Category: Richmond, VA

  • To a Mouse*

    8 men of purpose got their day started as the shoveled Stars & Stripes flapped gloriously in the wind. Most of the pre-planning went out the window; the Q made on-the-fly adjustments to still meet the objectives of the day:
    – No rolled ankles from uneven ground in the gloom
    – Get a good workout while not rolling around in the mud
    – Pull-ups somewhere along the way

    THE THANG:

    Mosey past the Carillon to the second turnabout circle.
    COP
    – SSH x25
    – IW x20
    – Alabama Ass Kickers x15
    – Russian Soldiers x20
    – Merkins x10
    Mosey around the reservoir to the tennis courts.
    King of Spades Tennis Court Beast (plank up after each)
    – Suicide
    – Burpees x6 x6
    – Merkins x6 x6
    – Flutter Kicks x6 x6
    – Carolina Dry Docks x6 x6
    – Rosalitas x6 x6
    – Squats x6 x6
    LBCs x25 then mosey to the Vita Course in search of a place to do pull ups.
    @ the monkey bars, each of the PAX do 2 sets of pull-ups. Max # +5 with help
    Mosey back to shovel flag
    Russian Twists x25
    COT – prayer for healing of the Portland community and our country

    MOLESKIN:

    Well done this morning, fellas. As mentioned at the beginning, YHC would typically have not shown up for a cold/rainy workout, but having signed up as Q previously this brotherhood was good accountability to alter that norm. It’s been >1 yr for YHC as part of the Richmond PAX and it is an honor and privilege to be a part of it, and to have made many new friends in that time.
    Good conversation & fellowship at the local Coffeteria afterward. Among other items, the joys of jury duty, speeding tickets, and vendor pricing were discussed.
    *http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/the-best-laid-schemes-of-mice-and-men.html

  • Magic Legs

    11 faithful arrived in the gloom to challenge the weather today.

    THE THANG

    Starting out toward Three Chopt on Grove Ave, Turn around, making 4, 5, 6 mile loops, respectively, turning at Malvern, Roseneath, and the Boulevard.

    Moleskin

    Continuing in the Forest Gump Genre, “We ran in every type of rain there is: Stinging Rain, Big old Fat Rain, Rain that flew in sideways, and Rain that came straight up from underneath.” Several of the PAX today debated the wardrobe choices with the weather, BT and Toga,both, opted for the stealth mode Black ensemble. Although, Toga’s prison striped reflectors were a nice touch. YHC with the usual bright reflective jacket, and other bright or reflective clothing. Saab with his trademark signature Neon Green Armband, was the subtler choice. Lug Nut opted for the usual F3 apparel, but added the Purple glowing stick hung from his neck. Of course, only TYA could pull of the natural luminesence of his Magic Legs, combined with the vintage 1970’s Pre inspired shorts.

    Announcements:

    Oct 10th – RUgged Maniac
    Oct 17th – 5k Bottom to Tap
    Oct 24th – Go Ruck
    Oct 31st – Great Pumpkin 5k

  • The British are coming!!!

    16 Dry and Driven men emerged from their Fartsack to attack the day (and the british) at 45 MOM.  The weather was nearly perfect.  60 degrees, slight rain, no stars.  YHC was hoping for much worse weather, man do I like it when the gloom gets gloomy!!!!  Despite the lack of driving rain, the PAX left 45MOM drenched and muddy.  A great time was had.  Here is how it went down.

    The Thang

    Mosey to the basketball courts, Paul Revere Starter (1 if by land two if by sea, so everything is either and 11 count or 22 count).  Merkins x 11, SSH x 22, Don Quixote x 22, Burpees OYO x 11, LBC x 22, and Merkins x 11

    The BBC, ascending.  On the tennis court start at the baseline.  Bear crawl to the net, run to other baseline and down the 4 courts, Crab walk to the net, run to the baseline and across the 4 courts, 1 Burpee.  Repeato, adding one  burpee each time, until you reach ten.  Plank for 6, then all mosey to the tree line.

