Category: Richmond, VA

  • New Route for the Tourists

    12 Runners including 3 summer tourists arrived at the correct Atlee HS address with no issues.

    Route was new for YHC and the PAX. Head out onto Atlee Station and up the hill to the light. A right to continue on Atlee Station. Right onto Dewitt Dr into The Carpenter and Opus’ neighborhood, Craney Island. Head to the back of the neighborhood for a little hill work.

    4 milers – Head back the way they came and did a loop in the new neighborhood Giles down and back

    5 milers – Loop around Craney Island, a loop around Cool Spring Baptist, then head to Giles for a loop down and back

    MOLESKIN

    YHC heading to the run this morning was excepting the crowd that was already in the parking lot before 5:25. With this mind a quick change in the route (with some help from The Carpenter) was put into place.

    Glad to have Glide back after his vacation. He was a LIFO today but still got in his 5 so we will let him slide.

    Good to see our summer tourists out with us today. Gave Double Mint a little surprise as he was advise there were no hill in Hanover.

    SPIT ON THAT!!

  • Pay Your Dues At Batteau CC

    It’s that time of year again to pay your dues at the Batteau Country Club. Member benefits include unlimited use of the pickleball courts and a crab walk buffet on Monday mornings. Dues can be paid in weekly installments on Mondays at 5:30am in Forest Hill Park.

    According to legend, the hot potato beat down went a little something like this.

    COP Swirly Style, let’s be honest he tried to flipping kill us:

    • 30 Elbow Plank Up Downs
    • 20 Burpees
    • 50 Merkins
    • 40 Mountain Climbers
    • 40 Flutter Kicks
    • 30 Count Boat Hold
    • 10 SSH

    Pass to Vinnie

    Batteau CC Doras: Partner up. One partner runs the Valley of Dews (see what I did there). The other partner is exercising and deeply regretting getting a lower back tattoo. Switch when run is complete doing the following exercises to completion – 100 Decline Merkins, 200 WWII SI Uphill, 300 Squats

    Pass to Upgrade

    Fountain of Youth Ladder: Starting at the treeline, bear crawl for what seemed like an eternity to the first tree and run back. Then to make it even more apparent there was only one pax member under 30, crab walk all the way to the second tree and run back. Then forget about doing anything with your arms for the rest of the day, because you are now going to bear crawl to the 3rd tree. Pick your face up off the ground and run back. What are you in a hurry for might you ask; it’s to crab walk to the 4th tree. Don’t forget your toll tag and a snack. After that crustacean feat of endurance you gotta run back to the start. Now you have the privilege of bear crawling to the 5th tree. Birds chirping, sunrises, none of that crap matters at this point because all you want to do is be done. Guess what amigo, you are not done. Now you have to run back to the start and wait for it….crab freaking walk to the 6th tree. You’ll know you are done when you either a) reach the 6th tree or b) require Tommy John surgery.

    Wonderwall: Some kind of overhead clapping exercise to the beat of an Oasis tune that seemed to be way disproportionate in skill or pain to the previous exercise. There is also a chance Upgrade was patronizing the pax.

    Numberama, namerama, Swiper led us out.

    Announcements: Camp Vinnie is in full effect on September 9/21 – 9/22. You can enjoy most of your amendments, but not all of them. If you are a 3rd amendment advocate, you’re gonna be ok. The rest of you, good luck.

    Moleskin: YHC likes being back very much. This is a great way to start the week and all kidding aside, it’s great to know that a band of brothers is gonna be there. Half of Posh showed up. Apparently he lost the other half. Way to go brotha. Bleeder has gone full Von Trapp and it’s a solid look. Swiper had a great quote today from current marathon world record holder who is also chasing the elusive sub 2 hour marathon mark, Eliud Kipchoge.

    “The best time to plant a tree was 30 years ago. The second best time to plant a tree is now.”

  • Easy does it

    No Q on the sheet but YHC had mapped out a new route for the PAX. As Flatline and I discussed whether the clock had hit 0530 yet, Mr. Roper rolled in. Decided on an easy route for some easy miles. Out 711 toward 288 for 2 miles and return with a lap around the school. Good to have Flatline back at RiverRun since he’s been scrambling around after moving.

  • OG – Irregular Quadrilateral

    Four eager gentlemen gathered under the waning crescent for this morning’s iteration of Hoedown. Toto gathered his thoughts in his car, then emerged and off we went for an irregular old glory.

    Grab the flag and head south on Forest. Through the parking lot, left on Crest, left on Sunset, right on Lakewood, left on Hillsdale, wave to a sleeping Lockjaw, left on West Drive, left on Lindsay and back to where the flag was for the completion of the mile.

    The Thang

    • Run to recycling center for 20 merkins
    • Run towards the drop off loop, u-turn back up the stairs and to the gaga court for 20 jump squats
    • Up the hill, through the mulch and pick your monkey bar set for 10 pull ups
    • Run back through the covered walkway back to the grassy circle for 20 WWIIs

    Repeat for 20 minutes then reverse course for the 1 mile back.

    5MOM included LBCs, heels to heaven, freddy mercuries, flutter kicks, and american hammers.

