5 strong posted for the Wed night hill run and here is how it went down.
Kubota got himself an early start and crushed 3 long loops
TYA and Swirly – 2 long and a short loop
Shakedown and Bleeder – 1 long 1 short loop.
Well done guys – Best wishes to Rosie and Shakedown as they attack their run this weekend – go gettem guys you can do it!
If your doing BRR or any other race coming up – the Wed night run is great training so come on out and join us.
See y’all in the gloom
YHC showed up this morning at 0520 with only 3 PAX members on scene and by 0530, 14 strong posted for an always entertaining Q by YHC. Let mosey…
COP on blacktop….. x 10 Don Quixote, x 25 SSH, x 15 Imperial Walkers, x 15 Merkins, x 15 Flutter Kicks. Mumblechatter was light during COP so why not get going.
Mosey over to corner of Cary and Westmoreland…….Catch Me If You Can-triple up. Partner 1 performs x 14 Merkins and x 14, 2 count American Hammers. Partner 2 is carried by Partner 3. 2 and 3 begin to walk around the block. When 1 is finished with exercises, he runs to catch up with 2 and 3. Switch, repeat, and continue around the entire block. With injuries and off numbers, the PAX did a great job making this exercise work in some fashion. Outstanding work men!!
Mosey over to soccer field for exercise 2…Bridge of Hate. PAX lays on their six, alternating direction on every other PAX. First PAX lays on their six and passed down the line with the attempt of crossing the soccer field. Reverse tunnel of love, basically!!! 4 PAX members in, and YHC called an audible. It wasn’t working!!! FAIL!
Next…..Dirty McDeuce…..perform 12 SSH, 12 Flutter Kicks, and 12 Squats, run the entire length of the field and back. Repeat 4 times! During the exercise, YHC had to think of something on the fly since Bridge of Hate=FAIL. There was time to spare. Mosey back to corner of Cary and Westmoreland.
Ascending 4 Corners….. Corner 1 x 10 flutter kicks, mosey to Corner 2. Corner 2, x 10 flutter kicks and x 20 Carolina Dry Docks and mosey to Corner 3. Corner 3, x 10 flutter kicks, x 20 Carolina Dry Docks, x 30 flutter kicks, and mosey to Corner 4. Corner 4 ,x 10 flutter kicks, x 20 Carolina Dry Docks, x 30 flutter kicks, x 40 merkins. 4 minutes to spare. Mosey back to parking lot.
Ring of Fire….x 20 2 count American Hammers with a little extra credit and finishing at 0617.
Number-ama, Name-r-ama, Announcements-July 4 Convergence at Tredgar, 0700!
YHC took us out!
NMS—-Handshake, Grunt, and Swirly, way to push early on. Handshake, thanks for carrying!! Good to see Bleeder back in the PAX!
Yes, Bridge To Hate failed just like The Invisible Chair!! Entertaining though at 0555!! Humor is a great thing!
Great to be back at the Gloom and with The PAX. This may be the longest between posts for YHC…work, life, and Little League Baseball!! Pure awesomeness to post and lead this morning and thank you for following!
Men we have been given a blessing and gift with F3. Harness it, use it, and shine the light to someone who needs it!!
Only those who post understand!!
Loud and Proud,
Flatline
We are going to change things up a little for RAMM this Friday. There will be the usual 4, 5 and 6 mile routes. The 4 mile route’s directions are listed below. It is a slightly modified version of Lockjaw’s recent Snake River route. If you plan on attending, please go ahead and familiarize yourself with the 4 mile route. Everyone will be running this route. The extra distances for the 5’s and 6’s will be announced at 5:25am by the Shovel Flag. This RAMM will involve a type of competition and will be a good training run for those participating in BRR.
