Category: Richmond, VA

  • You can always count on Groh!

    4 faithful members of the RVA Pax and 1 Double Dipper assembled at Short Pump Middle school for a Saturday morning beat down that went something like this:

    THANG:
    Mosey to back of End Zone at Grid Iron for COP: SSH x 25, Merkin x 15, Flutter Kicks x 25, Dead Cockroach OYO x 10, Hillbillies x 25

    Run easy lap around track and up the hill to high ground for 10 minutes of Burpees (8 per minute)

    2 easy laps around track and down to school for Quadruple Check: Peoples Chair, Plank, Run, Donkey Kicks/Wall Walkers (repeato for total of 3 cycles)

    Mosey to bus lane for Zombie Walks to end.

    Mosey to baseball bleachers for Tabattas:
    1) Imperial Squat Walkers
    2) Bear Crawl-a-rama on hill

    Mosey back to shovel flag for COT

    Moleskin:
    With so much Fall activity, YHC was convinced this would be the first F3 RVA workout with 1 person posting…and bet TYA as much…but, you can always count on Groh to show at The GridIron…Thanks to Chum & Ricky Bobby for joining us as well! We picked up a double dipping Honey Do during the Quadruple Check.

    This was the first time Ricky Bobby had performed a Dead Cockroach…we might need to work on those.

    10 Minutes of Burpees are always difficult and smoked us for a good few minutes afterwards.

    The Quadruple Check took much longer than anticipated. YHC was hoping to squeeze in a Dora 1-2-3, but had to call an audible with the Bear Crawl-a-rama

    This may have been the first time in weeks where The GridIron saw ZERO partner leg tosses.

    Honey Do shared that he only came out to his first F3 workout in June. Damn, that dude has improved in a short time!

    Thanks for letting YHC lead, fellas. I really enjoyed our time together.

  • Pacman 4, Ghosts 1

    Five of the faithful gathered in the cool, surprisingly non-humid morning for a beatdown.

    The THANG

    COP

    Russian Soldiers X 20, Arm circles, Torso circles, Don Quixote x 20, Merkins x 10.  LBCs x 30.

    Mosey over to the western edge of the fitness course for the “Cinco check.” Similar to triple check, but with 4 exercises (Alternating ring pullups/squats, Merkins, Jumping Lunges, Carolina Dry Docks were spaced out over 1/6 of a mile along the fitness course.  1 Pax at each exercise and 1 running from the Dry Docks back to the starting pullups.  Each pax did each exercise 2x.

    Mosey to the Amphitheater for Pac-Man.  1 Pax, the Pac-Man, started with an incline plank in the middle step at the center of the Amphitheater.  The remaining Pax (Ghosts) started in decline plank at the far end of the Amphitheater.  Pac-Man tried to reach the far end without being caught by the ghosts. Both Pac-Man and Ghosts could move up and down or right to left, but maintained their orientation throughout the exercise.  Repeated 5x so each Pax could be the Pac-Man.

    Jacobs Bowl.  Ascending 1-7 Burpees at the top of the hills.  Bear crawl up the hills, and run down.

    COT

    Moleskin.

    It was a smaller group today–many were participating in the Rugged Maniac or were away.  The five PAX really put in a solid workout.

    YHC turned the triple check into the cinco check on the fly as we had 5 Pax.  The increasing number of exercises and longer distance between each exercise meant the Pax had to do many more repetitions at each station.  All stations were very tough, but it seemed that the Carolina Dry Docks registered the most complaints.  Burn, shoulders, burn!

    Just like in the real Pac-Man game, Inky, Pinky, Blinky, and Clyde, improved with each subsequent screen and finally caught Pac-Man Swirly on the last round.  The Ghosts were aided by Swirly’s flesh wound sustained when his feet slipped and shin banged into a stone step.  This exercise was fun and has a lot of future for add-ons and upgrades.  Glowsticks for power ups, Ghosts descending from both directions, multiple Pac-Men, etc!

    Announcements:

    You can check all of the other backblasts for the standard October races.  In addition splinter will be hosting a 2nd F gathering at his house on 10/21.  Look at the pre-blast here.

