Category: Richmond, VA

  • I Just Felt Like Running

    3 Davillians climbed out of their fart sacks on this somewhat cooler July morning to run around Green Acres the hard way. The SF was planted next to the flag pole and PAX got to work.

    This is how it went down:

    COP (ALL IC)

    • SSH
    • Split Jacks
    • Merkins
    • Arm Circles

    THANG

    Burpee Mile

    48 burpees, 1 mile run. Done as 12 burpees, run 1/4 mile x 4.

    Merkin MIle

    25 merkins are completed after each 1/4 mile (Total: 100 merkins, 1 mile).

    Mosey to the football field

    Quarter Pounder

    • Run to the 25 yard line – Complete 25 Merkins
      • Run backwards back to the goal line
    • Run to the 50 yard line – Complete 50 Squats
      • Run backwards back to the goal line
    • Run to the 75 yard line – Complete 75 Mtn Climbers
      • Run backwards back to the goal line
    • Run to the 100 yard line – Complete 100 SSH
      • Run backwards back to the goal line

    Al Gore-O-Rama

    Squat 1/2 mile

    25 quarts are completed after each 1/4 mile (total 50 squats, 1/2 mile)

    Scout Run

    Pax forms a line and set a decent to slow pace. The front man takes off forward in a sprint to a self decided time or landmark and then turns around and sprints back to rejoin the pax at the back of the line. 3 Rounds were completed for about a 1/4 mile.

    AYG for 100 yards back to the SF

    Numberama, Namerama, YHC took us out. 

    MOLESKIN

    After LabRat’s Q last week that included mainly running, YHC decided we need to use the 200+ acre AO to fullest. So YHC “just felt like running”! The PAX seemed to enjoy the mosey around most of the park. Our run took us all the way to the back end of the park around the tree line.

    It was great having Scully join us this morning and get to know him better.

    MC was heavy most of the time since we had a small PAX. Scully shared about his trips with his family this summer. Emoji shared how much easier this was when he was in HS and college.

    Emoji would like to note that he did finish today!

    ANNOUNCEMENTS

    SPIT ON THAT!!

  • Swirly Ball

    18 strong – tackled Mary this morning and here is how it went down.

    COP: SSH, Helicopters, Windmills, IW’s, LBC’s APD’s, Flutter Kicks

    Polarbears : Polar bear ( bear crawl every 5 steps Merkin) to the gate – 20 donkey kicks lunge back – plank. Repeat 3 times replace lunge with – Russian Solder – then Karaoke.

    Swirly Ball : Break up into to teams – shirts and skins – 9 on 9 for some back yard football – Swirly style… Offense has 4 downs to make it to the end zone. Receivers are allowed to throw the ball in any direction after they catch it to keep the play alive before they are tagged. Defense has to do 5 merkins for every offensive completion – offense has to do 5 merkins for every dropped pass. Turn over on downs – 10 merkins – interception 10 merkins Touchdown defense has to do 20 partner leg toss.

