Category: Richmond, VA

  • 113 Squats, 15+ miles, 2 Logs, and finish with a WOD

    43 PAX from across the F3 Nation came out to Dogwood Dell on Saturday night to find out the answer to the question on everyone’s mind: Would we be getting in the James River? Turns out the answer was no but we did the following:

    Muster Up in Amphitheater for admin stuff: Roll call, Ruck inspection (apparently TYA’s unabridged version of War & Peace is 30 lbs) and assign team leader of Cowbell. Move over to field next to dogpark and form squads. Mess up #1 rewarded us with 113 Ruck Squats. Some more warm up, secure coupons, and other Drill & Formation practice for PAX. Then head down to Trails start.

    Trails down to Texas Beach, stop at river for some lessons on movement, mission & men focus, then head back to finish trail. Here PAX was tasked with mission of creating their own 6 word statement that defines them. Start thinking about it and all would have to share overnight.

    Along way we found a wonderful log. Stop for Water break and Log PT practice at Hollywood Cemetery opening. Finish up Ruck over to Tredegar. Drop coupons and make our way in various forward exercises up to VA War Memorial. Stop and soak that in. Then several PAX shared their 6 word statement. Mosey back down to bottom, closer to water but instead we went across to Belle Isle. Rucked around the island. Then given our first time hack: 35 minutes to get to State Capital. PAX arrived at Capital with 2 minutes to spare. Then on to St. Johns Church in Churchill. Along way we were given 2nd time hack. Make it to the Church in 18 minutes.

    Arrive at St. Johns on time. Linus read Patrick Henry’s speech. Very moving, then Puffs fell over. Luckily he just locked his legs and he soldiered through. Then it was on to Libby Hill park, some litter practice, and back Browns Island via Canal street. Cross the new footbridge and up and back on trails.

    Then Linus threw some adversity at us and we had to carry 2 PAX on Riverside for about a mile. Catch Sunrise and Bono led us in the 5 Whys and back on the trails. Crossed over Nickel bridge wondering what was left back at Dogpile. The answer: Robbie Miller WOD – modified. 7 Rounds of: Run Carillon field and back then 6 Reps each of: Ruck Thrusters, Ruck Burpees, and Ruck GetUps. Finish up with closing and Patching.

    NMS – Hard to write a reasonable Moleskin of a 15 hour event. What stood out: F3 guys are awesome no matter where they are from. YHC hung out with PAX from ENC, Lanco, Pittsburg, The Capital, Memphis, and more and every man gave 100%. No GreyMan to be found anywhere.

    The PAX thought they were lucky because they stayed dry, however rucking with Coupons, gear, and Logs on the Trail system is no joke. Even more difficult in the dark. Although the out of towners are now all envious of our great trail loop.

    The time downtown with the city streets empty was great. Stops at the VA War Memorial, the real VA Capital, and St. Johns were hopefully appreciated and YHC recommends reading Patrick Henry’s famous speech again, the whole thing as it is much more than the last line we all know.

    The last section of stress from Linus taught YHC to not start celebrating when you can see the finish line, be sure to finish the race strong. Great lesson. The Sunrise on the James was fantastic and energized the PAX for the last push. The finish with the Robbie Miller was likely the hardest thing YHC has done in F3 – totally spent and tired then take on a grueling 30 minute test at the very end. Great chance to show you how much further you can push past your normal limits. Again another reason every man in F3 should take on a CSAUP at least annually.

    Breakfast at ETs was great to close out the whole weekend. YHC thanks all those who took this on, from RVA and out of town. Viral, Fireman Ed, and Doomsday for shadowing and documenting what we did. Again too much to name everyone so YHC just says thanks.

    As for YHC’s 6 word mantra: Give Grace, Accept Grace, Live Humbly. Think about what yours might be or better yet what TYA’s was.

  • Substitute Hot Potato

    16 of RVA’s best men skipped an extra hour of the fartsack to show up at NoToll to get better. Dr. Tryhard has been stricken with the plague and unfortunately could not fill his Q slot for today but that was just fine since there are plenty of men to step in and fill the void.

    YHC took the lead to start and after a short mosey to the parking lot, informed the PAX of the intent to Hot Potato. Warm-up with some SSH, IW, Peter Parker, Mountain Climbers, Alternating Shoulder Taps and LBC.

    Quick 4 corners in the parking lot with 5 burpees, 10 HRM, 20 Jump Squats and 30 Freddie Mercurys

    Orange Crush (he hasn’t been around long but there is a rumor that he led some workouts in a previous life). Continue 4 corners with 5 burpees, 10 Copperhead Squats, 20 HRM, 40 LBC.

    Don Draper – Forest to Sea. Bear transitions to a crab. Bear crawl half width of field, 5 burpees, crab walk the rest, 5 burpees. Mosey around the field to the parking lot. Partner 4 corners 10 boo-yah merkins, partner carry/karaoke to next corner, 10 boo-yah, 20 PLT; Corner 3 add 20 partner shrugs each; Corner 4 add 40 squats (total). Lunge back to the six.

