Category: Richmond, VA

  • The Ladies Man wasn’t expecting that…

    2 of the F3RVA faithful, a potential FNG and several soon-to-be PAX from Roanoake descended upon Wintergreen Mountain to tackle the 2016 Spartan Super.  The weather was perfect to get acquainted with an unfamiliar altitude and some unforgiving obstacles.  Here is how it went down.

    The Thang:

    After a brief introduction and jovial ribbing by the Master of Ceremonies, begin course at 0930.  Continue over a distance of 9.91 miles and 4100 feet of elevation with 25 obstacles along the way.  Obstacles included various walls to climb, cargo nets, some mud pits, rope climbs, log carries, sandbag carries, barbed wire crawls, Hercules Hoist, monkey bars, a wicked bucket carry, a multi-rig and some other fun things sprinkled in.  Course was performed on the Wintergreen ski slopes.

    Moleskin:

    Several had asked, so I figured I would post a brief recap of last week’s race.  And, given that my window is closing with the forthcoming synopsis of Saab’s legendary accomplishment (you’re the MAN!), I needed to get it done quick. The title is the first thing that Toga said to YHC upon completing the course.  As we left RVA at 0545, we had discussed that since last year’s winner had completed the course in 80 minutes, certainly we could expect to do it in about twice that, so we set our sights on 2h 20min.  Plenty of time to recover, have a few beverages and settle in to watch the Vols dismantle Florida.  At the 4 hour mark, YHC realized that it was indeed him that was being dismantled and finishing became the goal.  5 and a half hours later the goal was achieved, with Toga finishing somewhere around 4:20. Some things that YHC learned on the mountain:

    • Elevation is real.  T-claps to all our BRR brothers who have battled those mountains the last 2 years.  It was by far the biggest obstacle.
    • Leg cramps are also very real and debilitating.  First time in YHC’s life that every muscle in YHC’s legs cramped at the same time.  Made the last 2.5 miles much more challenging.
    • When helping a fellow Spartan over an obstacle as an F3 man should, make sure to pick one that does not weigh 220 lbs else you may blackout.
    • Salt tabs are a miracle drug.
    • Physical contact is accepted and expected given the close quarters on the course and over the obstacles, but when assisting a female Spartan “bowling balling” is frowned upon (her words, not mine).
    • Thinking about all of our workouts really helped keep YHC’s head in the game.

    It is also important to note that when Toga was asked which race we signed up for, the Super or the Sprint, he answered “There was a sprint?!”  He also says he will never do another one, but time heals all wounds, right?  Check the link for the detailed route:

    https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1376775772#.V-mSxZXFkfY.email

    Although it was possibly the most challenging thing YHC has done, it was well worth it.  Finally, one of our potential  FNG’s took 10 hours to complete the course, but he never quit and he finished it.  He will make a stellar F3 addition.  BT out.

    Aye!

     

  • All F’s on this Report Card

    It was a dark and wet day at the Gridiron, but it was a fabulous morning as the Pax participated in all 3 F’s under the VQ of YHC (Attila). PreGame started with a look at Mark 10:35-45 and edification of our Faith. The Pax were reminded of the collision of our pride and ego with our calling to be selfless and servant leaders.

    Fitness followed, and here is how it went down:

    The Thang:

    25 SSH IC
    25 DQ IC
    10 Pan pax 8 count body builders
    25 Helicopers IC
    25 IW IC

    Mosey to the Pavilion:

    20/20s OYO: 20 R Stepups/20 Dips/20 L Stepups/20 Dips then rinse and repeat

    Mosey to Pillars

    25 Pole Smokers OYO
    Merkin Plank
    10 Merkins IC

    Modified Triple Check: Bear Crawls/CrabCakes/APDs

    40s: Pole Smokers/Deep Squats

    Mosey to school front

    Modified Triple Check: Karaoke/Donkey Kicks/APDs

    Supermans

    The Dash Sequence on the School Gridiron – x2 100 yard sprint

    Mosey back to parking lot

    COT:

    Counterama and Namearama

    Announcements – Convergence at DogPile next Saturday; 0600 for DoubleDippers, 0700 for others wishing to mark the 2 Year (107th week) of F3RVA. J’ville encouraged the Pax to engage in an EH spree to set a new standard. Further discussions concerning F3RVA support of the F3 Tidewater startup – contact J’Ville about supporting roles.

