Five Pax showed up on a chilly morning at Ring of Fire. After the disclaimer, we moseyed to the lower parking lot for some warm-up exercises (SSHs, Imperial Walkers, Windmills, and Plank Stretches). A car pulled up while were exercising, we thought it was a teacher wanting to get a head start on the day. Turns out it was Saw Dust.
Next, we moseyed to the front of the school for a round of 7s, no cheat merkins on one end of the parking lot, squats on the other side. After completion we jogged around the parking lot returning to the same spot.
Lunge walks, burpee broad jumps, and inch worm merkins completed the length of the parking lot.
Mosey to the pull up bars. Similar to 7s, we did 6s. 5 pull-ups, 1 burpee completed each set until out counts were 1 pull-up, 5 burpees. Next, we ran up to the bus drop-off circle for 3 rounds of dips (I might have accidently said “dicks”) and derkins. Once complete, we headed back to COT for a round of LBCs and Flutters.
Throughout the workout, I provided a peek into my story. I don’t tend to share it very often. I was born in Boston; my mom and dad had lived in the city their whole life. My dad worked as a construction manager on several high-rise buildings. His goal was to move out of the city and start a business. We moved to Martha’s Vineyard where he established a construction and building supply building. I started working with my dad at a very young age. I was the 2nd oldest of seven children in the family. It was a great experience learning both the construction and business side. My dad pushed me to go to college, learn more about business. After graduation, I started working for a large company. I was given a number of opportunities to travel and move with the company due to my work ethic my dad had instilled upon me. The hard part was I moved frequently; I did not make many connections outside of work. One night, I had been out at a local bar, drove home, and ended up getting arrested for DWI. I felt my world was crashing down on me. I was facing a lot of unknowns (loss of license, court, job uncertainty) and I was mad at myself for letting things get out of control. For the next few weeks, I wrestle with all the things that had gone wrong. One evening, my sister called me and asked me if I would be her son’s godfather. I told her yes and how happy I was for her family. After I hung up the phone, I began to cry. I could not understand why she wanted a piece of shit like me to be her son’s godfather. I decided two things that day. First, I will never go back to the place where I felt so bad about myself. Second, I made the necessary changes in my life to become a better man. I didn’t have the men of F3 around me to help me through this tough time in my life. What we have here in The Fort is a blessing.