Author: Upchuck

  • Traveling Triangle of Death

    11 stalwarts gathered at 06:00 (growing to 13 by 06:10) for today’s hot potato edition of Dogpile. As they have for the past 6 years, temps remained steady at sunny and 70.

    Mosey to the illuminated grass between the Amphitheater and the Ha’ Penny Stage for the COP. All exercises in cadence.

    IWs
    SSHs
    Hillbillies
    Swirly’s Deadman Hang (standard, then alternate one leg in front of the other).
    LBCs
    FKs
    Scorpion kicks
    HRMs
    Inverted Scorpion Kicks

    Mosey to the Ha’ Penny Stage, grab a block, and mosey to the super-dark space between Ha’ Penny, Carillon, and Amphitheater.

    Elevens Plus:

    Start with one HRM at the stone walkway. Run to the middle, pick up a block, perform 5 curls, and continue to the non-illuminated lamppost. Perform 10 flutter kicks (2 count). Repeato for 2-9, 3-8, etc., always performing 5 curls at the midpoint.

    In case Swirly’s M reads this, YHC can attest, under penalty of perjury, that Swirly was not injury in any way during this exercise.

    Handshake Q:

    Return most of the blocks, then mosey to the Triangle of Death.

    Traveling Triple Check:

    Grab a block. First man carries block from Circle to the first corner of the triangle and back. Second man does HRMs. Third man does WWIIs. When first man returns, pass the block to second man.

    Then, travel as a group. The entire group runs from Circle to first corner. Man with block continues to second corner, then runs back to the first corner (all with the block). Men without blocks do HRMs and WWIIs while they wait. When second man returns, pass block to third man.

    Then travel as a group to second corner (bottom of hill). Man with block continues to third corner (up the hill to the circle). Other two guys do HRMs and WWIIs while they wait.

    Keep this cycle up until three full loops have been made of the Triangle of Death. YHC & Co. had four guys – hats off to those who only had three.

    HoneyDo Q:

    Mosey to Park Ave. for Burpee Road. 2 burpees at each lamppost.

    Mosey BTTF.

    Number-ram-a, Name-a-ram-a, HoneyDo took us out.

    Announcements/Requests:

    TYA is close to wrapping up treatments, perhaps as early as Monday. Health care workers have had a lot to deal with in the past year. Then, this. Ts&Ps. All kidding aside: you got this and the PAX is behind you.

    Prayers for Bleeder and his family.

    Prayers for those going through COVID stress.

    NMS:

    Small, but solid group today. Way to push.

    Good to see our recent COVID casualties are back. Hope the recovery is full and quick.

    Thanks to HoneyDo and Handshake for jumping in when the Q sheet was open. Nice work, gentlemen.

    Also, that might have been the worst unanticipated positioning of a light during any YHC Q. YHC apologizes to anyone who might have been impacted. Though, to be clear, if his M asks, Swirly was definitely not impacted, scraped, injured, or anything.

    Turns out Deuce and Bodo’s both have an extra gear when carrying the block.

    UpChuck spits the bit.

  • Blending Merlot

    9 answered the call – holiday or no holiday. Conditions remained steady at 70 and sunny. According to the commuters on Laburnum, here is how it went down, more or less:

    Mosey to the Grass for the COP:

    SSHs – 21 style
    5 burpees
    IW’s
    Don Quixotes
    Box cutters
    Hold 6 inches
    Flutter kicks
    Hold 6 inches
    Hello Dolly
    Reverse Scorpion Kicks
    HRMs
    Various stretches
    Hold 3 or 6 inches

    Mosey to the Parking Lot for Bear-a-cides:

    Bear crawl two spaces, 3 HRMs, crawl bear back to start.

    Repeato to four spaces, then 6 spaces, and then 8 spaces.

    Plank up for some stretching.

    Mosey to the Picnic Gazebo for a Florida 6-Pack:

    3 ab exercises. 20x. The PAX selected: Pole smokers, WWIIs, LBCs.

    Mosey to the Bus Circle:

    Round 1: Duck walk across the circle, 5 Lt. Dan’s, duck walk back.

