavement when there is nice soft grass less than 100 yards away.  YHC will take that into consideration in the future and make sure that my next beatdown at notoll does not disturb the well groomed grass.  Conspiracy took a look around the AO after the workout checking out the trail.  He reported that the trail is about 1/2 mile long and that there are pullup bars somewhere along the way.

    Pleased to have the opportunity to lead this morning.  Honor to have the opportunity to work out with a great group of men…

    TYA OUT

  • PAX ups the miles

    11 of the Faithful jumped out of the farstack on a misty/foggy Friday morning.  All were rewarded with a good workout and some good fellowship

    The Thang:

    Head towards grove, all take a left.  Pick your loop.  10k all the way to 3 chopt, 6 miles to St Catherine’s turnaround loop, 5 miles to Tuckahoe, 4 miles to Wisteria, turnaround, run to The Boulevard and then back to the school and shovel flag.

    Moleskin:

    Saab broke away from the pack (of two) at the end to finish the day strong. He passed YHC going up the hill at Libbie and Malvern.  Sippy followed shortly after, in chase, but only maintaining the spread between the two.  YHC does no know how it played out at the end, but the two of them are clearly pushing each other in the runs.

    BT broke out the new shoes he recently purchased from Fleet Feet.  The shoes lived up to the store’s name as BT’s pace seemed to pick up and his distance also was increased.  He Swirly and Toga all took the six mile loop and finished a longer run strong.

    Sunshine was a Kotter.  Still nursing a knee injury, he posted anyways and acquitted himself well. Under doctor’s orders he is on a regiment of two miles of running followed by two miles of walking. Despite his limitations, he still easily finished the four mile loop in the allotted time.  Great job.

    YHC had a good run and conversation with Loose Goose today.  Out of the gate I was not feeling the motivation this morning, but LG’s company and encouragement spurred me on to complete the 5 miles.  One of the benefits of running with a group is pushing yourself to get faster and faster.   Another is that when you don’t have the strongest day and feel like packing it in, there is someone there to pick you up and keep you going.  Thanks LG.

  • Brick fest!

    A lucky 13 posted for the morning ritual at Mary Munford.  Treats were promised and treats there were, in the form of hand made bricks from the 1900’s.  Two per PAX to accompany them on their beatdown journey today.

    The Thang:

    Mosey to field for warm up COP, welcome a disclaimer.  All in cadence.  20x SSH, 15x merkins (on bricks), 20x Dying Cochroaches, 25x Imperial Walkers.  Mosey to line of 11 Trees for …. you guessed it 11’s.  Start with 10 Lt. Dan’s and 1 Squat Jump with bricks.  When you complete the 11’s do Brick Burpees until all PAX arrive.  Quick 3 minutes of Mary, in cadence 20x russian twists, 20x alabama prom dates.  Mosey to School saying hello to the Tomatoes on the way.  Next exercise, ascending Triple check.  First round, 1 PAX runs 100 yards and back with two bricks, second PAX does brick curls, third PAX does  brick overhead presses, switch until all have done all exercises.  Planks for one minute.  Round two of Triple check, first PAX does 2 x 100 yards and back with two bricks, second PAX brick tricep raises, third PAX brick fly’s, switch until all have done all exercises.  Round 3, 3 x run 100 yards and back with two bricks, second PAX brick reverse curls, third PAX brick lawnmowers, switch until all PAX have done all exercises.  Round 4, 4 x 100 yards back in forth (no bricks, second PAX peoples chair with 2 bricks overhead, third pax plank on bricks, switch until all PAX have done all exercises.  Mosey to shovel flag 2 minutes of mary, in cadence 20x russian twists (first ten with two bricks, second ten with one), 20 x LBC.  COT with final thoughts by Fudd.

    Moleskin:

    Great to have Goldberg back for his second F3 workout.  He acquitted himself well today, despite the fact that he is battling a hamstring issue.  He showed up just in time, on his bike as he only lives a few blocks from the AO.  We look forward to seeing him at more workouts in the future.  Also, he is a great addition to the team as he is a Dr. and can (maybe) fix the minor aches and pains that he PAX are experiencing?

