Category: Richmond, VA

  • Tiny Brass Balls….

    YHC showed up extra early this am to get a lay of the land. First Q for Heartbreak Ridge. Big AO so with time to spare, YHC formulated his workout for a West End PAX inbound. YHC parked near the buses and waited to see the appropriate place to park…..ah, Offshore was first and YHC moved accordingly. Closer to the track, mid parking lot. 6 regular West End gents and 1 SOJ regular posted and this is how it went down. 0530…Time to Mosey. One warm up lap around the parking lot.

    COP- Invisible Jump Rope x 15, Copperhead Squats x 15, Don Quixote x 10, Imperial Walker x 15, Flutter Kicks x 15, LBC x 15, Merkin x 10. Time to Mosey..

    YHC forgot how big Quicassin Middle School parking lot is. So….Ascending Four Corners followed by Descending Four Corners. First corner, x 10 merkins, mosey to second corner x 20 squats, x10 merkins and mosey to third Corner x 30 mountain climbers, x 20 squats, x 10 merkins and mosey to the fourth Corner x 40 SSH, x 30 mountain climbers, x 20 squats, x 10 merkins. Repeat fourth corner workout and time to descend. Third Corner x 30 mountain climbers, x 20 squats, x 10 merkins and mosey to second corner, x 20 squats, x 10 merkins. Mosey back to first corner, x 10 merkins.

    Mosey to the track. Burpee Mile. 12 burpees and run one lap. Repeat 4 times. 48 burpees and one mile, done!

    YHC actually listened to the PAX this am when all 6 appeared hesitant to step onto the football field. YHC wanted to show West End PAX, The Lawn Service. So quick silent audible….triple check. YHC was solo but 2 groups. Run 100 yards, derkins, and dips. Quick work, gents. And with time to spare…..what to do?

    Mosey to the concession stand…..BTW. Approx 2 minutes…BTW for as long as possible. One small break. All PAX members crushed a 30 second count down! Time expired. Mosey back to the parking lot.

    Number-ama, Name-r-ama, Announcements: BRR group is forming. CSAUP for appropriate Nano Region. Honeydo and Upchuck are assisting The Healing Place and their Monument 10k training team. 0730 on Saturday, close to Dogpile. This Saturday, 2 mile run.

    Honeydo took us out!

    NMS- Not that far a drive from SOJ and awesome AO. Ronnie asked the Q if he was wearing brass balls? Ronnie kept hearing metal clacking sound from YHC. YHC told Ronnie the clacking sound was from YHC gloves-clasp to attach together and hook on a ruck-YHC gloves issued fall of 1994 by Army ROTC department at The Institute! Who would have thought 20 years later, still in use! YHC told Ronnie, yea right now I have tiny brass balls!  Mumblechatter kinda light but YHC did hear about Offshore being a character witness. God Bless all educators in this world! Good to see Garbage Plate and Ronnie this am……miss seeing them at Dogpile! Honeydo, Thank you for shovel flag!! Attila-nice to finally meet you! Offshore-pleasure as always! Mr. Holland-solid workout and thanks for AO name explanation!

    Thank you for following almost all of the workout!! Great to start the am at Heartbreak Ridge. Only those who show up understand! Have a super day!

    Loud and Proud!

    Flatline

     

  • Big Blue…A Sight for Sore Eyes

    YHC pulled into the AO and spotted Big Blue and Rosie’s Pathfinder…finally, after two solo workouts (at least at the start), today there would be fellowship in the gloom.  Who am I kidding, its NoToll – other cars rolled in as 0530 approached, including a visitor from Hickory, NC (welcome back Tater Hole) and a clown-less clowncar from New Market (huh?).  The watch struck 0530 and, as Flatline would say, BOOM –

    Mosey to the back parking lot for COP, all IC including:

    • SSHs
    • DQs
    • Copperhead Squats
    • Imperial Walkers
    • Merkins
    • LBCs
    • Flutter Kicks
    • Arm Circles

    THE THANG:

    Evolution of the Burpee

    Part I – Gather in the front corner of the parking lot as Corner 1 – perform 10 merkins, run to corner 2, perform 10 2-count mountain climbers, run to corner 3, perform 10 Bobby Hurley-style jump squats, run to corner 4, perform 10 Burpees, run to corner 1 and plank-o-rama for the SIX

    Part II – those who were at 45MOM last week, knew this was coming – repeato with each exercise x20 – GO!