    YHC closed us with a prayer seeking servants hearts for the Pax and the conquest of selflessness over selfishness.

    Moleskin:

    It was great to have Earthworm with us. While he is still under strict supervision by his physician (and better half), he has been missed at F3 workouts. His leadership on the 1st F of the day was awesome. Looking forward to more of these devotions as the fall rolls on.

    NightCrawler continues to post and continues to grow stronger. His dips and donkey kicks are textbook. Take note PAX. It is great to have him regularly posting at Gridiron.

    WhiteDeer and Johnsonville picked up where they left off on Thursday. It was great competition that added some flavor to the workout. Just a reminder, the QIC does not assume any liability for injuries incurred as a result of testosterone-fueled duels.

    Cecil showed great speed on the ending “burn-out” dashes – the QB clearly played some Corner in his glory days. Good work going hard the full 60.

    YHC overestimated the drainage of the middle fields. After keeping us dry and clean for most of the workout, mudflaps should have been issued for the final runs. The PAX’s speed, which was already questionable, was severely hampered. Goggles and swim caps might have been more useful than running shoes.

    Extended Coffeeteria at Einsteins – the fellowship was a great way to end GridIron and start our Saturday.

    For a virgin Q, hitting all F’s was the way to go.

    Jesus said: “Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant and whoever wants to be first must be a slave to all.” Mark 10:43-44

  • WOLFPACK Patience and Sense of Urgency

    9 pax plus one FNGs showed up for the second Q at The Creek.  The anxious pax watched the radar and came to become better.   This is what transpired:

     

    Mosey to the side parking log

    COP

    • X35 SSH
    • X30 LBC
    • X20 Freddie Mercury’s
    • X15 Don Quixotes

    ===========

    THANG

    Run to front parking lot and spelled out some big news in YHC’s

    W – 23 American Hammers

    O – 15 5 count Leg Crosses

    L – 12 Derkins

    F – 6 Burpees

    P – 16 4 count V sit-ups

    A – 1 Around the Clock Merkins

    C – 3 Laps around NHBC

    K – 11 Webbicides

    Mosey to the corner lot by the bell tower.

    ===========

    “Patience”

    2 minutes of:  Arm Cross

    “Sense of Urgency”

    2 minutes of: LBCs

    SWITCH

    “Patience”

    2 minutes of:  Al Gore

    “Sense of Urgency”

    2 minutes of: V sit-ups

    SWITCH

    “Patience”

    1 minute of:  Little Arm Circles

    “Sense of Urgency”

    1 minute of: 5 ct. leg crosses

    SWITCH

    “Patience”

    1 minute of:  Leg Lift

    “Sense of Urgency”

    1 minute of: Merkins

    SWITCH

    Mosey back to Flag

    ===========

    COT/Namorama

    NMS

    The day started out with a haze of rain that provided some coolness and reminder of the week’s weather.  After warming up and embracing the weather YHC challenged the pax to find the hidden meaning of the first part. Guppy on the 3 laps around NHPC figured out that we were paying respect to his sister’s verbal commitment to swim for the Wolfpack (23=W, 15=O, 12=L…) next fall.

    Next the pax learned a lesson in patience and sense of urgency – what it takes to swim at an elite level.  The pax was split with half concentrating on being patient while the other half concentrating on having a sense of urgency. Once they finished their 2 minutes of their lesson the groups flip flopped and conducted the other 2 minute lesson.  Once the 1 minute lessons began the heavens decided to open up to give everybody an early shower.

    Everyone did an excellent job and we got to welcome Doogie to the F3 fold as he is in the process of moving to the area. As the pax broke the rain stopped as our time concluded together.

