Category: Richmond, VA

  • I’ve Fallen and I can’t (Turkish) Get Up!

    Five strong men arrived a the MANNdate to enjoy the sunny and seventy weather (that is a lie, it was COLD this morning) while challenging each other to be better.

    COP

    SSH x 30 IC

    LBC x 10 IC

    Arm Circles 10 small 5 big IC reverso

    Turkish Get Up Challenge

    Timer is set for two minutes. Number of TGUs is increased by one each round. Remainder of the time is filled with secondary exercises. This is done until the number for the TGUs cannot be done in the time allowed. Secondary exercises were:

    • low pulls
    • kettle bell swings
    • clean and press
    • snatch
    • rows
    • waiter hand walk
    • goblet squats
    • something that i cant remember

    Five Man triple check (quintuple check?)

    • Donkey kicks
    • Kettle bell swing
    • goblet squats
    • rows
    • waiter hand walk to the end of the sidewalk and back then rotate

    Merkin Row Ring of Fire

    PAX holds plank while one does five merkin rows until all have done five

    Then another round of merkin rows, this time two, to eat up the remaining time

     

    Numerama

    Namearama

    Mudface took us out

    NMS

    The TGU challenge format was stolen from another BB for an AO in NC, but modified for the TGU (which takes about ten to fifteen seconds to do one).YHC thought that we would only get eight and got very excited when round nine rolled around, but that was then end and no one could get the nine in the two minutes. By that time there had been 36 TGUs done not counting the ones done in the final round. Nicely done Men.

    YHC got to the AO a little early and was alone until 5:27 when people started rolling in. In that time he put down a tarp for the PAX as it was cold and wet and there would be a lot of ground work. it was not used until the CoT.

    It was cold but it was great. Thanks again for letting me lead.

     

     

     

     

  • Making the MERKIN Great Again

    5 frozen fighters (no FNGs… I wonder why?) and their cars slid into the partially frozen parking lot this morning at DaVille and fired up a beatdown to try to stay warm. The sunny and 70 degree fun fest went something like this…

    Mosey down the Atlee high school road to the back near the football field and circle up on the side of the road.

    100 SSHs, 10 merkins IC, 20 imperial walkers, 10 merkins IC, 20 don quixotes, 10 merkins IC, arm circles (10 small / 5 large – reverse), 10 merkins IC

    Mosey to the road for curb crawls – 1 merkin, bear crawl across the road and increase the merkin. Continue back-and-forth up to 5 and then continue back-and-forth while descending back down to 1 merkin.

    Mosey to the middle of the parking lot for Touch a (Frozen) Tree. 10 werkins in the center of the parking lot (spot 525), run to a tree, 10 merkins. Repeat for 10 trees.

    Mosey around the long loop on the road by the elementary school, middle school and then back to the start while stopping for 20 merkins at 4 different locations along the way.

    Numerama, Namarama, Announcements. YHC took us out.

    NMS:

    YHC shook his head as he realized a few days ago that he had signed up to Q a few days after Daylight Saving Time (aka Death). He shook his head again last night when he realized that it was going to be right at freezing with rain coming down. He then had a vision of Abacus saying, “THIS IS GOING TO BE EPIC AND GLORIOUS!” and that fired up the engines!

    YHC showed up to an empty parking lot and it stayed that way until 5:28 am. Spit sent a text message indicating that he had been up most of the night with his sick daughter and that he was fighting a cough. He made the right call and we missed him. Three cars then came flying into the parking lot and everyone waited until the final 20 seconds before getting out. We then took off running into the wind. Mumble chatter was light as the wind and rain pounded our faces. YHC did have the thought, “This is the dumbest and greatest idea” as the rain bounced off his face.

    The theme of the beatdown was “Making the MERKIN Great Again.” YHC has missed the insane amount of merkins that went down in November for the monthly challenge so he decided to bring back some love and respect for the merkin. The PAX did not disappoint with their tireless commitment to this exercise.