    Bench-work Dora

    Mosey to the pavilion and partner up.  One partner runs across the field and back while the other performs exercises.  Together, add up to the following:  50 box jumps or step-ups; 100 Derkins; 200 Dips

    Field Work

    Find a new partner and start with 25 PLTs each in front of the pavilion, then wheelbarrow across the field to the other side (either one guy goes all the way or switch as needed — Swirly KILLED it all the way across).  At the other side, 25 more PLTs each and then wheelbarrow back across (YHC almost spilled merlot — is that a bonus or a penalty if you do it to yourself??)

    APDs as a PAX to catch our breathe

    Court Work and MARY

    Mosey back to the basketball court and line up on the fence.  20 Donkey-Kicks OYO, then Bearcrawl across the first court to the middle area and perform 20 box cutters, then bearcrawl back to the fence.

    Freddie Mercury ROF – circle up and hold six inches (4.5 for Mr. Roper), when it is your turn, complete 10 2-count Freddie Mercuries.

    Hello Dollies IC

    American Hammers IC

    Plank/Merkin ROF  with flare

    1 minute of Superman – Hardywood killed the 80’s style background echo.

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

    Announcements:

    NMS:

    It was brisk this morning but we got warmed up with the Evolution of the Burpee.  Not too much mumblechatter and NONE immediately after the wheelbarrows – damn that hurt.  YHC was gasping for air and nearly plowed the field with is face a couple times.  Way to push through fellas.  Thanks for letting me lead today.  I am always honored to lead such a fine group of men.

    Tater Hole – thanks for joining us.  Much respect for killing it today.  You are welcome in F3RVA any time and we hope to see you back soon.

    Own the day men!

    No more Gumbo for you!

  • Spies Like Us

    One canine with her thirteen bipeds launched promptly at 530 for a jaunt over the river and through the woods.

    All runners departed using the secret Batcave exit, crossing the shopping center and over the bridge.  Continue up Huguenot Road to the appropriate right turns:

    4s – Old Spring to Southhampton to Riverside

    5s – Cherokee to Hickory to Riverside

    6s – Chippenham to Hickory to Riverside

    Back across the bridge and enter the Batcave to return to the VSF.

    Bleeder took us out.

    Great numbers today. With more growth, we are going to need to leverage an ancillary parking lot.  After a very brief (and question free) overview of the route, we were off.

    It was great running with BT and EF complete with a strong finish.  Once again, Kenya makes herself known as you hear the dog tag jingle informing you that you are about to be overtaken.  Saab, Sippy, and Dutch were lightning on the return Batcave.  It was good to see Taxi Cab come out for a second week in a row.  Way to keep it up!  Likewise, its good to see Bleeder, the one armed bandit, back with the Pax.  There was some resemblance to Chevy Chase in Spies Like Us with the jacket….

    Announcements:

    •  6 milers who felt cheated with a 5.85 mile route will receive compensation on Friday’s run.
    • CSAUP approaches! – Join a team or start your own.

    Time to Taper,

    Lockjaw

  • Let’s Keep Goin’

    Eight or so (miss anyone?) stallions and one filly took on the light chill for the latest version of Sunday Funday.

    No one signed up for the Q, so off the group went…before realizing that there was no route set…”Let’s do North Bank, then New Bridge, then South Bank.”  Route set.

    About halfway through the North Bank trail, there was a movement to keep going past the New Bridge.  YHC arm twisted folks into doing the pipeline (or at least heading that way).  That turned into going all the way to 14th Street (Bootleg thought better of following .  Before long, we were halfway to Williamsburg (or, at least on the floodwall).  From the floodwall, the route returned to equilibrium…back to the VSF.

    TYA launched ahead of the PAX for a Patriots-themed, FOLI (First out, last in) run…red bandana, red Patriots gloves, etc.  Way to nail 20 miles, my friend.

    NMS:

    The PAX started out quite talkative as has become the norm on Sunday mornings…good chatter all around.