    Several of the PAX had difficulty with their companions today.  I shall mention no names, but you know who you are.  Despite the rumor that bricks are strong, several of the PAX broke several of their bricks today.  YHC thinks maybe they were trying to lighten their load during the workout.

    Russian twists are a real crowd pleaser.  Although YHC is a huge fan, the amount of grumbling and huffing and puffing goes way up when Russian Twists are called.  For some reason, they seem to  be the achilles heel of a majority of the Richmond PAX.  Must mean we should do more and more of them going forward.

    TYA was on the brink of having a wardrobe malfunction this morning.  He broke out his 1980’s short shorts for the workout and although they were a crowdpleaser with the tomatoes, they did not keep all appropriate gear in the appropriate place.  Those shorts are now being retired.

    Announcements:

    Tshirts available on the website.  Order as many as you can so we can all get the new designs

    TYA is organizing Rugged Maniac on October 10.  Let him know if you are interested.

    June 6th we are having a visitor at our workout at Dogpile.  Come one and all if you can so we can get some great positive publicity for F3 RVA.

  • I hope Bleeder doesn’t lose his keys

    10 motivated and dedicated PAX posted for a beautiful beatdown on this Tuesday morning.  Weather was sunny and 70, perfect for an F3 workout.

    The Thang:

    Start two minutes late.  Mosey to middle parking lot for a Warmup COP, all exercises in Cadence.  SSH x 20, Merkins x 15, LBC x 35, something else x 20.  Mosey across parking lot towards poles, along the way stop for 5 burpees OYO.  Tom Brady pole smokers x 20.  Mosey to corner of soccer field.  Four corners, first corner 10 merkins, second corner 10 Freddy Mercury, third corner 10 Burpees, 4th corner, 10 Sumo Squats.   OYO AMRAP (Hey how bout that F3 Lingo) in 10 minutes.  Mosey to parking lot.  Four corners in the parking lot, same four exercises, OYO and AMRAP in 10 minutes.  Mosey back towards shovel flag for 6 mintues of Mary, dealers choice, all in Cadence.  Wison’s wife’s spaghetti party x10 on each leg (Swirly), 15x WWII situps (Ricky Bobby), 20 x Rosalita’s (Splinter), 30x LBC (Lugnut)….I am sure I missed one…but I take “respect” excuse.

    Moleskin

    The PAX all were asking at the beginning who had the Q for the morning.  For those who looked on the spreadsheet it said Johnsonville, but he was no where in site.  YHC had chimed in yesterday that if no-one had the Q today, I would take it, so off we went.  Unfortunately, I did not step up to the plate until two minutes past 530, so the PAX were cheated out of two minutes of workout today.  I will make it up to you all next time.

    Several suspicious looking characters were hanging out in the park early morning today.  When Swirly and Wilson showed up first, they noticed the guys and promptly hid their keys, while the suspicious characters were watching, next to their tires.  After having a few minutes to think about it, it was decided that it probably was not a good idea to hide the keys in our usual place today.  As a result, we all put our keys in Bleeder’s trunk for security.  I did not realize until halfway through the workout what a risk we had all taken.  We were all now stuck if Bleeder lost his keys.  Panic set in, but was unwarranted as Bleeder made it through the entire workout with his keys.

    Four corners with the sprinklers running made for an interesting (little wet) morning.  On our first pass along the long side of the field, Brain Tumor set the tone and ran right into the stream of water, less than a few feet from its origin.  After having seen that, no one else tried to avoid the water for the rest of the exercises.  YHC got a soaking while doing Burpees on corner 3 the second time through.  Some of the mumble chatter at the end of the workout indicated that the sprinklers gave a needed respite from the heat and humidity of the morning.

    Announcements

    Normal workout schedule this week

    October 10, the rugged maniac is returning to RVA.  YHC is putting together a group for the event. So far Wilson, Oyster, Bleeder (and family) and TYA (and family) are hard commits.  Let me know if you are interested and I will reserve a slot for you.  Cost is $41.

  • Where is the light marching down the road?

    8 strong and fast posted on a perfect running day in RVA.  Weather was 50 degrees and clear with the sun beginning to rise when the run started.