     

    Announcements:

    Abacus

  • 100s for Saab

    Seventeen sweaty and soggy faithful posted to Dogpile for yet another rainy and humid beatdown. Theme for the day was 100 in respect to our brother Saab undertaking the Cloudsplitter today.  It went down like this:

    COP:  100 SSH, 100 Merkins, 100 LBCs.  SSH were IC.

    Mosey to field:  100 PLTs, each partner 4 sets up to 100.  Then Elbow plank – Indian run to end of field.  Then Burpee Road, but escalating.  All the way up to 8 burpees at the 8th streetlight.

    Mosey down road to right.  Partner up again.  Bear crawl across street and up hill to top & back while partner does Donkey Kicks.  Switch and repeato.

    Mosey back to Burpee road.  Same thing 1-8 increasing burpees at every streetlight.

    Mosey to Carillon.  10 burpees more.  Partner up again.  Run up and around Carillon while partner does Freddy Mercurys.  9 more burpees.  Mosey back to the rcircle.  American Hammers then round out to PAX’s 100th burpee.  Mosey back to the flag.

    NMS:  YHC enlisted some help from the PAX to call out Cloudsplitter during exercises to change the count to 100.  Lab Rat, always game, started with the 1st call at SSH.  100 of those in cadence is awful.  Calling cadence throughout is even worse, but when compared to running 100 miles today not so bad.

    The rain started back up during the PLTs.  YHC actually enjoyed the rain as it washed off the grass and other muck hitting my face while knocking those out.  YHC was impressed with all the ground the PAX covered that Fudd was able to follow directions without the usual diagrams and printed instructions sometime required.

    The Bear Crawl / Donkey kicks proved to wipe out the PAX.  YHC decided to run down the hill the first time and proceeded to wipe out hard at the bottom.  The audible to 2 rounds instead of 4 was well received.

    The rest of the beatdown was a blur of burpees and rain.  Way to hit the 100 burpees PAX!  Mumblechatter centered around Saab’s race today of course.  During the burpees back on the road Trophy lamented his choice of attending a Honeydo Q.  YHC savors those comments.

    What was even better was seeing Receptile, Flatline, and Taxi Cab posting again.  Great to have some energy from the recent FNGs in the PAX.

    Announcements:   Convergence next Saturday, 2 hour.  The 6:00 show is totally different from the 7:00 show.  F3 Hampton Roads kicks off 1st week in November.  See Jville for more details.  Lab Rat has issued the Oct monthly challenge to run 1 mile every day.  There was some debate on whether beatdown mosey’ing counts but the challenge required contiguous (not necessary straight line) running of 1 mile.

    Good luck Saab!

  • Good Morning, Mr. Ashe

    12 RUNNERS showed up for RAMM, and all the bikes were left in the stables this morning no doubt dreaming of drier days.  Here is where we went:

    ROUTE:

    • everybody out on Grove
    • 4milers turn left on Boulevard
    • 5milers turn left on Meadow
    • 6milers turn left on Harrison
    • everybody turn left on Monument (or Monument eventual for the 6 milers)
    • Everybody come home on Commonwealth

    NMS

    • So can we all agree that Grove and Monument, although they do not cross, are not really parallel?  They are line segments, not lines that continue for eternity.  If they were lines, they would eventually intersect.  As Bleeder put it, that’s why it’s called “The Fan”.  Geometry, beotch!
    • TYA tried to avoid it, but he had to listen to the radio this morning, and the knob was stuck on WRAT (mostly talk, sometimes singing, rarely dead air).  To his fortune, he eventually found the off button and got to run the last mile or so in sweet sweet silence.
    • Marv correctly identified Monument as changing in to Franklin before the turnaround point for the 6 mile route.  Good catch, YHC forgot to point that out as he doesnt get to run that far out in a mere 45 minutes.  Also, thanks to Marv and Sippy Cup for taking a break along the route and not shaming the guys running shorter distances in same time frame.
    • The absence of Saab was noted.  Go get ’em, Tiger!
    • Great to see Bleeder back out and running!  May the good vibes continue!
    • TCLAPS of the DAY goes to No Tools for his longest run ever!  Swirly noted that you have been putting in the work to get to this point during your lunch breaks.  Well done, Brother!  YHC especially appreciates you finishing in style…..shirtless.

