Cobra Kai asked me to lead a ruck workout a while back. HC!! First time Q-ing a ruck workout……I was nervous. No better way to learn than to get thrown in the deep end. So here goes….

6 of us for the Ruck good livin this AM. Good, needed an even number.

Rucks on, very brief mosey to the parking lot in front of Marshall’s

COP. Rucks off, 15-20 ea:
* SSH
* WM
* IW
* MNC
* PJ

“Intermission” WO:
10 ea w ruck:
* Curls
* Upright Rows
* Swings
* Overhead Press

Then I wanted to try something different. Instead of transitioning w rucks on as usual. Partner up, 5 merkin catch-me-if-you-can to the stairs/patio next to Just Fresh. We each did about 20 merkins or so along the way.

> Intermission WO

Then it was time for some stair work at the patio of the vacant restaurant next to Just Fresh (that place must be cursed – great locale, cannot keep a tenant there).

Partner up. P1 > farmer carry both rucks up, across, down stairs. P2 > Exercise AMRAP. Each group did 2 rounds before moving to next exercise. Exercises were:
* LBC
* Merkins
* Flutter
* CDDs

Break between merkins and flutters to talk a little (see moleskin). The Boot campers moseyed on up and wanted to use the stairs, but we had squatters rights. Sorry. We left a nice sweat trail for them to find their way around. 🙂

After CDDs done, ruck overhead carry mosey to the corner walls behind Home Depot. >

> Intermission WO

Now time for some wall squatting.

Rucks on laps, shoulder to shoulder. Person on end passed their ruck down the line to the left, and bear crawled down the line to catch up with it, then the next person did the same until complete. >> 2 rounds. Wow. Quads hurt. My bird legs were feelin it! Rinse and repeat except to the right (need to stay balanced). >> 2 more rounds. By then we were ALL feeling the burn. Note to others: Bear’s ruck feels at least twice as heavy as the others. Quite impressive, but not fun for us.

Finally a normal ruck on mosey to the area in front of Zoes Kitchen >> Intermission WO.

Evidently my watch is running slow……boot campers were at the COT waiting on us. Double timed it back to COT.

GREAT job by all!! The ruck WOs I’ve been to are intense and challenging. I did not know if I could maintain those high standards on my ruck VQ. I hope I did. I thank those who have taught me along the way.

> See DaVinci’s BB for Announcements, Prayers, Praises.

NMM:

Theme of this dwindling month is Freedom. Something that is the very fabric of this nation. It also affects the paths of our lives. Sky Q has a plan for all of us. Sometimes he puts forth challenges to see if we can maintain our path. Our personal moral values, along with our Faith in Him, are our compass. It is our decisions that prints our evolving map.

I told the PAX a story about something that very recently happened to a friend of mine who now lives in Pittsburgh. In summary : my friend was involved in a road rage incident with an off-duty cop that had a bad attitude who had no issues with using his badge to his personal advantage (the cop’s badge and gun were the accessories he made sure my friend clearly saw). The cop was clearly the main aggressor who escalated it to near headline news violence. Nothing happened to my friend (thank God). Even though the cop pushed it, my friend did not back down but did not further escalate. The cop knew he was wrong, and there were witnesses in the cars all around realizing something is amiss.  The cop fled before anyone could follow or get a plate number.

It could have VERY easily ended differently, and I’d be up in PA for a funeral now. But what set that chain of event in motion? There was an initial disagreement between the two. My friend decided to further antagonize…..even though he knew the person behind him was getting more and more angry. He could have let it go, and most likely things would not have escalated. Yes, the cop was clearly the aggressor, but what was the first push? What set that chain of event along its irreversible path?

I myself had a scary road rage incident happen to me once. In my truck rolling down the road here in the Charlotte area, all is good. Someone behind me was not happy with my speed, tailgating me, honking his horn, waiving his hands as I see in my mirror. I pull over to the next lane. No big deal. He zips by, gives me a nasty look, the one finger salute, curses at me, then zips on. I got pissed. I sped up, got along side, and returned the gestures. He looks st me and pulls a gun up clearly visible at me. I nailed the brakes and he went on. I pulled over angry and shaken, but not at the other driver. At myself.
Why?

My two boys were in the back seat. My heart sank.

I could have let it go. I did not. I pushed it. Yes, the arsehole pushed too, and escalated it. But….

I can control myself. I could have let it go and diffused the situation early. I chose not to.
I cannot control others. I chose to ASSUME nothing bad could happen, that the other person I cannot control would react in a relatively civil manner. They did not.

We cannot totally control or influence how others may affect the path we are on, the actions that they take. But we can control what we do that could put forth a chain of events that we do not want. Freedom of choice is a very powerful thing, and one that cannot be taken lightly. We have freedom of choice, but we do not always have freedom of consequence.

Thanks for the opportunity to lead. God bless.
– NASA