Category: Richmond, VA

  • Menage a Merkin

    Seven studs, many who double posted today, arrived for the second Lockjaw beat down of the day.

    COP – In the shade of a small tree.

    • SSH
    • Imperial Walkers,
    • Don Quixote
    • Helicopters

    On the side of the school, Triple Check!

    • Two partners do Plerkins while the other runs to the lamp post on the road and back.  Cycle through the positions three times.

    Over to the picnic shelter for Lindsays: dips off the benches and box cutters.

    Mosey over to the playground which was occupied by little kids fully enjoying all it had to offer.  Partner up in the shade of the tree behind the playground for 11s.

    Exercise 1 – Boo-Yah Merkins

    Exercise 2 Captain Thors

    As there were 7, we had a three man Boo-Yah set going.  Just don’t make eye contact…..

    Long mosey to the front of the school.  Partner up for Doras.

    Partner 1 – Runs to the road and back

    Partner 2 – 100 Donkey Kicks, 200 Oblique Crunches, 300 Flutter Kicks

    Back up on the wall for a round of Chicken Peckers.  Drop down for lengthy elbow plank.

    Mosey over to the front parking lot for a little Merkin Shuffle.  Pick a quantity between 1-5 and a style of Merkin.  Pax performs exercise and pass to the left for something different.

    Drop down for Alabama Prom Dates and finish with Superman.

    Chum Bucket took us out.

    NMS

    It was great to be back at the Punisher after so much time away.  Thanks for the local Pax coming out to in force tonight as well.

    AOs look entirely different in the daylight and this one is no exception.  It’s odd to deal with the sun and crowds at the AO (such as a couple of kids at the playground), but we managed.

    Announcements:

    • Home run derby tomorrow – See preblast or Gumbo for details
    • This Thursday – paddling on the river (water permitting) at 6:00 pm from the Huguenot Bridge.  No experience necessary and space in the tandem for those who want to give it a try.  See Lockjaw for details.
    • July 4 Convergence – Hot Potato down on Belle Isle.

     

    Time to Taper,

    Lockjaw

     

  • Daylight Savings in June?

    YHC, or the 6:00 AM YHC, reporting the details of a Sunday morning run at Off The Books.

    The thang:

    Standard 6ish mile route through Grove, Midlo Mines, lake, up to Midlo and up to Charter School Rd, back to Urban Farmhouse.

    YHC showed up at for the standard 6:00 AM run and left solo. Returned just before 7:00 to find Honeymoon and a few minutes later Shake (who may actually be the YHC for this post, or at least the 7:00 AM YHC). Amidst the heat and humidity it was nice running before the sun was fully up, the 7:00 AM run may not have been as fortunate.

    Didn’t see it get posted so thought I’d take the honors.

    -singer

  • River Loop…Repeat

    3 SOJ natives (1 expat) and 1 Sheriff to keep order (although LIFO) started out the morning with some miles.  For the 3 natives, it was a flat out and back 2-mile loop down to the River and back to the Flag – do 20 SSHs and 20 LBC at the Flag and the REPEAT as many times as possible for 45 minutes.  YHC had to pull into pit-row after the first lap, but managed 2.5 for 5 miles.  I believe Splinter and Rosie may have gotten in a full 3…I lost sight of them.

    Rosco was not deterred when the PAX was gone.  He headed through Tarrington and up Ashwell Drive hill for a strong 4+ miles.

    COT, COR, NOR and YHC took us out.

    Announcements:

    • HR Derby is tomorrow.  Don’t go to NoToll…go to Huguenot Little League behind Robious Elementary School.  Bring a glove.
    • July 4 convergence at Tredegar…see pre-blast.

    Great run gents!  Great to have Splinter back in the motherland and great to have Rosco back out after being away in steamy Charleston.  Always good to run with (umm…after) Rosie.  He is looking strong and ready for the weekend race with Shakedown and maybe TYA (?).  You guys will kill it.

    See you at the derby tomorrow!

    No More Gumbo For You!

  • Drinking the Kool-Aid

    No Q, No Problem.  5 seasoned vets and 1 newish guy emerged from the sack to explore the damp hillside at Batteau.  Here’s what was done.