    The “normal” 100 SSHs warmed up the troops well and then we dropped for what YHC termed some “sloppy merkins” as we put our hands down into pools of water in the grass. There was no hiding from the bitter cold this morning! Most of the PAX turned away from the howling wind and faced away from that exponential pain. This was a scene that YHC had never witnessed.

    After getting loose and ready, Phonics found us after running all over DaVille to locate us. T-claps to this man for not giving up and going home to embrace the delayed fart sack!

    The PAX pushed through the workout and strangely seemed at home in the midst of the insanity as we ran around the long loop. Pleasant conversations popped up along the way and encouragement was shared by all.

    YHC experienced THE fastest namerama and numberama in his almost year of F3. The announcement from Circle K was simply, “It is cold. Let’s pray and get outta here!” YHC agreed and threw down a prayer to finish up the adventure.

    T-claps to these men of men who showed up and fought through the beatdown together. We definitely made the merkin great again and we will have this freezing rain memory for many years to come!

    The Carpenter

     

  • There once was a man from Nantucket

    Seven brave souls with no sense of feeling or disabled weather apps posted for another edition of F3  at No Toll.  Here’s how it went down:

    Mosey to the parking lot by the fields promptly at the agreed upon time of departure.  Circle up for The Pyramid of Fun.  Complete exercise #1 for 30 secs. then run across the parking lot and back to complete exercises 1 and 2.  Continue adding exercises up to #6 then go back down the pyramid by removing exercise 1, then 2…  Exercises included SSH, merkins, jump squats, muscle ups, plank, dips, and it took us a bit over half an hr.

    Mosey to tennis courts:

    • Side shuffle around court
    • reverse and repeat
    • At least 5 suicides (more on that later)
    • sideways crab walk to foul line and back
    • switch direction and repeat
    • crawl bear to half court and back
    • bear crawl to half court and back
    • flutter kicks and sideways flutters

    Mosey back to flag and burpee it out till time expired.

    Gumbo took us out

    NMM:  It may be in vogue to write poems in backblasts, but Toga don’t roll that way.  The title was just an attention grabber, and Nantucket may not even be a real place.  Speaking of attention grabbers, YHC knows it goes against dogma, but it may not have been sunny and 70 today.  In an effort to save the fields and keep us in the parking lot, we may have saved ourselves from the trees that were falling all around us.  Several members of the PAX were convinced that one of the casualties nailed someone’s ride, but some of us couldn’t even hear the trees explode due to the wind.  This could explain why Wilson began communicating with the Q via hand gestures.  The pyramid scheme was supposed to include a 30 sec rest between each set, but it seemed logical to run instead.  The PAX crushed it.., until we moved to movie trivia.

    Once we got to the suicides portion of the workout, YHC really thought it would be one and done.  After the first suicide there was a simple question, “who do you play for?”  Most of the PAX yelled out “Hoosiers.”  YHC informed them that was the wrong answer and to do it again.  After suicide 2 the same question was asked, and the same answer was given.., OK do it again.  After #3 and the same question, several people were still yelling out “Hoosiers.”  Really!?  YHC informed the PAX they were thinking about the wrong movie and sport entirely, and run it again.  After 4, the PAX was informed that it was a Kurt Russell movie.  Someone actually went with Bird on a Wire, and someone still yelled Hoosiers.  Thankfully Gumbo remembered Miracle and the correct answer, “U.S.A.” after the 5th or 6th suicide.  Good times!

    Special thanks to Hardywood and Flatline for helping Johnsonville get the flat fixed on the sausage mobile.  There was no question or hesitation as they went right to it.  Aye!

    Announcements:

    • Splinter no longer wants you at his house for HDHH
    • See Wilson about sponsoring a team or playing in the Galactosemia charity golf outing

    Stay Classy,

    Toga

  • F3 RVA Bracketology

    PAX –

    I do not believe we have a group march madness challenge yet.  Rules are simple:

    • $5 buy in to be paid to bbischoff78 at gmail.com via paypal or venmo
    • Top 2 spots paid out.  67% to winner.  33% to 2nd place.
    • Ties broken by championship score then # correct in each round until ties are broken:  2nd round, 3rd round, sweet 16, elite 8, final 4.
    • If still a tie then golf rules and split the pot

    I chose yahoo!.  Sorry if you dislike yahoo!.

    https://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1/group/149561/invitation?key=5a0b84880cd10d5d&soc_trk=lnk

     

    Password is sunny70

    Enjoy!