    Round 2: Crab walk across the circle, 5 mercans, crab walk back.

    Mosey back to the Flag.

    Number-am-a, Name-a-ram-a, YHC took us out.

    NMS:

    The Punisher Faithful brought it tonight. The energy was on high. Johnsonville crushed the 6-pack. YHC isn’t quite certain whether Johnsonville actually hurled merlot or was merely sharing his plans for mixing a cabernet-merlot blend. If you find yourself at his booth at this weekend’s Farmer’s Market, caveat emptor.

    UpChuck spits the bit.

  • Florida Abs

    Twelve stallions trampled the lure of the Fart Sack and reported to the paddock for this week’s version of the Hoedown. Temperatures were a seasonably pleasant sunny and 70 at F3RVA’s darkest AO. According to the inscription on the TES Boulder, this is what happened:

    Mosey to the Third Church parking lot for the COP:

    SSHs
    5 burpees
    Russian Soldiers
    Imperial Walkers
    Dead Man Hang
    Scorpion Kicks
    5 HRMs
    WWI sit-ups

    Mosey to the Teacher’s Parking Lot for MLKs:

    Monkey Humpers (x15)
    Little Baby Crunches (x10)
    Kraken Burpees (x5)
    Run the Loop, clockwise.
    Repeato x3

    Mosey to the Little School Library for Curley Howard’s:

    2 HRMs
    3 Flutter Kicks
    4 Lt. Dan’s
    5 Box Cutters
    Run the loop, again, clockwise.
    Repeato 3x, but increase reps x2 on Round 2 and x3 on Round 3.

    Mosey to the Blacktop for Sergei Mangote:

    Bear crawl across blacktop
    Perform 10 mountain climber merkins (3 mountain climbers followed by a hand release merkin). Q called 20 originally, then sanity prevailed and Q modified.
    Repeato 3x.

    Mosey to the Corner for Florida Abs:

    Pick 3 PAX members. Have them share their favorite ab exercises. Last Call chose LBCs. Garbage Plate chose V-ups. Honey Do chose heels-to-Heaven.

    Start with 20 of the 1st exercise. Then, run halfway down the blacktop and do 20 of the 2nd exercise. Run the remainder of the blacktop and do 20 of the 3rd exercise at the end. Bear crawl across the width of the blacktop, and repeat the cycle on the opposite side of the blacktop. Continue the cycle until time is called. Handshake and Bodo’s made it through about 1.5 loops.

    Mosey back to the VSF

    Number-am-a, Name-a-ram-a, YHC took us out.

    NMS:

    Today the country celebrates Martin Luther King’s Birthday. YHC thinks this is great. YHC also has never understood why this country celebrates every famous person’s birthday on a Monday or a Friday. YHC thinks this is a little nutty. However, it is perhaps no less nutty than the tradition of mixing flour, butter, eggs, and sugar in a pan, cooking it, lighting it on fire, and then singing. Birthdays are strange.

    Welcome back to Honey Do.

    Let’s hope for a peaceful week for our country. YHC confesses – he is done with crazy people pushing nonsense. 2021 is a year for intelligent people to lead through persuasion, reason, and kindness. YHC challenges every member of F3RVA to commit themselves to leading by setting a positive example.

  • F3 10-Year Anniversary Beat Down

    182.6 score days or 10.005479520548 years ago, 34 PAX brought forth a new thang, eventually called F3. Do the math, and today is the 10-year Anniversary.

    The leaders were smart enough to create a devastatingly simple (only 5 rules – no more, no less) and intentionally decentralized structure (they knew that men won’t listen to anyone from The Home Office anyway) which would grow like a starfish (that is, when a piece breaks off, that small piece grows organically and separately into an entirely new being, unique in its own right).

    Just over 6 years ago, that Thang came to Richmond, and it has developed on its own into F3RVA. Since then, the weather has been, according to Andrew Frieden, consistently sunny and 70, day and night, summer and winter. A mental and physical Climate Change, if you will. The PAX celebrated the 10-year Anniversary with the following:

    Lap around the track.