     

     

     

  • Preblast: 2nd F Happy Hour on 10/21

    October marks the 6 month anniversary of YHCs first post at The PunisheRVA. Many thanks to Fudd for finally dragging me out of the fartsack to join you guys. As a token of my appreciation YHC will be hosting the 2nd F for October at my house. Spouses/significant others as well as children are welcome.

    Agenda is as follows:
    – 5:30pm – optional 30 minute HIIT hill workout
    – 6:00pm – Hump Day Happy Hour(s)

    Address: https://goo.gl/maps/jVeK9z8tzik

    YHC will provide refreshments and hamburgers and hot dogs for anyone that wants to come. So YHC can plan accordingly please respond to the following form:

    http://goo.gl/forms/gj9o5se4x5

    See everyone in the gloom.

    Splinter

  • Venus is watching over us.

    12 eager runners posted at RAMM this morning.  Almost perfect weather for a run, 60 degrees, no clouds, no humidity, a little bit of wind.  Here is how it went down.

    The Thang:

    Run east on Grove, 4 mile turnaround at Malvern, 5 mile turnaround at Roseneath, 6 mile turnaround at THE Boulevard.  All run to Three Chopt, turn around and run back to the shovel flag.

    Moleskin

    Crescent moon out there today nice and bright (i have no idea if it was waxing).  Right above the moon was a planet shining brightly in the morning sky, I am assuming it was Venus.  It was there yesterday just below the moon, today it had moved just above.  It was the brightest I had ever seen a planet shining.  One of the things I love about the early morning workouts is seeing the morning sky with the moon, stars and the planets all around.  Without the workouts I go months without noticing the planet I am living on…

    Quickdraw opted for the full six mile loop today, a majority, if not all, of the remaining runners chose the 5 or 5+ options.  Sippy is on the mend and tried a long run for the first time in a bit.  Hopefully his calve still feels good tomorrow.

    First things first, Saab was not injured.  I knew that there would be speculation that he was having some sort of problem since YHC was keeping up with him this morning.  Truth be told, Saab was gearing down to stay with me.  Great to have someone to chat with on the run.  YHC never got into a groove today and the distraction of conversation made the run bearable.

    Bleeder and Lug Nut are embroiled in an epic battle over total mileage done year to date.  They are within a mile or two of each other.  On any given day one or the other takes the lead, forcing the other to get out and run to catch up.   Let’s see how long they stay close.  Good work gentlemen, if I told you a year ago that you would log 100’s of miles in a year, you would not have believed it.

    One of the PAX today noticed that Saab was in a different vehicle today.  Two funny things came from this conversation.  First, Saab pointed out that his gas gauge is constantly moving downwards because of the gas ineffeciency of his vehicle.  Second, Saab mentioned that he had run out of gas twice in the past couple months in his vehicle.  I don’t know why I find that so funny, but I do.  Back in the day I used to run out of gas, but it has been a while.  What is the cause? Distraction, lack of attention, stubborness, we may never know.  Saab???

    Announcments

    BT announced that a speaker is coming to St. Christophers to talk about raising boys into men in modern times.  Sounded like an excellent program.  BT chime in with details.

    Rugged Maniac this week.  Good luck to all those participating

    Bottom to Tap next weekend

    October 31st F3 Great Pumpkin Run at Lewis Ginter.  Bring the family and represent for F3.

  • Should have called an audible

    16 got their mosey on at 45MoM this morning.  Goose previously let the PAX know we were tackling the Lucky Horseshoe today, and here’s how it went down:

    Mosey to the corner on Grove for COP:

    SSH x 20                                                                                                                                               Shoulder merkins (stretch) x 10

    Don Quixote x20

    Flutter kicks x20

    Mosey back to the corner of the track to begin the Lucky Horseshoe.  The PAX has 33 minutes to complete the following around the track:

    Lap 1 around the track- merkins x 20

    Lap 2: merkins x 20, storm squats x 20

    Lap 3: Merkins x20, Storm Squats x 20, Scorpion Drydocks x 20

    Lap 4: Merkins x 20, Storm Squats x 20, Scorpion Drydocks x 20, WWII situps x 20

    Lap 5: Merkins x 20, Storm Squats x 20, Scorpion Drydocks x 20, WWII situps x 20, Lunges x 20

