The day after Christmas can be tough some times. With all the ups of celebrating the birth of Our Lord comes the downs of the post celebration blues. What a better way to work them out with a good dose of F3 gloom with some fellow HIMs to share the pains.
It was a rather warm morning in December. I was feeling the blah of the cold I have been fighting for the past 2-3 weeks, but I was ready to sweat it out. You know F3 has become an integral part of your life when you look forward to the morning F’s no matter what the day presents when you wake. As I finished prepping the AO I rolled in to the COT area in my old rusty truck and initially saw only a couple of vehicles. I do not blame folks for staying in the fartsack the day after Christmas. But as time drew closer to 5:15 more folks rolled in. There was alot of smiling faces and mumblechatter about the previous day’s festivities. As I heard all the stories of great days I said a silent prayer to those less fortunate. I could not imagine a Christmas without joy in it, but for some that is what they know.
As time drew to 5:15, the disclaimer was disclaimed. No FNGs noted. Off we went……
A light jog along the front of Best Buy/Pet Smart with some but kickers, high knees, toy soldiers mixed in. As we turned the corner towards Home Depot we added in some side shuffles left/right, then continued to the parking lot behind River Bleu restaurant for the COP.
COP, 15 of each, in cadence:
- Side-Straddle Hops
- Imperial Walker
- Windmills
- Mountain Climbers
- Peter Parkers
- 10 sec each of Downward Dog and Honemooner
- Moroccan Night Clubs
The heart rates were up, muscles warmed, and sweat starting to roll. Even so, not much mumblechatter from a normally chattery group. Everyone must have really poured themselves into yesterday, mind, body, and soul. Totally understood. But now it is time to mosey over to the front of Target for The Thang.
C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S Balls of Joy!
In front of the Target there are several red balls (bollards) that everyone who has been to a Quagmire or Swamp workout has come to absolutely love. I think the person who put them there is a member of F3 for they are made for our workouts. Next to each bollard I put a cone and index card with a workout denoted on it, with each exercise spelling out Christmas. Start to finish, suicide style, 25 of each, OYO:
- C – CDDs
- H – Happy Jacks – do 5 SSHs, then 2 jumping squats, then R&R until 25 SSH / 10 JS done
- R – Rosalitas
- I – Imperial Walkers – then Bear Crawl to next station
- S – Sumo Squats
- T – Triceps Curls (aka Dips) – we need more “T” exercises!
- M – Merkins
- A – American Hammers – the Crab Walk to next station
- S – Squats
After the last station, run the loop that encircles the entire Target parking lot, hanging a right at the gas station, then back to the start (about 1/3 – 1/2 mile or so) to rinse and repeat. Everyone did great, and we all got in 3 repetitions of Christmas and 2 runs before we headed back to arrive at the COT right at 6.
Announcements:
- Read the weekly newsletter!
- Baxter trail run on New Years day
- Joe Davis run for recovery coming up soon. Still time to register!
- The Yeti is coming up soon as well
Prayers and Praises:
- Prayers for those less fortunate and in need. Use the tools God bestowed upon all of us to be the vessel through which He works to try and make a positive difference in their lives.
- Prayers for PAX out there, as well as their family and loved ones, who are going through various issues – Bart’s neice, Cornerstone’s daughter, Royale’s dad, Olaf’s newborn child, Qwerty, Puddles, and many others (my apologies if I missed any)
- Prayers for all PAX to continue on their journeys of self improvement
- Praises for everything the amazing F3 HIMs have done throughout the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons – the turkey giveaway, Operation Sweet Tooth, the F3 Christmas party are just a few of the highlights (again my apologies if I missed any others). These are great examples of the positive impact that F3 has not only on the community, but on each other as well for the holidays can be trying times for everyone and each of these gestures of leadership and love helped uplift many and brought a positive, loving light into their holidays.
- Praises for this past weekend’s convergence at The Yard organized by Cake Boss and others. It was an amazing experience! To hear the story behind the Joe Davis run from one of the Davis family members was sad yet inspirational and is yet another example of people making a positive difference in the community. Then to hear words of truth from Cake Boss himself was a great way to start off Christmas Eve.
- Praises for this thing we called F3. At the end of this month it will be 6 months since I first posted to The Pantheon for a tough Q by Jekyll. F3 has been an amazing impact on my life in many ways and for that I am forever grateful.
With Thanks and Praise. Over and Out,
– NASA