    The Thang:

    All PAX proceed to Grove Avenue.  Right on Grove and run to Grove and The Boulevard.  Turn around at The Boulevard and run back towards Three Chopt.  4 mile loop, run to Grove and Wisteria and turn around, 5 mile loop run to Tuckahoe and Grove and turnaround, 6 mile loop run to Grove and Maple and turnaround, 10k+ loop run to Three Chopt and Grove and turnaround.  All run back to Grove and Commonwealth and back to the shovel flag.

    Naked Moleskin:

    Bleeder changed up the attire and did not post in his Khaki shorts with brown belt and collared shirt today.    Bleeder was in more traditional F3 attire, ready for speed and the run.  He is quickly looking to jump under the 10 minute per mile mark.  Today’s run came in at just above at 10:01 per mile.  Next week he will certainly reach his goal.  It is just a matter of time before Bleeder is challenging the PAX in the 9 minute range.

    Progress on a week to week basis seems slow, but when looked at over a long period of time, it is truly remarkable.  On his first run, Bleeder could barely lift his legs off the ground and now is ready to eclipse the 10 minute per mile barrier.  Swirly has moved up groups (from doing 4 miles to 5) and was leading the pack of folks in the 8-9 minute per mile range for a few miles.  Saab and Marv both knocked out a 10K+ in under 45 minutes.  Great job out there today.

    For the first time in a long while, the PAX did not see the usual headlight coming around the corner at 5:25.  The entire group was looking towards the corner of Commonwealth and Cary waiting for the familiar site.  Sippy missed the run for the first time I can remembers since he has started.  Because of the long holiday weekend, many of the usual running PAX were missing today.  All present missed the others today and look forward to seeing them back out there again next week

  • Reverse runs….

    12 strong posted for a beautiful morning for a run.  PAX continues to take on the challenge and run further and faster every week.

    The Thang:

    Take a right onto Grove, run to intersection of Grove and Boulevard and turn around.  4 options for distance 4, 5, 6, and 10k+.  For 4 miles run to Grove and Wisteria, 5 miles Grove and Tuckahoe, 6 miles Grove and just past Maple, 10k+ Grove and 3 Chopt.  Reverse direction and back to the shovel flag for all.

    Moleskin

    Marv showed up and set the early pace on the run.  He started with some giddyup in his step.  Sippy and Marv were together at the first turn around and within spitting distance the entire run.  They both opted for the 10K+ option and completed the loop in just under 45 minutes.  T-claps to both of them for setting the pace for the rest of us.

    New PR runs were had by several in the PAX today.  Swirly has now cut his time down to under a 9 minute pace and continues to steadily improve.  Both Bleeder and Lugnut keep taking major chunks of time off in a short period of time.  In the next few weeks I predict they will both be under 10 minutes per mile.

    To switch things up today, we ran a new route, going to Boulevard for the first time.  The change in route seemed to change the psychology and dynamics of the run for many.  Always good to change things up and see what happens.

    Three LIFO’s today.  Conspiracy and Saab, appeared out of nowhere in the gloom.  They were not there at the start, but caught up with the PAX in the first half mile.  Lugnut was a LIFO on the other side.  He had an early morning family commitment and had to get in his clown car right after he finished his four.  See you all next week in the Gloom.  Great progress by all

  • Peppermint anyone?

    10 dedicated strong runners showed up to RAMM this morning for a quick morning stroll.  Weather was 70 and Sunny (or maybe 50 and raining).

    The Thang:

    PAX run from shovel flag to Grove Avenue. All take a right on Grove, three routes, 4, 5 and 6 miles, dealers choice.  4 mile loop turn around at Sauer, 5 mile loop turn around at Thompson, 6 mile loop turnaround at Belmont.  All run to intersection of Three Chopt and Grove, turnaround and run back to the shovel flag.

    Moleskin

    The PAX continues to complain that the mileage that the Q is reporting is not accurate, despite the fact that YHC has verified the mileage several times.  Because of his irreverance towards the Q, Bleeder was asked to drop and give me 10 burpees.  He gave me ten…but it was the middle finger, not burpees.

