Category: Richmond, VA

  • MC Hill

    13 Regulars and 6 FNGs, fought off the fartsack to face the foggy gloom on the last day of May.  YHC planted the shovel flag and we got straight to work.  This is how it went down:

    Mosey to high school BBAL courts.  Circle up and perform the following exercises IC:

    Invisible Jump Ropex25, DQx25, Invisible Jump Ropex15, Plank-Merkinsx10, reverse Plank-reverese plankx10, Invisible Jump Rope x 10

    LBC Ring of Fire-Feet 6in of ground while the Pax performs LBCx5 for entire circle

    Mosey to soccer field for interval work-divide soccer field in half, sprint first leg, mosey three legs, sprint second qtr, mosey other two qtrs. Repeat until sprint all qtrs

    Mosey to parking lot at football field for Touch a Tree x1, x3, x5 with corresponding number of burpees at tree.

    Mosey to MC Hill for Jacobs Ladder-Run to top, perform 1 merkin, run back to bottom of hill.  Repeato x 7.

    Mosey back to Shovel Flag for Namerama and Countarama.

    YHC took us out in prayer thanking God for our health and the strength and desire to improve our health.

    Moleskin.  As YHC spent two of the three Holiday weekend evenings as grillmaster and overindulging, YHC planned a run heavy beatdown to cleanse YHC system to begin the week. It was great to have yet another record PAX for DaVille.  Welcome to all FNGs that posted this morning.  Phonics has been EHing some of todays FNGs for a couple of weeks.  Keep posting to improve yourself and the other members of the PAX.  YHC did not hear much mumblechatter this morning,  probably because YHC was sucking wind most of the workout.  Abacus has been talking to YHC about the hill at the end of service road behind the football field since the first DaVille beatdown.  YHC put it in todays plans and we had just enough time to traverse the steep incline during Jacobs Ladder.  AS we arrived at the bottom of the hill, YHC asked DDAY (he ran track at Atlee) if their was a name for this hill.  He responded NO, so YHC initially dubbed the obstacle DaVille Hill.  Upon return to the shovel flag, Abacus suggested an appropriate name for the hill would be MC Hill.  Reasoning for the name comes from Meg Menzies (maiden name Cross), who was an avid runner in the Hanover/Richmond running community.  Unfortunately, Meg was taken from her family and community in a tragic accident a few years ago.  As the first F of F3 is Fitness, it felt appropriate to honor Meg with a steep hill that was used this morning to increase the fitness levels of the men of F3 RVA.

    DDAY (amateur movie producer) was filming this morning’s workout.  As YHC is alerted to its publication on social media, YHC will post.

    Announcements

    Many workouts around RVA were highlighted to the FNGs in addition to DaVille.

    DaVille and Spider Run tshirts are available for order for two more days.

    Reesestrong Corn Hole and Rock and Roll event June 11 at Martys to benefit childhood cancer research-see Phonics for details

    UR camp (multisport) sponsored by Fellowship of Christian Athletes-see Quarter for details.

    Circle K out!!!

  • Gorillas in the mist

    5 faithful posted to NoToll to sweat out their Memorial day excess. A simple but effective beatdown went down like this:

    Mosey to left soccer field for COP:
    25 SSH, 20 Merkins, 25 LBCs, 20 Imperial Walkers, Arm Circles

    Sprint half field, jog rest twice. Then sprint whole field.

    Mosey to right field for Ascending 4 Corners: start at 10 and increase by 10 each lap to 50: merkins, Mtn Climbers (4 count), Freddy Mercurys, Jump Squats.

    Mosey to benches- 20 dips, 10 step up, 20 dips, 10 step up other leg. 20 Derkins

    Mosey back to basketball court for mary – APDs, LBC, elbow plank til finish.

    COT and Announcements.

    NMS: Small but strong PAX this AM. The weather was perfect and YHC could not resist the field for the COP, instead of the parking lot. The fields were covered in mist and not soggy from the weekend rains.

    The PAX stayed together for the 4 corners and no real mumblechatter besides some derision about the 4 count Mtn climbers.