    Highlights : YHC has been wanting to bring out Swirly ball for a while just to change things up a bit. YHC always enjoys the Q’s that involve games or the pax playing around in the grass/mud like a bunch of boys. As the pax gathered this morning YHC was discussing with Bleeder that if there not enough guys showing up YHC would adjust the game plan. During the polarbears Bleeder announced to YHC (Hey dude you know we got 18) 18 was YHC’s minimum number for Swirly ball – therefore it was time to play ! We mossyed on over to the field and broke up into teams shirts and skins… The shirts had a slight advantage cause the field/ball was really wet… Anyway here are the highlights of the game: First Freaken play – Long Bomb – Marv to Grunt TD! and just like that the skins were doing partner leg toss… YHC thought wow my kid is fast and where the hell is the safety all at the same time – but whatever time to regroup … The game was tight for the rest of the time period – both teams moved the ball but no other TD’s were scored – Yep a 7-0 game ( we all did lot’s of running and merkins) . There are some outstanding plays/player awards YHC needs to report. The play of the game was the hail mary pass Marv to Grunt (however after further review the offense was off sides so the TD is called back – (Just Kidding)..  Pele gets the big hit of the game – Pele playing the middle line backer position  freaken leveled Ronnie – Ronnie made a hell of a catch but just as he did Pele put his ass on the ground – Boom! Viral ans Swiper get – best hands award 🙂 just kidding guys I know that ball was slippery Viral – Swiper your drop was pure fear and nobody blames you dude cause Bleeder was coming full speed and was inches away from trucking you – I have know idea how he was able to stop himself but am glad he did cause if he would have hit you at that speed you may have ended up on the tennis courts. Gomer Plyle and Rosie get the tip drill award (that ball YHC threw you two dudes kept alive by tipping it in the air for 5 freaken minutes .. incredible   (The play that almost was)   – YHC 15yard pass to Flipper – Flipdog catches turns and throws a beautiful pass that drops right over the left shoulder of Cottonmouth who was booking down the side line towards the end zone – and aaaaahhhhhh incomplete – son of a bi….&&**% Cottonmouth that would have tied the freaken game man …. Just kidding bro – good try – whatever ….

    The time seemed to fly by today guys – it  was fun pretending to be Southpaw’s age out there today – And great job Southpaw – glad to have you on the skins team dude..  YHC always enjoys leading this great group of men and while this was in no way one of the typical Swirly beatdowns it was a hell of alot of fun ! You can bet YHC will be bringing this back !

    Thanks to Bleeder for taking us out.

    Circle K’s Father’s funeral today @ 3pm Our Lady of Lourdes

    See y’all in the gloom..

  • Prediction: Pain

    Six (6) gladiators at Circus Maximus started hot and got hotter with the following:

    THANG:

    Slaughter Starter (20 Burpees OYO)

    The Loaded Burpees:

    EMOM 9:40 #1:     Burpee/Snatch Combos (RH Snatch even minutes; LH Snatch odd minutes)

    EMOM 9:40 #2:     Burpee/Merkin Row Combos (RH Row even minutes; LH Row odd minutes)

     

    EMOM 9:40 #3:     Pullover/High Pull Combos (Pullovers minutes 1-5; High Pulls minutes 6-10)

     

    X5 8-Count Body Builders Pan Pax Cadence

    Two (2) Minutes of APDs

    X5 8-Count Body Builders Pan Pax Cadence

    COT:

    Numberama and Namearma

    Announcements: (1) Anticipate return to “normal” CM location next week as asphalt and curb work appear near completion; (2) Convergence at GridIron September 30 0600 and 0700 DoubleDip if you wish; (3) Burpee preparedness; (4) 3 Year GridIron Anniversary September 16; and (5) Pre-Gaming to commence at GridIron under Cecil Q in September (actual commencement date TBD).

    Closing Prayer by Attila

    MOLESKIN:   The PAX, summoning their best Rocky, said “go for it” when it was announced (in lieu of warmup) that this workout was “going to bust us up.”  A good time was had by all — the 100 or so Loaded Burpees were well-received; the efforts of the PAX supported the bravado – well done men.  Heal well Attila and safe travels OffShore.

    Proverbs 14:23 (NIV): All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.

  • What color are corporate vans again?

    Seven hardy souls, along with their bodies, graced the campus of WHE to pump some iron and help YHC with his second Q.  Here’s how it went down:

    All exercises were done with either 10, 12 or 22 reps, to celebrate my 2.0’s 50 meter freestyle swim time (120 seconds) in the last meet of the season.

    Warm-up

    10 Don Quixotes

    12 small arm circles

    10 big arm circles

    22 Freddie Mercurys

     

    Mosey to back of school, as usual YHC walked fast and left the PAX in his dust!  I can’t run, but boy can I walk!

    Four corners on the track, which is fast becoming part of the field.

    22 Halos, lunge to next corner, 22 double arm swings, lunge to next corner (but not before Spit and Emoji did some extra curricular pull-ups at the playground), 22 slingshots, lunge again (YEA!), 22 overhead presses, plank and recover.