4 mile route:
Grove Ave west to a left on Tuckahoe Blvd
Veer right onto Tuckahoe Ave
Left on Granite Ave
Left on Cary for a few feet (BE CAREFUL)
Right on Tempsford Ln
Take a right on Tempsford Ln at the fork in the road and go down to the end and back up
Take the other fork which is Kennondale Ln and go down to the end and back up
Return the way you came back to the Shovel Flag
See you in the gloom!
Kubota
It was 70 and sunny for 5 SOJ regulars along with YHC’s 2.1 and 2.2 to hit the parking lots and fields of Timberwolf. It was a last minute decision to Q so YHC could control the workout for my 2.0s since they have missed the 2 Puppy Piles so far this year.
THANG
COP with SSH, DQ, Helicopters, Imperial Walkers, Hand release merkins and flutter kicks varying counts with some in conversation while DK tried to have a conversation with the Q. Follow that up with some parking lot tracers.
Mosey to the freshly mowed field that was softer than the fields of No Toll. 15’s just like 11’s but you know, adding up to 15 – Merkins and Squats and a run across the field.
BLIMPS down the field – 5 broad jump burpees, 10 lunges each leg, 15 Imperial Walkers (traveling forward), 20 merkins, 25 plank jacks, 30 jump squats (jump forward) – finish the length of the field with a bear crawl to the end.
Love Field – Partner up – P1 runs P2 exercise down the field until P1 gets back – Russian Soldiers, Polar Bears, Lunge
Mosey up to the tennis courts for Mary – American Hammers, Freddie Mercuries, 6 inches, Crunchy Frogs, Peter Parker, Superman
Double Round Ring of Fire with Al Gore after the first round and Plank after the second. Flair optional. Close out with 5 burpees OYO to fill the last few seconds.
NMM
Great to see Bag Phone as a regular at SOT and TW, unfortunately Digger tweaked a hammy and is out but he seems to be another regular too. Today is YHCs 15th anniversary, hence the 15s instead of 11s, I know the PAX appreciated the extra rounds. It was fun to have my 2.0s out today, Sweet n Sour has been itching to get out recently, especially since her brother got to play Ultimate a few weeks ago. Cliffhanger will certainly be back for more and Sweet n Sour is already cooking up a plan to hit the July 4th convergence.
The Timberwolf field was freshly cut soft grass. It was cut nice and high and the grass clippings were plentiful. One round back and forth and everyone was covered. The PAX suggested requesting the school bag their clippings. YHC is not advocating this since it is not the environmentally friendly option and is better for the grass to leave them. However, it would be nice if I didn’t have to vacuum the car after every workout. The 2.0s are not used to having to wipe down after a workout so YHC has some extra work to do.
DK, Gumbo and Mr. Roper may all be in the market for new shoes. There was discussion of contacting Lab Rat for info on volume shipping discounts.
Come on out to Dogpile on Saturday to send Gumbo off for a month, I’m sure he’s got something good in store since he’s going to be out west without F3 until August.
Convergence July 4th 7 am at Tredegar, breakfast afterward is in the works.
It was a pleasure to be able to lead this morning, thanks for following along.
Ten stalwart men laughed at the late-June humidity, grabbed a kettlebell, and launched into fitness at Manndate this morning. Here is what happened.
THANG
Mosey around parking lot (forward, backward, karaoke)
KB Variety Ladder
(All exercises 5 reps each side)
One-handed swing
High pulls
Snatch
Windmill
Repeat, adding the following exercises before Windmill with each repetition:
Clean & press
Double lunge
Squat & press
Approximately one minute of elbow plank/rest between steps of the ladder.
Mosey around parking lot again (forward, backward, side shuffles)
KB/Bodyweight Timed Ladder
(~30 sec for each exercise; add one exercise each cycle resting for ~30 sec before the next cycle)
Burpees
Slow mountain climbers
Alternating swings
Merkins
Goblet squats
Sit & press
Two-handed swings
Fast mountain climbers
BOM/COT
Numberama, Namorama, Lab Rat took us out.
