Tag: Sunday Funday

Apologies in advance for this completely thoughtless and straightforward BB.  Busy Sunday is rolling into a busy Monday morning.  It’s this or nothing:

Eight pax showed up to hit the trails,  TYA was missing (out of town), but it was still 70 and sunny….

ROUTE

Start down North Bank, loop around Belle Isle, back on Buttermilk.  Option of Forest Hill Loop was taken by half the pax.  Distances should have been about 7 miles for short route, 10 miles for long route.  Circle K was on his aluminum horse and forged his own loop.

NMS/Announcements

Kotters to Trophy, good to have you out!  We hope to see more of you in the near future.

Also, happy to see Mr. Rogers make it out to his first trail run.  YHC hopes that the timing worked out and you can make it in the future.

Two distance milestones were passed this run….huge TClaps to THE Soutnern Belle and Aisle 5 for completing over 10 mile runs….their longest runs to date!  Well done to both of you!

TSB announced she is doing the run phase of a team triathlon….which turns out to be a half ironman.  She is shaping up to be a helluva runner, and YHC knows that she will be ready to conquer 13.1 in September.

About half of the pax stunk up ET’s afterwards.

Lab Rat out.

8 strong and determined runners posted for a Sunday morning saunter around the trails of Richmond VA. Weather was 65 degrees and cloudy, a bit of rain towards the end.

The Thang:

Nickel Bridge to Buttermilk trail. Buttermilk to Reedy Creek, crossover stream to Forest Hill Park. Do the Forest Hill Park loop in the clockwise direction. Back over to the Buttermilk and back to the shovel flag. Route clocked in at just about 7.5 miles.

NMM:

First off, thanks to Obama for joining us for the second consecutive day from Greensville. Pleasure to have you as part of the PAX in RVA. Having been born and raised in Richmond, he had a great familiarity with the trails and was able to make sure Toga (a Forrest Hill Virgin) and others were following the right path through the woods. “Obama” it seems is trying to dis-associate himself with his namesake. He was proudly wearing a Reagan/Bush hat from 1984 to make sure that his political affiliation was clear.

The list of items that are quirky about Wilson is growing. Lets see, there is the fear of running in the dark, confusion over things that come in odd numbers (especially when it is the PAX count), aversion to the smell of Petrully (whatever the heck that is), and the obsession with wearing long sleeves (with another shirt underneath) all year long. Today brought a new one out: when we finished the run, Wilson was in a panic to do the COT and leave the AO as soon as possible. Did he have a family obligation? Did he need to get to church? No, he hates getting wet and it was beginning to rain. Quirky, Yes. Awesome and a blast to hang out with, Yes again.

Finally, I am not sure why, but when a visitor, or a new guys comes around, I have noticed that they have a tendency to snicker when I announce my name. Maybe it is just paranoia coming from TYA (you guys know how sensitive I am), something quirky that I do when I say may name (maybe a twinge of my Boston accent coming to the forefront), or an inside joke that I don’t yet know about. I don’t know? If it continues, I just might take BT up on his offer to take over the dreaded name that begins with an H that has been threatened to be thrust upon many an FNG.

Special 1 hour 4th of July workout tomorrow at Batteau. Should be an epic beatdown from Hardywood and a great way to start your holiday.

TYA Out.

8 faithful and one Sunday run new guy (Blue Balls) posted for a Sunday morning run. Weather was 70 and sunny (with a touch of humidity).

The Thang:

Northside to Belle Isle, loop around top of Belle Isle, Southside to Buttermilk and back to the parking lot (Saab took a loop around Forrest Hill Park as well). Mileage somewhere between 8 and 9 miles (different GPS options had different numbers.)

NMM

ET continues to be the place for a little 2nd F after the workouts. Aisle 5 was giving some detailed parenting lessons learned at today’s session. Key messages taken away from the discussion: How to deal with a very headstrong 2 year old, and how to motivate a not so motivated youngster. Ask Aisle 5 for details around the lessons he learned and the approaches he tried. All are funny and insightful. Also spoken of at ET’s was the various kinds of trans fats, Bojangles receipts being taped to Aisle 5’s steering wheel and dashboard, TSB’s reading habits, and Wilson’s quest for a new place to live,

Saab is almost officially going to declare that he might, possibly, be doing an endurance event after the BRR this year. In my mind, he has done enough to prepare that if he does not do an endurance event, he has put in a ton of work to prepare for nothing. Dude is a beast…27 yesterday and 11+ today. Thats a months worth for most people….but then again, Saab is not most people (maybe he can share some of his miles with a tapering LockJaw).

