Deck of Pain

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Glad to see that some PAX don’t let rain interfere with their accountability. 6 PAX chose to get better in the rain. YHC lead the PAX to the Lowes covered porch for some pain.

The Deck of Cards came out – a first for YHC.

Hearts = merkins

Diamonds = wide arm merkins

Spades = V-ups (double the card value)

Clovers = LBCs (double the card value)

After a full deck without jokers (they were lucky I didn’t check the deck to see if I had any), we mossy to other end of lowes and back for round 2.

Round two

red cards = hand release merkins

black cards = flutters (double the card value)

Mossy back to COT.

 

Prayers to schools, D2D runners

 

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We’ll Drive Home Backwards

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9 Men showed up at The Pit for a Kettlebell Workout from a Runner (not a professional).  YHC made a commitment to less than a mile of total distance.  Fortunately Odometer Fraud (look it up) works for the workout as well.

Here’s what we did:

COP – SSH, Windmills, IW, MNC

Paula Abdul

Carry the bell 2 lines forward, 1 line back, set of KB exercises, Repeat till end of lot

  • 20 Swings (160)
  • 15 Goblet Squats (90)
  • Interlude – KB Bear Crawl the Line
  • 10 Curls 5 Ea. Arm (60)
  • 10 Overhead Press (60)
  • 2 Man Makers alternating arms on the Merkin (12)

Mosey back for COT

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21s in the gloom

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YHC has only been to the bubble once before, and that was a 0515 pre-ruck in early December 2020. Any Q with Sugar Daddy and the ability to breath is an opportunity for some good mumblechatter. The guy is always bringing up all these “obscure” facts and information that confounds me. Things like “sports” and “Wayland Jennings”…

This is why I was looking forward to my Q at the Bubble. I didn’t know the area (unless we’re talking about the patio outside of  Grapevine… I know that area well). Unfortunate that the Daddy of Sugar couldn’t make it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

the gloom

I arrived in the S YMCA parking lot after reviewing the potential running path, which I determined to be too dark without having notified PAX of needing lights and reflectors. The lot was full, but I didn’t see anyone.  I was prepared to do a few solo miles when 98 Degrees appeared (he was already there, I just couldn’t see him).

warmup

Mosey up through the N parking lot and around to the entrance and back to the N parking lot.

SSH x20
Imperial Walker x10
Full Orbit stretch x3 each side (see this post, warmup #6 for a description)

the thang

Keeping it simple, these were 21’s. The south island to the north island in the north lot. Starting with one BBSU and 20 regular merkins… and go.

This kept us busy, it’s almost like BBSU dilate time… When we finished there was about 5m left. So mosey back out the N entrance and around to the central entrance and back to CoT.

< 2m left. SSH until you drop. 30 down and the buzzer hit.

cot

Talked about the Yeti and encouraged 98º to try running part of it. Me? No, I’m not going to be able to do it this time.

Prayer for 98’s M, a teacher, and the insanity that is this school year. Prayer for YHC and struggles with getting the weight back off.

nmm

Good chatter today. That seems pretty easy when it’s just two PAX who have never met, but for YHC it’s hard to strike up a conversation. Glad to have someone who knows how to carry a meaningful conversation while doing 210 merkins and 210 BBSUs.

We spotted Cobra Kai, Dinghy and one other PAX whose face I didn’t catch as we were about to start our 21s and invited them to stick around. They did not take us up on this offer.

98 recognized a walker out of a trio of women and greeted her. Then, after she left the other two remained to walk laps around the N lot and offer criticism of merkin form.

It’s a good start to a morning.

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Long laps for slow PAX

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10 days ago YHC got a message asking him to Q at Sweep the Leg. Now, a little background, the only way I’ve come close to the top 3 finishers at STL is when there have been 4 people in attendance, and usually STL picks a top finisher to Q.  I accepted almost immediately, but then almost had to take it back when I remembered that today is the M’s (somethingith) birthday.

