Category: Richmond, VA

  • Gonna Fly Now

    Seven of the faithful stayed huddled in their cars until 5:29:58, then jumped out ready to make a downpainment. Johnsonville (YHC) took the Q, and, after a brief but thorough disclaimer, this is what went down:

    THANG

    Warmup with SSH, don quiote, merkins, scissor kicks, etc.

    Longish Indian Run out past JR High School and around to football stadium.

    Fourties with merkins and mt. climbers. Run up stadium stairs to the top, across, and back down between each exercise.

    3x 440m repeats on track at target pace of 1:30 (alternative exercise for 75x LBCs).

    Repeat Indian Run back to VSF.

    2 Minutes of Mary consisting of American Hammers, crab cakes, single leg Alabama prom dates right, single leg Alabama prom dates left, and Alabama prom dates.

    ANNOUNCEMENTS

    Under consideration is a proposal to start a new Friday bootcamp at or near Bettie Weaver ES and revert RiverRun back to a (mostly) running workout. The main drivers of these changes are (i) that there is not a practical bootcamp option for Southsiders on Friday (the Creek, unfortunately, being too far for many of us who must get kids to school), (ii) there are several great bootcamp options (the Punisher and Batteau within a reasonable distance) for those that prefer a Monday bootcamp, and (iii) the Salisbury / JR High School area is undoubtedly the best running venue in the Richmond area, if not the entire US. Contact Rosie if you feel strongly about this proposal one way or another.

    Murph Monday at RiverRun next week.

    There are several group running events coming up.

    COT with YHC taking us out.

    MOLESKIN

    There were more than several discussions about Duke faltering and UVA getting just absolutely humiliated. YHC is getting nervous, having dissuaded my 11 year old from picking South Carolina to go all of the way.

    There was a hard frost last night, and it was cold. Mr. Roper threatened to come out of winter hibernation. Then, after realizing it would be below freezing, he adjusted his sights to Tuesday.

    Flipper was expected to also remain in hibernation until the climate became a bit more agreeable. However, to the delight of all, he appeared at the JR HS track well into the workout. We were a good distance from the VSF, and I am impressed that he could track down the PAX. He said he could hear our footfalls on the metal bleachers (I think, by that, he is suggesting that we are fat).

    The 1:30 target pace on the 440s was a little aggressive, but not too far off. Rosie could hit it, and several others were very close. Repeats suck, but they are effective. I suggest that we incorporate them regularly at Riverrun.

    Strong showing this morning! Thanks for the opportunity to lead.

    Jville

  • Rainout Route

    5 hearty souls failed to look out the window before deciding to run this morning.  Trails were deemed too nice to ruin, so the Q took the pax on an alternate journey, saving the trails for fairer weather:

    Route:  Boulevard to Buttermilk trailhead, down to the river and along the access road.  Take the bridge to Belle Isle, loop around the island and head back to the truck via Riverside Drive.  Right at 7 miles.

    NMS:  Saab and TYA had visions of another double digit trail day, but finally gave in to the idea that maybe…..just maybe a shorter run might be the better call in order to let their bodies heal from the grueling mileage they did last week.  Saab however looked no worse for the wear, ready to tackle (with gusto) any hill we came upon.

    Great to see Offshore back out, deciding that pain while running is better than pain while not running.  When YHC told him how happy he was to see him back out on Sunday, he replied “I was here last week.  Remember, you said you were going to come then didnt?”  Touche.  Still, YHC has missed him.

    Also, welcome to the Sunday group to Taxi Cab….who may have also posted before without YHC’s knowledge.  Lab Rat has made many claims in his day…..all knowing has never been one of them.  Taxi is upping his weekly mileage to get ready for Smoky Mtn relay.  Hopefully, we can get him hooked on the beauty that is trail running in that time and have another regular on our hands.

    TYA’s heart grew 3 sizes when we returned to the trailhead and the same 5 vehicles were in the parking lot….all belonging to F3 runners.

    All hands on deck for ET’s this morning.  Conversations revolved around many topics as usual, most notable topic to other pax members would be our possible future workings with the Sportables team.

    Lab Rat apologizes.

  • Escalator Ride

    20 F3RVA regulars and 3 FNGs started the weekend the only way we know how, by escaping the fartsack and posting at Dogpile.  This is what we did, I think:

    Mosey to middle of field at Carillon for COP.  Exercises were Invisible Jumprope x 20, Don Quiote x 10, Little arm circle and big arm circles x 10, x 5 respectively.

    Mosey to Rusty Cage fro 1/2 Murph.  Pullups x 50, Merkins x 100, Squats x 150

    Mosey back to middle of field for Escalator.  PAX spilt in half.

