Category: Minnow Pond

On Frozen Pond

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I arrived a little before 5am to prepare for my Q since it was my first at the Minnow Pond.  As it got closer to 5:10 am, I was worried I would be running solo since no one was around and the temperature was below 30 degrees.  I was thinking about what I would write for the backblast..Lost fish at Minnow Pond, Finding Nemo, Frozen Fishstick.  No need to worry, soon there were several cars pulling into the parking lot.  Now I just needed to focus on the Q.

Due to the cold weather, short disclaimer and no warm-ups.  The six of us ran a one mile warm up around the neighborhood surrounding Walter Elisha Park.  We stopped in the parking lot for the next portion of the workout.

I designed a mini cross country course (a bit over a half a mile) in honor of the Fort Mill XC team reaching the State Finals this weekend.  Sharkbait, my 2.0, is part of the team.  I mentioned how proud it is to see your children reach milestones and accomplishments.  A year ago, it was alot different story.  My son struggled and had lots of excuses for why he was not performing at his potential.  I tried my best to balance being supportive and tough love.  He had to be responsible for taking ownership of his training if he wanted to get better.  This summer, he trained almost everyday with some of the top runners in the area.  The hot summer heat and even the rain did not stop him.  The results were great, he started every varsity race this year and had a 5K PR last week of 17:20.

My reason for mentioning this is obvious I am proud of my son, but also the old adage is true.  You have to work for the things you want.  The easy example is posting to workouts in the gloom, the more frequently you do it, the better you will be physically.  It works the same way with our relationships (M and 2.0s).  Put the time in and its almost guaranteed to be positive.

Ok, back to the workout.  Each lap began with 10 leg lunges, 10 monkey humpers, and 10 calf raises.

Half mile XC course:  Run up to the top of the hill beside the soccer field, lap around the parking lot, down Self Street to the corner of the park, back down to the WEP parking lot.

Reverse direction each time.

We each did this course 3 to 4 times before we headed back.  Before COT, we ran over to the staircase across the street and did a few sets are stair repeats.

Great job by everyone today!

We keep Kenyan and his family in our prayers during this difficult time.

 

 

 

 

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Bataan Death March at Minnow Pond

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12 Pax. 45 degrees. 1 EC’er (Longshanks).

Shanks is the only one who shows up 15 minutes early to a workout and runs hill repeats on Massey St. I’ll have to try that amount of crazy soon. Goodness!

The PAX arrived and 5:13 hit, we walked over to the Flag at Veteran’s Park to say the Pledge. I led the Pledge of Allegiance, and off we were.

Warm Up on Loop 1
Run up Main Street, right on 160, right on Monroe-White, right on Watson, right on Railroad Ave, back to Parking Lot

1 Mile Complete

COP –

Static Stretching –
Tappy Taps x 10
Groin Stretch
Runners Lunge L/R w/Arm Raise

Movements –
SSH x 10
Merkins x 5

Loop 2.

Bataan Death March – 5x Burpee CMIYC Indian Run
Up Massey St, Right on Harris St, Right on Ardrey, Right on White St, back to Parking lot. We had 12 Pax, so for the one mile loop, we all did one round of burpees. Needless to say I was thinking it felt easier than it looked on paper.

2 Miles Complete

Repeat Bataan Death March
Break into two groups to increase Burpee count – 6 & 6… and it’s a race!

This time on Loop 1. It pleased me to see some suck while PAX were doing burpees. It meant the workout was actually serving a purpose… making us better!

3 Miles Complete

Final Iteration
Partner Up
Run to base of Main Street.
Partner Carry up Main Street, switch at half way.
Jog Down to bottom.
Run to the bottom of Massey Street. Partner up with another PAX. Do the same thing.
Jog down.

Get back to the parking lot with a few minutes to spare.

Al Gore hold x 1.5 minutes
30 squat pulses after the 1.5 minutes.

Hold low lunge x 1 minute
10 pulses after the 1 minute.
Flapjack, other leg in front, same thing.

1 minute left! So we did a variation of the protractor.

Time up! 12 PAX for COT and some announcements. Shout out to Hardwood and Rex for fighting hard and earning those miles!