No false modesty here, my running game has improved significantly over the last 12 months, but it’s still not enough to keep up with the more aquatic, fried-snack based PAX in long distance Qs (though I give a ton of credit to them for kiting me along over the past who knows how long).  At the end of every STL session my brain is usually so starved for oxygen that the left half of my brain has logically concluded that i have died, and the other side is reliving the horrors of the Whinny the Pooh ride at Disney World.  I love it!

So, big thanks to Vuvuzela for inviting me to take the reins.

I knew I’d need something to keep the expeditious PAX engaged that would also make room for personal survival, but also made it difficult, if not impossible, to cheat on the running.

The gloom

After driving out to the Colosseum and dropping off some signage and lights, I hauled arse to CoT and got there with just enough time to realize I had two left hand gloves and swap them out.

6 PAX were stretching and chatting when I arrived and since I used my extra time to replace one of my gloves, the disclaimer was very short. I simply said, “Welcome to Sweep the Leg. I assume you’ve all read the disclaimer, let’s go, wait, who’s that guy?” as I pointed at Grinder. Fishsticks vouched that he knew the risk and off we went as I said, “Oh, and I’m 38 Special, we’re headed to the cul-de-sac at the end of Patricia”

The thang

After the 1/2 mile warmup. YHC handed out instructions. Every stop would need to multiply the lap number by a certain number of exercises. At the cul-de-sac it would be 10x SSH, which we did in cadence before starting.

Run towards the school and at the L that turns in, a sign was waiting that said:
<—-
5x Dips x Lap
3x Werewolf x Lap

YHC forgot to mention what a werewolf is, and I still had energy enough at this point to still be near everyone and demo the werewolf (I call them circular pushups, but in the exicon, it’s a “Werewolf”)

Turning left here (because of the arrow!) run down the hill a little ways and there’s a sign at the bigger traffic loop:
—–>
3x Burpee x Lap
5x BBSU x Lap

Each lap was almost exactly 1 mile.

CoT

Fishsticks and Tesla got 1st place, very shortly followed by Vuvuzela.  The were actually the last three arrivals, but they did four laps and the rest of us just three.

Counted and Announced and asked for prayers or praises from everyone.

nmm

SLT has no ten counts, no stop and breath moments. It’s all about pushing forward knowing that it’ll be over (in one way or another) in 45 minutes or so.  It’s about as blank as my mind gets trying to pull myself up that damned hill on Dave Gibson.  If I let my mind wander, I’d probably just fall into the ditch.

It hurts and it’s cathartic.

You want to know what I’m dealing with inside? Get me  thoroughly exhausted. Too exhausted to care if the world knows the worst things I think about myself. And then head to CoT. Today I shared about trying to get my weight (back) down. I’ve tried prayer, begging the M to hit me with a broom if she sees me unconsciously eating a stack of cookies she insists on leaving in one of those glass displays on the counter, self shame…

I heard some good prayers from exhausted PAX today. Real needs expressed. Always good to hear those.  And Quack Attack is good company on long killer sessions like today.

Looking forward to the next STL…

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Cupid’s Cup 5k at Minnow Pond

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The date on Thursday marked 6 years since YHC found himself in a non-siren, precautionary ambulance ride to Atrium Pineville with some annoying chest pain. Turns out my LAD needed 3 stents and I needed some cardiac rehab. Ever since then, about this time every year, I support that program by running in The Cupid’s Cup 5K put on by Atrium Health. The donations and support from F3 have always been overwhelming.

Well, 2020-2021 being what it is, the event was virtual this year. Not only that, but the cardiac rehab program added another Pax to its list of graduates. Bonsai, as you know, had a hiccup in his LAD this past summer. While both of us know that program is awesome, the F3 brotherhood plays an even more important role.