    1st floor – Run to end of field, 2nd floor – Run and Lateral run to end of field, 3rd floor – Run, Lateral, Backwards to end of field, 4th floor – Run, Lateral, Backwards, Karaoke to end of field, 5th floor – Run, Lateral, Backwards, Karaoke, Bearcrawl to end of field.

    Mosey to pole lining road to Indian Run Pole Smokers.  Pax holds feet six inches while one Pax performs 5 polesmokers and then runs to end of line.  Repeat until entire Pax completes 5 polesmokers.

    Mosey to hill behind amphitheater for Jacobs Ladder.  Run to opposite side of hill and perform merkin x 1.  Run back to other hill and perform merkin x 2.  Repeat until merkin x 7.

    Mosey back to flag.  Numberama, Namearama. COT.  YHC tooks us out with a prayer.

    Moleskin : Lots of mumblechatter this morning from the normal offenders, which YHC is thankful for as it makes the Q feel like he is right at home.  YHC has been wanting to try the Escalator for some time and this morning presented the perfect opportunity.  The PAX embraced the Escalator and crushed each of the exercises.  The 1/2 Murph was greeted with many different strategies for conquering the prescribed exercises and the PAX completed them in record time.  That must have been the fastest Jacobs Ladder as we only had 8 minutes left and we finished with almost 2 minutes to spare.  Way to work.

    Thanks for letting step out front this morning.  Welcome to all the FNGs this morning.

    Announcements

    Wilson has a golf tournament coming up in May.

    Circle K

  • Pirates, slavery, snakes… oh yea, Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

    Several late PAX members rolled in right at 5:30a. HPC started the workout as the last door opened.

    Mosey around the church. STOP! Pirates! – 6 Burpees on the way commemorating the 6 years Patrick spent in slavery after being captured by YHCrish pirates. Continue to parking lot near pavilion.

    COP

    St Pat’s day is always the 17, so:

    • 17x SSH
    • 17x LBC
    • 17x Copperhead Squats
    • 17x Hillbillies
    • 17x Leprechaun Jacks! (crowd favorite)

    Due to the fact that Patrick lived 1600 years ago, some of the facts may be lore or symbolic.  There is a legend that he chased all the snakes from YHCreland.  This may have been an allegorical reference to the Pagan culture that he drove from the island.  To celebrate this we did a Bear Crawl Snake from the COP to the Thang.

    The Thang

    Four corners were our lucky four-leaf clover today.  Exercises were 16 merkin, 30 LBC, 16 Mt. Climbers (2 count), 30 Freddy Mercury’s (2 count).  Numerical significance? He was captured at age 16.  After returning to YHCreland he served there for 30 years.  3 circuits for the 3 times Patrick was captured.  Not a very lucky guy!

    Mosey back to the parking lot near pavilion for Burpee Suicides.  Link to St. Patrick fail!  2 Burpees on each of 4 lines out and back.

    Still some time remaining. Mosey to the pavilion for Lindsays with Dips and Step Ups.

    Mosey back to shovel flag spot for Ring of Fire of WW2 KB Presses while PAX does Leg Lift Holds (6 inches).  Another bit of St. Patrick lore is that

    Numberama, Namorama

    Opus took us out.

    Moleskin

    This was YHC’s VQ and was definitely EH’d into doing one before April (personal goal).  YHC spent much of his prep time wading through the interwebs for the most accurate/dependable/consistent information about St. Patrick’s life.  YHC probably will be less committed to a theme next time.

    Spit posting for Wheelie

  • Car Bombs

    17 of Friday’s Finest and 1 FNG showed up for some miles, but left with so much more.  YHC switched things up today with a scavenger hunt with a St.  Paddy’s Day theme.

    Pax divided into Team Honey Do and Team Sippy Cup.  Each team was given their clues and they needed to map the most efficient route to the way point, find the prize, perform an exercise, and move on.  First team back to the shovel flag with all four prizes and all of their team wins.

    Clues were provided to mask the location, but here is where we ended up going.

    Entrance of Windsor Farm – Secure a Legend pint glass.  Perform 4 Boo-Yah merkins for each member of the team.

    Head to the Civil War embankment take the trenches and the hill.  Fine the Guinness by the cannon.  5 burpees.

    Stellas – Bailey’s – 40 flutter kicks

    Arthur Ashe Statue – Jameson – 20 American Hammers

    Return to the AO with varying mileages.  The other team did the same route, but in the opposite direction.

    Team Honey Do was victorious today finding all ingredients necessary for the Irish Car Bomb.

