Category: Richmond, VA

  • Shamrock The Lake

    Saint Patrick’s Day is here and YHC had been thinking about this Q all week. What to do and how to show RESPECT for this day. Today is 4 weeks since YHC father passed and on the mind too. Early text to Swirly asking him to post his flag and YHC arrived at 545 memorizing his work out and thinking to himself…..count correctly and breath!! 21 regular PAX members and 1 FNG posted for a Flatline Q and starting St. Patrick’s Day out with a BOOM!

    0600…..time to Mosey. One loop around the circle at Ampitheater awaiting late arrivals.  COP: x11 Helicopters, x24 Imperial Walkers, x 46 SSH…..YHC had more planned for COP but x46 SSH is no joke plus next workout would take some time. Mosey with a run to The Lake.

    Shamrock The Lake….as YHC had conjured up!! Partner Up and here we go: at each light pole, partner 1 performs 3 exercises-x3 merkins, x 6 LBC’s, x9 SSH while partner 2 runs a lap around The Lake and meets up with partner 1. Bear crawl to each light pole, switch and repeat until The Lake has been circled! YHC planned accordingly because this evolution took some time but outstanding work PAX and way to push and finish! 15 mins left and time to Mosey to access road at bottom of bunker complex, just up the hill from The Lake.

    Triple Nickel……x5 Burpees at the bottom of the road, run to the top for x5 squats, and back down=1 rep. Perform 5 reps………hence triple x5 x5 x5. 5 mins left and mosey back to the flag.

    YHC finished the workout making sure all PAX members were accounted for!

    Number-ama, Name-r-ama, Announcements: Keep Labrat in our prayers as he is with his father in the hospital in SC. CSAUP-find a team. If you want to run-tell us and we can help with all else!! Healing Place 10K Training Team after Dogpile-5 mile run today! See Upchuck!

    YHC took us out!

    NMS: According to Spit, approx. 4 miles ran today for Dogpile. EXCELLENT CSAUP training! Spit awesome partner as usual!! x46 SSH is a lot and YHC had more planned for COP but cadence and counting would have been difficult and bad so YHC cut COP to 3 exercises…11/24/46=YHC father’s bday! But YHC knows how the PAX loves when YHC calls out cadence or better yet, messes it up!! RVA has Shamrock The Block so YHC wanted to start the am out right, hence Shamrock The Lake!! Shamrock has 3 leaves and according to Irish tradition means 3 things-Faith, Hope, Love and if you find a 4 leaf Shamrock, 4th leaf=luck!

    Gentlemen of The PAX-we have Faith in God or a higher power as well as Faith in our M, families, and F3. Hope is a powerful, powerful thing that the PAX has and we can give to others!!! Love for our families, M, and kids along with each other and one of the reasons why F3 is awesome and special. If you allow F3 into your heart, there is nothing but Faith, Hope, and Love!!!! The last 18 months has shown YHC this, especially the last 4 weeks!!

    PAX members, thank you for following this am. Wasn’t quite sure how it would work out but thumbs up, YHC thinks! Way to push and get it all out! Only those who post understand!

    Loud and Proud,

    Flatline

  • SOJ Track Work

    A Magnificent Seven showed up at TwinTeam with the promise of a run focused workout and the CSAUP looming in a few short weeks.

    COP:

    • SSH x 20
    • Hillbillies x 25
    • DQ’s x 10
    • Copperhead Squats x 10
    • Merkins x 10
    • Freddie Mercuries x 20

    Long mosey to the JRHS track

    The Cooper:

    • Run 1 lap – then 10 burpees, 10 squats, 10 merkins
    • Run 1 lap – then 9 burpees, 9 squats, 9 merkins
    • Repeat down to 1, 1, 1 or until time is called
    • Those who finished (Rosie) ran ~2.5 miles and completed 55 burpees, squats, and merkins

    Mosey back to shovel flag for a quick Mary:

    • LBC’s x 20 IC
    • 10 Carolina Dry Docks OYO
    • E2K x 20 IC
    • 10 merkins OYO
    • Flutterkicks x 20 IC

    Numberama, Namerama – YHC took us out.

