I am posting this to the Abyss since there is not an AO link set up for the Poop Deck.

Merry Christmas! Ho ho ho! Santa Q was out and ready to receive the PAX of HIMs this morning when they rolled in to the LW Bowl N Bounce. It was a great day, almost double the temp of yesterday’s frosty AM workout. What a treat in itself. Even so, only 4 additional brave souls ventured out this morning. Everyone was in a great mood. Alot of mumblechatter about Mr T’s very creative and fun VQ the day before. It is always great to start your day with a group of HIMs like this,

After the disclaimer was disclaimed, off we moseyed around the parking lot a couple of loops to get the heart rate up. I decided to keep it in the well lit areas since most of the PAX did not have lighting and this place is well known to have curb appeal.

After the warmup, we circled up for the COP. Right when we were about to start, in swoops Dark Helmet to join in the festivities. In light of the birthday of Our Lord, we did 25 of each:

• Side-straddle hops
• Imperial walkers
• Windmills
• Mountain Climbers
• Moroccan night clubs
• And to stretch out a little more Santa Q threw in good bit of downward dog, honeymooner, and alternating arm/leg extensions while on hands and knees

Now for the Thang

The 12 Days of Christmas Pain:

NASA Claus came prepared with a red bag full of goodies for each and every HIM, whether naughty or nice they have been. In Santa Q’s sack was 12 ‘presents’, complete with bows even. With warmth from his heart Santa Q gave each HIM a present. The joy and excitement each HIM had of receiving these wonderful, yet unknown gifts was an incredible sight to see. I wish I had my camera at the ready! After a gift was opened, the group had to partake in the pain it presented. Not only that, the HIM who opened the gift got to lead the exercise it outlined. They were gifts that kept on giving. Each HIM took turns opening their gifts from NASA Claus to find the following pains:

Gift # / Pain:

1. 10 Burpees OYO
2. 25 Monkey Humpers, cadence
3. 25 Merkins, cadence
4. Run Forrest, Run! – run a loop around the entire boat ramp parking lot, about 1/4 mile loop
5. 30 Plank Jacks, cadence
6. 25 LBCs, cadence
7. 25 Carolina Dry Docks, cadence
8. Bear Crawl loop the circle of HIMs –  had to open the circle a little for this one
9. 25 Long, Slow Squats, cadence
10. 20 Hello Dollys, cadence
11. 25 SSH, cadence
12. Crab walk loop the circle of HIMs

Doing the math the group each received 2 gifts to complete round 1. Due to tough economic times, we had to regift and Santa Q redistributed the presents for round 2, letting each HIM reach into Santa Q’s sack to grab a gift of goodness. Unfortunately due to time we cut short round 2 to only 6 presents. Even so, it was alot of pain combined with alot of fun. Each and every HIM had alot of laughs.

We regrouped near the COT where we had a brief ablab workout where NASA Claus let each one of the group pick an exercise and run it until we ran out of time.

Announcements:

• Read the weekly newsletter!!
• Joe Davis Run still open. Sign up!!
• F3 Dads today at 11 at Turner Field in Tega Cay
• Christmas Eve Convergence and 5K run this Saturday at The Yard

Prayers and Praises:

• Prayers for anyone feeling the voids mentioned below in the Moleskin
• Prayers that we all are given the strength, courage, and discipline to be better in all aspects of our lives as well as make a difference in others
• EH people into the world of F3
• Praises for the difference F3 has made in our lives

The Moleskin and 365 Days of Christmas Challenge:

This is something I have been mentioning since Thanksgiving at each workout I have been posting to –

The Christmas holiday season for some can be a time of great happiness, joy, and love, not to mention a wonderful time in which we celebrate the birth of our Savior, The Lord. Love from family, friends, and The Lord fill our hearts and we in turn reciprocate that love, especially during the holiday season. We have all been blessed with the things that we can do and the things we have, as well as The Lord in our everyday lives, whether we all realize this or not. Some people are not as fortunate for whatever reason. Each Christmas holiday season, society in general takes this as a time to spread joy and happiness by various means to others less fortunate. The outpouring of love and support is an amazing thing for all to do, and I am thankful and grateful there are many people out there who do this. It clearly shows what either the individual or the collective whole can do to make a difference in the lives of others. Even so, there are many out there who still have a void in their lives, whether it be devoid of love and support from family and/or friends, or the love and support of The Lord.

I challenge each and every one of us to take it to the next level – fill those voids you may see and treat each and every day like it is part of the Christmas holiday season. Spread the love – from yourself, from word of The Lord, and/or from this amazing gift we all call F3. Take your time to make a difference. Don’t wait for Christmas time to come around, for the needy always have needs 365 days of the year. Carry the spirit of Christmas around with you at all times and pay it forward. Many of you HIMs associated with the F3 world already do this. If you are one of those, EH someone you know, the more the merrier, to join you in one of your deeds of making a difference – in family life, the community, the F3 PAX, or life with The Lord. I challenge each of you all to lead us all to become leaders, and make a positive impact 365 days of each and every year.

Merry Christmas!

-NASA Claus