    Mosey back to front of school, where YHC had planned something he didn’t quite understand, and after conferring with the PAX, they concurred it both made no sense and would take too much time, so instead we broke up in 2 groups, started at opposite ends of the parking lot, and recreated a Jets vs. Sharks montage, (Google West Side Story if you don’t catch the reference) slowly getting closer to each other while doing physical exercise.  These were: 22 merkins, 22 sit up presses, 22 goblet squats and 22 figure eights.  While we were doing this, 3 white vans pulled up, one after the other, stayed for a minute, then traveled on–it was posited this was Corporate pulling a AO inspection, but who knows…..

    After this, mosey to the flag where YHC gifted the PAX by having them volunteer their ideas for exercises as we were 15 minutes faster than YHC had planned.  These included American Hammers, with KB, Boat Canoes, Merkins with KB raises, and Good Mornings.  There may have been one more, but YHC cannot remember right now.

    Numberama, Namerama, and YHC took us out.

    Annoucements:

    Reese Strong 5K on 9/16, see previous BB for link to sign up for F3 team.  Party to follow at Circle K’s house.

    A special shout out to Lab Rat and Circle K, as we planted not 1 but 3 flags this morning courtesy of their work this past weekend.  Well done, gents!

    Thanks to the PAX for inspiring and perspiring!

    No Idea

  • At the Roller Coaster Completely Unsupervised!

    A pax of 1 met at Hillcrest Ave. off of Cary Street to lift one another’s spirits as they train for the BRR in da** near 100 degree temperatures. It appears that at least one of the 24 BRR participants knows he cannot rely on youth, natural speed, or good looks to carry him through the BRR. So there I was — north of the river (cue the classical music) — shuffling up and down hills.

    The fun thing about being unsupervised in TYA’s neighborhood is seeing the look on TYA’s neighbors’ faces when I tell them that I am there from HUD in Washington DC to scope out the neighborhood for some much-needed Section 8 housing, a few group homes, and a new city bus stop.

    Today, I ran 4 small loops and 1 extended small loop for a total of 5.65 mi. The pace was slow, and it was hot out there.

    Keep up the good work fellas! Jville

  • When a triple check goes bad

    18 strong, with 1 FNG and one relocated pax, came out to WDOG on a relatively cooler morning. Here is what went down:

    COP – SSH, Merkins, Heels to heaven, Don Qs (or ridiculously slow Don Qs if you’re Viral), Russian Soldiers.

    Partner up for Shoulder Presses:  20 Shoulder Presses then Wheelbarrow to center of circle, switch and Repeato.

    Mosey down to bottom of Rugby for Triple Check to break in newly laid asphalt. Run, WWII situps, and Carolina Dry Docks.

    Run down PumpHouse, stopping for 5 burpees each light until bottom of Love Hill. Head up Love Hill alternating Bear Crawl, Crab Walk, and run. Gather up at top for 25 Merkins then head back to flag. 3 min of Mary then 20 Merkins.

    NMS- Things are as they should be- YHC saw Sippy Cup running to the AO in the Gloom. After the COP the Shoulder Press sets to start were not pretty. YHC admits his explanation was poorly done, YHC went to demo a shoulder press and instead we just got started. The PAX did figure it out eventually, except for BT & Viral. YHC had no idea what you 2 were doing but whatever it was, it is not legal in at least 15 states.

    After that failure of YHC, it was followed up with another by calling for maybe the longest triple check ever. All were pleased when the audible to 2 rounds was called. Lots of good mumblechatter though from the PAX while on the ground waiting for the runners to return. Apparently WoJo had never done CDDs, which is ironic given his name. Plus we got to introduce WoJo to Bobo along the way down PumpHouse.

    The crab/Duck/run combo up the hill was a blast and afterwards Flipper’s mind was racing with ideas about taking on Love Hill without running at all. Pax you’ve been warned.

    Glad to have Circle K in the pax and get to pray with him in the COT. YHC will be at the visitation tonight and I know many pax will as well. TAP brother. Also Welcome Dexter!