    Circle up:

    20 mercans
    20 hello dollys
    20 mountain climbers

    Lap around the track.

    Circle up:

    20 wide grip mercans
    20 little baby crunches
    20 squats

    Lap around the track.

    Circle up:

    20 diamond mercans
    20 flutter kicks
    22 side straddle hops (10% more to celebrate 10 years)

    Mosey around the perimeter of MMES to the “hill” on the Mary Munford soccer fields (it’s hard to see in the dark, but YHC assures the PAX that, as long as you believe the Earth is round, the “hill” is there).

    Jacob’s Ladder from the center of the fields to the outside of the fields, starting with one burpee and going up to 5.

    Mosey around the remaining perimeter of the school to the school wall along the track. Line up against the wall for People’s Chair. 30 seconds.

    Long speeches, confetti, balloons, ridiculing of PAX members (mostly the Q), etc. to Mark the End of the Repeat of the First Workout, all lasting approximately 10 seconds. (TYA asked YHC to note that the First Workout took place at Plymouth, Massachusetts.) Today’s rendition took 20 minutes. As OBT noted in his summary earlier this week, in retrospect, the first workout was easy. And, for the PAX today, it was.

    Yet, the PAX persisted.

    Triple Check:

    1st Man: Bear crawl the basketball courts. Run back.
    2nd Man: Flutter kicks
    3rd Man: Side-straddle hops

    Mosey to the Tennis Courts for UpChuck’s All Four Corners. (Some PAX noted that it’s just “Four Corners.” YHC disagrees. YHC has added a twist to it, named it after himself, and trademarked it. “UpChuck’s All Four Corners,” just like The Temptations or The Four Tops, the modern version has its own brand). And, in the words of Daffy Duck,”It’s mine. All mine. All mine, mine, mine, mine, mine.” Two rounds.

    Round One: Stop at each of the four corners. Do the following:

    Corner One: 10 mercans
    Corner Two: 20 WWIIs
    Corner Three: 30 Monkey Humpers
    Corner Four: 40 Flutter Kicks (in the spirit of decentralization, every PAX decided OYO whether 1, 2, or 4 count)

    Round Two: Stop at each of the four corners. Do the following:

    Corner One: 10 mercans
    Corner Two: 10 mercans AND 20 WWIIs
    Corner Three: 10 mercans AND 20 WWIIs AND 30 Monkey Humpers
    Corner Four: 10 mercans AND 20 WWIIs AND 30 Monkey Humpers AND 40 Flutter Kicks (in the spirit of decentralization, every PAX decided OYO whether 1, 2, or 4 count)

    Mosey The Long Way around the School and BTTF. Circle up for 20 of Frederick Mercury’s Bicycle Crunches.

    Number-am-a, Name-a-ram-a, YHC took us out.

    Announcements:

    Two options for workouts tomorrow:

    Santa/Satan’s Hill at 7 for a beat down. Word is Wilson and Roscoe will each Q a group.

    Run at Mary Munford at 7 a.m. Old Faithful, aka Lockjaw, will have the Q. (For those newer to the group, Lockjaw once Q’d RAMM for an entire year). YHC thanks TYA for his positive encouragement of Lockjaw.

    TYA is starting treatment this week. You got this. Also, as YHC understands it, this is an experimental treatment allowing the patient to pace constantly around the treatment room while receiving radiation. Let’s hope it goes well.

    Prayers for Fudd & Family, for TYAs niece, and for Bone Thugs family, all of whom are current COVID patients.

    10 years in the books. What a great gift given to all of us. Here’s to keeping it healthy and to building our F3RVA community.

    UpChuck spits the bit.

  • Except that You’re 48 Now

    18 icicles decided to defrost their toes and warm their hearts collectively in celebration of YHC and HoneyDo’s birthdays at today’s edition of The Dogpile. Temperatures were an unseasonably warm sunny and 70. According to the toll operators on the Nickel Bridge, something like this happened:

    10 Burpees to warm our souls.

    Split the Q today to spread the birthday love.