    Announcements:

    • CSAUP coming up on April 13th/14th – SOJ needs people to setup / man the party zone as well as additional runners if anyone is interested.
    • Healing Place training runs still in progress – see Honeydo or Upchuck

    NMS:

    YHC has had a rough week+ at work and then recovering from a cold and hasn’t been posting very regularly last week and this one. No better way to guarantee a post then to sign up to Q! With the SOJ crew training up to dominate the CSAUP, it seemed apropos to do some track work today.

    The Cooper was definitely a beast, and ate up the majority of the workout. YHC called the time when Rosie had completed the full 10 laps – I think the rest of the PAX finished around 8 except maybe Gumbo who either finished or came close. My watch showed just under 3 miles at the end of the workout – will be more for Rosie and Gumbo.

    Good to have Bullseye back out for the second straight week! Keep it up man, and keep coming back. Also, good to have Mr. Holland come join us south of the river. The border patrol was slacking today…

    Thanks for letting me lead this morning gentleman, it is always an honor!

    ~Why walk when you can Wheelbarrow?

  • The Murph is at The Creek!

    12 bonny lads showed up in the gloom to commemorate an early St. Patrick’s Day and crush a workout.

    YHC decided to introduce the Murph to The Creek, so we started off with a mile run, and after a bit of confusion all of the Pax killed it and some even put in extra credit before YHC could flag them down.  Mosey to the picnic table pavilion for COP, IC:

    18 SSH, because Ireland joined Britain in 1800 to form the United Kingdom

    5 Merkins, because the Potato Famine lasted 5 years, from 1845-1849

    22 Imperial Walkers, because the Irish Civil War, begin by Michael Collins, started in 1922

    11 arm circles, big and small, then reverso, because St. Patrick died in 461 AD (4+6+1)

    20 LBC’s for March 17 (3+17), the date on which St. Patrick died

     

    The Murph, OYO

    100 Dips              200 leg raises, while holding a potato between your feet             300 jump squats, because it’s also March Madness

    Run a mile to finish the Murph

    Mosey to the SF, plank up for 2 minutes while YHC reads St. Patrick Day facts:

    -St Patty’s Day is the celebrated in more countries than any other national holiday

    -Myth: St. Patrick drove snakes out of Ireland.  There were never snakes in Ireland, and this is allegorical (thanks Opus) because his Christian ministry drove out the Druids, who were supposedly snake worshippers

    -Lenten restrictions are traditionally lifted on St. Patrick’s Day, so indulge if you wish tomorrow!

    -the 3 leaf shamrock supposedly is associated with St. Patrick because he used it to explain the Holy Trinity

    Numberama, namerama, YHC took us out.

    NMS

    YHC had a lot of fun coming up with this workout, and it seemed the PAX enjoyed it as well, because they crushed it.  There was some mumblechatter about “this isn’t going to end well” (oh, but it did, more on that in a bit) and Mudface was bringing the effort, but had to keep stopping as his 2.0’s didn’t seem awake this morning, so he got to keep ‘encouraging’ them to move it.  Hardywood killed the Murph, and we didn’t realize he had finished the exercises until he was gone running the second mile, and perhaps a 3rd, leading to speculation that he might be a robot, or maybe he benefits from “different air” not hailing from DaVille.

    After COT, YHC invited everyone to his car, and all adults were given the reward of a bottle of Guiness, while 2.0’s received PowerAde (evidently blue is a good flavor).

    Happy St. Patrick’s Day, and thanks for letting me lead, it is always an honor.

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

  • Mary has the Fartleks

    Fifteen noble steeds collected under the clear, starlit skies for a non-Lockjaw edition of RAMM.  Today was a day to work on speed and the Q offered two choices depending on your willingness to participate.

    The Route
    Very straightforward, no questions were asked at all.  North on Commonwealth, right on Monument.  Turn around and come home.

    The Thang
    Option 1 – The goal was a negative split.  Run out 23 minutes, turn around and get back to the start in 22 minutes.  The intent is to go out at a normal pace then try to pick it up on the return.  Negative splits are a good goal during any run/race as you get faster throughout the run, rather than slowing down towards the end.