  • The Duck


    Four mentally-questionable men ran today
    The duck stares
    Five mile circle to honor Pi day
    The duck, never cold, still stares
    Green flashes light up the airways
    The duck still stares
    Post-run huddle under the archway
    Those armor piercing duck eyes still staring
    How much does a post-run BT weigh?
    The duck, walking backwards, still staring
    Does the commons have a bidet?
    Duck, we have no bread, why the constant stare?
    Time to disperse and go conquer the day, aye!

    Announcements
    – No HDHH this month @ Splinter’s.  See BB for replacement venue and acknowledgement of disappointment.

    Splinter out

  • March HDHH Reschedule

    Due to weather I am changing the venue for HDHH to The Answer at 6:00. Hanging outside in the cold wind is no way to spend a happy hour. High winds will prevent a fire in the fire pit.

     

    I will I’ll look to a warmer month to reschedule.

  • Making up for lost time at River Run

    6 River Run stalwarts showed up on a cold Monday in search of the hour missing from Sunday due to daylight savings time.  Here is what went down.

    COP

    • SSH IC x 20
    • Imperial Walkers IC x 20
    • Arm Circles fwd IC 10 small + 5 large + reverso
    • Merkins IC x 10
    • Little Baby Crunches IC x 20

    Mosey to bus loop in front of school

    Curb Crawls

    Bear crawl to curb and perform 1 merkin
    Crawl bear to starting curb and perform 2 merkins
    Up to 5, then repeat 5 and down to 1

    Mosey to other bus loop

    Triple Check

    • Dips on bench
    • Squats
    • Run the bus loop

    Mosey to blacktop

    Bear crawl snake (2 rounds)

    Mosey to jungle gym

    6 Pack

    • 5 pull ups + 1 monkey humper
    • 4 pull ups + 2 monkey humpers
    • etc

    Mosey to road

    Native American runs with Flip Dog Shuffle
    exercises included

    • 3 burpees OYO
    • 20 werkins
    • 25 box cutters

    Conveyor Belt on Parking Spots

    • Round 1 – Crab Cakes x 10 then Crab Walk to next station x 6
    • Round 2 – Monkey Humpers X 10 then Duck Walk to next station x 6

    Mosey to poles at end of parking lot

    Native American Pole Smokers (2 rounds)

    Plank when done

    Bear Merkin 1/2 Ladder Down

    • 10 merkins then bear crawl to top of hill
    • 9 merkins then bear crawl 15 yards
    • 8 merkins then bear crawl 15 yards
    • continue down to 5 merkins

    Mosey back to VSF

    Mary

    • Freddie Mercuries IC x 20
    • American Hammers IC x 15
    • Rosalitas IC x 20

    Numberama, Name-O-rama

    Announcements

    March HDHH at Splinters Crib (see pre-blast and sign up)

    YHC Took Us Out

    NMM

    YHC was eager to get back into the gloom after being on vacation for a week.  While the vacation part was great, the solo workouts left YHC yearning to get back into the gloom of F3RVA.  Upon checking the Q sheet at 5 AM, and seeing it blank, YHC was happy to oblige and take the lead at River Run.  The goal of the morning was to cover as much of the AO as possible and try to fit in as much work as possible.  Therefore, the PAX spent almost no time recovering before moving on to the next thing.

    YHC got off to a bit of a rocky start with the counts during COP and had to repeatedly remind the PAX that our bodies (and YHCs brain) were still on standard time.  The PAX was also warned from Wilson that his vapor trail was going to be extra spicey this AM (which appeared to be a bit of a false alarm…nothing compared to the salmon and ramen leftovers from past workouts).

    The PAX covered a lot of ground today and was able to get in a lot of good work.  Monday should be downhill from here.

    There was also good mumble chatter during each exercise and YHC enjoyed the camaraderie throughout.  YHC appreciates the opportunity to lead.  Thanks for indulging me and way to work today!