    HoneyDo Q (birthday mañana):

    Quick COP

    Warma Dora 60/120/180 of burp ups, merkins, and the tiniest of baby crunches.

    Coupon-a-ram-a: 80 presses along with murder bunnies across the field.

    3 sets of 15 pullovers

    10 sit and press

    Partner-up: 2 rounds of wheelbarrows and 3 sets of partner leg tosses.

    Quick visit to the Tomb of the Unknown Triple Check

    BTTF

    UpChuck Q (birthday yesterday):

    Mosey towards the river, find a patch of grass (or rocks, Swirly), and circle up.

    SSHs x48
    IWs x12
    Arm circles x18
    Various stretches ’cause the Q isn’t 47 anymore
    Pickers x10
    HRMs x10
    WWIIs x10

    Mosey to the Nickel Bridge and perform a Burpee Bridge:

    Starting at the toll booth, 3 burpees at every lamppost (lighted or not). When 2 men have reached Riverside Drive, returning runners pick up the group. 3 WWIIs at each lamppost on the return.

    Mosey to the Tree Stump for a Prostitute (always return to the same corner):

    Run from home to first, perform 10 reps of the exercise. Return to home for one burpee.

    Run from home to first, perform 10 reps, then move onto second base for 20 reps, then back to first for 10 and then back home for the single burpee. Continue building/reversing up to 30 reps at 3rd base and then up to 40 reps at home.

    First base: 10 mercans
    Second base: 20 WWIIs
    Third base: 30 Rosalitas
    Home: 40 flutter kicks

    Mosey to Pump House Road for some Exercise Road repeats:

    Round 1: 10 monkey humpers at each post (6 posts out, 5 posts back)
    Round 2: 10 LBCs
    Round 3: Up the hill, 4 posts of oblique crunches (Little Baby Side Crunches?), 10 crunches at each post, alternate right/left abs at each post.

    BTTF

    Number-am-a, Name-a-ram-a, YHC took us out.

    Announcements:

    January 1, Carlos Santana’s Hill in Chesterfield/Powhatan/Amelia/Roanoke at 07:00. Roll down the windows and Clown Car with your pals.

    Nurses are busy these days. Let’s keep them in our thoughts, and let’s do our part to keep each other healthy.

    Two quotes from today’s workout:

    “Last week was a 5 alarm emergency.”

    “This is definitely not a hoax.”

    NMS:

    YHC was pretty fired up today after the workout. Lots of “that was a hard Q” from both groups. YHC confesses that he’s not sorry to have missed a Silent Assassin Q. YHC dislikes murder bunnies.

    YHC has wanted to visit Burpee Bridge for some time, so a modest sized group at Dogpile offered a nice return to an old favorite. Probation crushed the uphill. Nice work.

    YHC had a quick chat with Vinny yesterday, which reminded YHC of the 4-bagger. Like a good eggnog, a good Prostitute warms the heart and the toes on a chilly morning.

    Happy birthday to HoneyDo.

    YHC thanks Swirly for reminding YHC that having a birthday means getting one year older. YHC promises to practice saying “Tim Nee, UpChuck, 48.”

    UpChuck spits the bit.

  • I was just thinking about you.

    13 sets of legs ran and one set peddled on this the 48th Anniversary of YHC’s entry into the world. Weather was, again, perfect at sunny and 70.

    Routes:

    4 Milers: West on Grove, right on Libbie, quick left at Patterson, genuflect at Pearl’s, then east on Patterson. Right on Malvern. Right on Grove and BTTF.

    5 Milers: West on Grove, right at Three Chopt (on the side street – Henri), right on St. Christopher’s, right on Patterson, genuflect at Pearl’s Cupcake Shoppe, then continue on Patterson. Right on Commonwealth. Right on Grove and BTTF.

    6 Milers: West on Grove, right at Three Chopt (on the side street – Henri), right on St. Christopher’s, right on Patterson, genuflect at Pearl’s Cupcake Shoppe, then continue on Patterson. Right on Reveille. Right on Grove and BTTF. Or, just turn on Malvern and make it 5.1.