Saab had some company at the front of the pack today with Toga and Blue Balls (and sometimes Conspiracy). Lab Rat led the middle of the pack with TSB on his heels most of the way. TYA, Wilson and Aisle 5 made sure everyone made it back in safe.

Time to BRR is dwindling. Get out there and run a few Sunday’s to prep.

TYA Out

8 Sunday warriors showed up this morning for trail day, in the glory and splendor of a beautiful sunny Father’s day morning with temps in the 50’s.  With our normal meeting spot being roped off, we borrowed the parking strip used for Dogpile as our makeshift starting point.  Other than that, the run took us on the now familiar and crowd pleasing route of Buttermilk to Forest Hill Loop, and back home on Buttermilk.  As a bonus, we got to return up Love Hill to complete the run!  Can YHC get a what-what!  Mileages varied between 8 and 9 miles, depending on which electronic device was wielded.

NMS

First off, let’s just get this out of the way….the men (and lady) that show up for trail runs are truly awesome.  Some are fast, some not so much….but at the core they are trail runners.  What does that mean?  They are in it for the beauty and splendor of the moment, and the comradarie found in their fellow runners.  What makes Sunday so unique is that we mostly run as a small pack that brings the 2nd F in to play more than the other days of the week.  There were several individual efforts and antics worth noting, but YHC feels that all who showed this morning put in a great effort that contributed to an awesome group run.

The trails were heavily trafficked this morning, especially on the homeward bound leg of Buttermilk.  The first group we passed was a small pack of mountain bikers who seemed more concerned about their Strava stats than other trail users (i.e. the pax).  That got the anti-mountain biking mumble chatter going full tilt.  But then, we came across a group of obviously foreign tourists that seemed to speak little English and all were armed with cameras hiking the trails….this group started cheering as we made our way past….how awesome!  Not a quarter of a mile past them, a large group of mountain bikers had actually stopped to allow us by, and they started cheering us on as well!  How surreal…  Needless to say, these last two groups put all pax in a better mood for the homeward pull.

Announcements:

-TSB has shorts with pockets, but they face the wrong way.  So close…

-Wilson states he hates running, but YHC thinks he only means on the road.

-New AO tomorrow at the Stone House in Forest Hill park (Batteau)…Hardywood is VQ’ing with a shiny new SF.

-Tuesday is roll call day!  Get out and post to any of the three workouts….and bring a friend!  60 total pax is the number to beat.

-Thoughts and prayers to Aisle 5 and family….daughter is heading out to AF Academy on Friday and has hit some red tape that potentially could set her back on her journey.

Lab Rat out

PS, BB title came from YHC’s Father’s day gift when he got home from the run, a technical T with title for the logo.  YHC is happy.

The road immediately prior to the Boulevard bridge is blocked off to cars. Assuming this will be the case tomorrow morning, let’s all just meet at the Dogpile AO start (parking lot near amphitheater) at 7 am. We’ll then take Love Hill down to the trail. (Ran Buttermilk trail ad nauseam today and it is fairly clear with just a few minor obstacles.)

Saab out

10 Strong posted on a beautiful Sunday morning for a Trail Run

The Thang: Northbank to Belle Isle, Buttermilk back to the shovel flag. 7.5 miles of good old faashioned trails

NMM

Great to have Ilene join us from Jacksonville for the second day in a row. Fortunately TYA had taken a shower (with soap) yesterday, so smell issue was eliminated. Good to have DK back out there for a Sunday run. He is putting in the miles now so he can slay Leg 20 of the BRR again this year.

Good Toga showed up for today’s workout. Honestly, I greatly prefer the not so good Toga. Seems that someone mentioned to M Toga that Trent was a little harsh on the PAX at F3. As a result, Toga was trying to be nicer to the PAX. Toga would not say which PAX ratted him out, but did mention that said PAX members name rhymed with “Sud”

TYA was a bit dizzy when he woke up this morning. As a result of that and the fact that this was 8 days straight posting, I was moving a bit slower than normal. I mentioned to Wilson about halfway about my dizziness in the morning and he instantly caught the symptoms. Lesson learned, don’t suggest and ailment to Wilson or he might catch it quickly.

2nd F at Ellwoods after. 1/2 the PAX made it out (Wilson, Saab, Aisle 5, TSB and TYA). Lot of discussion about body odor and hippies. Ask Wilson for details of products to support this ganja smoking, no showering lifestyle.

TYA Out

7 strong warriors posted for a Sunday morning trail run. Weather was 75 and 85% humidity to start the run. Storms were supposed to roll in, but not until later in the day, so a sticky, muddy run was expected.