And it was on full display Thursday 2/11/2021. 25 of you came out to support us. You ran hard with us. You prayed with us and you supported the cause with you donations. It was truly humbling to be surrounded by so many Pax giving so much of themselves.

Congrats to Scalp for 1st overall and Long Duck for 1st of the respectables.

And please remember, if you’re experiencing any sort of chest discomfort, arm pain or unexplained nausea/vomiting, don’t brush it off. Get to the doctor/ER/Urgent Care. Time is precious when it comes to treatment and care. The time afterwards when you’re surrounded by the love and support of F3 is priceless.

Aye!

Boeheim

P.S. – Still time to donate/run virtually through Sunday 2/14

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average age 50.9 yrs, Kevin Bacon would be proud

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The elder statesman ran around today at Footloose
The old guys were on hand for a Manilow mall walk

10 seasoned veterans took to the streets and parking lots at Footloose for a Barry Manilow beatdown!

No last minute modifications needed, all attendees perfectly capable of taking anything I could dish out.

The thang:
mosey to the back of the church and circle up, 10-15 reps of each, in this order:
imperial walker, LBC, LS squat, shoulder tap, hill billy walker, freddie mercury, windmill, dying cockroach, jump squat, travolta
walk over to the wall for the unveiling of “on the rail”, 10 reps in cadence

mosey the long way around the block to the lower church lot, partner up. one snake the stairs, one donkey kicks, switch, 2nd round, one snake the stairs, one plank jacks
line-up on on end of the lot, Jonah Hill going the other way

mosey toward the “big” hill, but since that is what everyone was expecting, took a left and circled the church once before stopping at the bottom of the hill. partner up, one run the hill, the others choose between LBCs and BB sit-ups, switch, 2nd round, one run the hill, at the bottom of the hill alternate between 5 LBCs and 5 hand release merkins.

walk across the street to the other lot, line up across the church side. karaoke L to the other side, 10 LBCs, back, 10 LBCs, karaoke R, 10 LBCs, the same back, 10 LBCs, powerskip across, 10 LBCs, and back, 10 LBCs, 50% across, 10 LBCs, 75% back, 10 LBCs, all you got across, 10 LBCs, all you got back, 10 LBCs.

5 minutes left, so we mosey in the exact opposite direction of COT, around a bigish block and back to the church sign by COT. On the grass for 11 makhtar n’ diayes, in cadence.

announcements, prayers around the horn, and Assassin took us out.

Thanks for the opportunity Boss Hogg.

Looks like we made it,
Barry Manilow

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Uncomfortable

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7 PAX for the Gears Edition of Tune Up Tuesdays at Block Party.  We kept it nice and simple, but simple doesn’t mean easy.

The Thang:

No warm up, STL style.

Launched down White, around Kanawah, and down Massey at a sub-8 pace.  3 Pain Stations on the route:

  • Little Ceasers
  • Wolfe Funeral Home
  • Sisk Memorial

10-20-30 Merkins-Dry Docks-Mountain Climbers

Headed up Springs Street and took a right on Confederate (5 Burpees OYO for the 6) to the intersection with Monroe White.  Next routine was a variation on Burp-Back Mountain.

  • Ran up to Fort Mill Town Hall Parking Lot, 5 Burpees, then back down the hill and
  • Ran up to the other Hilltop at Williamson and Watson, 5 Burpees

Repeat 6 times total (3 per side).

Meet at the FMCOG lot for some COP while waiting for the 6.  Proceeded to Nur back lot, then some lateral shuffles across the lot.  Ran back up Academy to the Shovel Flag for some Mary before closing out in COT.

NMM

Band Camp especially enjoyed Burp Back mountain… enough said.

3.8 Miles covered, proof here

 

Read your newsletter.

Honor to Serve.