    Number-am-a, Name-a-ram-a, Bodo’s took us out.

    NMS:

    Good chatting with HoneyDo, Bodo’s, Splinter & Co. this morning. Special guest star Shakedown, who was apparently Q-ing at Spider Run this morning, made a cameo and joined HoneyDo and YHC for the last 3.5 miles. Nice birthday treat to run with two F3 friends who have run more miles with YHC that just about anyone.

    Announcements:

    The first F3RVA Convergence of 2021 will be held on January 1, 2021. Out of respect, all fields will be closed (Campos Cerrados) until dawn. Meet Satan at his Hill in Amelia, or Powhatan, or Lewisburg or wherever you run out of gas. Definitely Clown Car to this one. Charging stations will be available on site. Rumor has it 07:00. Details to follow.

    That day is also the 10-year Anniversary of F3. Whoever came up with the starfish model really nailed it for the needs of F3’s men. In a world with so many cookie-cutter, top-down, one-size-fits-most solutions, the starfish model works fabulously well for the task at hand. For those unfamiliar with the origins of F3, 10 years ago it was started with one workout. That first workout only started because a separate group (The Campos) was deemed “too big.” F3 split off new workouts as the size grew, thereby allowing (really, requiring) each region (and even each workout) to develop its own independent identity, traditions, personality, and people without a home office telling everyone what to do or how to act. In short, men building something that they own locally without unnecessary infrastructure or anyone doing it for them or telling them what to do. Initiative, leadership, action. If a group of men wanted to grow, then they took responsibility for the growth. About 6 years ago, a handful of men started F3RVA, and now we own F3RVA. Boom! Super way to maximize impact with limited/no all-knowing or all-controlling home office.

    Lots of prayer requests unspoken today, but mentioned now. One of YHC’s best pals lost his MIL to undiagnosed pancreatic cancer and another is going to lose his FIL shortly. Apparently, 2020 does not want to go quietly. This year is like a boxing match that the referee won’t stop. YHC feels like the fight was scheduled for 10 rounds, so apparently, we are going the full 10 rounds this year. Game on.

    Prayers also for the driver who flipped his/her car onto someone’s porch at Horsepen and Glenside this morning. Looked like a doozy (not our Doozy; it’s just a figure of speech).

    Happy 93rd birthday to YHC’s Aunt Eileen, one of the kindest souls in this world.

    As my friend Hardywood says, “Fun fact.” It’s also Josef Stalin’s birthday. Can’t make this stuff up.

    UpChuck spits the bit.

  • Pre-Blast: RAMM Route, December 18

    Tomorrow is YHC’s birthday. YHC has the Q.

    Meet 05:30.

    Pre-Runners: Return to RAMM before 05:30.

    4 Milers: West on Grove, right on Libbie, quick left at Patterson, genuflect at Pearl’s, then east on Patterson. Right on Malvern. Right on Grove and BTTF.

    5 Milers: West on Grove, right at Three Chopt (on the side street – Henri), right on St. Christopher’s, right on Patterson, genuflect at Pearl’s Cupcake Shoppe, then continue on Patterson. Right on Commonwealth. Right on Grove and BTTF.

    6 Milers: West on Grove, right at Three Chopt (on the side street – Henri), right on St. Christopher’s, right on Patterson, genuflect at Pearl’s Cupcake Shoppe, then continue on Patterson. Right on Reveille. Right on Grove and BTTF.

  • We Have the Antibodies

    10 shook off the Lure of the warm, cozy Fart Sack in favor of a socially-distanced, Hot Potato, First Watch Beat Down. Temps were, once again, Sunny and 70. According to the Dog Walker cutting straight through The Gloom, the Parking Lot, and the Beat Down, the following Likely Happened:

    UpChuck Q – Mosey to the River Road Baptist Main Parking lot for The COP (n. singular. def. Circle of Pain. A set of stretches to start the Beat Down. It has Two Components. a) a Circle, and 2) Pain, usu. from Stretching (#stretching). Example: Today the COP was a beautiful COP, lotta people said it was the Best COP, the most Fabulous COP, but still the One-and-Only COP, unless the PAX Circles-Up later (read on to #FindOut), but otherwise, the other Stuff is not a COP, unless Her Car has Lights, and She yells at HoneyDo & Co to “get out of The Road,” and then that is a Lady Cop, which is an Honorable, yet Different, Thing):