    Great job!

    McRib

  • Karate Things

    Five of the F3RVA faithful geared up for a blistery Monday morning workout.

    The thang-

    Mosey down to valley, 10 Don Q, 15 Imperial Walker, 10 box jumps OYO, 10 derkins, 20 flutter kicks.

    Mosey down to Reedy Creek – deconstructed burpee at the light poles – 3 burpees, 3 jump squats, 3 merkins, repeat at all 10 lamp posts around lake.

    Hate hill – 10 lunges, 10 bear crawls, 20 running steps, repeat to the parking lot at the top.

    BLBB- 5 burpee broad jumps, 10 lunges, 15 bunny hops, 20 bear crawl, repeat to other end of street

    Mosey to playground – 3 rounds of 7 pull ups over hand, 3 rounds of 7 pull ups underhand.

    Mosey to double tennis court – suicide with 5 WWII situps each touch of the starting baseline, repeat with backwards run suicide with 10 two-count SSHs at the baseline.

    Ring of Mary – 30/60/90 degree leg holds with 10 heels to heaven, 10 merkins with plank, 10 merkins with elbow plank, LBCs

    Moleskin-

    Excellent job today Pax, thanks for joining the fun. The usual bunch except a BT siting after he took a few weeks off. YHC just didn’t feel like running back up the hill today so it was broken up a bit with other workout exercises. Sometimes after a workout the brain doesn’t communicate words to the mouth in a clarified manner, hence camaraderie thing sounded like karate thing. We all laughed, mostly at YHC.

    Congratulations to the Belmonte folks completing their mountain work this weekend.

    Ides of March HDHH at Splinters, followed by the historic annual F3 March Madness workout at MM by Splinter himself. Looking forward to it.

  • Pre-Mulching Warmup at Gridiron

    Seven of the faithful, including 2 Kotters, posted at GridIron Saturday for an honest workout prior to tackling yard tasks (mostly mulching). Johnsonville took the Q for the first half, and this is what went down, more or less:

    COP Warmup with SSH, slow SSH, don quiotes, slow don quiotes, merkins, slow merkins.

    Mosey to gridiron nearest parking area for COP with squats, Burt Reynolds, burpees, flutter kicks.

    Run around gridiron. Mosey down to lower gridiron for COP with wide merkins, crab cakes, wide single leg Alabama prom dates, double leg Alabama prom dates.

    ElizabethWarren-Mosey to front of school. Double Triple check in groups of 3 with 1 person running, 1 person doing burpees, and 1 person wall sitting.

    Handoff Q to White Deed for 30 minutes of pure kettlebell he**, including sit and press, press up, boat/canoe, squat, curb press, wall thrusts. Sprint to far side of parking lot. Plank walk counterclockwise around landschaping curb. Sprint back. Plank walk clockwise around landscaping curb.

    COT with Attila taking us out. Coffeeteria at Einsteins.

    Moleskin — There was huge amounts of mumblechatter during the fist half, with YHC wondering if I could get any work at all out of these men. Men finally settled in. Welcome back Jolly Rancher, who has been on leave of absence since the pre-Christmas scavenger hunt. Welcome back FlipPhone, who has been on leave of absence since about the same time (with various health-related explanations).

    Once again, FlipPhone had a female chauffer drop him off and pick him up. Once again, no introductions were made.

    White Deer and anatomically incapable of doing crab cakes. I noted that he was doing them while sitting squarely on his 6. Earthworm let YHC know that he did not like of the running (1 lap around the gridiron and several slow mosies).

    A big theme of Coffeeteria was yard work, this being the time of year when we have an opportunity to get ahead of the yard-work curve (which I typically fall behind by about the third week in March). Cecil had been granted a leave of absence to spread 30+ yards of much with some hired help. Attila was headed home to spread 10 or so yards. Earthworm and I both planned to do spring yard cleaning. Jolly Rancher sat silently, hoping that he would not get pulled into any such activities.

    Great job men! Jville

  • Stubbornness beats Athleticism

    An ultra legend (Saab)  and an ultra virgin (TYA) showed up early Saturday morning for a short trip through the woods just north of Charlottesville.