    Digits, salutations and YHC took us out.

    Moleskin

    It’s been a long time since YHC has completed an old glory so while YHC was in the car yesterday this popped into mind. No real rectangular options on campus so improvisation was required. All in all it worked well. Kudos to Handshake for leading the way with 4 complete circuits.

    Great way to start the day gentlemen. High intensity indeed with the slight elevation changes and the pull-ups mixed in.

    Announcements

    • HDHH next Wednesday. Meet at Kuba Dos for some hills then 2nd F.

    Big data only counted 4 today at Hoedown. Where was everyone else?

  • 14 legs for OTB

    5 Warriors and 1 Pup put in the sweat and legwork this morning at Off the Books. Some ran, some power walked, fellowship and coffee took place after. Have a great week boys!!

  • Puppypile Adventure

    11 Warriors and 18 of RVA’s finest 2.0’s (including 5 FNG’s) posted for a cooler than expected Puppypile adventure. With everyone’s Garmin watches hitting 7:05am, we headed off into the unknown. According to eye witness reports, it went something like this:

    COP (all x10): SSH, Arm Circles, Don Quixote’s, Helicopters, LBC’s, Merkins, Copperhead Squats, Flutter kicks. 5 Burpees OYO.

    Thang 1. On the Carillon field: Bear Crawl to the 25 yd line, Bunny Hop to the 50 yd line, Lunge to the 75 yd line, run to the end, then turn around and Partner Carry all the way back. Props to the Dads who had 2 Kids and carried both on the way back!

    Thang 2. Still on the Carillon field we played a game of Sharks and Minnows. Round 1, Kids are Bear Crawling across the field as the Minnows without getting caught by the Dads who are Crab Walking as the Sharks. Round 2 we switched. Lots of fun here!

    Thang 3: Tree Touch (3 rounds). Dads do SSH while the Kids run to touch 2 trees and then back. Switch and repeato. That’s round 1. Repeat for round 2, except touching 3 new trees. Repeat for round 3, except touching 4 new trees.

    Thang 4: Mosey to the Amphitheater and under the watchful eye of several security guards, Kids run from the bottom to the top of the Amphitheater and back down again while Dads do Step jumps. Switch and repeato. That’s round 1. Do again for another 2 rounds for a total of 3 rounds.

    Thang 5: Mosey to the Rusty Cage. Dads and Kids do 5 pull-ups then run to the fire hydrant and do 10 LBC’s / WWII’s. That’s round 1. Do again for another 2 rounds for a total of 3 rounds.

    Thang 5: E.F. Hutton takes the Q and we mosey back to the traffic circle. The group did a variety of exercises while each of the PAX took turns running around the traffic circle.

    Head back to the flag. Number-a-rama. Name-a-rama. YHC took us out in prayer. Group picture at the end.

    NMS. What a great morning! A chance to push our bodies and workout, yes, but more importantly a chance to do that with our kids. As a Dad, I’m always searching for ways to bond with my kids and spend quality time with them. A chance to face obstacles and overcome, together. A chance to challenge our minds and our bodies, together. A chance to practice teamwork and fortitude, together. I’m thankful Puppypile gives us that opportunity.

    In that we welcomed 5 new 2.0 FNG’s: Llama and BB-8 (E.F. Hutton’s 2.0s), Macho Man (Sugar Sock’s 2.0), Creeper (Shakedown’s 2.0), and Preakness (Flange’s 2.0 FNG). Great showing!

    Thanks for letting me lead such an amazing group! See ya in the gloom.

    Ollivander

  • DTH + 35lb of Enthusiasm

    YHC has enjoyed a couple days with family and friends at Wintergreen, and took the opportunity to inject F3 into an otherwise very relaxing mini vaca. The AO was a hike to Pauls Creek Waterslide, and YHC channeled Sippy mojo by completing the workout whilst backpack carrying a very enthusiastic 35lb 2.0 (firstborn) named Penniella Mae, who sang songs & chanted encouraging cheers throughout the 45min workout. Our friends’ two older children were tasked with carrying the F3 deck, and calling out consecutive exercises for the duration of the rocky/steep trail hike – which were as follows:

    • Sprint 200m
    • Low Plank 60sec
    • CDD’s x10
    • Arm Circles x100
    • Lunge x10 ea leg
    • Mtn Climbers x25
    • Squats x25
    • Incline Merkins x10
    • CH Squats x10 
    • Plank Jack x25
    • Backward Lunge x10 ea leg
    • Derkin x10
    • Smurf Jack x25
    • Diamond M x10
    • Werkin x25
    • Lunge Walk 100m

    Arrived at waterfall, removed giggling 35lb coupon, completed a number of Six-ercises previously unable to complete:

    • LBC’s x25
    • WWII x25
    • Heels to Heaven x25
    • Freddie M’s x25
    • Wilson’s M to stretch the core

    YHC then joined the kids to play in the exquisitely cool mountain stream, sliding down slick rock formations into deep pools, building stone cairns, and treasure hunting for interesting pebbles. And of course YHC also enjoyed the extra credit of carrying little Miss 35lb of Enthusiasm all the way back as well. #GodIsGOOD #SYITG

  • 70’s Era Trim

    24 gents descended upon dogpile to experience a geriatric-led workout consisting of light calisthenics and tai-chi style stretching…this is what transpired, more or less:

    COT: Don Quixote’s (abe Vigoda style of course), helicopters, arm circles (wide-only please), scorpion kicks.

