Tag: Spider Run

A perfect 10 showed today for a nice run in the neighborhood.  The humidity was relatively low today.

All routes departed towards the Commons and up the big hill to the main entrance.  Taking a right on Towana and a right on Henri to Grove.  Left on Grove.

4s take a left on Maple to Patterson.  5s take a left on Granite to Patterson, and 6s take a left on Bunting to Patterson.  All routes take Patterson West to Honaker.  Take a left and cut across Three Chopt to take Boatwright down the hill, past the Robins Center, across the parking lot to the late.  5s take a lap around the lake.

Swiper took us out.

NMS:

YHC enjoyed a return to the Spider Run.  The Pax enjoyed getting the hills out of the way up front with a nice and fast downhill at the end.  Everyone made it back though Wedding Singer took a detour and headed out in the direction of Short Pump.  Fortunately, he made his way back to the SF.

Good discussion after the run catching up on the latest Pax news, anticipation of the BRR, GNR concerts, and thoughts going out to Saab’s speedy recovery.  Other Pax were spotted with another running group.  Corporate took notice.

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?

9 Runners arrived at Spider Run for a 70 and Sunny run in RVA.

The Routes

6ish Miles, Head to Westham Parkway to Westham Station, Hit Panorama up & down, run across the bridge, do the cloverleaf, and back to the bat cave with a loop around the lake option.

5ish Miles, Same as the 6 Mile with removing Panorama.

4ish Miles, Same as 5 miles, just clear the water under the bridge.

COT Best Shot took us out

Moleskin:

Arriving at the AO, YHC noticed Wedding Singer had opted not to have a repeat victory in the Home Run Derby, but instead focused on his training, with a brief intro of the route, Singer was off before the clock struck 0530 to ensure he got in his extra miles.

Toga’s smiling face ran up to the group just before the actual start time, YHC had just explained all routing options; Toga kindly, politely and graciously inquired if anyone was had signed up to Q. YHC explained the route again, and Toga commented that as long as he could see and or hear another PAX member he would be ok. When YHC arrived at the finish line, a positive and enthusiastic Toga was giving instruction on either Stretching, YOGA, or how to test the elasticity of his shorts; laying on curb with some odd pelvis infection, which he even claimed was a great exercise when coupled with Kegels.

Best Shot and Scrappy were at the AO early, Best Shot gave Scrappy(his 2.0) the instruction to run with Splinter if he wanted to put in six miles. Scrappy opted to run with Best Shot as he came to the bridge; he thought he was going to puke had he tried to stay with the lead group; no splashing was seen or heard.

Announcements:

Hump day Happy Hour at the Answer tomorrow night. Come say good bye to Toga, again…

Bleeder out

Eleven RVA and one lost Davillian pax joined up at UR for a beautiful stroll across the bridge.

The thang:

4 milers – out UR Drive and across bridge. Run to west intersection of Southampton and Riverside, return ( or just cloverleaf the off ramp as Bleeder mentioned).

5 milers – out UR Drive and across bridge, take off ramp and turn left to intersection, turn left up Southampton to Cherokee, return to UR.

6 milers – out UR Drive and across bridge, head west on Riverside Dr to Hickory and up to Cherokee, turn around at Cherokee, back to intersection of Southampton, go straight up Southampton to Cherokee, return to UR.

YHC’s first non-bootcamp style Q for VQ week. Without TYA checking on the six, YHC tends to get lost in the maze of the UR back roads. So the plan was to go where YHC drives every morning, and not get lost, hence the Singer Stroll. Southampton is a nice .4-.5 mile uphill run to Cherokee. The six milers went rogue a bit from the desired path but running is still running when you are….running.

Good to see Saab getting his legs back under him. Swirly and son picked it up a level on the return.

Need a ‘V’Q for Saturday Dogpile. Tobit’s VQ tomorrow at WDog.

-Singer

and through the woods; eight regulars, including 1 Spider Run n00b, convened for an oldie but goodie route.  No one had the Q so democracy prevailed.

The Route
BT was voted class president and guided us across the river and up the hill to Cherokee.  The Bat Cave was avoided due to recent rains, adding on a little distance to the typical 5 mile route.  6 milers added a quick excursion up Rustic Road.  Everyone turned around and headed back to the start.