    The Thang:

    50k, no, 55k, no 56k through the trails and roads of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  My super accurate Garmin GPS clocked us in at 34.91 miles (17.46 on the way out and 17.45 on the way back).  GPS said it was just over 5,000 feet of climbing though the run.  Here is how it was from my perspective.  Nice downhill start for 2.5 miles on the road, 5 miles up and down in the woods, steep 1 mile descent (25k turnaround), 6 miles mostly flat or downhill in a valley in the woods, and 3.5 miles on a torturous paved/gravel road that was uphill both ways.  Turn around and try to survive the ascent after the 25k turnaround spot and limp back to the finish line.

    NMM:

    Weather was definitely a factor.  For some it was negative, some folks had a problem with the camelback tubes freezing.  For YHC it was a huge positive as itcut down on the sweating and made hydration a much more manageable issue.  Only time we were really cold out there was prerace.  Temperature was around 18 degrees at the start and we opted to stand next to the fire and keep warm versus being cold and listening to the preface instructions.  Once the running began, weather did not cross our minds much at all.  Just a few minutes of cold wind at the highest point of the race, but that is all.

    For the first 8 miles all the Richmond PAX (except Lab Rat) were within spitting distance of each other.  So good to have 9 of us out there for support an encouragement.  A familiar face and a few kind words when trying to accomplish a huge task like this is invaluable.  Post 8 miles, Saab stuck with me the whole way.  From mile 8 – 14, we kept up a pretty pace and I don’t think I slowed down Saab too much, Mile 14 – turnarounds was tough and we both slowed down a little.  For the rest of the race, I was definitely the pacer (holding Saab back).

    Once we passed the turnaround, I knew that I would make the full distance.  I still felt pretty good and was mentally in a good state.  I also knew that I was holding Saab back.  I told him on many occasions that he was free to go, that I was good and that he could press on at his pace.  He would never leave.  At some point in a race this long, you just want to be DONE.  That, I think is true for everyone.  For Saab to prolong his run to provide me with support and companionship while his mind and body were telling him to finish ASAP was incredible.  I cannot express the gratitude and emotion I have at his self sacrificing actions.

    Running is fascinating to me.  For me, it is all mental.  The first mile and the last mile always suck.  The number of miles in between, really do not affect my mood much at all.  For this race, I just told myself that I had 9 hours to finish and had nothing else to do with that time except hang with my buddy Saab.  That kept me pretty happy and occupied the whole time.  I just stayed in the moment and enjoyed the company, scenery, and at times the lack of talking.

    Interesting things we learned along the way

    • Traversing a creek is much easier without walking poles.  Saab was ready to kill the guy in front of us who had poles and was gingerly crossing the creek trying to avoid any contact with water
    • The ladies love Saab.  At one particular aid station, Saab had his own personal assistant.   She was attentive to Mr. Saab from the moment he entered the area, and was real concerned about the minor cut on his knee.  I think she wanted to go all Clara Barton on him.  Good new for her, was that Saab got to visit twice
    • Best snack was the peanut butter pretzels.  Yes, saltines with pb&J are awesome, but the pretzels were the best.  Worst snack pb&j on a corn tortilla.
    • Saab is a bit competitive.  When we were about a mile from the finish, I looked back to see if any of the 50 milers were coming.  He said to me that if one started to catch up to us, I had no choice but to run as fast as I could the rest of the way so that they could not catch us
    • Nothing is better than finishing a race and have F3 Pax members waiting at the end.  WOW.  the support is amazing.  It is very much like finishing a BRR leg.  You have all the guys there interested in one thing and one thing only: what do you need and how can they help you.
    • Just keep moving.  One step forward is one step closer.  It is that simple
    • Water freezes below 32 degrees.  Ask Lab Rat about the person he helped whose Camelback tube had frozen.

    TYA and Saab Out.

    Last thing, for Honeydo, I hope you noticed that Upchuck listed Saab and I in his backlist PAX list.  That means we double dipped for BIG DATA on Saturday