    Half Pipe: Donkey Kicks on one side, run to the other side and perform jump squats. Start at increments of 5 up to 20 each.

    Going down for a little love: Assemble partway down Love-Hill. Partner runs to the bottom then back while rotating through the following exercises: Bear Crawl, Crawl Bear, Crab Walk, Polar Bears. Finish at bottom.

    Single Triple Check: One partner runs pipe loop while other two perform flutter kicks and WWII’s respectively. Cease after one rotation due to time constraints.

    Catch Me if You Can: Partner runs backwards, other partner does 3 burpees, catches partner, then rotate.

    Lindsay (sort of): 10/30, C-Head Squats and LBC’s. Run up hill (backwards initially, then forwards).

    Merkin Ring of Fire, then Burpee Shuffle

    NMS

    Due to varying injuries and other lame-ass excuses, it had been some time since YHC has Q’d a bootcamp – particularly a Dogpile. Nevertheless, it was cathartic and served as a terrific start to the day. We also had the benefit of receiving friends from other regions (Dr Evil) and our very own semi-regular Guinness. We also had 2.5 FNG’s: Foley, WhiteClaw, and VoiceMail…(VoiceMail get’s only 1/2 since his first Q was a Puppy Pile….YHC speculated he was brought there by some older gentleman). Some other brief observations and considerations from today’s workout…

    • YHC is sorely out of practice Q’ing as evidenced by his continual adjustments due to time constraints. As the expression goes, “my eyes were bigger than my stomach”
    • Apparently I have not completed puberty given my voice-changes during the COP
    • City of Richmond remains sporadic in their grass cutting…The PAX got a face full of un-trimmed grass during the Merkin ring of fire
    • Great time at Ellwood’s today. We look forward to TYA’s appearance on Antique’s RoadShow someday when he attempts to pawn his collection of 70’s era entertainment periodicals. Even Chewbacca probably shaved now and then.

    Announcements:

    If you have any plans in attending the retreat in September please respond to Vinny’s back blast.

    Saab abides

  • Vegan Bats

    Eight dudes gathered in the gloom delante de Ellwood Thompsons para un pre-mosey over to the SaabPile. Kubota and Swirly had parked early at Dogwood Dell and prepaid the return leg, due to other commitments this morning (HBD to Mrs. Swirly!). The temps were cool, and the bats were swarming – Vinny observed that they must be vegan bats given their choice of dining locations. The clock struck 05:30, and the PAX was off.

    Mosey down Carey, right on Boulevard, and past Swan Lake. Mumble chatter indicated Saab had skipped RAMM and was saving his legs for Qing a smokefest this morning, so the PAX bypassed the glory lap around Swan Lake.

    Arrive at Dogpile, and Spit peels off to get miles under his belt for the Colonial70 race. The rest of the B. Club gets smoked with Saab’s Love Hill bear crawls and Triple-Single-Pipeline Checks.

    Post-pile, Spit rejoins and the PAX grabs some water by the ampitheatre then moseys back to ETs at an appropriately leisurely pace. Thoughts of Burpee Miles and Merkin Miles arise and are quickly discarded – Saab has abided and left us with little gas in the tank.

    Numberama, nameorama, YHC took us out.

    A great fin de semana to all, mis hermanos.

    Double Mint

  • Elbow Taps???

    9 locals and a summer tourist arrived for a humid, gloomy Friday morning beat down.

    The 411:

    Mosey to the back parking lot

    COP:

    bodybuilders x5, invisible jump ropes x 20, hillbillies x 10, don quioxtes x 10, “elbow taps” x 11, copperhead squats x 10– bear crawl to 2 buddies- 5 boo yah merkins each

    Mosey to the picnic area

    Elevens: dips & incline merkins(curb)

    Mosey to the parking lot

    DORA: run from back parking lot to church sign

    Crab Cakes x 100 —- American Hammers x 150 —Jump Squats x 200 — Plank Jacks — 150(audible)- SSH -waiting for the six

    Mosey to the field

    Four Corners w/ partner: corner 1- partner derkins- 5 each, corner 2- PLTs-20 each, wheelbarrow-15 steps each, corner 3- 30 monkey humpers, corner 4- 40 step ups

    Mosey to front parking lot

    **crab walk the round island- counter-clockwise- clockwise

    ** Heels to Heaven x 20

    Numberama, Namerama, Announcements and YHC took us out

    Moleskin:

    YHC was very thankful for the “birthday Q” opportunity.. YHC was a bit nervous this morning and could not understand the confusion with “elbow taps” – Heard lots of groans in the DORA when the 250 plank jacks were announced- YHC could hear a tiny Lab Rat on his shoulder saying “It sounded better on paper, didn’t it?”.

    Awesome group today- Awesome to see Doublemint make the trip out to the 23116! Onward and Upward.

    -Out