NMS
What a joy to see so many posting to Manndate this morning. A couple of regulars had already let YHC know they would be absent, so it was a pleasant surprise to see all of the cars in the parking lot.
YHC thought he put up a challenging workout, and the PAX did not disappoint. YHC realizes he gave very little instruction, particularly for new exercises (i.e., Windmill) and considering some PAX may not have been KB regulars. Nonetheless, the men ground it out with some grunts and groans, but no complaining – not about the workout anyway (some mumblechatter about domestic relations, but YHC digresses).
YHC noticed Pick Two, in particular, mastered the Windmill. Billy Shakespeare knew the key to the Windmill technique: “And you, my sinews, grow not instant old, But bear me stiffly up.” (That’s in honor of you, Not To Be.)
End-of-workout stretching was in the original game plan. YHC was surprised to see time was up after the last ladder round. YHC guesses time flies when you are having fun; or, perhaps more likely, the lack of oxygen and onset of exhaustion made keeping track of time difficult. Make sure you get in some stretching OYO.
It was great to see Cajun Cowboy. YHC is always impressed when PAX take time from business trips to join a workout. Know that you always have a home at F3RVA.
YHC was totally impressed that Not To Be ground it out today. Please come back for more.
This is an awesome group, and YHC hopes everyone feels he is a better man after this morning, a little more prepared for the next challenge life throws his way.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
July 4th convergence, 0700 at Tredegar
July 6th special Creek workout led by Pick Two, M-to-be and the rest of the wedding party
Breaking Bread is open for volunteers in July
6 SOT regulars (great to have a solid base of regulars at the new SOT AO) posted on this Hump Day morning. Nobody signed up to Q but YHC secured the AO, so I kicked off the festivities and went to the bullpen to bring in Wild Thing (aka Rosco) to close it down. This is how it went, more or less:
Mosey down the hill to the football field (still of broken dreams to borrow McRib’s moniker for Old SOT’s football field) and circle up for COP, including:
THANG:
The Beast – six stops, six reps of the called exercise at each stop, 6 rounds — Exercises included Merkins, Jump Squats, Mountain Climbers, Ball Dippers, Freddy Mercuries and Box Cutters. Plank or Al Gore for the six between rounds.
Plank-o-rama and then YHC called in the big guns…Rosco, your Q my man…
Dip/LBC/Stairs Circuit — 20 Dips in cadence, 20 LBCs in cadence and run up the steps on the left (touching each step), side shuffle across the top, and run down the steps on the right. 3 rounds. For the 3rd round, instead of side shuffling, we ran the steps of the bleachers up and down…serious tiltage on those steps – a little wobbly.
Rosco’s Hand to Hand Combat School — Between round 2 and 3 of the aforementioned Circuit, Rosco treated the PAX to a lesson at his Hand to Hand Combat school, including the partner football sled drills and several rounds of Indian Arm Wrestling.
Mosey back up the hill to the Flag for COT, COR and NOR – Rosco took us out!
Announcements:
NMS:
A great morning for the workout. Days are already getting shorter and the PAX noticed it was a little darker this morning. No Q, No Problem. Gumbo and Rosco to the rescue.
Great to see Bag Phone and Digger becoming regulars and Tobit and Olivander are definitely SOT regulars — great stuff!
Speaking of Tobit and Olivander – the standoff between the two of them in the sled-pushing drill was classic. 3 minutes of pushing back and forth and I don’t think they moved more than a foot either way from where they started. “We’ll call it a Draw”.
Apparently Digger’s super strength is Indian Arm Wrestling. He easily mowed down the PAX one by one without breaking a sweat. Well done.
Great effort and great fun this morning guys!
No More Gumbo For You!
20 of the finest F3RVA men showed up at WDOG to better themselves and this is what happened:
Circle up around Shovel Flag in plank. Bear Crawl to middle for 5 merkins and Crawl Bear back out. Helicopters, SSH, and DQs.