    ANNOUNCEMENTS

    • Tomorrow is the start of “Run A Mile” challenge.  Sign up here:    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-L8e9W24ygnU0suaGyKxzi1PgPqY1CBd57hLrKTZI-g/edit?ts=563e70a3#gid=1017786714
    • October 8 is F3 Convergence:  0600 at Dogpile.  This will be a 2 hour celebration workout.  There will be a gathering back at the Shovelflag to pick up the “boozers and snoozers” at 0700, so if you are wanting to invite an FNG, they can come for 2nd half.  I am sure details will follow.
    • F3 Leap to Tidewater starting Nov 5th. We will be helping out for 6 weeks.  If you can plan a weekend to go down, and/or you have contacts down that way, please reach out to Johnsonville.
    • CSAUP:  December 4th Bear Creek 10 miler.  If you wait to sign up until after Richmond Marathon, you will probably miss the boat.  http://www.rrrc.org/events/2016-bear-creek-10-mile-trail-run

    Lab Rat out

  • Shelter from the Storm, but not from the Gloom

    Three of the faithful, including YHC, posted at Mills Godwin High School, also known as F3Richmond’s #CircusMaxims AO, with kettlebells in hand. The rain had been falling by the bucket-full and lightning periodically streaked across the pre-dawn sky. Johnsonville (YHC) planted a virtual shovel flag in the soggy soil, and this is how the beatdown progressed, more or less:

    Mosey beneath the flat metal roof in the school’s bus loading area. No more mosies.

    Warmup including ssh, helicopter, merkins, don quiotes, arm circles.

    Elevens consisting of single arm kettlebell swings (1/2 count per arm) and crabcakes

    plank-o-rama

    Elevens consisting of cleans & presses (1/2 count per arm) and pole smokers

    protractor

    Elevens consisting of electric slide and (1/2 count per side lunge) and wall planks

    plank-o-rama

    COP with sit & presses in cadence

    COT with Atilla taking us out.

    Moleskin: It was a mess out there this morning, and YHC has been under the weather this week. YHC thus had a very hard time getting out of bed. But, once the gloom began, and once I became completely wet from laying in standing water, and once White Deer starting getting competitive, things became down-right fun. It felt to me like this workout was over in 20 minutes.

    We have a number of regulars out for health reason, and we pray for their speedy recovery.

    Great job, men! Jville

  • Getting Wet Sucks, Being Wet is Fine

    8 Vibrant young boys posted for a Thursday morning beatdown in the rain.  Weather was monsoon like pre workout, but turned into 70 and sunny once we started the fun.

    The Thang:

    Mosey through the gazebo to the wettest part of the MM field.  30x LBC, 2X Superman, 20x Don Quixote, 20x SSH, 20 x Imperial Walkers.  Mosey to basketball courts for a rendition of the BBC (Burpees, Bear Crawls and Crab walks).  Bear crawl to half court line, run to end line, backwards run to half court line, crab walk to start, 2x burpees.  Repeato increasing burps by 2 until you reach ten.  Jog around the basketball courts.  Mosey to tennis courts.  Line up on the line for 22’s (2 sets of 11’s).  First set is LBC and Merkins running from one end to the other of all 4 courts.  Second set is Bay City Scissors and Jump Squats running across two full tennis courts. Stay on the courts for deconstructed burpee reverse ladder starting at 10 (10 squat, 10 Merkins, ten hip thrusts, 10 jump squats) and finishing with one full burpee.  Mosey to shovel flag for 3 MOM.  20x Roalita.  50x LBC.  COT and off into the day.