    Side-Straddle Hops (SSHs)
    Hillbillies (with flair) (HBwF)
    Dead Man Hang (DMH)
    Jazzercises (Js)
    Helicopters (Hs)
    Little Baby Crunches (LBCs)
    Freddy Mercurys (FMs)
    Hand-Release ‘merican Push Ups (HRMs)

    eHarmony (VQ-ish) Q: Mosey to the Auxiliary River Road Baptist Church Lot for a Triple Check. One man at each end of the lot, third man goes in between as the timer.

    1st Man: Lunge one standard American mile, swap with 2nd Man, who was doing Flutter Kicks, who then returns the One Thousand Seven Hundred Sixty Yards to the 3rd Man, who has been Holding Plank. Do this for 10 total cycles (not 10 each PAX, but ten total for the group). As this evolution was done in a linear pattern, this was not a COP, but a LOP (Line of Pain, at best). At worst, YHC’s quads burned like a California forest (i.e., started small, burn spread all over).

    Kubota Q: Straight Outta Quarantine, Kubota led the PAX in calisthenic (no “s” on that word).

    Side-Straddle Hop (singular) – Rep x1, yet #InCadence, which, ahem, sounded Winded.

    Since this was done with the PAX in the F3RVA version of a circle, this was a COP.

    Wojo Q: Two Workouts Out of Quarantine, Wojo led the PAX back to the RRBC Main Parking Lot, pausing for the obligatory Standard American Push-Up x1 (aka, Merkin) at each Speed Bump (Bump, not Hump). First Watch #Traditions.

    Dora: 1st Man ran to the parked busses (or is that buses – YHC never remembers and refuses to educate himself on this point). 2nd man started grinding through 100 HRMs, 200 Monkey Humpers, and 300 Little Baby Crunches.

    Since this was also not done in a circle, this was not a COP. Also, since YHCs legs started #FeelingIt, YHC also does not believe this was a LOP, but more of a EOP, or Ellipse of Pain.

    Handshake Q: Triple Check. 1st Man: Run to parked buses/busses (see above), 2nd Man: World War II Sit-ups (WWIIs), 3rd Man: Something Handshake called an “Iron Chair.” YHC thinks Handshake was having an 80s Flashback to Nicholai Volkoff and the Iron Sheik throwing a chair at Hulk Hogan. In lieu of understanding, the PAX did a People’s Chair. Regardless, not a COP.

    UpChuck Q: Wait momentarily for The Six.

    Handshake Attempted to Overturn the Q and issued a call of Side-Straddle Hops. But as Handshake lacked the Ghost Flag, the actual Q called a False Q. The PAX waited Patiently and only Momentarily, in a Circle, for The Six, which is our Custom.

    UpChuck Q: Side-Straddle Hops. x5. This was a COP.

    Mosey to the Auxiliary Parking Lot, stopping for a Special Request for World War II Sit-Ups at the scene of a prior Q. The PAX completed 5, more or less in a circle. This may have qualified as a COP.

    Circle of Trust (COT): Number-am-a, Name-a-ram-a, Handshake took us out. This was a COT, not a COP, because, while the PAX was in a Circle, no Pain was shared, but rather only Thoughts, Banter, Pleasantries, and Best Wishes for a fine Week.

    Announcements (Announcements):

    At 6:00 p.m. (18:00 hours) on Wednesday, December 16, 2020, a group of F3RVA men are invited to assemble for a Hump Day (or is that Humpday?) Happy Hour including one or more malted adult beverages of their choice (or an alternative beverage of their choice) at the West Creek location of the Hardywood Brewing Company. PAX are also welcome to visit other locations, albeit without an expectation of Brotherhood.