    Lap 6: Storm Squats x 20, Scorpion Drydocks x 20, WWII situps x 20, Lunges x 20

    Lap 7: Scorpion Drydocks x 20, WWII situps x 20, Lunges x 20

    Lap 8: WWII x 20, Lunges x 20

    Lap 9: Lunges x 20

    Lap 10: Victory Lap

    MOLESKIN:

    There are times when F3 brothers need to come together and support one another.  This is one of those times!  Sippy Cup is clearing using some East German type enhancers that enabled him to finish the Lucky Horseshoe with almost 2 minutes to spare.  It’s hard to see physical evidence in the gloom, but someone needs to do something.  YHC noticed he no longer laughs at his jokes, so the rage side effects are clear.

    Goose did not attend due to a sprained vulva, but our prayers are with him.  Bleeder correctly suggested that YHC audible this let event, but YHC didn’t see his wisdom till nearly splashing the merlot in lap 6.  Good times!  Goose can rest assured that two of us completed the horseshoe, and there is supposedly some bet with his comrade in NC.  We’ll need to get the scoop on that.

    It should also be noted that YHC failed to get the laps and status of the PAX to track performance.   Feel free to reply with your lap count.   JVille and Swirly almost had it, and there were others hitting the final lap as time expired.  Great work by all!

    Announcements:

    Rugged Maniac Saturday and Mary Munford cleanup if you’re not doing the mud run.

    Bottom to Tap, Go Ruck, Pumpkin Run…

  • The day before tomorrow

    Five faithful attended a crisp morning workout at the Source of Truth.

    The thang:

    Mosey  near track for COP – 20 LBC, 20 Don Q, 20 Hillbillies, 20 Mountain Climbers, 20 LBCs

    Catch me if you can – partner up, first partner runs backwards on track, second partner does 5 merkins and runs to Partner 1. Switch, Partner 1 does 5 merkins, partner 2 runs backwards. Repeat until each partner has completed 25 merkins.

    Ring of Fire – 50 burpees. Each person does one burpee while the others TD Al Gore. rotate around up to 50.

    Mosey to basketball courts

    bear crawl suicide – bear crawl down, run back to the baseline

    Ring of Fire – 50 WWI situps total by increments of 1, PAX hold legs 6” of ground.

    Four Corners – entire 4 courts. 5 burpees, 10 derkins, 15 slow bending squats, 20 WWII situps.

    Ring of Fire – 100 Merkins total, increments of 2, PAX planks

    Four Corners – same as above, in reserves, running backwards

    Wilson’s Wife workout #45 – each person chooses one exercise for person to the left,and so on around circle. Rotate exercises until everyone has done each exercise.

    Standard suicide

    Mosey to flag.

    Moleskin – the mornings have certainly grown dark. Good workout today guys. Thanks to Splinter convincing the PAX that ‘running the second Four Corners back’ meant to literally run backwards as well. Caution, running backwards creates a hotbed for collisions, luckily all were avoided today, narrowly.

    Normal workouts this week. Same announcements for other events – Rugged Maniac Oct 10, Bottom to Tap Oct 17.

    YHC signed everyone up for the Go Ruck, better get ready. It was Honey Do’s idea.

  • Double Beast of Mary

    19 strong posted for a solid outing at RVA’s NoToll. Here’s how it went down:

    Thang:

    COP: 25 x SSH, 25 x Flutter Kicks, Capital Letters OYO, 15 x Merkins, 25 x Imperial Walkers

    Mosey to soccer parking lot…line up

    Modified King of Hearts:
    1) Forward lunges across entire parking lot
    2) 10 x Broad Jump Burpees + Bear Crawl to end
    3) 2 x Karaoke
    4) 2 x Backwards run

    Triple Check: lap around parking lot + pole smokers + donkey kicks & wall walkers on shed

    Double Beast of Mary: 12 exercises at each station rather than 6
    1) LBCs
    2) Capital Letters (12 letters each time)
    3) Freddie Mercuries
    4) WWI Situps

    Mosey back to Flag for COT

    Moleskin:

    Welcome to Art Vandelay. You arrived late and missed our disclaimer. Hope you enjoyed the workout and will be back out with us soon!