    Pair up for Double Decker 11’s.  Teams alternate piggy back carry to next tree, each team does 20 Merkins, 2 WWII sit ups at tree, piggy back to next tree, 18 merkins and 4 sit ups, repeato until 2 merkins and 20 WWII sit ups.  Mosey back to the shovel flag for COT and inspirational dedication by Fudd.

    Moleskin

    We got to exercise in the basketball court area today.  A rare treat as the Tomatoes are usually hunkered down in that space.  Since they took refuge under the pavilion, it gave us the opportunity to use their area.  Nice place to do a warmup, but we will cede the area back to the tomatoes when it is not raining out.

    YHC had been wanting to bring back the BBC exercise again so I decided on a British theme for the workout.  It seemed even more appropriate given the weather that we had yesterday.  I was going to try to pull out my best british accent while counting cadence, but given that it would most likely sound like an indian accent, I decided to spare the PAX.

    Sippy slayed the field during the BBC exercise, lapping YHC twice during exercises.  Fudd and I had an epic battle with Swirly and ?? during the Double Decker 11’s.  Lot of fun trying to catch them.  Thanks to Fudd for pounding out a majority of the merkins at an amazing clip.

    Announcments

    Rugged Maniac next Saturday, a couple of spots still left see TYA

    10/17, Bottom to Tap.  F3 will have a booth.  Thanks DK

    10/31 Great Pumpkin Run.  F3 will have a booth.  Thanks Abacus

    Pre blast for colonial 200 is up on the site.  Commit early.  Should be a great time.

     

  • Bryce Harper Should Have Run This Out

    Three strong gathered at the Source of Truth for an upper body beatdown.  For the record, the temp was a cool (sic) 71 degrees with a nice crisp 100% humidity.  Perfect weather for the final day of September.

    Here’s how it went down:

    COP
    20 – Don Quixote’s
    10 – Merkins
    20 – Imperial Walkers
    10 – Werkins
    20 – LBCs
    10 – Travolta Merkins
    20 – Copperhead Squats
    10 – Staggered Merkins (right high, left low)
    20 – Side Lunges
    10 – Staggered Merkins (left high, right low)

    Mosey to the well lit baseball field for a Diamond Circuit. Start at home plate in plank. One person does exercise on the way to first base. When he reaches first base the second person comes out of plank and exercises his way to first. While second person is working his way to first base, first person does exercise on the base. When the second person reaches first the first person moves to second. Third person follows in sequence. Exercises were as follows:

    – Lunge to first base
    – Carolina Dry Docks at first
    – Crab crawl to second
    – Squats at second
    – Bear crawl to third
    – Diamond Merkins (naturally) at 3rd
    – Crawl bear home
    – Burpees at home

    Repeato x3. If you don’t understand I created some ASCII-art to help the visualize the pain.

                                Squats @ 2nd
                                /\
                               /\/\
                              /    \
                             /      \
        Bear Crawl to 3rd - /        \ - Crab Walk to 2nd
                           /          \
                          /            \
                         /              \
                        /      ____      \
Diamond Merkins @ 3rd  / \    |____|    / \ - Carolina Dry Docks @1st
                       \ /              \ /
                        \                /
                         \              /
                          \            /
         Crawl Bear Home - \          / - Lunge to 1st
                            \        /
                             \      /
                              \ __ /
                               \  /
                                \/
                         Burpees @ Home

    Mosey to benches for a quick round of double tabata (bench merkins & dips)

    Mosey to SF for 4.5MOM
    20 – LBCs
    20 – Freddy Mercuries
    10 (2 count) – Pickle Pounders
    20 (2 count) – Russian Twists

    Moleskin
    Light turnout but strong effort from the PAX. YHC took the liberty of formulating a baseball themed workout given this is the final week of the regular season. After the Punisher and No Toll this week YHC couldn’t handle too many leg exercises so the focus was above the waist. Lug Nut and Two Can impressed me with their dedication during the crawling exercises between bases of the Diamond Circuit. It may have been a mirage, but those bases seemed to get farther apart each inning.

    YHC learned some new things about the two dedicated PAX members that showed up at SoT. Lug Nut disclosed that his favorite exercise is none other than the burpee and he can do it better than anyone else in the PAX. YHC thought of obliging and throwing in 4.5 minutes of burpees instead of mary but stuck with the original plan. Pickle Pounder was too interesting of an exercise not to try out.