    Nice to see Sally continues to dominate her Sunday runs.  Talk about enthusiasm.  While the rest of the PAX is shaking off Saturday night, she’s ready for anything.  YHC worries about what might happen the first Sunday Offshore decides to fart-sack it.  Sally will likely be at the door ready to go, leash in hand.

    Hardywood led the fast group through much of the run today.  YHC was far enough back to miss most of the chatter, but is sure, really sure, he heard Hardywood enthusiastically fawning over the models in the Pottery Barn catalog.  YHC swears (well, almost) to have heard something like…”Have you seen the desk lamps on that chest of drawers?”  Truth.

    YHC thanks Shakedown for joining him for most of the run.  Good to catch up, brother.  Thanks for the company.  Been too long.

    UpChuck spits the bit.

  • Ice?? I don’t see any icEEEE!

    YHC and Mudface showed up to run, ended up with a vigorous walk, as about 1 minute into the warmup both of us almost became one with the asphalt.  After this was repeated several times, even YHC took the hint and slowed down and by unanimous vote it was decided the run was going to be a walk.

    We did see two other runners out, and Mudface warned them of the treacherous footing.  Given our pace, mumblechatter was heard throughout, ranging from the Eagles victory (E-A-G-L-E-S!!!!) to our kids questionable choices (they’re smart, we’re sure of it!).  All told we still managed about 3 miles.

     

  • Deja Vu?…almost…

    YHC exited the warmth of his vehicle at 0530 prepared for another solo run through the streets of Tarrington and off he went into the cold and dodging the black ice along the way.  Then, as I returned to do a couple laps around the high school, I saw a headlamp in distance…it was LugNut.  The black ice on 288 caused his late arrival and he smartly headed to the track instead of testing the ice on the streets.

    We finished the last 10 minutes together and the company was welcomed.  Thanks LugNut.

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

    Looking forward to a larger PAX at NoToll tomorrow…until then, No More Gumbo for you!

  • Black Ice and Dong-release Merkins

    6 shook off their Super Bowl hangover and came out to play on the black ice at Hoedown.  We did:

    COP – SSH, Don Qs, Merkins, Flutterkicks, V-Ups, Copperhead Squats.  Head over to 3rd Pres Parking lot for Super Bowl recap:

    41s and 33s of Exercises:  Merkins & WWII Situps, Carolina Dry Docks & Gas Pumps, Freddy Mercurys & Hand Release Merkins.  Mosey back to school blacktop:

    3 Sets of 25 PLTs. no feet touching ground on way down.  Jerkins – Start and 10 and descend by 2s down to 2.  Donkey Kicks and V-Ups.  Start with 20 & 10 reps, then increase reps each by 10 twice up to 40 & 30.  Then 30 more DKs just for Saab.

    Head down for Triple Check – B2W, American Hammers, and run the loop.  Finish with Heels 2 Heaven.  Flipper took us out.

    NMS – Small numbers this post Super Bowl at Hoedown.  Either the Hoedown PAX includes many Eagles fans or just fans of clean, honest, non-cheating football, it appears many chose the fartsack this morning.  For the 6 who did post the PAX were greeted with black ice patches all over the ground.  As we started YHC groaned as we had the dreaded 5 PAX count, making partnering difficult.  Luckily Flipper joined us in the COP to make it a good even 6.

    In the 3rd Pres parking lot some PAX were feeling the Winter Olympics vibe and attempted to lunge-skate across the lot on the icy spots.  The 33 Hand-release Merkins really put a hurting on the PAX except for Splinter who mentioned that if you incorporate your dong into the merkin that it reduces the full range of motion and makes it much easier.  The PAX asked Splinter to demo this new dubbed Dong-release Merkin but he held out on a full demo.  YHC expects him to drop this on an unsuspecting PAX during a Splinter Q sometime soon.

    Saab was Fuddian this morning with a need for clarification on several exercises.  Apologies go to Flipper and Offshore who had to B2W above a nasty ball of snot YHC hocked up on his round of B2W.  Offshore enjoyed YHC’s borrowing of V-Ups from Circle Ks girl’s Dogpile smokefest this weekend.  Kubota did his best to bring out the inner-Toga in YHC with his Elbow plank form.  We were lucky to have no spills in the icy conditions.