    Flipper came in right at 5:30, missing LIFO status by mere seconds. Apparently it is easier for him to post to AOs that are over 1 hour away, good to hear you represented RVA well in Raleigh.

    EF Hutton on round 1 of 4 corners asked the PAX what Freddy Mercurys were. Maybe his bandana was on too tight or we need to do more of those.

    YHC had to ask Gumbo where Rosie was and was told he opted for Spider Run this AM. YHC thinks Rosie was hoping to avoid some Donkey Kicks, well those are on the menu for Dogpile now.

  • Twin Team Repeats

    Four of the faithful posted at 0700 for a southside hill workout. The weather was muggy and overcast, but the rain held off. The PAX warmed up by running from Bettie Weaver ES, by James River HS, around the loop by the James River HS football stadium and baseball fields, and up Robious Road to the bottom of Twin Team Lane. The workout began in earnest with hill repeats up Twin Team Lane, followed by a mosey back down, a brief rest, and a rinse and repeat. The workout ended with a mosey back to Bettie Weaver ES and a COT.

    Twin Team Lane is bear. Great job!

    Jville

  • Mother Goose

    A strong pack of 9 showed four our post-holiday Spider Run. This is what transpired:

    Ran through a modified version of the “Fudd run”. Intent was to stay together with faster runners periodically circling back. Challenge was, given the course has a lot of ins-and-outs and what have you’s, the PAX became a bit scattered at times. Periodically, YHC wasn’t certain if members were choosing alternate routes or just buying mileage until those in the rear came along. As was aptly pointed out, YHC was like Mother Goose at times trying to keep the front in line with the rear, and vice versa. YHC will post a map of this run in a future post.

    Near the end, instead of taking the added hill, those leading in front chose a route back into the university, so a last minute audible to take a run around the lake worked out just fine.

    Kudos to Swirly, Marv, and BT for running to the AO. Offshore get’s credit as well for biking-in.

    (Rosie, Thanks for the shout-out.)

    Announcements:
    Spider Run and Da’Ville shirts are on pre-order (with only 2 days left). Don’t walk, but RUN to the F3 site and get your order in now.

    W-Dog tomorrow, with Swirly as Q (per memory, unless someone else is signed up.)

    Saab out

  • Of course we’re going up that hill

    8 RVA regulars and 1 FNG planted 5 shovelflags and got their Memorial Day started off right with a special Punisher at Belle Isle. 70 degrees and humid at the start with the bounty of a wide open new AO to break in. Here is how it went down:

    Honeydo Q –
    Mosey to Browns Island – Disclaimer. 25 SSH, 20 Merkins, 20 Freddy Mercurys, 20 Don Qs, Arm Circles – forward & back. Mosey to bridge steps.

    5 Derkins each step up the bridge steps. Plank at top. Mosey across footbridge to fountain:

    Donkeykicks on the fountain, bear crawl across street to Curb for 5 Merkins, BC back. Start with 10 Donkeykicsk, increase by 10 up to 40.

    Mosey to street – 1 Burpee per tree to end of road. Mosey to Belle Isle bridge. Cross bridge but Bear Crawl every other hill section. Reach Belle Isle – handoff Q to Lab Rat

    A very special triple check – Pair up in groups of 3. Squats, Ball Dippers, while one group carried conveniently placed log. Repeato for 15 min, switch to Hells to Heaven & Flutterkicks.

    Split up into fours for Log Assisted Sit Ups- fun!

    Handoff Q to Toga – 5 Burpees bottom bridge, 10 at top. Mosey across bridge. American Hammers on other end of bridge. Finish up the hill to Virginia War Memorial – Silent BOM at Memorial. Mosey back to flags for Nameorama and COT.

    NMS:
    YHC, Lab Rat, and Hardywood cooked up the AO change at coffee after Dogpile on Saturday. YHC was glad to see 9 strong post. Waiting to start LabRat and YHC discussed the hot potato Q options and determined crossing over to Belle Isle might take too long. So of course YHC proceeded to take the PAX across the bridge to BI. Way to improvise on Belle Isle with the Log Lab Rat.

    On the mosey over to Belle Isle there was mumblechatter about different Q stylings as Toga mentioned some Qs focus on exercises they are weak on while other offer up only their strengths. YHC loves Donkeykicks and cannot apologize for his serving these up to the PAX regularly.