Moleskin
Welcome Flatline to Spider Run.  This route is our typical recovery run as it is about as flat as it gets.  YHC is sure that Singer will have some hills in store for next week’s VQ week.

TYA is on a quest to replace a pair of shoes every month with the amount of miles he is putting in on a regular basis.  Today, he opted for a dive in the river (or at least it appeared as if he did).

Great route today gentlemen.

Announcements
7/1 – Launch of f3rva.com
7/11 – No Toll @ Huguenot Baseball Fields
Plenty of Q spots open this week and next.

Nine fearless runners plus El Duderino himself convened at the commons for what felt like a run through peanut butter.  Singer confused himself and no one else had the Q so YHC grabbed it.  Swirly and YHC were on the same page which made today’s route an easy call.

The Route
Mosey to the intersection of Westhampton and UR Drive.  Partner up for tag team.  Partners run in opposite directions toward the alumni center.  When they met they turned and came back to Westhampton / UR Drive.  Repeat, this time trying to “beat your partner to the spot”.

Mosey to the base of Gateway & Richmond Way.  Pick a new partner and repeat.  Run in opposing directions up Gateway and Richmond.  Meet somewhere near the football stadium, switch directions and return.  Repeat, trying to beat your partner to the spot.

Mosey back to the start and finish with a quick clockwise loop around the lake.

Numberrama, namearama and Marv took us out.

Moleskin
YHC thinks Singer had it right by announcing after the run, “what a beautiful day for a swim in the lake”.  Surely the humidity added 20% distance today.

YHC enjoyed watching Marv take on Grunt in the 100YD dash at the end of the run.  Unfortunately, given YHC was dragging ass, YHC was unable to accurately report on the winner of the sprint.  Grunt was smiling and certainly looked proud.  Marv likely has a different accounting.

For big data purposes, YHC would like to report we made it 0.39 miles before TYA took us to the gutter, earning the title of this backblast.

Announcements
– Taxi Cab is proud to say he can now run to a workout
– Still looking for someone to lead Saturday @ CVille

Best wishes to The Dude and his continued recovery.  Kick back, recover and have a white russian.  You’ll be better than ever before you know it.

Splinter out

Thirteen Spider Run veterans and one Davillian showed up for perfect June running weather at the lake.  After doing interval the previous day, YHC was ready for something different.  This is what occurred.

The Route

All do the 3 mile loop – Roselawn, left on Towana, left onto Campus Drive, left onto Boatwright, left onto Keller, Right onto Crenshaw Way, left onto UR Drive

6 milers – Repeat the 3 mile loop twice

5 milers – After completing the 3 mile loop, take Roselawn to Towana to Campus to Richmond Way.  Then take a lap around the lake.

4 milers – After completing the 3 mile loop, take Gateway to Richmond Way or go around the lake several times.

NMS

After Qing an 800 repeat track workout on Monday at River Run, YHC decided it was best to avoid another track workout or hill repeats.  For this reason, a route was picked that took the PAX throughout the University of Richmond campus.  Using MapMyRun, YHC selected a route that would take the PAX on both sides of the lake. He had not had a chance to test it out.  When it was presented to the PAX, Splinter seemed to understand the route.  SAAB instantly said he was not doing the route.  At 5:30, the PAX took off.  It is believed that most PAX members completed the first 3 mile loop.  As we came together at 6:15 AM and did the Number-O-Rama and Name-O-Rama, the question was asked, “Where’s SAAB?”  He was not back.  Nobody had seen him.  Did a pack of dogs chase him.  The question is still unanswered.  YHC guesses that SAAB got the runs and kept going.

Thank you to Splinter and Marv for guiding YHC throughout the route today.  Weather was amazing and although YHC does not have a chance to join the PAX at Spider Run often, he always looks forward to the opportunity.  Outstanding job by all.

Phonics Out!

Announcements:

• Cornhole & Rock ‘N Roll, a ReeseStrong Childhood Cancer event, is this Saturday, June 10 at Marty’s Grill in Mechanicsville.  The first band starts at 11 am.  The cornhole tournament starts at 12:30 PM.  To register or for more information, click here or see Phonics.
• Fudd is also hosting a party (M’s invited) at his house that night. RSVP to his preblast.
• VQ week starts June 26.
• June 17 – Marv is leading a 2.0 friendly workout at 7 AM following the 6 AM Dogpile bootcamp.

