Category: Richmond, VA

  • Owning the Gloom

    Certain “regulars” at HBR were sucked into the vortex of their fartsack after watching football last night.  However, for a group of 5 noble warriors, they not only answered the gloom, they owned it.  Here is how it went down:

    • Parking lot tracers
    • COP
      • 25 SSH
      • 15 cherry pickers
      • 10 2x merkins
      • 25 2x LBC
      • 15 crab cakes
      • 15 helicopters
    • Mosey over to the tennis courts, partner up and complete 4 rounds of partner wheel barrows over ½ the tennis court followed by 10 decline merkins
    • Mosey wall for core building
      • Wall sit – 1 minute
      • 25 heels to heaven
      • Elbow planks – 1 minute
      • 25 WWII sit-ups
    • Mosey to the basketball court for 5 suicides (FT line, mid-court, FT line and baseline for each)
    • Mosey back to the wall to repeat core building exercises
      • Wall sit – 1 minute
      • 25 heels to heaven
      • Elbow planks – 1 minute
      • 25 WWII sit-ups
    • Mosey to the playground by the track for 4x 8 pull-ups
    • Mosey to the small HB hill for 10 bernies
    • Mosey to the parking for COT with YHC taking us out

    Solid work today by the PAX.  Mr. Holland and Offshore obliterated the pull-ups.  Garbage Plate channeled his inner-cheetah on the suicides, and Seymour had no issue with the wheelbarrows and decline merkins.  Very little mumblechatter from the PAX today, just stellar work.  Iron sharpening iron.

    Puppy Pile this week after Dogpile.  Check the pre-blasts for more details.  Same for the upcoming CUSAP.

    It was a privilege leading these men today.  God is good all of the time!

    Attila

  • Inaugural Beatdown

    22 brave warriors (including 2 FNG’s) arose out of the fart sack to be a part of YHC’s inaugural beatdown at No Toll.  According to legend, it went something like this:
    COP:  20 SSH, IC; 20 Imperial Walkers, IC; 15 LBC’s, IC; 10 Merkins, IC; 5 Burpees OYO
    Thang 1:  Mosey to field by the hut.  Do 2 merkins, run to the other side of field, do 2 LBC’s, run back.  Repeato, increasing by 2 reps each time until you get to 10.  Plank hold until all in.  Do the exercise again, except this time with Plank Jacks and Monkey Humpers.
    Thang 2:  Mosey to the other field and partner up for a Dora.  100 Merkins, 200 LBC’s, 300 Squats. Plank hold until all in.
    Thang 3:  Mosey to the basketball court for exercise suicides.  Run to 1/4 court line + 2 Burpees then back, 1/2 court line + 2 Burpees then back, 3/4 court line + 2 Burpees then back, and Baseline + 2 Burpees then back.  Al Gore until all in.  Repeato except this time with 2 two count Mountain Climbers at each line.  Al Gore until all in.  Repeato again except this time with 10 Merkins at each line.  Al Gore until all in.
    Thang 4:  We wrapped it up with some Mary: Flutter kicks, Alabama Prom Date, Freddie Mercury’s, & 6 inches.
    Mosey back to the flag.  Number-rama, Name-a-rama, Announcements.  Viral took us out with an extra prayer for Lab Rat and his family.
    NMS
    I appreciated all the support from the PAX for my maiden voyage.  It was great leading all you men today.  But the morning was not without my rookie mistakes, which the PAX made sure I knew about.  This included my voice cracking while calling out the exercise (apparently I’m still going through puberty), calling for a Proper Dora when it should have just been a regular Dora, mixing up Fudd’s Wife and Wilson’s Wife while planking (my apologies to you and your M’s), and calling out Alabama Prom Date but then doing Hello Dolly.  Lastly, my phone’s recorder cut off during Name-a-rama, so if I left anyone out please let me know.  All things for me to fix for my next queue this Thursday at 45 MOM.
    A special thanks to BT, Lab Rat, Flipper, and Shakedown who traveled down especially for this beatdown.  BT commented on what a strange and foreign land this is here south of the river.  We also welcomed 2 FNG’s (Try Hard and Don Draper).  Afterwards, several PAX felt we could do better than the name Try Hard, so we reserve the right to rename him at his 2nd workout as long as this isn’t a violation of the naming rules (TYA????).
    Overall I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the past year with F3 and I’m very grateful for all of you guys!
    Ollivander