    The mix on the ground and log carries on BI made sure all the PAX got sufficiently messy and some good laughs were had at the form of the log sit ups although Toga was surely biting his lip on form. YHC was glad to meet Phonics and welcome to Flume. You put in a strong first showing and to YHC the naming of Flume was maybe the shortest naming seem so far. Afterwords YHC found out that that Flume played rugby in college and had that been shared would have insisted his name be Hooker.

    Finishing up the last hill to the VA War Memorial was a great finish for Memorial Day. Everyone pushed hard and thanks again to Bleeder for taking us out in a moment of silence. There are no words to express our gratitute for those paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom and safety, but let us remember them on this day.

    A pleasure as always to lead this fine group of men!

  • Do your shorts have pockets?

    4 intrepid runners participated in 1 of 2 runs today…
    1) Richmond PAX: southside to northside loop with run around Brown’s Island – 8 miles
    2) Arkansas PAX (TYA): 10 miles which included an extreme 4 mile climb.

    Before the start we first had to resolve who would Q. Since the honorable TYA was running at a remote location in our nation’s heartland, it fell to Saab. YHC did appreciate Aisle 5 taking the quick initiative to call out the above route which served as a nice change from prior weeks. Upon completion we chatted it up with Udder who was about to venture out with a friend (he admittedly opted for the added sleep at the expense of running under higher temperatures).

    After the run we had an enjoyable post-run hangout at ET. Discussions about BRR training do’s and don’ts ensued. YHC was surprised and pleased to hear that Wilson was signed-on for the BRR (although I am reminded this is a cyclic and it may just be his “on-week”).

    Enjoyed it guys. Thanks for the great start to the day.

    Saab abides

  • PREBLAST AO and Time change for #Punisher Memorial Day only

    While contemplating Monday morning workout plans over a plate of smothered and covered, YHC, HoneyDo, and Hardywood came up with the brilliant plan of moving the Monday morning workout to 7 a.m. at Tredegar Parking lot.  This is the parking lot at the footbridge to Belle Isle.

    This will be a hot-potato style Q that will be kept between the ditches by Lab Rat and Honey Do.

    Also, it will be Memorial Day, so if you have a shovelflag, bring it!

    Questions can be directed at Lab Rat.

    Complaints can be directed at HoneyDo.

  • Charles Bronson makes his F3 debut

    17 Pax didnt have anywhere else to be this holiday Saturday morning, so why not come work out?  Sounds great, let’s get busy…

    COP

    • SSH
    • Hillbillies (the Johnsonville Hop)\
    • arm circles, reverso
    • Break Dancers (much preferred name to step outs)
    • Crab Cakes
    • Pass the Q to HoneyDo so that he can call out his beloved Richard Kimbles (X10 OYO)
    • From pavement to inner circle:
      • bear crawl, crawl bear back out
      • crab walk, walk crab back out
      • plank walk, walk plank back out

    THANG

    • Charles Bronson
      • X50 SSH, sprint to second flag, army crawl to third flag, slow jog to first flag
      • X50 Burpees, sprint to second flag, army crawl to third flag, slow jog to first flag
      • X50 Merkins, sprint to second flag, army crawl to third flag, slow jog to first flag
      • X50 LBC’s, sprint to second flag, army crawl to third flag, slow jog to first flag
      • X50 Jump Squats, sprint to second flag, army crawl to third flag, slow jog to first flag
      • When finished, run the Carillon steps, alternate between American hammers and flutter kicks between each pass
    • 11’s in the Ampitheater
      • American Hammers at the bottom of the ampitheater
      • Freddie Mercuries at the top steps
    • Behind the flags Indian Run- 1 lap around the greenway then back to the truck.
    • 1 minute of Mary- extended Superman.

    COT

    • Reminder to say personal word of thanks for those that gave the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country.
    • “The Man in the Arena” by Teddy Roosevelt

    NMS

    YHC did the “Charles Bronson” workout many moons ago while training for his first Tough Mudder event.  It was developed by a TM legend known as “Mustache Man”…YHC remembers it kicking butt back then, so was wondering how the Pax would do.  Lab Rat 2.0’s dry erase board was brought in to play so that the pax could concentrate on the task at hand, and not remember the excersizes and orders.  Dry erase board seemed to be much appreciated.