    Two Can came out with a vengeance. However, at some point during the third inning YHC think Two Can swallowed a SodaStreamTM as there were volumes of carbonation erupting from Two Can.

    Nice work guys.  SOT is a great AO for a sports themed workout.

  • Pi tasting

    Ten gathered on the well-groomed grounds of Linwood Holton Elementary School for the last September ’15 edition of #ThePunisheRVA.  It went down like this:

    Mosey around the western edge of the school and around to the back for the initial COP with Imperial Walkers x 25, LBCs x 25, SSH x 25, and Planks with Rotation x 25.

    Jog around the eastern side to the front lawn for brief speedwork along the width of the gym with High Knees down and back, Butt Kickers down and back, 50% Sprints down and back, 75% Sprints down and back and down and back again, and 100% Sprints down.

    Jog back around to the western schoolyard for a Taste of Pi.  Using the first 51 digits of the Pi constant, the PAX alternated Burpees, Merkins, Two Count Flutterkicks, and Squats – 3 Burpees to start, 1 Merkin, 4 Flutterkicks, 1 Squat, and back to Burpees again to complete 5 as per the next Pi digit.  And so on.

    Lunge walk to the outdoor classroom for Lindsays (40s) – alternating between Dips and Rosalitas.

    Quick mosey around the garden for one last COP mixing in Up Downs, more LBCs, and Alabama Prom Dates.

    Return to the ShovelFlag.

    Moleskin –

    The PAX insisted on doing 10 reps when the zero digit came up in Pi – or at least TYA insisted on it.  Need to thank Mrs. TYA for providing Mr. TYA with the wake up call.

    Toga wore a crimson Alabama shirt to the workout surely hoping for the Prom Date call later in the workout.

    Announcements – regular workouts this week.  Rugged Maniac mid-October and Go Ruck in late October.  Ask TYA about Rugged Maniac and Honey Do about Go Ruck.  On 10/17, there is a run from downtown to Church Hill and back again – there will be an F3 tent – check with Donor Kebab.  Correct me in the comments fellas.

  • Helter Skelter Elevens

    Fourteen of the faithful posted in the humid dark at #NoToll. The lush fields had been saturated by several days of rain, and YHC (Johnsonville) elected to keep things mostly on asphalt in order to avoid harming the AO.  This is how it went down, more or less:

    COP:
    50x SSH
    25x slow squats
    10x merkins
    25x LBC

    Mosey to back parking area.

    Helter Skelter Elevens — Pax split in halves, each starting in a separate corner of the parking lot. Half #1 did elevens starting with 10 burpees, then a run counter-clockwise to the opposite corner of parking lot, then 1 bicycle, then a run counter-clockwise to starting corner for 9 burpees, etc. Half #1 did the same, but on the other pair of corners and with clockwise runs.

    Mosey to grass between field by shelter.

    COP:
    Plyometric Lindsays (i.e. fortys) alternating between tuck-jumps and butt-kickers.

    Mary:
    25x WWI situps
    10x dolly
    10x rosalita

    Mosey to SF.
    COT.

    Moleskin:

    Sippy Cup clearly dominated the Helter Skelter Elevens. DK also had a very strong showing in the other group, lapping YHC. The remainder of the PAX finished fairly close together.

    There was no mumble-chatter at all during the set of Plyometric Lindsays, hopefully suggesting that YHC provided the Pax with a sufficient challenge. YHC may have missed something, however, since YHC had slipped well past the point of seeing black spots.

    Great job getting through a challenging workout! The schedule this week is:

    WED: Source of Truth featuring Splinter
    THU: 45 Minutes of Mary featuring TYA
    FRI: RAMM featuring Bleeder
    SAT: DogPile featuring Loose Goose and GridIron featuring Earthworm

    Respectfully, J-ville

  • Preblast – Colonial 200

    Ok, the BRR was awesome.  It was a great challenge physically and mentally and a hell of a good time.  Given that I wanted to keep my fitness level up and better prepare for next year’s BRR, I searched far and wide to find another relay in the Spring.  The good news is that I found one.  The Colonial 200, from Charlottesville to Williamsburg.  Not quite the elevation changes that we experienced in NC, but still a good challenge and should be a great run.  I am hoping that we have enough interest to get one or two teams together for this years race.  Let me know if you are interested.