    THANG

    SWIRLY Q

    Mosey to field

    COP

    • SSHs
    • Helicopters
    • Imperial Walkers
    • Don Quixotes

    Mosey to playground

    3 Rounds – 5 Pull-ups, 10 Derkins, 15 Incline Merkins, 20 Dips

    HUTTON Q

    Mosey to Tree Line

    Tree Line Escalator (Add a tree and an exercise each round) 6 Rounds – Merkins, LBCs, Jump Squats, Carolina Dry Docks, Monkey Humpers, Burpees x 10 reps each tree

    FLANGE Q

    Mosey to Valley

    Dora w Partner running to top – 100 Squats, 200 Flutter Kicks, 200 SSHs

    TOBIT Q

    Mosey to Loop

    Triple Check – WWIIs, American Hammers, Run Extended Loop

    PONCH Q

    Stretch it Out – Cherry Pickers, Calf Stretch

    Mosey back to VSF

    Numberama, Nameorama, COT

    MOLESKIN

    YHC loves Batteau, it’s a darn fine AO, but Hoedown is so darn close.  Regardless, it was great to be back there after a long hiatus.  A quick glance at Big Data shows that Ponch has posted 8 times in 2 weeks.  He’s clearly drinking the Kool-Aid.  Drink it up buddy, this Kool-Aid won’t kill you, in fact it’ll make you stronger.  Side note, that expression should really be Drinking the Flavor-Aid, just look it up if you don’t know.  Speaking of Ponch, as he walked up to YHC this morning trying to recall YHC’s name, “Splinter right?”  Not quite, but I get that a lot.  Can’t wait for Ponch to see YHC and Splinter side by side and see how comically different we are in stature.  Later having not grasped YHC’s name pre-workout, “was it Fudd?”  Not quite, but I get that a lot.  Just messing with you Ponch, if you knew everyone’s name already YHC would wonder what really was in the Kool-Aid.  Anyway, great to have you out on the regular.  One other interesting tidbit from the morning.  Unless YHCs eyes deceived him, Tobit was wearing his gloves as he drove up, making him the anti-Mr.Roper.  YHC wonders if Tobit also wears his shoes to bed at night.

    ANNOUNCEMENTS

    Home Run Derby – Tuesday @ Huguenot Little League (2801 Robious Crossing Drive, Midlothian, VA 23113) – May want to bring a glove

    American Arena League Championship Saturday at the Coliseum – YHC will be there, will you?

  • Why is it Called Tomato Run?

    5 runners and 1 rucker took on the dawn at Tomato Run this morning.

    The runners started light, but Wheelbarrow joined up about a half mile in…hoping we were toting an oxygen bottle…we were not.  He eventually caught his breath and we settled in for a friendly paced bro code run.  Route doesn’t matter, but the banter was good.  Subjects covered included:

    -Wheelbarrow is quickly becoming the go-to guy for brewing in F3 lately.  Sugar Sock has some experience in the brewing department as well.  Sounds like an F3 brew day is in the works.

    -Vinny lives in a house that touches another house.  Several of us had bought houses at very inconvenient financial times.

    -The Last Podcast on the Left could be the most awesome thing on the internet right now.  Not safe for kids!

    -Vinny and Slurpee are planning a vacation soon together.  Hot tubs and long walks on the beach.  AstroGlide might come, too.  Docking station?!?  I don’t get it…

    -You know you are raising your daughter at least a little right if she doesn’t get “that’s what she said” jokes.  However, I am sure I have damaged her in other ways that I will find out about when she starts therapy later in life.

    -Tomato Run is thusly named due to the all around awesomeness that is a Hanover Tomato.  Also, “tomato” according to F3 is code for a female around an F3 workout…or that possibly joins in to an F3 workout.  I’ll put it in a sentence for you:  “No TYA, it is not ok to stare at the tomatoes the entire time while they work out”.

     

    Apology of the Week goes to TYA, I hope I didn’t hurt your feeling.

     

    Lab Rat apologizes…

  • Neighborhood Watch

    When YHC arrived, the Pax was light in numbers, but the Pax converged quickly with Mr Holland having three seconds to spare.  Mr Holland is the Atomic Clock.

    COP

    • SSH
    • Russian Soldiers
    • Don Quixote (no Saab, so we went at a medium pace)
    • Helicopters

    Mosey across the front of the school and to the shopping center parking lot.  Line up for some 11s.