    Also brought in to play were 3 shovel flags that were carried with the pax from spot to spot (and served as the Bronson markers).  Most pax had the opportunity to take turns carrying a flag for at least a short distance.  This was so well received that Hardywood borrowed one for his run back to his car parked at Ellwood Thompsons!  YHC decided that was a momentus occasion worthy of capturing, and was delighted to find Saab running along side for a truly spectacular image of patriotism and athletic endurance.

    Speaking of athletic endurance, T-claps to Saab, Sippy Cup, and Hardywood for moseying to and from The Dell this morning.  Yall are inspirations to us mortals.

    T-claps as well to the newer pax members for posting up this morning, way to work Gentlemen!  Most notably Spit and Grabber (coming in hot from Daville), as well as Lost and Found, who YHC had the pleasure of meeting for the first time this morning.  Also, glad to see Viral back in the mix….although his merlot would have benefited from a 45 minute workout!  Way to hang in there thru the Suck!

    YHC broke tradition this morning and took us out with “The Man in the Arena” speech by Teddy Roosevelt.  YHC had two thoughts for doing this instead of the traditional prayer:

    1.   A reminder to the Pax that although most of us are Christian, F3 is welcome to ALL men, regardless of religious calling.
    2. It is a bad-ass quote that absolutely applies to all those that “dare greatly” every single morning they crawl out of that warm fart-sack and embrace the gloom with their fellow F3 brothers.  We are a group of doers, and there is no room for “cold and timid souls” in this group of men.

    Announcements

    • Daville and Spider Run T-shirts pre order thru June 1.  Free shipping thru memorial day if using the code: REMEMBER
    • Trail run 7:00 a.m. same bat channel.
    • River Run on Monday moved to 7 a.m.  See preblast for details.
    • Punisher on Monday special Memorial Day time and AO change:  7 a.m. at Tredegar Parking lot for the Belle Isle footbridge.  Preblast announcement coming.
    • F3 Richmond Linked In group is live!  Start networking with your brothers in the Gloom!
    • Congrats to Swirly 2.0 for HS graduation!
    • Thoughts and prayers (and opportunities) for Viral, who is looking at a layoff in the near future.  Hopefully he can put some details on what he is looking for out there….maybe on the Linked In page???

    A pleasure to lead this morning, gentlemen.

     

    Lab Rat

  • Youth Movement and Remembrances

    A beautiful morning greeted the GridIron PAX – seven of the Faithful and three FNGs gathered this Memorial Day weekend to enthusiastically embrace the workout and enjoy the fellowship. We also set aside a few moments to reflect on those who have sacrificed so much – the armed services members who lost their lives in the service of this Nation, and the loved ones left behind to grieve profound losses.

    Welcome and disclaimer

    Thang:

    x20 SSHs IC
    x20 Seal Jacks IC
    x20 Don Quioxtes IC
    x20 Imperial Walkers IC
    x20 Hillbillies IC (courtesy of J’Ville)
    x20 Plank Jacks IC
    x20 Carolina Drydocks IC
    x20 Alabama Prom Dates IC

    Mosey to WildCat gridiron and post to bleachers:

    Dips and Carolina Dry Docks/Merkins (Split Squad PAX) – AMRAP Tibatta

    Eight-Count Body Builders (Pan PAX)

    Mosey to gridiron school front:

    The Beast (modified) –

    – Karaoke with x10 SSHs per station (x6)
    – Skips with x10 Seal Jacks per station (x6) with Bear Crawls up and down hill (120 yards) and plank medley at return end zone (240 yards)
    – Long Strides (not quite lunges) with x10 Arm Circles (forward up and reverse back) per station (x6) with Bear Crawls up and down hill (120 yards)
    – Run with x10 Arm Circles (forward up and reverse back) per station (x6) with Bear Crawls up and down hill (120 yards) and plank medley at return end zone (240 yards)
    – Run with x10 ??? per station (x6) with Bear Crawls up and down hill (120 yards) and plank medley at return end zone (240 yards)
    – Long Strides (not quite lunges) with x10 Alabama Prom Dates per station (x6) with Bear Crawls up and down hill (120 yards) and planks at return end zone (240 yards)