    Fudd was Team Honey Do’s MVP.  He had an ability to sniff out liquor like a truffle at distance.  It was remarkable.

    Saab was so overwhelmed with the desire for Guinness that he took both team’s stash.  Regretfully, he had to double back and put it back in its place for the other team.

    FNG Tim was originally named Lulu due to his TYA endorsed tights.  After his departure, we renamed him Spanx.  Hopefully we will see him out here again.

    YHC got the Pax off to a good start for St Paddy’s Day.  Enjoy!

     

     

  • Let’s Fix those Soccer Arms

    Six of the faithful posted at CircusMaximus on this cold morning, kettlebells in hand. Johnsonville took Q, gave a stark disclaimer, and the took the pax through a workout along these lines:

    THANG:

    warmup with random numbers of ssh, don quiote, imperial walkers, mericans, lbcs

    mosey to northwest corner of school
    quick COP arm circles
    elevens consisting of KB swings, run about 50m, pole smokers
    plank sequence

    mosey counterclockwise to faculty parking area southwest of school. waive to police officer
    elevens consisting of lawn mower pulls (each arm counted separately) and WWII situp with KB press
    WhiteDeer led plank sequence with mericans

    mosey counterclockwise around school to southeast corner around back
    elevens consisting of merican rows and balls to the wall

    mosey back to VSF

    COT; YHC took us out with a prayer

    MOLESKIN:

    There was not much leg action in this workout, but it was fairly hard on upper body and core. I had trouble driving home, longing for one those 1980s old-man Cryslers that you can steer with one finger. At least I don’t have a manual transmission.

    I thought about doubling up the merican rows by having each arm counted separately. That would have been a bad idea. Combining those with balls to the wall was pretty aweful.

    As usual, WhiteDeer did a ton of talking for about 5 minutes, but fell silent after the first challenging set of exercises. Well, to be fair, he made a lot of noise during the last 40 minutes, just not with his mouth.

    Great job this morning, men! Jville

    — See Wilson for info on his charity golf tournament. Thanks to all who have donated or signed up so far.
    — You have until noon to sign up for the F3RVA Bracketology. Sign up before noon and get me the cash whenever. http://f3nation.com/2017/03/14/f3-rva-bracketology/

  • Sweet Sixteen

    Sixteen convened at Mary Munford for the second annual F3RVA March Madness.  No surprises this year, just a beatdown followed by some hoops.  Here’s how it went down:

    Single line jog to the basketball courts to claim our space for the next 45 minutes.  Four left hand layups followed by 4 right hand layups.  Line up military style for COP.

    COP
    SSH – 20
    High Knees – 20
    Butt Kickers – 10
    Defensive Slide – 10
    Floor Slaps – 10
    Dive for the Ball Reverse Flutters – 15

    The Thang
    4 corners.  Break up into equal size groups and disperse to a corner.  30 exercises per corner then rotate clockwise.  Exercises were merkins, jump squats, lbcs, carolina dry drocks.  Repeat.

    Line up on the baseline for Senior Night to honor the region’s seniors that made it to the big dance:

    Line drill
    JeQuan Lewis – 1414 points.  14 burpees followed by 14 mountain climbers (2 count).
    Line drill – forward and backward
    London Perrantes – 563 assists.  5 merkins (4 count).  6 burpees.  3 american hammers (10 count).
    Line drill – defensive slide
    Zach LeDay – 673 rebounds.  6 jump squats (2 count).  7 lt dans.  3 burpees.
    Line drill

    1 and 1 challenge.  4 front-ends of a 1-1.  If you miss the front end then 10 burpees.  We missed all 4 front-ends (BT, Wedding Singer, Splinter, Honeymoon).  40 burpees.  That was fun.

    Break up into teams of 2 and spread out to all the baskets.  Play 2 on 2 for the final 12 minutes.  3 minute games with winners rotating clockwise.

    Mosey back to the flag where Wilson took us out.

    Moleskin

    Thanks for enduring another March Madness themed workout.  This year was not as much of a surprise as last year as the PAX appeared to know what was coming most of the workout.  There were some repeats in there but also tried to mix it up a little bit.

    Bleeder is clearly getting back into mid-season form, demonstrating his ability on line drills.  He and Rosie got into a couple battles during those line drills.

    The PAX once again demonstrated the lack of ability to shoot free throws after an upper body heavy workout.  Even Honeymoon, proclaiming his heritage from Indiana, missed the front-end.  One of these years we may get above 50%.

    Lab Rat seeked YHC out as a partner this year and I am happy to report that Lab Rat did not suck.  He may have even made a few baskets.