    • 2 count mountain climbers and Carolina dry docks
    • Run about 10 parking spaces between sets
    • Once we exhausted the parking spaces, we crossed Ridge and headed down Holmes to finish

    In the Kanawha parking lot, partner up for some Doras.

    • Partner 1 runs from the speed bump to the dumpster and back
    • Partner so does 100 reverse lunges, 200 monkey humpers, 300 flutter kicks

    Karaoke a block down Ralston and then Karaoke facing the other way another block.  Bear crawl down the hill on University Drive.  Partner carries up the other side of the hill.

    Run to the next stop sign at Ridge and elbow plank for the six.  Cross the road and Catch Me If You Can for a long block to Westham Parkway.  Partner 1 runs backwards.  Partner 2 does 5 HRM and runs forward to catch him.  Reverso.

    Hang a left on Westham Parkway and perform an exercise when you come to each intersection:

    • Sunset – 10 Boo-Yah Merkins
    • Lakewood- 20 PLT for partner 1
    • Hillsdale – 20 PLT for Partner 2
    • Lindsay – 20 Box Cutters (turn left of Lindsay)
    • West Drive – 10 Dive Bombers
    • Lindsay – 5 Burpees

    Back to the VSF for Merkin Ring of Fire:  Call out a number 1-5 and a style of Merkin for the Pax to perform.  Pass clockwise and the next Pax must call out a different number and style of Merkin.

    Finish with some American Hammers.

    YHC took us out.

    Announcements:

    • Today! –  double dip opportunity at 6:30 pm – Come out to the Punisher and get a second Lockjaw Q
    • Home run derby tomorrow – See preblast or Gumbo for details
    • This Thursday – paddling on the river (water permitting) at 6:00 pm from the Huguenot Bridge.  No experience necessary and space in the tandem for those who want to give it a try.  See Lockjaw for details.
    • July 4 Convergence – Hot Potato down on Belle Isle.

    Always Be Tapering,

    Lockjaw

  • Four Men, Three Routes, One Great Idea

    4 PAX emerged from the Sunday Fart Sack to pound out some trail miles.  Just prior to 7 a.m., appropriate greetings were exchanged, goals for the day shared, and off we went.  Temps were sunny, 70, and a touch of humidity.

    Routes:

    TYA…North Bank, perhaps Texas Beach, at a walker’s pace (mileage unclear…goal: be pain free)

    Saab…South Bank, Forest Hill Loop, North Bank…at a runner’s pace (10 miles)

    Olivander and YHC…South Bank, North Bank…at (ahem) an UpChuck pace (7 miles).  Olivander was running with a restrictor plate.

    NMS:

    Good to catch up with Olivander today as it was YHC’s first time running with him.  Strong performance and thanks for dragging YHC through the humidity.

    Pre-notice to the PAX…TYA was hip-pain free after today’s walk.  This left his brain free to concentrate on diabolical ways to challenge the PAX, a core skill of his.  Good stuff coming…stay tuned.

    UpChuck spits the bit.

  • burpees, run, repeat

    Six of the faithful met at GridIron on a humid morning. The Pax showed a strong tendency early to stand around and socialize. YHC put an abrupt end to that, and this is what went down, more or less:

    COP warmup: 50x ssh, 20x burpees OYO (aka Slaughter Starter), 25x Don Quiotes, 25x Imperial Walkers

    Mosey to corner of parking area near handicap parking. 25x ssh, 25x Alabama Prom Dates, 10x merkins

    Mosey to to well-populated track.

    Starting together, 10x burpees followed immediately by 1/4 mi. repeat as fast as possible.
    Recover with plank sequence as Pax regroups.
    Starting together, 10x burpees followed immediately by 1/4 mi. repeat as fast as possible.
    Recover with plank sequence as Pax regroups.
    Starting together, 10x burpees followed immediately by 1/4 mi. repeat as fast as possible.
    Recover with plank sequence as Pax regroups.
    Starting together, 10x burpees followed immediately by 1/4 mi. repeat as fast as possible.
    Recover with plank sequence as Pax regroups.
    Starting together, 10x burpees followed immediately by 1/4 mi. repeat as fast as possible.
    Recover with plank sequence as Pax regroups.
    Starting together, 10x burpees followed immediately by 1/4 mi. repeat as fast as possible.
    Recover with plank sequence as Pax regroups.
    Starting together, 10x burpees followed immediately by 1/4 mi. repeat as fast as possible.
    Recover with plank sequence as Pax regroups.