  • Today was a good day……..and it’s got nothing to do with an AK

    8 middle aged dudes who like to think of themselves as warriors shook off the pull of the fartsack to post for a celebration of several things.  The air was full of mist and the air was cool…..perfect conditions for a Fudd beatdown.  Here’s how it went down, more or less:

    COP

    SSH x 41

    Helicopters x 10

    Don Quixote x 10

    Merican x 15

    Crunchy Frogs x 10

    LBC x 20

    Arm Circles x 30 (15 forward, 15 backward)

    31 burpees OYO

     

    10 count from Splinter and then mosey to the visitor’s parking lot for curb crawls, south curb to north and back again, increasing from one derkin up to five, repeat five and back down to one.  Due to the significant distance between curbs, YHC audibled after the first five and led the PAX to the front bus loop which has a much shorter distance between curbs.  Finished the last five evolutions there.

    Mosey south on Forest to a left on Lakewood, then a left on Hillsdale and stop in front of Lockjaw’s house.

    APD’s x 31 in Lockjaw’s driveway.

    Mosey south on Hillsdale and take a left on Lakewood and then a left on West Drive Circle.  Stop in front of #305 and do 17 “good” mericans in cadence.

    Mosey north on West Drive, cross Hillsdale, run around the circle that gives the street its name, then stop halfway down the hill for Dora 123.  Teams of 2 did 100 mericans, 200 WWII situps, and 300 squats.  One man does the exercises while the other runs up the hill, around the circle, and back to his teammate.  Plank when done.

    Mosey back to the flag for 3 minutes of Mary:

    Crunchy Frogs x 15

    Freddie Mercury x 20

    Flutter kicks x 31

    YHC took us out

     

    NMS

    YHC had a lot to celebrate today, a 41st birthday, a contract on our house that was signed this past weekend, and a Redskins victory yesterday.  We’ll give an honorable mention to Tiger Woods who won his first victory since August 2013….1,876 day drought to be exact.  He may not have been the best husband, but you can’t help but admire someone who fought through all the demons, bad press, and scandal that he did along with the health issues and surgeries.  Hell, he couldn’t walk at one point a year or two ago and he embraced the suck through all of that and fought back to win the TOUR championship.  That’s baller if you ask me.  We should try to get him to an F3 workout sometime.

    The 31 burpees OYO during COP was a continuation on a theme that was started by Slurpee (I think) and continued by Honeydo where we do the # of burpees equating to the final score of the Redskins in the preceding day’s game.  There was some Mumblechatter about switching to match the final score of the Jets going forward but the mumblechatter quickly died as the # of burpees increased.

    YHC admits he did not realize the distance between curbs in the visitor’s lot.  The degree of difficulty increases exponentially with every foot over 10’ for curb crawls.  Kind of like the Richter scale for earthquakes.  So the 30 feet in that lot led to some seriously smoked guns, leading to the audible to the front of the school.

    Lockjaw was not present this morning and, knowing how much he loves the Redskins (right?), YHC thought it would be a travesty to mosey past his house without some type of respectful gesture to include him in the celebration.  APD’s seemed apropos.  Glad none of the neighbors went out to get their paper at that time.

    The 17 “good” mericans in front of 305 West Drive were in honor of the 17 years YHC spent in that house from age 4 to 21.  They were good years for the most part so we did “good” mericans with backs straight, chest hitting the ground, and plenty of groans per rep toward the end.

    Dora’s were fun and the run up the hill and around the circle was just enough to get the heart pumping and blood flowing between sets of mericans, WW2 situps and squats.  Honeydo burned through the reps to help the time fly for YHC.  Other notable mentions were Splinter and BT who I think may have done an extra lap around the circle due to fast running…..well done gents!  Slurpee, Handshake, Garbage Plate, and Fireman Ed all pushed themselves hard, to their credit, and we were done with time to spare.