    Tobit – Mosey toward the cars but, realizing we had a little more time, turn and take a full lap around all fields. Honeymoon may have been whispering in his ear a little. Back to the basketball court for Mary – lots of Dollies, Rosalitas and American Hammers.

    Count/Name/Wilson took us out with his usual conversational style.

    Viral has a Richmond Toolbank tour coming up soon, see him for more info.

    Some new blood in the HP today. Orange Crush was a little hesitant, more about the exercise names than the actual work. Look forward to more out of him. Draper was ready with something straight from the Exicon. Partner carries always elicits some groans, especially from those in the silent or respect years, today was no different. Tobit’s just getting warmed up for his NoToll Q next week, he has gotten the last of the HP at a couple workouts recently and crushed us with Mary.

    Tclaps to Honeydo for organizing the GrowRuck and the other 42 PAX for completing 14+ hours of CSAUP. YHC is looking forward to hearing more about the GrowRuck and lessons learned from the PAX that participated.

  • Simple Instructions – Its just a big loop…

    16 able-bodied men posted for some miles (15 remained so). Instructions were given, street name pronunciations were corrected and damnit, YHC still can’t find the correct exit off the trail onto the road. In any event, it was Sunny and 70, perfect conditions for some miles and some fellowship.

    The routes were as follows:

    • 6 Milers – head up by the baseball field and past the Robbins Center and jump onto Bandy Rd to Three Chopt. Take Three Chopt to Patterson. Patterson to WestHAM Pkwy. Left on WestHAM Pkwy and follow that all the way across River Rd (cross either on WestHAM or Country Squire depending on your running lane) and link up to S. Ridge, the Westham Station up to the River Road Shopping Center and back to the flag via UR Drive.
    • 5 Milers – cross the lake and take the trail out to College Rd (eventually). Crossover to University. Take University up to Wood Rd – Right on Wood up to Lakewood – Left on Lakewood then Right back onto Wood (gotta love the West End grid system). Follow Wood up to its end and bear left onto Waveny. Take Waveny up to WestHAM Pkwy and follow the back-half of the 6 mile route back to the Flag.
    • 4 Milers – follow 5-mile route across the lake and up University. Don’t turn on Wood Rd but continue up University to Old Oak Rd. Right on Old Oak up to Hillsdale Dr. Left on Hillsdale Dr. over to WestHAM Pkwy and follow the back-half of the 6 mile route back to the Flag.

    COT, Number-rama and Name-a-rama and YHC took us out.

    Two quick announcements:

    • Faceplant declared next Tuesday’s Spider Run to be his VQ and the crowd gave him a golf clap for his efforts…In any event lookout for Faceplant’s VQ coming soon…and, he may even lead Spider Run next week.
    • Saab let the PAX know of the recent and unexpected passing of one of his neighbors – a mid-40s husband and father of 3 (?). A shock to many, including some other PAX who knew him. Life is precious and we never know when our time is up. Grab each day by the horns and live it with all the energy you can. Prayers and condolences for the family.

    NMS:

    There is something peaceful about running in the darkness (especially of Country Squire and S. Ridge/Westham Station) and sharing some conversation between inhales and exhales. This morning was no different. Thanks to Gomer Pyle, Swiper and EF Hutton for the company at various times. I enjoyed it greatly.

    As we were reminded by Saab, each day is a blessing. Make the most of it and try to focus on the things that really matter. Always great but often difficult to get that reminder.

    Tclaps to BT for gutting this one out through calf pain and to Swirly and others for sticking with him and bringing him back to the flag. Hope it loosens up quickly and feels better BT.

    An absolutely perfect morning for a run and the company equaled the conditions. Thanks men!

    No More Gumbo For You!

  • Hot Heartbreak Potato

    4 strong showed up for a gusty Heartbreak Ridge adventure this morning. Hot Potato Q went like this:

    Fireman Ed — Warmup lap on the track followed by SSH x15 & DQ x 10 to get moving. Dora with 100 x box jumps, 200 x squats, 300 x flutters. Mosey to the playground and partner up for two rounds of 8x jerkins & pull-ups.

    Handshake — Mosey to the parking lot exit for curb crawl ascending to 10 merkins. Follow up with 3x 20 of Willson Dying Cockroaches.

    Seymore – Mosey to the football field for 5x burp-ups on the goal post, run to the other end and repeat x4. That was enough.

    Garbage Plate – Mosey to the loading dock for 2x of 30 dips followed by 30 WWII. Followup with Rosalita and FK session to wrap up the morning.

    Announcements – Props to those who completed the weekend goruck adventure!

    Seymore closed out the morning. Well done gents!

  • 4th F Feature

    3 men shucked the fart sack and donned the ruck sack on a beautiful 55 degree morning. Rounders joined YHC and Mudface, and set a very brisk pace with a very heavy (55 pound) pack. While getting in 3 miles, much was discussed, including what irritates us and what amuses us, interrupted by a lot of vigorous 4th F announcements—a LOT. We felt sorry for the runners going in the opposite direction.