    Mosey around the outside of the AO to front of the school.
    Merkin ladder from 10 down to 1.

    Mosey to VSF. 3 Minutes of Mary

    COT, prayers, and deeply moving prayer by The Rev. Earthworm. Ending with coffeeteria by all by Mr. Holland.

    Moleskin: Chum was LIFO, but we are glad he hiked out to the far west end. It was great to see Mr. Holland after a hiatus from GridIron. He is sporting the shaved head and beard… very stylishly. Eli and Mr. Holland were easily the leaders on the intervals, and looked like they could hand 7 more. The rest of us were about at our limits after 7. 100 burpees this morning in all. Several miles running, mostly at interval speed. Great job, men!

  • Pre-Blast – Down the River

    With the assumption that water levels keep to their projections, we are going to venture forward on our first trip down the river this Thursday (6/28) at 6pm.

    If water levels cooperate, we will meet at Huguenot Flatwater under the bridge for an out and back excursion.  If we have high water, we may opt for a Robious to Huguenot downstream run.

    If you are interested, let me know who is a HC by Wednesday evening so we can plan accordingly.  For those without access to a boat, we may have a few extra spots available as well so don’t let that hold you back.

    ABT,

    Lockjaw

  • 4 Beers is just a warmup

    Three F3RVA PAX showed up to #TwinTeam on Friday ready punish their bodies and minds, and get better a little bit at a time.

    COP:

    • SSH x 20 IC
    • Copperhead Squats x 15 IC
    • Hillbillies x 20 IC
    • LBCs x 20 IC
    • Merkins x 10 IC

    Mosey to JRHS front entrance for a Triple Check (Wall Sit, 6 Inches, run the loop)

    Lightpole Lane: run the access road stopping at every light pole and alternating between the following exercises: Burpees x 2, Merkins x 5, Squats x 5

    Giant 4 Corners Escalator:

    • 1st Corner – merkins x 10
    • 2nd Corner – merkins x 10, jump squats x 10
    • 3rd Corner – merkins x 10, jump squats x 10, LBCs x 20
    • 4th Corner – merkins x 10, jump squats x 10, LBCs x 20, mountain climbers x 10

    Lightpole Lane – the other direction alternating between Carolina Dry Docks x 5 and WWII situps x 5

    Mosey back to BWES for a modified Triple Check: (pole smokers, dips, run inbetween)

    7 MOM – PAX alternates leading an ab workout IC, then YHC calls an alternate OYO exercise

    • LBCs x20 IC, Werkins x 10 OYO
    • Flutterkicks x 20 IC, Merkins x 10 OYO
    • Hello Dollies x 20 IC, Diamond Merkins x 10 OYO
    • Freddie Mercuries x 20 IC, Carolina Dry Docks x 10 OYO
    • Rosalita x 20 IC, Squats x 10 OYO
    • Dying Cockroach x 10 IC, 5 burpees OYO

    Namerama, Numberama, COT

    Announcements – July 4th convergence @ Tredegar, Summer Tour ongoing

    NMS:

    As YHC sat in the parking lot at 5:15 thinking it may be a solo workout, and dreading having to motivate through a workout alone, Tobit showed up with 5 minutes to go and relieved the worry. Flipper showed up at the end of COP to make it an unbreakable triangle of HIMs (or at least HIMs in the molding).

    YHC had planned The Cooper, but given the low numbers of PAX thought it would be better to save for another time. We did a menagerie of classics on the fly, and it seemed to put down a sufficient beating on the PAX. Tobit and Flipper both crushed the 4 corners and Light Pole Lane, leaving YHC a step behind the whole way – exactly the motivation I needed.

    YHC was complaining post workout about having stayed up til midnight and drinking a few beers with the buddies and the effect that had on YHC’s aging millennial body – and Flipper stated that was just a warmup back in the good ol’ days. YHC may be younger than other PAX, but is a crotchety old man at heart.

    Thanks for letting me lead – and my apologies for the late post!

    ~Why walk when you can Wheelbarrow?