    Swirly & Sippy & Toga continue to set the pace on most of our field combinations…well done, gentlemen.

    During the lunges, Grizzly shared that the initial round of Capital Letters smoked him. YHC’s apologies for going back to them during the Beast. Should have done some Russian Twists for TYA.

    Increasing the sets from 6 to 12 on the Beast definitely makes a difference. Sadly, the Beast was not fully completed.

    Shooter saw a shooting star during the FlutterKicks in the first COP (go figure)…confirmed by BT.

    YHC’s car was not affected by the VW recall…and thank you for the concern, Toga…thankfully the familiar jet engine noise it makes will continue to delight the motorheads and Johnsonvilles of the RVA PAX. Fudd, a LIFO this morning, was also identified by a noise his car made when turning into a parking space. Maybe Lug Nut should check out our rides…

  • At least your cell is dry

    Seven waterlogged gents posted for the latest episode of #ThePunisheRVA.  We accomplished the following:

    Mosey around the sideyard near the outdoor classroom for initial COP with Imperial Walkers x 25, Russian Soldiers x 25, Don Quixotes x 25, and Snow Angels x 25

    Jog around to the front schoolyard for a second circle.  PAX does High Knees in place while one member runs around the outside of the circle.  Repeat until all have made one lap.  Next, do Butt Kickers in place with each PAX member makes a lap.  One more time with High Knees and once more with Butt Kickers.  Remain in circle and Side Skip in unison old-school wrestling practice-style.  Circle a couple of times one way.  Stop.  Circle a couple of times the other.

    Run to the parking lot for the Prison Cell routine.  Each PAX member picks a parking space and completes several rounds of exercises within that space.

    Round 1 – Windshield Wipers (Plank back and fro with feet in one place) for time followed by Prisoner Squats x 25, Merkins x 25, LBCs x 50, and SSHs x 25.  Touchdown Al Gore when done.

    Round 2 – Bear Crawl (back and forth) for time followed by Side Lunges (each side) x 25, Carolina Dry Docks x 25, Flutter Kicks (two count) x 50, and Jump Squats x 25.  TD Al Gore.

    Round 3 – Side Walk Plank (Plank around the space moving hands and feet) for time followed by Forward Lunges (both legs) x 25, Werkins x 25, Freddy Mercuries (two count) x 50, and High Knees in Place (two count) x 2.  TD Al Gore.  Run a lap around the parking lot.

    Round 4 – Windmills for time followed by Wide Squats x 25, Clerkins x 25, Hello Dollies x 50, and the Hop Forward / Lunge Back medley x 25.  TD Al and run a lap.

    Round 5 – Crab Walk (hither and yon) for time, then 180s x 25, Wide Grip Carolina Dry Docks x 25, Rosalitas x 50, and Mountain Climbers (two count) x 25.  TD Al.

    Finish in place by hitting the ground for Alabama Prom Dates x 25, then some brief stretching.

    Jog to the flag.

    Moleskin:

    Our time in the grass was limited, but the ground had drained well and the parking lot was essentially dry.  We’ll get on our backs in the grass following the next weekend rain, though.

    Announcements –

    As of this posting, the week’s Q slots have been filled – good work.

    There may still be a slot or two open for the Rugged Maniac this weekend – October 10th – contact TYA.

    DK is coordinating F3 Richmond participation and presence at the Bottom to Tap 5K on October 17th.  YHC is participating with his daughter that same day in an Inflatables 5K at Meadow Event Park.  The kid likes bouncy houses.

    Honey Do has encouraged participation in a Richmond Go Ruck event on October 24th.  YHC is expecting to participate.  Don’t think it is too late.

    Swirly is encouraging participation in the Great Pumpkin 5K on Saturday, October 31st.

    Also, the Bear Creek 10 miler will be held on December 6th.  A handful of our folks have signed up.