    As usual, I have No Idea what I’m doing.

  • No Q; No Problem – Roller Coaster is always ready…

    7 men enjoyed perfect conditions this morning for some miles. 6 River Run regulars and a Swiper sighting. No Q on the sheet – no problem, but when the decision was left to YHC the call was easy (if unpopular)…River Downs Roller Coaster – to YHC’s house and back with a couple of gut-punch hills in between.

    Rosie and Swiper cleared the path for the rest of the PAX – someone had to keep Swiper on the route and Rosie dutifully stepped up to the task. YHC, Doozy and Orange Crush took turns pushing and pulling each other — much appreciated men.

    Bullseye put his head down and threw caution to the wind blew right through the turnaround time, but Orange Crush peeled back and brought Bullseye in on his wing. Well done.

    And, LugNut, well we all know LugNut does his own thing and just flat gets it done…this morning was no different.

    Well done fellas. Have a great Monday!

    No More Gumbo For You!

  • Perfect for Trails

    3 pax opted to spend their Sunday morning enjoying a peaceful run on the trails. The route was North Bank across Belle Isle and Buttermilk including the Lariat. 7.0 miles were run, numerous topics discussed. Perfect.

    Lab Rat Apologizes…

  • Sweet 16

    7 Veterans and 1 FNG descended upon the hills of Forrest Hill Park to celebrate Virginia Tech’s glorious victory and berth in the Sweet 16.

    Here is how it went down, more or less.

    Mosey about 10 steps to warmup and pick up stragglers. All IC: SSH x 16, Helicopters x 16, Don Quixote x 16, LBC x 16, Merkins x 15 (yes Q screwed that count up)

    Mosey through the pit and down the Hill of Ill Repute only to discover all the lights around the pond were off. Well, we need to get back up the hill so partner up, 1 man runs to pit and back while other alternates between lunges and bear crawl.

    In the pit, switch partners. While 1 man runs up to the top the other performs Dips. Switch to decline Merkins the second time through.

    Mosey to the top for a DORA in the SOJ Farmers Market lot, which was about the only place the lights were on this morning. 116 x Merkins, 216 x squats, 316 x LBC

    Mosey back to Stone House for Partner Leg Toss. 4 sets of, you guess it, 16.

    Curb crawls on the street, bear crawl to far curb, 1 incline merkin, crawl bear back to first curb, 2 decline merkins…repeato at 5 and back down

    Merkin ring of fire, 5 x PAX choice, different variation than PAX before.

    Mary, all IC: 2 count Flutter Kicks x 25, APD x 25, WW2 x 25.

    Announcements: Go Hokies!

    NMS: Great work out there today, men. The lack of lights threw YHC a curve, but we managed. Thanks for the opportunity to lead. We saw over the weekend that there are multiple ways to give men that opportunity, and I am grateful for the path Bleeder, Swirly, and many others have chosen to do so. May we all have the strength and wisdom to remember those roots as we carry on the goodness that is F3RVA.

    We welcomed a new member to our tribe, Upgrade, who absolutely crushed it this morning. Upgrade is a recent VMI grad, from Richmond, who likes to run, lift, and has spent some time with SEAL team. YHC threw out the name “Gump” which landed with a thud. Someone called out “Upgrade!”, which Hardywood pointed out was perfect as Gump needed an upgrade and the dude is young and in good shape already and an upgrade to the PAX….so the legend goes. Welcome Upgrade!

  • Bracket Buster

    A perfect 6 showed up for a spring-time beatdown. Rather 5 did and one thought it was still winter.

    Mosey up to the Gaga Ball pit for COP.

    • Russian Soldiers
    • Helicopters
    • Don Quixote
    • Crabcakes
    • Scorpion Kicks

    Exit the arena for March Madness!

    • 8 burpees for the play in teams
    • 64 four count flutter kicks, crabwalk across the width of the sea of asphalt
    • 32 Box Cutters, mosey to the hill up to the field and crawl bear to the top
    • 16 Boo-Yah Merkins
    • 8 Chad Michael Michaels aka the Iron Lotus
    • 4 Pull Ups
    • 2 incline Merkins
    • 1 minute Elbow Plank

    Long mosey down Forest to Trinity Church. 3 sets of 20 reps of Wilson’s Dying Cockroaches.

    Ready for some Doras

    • Partner 1 runs the length of the church to the next road and back
    • Partner 2 performs 300 LBCs, 200 Monkey Humpers, 100 Merkins

    3 sets of 20 PLTs and a mosey up hill to the AO proper.

    On the wall for 30 Donkey Kicks (somewhere Honey Do is smiling) and then on your six for some Mary:

    • APDs
    • 1 legged leg lifts – right over left
    • 1 legged leg lifts – left over right
    • Hello Dollies

    YHC took us out.

  • Breaking Bread

    YHC took some warm food over to breaking bread on Sunday afternoon….folks were very appreciative as always!  Thanks to Labrat for creating this fine program!