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Painting the Parking Lot of Quagmire with Pain

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Well, a Worship Planning error on my part caused the scheduled Q to learn of his volentold appointment from the PreWorkout Hype blast on twitter. He quickly informed me that he was unable to Q the following morning which is very understandable being this all took place during the Superbowl halftime. So YHC knew that it would be very difficult to get anyone to post the morning after the Superbowl so finding a replacement Q was going to be impossible. No problem for this snowman. If I have breath in my lungs I can suggest terrible exercises and we can perform them together. Whats that they say, “misery loves company”.

I think that flounder thought I was going to take it easy on him since he was the only one to join me this morning.
He thought wrong. I figured he woke up before the sunrise to strengthen his mind and body so I wasn’t going to be the one to disappoint. Grabbed some cones from the truck and off we started towards HomeDepot.

First exercise is the side straddle hop. 30 in cadence.

next exercise is the windmill. 20 in cadence.

Then we moseyed towards the fountain before YHC challenged Flounder to a footrace to the front of Kohls. Don’t think I am a complete punk for challenging a man that is more than twice my age to a footrace. I gave him free rain on his choice of route where I had to go back around the entire HomeDepot and Target before crossing over into the Kohls parking lot. Ready, Set, GO.

I was a bit surprised when I managed to cross over into the bright side of the AO and Founder was nowhere to be seen. Que up the Travolta GIF from Pulp Fiction.
Lesson number one for the young grasshopper.
Always make sure to ask if there are any questions after giving directions.
Backtracked around target heading towards the fountain where I was able to locate the war daddy and called off the Silver Alert. So not everyone knows where Kohls is located. My bad, should have asked.

Once the dream team was reunited the cones were then divided between us and YHC attempted to explain how to paint the parking lot with pain works.

We will start to jog in a circle staying inside of the parking lot boundaries with plenty of fresh air space located between us to keep my MVP, most valuable PAX, healthy from whatever crazy sickness I could be potentially carrying. At random parking spots we start placing the cones down as we continue to jog around the cirlce until all of the cones have ben placed. Then we take turns joging around the parking lot alternating who says stop. Once someone yells stop you find the nearest cone and perform 10 of the exercises listed. Kind of like musical chairs but with burpees and mountain climbers. This went on for quite some time until we each had performed all of the exercises more than we would have liked.
For the grand finally we would race back to COT. This time making sure that Flounder knows the route, the shortest route, to get back to COT while I was going to take the longer path as the first time.
This time we were much closer to finishing the race together which was my intention. A few big boy situps before Count-A-Rama, Name-A-Rama, Announcements, Prayers and Praises. Grateful for the skyQ giving me the nudge to let Flounder close out the COT because man does he have a way with words. Very inspiring for a young man like myself to be able to share time with a man of such strong faith. Put it this way if I am on Q and he is in the COT you better bet I am going to ask him to close us out and I would suggest you do the same.

NMM:
I was not feeling great after the punishment I had put my body through this weekend but once I saw Flounder roll up to the AO ready to go I knew there was no excuse for me to be slacking. He always brings a positive attitude to the workouts that he frequents on MWF and is accelerating in his fitness for sure. You might not catch him in the gloom if it’s cold and rainy but I believe he has earned the right to make that call with little heckling from me, and you know I am an equal opportunity heckler. I didn’t say he got a pass on the heckling; I said he gets less heckling than he deserves. Open to all men applies to keeping all PAX in check.
Very grateful for the discussion with him and to the PAX out there. Remember that you don’t post for yourself. You post for your fellow PAX.

Grateful for the opportunity to post with such a great dude.
Stay frosty my friends!
Olaf

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Intervals at the Swamp

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I have been on a motivated 1stF acceleration tear recently and this continued with some relentless pain. Some might even say it was terrible. Introduced multiple uncomfortable exercises that targeted those obliques and hips. Penguins were a crowd-pleaser. Cookout Squats were also a fan favorite. Nut crushers took the cake. See the Workout summary if you are like me and get geeked out on the data. Stay Frosty my Friends! OLAF
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