    Silent Assassin signing off.

     

     

     

     

     

  • Too Bad You Didn’t Bring Gloves OR Prik Dong’s Revenge

    4 SOJ regulars rolled into Swift Creek Middle School’s parking lot with very little time to spare. The PAX was groggy. The Q tried to motivate, and the workout went something like this.

    THANG

    Slaughter Start: 10 Burpees OYO

    Mosey to grass next to parking lot
    COP: SSHs, DQs, Russian Soldiers, LBCs, Capital Letters, Crab Cakes

    Mosey around bus loop, avoiding summer renovation construction
    Curb Crawls up to 7 and back down
    Stop half way through for Al-Gore-o-rama

    Mosey to track
    Partner up, grab a similarly sized tire, partner carry tire to straight-away
    Flip Me If You Can: partner 1 flips tire towards end of track, partner 2 runs to end of straight-away then back, switch, repeat-o until tire reaches the end.

    Partner carry tire half way around curve.
    Stop for COP: APDs, Flutter Kicks, Hello Dollies, Freddy Mercuries, Box Cutters.

    Flip Me If You Can #2: partner 1 flips tire towards end of track, partner 2 runs to end of straight-away then back (turn around half way to run last half backwards)

    Stop at bleachers for Chiabatta: Dips

    Run a lap

    Complete Flip Me if You Can #2
    Replace Tire

    Mosey to VSF
    COP: American Hammer & Rosalitas

    Naked Moleskin:
    This was the closest YHC has ever come to bailing when nobody else had arrived by 5:28. The homemade Prik Dong YHC added to his veggie stir fry the night before was talking to him. (That’s right, YHC said Prik Dong.) Thoughts of clean toilet locations faded as Wilson came in hot with the other members of the PAX.

    The PAX arrived with very little energy and very little excitement. YHC tried to kick things into high gear with the slaughter start. Even that didn’t seem to help.

    We were in our groove once the curb crawls started, even though Honeymoon & Sparky didn’t bring gloves. That also didn’t help when carrying those big tires. The rims of the tires cut into some bare hands, allowing for some opportune rim job jokes.

    BTW, the tires at SOT do not all weigh the same. Choose wisely.

    Sparky is a great addition to the Southside PAX…great having him out at least 3 times in 8 days.

    Announcements:

    Reese Strong 5K – Sept 16 in Mechanicsville – F3 RVA will be running a 5K the hard way (think burpees). See Phonics for more info

    F3 RVA Convergence – Tentatively scheduled for Sept 30 @ GridIron: 6am & 7am workouts

  • Chain Ring growth

    7 studs and their steads showed up for a ride around Hanover.  The humidity faded and the temperature was a cool 67 as we all approached the Milestone clubhouse.

    THANG:

    We headed out to Peaks and crossed 301 and traversed onto Georgetown Road.  We took a left on Fire Lane Road and headed to Studley via Pollard Creek.  We went to the end of Studley and turned right on Atlee Road. We then crossed back over 301 and went through Rutland and then headed down Cool Spring and finished it up by taking a right on a newly paved New Ashcake Road.  We had 3 hills of significance – Georgetown, Studley at Totopotomy Creek, and then Cool Springs. The Pax was thankful for these “bumps” in the road.  We had a good strong pace of 15.8 mph for the ride.  To see our route, here is my Strava file:  https://www.strava.com/activities/1091048132

    NMS:

    Two FNGs, who were new to F3, but definitely not new to biking, joined us for slightly hilly route.  YHC has been biking with these cats for years, so it was good to share F3 with Mark and Robert.  Atlas also was able to join us after a F3 hiatus.  Chainsaw is off at the River, but YHC was wondering about Puppy and the excuses we will hear from him.  Two other souls that the YHC is EHing didn’t make it out, but the YHC is confident that they will show up on an upcoming Wednesday.