    Mosey to the Flag Pole for further reflection on Memorial Day

    Circle up around Flag Pole for Superman, rinse and repeat (TClaps to Jolly Rancher and Chum Bucket for choral leads)

    Mosey to school front for abbreviated Triple Check

    Mosey back to parking lot

    Two Minutes of Mary – leg raises and penmanship (All Caps)

    COT:

    Counterama and Numberama

    Fun as usual with naming FNG’s, some did better than others but no suggestions so offensive to deter sophomore postings

    Announcements – River Run on Monday with later start at 0700; need a Q for The Punisher on Monday and starting time determination (if not normal 0545 start) – check for BackBlasts and comments.

    Strong closing prayer by Attila

    Moleskin:

    DK sailed into Pouncey Tract harbour accompanied by Joseph who, immediately upon his disembarkation from his motorized Pequod, proudly stated: “Call me DK Jr.” – the PAX gently reminded this precocious 7 yo that, while we admired his pre-emptive attempt to self name, he was simply FNG (emphasis on Friendly) until the PAX named him during COT. His was a strong post, and he cooperated with the PAX seeking an occasional Restrictor Plate. After numerous suggestions and after due consideration, the PAX annointed this young man (after an explanation that quadruple Hate was a really good thing) as The Chicken Whisperer in honor of his superb backyard egg collection skills. It was decided that C-Dubs was an appropriate truncation of his F3 handle and we understand he will answer to both his formal and nick-F3 names.

    The PAX also welcomed FNG Jim (of the Respect generation) and his 11 yo son, FNG Eli, neighbors of YHC. YHC offered an American Dental Association approved name for FNG Jim; but the PAX seized on Ragweed for reasons that probably related more to C-Dubs’ frequent sneezing (remarkably, the sneezes actually outnumbered Atilla’s yawns) than it concerned the state of his backyard turf. Yale seemed like a natural name for FNG Eli based on his given name being the traditional nickname of the denizens of the mobster trade school in New Haven. YHC thought that Ivory and Yale were a clever pairing for a father-son team but alas the will of the PAX abides and so we welcome Ragweed and Yale to F3Nation.

    Strong participation by all the PAX today – the Youth Movement (Yale, Jolly Rancher, and The Chicken Whisperer) went hard at the workout and called some counts in the Pan PAX 8Count BBers – quick learners. All three also called some down-counts during transitions – well done young leaders! And a healthy competition was observed as Yale and JR dueled throughout the Beast and turned the finishing mosey to a barn burner sprint – they reported that Chum Bucket’s first-place finish was aided by a flying squirrel that allegedly impeded the pre-teen Bolts’ finish. Protest noted and denied for lack of credible evidence – victor spoils to Chum.

    In addition to his strong finish, Chum Bucket, as is his norm, glided thru the Beast and then aided JR’s rendition of the Superman theme song. Attila took the point to kick off the Beast and plans to bring at least one of his boys on the next youth rally at the GridIron. White Deer was underwhelmed by the Beast until the addition of the midway Bear Crawls – his chief complaint was focused on the purposeful small number of Merkins during today’s workout. DK demonstrated some fine form on the long strides reminding the PAX of Bad Bad Leroy Brown. J’Ville was disappointed that this morning’s recipe did not include the American Hammer, though his ego was boosted by his Clown Car chauffeur who offered glowing accounts of J’Ville’s extraordinary form at the most recent Circus Maximus.

    Coffeeteria at Chick-fil-a – great fellowship that included a wide range of subject matter (including discussions at one end of the table concerning Steinback and Sci-Fi literature and movies as well as what appeared to be Rubik’s Cube successes at the other table end).

    May we “highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain – that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” – Abraham Lincoln

  • River Run on Memorial Day to start at 7am

    The F3 RVA Southsiders are pushing back the start time of Monday’s River Run from 5:30am to 7am.
    Calling all Monday Double Dippers!