    It was an honor to lead today gentlemen.  I signed up knowing it would be my birthday today and having no idea that my house would have a contract on it after we took it off the market several weeks ago.  It’s amazing what God will do if you go to him in humility and prayer and give him control of your future.  Many PAX have been kind enough to ask YHC over the past several months about the house, when are we moving, etc.  A wise man once said…..man plans and God laughs. It’s certainly felt that way for YHC this past summer, but thankfully we serve a loving God that cares for us more than we could possibly imagine…..at least, that’s what the Bible says.   And it also says that He has plans for us that are good….meant to help us and not to harm us…..plans to give us a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).  It’s only after you grind through the valleys and rise up the mountain on the other side that you can look back and see the purpose that He had for you during those rough days.  Commuting to and from Baltimore for the past 2 years and being apart from my family each week has sucked, but the experience has prepared me for the next step, and it’s changed me in good ways.  It’s given me more humility, through suffering, but I’m thankful for that.  Suffering is necessary in this life, I’ve come to realize.  It’s how God changes us into the person that He wants us to be.

    This is all a long way of saying that I know some of you are going through rough times right now.  Just keep putting one foot in front of the other, lean on your fellow PAX, and keep your eyes on God, not on your problems.  Thank Him for the future he has in store for you….even if you can’t see it yet.  It’s there, and all it takes is faith the size of a mustard seed to make it your reality.

    As I celebrate my birthday today, I give thanks for many blessings, including F3……for men that have become like brothers to me, that have been there for me during the good times and the bad.  I don’t think I’ll be in RVA a whole lot longer, but no matter where my family and I end up, it will always be my home, and the men of F3RVA will always be my brothers.

     

    Fudd out

  • “A Much Needed Run”

    The three regulars got together for some exertion therapy this morning.  The usual route was taken and some things got aired out.  At the end, one pax exclaimed the back blast title and the other two nodded in agreement.

     

    Lab Rat apologizes…

  • What’s my name?

    A total of nine (large group for Batteau) made their way through the early morning, heavy mist to conquer another Batteau beat down.  The conditions were set up perfectly and thanks to the folks who assisted with headlamps (belt lamp for Vinny).

    COP – Swirly

    SSH X 20

    DQ X 10

    COPPERHEAD SQUAT X 10

    LBC’S X 20

    FLUTTER KICKS X 10

    MERKINS X 20 (3 COUNT)

    Believe I’m missing one…

    Vinny – Mosey to bottom of hill by the pond for a “pole smoker”. Each PAX member lies down at a wooden pole evenly spaced over the length of the bridge.  The PAX starts doing flutter kicks, while the first in line does a 2 count 10, then pops up and runs to the end of the line…next in line is counting, etc.  Half way through the Q calls out Hello Dolly’s for the PAX.

    Hand off to Flange – Mosey to the tennis courts…first court has been demolished and left for a mud pit!  Sippy advised YHC that there is a second court and even a third…who knew.  Four Corners: 10 Carolina Dry Docks, run length of court to 2nd corner-20 WWII’s, Bear Crawl width of court  to corner 3-30 CDD,  run to corner 4-40 WWII’s, Bear Crawl back to start.  Second round-same exercises, same counts, but Bear Crawl length of court and Crab Walk the width.

    Hand off to Sippy – Most who know Sippy at Batteau can only assume there would be some rocks involved!  Sippy calls out a Triple Check.  First round – Each line starts with a rock in front.  One does Crossover Merkins, one is Running to 2nd light on the Maintenance building and back, the 3rd is performing Jump Squats.  Round two – One is holding plank, with the rock on their back, one is Running to 2nd light, and 3rd is performing wall dips.

    5 minutes left for Goldberg – Mosey to playground and stay in Triple Check Mode.  The instruction is for a sequence of 5-7-10 count Pull-Ups while the other two are performing Boo-Yah Merkins.  So, one in the trio completes his 5 Pull-Ups, then moves to the Boo-Yah’s.  Rotation is in play at that point as one jumps up to complete his Pull-Ups (one member is doubling up on Boo-Yah’s as the rotation goes).  Next is 7 Pull-Ups, then 10.

    Mosey back to flag, Numberama, Namerama, Crossroads took us out!