    Option 2 – Ten 1-minute pickups, a.k.a. the Fartlek.  Run out at a casual pace for a 15 minute warm up.  Then pick up the pace for 1 minute, followed by a 30 second recovery.  The pickup pace should be around a 5k time, i.e. run much faster than your normal Friday morning pace.  Repeat for a total of 10 iterations, turning around after the 5th to work your way back to the flag.  15 minute cool down on the way back to the flag.

    Numberama, names, YHC took us out.

    Moleskin
    YHC is a fan of trying things that are different.  Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t.  The variability is one of the reasons why F3 is so great.

    The Fartlek is a great strategy to mix into your running routine to get some variability in running, otherwise it can become quite mundane.  If you didn’t try the Fartlek today I encourage you to consider it next time around.  Remember, it’s not always about the length.

    YHC particularly enjoyed the hoops conversation this morning, especially the foray into machine learning algorithms used to predict the outcome of each game.  Sounds like another opportunity for a human to beat a machine.  Viva Kasparov vs Deep Blue!

    Splinter out

  • 3rd Annual Mid-March Tradition

    Eighteen upperclassmen including 1 FNG strolled onto the Mary Munford campus this morning, some veterans of today’s escapades while others were unsuspecting.  YHC received a few strange looks when he emerged from his vehicle.  Yep, March Madness baby!  Tip-off was promptly at 0530.

    Mosey, single file to the basketball courts for disclaimer then COP:

    COP
    Invisible Layups (4 left hand and 3 right hand)
    Invisible Jump Rope (x20)
    High Knees (x20)
    Butt Kickers (x20)
    Defensive Slides (x10)
    Floor Slaps (x10)

    The Thang
    Stay on the basketball courts for a gasser of Lindsay’s.  Jump Squats & Merkins.  30/10, 25/15, 20/20, 15/25, 10/30.

    Line up on the end line for line drill then first round of 1-1s with Lab Rat and TYA firing away.  Miss the front-end of a 1-1 then the PAX does 10 burpees.  We did this twice and never found out what we would do if we made 1 or both free throws.

    Line up in two lines at opposing ends of the court.  Single file, continuously toss the ball against the backboard with the person tossing the ball moving to the end of the other line and the next person in line continuing the sequence.  When the ball hits the ground PAX drops and completes 5 burpees.  We tried this for a few minutes before calling failure.

    Line drill then second round of 1-1s with Rosie and Swirly making attempts.  Once again we did this twice with no one making a basket.  10 burpees each time there was a miss.  Joy!

    Circle up at mid-court for Box Out Ring of Fire.  PAX planks while 2 members attempt to do a 5 second box out drill.  Defender tries to prevent the offender from reaching the ball in the middle of the circle.  After a few iterations the PAX began counting down by completing 5 merkins for each participant.  Everyone participated that wanted to (I know who you are…).

    Pair up for the much anticipated 2-2 matchups.  Play half-court for 3 minutes.  Winning team stays, losing team rotates clockwise.  Odd team out does WWIIs for 3 minutes.

    After 15 minutes we gathered our belongings and race back to the flag.

    Moleskin
    Welcome FNG Flange!  This workout should not necessarily be your litmus test for whether or not you come back.  We are mostly business when it comes to workouts but every once in a while it is nice to do something different and have some fun.

    YHC appreciates the PAX suffering through some of the attempted exercises before we got to the more enjoyable 2-2 games.  If the PAX would have allowed it, YHC would have scheduled 45 minutes of 2-2 games.

    In 3 years, the PAX has attempted 14 free throws and only made 2.  Of those 2, Sippy Cup is the only one to make a free throw.  In 3 years.  1 person, 2 free throws.  Maybe we should try this again in the summertime when it is light.

    For those wondering, this is what a tap drill should look like.  Also, these kids are like 12.

    And this is what a box out drill looks like.  Skip to ~3:30 for some good examples:

    Enjoy the games everyone!

    Splinter out

     

     

     

  • Tariffs are Coming

    Fartsack be damned!  3 noble warriors fought through the malaise and chill of the midweek.  Here is how the adhoc Q went down.