Read your newsletter.
Prayers for family traveling, friends/family who have recently been diagnosed with or are fighting cancer.
Prayers for a family member who was found passed away after falling in their home.
Prayers for families battling Hand, Foot, and Mouth. And flu, and all sorts of other virus floating around.
Praise for being able to use our bodies in the gloom every day.
Praise for the community that is F3.

Thanks for the opportunity, Longshanks. Sorry for the late BB!

Punch List out.

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Postal Route

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With the opportunity to Q Minnow Pond I knew I  needed to bring the pain and increase the intensity.  With everyone gathered and watch at 5:14, I gave the disclosure and at 5:15 we were off.

Ran from Confederate Park to the FM Post Office, meet in the parking lot and do burpees until the six is in.  The plan is running the roads behind the post office with exercises each corner.  The roads make a square and 1 exercise 10 reps at each corner.

1st lap – Elliott Street – merkins

2nd lap – Leroy St – Wide arm merkins

3rd lap – Hill St – Monkey Humpers

4th lap – Oak St – CDD

5th lap – Elliott st and back to COT

Not a lot of talking with the official 4.36 miles.  Everyone was accelerating and the AO is the type of site that will push you but also offer a lot of encouragement.  We are all at different paces in our acceleration, but doing a little more than you did the day before is showing acceleration.

Don’t let the site and distance scare you away.  Push yourself to try something new and just like every site, there are always Pax to push, encourage and pick you up.  Just like in life, we are all in different places and phases, and we can encourage one another to be better in our house than we were the day before.

Thanks Shady for the opportunity to Q.

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Minnow Pond Back Blast

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BB- Perfect conditions if you like 90% humidity and August like conditions.  Straight Up was a beast on the up and down hills.  Funhouse had perfect burpee form and the rest of us did our best to keep up.  

From Launch:

Take off down White, Right on Massey, Right on Harris. At intersection of Harris and Yorktown, Plank it up and wait for #6.

The Thang:

  • Harris/Yorktown is center of tripod.  10 burpees at center
  • Head down Harris. At end: 20 squat #asstograss
  • Run to Center
  • Head down Yorktown.  At end: 20 LBC
  • Run to Center
  • Head down Harris (opp direction).  At Riverwood: 20 CDD
  • Run Center

Rinse/Repeat, #AMRAP until time called.  Be at Center at 0555 for run back to COT. 2 rounds will get you 4.5 +pain.

Get it? Got it? Good.

Bring your smokeboots and a zest for pain.

Jekyll

 

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Minnow Pond- fishing with lights

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It was a nice cool morning. All were given the oppoetunity to see what Backdraft had a feeling for.8 gathered for the unexpected. THis is minnow pond all knew know warmups no breaks and definitly no 10 counts. A few minutes before YHC gave a quick and to the point disclaimer (Wasnt really neccesary due to all in attendence being veterans of F3, but wanted to be in regs. Dont want the man to come down on me)
We took off to the old service station. Once there hit mountain climbers and SSHs until 6 appered.
Heres the route head down old Nations every .4 to .5 miles yu will find a glow stick with exercises on it do them and move to the next. pretty simple. (that is what minnow pond is, Work plain and simple)
4 stops.
the guys from laces out join for a bit of the fun. Thanks for stopping by.
1. 5 flying squirrels/ 15 flutter kicks
2. 5 flying squirrels, 10 hand release merkins/ 15 flutter kicks
3. 5 flying squirrels, 10 hand release merkins, 15 squat jacks/ 15 flutter kicks
4. 5 flying squirrels, 10 hand release merkins, 15 squat jacks, 20 burpees/ 15 flutter kicks.
repeat the cards on the way back.
Meet at service station until 6 comes in PAX there first continuous MARY.
Head to COT.
WE got in 4 miles
Remeber always start small and work your way into the bigger picture.
Pray for PAX having family issues. (remember you may be the only guy a fellow PAX can talk to. Always be open to listen. We all can use it.)

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Minnow Pond Strikes Again

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17 Pax descended upon the Minnow Pond this AM. Many were new to the Pond and all were better for having posted.

In the 5 weeks since launch, Shady along with the other Qs have set the bar high for MP. The workouts have been difficult with more 1st F than 2nd or  3rd F. I have been reminded of a few trips to F3 Metro where YHC was gassed after each post. I loved it!