    NMS –

    As YHC pulled up this morning, the familiar silhouette of Swirly was eagerly awaiting alongside a figure that YHC did not recognize.  As YHC moved closer, it was certainly a familiar face, but had to ask “what’s your name”?  The reply was ABBA…”ah, that’s right”.  Very soon after, the remainder of the PAX rolled in, with Sippy Cup arriving in normal fashion on foot.  In keeping with the title, YHC was grouped with an unfamiliar PAX member during the triple check and when YHC approached him with “what’s your name”, the reply was…umm…wait a minute…I just started last week…oh, it’s Faceplant!  For the record, Faceplant looks strong a week in!  After the majority of the PAX had dispersed, Vinny and YHC are walking to the vehicles when Vinny looks at YHC and asks “do you want to do the honors”?  YHC was like “huh”?  The Back Blast he responds…oh!  Of course, YHC has never done this, so Vinny was kind enough to talk me through it.  Always a pleasure to post of Batteau and an honor to work along side a Strong group of Men!  Have a Blessed Monday!

    Announcements – Puppy Pile this Saturday! CSAUP coming soon to Forest Hill…someone who is in the know can respond with those details.

    Flange

     

  • Back to the Future with McFly for River Run

    4 SOJ vets and a Kotters by McFly gave us a 5-pack PAX for this morning’s River Run.  Cool temps, low humidity and a light drizzle made for great conditions…just try to avoid the many puddles along the route.

    4-milers – head straight up Twin Team (YAY!) and into Powderham via Cawood.  Right on Drakewood, Left on Glendower.  Continue on Glendower until it turns into Bosham and then into Drakewood.  Right on Ellesmere out to Robious.  Cross Robious into Tarrington and head downhill on Ashwell past the poolhouse.  Left on Sherfield.  Left on Welby.  Right on Riverton Ridge. Left on James River and back to the Flag.

    5-milers – turn left out of parking lot and first loop around by the high school, then pick up the 4-mile route.

    COT, number-rama, name-a-rama and YHC took us out.

    Announcements:

    • Puppy Pile Saturday at 0705.
    • Ollivander VQ at NoToll tomorrow
    • CSAUP coming up – 10/20
    • Marmaduke is collecting coats, jackets, etc.  Let fill his truck up.
    • Swiper is leading an 8K training team for the Healing Place – let him know when you can help.  After Dogpile on Saturdays.
    • Thoughts and prayers continue to go to the Lab Rat family

    NMS – “poor guy hung on for a mile or two”…what a great line, right?  Well, YHC was that “poor guy” and I was strapped to the bumper of Rosie and McFly for about a mile and then it was over…they were gone!  Way to push it fellas and welcome back McFly.  Hope to see you back out soon.

    LugNut and Sugar Sock skipped the foreplay and hit Twin Team hard from the beginning.  Nice work men!

    Have a great Monday fellas.  SYITG.

    No More Gumbo For You!

  • Breaking Bread with the Kiddos

    YHC and his 2.0’s took several warm pizzas over to Breaking Bread this evening.  My kids were able to help serve dinner while engaging in conversation with some of the residents.  What a beautiful thing to see as a parent coupled with the invaluable experience for the children.  Labrat, thanks for putting this program together, we love it!

    -Slurpee

  • Wet and Muddy

    Four brave warriors (including 1 FNG) broke the spell of the fart sack, last night’s down pour, and tired muscles from yesterday’s Convergence to hit the wet and muddy trails for Sunday Funday.  Here’s how it went, so I’m told:  Counter clockwise going Northbank to Buttermilk.  Mileage was ~7 miles, give or take.  Number-rama.  Name-a-rama.

    NMS.  We welcomed FNG Furley, who Vinny recruited after last week’s Sunday trail run.  This now makes 2 PAX named after a Three’s Company character.  Extra credit to anyone who can guess which actor played Mr. Furley.  Both Pert Plus and and Furley are veteran Spartan Race competitors and crushed the run today.  YHC enjoyed hearing stories from their races and dreams of one day doing more than 2 rungs on the monkey bars.  It was also great hanging with Shakedown. Great job today guys!

    On a personal note, my 1 year F3 anniversary was a few weeks back during BRR. I realized that over the past year I’ve never volunteered to queue.  It’s easy to be a consumer, harder to be a giver. So I decided to get off my arse and sign-up to lead.  My first ever queue will be this Tuesday at No Toll followed by my second queue at Mary on Thursday.  I’m sure I’ll get a lot wrong, but we’ll have fun doing it!

    See ya in the gloom!