    TYA

    http://www.colonial200.com/

  • Lonely on the Trail

    Rain was in the forecast, but the rain never came.  Three strong and fast posted at the Pump House parking lot this morning for a nice trail run.

    The Thang:

    Cross the bridge, start on the Buttermilk trail.  Cross over at Belle Isle, run the perimeter of Belle and run back on the Northbank trail.

    Moleskin

    When YHC pulled into the parking lot at 652 this morning, there were no other cars in the parking lot.  Offshore pulled in a few minutes later followed by Saab at 7 am on the nose.  I was glad to have the company for the run, especially two rabbits to chase the whole morning.   Chase I did, but I never did quite catch up.  Thanks to Wilson and Offshore for doubling back for me every mile or so.  I appreciated the motivation in front of me.

    YHC had to leave shortly after the run this morning so I could get down to the world championships.  I was in such as rush that I realized halfway out the parking lot that my phone was not in the car with me.  I knew I had just checked the time on the phone so it couldn’t be too far.  I searched the car, no phone.  I drove back to where I had parked, no phone.  I looked around the parking lot and the whole path I had driven…no phone.  I re-searched the car and trunk…no phone.  Where the hell is it.  My maiden in shining armor pulled in beside my car when I was mid panic.  I politely asked if she could call my cell so I could locate it.  She made the call, and quickly pointed to my back window where my phone was sitting.  Thank you unknown lady…I appreciate your help.  Just as an aside for those unmarried PAX, this approach is not a bad way to get a young ladies phone number.

    See you in the gloom next week.

  • No Sunshine Patriots

    Five of the Faithful and posted this morning at the GridIron with Donor Kebab planting the ShovelFlag.  We were joined at halftime by two committed Double-Dippers who, after a solid beat down at DogPile, wanted some more (or, in the case of one, thirsted for the post-workout coffee fellowship).  The PAX got a reprieve from the heavy rain forecast and instead enjoyed a refreshing temperature and a light breeze.  YHC took the Q on the fly so reserve is made for errors and omissions in that which follows.

    THANG:

    Mosey to the front near side of Short Pump Middle School for COP:

    x20 IWs IC
    x20 DQs IC
    x20 SSHs IC
    x20 Seal Jacks IC
    x20 Plank Jacks IC
    x20 Predator Jacks IC
    x20 APDs IC
    x20 Reverse Mountain Climbers IC
    Superman Holds

    Mosey to front of school for Triple Check – Wall Chairs, Planks, and Runs (rinse and repeat for 3 sets)

    Stay on curb for x20 Decline Merkins, x20 Incline Merkins, and x20 Dips OYO (rinse and repeat for 2 sets)
    Carolina Dry Docks OYO to failure

    Mosey to Pillars:

    x25 PLT, All CAPS Protractor, and x25 PLT
    x20 APDs IC
    X20 Reverse Mountain Climbers IC
    x25 PLT, All CAPS Protractor, and x25 PLT
    x20 Squats IC
    x20 Alternating Lunges IC
    Squat Jumps with Pillar Pavilion Roof touch OYO to failure
    x3 Merkin ISOs
    Planks to Pikes (rinse and repeat for 3 sets)
    Pillar Cross Beam dead man hangs to failure (rinse and repeat for 2 sets)

    Slaughter Finisher – x20 Burpees OYO

    Lunge Walk

    Mosey back to ShovelFlag

    COT:

    Announcements:

    Discussion re Q coverage needs – no man is indispensable, every man is equipped to lead.

    Donor Kebab reported on Bottom to Tap 3-Miler on October 17.  DK is the czar on this – see him for detail and commitments.

    GoRuck on October 23 and 24 – Honey Do is the man to speak to about this event.

    Rugged Maniac – talk to Wilson

    Prayer concerns – blessings of wisdom and discernment requested for our children; unspoken concerns acknowledged.

    YHC closed the BOM with prayer.