     

  • Sunday (Not) Trail Run

    3 Determined runners posted at the Pump House for a Sunday Morning trail run.  When YHC entered the parking lot at 659, two pax were patiently awaiting my arrival. Since it has rained straight for the past 5 days, we decided as a group to stay off the trail and hit the roads adjacent to the path.

    The Thang:

    Run over nickel bridge, run past the trail entrance to the top of the hill, left onto Riverside drive.  Follow riverside drive for about 3.75 miles, Cross back over the river at the Manchester Bridge.  Take a left onto Spring Street, follow Spring to end, take a right, go a few blocks, take a left onto Idlewood.  Follow Idlewood all the way to the lake, run around the lake, and back out to Boulevard.  Take a left onto Boulevard and back down to Pump House Road.

    Naked Moleskin

    Perfect weather for a run.  62 degrees, slow rain.  Winds were swirling a little bit but it mostly felt good.  Only time the wind was an issue was coming over the Manchester Bridge.  The wind was directly in our face and blowing hard.  It was brutal.

    Map My Run says we did 7.44 miles on the route today.  We kept up a pretty steady pace today and all stayed together the whole time.  Thanks to Offshore and Honey Do for the company.  Honey Do was able to join us today because his 1/2 marathon was cancelled because of the weather in Hampton.  After the run, we all talked about the upcoming F3 announced races.  Lots of interest in Bear Creek run and the Colonial 200 next year.   YHC broke out the running tights today.   Great gear for running in the rain…

    See you next week in the Gloom.

  • Respect the AO by Expansion

    53 degrees, nice breezes, and a much better than expected morning greeted 4 of the Faithful who were later joined by 2 of the strong DogPilers who swallowed the DoubleDip Pill. Here’s how it went:

    Parking Lot COP:

    x25 SSH IC
    X25 DQs IC
    x25 IWs IC
    x25 CDDs IC
    x25 Reverse Mountain Climbers IC
    x25 APDs IC

    Mosey to the paved Field Events Venue on upper GridIron for COP:

    x25 Slow Deep Squats IC
    x25 Alternating Reverse Lunges IC
    x25 APDs IC
    Superman Holds

    Mosey to the AO high ground between upper GridIron and Pouncey Tract Road (the “High Ground”):

    Beast – Merkins, CDDs, Merkins, CDDs, Merkins, and CDDs with intervening planks for total 108 Merkins and 108 CDDs

    Still at the High Ground:

    x25 PLTs x2
    Protractor Penmanship ALL CAPS OYO
    x25 Hello Dollies IC
    x25 PLTs x2
    x25 APDs IC
    x26 PLTs (alternating legs) x1
    Merkin ISO Holds to Planks to Pikes (rinse and repeat x3)
    Up position APD with leg extensions and heel walk backs
    Superman
    x25 CDDs IC

    Mosey back to Parking Lot

    COT:

    Announcements: October events including Bottom to Tap 3-Miler, GoRuck, Rugged Manic, and Great Pumpkin Run; The Colonial in April.

    Discussion re Q coverage needs – DK confirming availability to Q next Saturday at GridIron; also need Q at GridIron for 10/17/15.  Signups on Google Sheets under Schedule of F3 website for F3 RVA.

    Prayer concerns – unspoken

    Strong Groh-led prayer concluded the BOM huddle.

    Moleskin:

    The AO expanded this morning with a venture to the High Ground to avoid any turf damage to the football and soccer fields.  Groh, DK, and J’ville – senstive and wise PAX?  Or mud-adverse?  In any event, the High Ground proved to be a solid site for the Beast.

    A Burpee-free workout today (except for DK who self-imposed after he caused a workout disruption by kindly arranging for the gloveless Groh to become gloved).

    It seems that Honey Do and Chum Bucket DoubleDipped because of their affection for PLTs – they were not disappointed (and pushed them out rapidly).

    Coffeteria discussions covered lots of topics but one of the more interesting concerned the variety of dispositions brought by J’Ville to the workouts.  It was observed that J’ville was highly determined today, exhibiting excellent Merkins and CDDs form during the Beast.  There ensued discussion about the “angry J’Ville” (usually reserved for his Qs), the “mellow J’ville” and the intervening degrees of J’villeness.  #JekyllandHyde.

    Colossians 3:23