The Thang:

Northbank to Belle Isle, Belle Isle to Buttermilk, Buttermilk back to pump house. 7.5 miles total.

NMM:

Summer has arrived in RVA. Did not seem too hot this morning, but the humidity was a killer. YHC went through a whole camelbak full or water and was still having difficulty keeping my core temperature down. When I finished, Phonics asked me if I had taken a dip in the river to cool off. In fact, I had not, but I think the a dip in the river would have dried me off a bit.

Saab informed me early on that he had a leg issue the day before and did not know how far he was going to be running. He said he was either going to bag early, maybe only do a few miles, or do the full loop with Forest Hill two times. So, he was either going to run less than three miles or 22 plus miles. I think he ended up on the 22 side, but have not heard officially.

Phonics was a Sunday run and a trail run virgin today. He did well running a good portion on the route with Saab. Offshore and Lab Rat spent a good amount of time together today. I heard Lab Rat talking a bunch, but never did heard anything from Offshore. Curious? Aisle 5 and I were towards the back of the pack today. We were joined on the Buttermilk trail by another trail runner. She was following closely behind Aisle 5 when Aisle 5 offered to move out of her way so she could pass. She said no, she was taking a casual run today because she had run a 50k last week. She asked to join us for the jaunt from Belle Isle to Reedy Creek where she was finishing. Debbie was an awesome runner, 64 years old, in great shape and started running when she was 54. Inspiring.

TYA OUT

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

Four PAX opened the trails this morning with a group trail run.

The Thang: Southside to Forest Hill loop and back.  7.75+ miles.

NMM: YHC was assuring Aisle 5 that he was happy to take a slower pace when Hardywood jumped out of his car ready to rock the trail in his Jesus Gladiators.  Saab arrived soon after, announcing that he was nearly spent and was approaching 40 miles of running for the three day weekend.  As it turned out, the PAX had little trouble staying together – nice work, gentlemen.

TYA skidded into the parking lot on his way to the RiverRock half marathon on the trail.  Were it not for high-performance tread on the Civic, YHC’s legs would have been pinned between two cars.  TYA broke out his nice shorts for running behind “pace cars” in the race.  The PAX hoped TYA and LabRat had good races, and also hope that TSB heals soon from an ankle injury.  Also, best of luck to LabRat’s dog in becoming the Ultimate Air Dog.

The PAX passed a water station for the race.  The volunteers seemed confused, gave some disapproving looks, and were not about to practice their water distribution skills on the PAX.  They couldn’t fathom that the PAX were leading the race?

Because of the rain, YHC had thoughts of trying to get into Maymont and Hollywood Cemetery somehow and staying on pavement.  The PAX persuaded him that the trails would be fine and they were.  During the Forest Hill loop, the PAX crossed a creek that was higher than usual.  Hardywood had no problems in his sandals, so he busied himself rearranging the boulders in the creek while the rest carefully climbed from rock to rock across.  It sounded like trucks were tipping over on Riverside Drive.  If LabRat were there, he would have been half a mile down the trail in wet shoes.

YHC announced that his M will have an opportunity to meet Bret Michaels tonight after his show.  The PAX cautioned that it would probably be best for her not to go alone.  YHC remembered his show “Rock of Love,” or rather the Saturday Night Live parodies of it.  Unfortunately, the web seems to have been (almost) scrubbed of clips.

Excitement is mounting for the BRR.  Saab stated that it is part of his training regimen for the race-that-shall-not-be-named.

YHC is organizing a cycling team for the American Diabetes Association Tour de Cure on September 24th.  Here is our team page: http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR/TourdeCure/TourdeCureContentHybrid?pg=team&fr_id=11465&team_id=727926.  If there is enough interest, perhaps we can form a separate F3 team.  YHC pledges to satisfy any F3 registrant’s fundraising requirements.

8 posted for today’s trail run and we couldn’t have asked for better weather. Most took southside to Forest Hill (loop) and then back again…about 7 miles. Lab Rat arrived early and ran what was largely a road-based run that covered about 10 miles. YHC enjoyed conversation with the PAX along the way. Glad Udder brought Tramp Stamp for his first trail run…great to have you there guys.

During COT, YHC was a bit surprised when a partially clothed man attempted to insert his bare torso into the circle, but soon realized it was Lab Rat coming in from his extended run.

Best of luck on the half marathon (next weekend) Lab Rat and TYA.

Still need 1-2 men for the BRR (you know who you are…)

Saabinator out