Tag: Spider Run

9 fleet footed warriors posted for a Tuesday Spider run. Weather was 70 and sunny.

The Thang:

Down the hill to the path that follows CCV. Follow the path until the end and head across the Huguenot bridge. Take Riverside drive west until it hits Cherokee. Turn back around and head back to the shovel flag following the same route.

NMM:

This was the second time YHC did this route. The first time I got terribly lost coming back. Today, I carefully watched the first several turns to make sure I knew the route, fortunately, I got it right this time. Pucker was the only one that had a little difficulty with the assigned route. When he hit Cherokee, he thought we were supposed to run down Cherokee and back along Huguenot road. Fortunately, Seymour rescued Pucker and they came back following the right route. Upon reflection of Pucker’s misinterpretation of the route, I got more confused. He must have been really baffled when he saw the faster PAX doubling back after hitting the top of the hill at Cherokee?

All the PAX had a interesting interaction with one of the bikers out for an early morning ride. The biker felt compelled to tell each and every one of us that a black outfit in the AM was not appropriate. From what I heard, we all let him know that we appreciated the advice and feedback and moved on to our days.

Great to see Sippy back out at the run this morning. He tweaked this knee two fridays ago on RAMM. He was nursing it a little today, but looked strong as usual. YHC and several other PAX learned that Sippy nursing an injury is better than us at our full strength.

Welcome to Zima. He posted today for the first time to F3 on advice from his brother in Raleigh. I’m not sure he knew today was a run, but he easily went along with the group. Zima is a cofounder of Hardywood brewery, so Marv quickly chimed in with three suggested names: Schlitz, Zima, and Bartles and James. He asked for his advice/preference and Zima was born. After the workout, I asked Zima for his email address/etc. He gave me one of his business cards. As a result, I learned a new word. Lima is a certified Cicerone. I honestly had no idea there was such a thing as a Cicerone, never mind that one could be certified in it. The good news is that F3 RVA now has a certified Cicerone in its ranks. Lab Rat, you will have to bring some of your home brew for the Cicerone to sample.

Announcements

Convergence on Saturday at 7am at Dogpile, Coffeetaria at Ellwoods post workout.

7 runners + one on two wheels posted for a swampy Spider Run.  Most roads into the Commons were closed, providing some logistic challenges for most of the PAX.  Eventually circle up at the Commons then head out for some hill fun.

The Thang

Mosey around the lake, past the baseball field, up fraternity row, short loop around Dartmoor before the long slow slog up Horsepen to Patterson.  Back down Ridge Top to our favorite Spider Run hill Chandler for interval repeats.  1 minute up Chandler at 80% with a slow mosey back down to the bottom in 1:45.  Repeat for a total of 6 iterations, meeting or exceeding previous distance.  Up and down Gardiner and cut back through campus to the start.

Prayers for the PAX by YHC.

Moleskin

The university must be close to finishing the road repairs as school will start up soon.  Nonetheless, closures this week confused the PAX.  That is except for one.  Copernicus the Pathfinder found his way, driving up right as we were about to depart.

Fudd proved that he does not discriminate how he shares his love as there was a clear “Hey Roger” from an individual on a bike with a slightly deeper voice than usual.  The conversation that ensued cannot be posted.

Hills today were brutal.  YHC enjoys intervals as it helps not only with tolerance to hills but also contributes to a speed workout.

Splinter out.

7 posted for a run and what turned out to be relatively pleasant weather. Here is what transpired…
Route: Lakewood to Wood, Wood to Waveny, a few lefts and rights to Chandler where we then cross over into Bandy Field. Honaker-Hanover-Pepper, yada yada yada, finish with some nice hill work taking Tapoan to Ridgeway to Towana.

NMS:
Fairly descent whether considering what we had been experiencing. Didn’t stop members of the PAX, however, from being completely drenched afterward. YHC tried chatting-up a woman walking a golden retriever…then quickly learned it was Fudd’s step-mom (last time I try that). Otherwise, PAX stayed together and all finished strong. Of note, TYA passed on his Tron-inspired lights to Swirly. (For all you hates who don’t know what Tron is, it was a cheesy movie from the last century that had special effects before they even existed and before they were even that special. I will say it had Jeff Bridges in it – aka The Dude – so it had that going for it.) Anyway, Kudos to Swirly for leading the pack much of the time, with his light-vest guiding the way.

Aye to Sippy and Marv who ran the 2 mile out and back to their car, and to Pucker and Fudd for running to the AO.

Always a pleasure guys. Thanks for sharing in my selected route.

Saab abides

5 runners and 1 rider set out for the weekly run.

The Thang:

Head up and around CCV ascending Fairway and Iris to Three Chopt.  Connect to Grove to Maple to Patterson to Westham Parkway, and meander through the neighborhoods back to the lake.  6 milers had an extension midway through by instead turning at Grove and detouring up to Monument before doubling back to Patterson.

NMS:

YHC enjoyed the camaraderie of running with Swirly and Pucker.  Great way to keep motivated on the run.  Perfect day for a run as there were several other large running groups out on their own runs.