    Sippy reported that my 6 mile loop last week was only 5.5.  So I made sure this week that the loop was indeed 6.  Upon hearing the turnaround point sippy let out an audible “Damn”.  I could not have been happier.  Despite his longer route, Sippy Cup did pick about half of the pax on his way back to the shovel flag.  Sippy’s got wheels.

    Loose Goose set out to do 3.5 today (which was not an option) and ended up running 4.75 (also not one of the options).  Not sure how he accomplished this, but he did somehow.

    The PAX were all treated to peppermint lifesavers at the beginning of the run.  Although YHC is not a big fan of most of the “herbal” remedies, elixirs, and supplements out there, he did find a compelling article on the benefits of peppermint oil to running.  For a look at the article click here http://breakingmuscle.com/nutrition/the-surprising-and-substantial-effects-of-peppermint-on-exercise.

    Finally, there was a City of Richmond radar speed monitor on Grove Avenue, right in front of the school.  It did a great job of tracking the speed of the cars on the road.  When Swirly, TYA and Conspiracy were heading back to the shovel flag, Conspiracy, unsuccessfully, tried to have the speed monitor pick him up on a sprint.  Maybe next time if we run in a PAX (or if bleeder sprints), the monitor will pick us up.

    See you in the gloom next week.

  • F3 Arrives in Greece

    Pretty sure this is the first F3 workout that has taken place in Athens, Greece but I might be mistaken on that.

    1 LIFO (Fudd) and 4 FNG’s posted to the site of the first modern Olympic games in Athens, Greece.  This is where the first marathon was run way back when people were still wearing Toga’s (shout out to the mayor of Grumpsville).  For those of you that don’t know your ancient Greek history, the first marathon took place after the battle of……bet you can’t guess……. Marathon!…… that took place 26.2 miles northeast in 490 BC.  One badass warrior named Pheidippides fought a full pitched battle and sent some Ottomans to their 72 virgins, and then ran 26.2 miles to tell the Athenians that they won the battle and to man up, grap some sack, and go down to the Aegean with their short swords in case the Ottomans decided they wanted round 2 as they sailed down the coast.  So he arrived, said “We won”, and dropped dead.  Badass…….

    So here’s how it went down….The Thang:

    Mosey from the Electra Palace hotel to the Olympic track (Panathenaic stadium) which was the site of the first modern Olympic games (built in 1896 or something like that).  About 1/2 a mile.

    COP

    SSH x 20

    Merkins x 15

    LBC’s x 20

    Mosey to the side of the track for stair runs up and down.  When you get to the bottom, do 10 Merkins and then run back up the next set and back down….10 more merkins……all the way to the end.

    Mosey to the statues of Homer and Plato (other end of the picture).  Split into one team of 2 and one team of 3.  One dude (or set of dudes) does the people’s chair against the base of the statue, while the other does a bolt to the middle of the stadium (about 100 yards) and back.  Once the runner reaches the middle of the stadium, the guy doing the people’s chair switches to burpees until the runner makes it back to the statues.  Repeat 3 times.

    9 Minutes of Mary on the infield:

    Flutter Kicks x 20

    Rosalitas x 20

    WWII situps x 30

    Ring of Fire x 3…..each dude does 10 merkins while the others hold the plank.  Go around the circle 3 times with no rest.

    And yes…..I sang Johnny Cash.  There were tourists taking pictures at that point

    Superman’s x 2…..and yes, I sang the song……”Believe it or not, I’m walking on air……”   The tourists were giving each other strange looks……

    Mosey to the tunnel entrance (where all of the athletes entered the stadium dung the opening ceremony of the games).  Bolt up the tunnel to the top, then back down and out for one lap around the stadium (400 meters) as fast as we could go.

    Mosey to the podium for the attached picture, numberama, namerama, and a quick prayer before we ran the 1/2 mile back to the hotel as fast a we could go because Fudd was late for a dinner reservation with his wife. 😉

     

    These guys were all runners and 2 of them smoked me on the lap run.  I know you RVA guys will be shocked by that, but as a disclaimer, I did have about 9 doubles of Glenlivet last night and smoked about half a pack of American Spirits.  Definitely wasn’t at 100%.  All of these dudes are good guys and said they plan on joining us for beat downs once we are back in RVA.

     

    Hope you guys in the states are having fun, cause I sure as hell am.  😉