    10 Year F3 Anniversary has been Postponed. The Anniversary will Still Happen on January 1, 2021. The Global, albeit perhaps not Harmonic, Convergence is now scheduled for October, 2021. Cape Fear, NC, hosting. DeNiro has the Q. M’s welcome, but not Recommended.

    Naked Moleskin (NMS):

    YHC finds it Awesome to have Kubota and Wojo back from Corona Quarantine, which apparently involves being Alone in the Guest Bedroom in one’s Homestead for 14 days (and, YHC learned today, does not involve actual Limes or Coronas). #learning #growing. All Kidding Aside (AKA), this is huge. Fantastic to see these guys. Wojo noted that the experience is Brutal. and YHC believes he speaks for every PAX when he says that it was a) very positive to have both guys out today, and 2) important to remind them to, in the words of Eric Cartman, “keep the f@#k back, six f@#king feet.” YHC apologizes to Bodo’s for Modeling Poor Language (MPL).

    YHC was inspired by eHarmony’s VQ today. Mr. Harmony has equal Burn in his Qs as in his Compliments. #TSSSS #FeartheLunge. #Solid. #FullVQComingSoon.

    YHC, after 4.5 years of Brotherhood in F3, is Learning the Power of Leadership through Capitalization. Emphatic. Compelling. Bigger. #Shift+ #CapitalizationasLeadershipTool

    UpChuck Spits the Bit.

  • My Count is True

    Ten strong launched pre-dawn (and pre-WDOG) and set the First Watch of the day. Weather conditions remained steady at sunny and 70, exceptional for early December. The Q cannot find his actual watch, so Honey Do called “close enough” at 4:59:45. Apologies to any PAX who showed up on-time.

    Mosey around the parking lot and across to the front of the church for the COP

    SSHs
    Dead Man Hang
    Its
    Helicopters
    HRMs
    LBCs

    The PAX (well, those who are old enough to remember) were reminded of a long-ago Q with the cadence. “You can do it,” “stay with me now,” “my count is true.” Some PAX found this inspirational. Good for them.

    Mosey 10 Feet to the church steps for Touch-a-Tree

    Triple up for Touch a Triple Check. Directions…blah, blah, blah. There are 7 big trees (not bushes or little trees, Splinter). If the plant is shorter than you, it does not count. Touch every darn one of those big ones. Swap places with your partners. Do this three times. Non-runners do WWIIs and Derkins. This worked so well, YHC plans to do it again soon.

    Slow Mosey Around the Church Building. At each “sign,” meaning a thing attached to a pole or post in the ground and having standard letters of the Latin alphabet, stop, drop to the ground, and perform 5 WWIIs. If the sign is a handicapped sign, do 5 Lt. Dan’s.

    YHC drove around most of the building this morning counting signs. Alas, “most” and “all” are not synonyms. Turns out there are about 10-12 signs in a very small area that was not re-conned pre-Beat Down. Happily, the PAX pointed out that the bushes there are very well manicured. The PAX also adapted (and griped). YHC apologizes.

    Assemble on the back steps of the church for a triple check. One man carries a high-end tire (They are beautiful tires. The best. Lotta people are saying those are the best tires. Very classy.) to the fully bricked-in garbage area (again, very fancy) and back. Remaining partners do balls-to-the-wall and reverse crunches.

    Continue the mosey around the parking lot with 5 WWIIs at each sign.

    (At some point during this exercise, a small group assembled at W-Dog, patted themselves on the back for successfully awakening, and started to exercise. Good work, fellas. Way to get after it. You should take pride in starting second.)

    Mosey back to the parking lot for a little Lindsey. Or, Lindsay. Or, Lin-zee. Or, Lin-z. Or,…

    Pick up a block. Do a total of 40 flutter kicks and squats (with block). Debate with your neighbor the possible varieties of counting to 40. Run to roughly the 4th tree in the parking lot. Stop. Repeat the above. Do this again and again until mental exhaustion or time.

    Number-am-a, Name-a-ram-a, Announcements, YHC took us out.

    NMS:

    Lots of griping today about the WWIIs. Lotta griping.