YHC was honored to be asked to Q early in the existence. Honestly, I was both excited and nervous much like the old days of F3 the Fort. I was excited to lead the group of HIMs and nervous to create a beatdown that matched the intensity from the first 4 weeks. Minnow Pond stretches you as a Q. Whether you are a thoroughbred or a clydesdale, all Pax must get equal pain. After reviewing some backblasts from the Shark Tank (the OG), YHC created a plan that included a few holes at Fort Mill Golf Club.

Weather: 64 and not humid (Football season is here!)

The Thang:

Warm up and disclaimer prior to 5:15

AYG to Fort Mill Church of God parking lot (burpees until the 6 arrives)

10 Merkins, 20 Squats, 30 LBCs

Run to end of lot and back

Repeat 4 times

AYG to FM Golf Course (burpees until the 6 arrives)

Holes 7, 8 and 9

Hole 7 – 50 paces followed by 7 burpees from tee to green

Hole 8 – 50 paces followed by 8 sit ups from tee to green

Hole 9 – 50 paces followed by 9 bombjacks

Burpees until the 6 arrives

AYG to Fort Mill Church of God parking lot (burpees until the 6 arrives)

10 merkins, 20 squats, 30 LBCs

AYG to Veterans Park

Based on loose calculations, we covered the following in 45 minutes:

3+ miles

60 merkins

120 squats

180 LBCs

35+ burpees

40+ sit ups

50+ bombjacks

 

Moleskin:

  • Invergence/Convergence coming up 9/6 – 9/7
  • Mainframe on Q for Q Source on 9/7 at Kingsley amphitheater
  • Minnow Pond t-shirt order
  • Prayers for child at Children’s Attention Home that Nasa is mentoring
  • Praise for successful start to school year
  • Marriages

Thanks to Shady for the opportunity!

Pusher

 

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Monotony is a Choice

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16 energetic pax posted to the 4th installment of Minnow Pond.  All veterans, all had been warned in advance of need to warm up. So Disclaimed was super short and then it was game on.

The Thang

Run to playground at WEP.  First to arrive start doing Burpees until Six shows up.

Extended plank sequence while YHC delivers instructions.

Pax run one .6 mile lap around WEP on path at crisp pace. When pax arrive back to playground:
Pull ups x10
Derkins x20
Gorilla squats x30

Rinse & repeat lap/exercise sequence AMRAP for remainer of workout.

Short stint of Mary at playground while Six finishes final lap.

Run back home

COT

NMM

Great effort by the pax, pushing themselves and pushing each other.  Total laps ranged from 3 to 5, depending on pace.  Total of 3.5-ish miles plus 50 pull-ups, 100 Derkins & 150 Squats for those who maxed out at 5 laps.  No one left without needing to wring out his shirt.

Shady’s mission at MP is to push the pax, both in terms of pain and pace.  Objective with today’s Weinke was to make sure pax of any running pace could participate without the Six falling behind or leaders catching too much of a break.  Seems like it worked.

Running laps and doing the same three exercises can become stale…kinda like many parts of daily life.  Sometimes it might be the work routine, other times it might be family life or exercise or church or anything.  I don’t deal well in maintenance situations or situations that become routine.  When I’m stuck in those places without much ability to change, I can be tempted to make poor choices to escape the mundane or to “spice” things up.  Jester can draw a bead on me quite easily at these times.  BUT, there’s ALWAYS a #choice.  And the first choice is how you see the situation.  Seeing it as “monotony” is a choice.  Someone else might see the work routine with envy, because they want a job.  Someone may see the family routine as a dream, because they live alone or can’t have children.  Someone may see exercise doldrums as a joy, because they’re injured or disabled.  So, when routine starts to weigh on your spirits, remember that you have a choice to see the routine in ways other than drudgery. And maybe a different choice will help keep the Jester at bay.

Thanks to Shady for opportunity to lead.  Looking forward to many more mornings at MP!

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Caution: The Minnow Pond may contain hills

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Man, that sucked…I mean, that was awesome. Pardon me as oxygen is still hard to come by this morning. It was in the 70’s with 4,000% humidy, we averaged 7:45/mi for 3.25ish miles, did some low-rep exercises along the way and I tried really hard to keep the merlot in the tank. Jedi was disappointed we didn’t hit every single hill in Fort Mill but Dirty Harry enjoyed the gun shop hill repeats.