    NMM:

    The pre-workout weather could not have been more intimidating.  From about 1am on, it was an onslaught of rain and lightening that did not seem to slow down a bit.  It was an sobering sight and sound and did not make it easy to extract oneself from the fartsack.  Taxi Cab posted again today after his first post yesterday.  Totally impressive.  Posting for the first two times in this kind of weather shows some kind of mental toughness (or deficiency…you make the call).  Kudos to him, with that type of resolve, i anticipate he will find it easy during the perfect fall weather that is upcoming.

    Yesterday Sippy was a benevolent Q and kept us mostly dry despite the wet conditions.  We did a ton of planks and other wet condition friendly exercises. I was still wet post workout, but the amount of time on the ground was minimized.  I took the opposite approach today, Mainly because trying to avoid the wetness of the ground in the gloom was going to be futile today…there was not a dry section on the entire AO. As a participant of F3 when someone else is Qing, the worst part of a wet workout for me is wondering when we are going to have to get on the ground.  To alleviate that negative anticipation for the PAX today, I started with LBC and superman, to make sure that we had contact with all parts of our body to the ground asap.  By the time we finished the initial COP, we were all soaked to the bone.  Once wet, it was all fun from there.  Exercising in this type of weather makes me feel like a little boy again, playing outside during a rainstorm.  Very freeing and fun.

    Swirly was totally confused when an unfamiliar black SUV showed up in the parking lot just before the workout today.  He did not even have a guess to who was in the car.  It was Sippy.  I can count on one hand the number of times Sippy has posted in a vehicle to MM.

    Saab heads out for his 100 miler tomorrow mid morning.  Dude has trained a ton for it and I know will put his best effort into the race.  Regardless of if or when he finishes, the amount of preparation and dedication he has shown over the past 6 months is something I will never forget.  If you have any questions on how to set a goal and prepare yourself for something, Saab is the guy to look towards.

    Announcements

    Convergence on the 8th.  EH a friend or someone who has not been out in a while.  Lets maximize the number of people in F3RVA and the impact we have on the community.

    Leap to Virginia beach starting on Nov 5th.  Reach out to Jville for information.  EH folks down there.

  • Staying dry with planks

    9 Faithful and 1 FNG gathered in the sloppy parking lot for a WDog workout.
    The THANG
    COP
    10x Helicopters, 10x Don Quixote, Arm Circles, 10x Merkins, 10X Freddie Mercuries.
    Mosey to the Amphitheater for a very short Plank-o-Rama.
    Mosey to the Rusty Cage for 10 minutes of Pullups/Merkins. Pax determined a pullup/merkin ratio and then proceeded to alternate between the two exercises with minimum rest for 10 minutes, with an emphasis on endurance, and not maxing out each set.
    Mosey to Jacob’s bowl for a bit of leg work. 5 minutes of lunging down followed by skipping up. Plank for 10 count.
    Mosey to Amphitheater stage for: Alabama Prom Dates 10x, followed by 1-legged Alabama prom dates 5x each leg, followed by 5x Diamond Merkins
    Bunny Hop up the Amphitheater steps.
    Mosey back to Start for another Plank-O-Rama (~3 min). Revolving planks 10x each arm. Reverse planks with leg kicks, Regular plank, Wilson’s Wife, Fudd’s Wife, Southern Gentleman, Yankee Aggressor, and Spiderman Planks (knee to opposite elbow).
    COT—YHC took us out.
    Moleskin.
    Welcome to FNG Taxi Cab, who was EH’d by Bleeder and is a friend of his and TYAs. His name comes from an eventful Bellarusian Taxi ride he had with Bleeder.

    YHC peeked outside before heading out this AM, and thought it was fitting that he was to Q on another wild-weather day. Very heavy rain! But 10 minutes before the workout started, the storm cell stopped dumping rain, and it only sprinkled a little bit during the workout. The PAX did see some distant lightning during the workout. This didn’t stop TYA from questioning the Q’s judgment when we headed to the rusty cage.

    Rather than the typical ab exercises, YHC opted for more planking today to keep us high and dry.