    Announcements

    • See Wilson for info on his charity golf tournament.  Thanks to all who have donated or signed up so far.
    • Flashdance has some announcement about sleeping bags and jerseys
    • Lunch at various lunch spots today
    • You have until noon to sign up for the F3RVA Bracketology.  Sign up before noon and get me the cash whenever.  http://f3nation.com/2017/03/14/f3-rva-bracketology/

    Splinter out.

     

  • The Jeans Experiment

    Two PAX members took advantage of a quick run prior to HDHH.  One more joined wearing denim leggings and accompanied by two of his 2.0s.  Route was fairly simple:

    – Proceed to Broad Street for quick episode of frogger
    – Mosey down Broad to West Club
    – West Club to FitzHugh
    – FitzHugh a ways then turn around and come back

    Moleskin
    YHC wasn’t sure anyone was going to take him up on the run before HDHH.  Leave it to Singer to show up strong.  Ronnie was wearing jeans and athletic shoes and decided to join us.  His 2.0s were much better prepared and crushed the run.

    Frogger across Broad was “fun”.  There aren’t many running options from The Answer so we made the best of it.

    Great to see everyone while it was light outside.

    Splinter out.

  • Vestiges of winter

    21, including 1 FNG, came out on a windy winter morning to WDog on the ides of March. YHC aimed to keep the pax moving to fight off the cold.

    COP – SSH, DON Qs, LBCs, Merkins, Hillbillies.

    Mosey to Carillon for Assault on the Carillon- Start at the Star- Run up Carillon, 20 of an exercise at a side of the Carillon, back down to the Star. 5 Burpees, then back up again . Timed for 20 minutes. 4 Exercises were Derkins, Donkey Kicks, Jumpsquats, Freddy Mercurys.

    Partner up to Wheelbarrow up Carillon stpes, 1 Merkin each step. Then mosey to field for Honeymoon Suite – Diamond Merkins, Monkey Humpers, APDS, Pickle Pounders.Mosey back to the flag for Ring of Fire.

    NMS- first off Vestige is a perfectly cromulent word, and posting in the cold Embiggens us all.

    YHC had wanted to try this timed Carillon idea for a while and thought this am would be perfect as it would keep the pax moving in the cold. Directions could have been clearer but without Fudd there we had enough of an idea to get to it. 20 minutes felt like 30+ but everyone put in a strong showing. YHC was surprised to see 21 pax here though, maybe some were hoping for more fun with sandbags. Now we can petition Rosie on what former girlfriend’s name to call this timed exercise.

    Thanks to Swirly the Honeymoon Suite now always starts with diamond merkins.  You can thank him. YHC can still not figure out why DK’s name always comes up during Monkey Humpers, maybe a pax member can explain…

    Nice work to FNG Lucky. Bleeder must not like you much to drag you out on a windy cold day for your first post but you did well, hope to see you out again soon.

    Announcements – HDHH is now at The Answer this evening, not at Splinter’s house because of the miserable weather. Also F3RVA NCAA pool is still open see Splinter or the BB.

  • Old Glory Pt. 2

    Five of the faithful posted at SOT on a bitterly cold, windy morning. Johnsonville (YHC) brought out the SF, and the workout went something like this:

    THANG —

    brief warmup with ssh.

    ElizabethWarrenRun 2x around school counterclockwise with lead runner carrying Old Glory and the trailing runner counting to 20 from the time of the last flag handoff to the time trailing runner breaks forward.

    20min standard RVA Old Glory (20x mericans, 20x jump squats, 10x burpees, 20x WWII situps).

    ElizabethWarrenRun 2x around school clockwise with lead runner carrying Old Glory and the trailing runner counting to 20 from the time of the last flag handoff to the time trailing runner breaks forward.

    COT with YHC taking us out

    ANNOUNCEMENT —

    Murph Monday at RiveRun on 2/27

    MOLESKIN —

    Old Glory had been done at SOT last week. YHC was not able to think of a good reason not to repeat. We did slightly alter the mode of running laps before and after. YHC threatened to do it again next week, but Rosie slipped his name onto the singup sheet.

    Seeing us run laps single-file with a flag-carrier, the bus drivers must have taken us for a pack of lunatics (rightfully).

    The icy wind was whipping from every direction. Occasionally we were shielded by the school. Most times, we faced a brisk headwind. I don’t recall feeling a tailwind anywhere.

    Rosie appeared in shorts and a thin shirt for one of the bitterest mornings of record, sporting tanned legs from his recent trip to the Dominican Republic. He was the chief lunatic.

    Great job pushing yourself out the door this morning and pushing through successive Old Glory!

    Jville