    The hills definitely took the wind out of the PAX, but we stayed together and all became stronger through our riding on this 19th day of July 2017.  The big effort came on Pollard Creek as we rolled passed a historic farm (where the first Hanover produce stand got their wares) and headed to Studley.  All pushed hard and rolled up the hill in speeds that eclipsed 30 mph.  YHC was anxious to take the KOM from his riding buddy who is getting ready for a fight on National TV for the best Christmas decorations. This segment is just under a half mile and finishes just after the stop sign on Studley. Whoever made this segment had a death wish as it is asking for trouble to end a fast segment where the speed going into the stop sign was 22 mph.  Yikes. The YHC dug deep, and was able to take the KOM by a slim 5 seconds.  The rest of the PAX was close behind and took up spots on the leader board – Sugar Baby 4th, Wheelie 7th and Risky 9th. The rest of the PAX is not on Strava –  – yet, so there efforts are not captured virtually, but visually they were all right there!

    Lots of fun was had on this hillier route.  The PAX grew and we are confident that this AO has some solid staying power.  Abacus has the Q next week and Sugar Baby has it the week after.  Now it is time to make us official and get us on the list as an AO and get our own tag…

    COT

    It was great to name Robert (Risky) as we learned that he is about to be an empty nester and works in the risk world at SunTrust.  YHC also discovered a couple of things about Mark (Shutterbug), who the YHC has been riding with for years – one, he loves to travel (most recently going to Turkey) and two, that he is an accomplished photographer.

    Announcements:

    • Reese Strong 5K – F3 will have a presence there and it is encouraged to make time for this worthy event – http://www.reesestrong.org/
    • This will be a regular thing – Wednesday at 530 at the Milestone Clubhouse. Invite friends to join the fun…

    Till the next time,

    Abacus

     

  • I Can See My House From Here

    It’s crazy how much time flies, doesn’t it?  For a decent stretch in the winter, the Mt. Henrico Spider Run was a relative mainstay.  Introduced by Splinter in the fall of 2016, the run begins at the bottom of The UofR and extends to what is known as the highest elevated point in Henrico County…right there on the corner of Parham and Julian Rd.  During the winter months, you could count on Mt. Henrico showing up once every four weeks or so.

    Until it didn’t.

    For whatever reason, ol Mt. H got on the bad side of the Spider Run PAX.  Fudd Run?  Still popular.  Grandma’s Over the River Run?  Mainstay.  Even Saab’s Finger Runs near CCV have received a pretty consistent call.  But Mt. Henrico, for whatever reason, lay dormant since, well, since anyone can remember.

    Until Today.

    Fourteen men, dodged the alligators and the manatees in what has officially become “Swamp Richmond” as they bounded around the near west end as we revisited the Mt. Henrico Run.

    The Thang
    Take Richmond Way to the Robins Center Parking Lot
    Realize it’s been three years since the VCU Rams have lost in that building
    Head West through the Robins Center Parking Lot, down to College Road
    Left on College Road
    Right on Lakewood
    Right on Wood
    Left on Baldwin
    Left on Rock Creek by the big church
    Left on Forest
    Right on University
    6 Milers take a right on Arlington Circle and rejoin University
    Right on the name of the Road where the Arizona Cardinals play and where the NCAA Basketball Championship was this past April (Glenside)
    Right on Julian Road
    Get to Parham and Backtrack.
    Other than that, it is pretty much a straight shot.

    The PAX got to see an update on the latest handiwork from Lally Construction at the prodigious 705 Baldwin Road. Needless to say, at 5:40 and 6:08 no one had shown up to 705 Baldwin yet to work. We’ll all keep that in mind around Thanksgiving. All joking aside, Baldwin is starting to take shape as the framing is in full force.

    Think about inspirational views that you’ve had during your life. Maybe you’ve seen the Grand Canyon, or sunrise at the Outer Banks, or the Final Four Banner at the Siegel Center.

    For us today, the inspiration came from seeing Sippy Cup out there running with us on a Tuesday. Can you believe its almost been 3 1/2 months of rehab for one of F3RVAs most elite runners? Tip of the cap to the patience of one Cup, Sippy as he has slowly but surely worked his way back.