    Announcements – Sign up for CSAUP Century Classic and Healing place volunteer run if you haven’t already.

  • Four sore cores

    Four men gathered in the gloom with hopes of working some soreness out of their cores and getting their weeks off to a positive start with a Hot Potato Q. This is how it went

    Swirly opened the COP:

    IC: 20 x SSH, 10 x DQ, 10 x Helo, 10 x Merkin, 20 x LBC, 10 x Flutter, 10 x Freddie

    Swirly continued:

    10/20/30 of each with a run to the top of the hill between sets: Dips, Decline Merkins, WWII

    Baton handed to Sippy Cup who lead us to the coupon bin as he is want to do and then to the tennis courts with coupons overhead

    Line up on one side of the court, carry your coupon across and back walking backward. Rotate through each coupon so each got a turn with each.

    One man elbow plank supporting coupon while partner runs around the other tennis courts (or court as you may have interpreted the directions). Each partner gets a turn. Repeat with regular plank

    Bootleg received the baton and kept us at the tennis court four some Four Corner work.

    Round 1 – Merkins: 10 each Regular, Wide, Diamond, Release – Lunge between corners (careful not to do the splits on slick patches!)

    Round 2 – Burpees: 2,4,6,8 – Lunge between

    Return your coupons and back to the flag for numberama/namerama. Swirly took us out

    Announcements:

    • Sign up for CSAUP
    • Monument 10k Prep at the Healing Place on Saturdays – sign up and help out
    • Hardywood can’t get enough quality time with shoes

    Good work guys. Great start to the week

     

     

  • Darth Vader Beckons the Suck-itude

    It was a nippy morning where 5 faithful and strong brothers in arms came together.  Here is how it went down.

    • COP
      • 25 SSH
      • 20 DQ
      • 20 IW
      • 10 2x merkins
      • 20 2x LBC
      • 15 pickle pounders
      • 15 crab cakes
      • 15 monkey humpers
    • Burpee march in the parking lot – 5x
      • 15 burpees through 15 parking spaces
      • 20 WWII sit-ups
      • 20 APD
      • 20 2x flutter kicks
    • Mosey to the jerkin gym for an 11 with jerkins and Lt. Dans
    • Mosey to the new pickle ball courts
      • March around the courts x2
        • Bear crawl length
        • Crab walk width
        • Karaoke length
        • Bunny hop width
      • 5 suicides runs
    • Mosey back to the parking lot for ring of fire (10 merkins)
    • COT with YHC taking us out
    • Fellowship at Einsteins for those that could join

    YHC showed up in a ski othewith the cold weather, earning the Darth Vader moniker for this Gridiorn.  Some mumblechatter from the PAX, but strong efforts all around.  Nightcrawler was the first one there today, and he shot out like a rocket on the burpees.  He also took no shortcuts on the jerkins.  Big T-claps for the Nightcrawler.  Living in an apartment with 4 females is definitely giving him some extra juice for the workouts.

    As always, Chum Bucket and Cecil were strong.  Lots of hot air coming out of all of White Deer’s orifices.  Just another Gridiron.  Nothing new here. Solid effort in the low temps.

    God is good all the time!

    Attila

  • Moister

    A PAX of three assembled on Monday night for The Punisher.  We said hello to one another in the parking lot and sauntered to the edge of the lot for the initial COP with Jump Ropes, IWs, DQs, Russian Soldiers, and Arm Circles.  We splashed through several puddles around the back of LHES to the pavilion for the Attila sequence with Dips x 20, Step Ups x 20 per leg, Dips, Step Ups, and one more round of Dips.

    We moved off campus moseying north on Hermitage Road completing 20 Squats at Clarement Avenue and 20 Merkins at Nottoway Avenue.  Tag the stoplight at Bellevue and, on the way back, stop at every lightpole alternating 5 Squats and 5 Merkins.

    Return to LHES for 11s with Incline Merkins and Box Cutters at the pavilion.  Mosey back around the front of the school to the covered porch for 100 x LBCs, 50 x APDs, and 100 more LBCs.  Finish with a little stretching.  COT and YHC took us out.