    The leg work was a crowdpleaser today, and the Alabama Prom Dates on the stage of the amphitheater brought on some good joking as usual.

    Hardywood’s bunny hops are a thing to behold. He’s at least 2x as fast as the rest of the PAX. Way to push it, brother!

    BT gave us a report on the Spartan race. Sounds awful!

    Good work today, gentlemen.

    Sippy Out–

  • What is Dirty MacDeuce?

    7 of the faithful explored the grounds of SOT on a damp morning of mid-60s and high humidity.  We waited around for a potential FNG lured by the F3 signage at the AO but the wet weather likely kept him away so we got right down to it.

    THANG

    Mosey to the front of the school for a warm-up up:  SSH, Hillbillies, Arm circles and Peter Parker.

    Mosey around the school with parking lot tracers, high knees, butt kickers and karaoke to get warmed up for:

    Dirty Macdeuce – 4 rounds, 3 exercises each round, 12 reps IC, 1 lap around the bus loop between rounds, exercises were:

    • Merkins, Imperial Squat Walker, Crunchy Frog – Mosey lap
    • T-merkin, Ball Dippers, LBC – 75% effort lap
    • Hand release merkin, Monkey humpers, Plank dips – 75% lap
    • Carolina Dry Docks, Copperhead squat, Rosalitas – AYG lap

    Round and round – partner up

    Partner 1 runs the bus loop, Parter 2 Bear crawls in the opposite direction.  Switch form and keep going in the same direction when you meet, Partner 1 Bear Crawl, Partner 2 runs the loop.

    Repeato with Lunge in place of Bear Crawl

    Mary

    Hello Dollies, Side plank dips, Freddie mercuries, APD, American hammers

    Ring of Fire – 2 rounds 10 merkins each.

    COT, Wilson took us out.

    NMS

    Good to see Aisle 5 back out for his first post-BRR workout.  Well deserved time off after putting in the work for the BRR.  Per Corporate, now it’s time to start working toward next year.  Great to see Salad Cream back out again for the second time this week.  He tried Wilson’s long sleeves approach but it didn’t work as he had to shed a layer during the Macdeuce.  Looking forward to him being a regular at RiverRun since it’s right next door.  Mumblechatter about DK’s pool, YHC was out in week 2 and had little to contribute.

    Not sure where the Dirty MacDeuce name came from or why 4 rounds of 3×12 equals Macdeuce but I think Jville brought it out to NoToll one day and it can make for some good work.  YHC was tired of the ladies and decided to bring someone else to the PAX.  A few laps around the bus loop to satisfy YHCs desire to run a little and not on the dark track (in case of clowns).  http://www.richmond.com/news/local/henrico/article_95715ef5-234a-55a9-9603-86393297963f.html

    Great job today, a pleasure to lead this group.

    Announcements

    • Hump Day Happy Hour tonight, see Hardywood’s pre-blast
    • October 8 Convergence at Dogpile – 6-8 am, Looking for a big PAX, bring an FNG or someone that hasn’t been in a while
    • Nov. 5 Leap to Tidewater.  If you have any contacts in the area, let Johnsonville or Dreamliner know
    • Dec. 4 Bear Creek 10 mile trail race.

  • Tomorrow 9/27 Hump Day Happy Hour

    Gentlemen of RVA, here’s your friendly reminder that tomorrow, that you….yes you are cordially invited to our monthly F3 Richmond Happy Hour.

    Bring the M some flowers tonight, and get there.  We’ll have an F1 (workout) and F2 (happy hour).  Details below:

    Where:  Crossroads Coffee & Ice Cream (please don’t panic, they have a great beer selection).  3600 Forest Hill Ave, Richmond, VA 23225. Please park here.

    Workout Time:  6:00 pm sharp.  We’ll leave from the Crossroads parking lot.

    Happy Hour Start:  6:45 pm

    What To Bring: Dry clothes and money.  We will be sitting outside.

    Please email or text me with any questions.

    -Hardywood