    Ollivander

  • 4 Year Convergence/RVA Summer Tour Takeover

    F3RVA posted at Dogpile with amazing numbers to celebrated it’s 4th birthday with a convergence that included two bootcamps and a race.  By the numbers:

    • 57 total PAX members posted between the workouts.
    • 40 Double Dipped including two 2.0s.  Outstanding you two!
    • 54 posted to the 6 AM bootcamp
    • 43 posted at 7 AM with 33 completing the 2.7 mile race.
    • All 33 runners Double Dipped.

    The weather was perfect for a beatdown that included the following:

    6 AM Bootcamp  (All Qs completed the RVA Summer Tour)

    Mosey to Rugby Road Circle.  The PAX of 54 was so large that most PAX members performed the exercises in the road while YHC was in the tall grass.

    COP:  (Phonics)

    • 9 Burpees OYO  (September)
    • 20 SSH (20th)
    • 14 Helicopters (2014)
    • 24 Invisible Jump Ropes (24 PAX members at the F3RVA Launch on September 20, 2014)
    • 13 Merkins
    • 13 Mountain Climbers (13 PAX members completed the F3RVA Summer Tour)

    Q passed onto Wedding Singer

    Mosey to the Carillon Field and partner up for the following

    • Partner Carry to the far end of the field and back.  Trade off when needed.
    • Wheelbarrow the width of the field.  When you reach the side, the partners switch.  Repeat.

    PAX split into 2 groups.

    Group One  (Qs were Hardywood, Kubota, and Sugar Sock)

    • Hardywood:   At Rusty Cage – 5 rounds of 5 pull-ups, 5 dips, and 5 burpees
    • Kubota:  At the half pipe behind amphitheater – Clockwork Merkins (Start at 12 o’clock, do even hours on one hill and odd on the other.  Work from 1 to 12.)  Set of PLT’s and Boo-Yah Merkins while waiting for the six.
    • Sugar Sock:  4 corners with 10 WWI sit ups, 20 American Hammers, 30 Box Cutters, and 40 LBCs.

    Group Two (Qs were Vinny, Honeydo, and Offshore)

    • Vinny:  At the half pipe behind amphitheater – Clockwork Merkins (Start at 1 o’clock and do 5 merkins at each side of the hill until 12 o’clock
    • Honeydo: 
      • 3 sets of PLTs.
      • At Rusty Cage, partner up and do the following:  5 pull-ups, 10 jerkins, 15 dips, 20 jump squats.
    • Offshore:  Led the group on a mosey to the Carillon field.  Because of time, the Q was passed onto Rosie.

    Both groups passed the Q to Rosie

    5 minutes of Mary in Carillon Field

    • Freddie Mercuries
    • Flutter Kicks
    • Dollies
    • Peter Parkers
    • Crunchy Frog
    • Alabama Prom Dates

    Mosey back to SF

    COT – Numberama, Name-o-rama, Announcements, Gomer Pyle took us out.

    7:05 AM Bootcamp (Led by Johnsonville)

    Mosey to the field in the middle of the VITA course.

    • Slaughter Starter (20 burpees OYO)
    • 20 SSH
    • 20 Cherry Pickers
    • 10 Alabama Prom Dates (2 legs)
    • 10 Alabama Prom Dates (left leg up)
    • 10 Alabama Prom Dates (right leg up)
    • 16 Imperial Walkers
    • 16 Hillbillies
    Bootcamp #2 begins without runners
    3 rounds of BLIMPS (Burpees, Lunges, Imperial walkers, Merkins, Plankjacks, WW2, Sit-ups), 50 seconds on / 10 seconds off.
    Between rounds, we did a bearimeter around the VITA course with 1 person crawling at a time and others zombie walking.
    With runners, mosey back to the SF

    7:15 AM VITA Course Race  (3 laps around the VITA course for 2.7 miles)

