Eight of Tega Cay’s finest came out help each other get better and stronger at Alcatraz on a mild, dewey morning. YHC and Cerrano had the Q, and agreed that I’d take the first half, focusing on upper body, while he took the second to carry the spirit of BRR training. Just before starting, we saw almost as many #F3RunClub pax buzz by, posting for their double-digit mileage. No FNGs were present, so a light disclaimer was given and we were off.

= Warm Up =
Lap around the big baseball field at Runde Park
SSH – x25
IW Squats – x20
Butt Kickers
Merkins – x15
Plank Jacks – x20
High Knees
Carolina Dry Docks – x15
Toy Soldiers
Moroccan Nightclubs – x20
Another lap around the field

= The Thang =

Suicide Circuit (x2)
Pax paired up, size doesn’t matter.
7 cones were arranged in a line on the outfield of Runde Park, each cone about 10m apart. The starting cone was the middle most code (#4). It was considered the “base line” for the suicide. This cone also had “5 burpees” written on it (more on that in a minute). Each pair of pax were to stay together and progress through the suicide, starting with cones 3 (and back to 4), then 2 (and back to 4), and then 1 (and back to 4). But here’s the “circuit” part:

= At each “turn” (cones 3, 2, and 1) there was an exercise and count. Each team of pax had to do these together (see below).
= When pax passed a cone they had been to already (like passing cone #3 to get to #2), they had to stop at cone 3 and do the exercise again. So, if you do the math right, the exercise at cone #3 was done 3 times.
= Pax could run/mosey/walk toward the turn cones. But heading back to the baseline cone, they had to perform the moving exercise until they hit the next cone, or reached the baseline code (#4). Stationary exercise on the cones did NOT have to be done during the return.
= At the start, and with each return to the “baseline” cone, 5 burpees were to be done

Round 1 was cones 4, 3, 2, and 1. Round 2 was cones 4, 5, 6, and 7. Here’s what was on the cones (by number).

Round 1
4 – 5 burpees
3 – 20 Russian Twists and return exercise of bear crawls
2 – 20 Mountain Climbers and return exercise of crab walk
1 – 20 Carolina Dry Docks and return exercise of Wheelbarrow (partner 1)

Round 2
4 – 5 burpees
5 – 20 Hello Dollies and return exercise of bear crawls
6 – 20 Merkins and return exercise of crab walk
7 – 20 Sumo Squats and return exercise of Wheelbarrow (partner 2)

We cooled down with some Moroccan Nightclubs

OldBay then handed the mic over to Serrano

Mosey over to long hill behind park for hill work using the downhill for recovery. Cerrano asked the PAX to push themselves up the hill, we ran this twice.

Slow mosey over to tee box #2 for short mountain goat training, completed 3 different exercises at the top. 20 squat jumps, 20 gorilla humpers, 20 bombjacks.

Short mosey over to dreaded hill on the way back to Runde for BLIMPS, 5 burpees then run the hill for 10 lunges each leg, down hill for 15 Imperial Walkers, up hill 20 merkins, down for 25 plank jacks, up for 30 squats.

Long mosey back to Runde Park for Bear Way to Heaven which is a bear crawl suicide with decreasing burpees at each line beginning with 8. Crowd pleaser.

Finish up for 1 minute of LBC’s

Total count of burpees for the workout: 86

Nake Moleskin
Sticking with the theme of marriage, I talked with pax about my marriage (though far from perfect) has been strong for about 18 years. Some of the durability of our manage has been due to neither of us being very confrontational (which some might say is *not* a good thing). But something else we each try to do when making independent decisions is ask ourselves: “would my spouse be ok with this?”. The “What would Jesus do?” question is a great one to live by. But it can sometimes be a lofty goal that feels out of reach. For those of us with God-fearing M’s, responding to the question of “would my M be ok with this?” can help you make marriage saving decisions. Of course, being the imperfect guys that we are, we don’t always make the right decisions. But that’s where having a person *other than* your M can help hold you accountable to make better decisions in the future. If you aren’t already in an accountability partnership with someone, I strongly encourage the Whetstone program being organized by Rebel for TheFort. It’s a great way to dig deep in your willingness to be held accountable, and help someone else do the same. The Whetstone program can truly help your marriage.

Thanks, Senator Tressel, for the privilege of Q’ing (with Cerrano) at Alcatraz!

-old bay