For further detail that is both short on eloquence & wit, see below…

Disclaimer & welcome to Pet Sounds from the sun-blotting region of CARPEX…YOOOOOOOOOO

Took off out of the parking lot for an estimated .5mi loop around Main St, ending up back at the lot for:

Windmills

Jump Squats

Carolina Dry Docks

SSH

Jump Squats

Wide-Arm Merkins

Moroccan Night Clubs

Jump Squats

Diamond Merkins

Made our way to the base of the gun shop hill (Massey St)

Run up the hill to the Church then back down to the base of the hill. Repeat 2 more times for 3 total round trips then mosey to the steps by the stop light.

50 Calf Raises then a lengthy explanation of how to get to our next destination: Harris Street Park by way of Spratt St then Harris St.

At the Park’s parking  lot: Dips, Mountain Climbers, Peter Parkers, Merkins

This is where it began to look much better on paper. It was very simple, run up Jackson St to Hwy 160. You see, the problem with this single-road route is that it consists of roughly a 3/4mi gradual uphill climb that in the gloom, gives you the mirage of never ending. Right about that .5mi mark is where Punch List almost witnessed the splash, but hey, I’m the Q, I can’t splash. So I started walking then met the PAX at the stop sign where I see Shady is already leading the next exercise…show-off. #gazelle

Once we collected the 6, we made our way back to the AO for 5min of Mary.

And at this point, I’ll thank Shady for the chance to Q the Minnow Pond, thank the Lord I didn’t die, ask the PAX to consider pushing themselves at something a little different, and spend part of the day looking for oxygen.

Maximus

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Inaugural swimming (or running) with the fishes

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8 dipped their toes in the unknown waters mostly unsure and anxious of where this ride was going to take them so hats off for the trust and willingness to try something “new”.  As the PAX did some stretching while we waited for 0515 (good work on the stretching!), some mumblechatter started to arise, but was quickly snuffed out.

Headlamps and reflective gear were encouraged and these HIMs were prepared…as you’d expect when you read the royalty who’s who that was in attendance. While there was a brief disclaimer, we wasted no time and took off into uncharted waters aside from the weinke YHC had scribbled together previously and had it locked away in my head (no time to carry around paper and read in the dark).

From the veterans parking lot / COT, we mosey’d up to the park where there are stairs and stopped at the first set of benches for a “warm up” which consisted of 20 dips and 20 derkins; rinse and repeat (FYI, stretching and any real warm up can be done prior to 0515….#JustSayin).  Once complete with the 2 rounds, we took off for the “Sweet Baby Jesus” church for some partner work.

Upon arrival at the church, we partnered up where partner 1 ran around the church, then up and down the 3 sections of the stairs while partner 2 did flutters.  Once partner 1 completed their set, there were plank hand slaps for a count of 10 (and in some cases double counts, again, #JustSayin and probably unclear instructions from YHC #MyBad).  Once hand slaps were done, partner 1 and 2 swapped and ran and fluttered.  We did this for 3 complete rounds.  And there may have been an Omaha in there for a quick Elvis trip….no names will be disclosed but luckily the nearest bathrooms were on the path of our next stop.

Off to Harris Street park we went, which was very well lit on the way down and a good amount of side street.  We met at the basketball court for 2 quick rounds of 25 merkins and 50 LBCs.  After the 2 rounds, we headed towards the path to get to WEP.  This path was not well lit, actually about as pitch black as it gets, so the head lamps were a must have.  This path went on and on…and on until we finally took the hard left towards the WEP parking lot.  As we got to the first drill bit, we planked and fluttered while we waited for the six.  Six arrived and we started clockwise around track to the first drillbit for 5 burpees.  Second drillbit, 5 burpees….third drillbit, 5 burpees.

Left the park and headed towards the Founders bank where we did the clockwise loop down Clebourne Street towards Main Street and down the Main Street hill where we stopped just over the railroad tracks.  With 5 minutes remaining, we had time to run up the hill and do 20 LBCs and 20 merkins.  Then back down the hill to COT.

Numbered off, name-o-rama, announcements and prayers and praises were had.  Dark Helmet on Q for next week, and please remember to bring headlamps and/or reflective gear for future reference.

Shady

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