    Also good to see Pele and Theta out and about this morning. Not 100% sure the route that Pele, Swiper, Sippy and LugNut took on the way back from the Henrico Peak but all is well that ends well…even if the ending is at 6:25 in the morning.

    Happy New Shoe day to Swirly. Jeff Bezos appreciates your business. (Fun fact…who had more revenue in 2016…Amazon or Apple?)

    Finally, the PAX took a brief moment to think about Circle K’s father. Let’s all keep him in our thoughts and prayers as he handles the services this week to honor his dad.

    See everyone in the gloom.

    PS–It was Apple? I missed that one when I first heard it. Who would’ve thought that?

  • In Honor of a Marine

    10 stalwart men gathered for some hard work in the gloom this morning at Heartbreak Ridge. Just as the last PAX arrived ON FOOT AND ON TIME, they proceeded to carry the flag around the AO in honor of Circle K’s father, who passed away yesterday. They left some shovel marks and maybe even a few trenches along the way as they sucked in the humidity on this fantastic July morning. Here’s how it went down:

    THE THANG
    — Mosey to northwest corner field outside of the track.
    — Warmup: Invisible Jump Rope x20 IC, LBCs x20 IC, QUALITY Merkins x5 IC, Imperial Walkers x20 IC, Don Quixote x10 IC, Russian Soldiers IC

    — Mosey to Jerkin Gym
    — With partner, 10 QUALITY Jerkins, 10 QUALITY Merkins, 2 sets
    — Plank-o-Rama
    — Take a lap around the track, do another set of 10 QUALITY Jerkins, 10 QUALITY Merkins with your partner

    — Mosey to upper field.
    — Ark Loader:
    . Lunge 1/2 of the field, sprint the rest. Lunges should touch knee to the ground as long as you’re able.
    . Bear Crawl 1/3 of the field, sprint the rest
    . Plank-o-Rama
    . Bunny Hop 1/3 of the field, sprint the rest
    . Army Crawl (aka “drag your pickle on the ground” per Gomer Pile) 1/3 of the field, sprint the rest

    — Mosey to west school wall adjoining the parking lot
    — Triple check: Wall Sits/Planks/Sprint to other side of parking lot & back. Any PAX who have not carried the flag get their opportunity here

    — Mosey to start point with the flag
    — COP: Ring of Fire (10 QUALITY Merkins), Freddie Mercurys x20 IC, APD (slow down & feel it in your back) x20 IC, Hello Dolly x20 IC

    — COT

    MOLESKIN
    First things first – all PAX offer our condolences to Circle K and the Thurman family. Per Swirly, Mr. Thurman was a Marine, and thus in honor of him and in thanks for his service to our great country, we each took a turn carrying the flag during our workout this morning. Our prayer was and is for comfort in your grieving and for His grace in remembering & celebrating the life of your father. We are with you. You’re an important member of the F3RVA PAX, and we’re privileged to be able to support you during this time.

    The emphasis of today’s exercises (YHC said it many times) was quality & maximum benefit over speed. The Q’s original options list included B.O.M.B.S. but with the volume of reps there it would have been much easier to let our focus falter. Maximum Benefit. Well done, PAX for rising to YHC’s challenge and executing.

    Thanks Flipper and Pucker for stepping up to Q over the next two weeks. Take care of that shovel flag. The PAX is grateful that we’re not all still staring at each other wondering which non-HoneyDo/non-Loose Goose Q will take the reins.

    ANNOUNCEMENTS
    Arrangements for Circle K’s father: Visitation will be Wed 7/19 @ Blileys Funeral Home on Augusta 6-9pm. Funeral will be @ 3pm Thursday at Our Lady of Lordes.

    ReeseStrong 5K on Sep 16 – sign up now to be part of the largest, BEST team in the race. Crab picking, good fellowship, and good beer at Circle K’s afterward (all of this is family-friendly) http://www.reesestrong.org/reesestrong-5k/

    Honk.