    COP with Johnsonville
    After COP, TYA divided runners into 4 groups.  PAX lined up with 6 milers in the front to 4 milers in the back.  Runners counted off from 1 to 4.
    Cross Country scoring was used.  The 1st finisher was one point.  The 2nd was 2 points.  Team scores are added up with their top 5 finishers.  Lowest score wins.  Team One was victorious.
    After all 33 runners completed the race, mosey with Johnsonville and the bootcamp back to the Shovel Flag.
    COT – Numberama, Name-o-rama, Announcements, Shakedown took us out.
    NMS
    What an awesome day to lead this incredible group of men and young ladies at the 4 year convergence.  TYA had mentioned last summer that he wanted a race among among F3RVA PAX members.  Because there was no ReeseStrong 5K this year, he saw it an an opportunity to organize the 4 year convergence.  It only made since to have a bootcamp prior to the run.
    As YHC planned for the bootcamp and run, he wanted others involved who had completed the RVA Summer Tour which was a ton of fun this summer.  In addition to the 9 that led the 6 am bootcamp, other Shakedown, Labrat, and Lockjaw helped organize the run.  EF Hutton, who was unable to post at convergence, also completed the summer tour.
    YHC had asked Johnsonville to lead a COP prior to the run.  One reason for this is because many newer PAX members have never seen Johsonville do the Hillbilly.  Johnsonville then contacted YHC about a week and a half ago with the idea of adding an FNG friendly 7 am bootcamp.  Of course YHC said yes.
    Convergence Observations
    • Instructions were given by YHC to the leaders during leaders of the 6 am bootcamp to try to stay away from challenging leg work since many PAX members would be racing after the bootcamp.  This suggestion was obviously ignored.
    • The suggestion on going easy on the legs was not given to Johnsonville as he started the COP with 20 burpees.  This leg to much moaning and wining during the burpees.  We still completed the exercise.
    • At 6 am, we started off with 9 burpees for the month F3RVA started.  Johnsonville suggested this be called the Seal Team Starter.
    • Which is better, a COP or an elbow massage from TYA?
    • Hardywood’s 2.0s are incredible.

    Thank you to Pullout for bringing out the grill, the eggs, and the sausage.  The 2nd F was awesome.

    Welcome Smolder!  Well done on double dipping at your first post.
    Announcements
    • During the 8 am COT, Shakedown notified the PAX that Labrat had lost his father that morning.  Shakedown then said a prayer for Labrat and his family.  Please continue to pray for Labrat and his family.
    • The Healing Place is going to have an 8K training teams.  It starts Saturday, September 29 and will lead up to the November 10 VCU Health 8K.  See Swiper for details.
    • Puppy Pile next Saturday, September 29 at 7:05 AM.
    • Richmond Community Toolbank Hammers & Ales – See Viral for details
    • Starting next Saturday, September 29, every Saturday until the end of the year, Marmaduke will be collecting jackets for those in need.  He can pick them up at Dogpile or Gridiron.  See Marmaduke for details.

    It was an honor to lead this morning.

    Gotta Run!

    Phonics

  • When You Are Downrange You Q

    6 Hampton Roads Warrior and 1 RVAer came out to enjoy a Sunday Funday beatdown. Since we had a mixed PAX today, The F3 VA app says it was sunny and 72. The SF’s were planted and the PAX got to work.

    Here how it went down:

    COP (ALL IC)

    SSH, 5 HRM’s, DQ, 6 HRM’s, Hillbillies, 7 HRM’s, LBC’s, 8 HRM’s, Crab Cakes, 9 HRM’s (or 10 since YHC last count), Arm Circles

    Mosey to the field next to the pond

    THANG

    Whatchamacallits Ladder – Mosey across the field and complete 1:4 whatchamacallits then mosey back and complete 2:8. Rinse and repeat till 10:40

    Mosey down the path to the third shelter

    Triple Check – Abyss Merkins, Dips, Run to pull up bar x5 Pull up and run back

    Indian Run around Mt Trashmore to the option side to another shelter

    Picnic Fun – x10 Dip IC and x10 Derkins IC

    Indian Run/AYG/Mosey back to the SF’s

    Thunderstuck – While listening to Thunderstuck by A/C complete one Merkins everything time the word “Thunder” is said. LBC’s during the long bridge.

    MOLESKIN

    With YHC’s M needing to work one weekend a month in VA Beach while our youngest it still breastfeeding, this give YHC the opportunity to post with the Hampton Road PAX. This was YHC’s first trip to a Mt Trashmore and it definitely lives up to its name. We did not really use the hill today so maybe next time.

    It was great to catch with Free Fall since the Colonial and to see SubMac again. Also great to finally meet Scully and the rest of the PAX I had heard about in the Facebook page.

    SPIT ON THAT!!