    • COP
      • 25 SSH
      • 25 IW
      • 10 burpees
      • 10 2x merkins
      • 25 2x LBC
      • 25 Helicopters
    • Lucky Bus Loop – farmers carry to the four quadrants of the bus loop, perform 15 reps of a certain exercise, adding a new exercise for each quadrant, with a total of 8 at the end
      • Lawnmower pulls – each arm (8x)
      • Deep squats (7x)
      • High pulls (6x)
      • Halos (5x)
      • Alternating weighted lunges (4x)
      • KB swings (3x)
      • Sit ‘n presses (2x)
      • American hammers (1x)
    • Run the bus loop
    • COT with YHC taking us out

    YHC showed up with a new KB today, bright and shiny.  Put a few new chips and marks on this fine piece of Chinese craftsmanship.  Likely the prices will go up soon as tariffs will be levied on such imports.  White Deer was enthralled with how much bigger his equipment appeared to be.  He would not let it go.  It was as if he had never had the chance to say that to another man before?!?!?  Mumble chatter subsided as the reps grew.  Funny how that happens.  Good work from a faithful PAX today.

    God is good all the time!

    Attila

  • The Fake Hillcrest is Back

    3 studs posted on a Wednesday afternoon for some real hills.

    The Thang:

    3 long loops, one backwards and two forwards.  You pick the order.  5 miles in total.

    NMM

    Great to have Spit out there today for his first Hillcrest run.  He enjoyed the loops and mentioned that he now knew why the AO was called Roller Coaster.  On this run you are never running flat..only up or down.

    It was great to be back on Hillcrest today.  We have been spending the past couple months on the trails, but the hillier terrain of the fake Hillcrest is great training.  YHC felt normal running today for the first time since his race a week and a half ago.  Good to have my sea legs back.

    TYA Out

  • 2 Lonely Wolfs

    2 lonely wolfs met in the cold today for a hot potato Q.

    Started and ended with several runs/mossy around the school as I found out that Wilson loves running!

    In the middle of running we did the normal exercises to kill time and push the lonely 2 wolfs.  Most creative goes to Wilson for pick neck bench pushups as they hurt!

    COT, Name-a-rama, Number-rama

    Always good to lead even when you don’t sign up!  Let’s bring on this warm weather and get these numbers back up across all AOs.

    Rosco you were missed as Wilson defiantly was there this time!

  • Irrational Beast

    COP (all In Cadence)

    SSH x 14

    Merkins x 14

    Helicopters x 14

    Arm Circles 10 small 4 big and reverso

    PI Beast

    Waiter carry/Suitcase carry to light post

    at each post perform 14 of the reps of assigned exercise then turn around and do the same thing back to the begining.  Exercises were:

    • Goblet squats
    • Clean and press
    • lawn mowers, turned wrist on the way back
    • Halos
    • Slingshots
    • Swings (we ran out of time and didn’t get to this one)

    Mosey back to the flag

    One minute of Boat/Canoe because we got started late

    Numberama

    Namearama

    Announcements:

    No Idea took us out

    NMS

    YHC rolled up the AO at 5:20 to an empty parking lot. At 5:25 he planted the SF, looked at the still empty lot, and got back in the truck to wait. At 5:30 YHC got ready to Q for a PAX of one and was getting started when Helix and Opus rolled up. Mumblechatter centered around third arms, electric socks, and exorcise clarification.

    No Idea and Seismic rolled in around 6:00. Is the 2.0 considered LIFO if they are reliant on the 1.0 to get them to the AO. The PAX then watched in amazement as No Idea started his car to get the heat running, got in and we did not see him get out until the 6 caught up.

    As always it was an honor to lead

     

     

     

     

  • 11s rule Circus Maximus

    Three of the faithful came out to Circus Maximus. It was cold and the ground was wet — perfect conditions for gloom. Johnsonville took Q, and this is what went down (sort of):

    warmup with ssh, don quiotes, merkins, imperial walkers, arm circles.

    11s with donkey kicks along school’s wall and swings by SF.

    11s with curb crawls incline merkins / skull crushers

    20 lawnmower pulls & run around track <– rinse and repeat for 5 sets.

    Moleskin: I am within the 1 week grace period for posting this. That is acceptable, right?

    Jville