Eleven gathered in the grey pre-dawn darkness for this week’s iteration of Spider Run.  The PAX gathered near the commons, asked who had Q, heard the plan and then contemplated quickly driving over to Heartbreak for an alternative choice.  Nonetheless, here’s what transpired.

Warm Up
– 1 mile.  Wander down to the golf course, head up Ridgeway, left on Roselawn and meet at the bottom of Towana

The Route
– Hill repeats up Towana.  Run up for 1 minute then recover back to the bottom of Towana in 1:45.  Repeat 8x.
– Final loop up Gateway and around by the football stadium.  A few took an extra loop around the lake.

Moleskin
YHCs watch had it at 5 miles.  Your miles may vary.  Hill repeats continue to be a crowd favorite amongst the Spider Run regulars.  Two Can questioned his return to Spider Run this week, Fudd contemplated leaving and going to Heartbreak, Bleeder’s smile turned upside down when YHC announced we would be staying together today.  Singer wanted to get a head start today but YHC wouldn’t let him.  Head starts would do no good today.

Lug Nut continues to unfortunately just miss the PAX upon departure from the Commons.  Perhaps this is a well timed excuse for the Nut to pursue his own route.  YHC is very thankful that Lug Nut announced the football stadium was open today.  We will have to keep an eye out to see if this is a trend.  If so, perhaps we will discover a Spider Run workout hated even more than hill repeats.

The entire PAX cruised through 8 repeats this morning.  That is except Fudd.  Upon descending #5 YHC noticed Fudd was carrying a fist full of leaves.  When we got to the bottom Fudd disappeared into the woods, resulting in a miss of leg #6.  Fudd reappeared for #7, sans fist full of leaves.

Bleeder and Two Can stole the show on #7 and #8.  Bleeder led the pack on #7, leaning into the hill and crushing it.  Two Can attempted the same on #8 but flamed out near the top.  Way to push it guys!

Swirly was very astute to recognize that our recovery time used to be 2 minutes.  YHC dropped it to assess the impact.  By all accounts it was successful.  Keep pushing it guys.

Announcements
– Respond to Fudd if you can make his party.  He promises to have plenty of sausage.  Two Can will be swiping to even the numbers.
– Mechanicsville takeover next week.  They may take over the Q but don’t let them show you up!
– VQ week end of June.  Take the opportunity to Q somewhere you have never Q’d before.

Splinter out.

Although it was raining in some areas of RVA, the weather at UR was perfect as 12 men presented themselves for a run around our fair city.

Route: Head out toward UR entrance on River Road, cross bridge, head East toward Stratford

4 milers: Return somewhere between Stratford and the bridge, depending upon one’s mood and interest in adding more distance.5 milers: Take Stratford to Matoken until it “crests”.  6 milers: Take aforementioned route all the way to Shirley then head back down toward river and return. Add one loop around lake at the end.

NMS: YHC had selfish reasons for choosing to Q today given his aches and pains from a very active weekend. Upon hearing what TYA and Swirly were planning had they gotten to the spreadsheet first, YHC was more than pleased by his decision to Q.

YHC swagged the six mile distance so he appreciated Marv’s “10 dollar” app providing the correct distance so we knew to add the extra lap at the end.

YHC was concerned his instructions would result in some lost PAX, but all found their way…despite not finding the “crest” – which YHC was sure existed if one just looked (ran) hard enough.

It was good to see Grunt (Swirly’s 2.0) out there.  He went on to inform the PAX that Swirly is intense about everything he does…working out, eating, sitting, etc….The PAX worked to contain their look of surprise.

Anyway, not much else to report aside from the fact that on this day on history, Bonnie & Clyde and Captain Kidd all met their demise at the hand of law enforcement.

Announcements:

Saab will be carting some PAX to CVille this Saturday. Given those who have already tossed their names in, and YHC’s ever-shrinking transportation option, the term Clown-Car will be more than appropriate.

Convergence this Monday. If you are in town then attendance is expected…REMEMBER: Corporate knows when you are fartsacking, and knows when you’re awake (and not posting like you’re supposed to), so make sure you are there for goodness sake.

Saab abides