Mosey to far side of Carillon field about 100 yards from the south side for The Michigan. 10 yd sprints, 8 80 yd sprints, 6 60 yd sprints, 4 40 yd sprints, 2 20 yd sprints, and 1 10 yd sprint.
Mosey to amphitheater for Self Destruction. 1st step perform 1 squat, 1 merkin and 1 v-up. 2nd step=2 of each exercise. All the way to top with exercise increasing each step.
Mosey back to flag for 25 WWII situps.
Numberama, Namearama, COT. YHC took us out with a quick prayer.
Announcements – Looking to have another Puppy Pile workout 3rd or 4th Saturday of July. Need a HIM to step up to the plate for the Q.
NMS : That was a Snotwoggler of a beatdown. Been a long time since we did The Michigan and it always kicks your A@#. Today was no different. Not much mumble chatter today, as everyone (YHC especially) was trying to suck in air between sprints. As YHC was driving home this morning, YHC asked YHC a question “Who gets up at 0415 to go run sprints and do entirely too many v-ups?” Answer – F3 men. Another question popped in my head as well “Why do F3 men wake up before the sun is awake to run sprints? Answer-To make ourselves better so we can make other people better. (Yes, YHC talks to YHC alot) Gents, it is a privilege to enter the gloom with the men of F3RVA, because each and every one of you have made me a better person. Hopefully, YHC can pass that along to someone YHC meets today. Go out and make someone better. (As Inky says, It is not about you)
Thanks for allowing YHC the opportunity to lead this morning.
Circle K
A lucky-seven took over Daville this morning to challenge our bodies and even work-in a little community service. Here is what happened.
Variety mosey (regular, karaoke, bear crawl) to football field for COP.
COP
SSH IC x 20
Merkins IC x 10
Flutterkicks (Mark Spitz style) IC x 20
Dirty dogs IC x 10
Ball dippers IC x 10
THANG
Mosey to playground for 11s.
Monkey bar 11s
Alternating leg lifts and pull-ups. Skip in between stations. Modifications, as needed, were knee raises and burpees.
Playground ball retrieval
Divide into two teams.
Hop over the fence and retrieve as many playground balls as possible until Q calls time.
Opposing team does as many burpees as the number of balls you collected. Team A collected 17, and Team B collected 33 (holy smoke!).
Variety mosey back to flag (regular, bear crawl, crab walk, backwards, side-shuffles and forward at various speeds); stop mid-way for some up-downs.
Minutes of Gumby (stretching)
Numberama, Namorama, COT/BOM
Spike took us out.
NMS
Mumblechatter seemed minimal this morning, and there was no chatter at all during the 11s; YHC chalks this up to extreme effort put out by all. By the end most were modifying except for Liono and Pitt Bull who are pull-up machines! Awesome effort by Pick Two to push through the last round.
YHC learned during a volunteer day at Cool Spring Elementary School that the kids are not allowed to retrieve kickballs that go over the fence. Thus, it is typically up to adult volunteers to retrieve them. What an opportunity for F3. Cannot believe the PAX grabbed up 50 balls in no time. Spike decided to experience some sympathy pain and joined YHC’s team finishing up burpees of shame.
Special thanks to Wedding Singer for making the trek out to Daville this morning. Summer tour is a great thing!
Also, kudos to Spit for taking a break from new-dad duties. Hope you get some sleep!
ANNOUNCEMENTS
July 4th convergence at Tredegar, 0700.
July 6th – Pick Two and his M-to-be are leading the workout at the Creek. Should be a blast!
The allure of the HR Derby brought 23 willing participants to the ball field in the gloom this morning, including the man, the myth, the legend…Kevin (McRib) Bacon and 1 FNG.
The PAX signed in (for BB purposes and for the batting order (but more on that later)) and formed up on in right field for COP to get loose, including:
Poles – Sprint from the foul pole to the left field foul pole, do 10 merkins, sprint back and plank up for instructions.
