I was going to name this “Playing with NASA’s Balls at Quagmire”, but I won’t go there….

GREAT morning! Chilly, crisp, with clear skies. NASA-Q loves starry mornings. Quite a few PAX showed up ready to give Monday the boot in the booty. The night before a few PAX were Twitter-chatting about a post run after the workout, since they were fortunate to have the day off of work.  I did not intentionally plan on ruining that, but hey, stuff happens. It was a complement when they said I did. Thank you and you’re welcome.

5:15 hit the mark. No FNGs unfortunately. Disclaimer was disclaimed. Off we went……

Short mosey from Chick Fil A lot to the lot near the fountains. Good mumblechatter about the playoff games the day before. No funky stretchy stuff while running, just running. Circle up for the COP:

• SSH x 20
• WM x 20
• IW x 20
• MNC x 20

Just enough to loosen and warm up a little. I wanted to save our energy for the real deal. Short mosey over to Target.

All along the store front there are the large red concrete balls (bollards) Target is known for. At each ball, there was an exercise. Complete it, transition to next ball to the next exercise (anywhere between 10-25 yds apart). When all the balls are completed, run a lap around the outer perimeter roads enclosing the parking lot (about .25 – .33 mile). This is done HIIT style, non-stop start to finish, you rest while you run back to the start. Each PAX was on their own, you vs you, to see how many circuits you can get through.

Exercises (each is 30 reps) and transitions:
1. Merkins
> bear crawl (BC) transition
2. Jump squats
> crab walk (CW) transition
3. LBC
> BC
4. CDD
> CW
5. Jump Lunges
> BC
6. Freddie Mercury
> CW
7. Wide-arm Merkins
> BC
8. Monkey humpers
> CW
9. American hammers
> Run lap back to start #1
>> Rinse and repeat

That was a real ball bustin burner! The entire group cranked out 3 complete circuits. Some over-achievers completed another 2/3 circuit on top. Warning – next time each exercise will be 40-50 reps. Some PAX – Jedi, Cha-Ching, and Bones – are not human, rather they are complete beasts! And they are motivation for others. But I tell you what, the rest of the PAX were not far behind. Witch Hunt, Royale, BtB, Whopper, Homebrew, and Copyright ALL did GREAT. And special Kudos to Dark Helmet for performing all this while rucking heavy with 40lbs on his back. DAMN!! There was alot of encouraging push/pull from the group. No chatter or NMM ramblings from the Q (believe it). We just ground it out, finishing just in time to get back to the COT.

Announcements, Prayers, and Praises:

• READ YOUR NEWSLETTER, GET OUT THERE AND MAKE AN IMPACT!!
• The Rooster is this weekend!! WOO HOO!!
• Yeti not far behind. JUST DO IT!!! JUST SIGN UP!! It will be awesome, I promise
• P200 in March. If you’re interested, let folks know. Injury bugs bite and sometimes teams need replacements.
• Prayers for Short Sale and his family in the loss of his brother
• Prayers for the family and friends of Mint Hill’s Gremlin
• Prayers for injured / sick PAX
• Prayers for PAX going through marriage/relationship/family issues

Get out there and make a difference, make a positive impact. On the day honoring the great Martin Luther King Jr, take his intentions and run with them. We have alot of work to do as a country regarding racial relations and equality. We can – and should – do better. Be the change we all want to see in this world. Conquer the hate and ignorance with your love and intentionality. All it takes is the decision to do so and follow through.

God Bless and Thanks for the opportunity to lead.
– NASA