    Moleskin:

    Solid second posting by London – well done (especially after the disappointing Wahoo showing last night)!  And bring your in town visitors next week as FNGs.  Is there a youth movement afoot at the GridIron?  Great EH by DK!

    Johnsonville must have really liked last week’s Convergence because he was chomping at the bit for a GridIron kickoff (or a pre-game gut-check) a good 20 minutes before 0700.  Though not quite as early, Chum Bucket posted in plenty of time for more good morning pleasantries than generally permitted.

    Conspiracy and Wilson double-dipped and were “exclusive” by partnering up on the PLTs.  That’s good because YHC has observed among the PAX some maneuvering to avoid pairing with Conspiracy given his proclivity for throwing down some “optional” obliques.

    Coffeteria at Daily Grind – Iron sharpens Iron.  Also, the PAX include a couple “go to guys” with exquisite and sensitive spousal gift giving skills.  DK and London: thanks for the show and tell – there may be hope now for my M and the Ms of other PAX who suffer from gift-giving impairment syndrome.

    Stand Firm!

  • Soggy wet crunchy Frogs

    8 faithful overlooked the rain and poor forecast to show up for a Saturday morning in the gloom.

    THE THANG

    Mosey to the roundabout circle on the other side of the Carillon for Warm up COP.

    25 SSH , 20 Flutterkicks , 20 Imperials Walkers, 10  slow 4 count Merkins

    Mosey to front of Carillon and split up into 2 teams for Circle 2 Circle:

    Each starts at a runs to one of the roundabout circle and does a round of exercises listed on the Weinke.  Also in running between the 2 circles the team does 5 Burpees when they pass the Lamppost on the path.  After 4 rounds the team runs to top of Carillon to finish with exercise on the Weinke there.

    Circle Round 1:  30 Merkins , 40 WW I Situps

    Circle 2:   30 Dips , 25 Crunchy Frogs

    Circle 3:  25 Derkins (feet on the curb) , 50 Russian Twists

    Circle 4:  Partner up & Wheelbarrow across diameter of Circle each man, switch and WB back ,  10 Burpees

    Run to Carillon –  1st team in – 20 Flutterkicks , last team 30 Flutterkicks & 5 Burpees

    Mosey to Amphitheater for Triple Check –

    1st man – Elbow plank , 2nd Man – Dips , 3rd – Run up Amphitheater steps and back down

    Complete 4 Rounds.  After the 4 rounds YHC took a moment to properly demo the Crunchy Frog and the PAX joined for a set of 20.

    Mosey to Love Hill:

    Pair up – 1st man up the hill, partner start exercise up the hill:

    Exercise 1 – Lunges , Exercise 2 – Bear Crawl , Exercise 3 – Crab Walk

    Mosey back to the Flag for BOM and announcements

    MOLESKIN

    YHC was impressed to see a good PAX on a rainy morning, especially glad to see Aisle 5 back at Dogpile, he has been missed.  We had 7 to start and then Conspiracy joined us as we started Circle 2 Circle(C2C).  Before we started Wilson requested the PAX spend plenty of time on the ground to soak up all the gloom so YHC was happy to oblige by changing to flutterkicks in the COP to start.  This was a good start but YHC forgot to demo the Crunchy Frog exercise for later in the C2C which would come back to bite Team 1 later in C2C as team 2 improvised to X-Ys.  When both teams reached the Carillon both teams knocked out the 5 extra Burpees, good Stuff!

    YHC was not sure that Triple Check would work in the Amphitheater due to darkness so moved it to later in the beatdown.  Having 8 PAX for Triple check was troublesome for YHC as he is not capable of math before morning coffee consumption but the PAX still knocked it out.

    Love Hill was a great way to finish and lots of good mumblechatter throughout, especially about the UCI championships this weekend.  If you have not caught a race this week you need to this today or tomorrow.  Goldberg shared with YHC he posted after a long shift and little sleep, now that is dedication to shrug off the fartsack on a nasty rainy morning.

    ANNOUNCEMENTS

    Bottom to Tap is 10/17.  Doner Kebab is the man to talk with on this.

    Rugged Maniac is 10/10. Talk to TYA if interested.