The seal pups provided opportunity for corporate review of style, form, and effectiveness.  The corporate seal of approval was not given.

Conversation shifted to the pokemon game phenomenon taking over this week.  Perhaps there is an opportunity for one of our future workouts to evolve from the game at some point.  Virtual geocaching….

Offshore described his trip to the UK – brexit and the differences between a pub and a restaurant with regards to tolerance for youth watching soccer.  The Pax caught Offshore up on what he missed in the RVA – several beatdown workouts and a rogue racoon.

5 showed at UR today for a moderate impact run around Westham. Using a derivative of a route Bleeder led a few weeks ago, we went up Westham parkway, down to the canal via Ridge, and then back along the golf course to the commons.

YHC was beginning to prepare for a lone-run this morning, but the PAX eventually all arrived at about the same time. The route chosen had fewer hills and less distance than prior options due in no small part to the difficult weekend YHC and others experienced with regard to F3 workouts and other running excursions. While we all worked to stay together, the decision for the pack to run up westham station and back down – with the intent to catch up with Lugnut turned out to be a slight miscalculation. As we worked to track him down we did not see him on the return route…YHC feared he would end up lost similar to TYA’s experience a few months ago. Fortunately, despite taking an alternate entrance back into the university, Lugnut was able to find his way once he came upon the chapel where he first entered the world of marital bliss. Otherwise, chatter centered around the July 4 beatdown at Batteau (Hardywood), and “where’s Lockjaw?” (per his stated commitment to step-up his running beginning in July).

Just a word about the title…on this day in history in 1946 the bikini was first introduced in Europe.

Saab out.

A total of 7 showed up for the UR spider run this morning in a humid but otherwise pleasant and overcast morning…

Route: Around lake to Wood Road, Waveny, then meander to the hill on Chandler. Take the cut-through to Bandy field at the top of the hill. Take access road the cut over to Honaker. Take Honaker to Hanover, Hanover to Pepper, then cut through St Chris and return on St Christopher. Tapoan, Ridgeway, Roselawn, then return to campus drive. Added a run around the lake for good measure.

There was a fair balance (from YHC’s perspective) of steady hills and flat terrain. (OK, maybe a few more hills than flat terrain.) Anyway, it was nice to tread some new ground, which resulted in a few miscues along the way. Aside from YHC periodically directing Marv into a driveway or two, the PAX stayed together and all ran strong. Kudos to everyone there today who either ran-in (varying miles) or biked in. Well done guys!

Safe travels to Offshore who is traveling oversees to take advantage of the collapsed Euro/Pound exchange rate.

Announcements: See Offshore regarding the benefit-bike race on Sept 24.

Saab out.

8 Faithful arrived at the AO for some Spider running.

THE THANG

From Parking lot, Run across lake, to University Drive up to Westham turn left, head toward Ridge Road, Take Ridge which turns into Westham Station, go across the Bridge to the South side of the river, take the off ramp back to the on ramp back across the bridge, back to the flag for the most part.

Moleskin

A B-A-beautiful morning for a run, so much so that Swirly decided run around UR twice before returning to the Flag.

48 total PAX that posted in F3 RVA, Off Shore and TOGA were surely working out somewhere in the Nation of F3, so YHC is calling it 50 for the day!

Bleeder out

8 strong posted for a celebratory run in honor of our nation’s most prominent symbol.  Circle up at the Commons before commencing a pass the flag loop on the western edge of the university.

The Thang

Mosey across the lake, past the chapel, up to Crenshaw, across College, right on Westham, left on University, left on Ralston, loop around Windsor on the James, back to Ralston, right on Rose Hill, right on University, left on Westham, right on Lakewood, back to start for final lap around the lake.

COT by YHC.

Moleskin

YHC checked the calendar this morning before leaving and realized today is Flag Day.  What better to respect our nation’s symbol than with an alternating flag carry on our run this AM.  Hills were not quite as plentiful as previous weeks with YHC opting for new territory rather than repeating some of the hills the PAX has conquered recently.  Upon arrival in “Windsor” (pronounced with a British accent, nose pointed to the sky and pinky finger extended), Marv insightfully pointed out “Man, these are First Class streets!”  They reminded YHC of Kramer’s Wide Lanes episode where he adopted a 3 lane highway and repainted the lines to support 2 lanes of traffic.

Post COT the PAX was greeted with a friendly reminder of the strong and brave individuals who have preceded us in carrying our country’s torch.  Spider Run continues to be a place to enjoy fellowship with our community neighbors, today with the former president and chancellor of the university.  Swirly said it best with “If you ever need a reason to get out of the fartsack in the morning, that was it”.  Just envision an 89 year old ex-marine, fully suited up at 6:15 in the morning, starting his day with a brisk walk through campus.

Today is the day we remember and honor our flag as a symbol of strength, consistency and resiliency.  Let it be a beacon of hope in times of trouble.

Thanks as always for letting me lead.  See everyone in the gloom.

Splinter out.

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