Instructions were simple – 3 swings – over the fence = HR; everything else = out. Outs result in 3 Burpees for the entire PAX. HRs – the hitter gets to choose the exercise x10 for the PAX. If anyone goes Tori Hunter (or EF Hutton) and robs a HR, the robber gets to choose the exercise. On deck man jumps rope while waiting…game on!
FNG-John led things off – 3 outs, 9 burpees…that combo would be repeated 20 out of the 23 times…OUCH!
Thankfully, Handshake, McRib and Upchuck spared the PAX from the 3 outs – 9 burpee combo. Handshake hit 1 HR and called for 10 merkins…prompting vocal THANKS from DK (and others). McRib and Upchuck each hit 2 HRs – McRib called for 20 mountain climbers. Upchuck had pity and called for 20 LBCs.
Yep, 69 swings and 5 HRs…YIKES! 64 outs = 192 burpees – possibly a new records (?) for a 45-minute workout.
Playoff between McRib and Upchuck – 1 swing a piece go until 1 guy homers and other doesn’t. Three rounds. Upchuck led off round 2 with a deep blast, but McRib answered in kind and then when back to back, leading off the 3rd round with another blast that Upchuck couldn’t match.
McRib defends his 2017 Title and becomes the first back to back F3 HR Derby winner.
COT, COR, NOR and YHC took us out with great thanks for the ability to have this group of brothers and friends that is willing to show up at the baseball field at 0530 and pretend (most of us) that we can still play and to be able to share this morning with my 2.0 (Redbird) and have some fun.
Announcements:
NMS:
Thanks for indulging me again with the HR Derby. It was a blast. Lots of hard hit balls, but we need to work on our launch angles and exit velocity as a collective PAX. Not McRib or Upchuck though – those guys came to play. McRib even cleared two fences and put on on the real softball field. Well done sir…see you next year when you try to go back-to-back-to-back.
Welcome Ovi (FNG-John). You can blame Loose Goose for pumping you Pittsburgh roots and fandom for the name…I was trying to come up with a good Philly name but couldn’t. Of course, on the drive home, I thought, “darn, should have called him Cheesesteak”… Oh well, Ovi is timely and painful for a Pitt fan. Welcome brother. Hope you come back out soon.
Highlight (or lowlight?) of the day had to be Upchuck’s throwing the bat over the dugout and 3 rows up into the stands….no worries, he regrouped and absolutely tattooed the next 2 pitches out onto the track. Bravo sir.
I was contemplating taking points away from McRib who I think skipped Beast and Marv in the batting order and told Mulder he was on deck after him…or, maybe that was evil genius by McRib – force Beast and Marv to do about 100 more burpees before they get to hit and lower the chances of them hitting HRs…BRILLIANT. I’ll lead-off next year!
Great fun guys. Thanks again for coming out. IT was a blast.
Until Saturday….No More Gumbo For You!
9 Pax arrived and YHC called the infinity loop. Off we went with Opus catching us a little later.
Some did 4 loops, some dig 3 and some time around the lake, and others did 2 plus a cross campus excursion.
Shakedown took us out in observance of his race this weekend.
NMS
Though we had done this route one time before, the speedy Pax was a little unaware of the course. YHC said that they would all stick together for the first lap, but none the less a trio took off. Let’s just say they missed the turn and got some extra miles in.
Three Qs in 24 hours. YHC is starting to feel like F3RVA’s Ryan Adams with prolific backblast publications across a diverse backdrop of AOs. It’s been fun.
Speaking of fun. There was a Keymaster sighting as we wrapped up the COT. Keymaster was leading his local running group. (But wait! F3 has a Tuesday run location in this very location.) Not satisfied with making just one pass, they circled the lake a second time provoking Swirly to provide commentary on his ass kicking prowess. That is reason #38 why it is better to be a part of this Pax then against it.
Announcements:
Time to Taper,
Lockjaw