    Anniversary of YHCs Dad going home to God on Friday. 10 years. Let’s keep Mom in our prayers – big day for her.

    OSOTW goes to eHarmony who has developed enough self-confidence at F3 to have his VQ next week. Way to go. Little #$*(er.

    UpChuck spits the bit.

  • Cooper Doesn’t Snarl Like That

    15 studs pushed aside the trip the tryptophan-laden Fart Sack and accepted the challenge of today’s version of the Dogpile. Temps were, once again, sunny and 70.

    COP – Mosey to the Carillon

    SSHs
    Russian Soldiers
    Dead Man Hang
    Don Quixotes
    HRMs
    LBCs
    Freddie Mercurys

    Mosey to the Ha’ Penny Stage and Grab a Block for Touch-a-Tree

    Partner Up. Rounds of 4, 6, and 8. Non-runner does thrusters, block presses, and curls.

    Bonus Round of 10 with block burpees.

    Mosey to the Carillon Picnic Table for a Lindsey.

    Start at the picnic table and run to the Valley of Despair (bottom). Exercises were monkey humpers and flutter kicks (4-count). Total 40 exercises on each side (35-5, 30-10, 25-15, etc.). Bonus hook: on each trip down the hill, do 5 derkins and on each trip up the hill, do 5 incline merkins.

    Mosey to the Amphitheater

    Going up, 5 V-ups on each step. Coming down, 5 jump squats.

    Mosey to the Circle for a Curb Crawl

    Bear crawl from outer to inner curb, 1 merkin, crawl bear back to outer curb, 2 merkins, repeato up to 6 merkins.

    Mosey 10 Feet to the Circle for Mary

    Fire hydrants
    WWIIs
    Snow Angels
    Reverse Crunches
    Oblique crunches (x5 each side)

    BTTF

    Announcements/Prayer Requests:

    Keep a family friend of Bubble’s in your prayers – they lost their 21 year old to an aneurysm. That’s way too young. Hold your loved ones a bit tighter and spend some quality time with them.

    Gomer Pyle reminded us how fortunate we are. The people of Honduras and Nicaragua may feel far away, but they are people like us, and they are suffering from multiple hurricanes / floods to go along with the challenges of COVID. Let’s keep them in our prayers and be ready to help when the opportunities arise.

    YHC asks that we keep my friend Al in our prayers. Went Home at the ripe young age of 90 on Thanksgiving. Spent a lifetime building opportunities for those willing to work hard.

    NMS:

    Nice to partner with BoBerry today.

    Good chatter today, mostly about thorough disdain for the Qs directions and counting, so generally par for the course. 4-count flutter kicks are clearly a Pax Favorite. When done in cadence, a flutter kick has 4-counts, and the PAX accept this. Yet, when included as an individual part of an evolution, calling a 4-count flutter kick causes the PAX to wonder what language “4-count” is. This fascinates YHC.

    “The six is in.” YHC finds Oyster to be funny.

    YHC does worry about the future of breakfast-time capitalism in Richmond. All worms crawled freely today as the self-proclaimed “Early Bird Biscuit Company” employees chose to nestle with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads. Panera in Carytown apparently opens on the same schedule as Lally Construction’s Complaint Department (every other Thursday from 09:00 to 09:01 a.m.). ETs, of course, may declare themselves to be “Woke,” but certainly cannot manage to woke themselves up and start serving until the day is 1/3rd done. No bueno. Hard work produces winners. Can you imagine where the world would be if the Greatest Generation started at 8 a.m.? The invasion of Normandy started at midnight and was in full swing by 6 a.m. For that matter, Washington crossed the Delaware at midnight, surprised the Hessians, and was back in Pennsylvania before ETs let anyone buy cold bacon.

    On the other hand, McDonald’s has cheerful employees, hot coffee, and a 4 car line at 07:30 a.m. I’m lovin’ it.

    Good chatter in the ETs parking lot. Nice to see the newer guys setting goals and hitting them. It’s you-against-you, so keep pushing. Way to go.

    YHC thanks Gomer for his advice on warm feet.

    UpChuck spits the bit.