Conditions clear and very cold…around 33 degrees at kickoff
Disclaimer
Quick discussion on the combo workout and modify as needed
and walk off…about half had rucks…make large pile of rucks…near Office depot
Warmup-O-Rama
Partner up
Partner 1 run .33 mile, partner 2 does exercises…and then flapjack
Round one ruck curls, ruck upright rows, ruck curls, ruck upright rows…each partner got 4 turns at running…mumblechatter stalled…it started to suck…so as a good Q, I made bad into worse…
Partner 1 run .33 with ruck (crowd pleaser) while other partner exercises…and then flapjack
Round two squats, LBC, squats, LBC
Mumblechatter quickly turned into “bitching”…
Same partner, smaller lap, flying squirrels for each
Friday mornings are my favorite. Back at the place this whole F3 thang all began for me. The men started gathering, and by 5:14 it was a large group…but no one that wanted to ruck…so NASA got to join the bootcampers. I’m sure he was ready for his Q, but lots of guys were probably holding back for the Capital Ruck Tour on Saturday night. 20 PAX with me, so a quick disclaimer and we’re off.
A little dynamic warmup on our run with high knees, butt kickers, side shuffle. Made our way to the back parking of the old River Bleu.
run to each ball – 3 burpees – run back all the way down to the other side
Read to write, hard to do. After a FEW 10 counts time to mosey again.
Made our way closer to the COT, stopped at a nice patch of grass.
I saw someone had pulled out the Jack Webbs this week, it had been too long…
Jack Webbs to 10
Back to COT:
Ab Lab with American Hammers – Freddie Mercuries – LBCs
Announcements – Praises – Prayers
Moleskin:
I had something to share planed for the PAX. But on the way to the workout I was listening to the radio. Not something I normally do. A song came on by Logic. It’s posted here. Popular song about depression and suicide. My nephew had previously shown me the video. That morning it almost brought me to tears. I modified my message about control. The trials of life and heartache of loss or depression show us many ways that we are not in control. That even when things are good we can feel like there are bad. Give that control to God and ask him for guidance.
Too many kids I’ve been hearing about locally that have lost that control and found no other way out than suicide. We should be those men making a difference in kids lives so they know there is another way. Start with your own kids. Talk to them about life, and pain and failure. Let them know that everything’s not perfect like social media makes it out to be. Tell them about your failures and how you overcame them. Just talk…
A cool and drizzling day didnt keep the Pax away. 19 was the number with 5 ruckers and 13 bootcampers. Rad took the ruckers and I had the bootcamp.
We started with a short mosey to the parking lot behind Just Fresh where we circled up to stretch and loosen up. COP involved:
SSH x25
IW x10
Windmills x10
Weed Pullers x10
Merkins x10
Honeymooners/Downward Dogs
Pax were ready so we started The Thang:
I had the Pax split into groups of 3 with one group having 4. Each Pax would be performing a different excercise using the Pax running the stairs as the timer. Each Pax would rotate the excercises until each Pax had run the stairs twice. The cycles were:
Cycle 1
Pax 1 – Up and Down Stairs x5
Pax 2 – Broad Jump across parking lot (didn’t anticipate the rain which made this a little tricky)
Pax 3 – Flutter Kicks
a couple 10 counts
Cycle 2
Pax 1 – Up and Down Stairs x5
Pax 2 – Bear Crawl across parking lot (Tip: Parking lines are slick when wet)
Pax 3 – Peoples Chair
a couple 10 counts
Cycle 3
Pax 1 – Up and Down Stairs x5
Pax 2 – Recovery run across parking lot
Pax 3 – Burpees (CROWD PLEASER)
With that completed we were out of time so we lined up for an Indian Run back to COT where the Ruckers were waiting.
On a cool morning in early September, the men of The Fort gathered together to support the group of 12 men that answered the call to serve those in need in Colombia.
Mosey to the soccer field
The Warm-up (VQ led by Skinny Jeans)
20 4-count side straddle hops
15 4-count windmills
10 4-count Merkens
15 4-count mountain climbers
20 low slow squats
8 burpees OYO
Mosey to the football field
The Thang
Markers set up every 25 yards on the football field from endzone to endzone. PAX will start from one endzone and run from marker to marker and do the following exercises (below) at each. They will then run on the track back to the starting point.
10 merkins, 2 burpees
back to start – LBCs for six
10 Carolina DD, 2 burpees
back to start – flutter for six
10 squats, 2 burpees
back to start – American Hammer for six
10 bomb jacks, 2 burpees
back to start – freddy mercury for six
10 dips, 2 burpees
back to start – heels to heaven for six
10 lunges (5 per leg), 2 burpees
back to start -diamond LBCs for six
2 burpees per marker
Mosey to COT
Today we focused on the 12 men that are leaving tomorrow to serve in Colombia. We had the privilege of hearing the reasons why each of them have been called to serve during todays workout and then pray over them at the close. We are all lucky to have these men as our brothers and will continue to pray for them as they make their way abroad.
As mentioned in COT, each of us were blessed with passion for certain causes and influence to impact them. Find your passion and your calling and answer that call, whatever it may be.
Record breaking 16 PAX at Tempo. Dash to Windjammer and Back was The Thang. Lots of 2ndF during the 1stF with a 3rdF pause in the middle to give thanks to Sky Q at the Windjammer Dock.
Disclaimer: As I’m not a professional, no one even bothered to pay me for the free beat down this morning
Warm-a-rama I: Short mosey around the big loop, including high knees, butt kickers, side shuffles, toy soldiers
Warm-a-rama II: To ball field for some SSH, Merkin, Moroccan Night Clubs, Imperial Walkers, Hillbilly Walkers
Thang I: Indian Run: Last man drops, does 5 burpees, sprints to front of the line
Thang II: Line up on baseline, first guy runs a suicide while the rest do exercises listed below, then the suicider does a 10-count (Sputnik with the Russian 10-count and Straight Up with the Spanish 10-count, hence “Tower of Babel”)
Thang III: People chairs for 10-counts from 10 PAX, balls-to-the-wall for 10-counts from 10 PAX (note: someone called out no hands balls-to-the-wall to no avail BUT Crash called out one-handed and did it, both hands – impressive)
Mary: we had 2 minutes for abs: protractor angles were quite specific this morning (27 degrees???)
COT: 10 PAX posted this morning, including Jedi in his first week, prayers for family health, travel, and for PAX to be a light in a dark world.
Skin: Nothing like your very own personal sweat splatter puddle along the court baseline. Smells like… victory.
Enough PAX posted to the annual Millstone Loop 10.5 I felt a BB was in order. YHC posted a link to the FREE registration a few months back to those PAX I knew would be interested and willing. After discovering that Sir Topham Hat was not running in the race I emailed the Race Director to see if there were any spots open. The director emailed back and stated registration was open for just the next 3 hours. Text sent to STH and @channel blast to Slack that if you wanted to register, now was your chance. So on Saturday morning 9 PAX showed up to run 10.5 miles of uneven terrain (more on that later) on the Anne Springs Close Greenway.
0800 Nothing Fancy, On your marks, get set, GO!!!
A number of things can happen over the course of a trail race. Thrills, spills, classic rock, dodging horse droppings, getting lost, more spills, quality 2ndF, etc. Towards the end, this is how the numbers shook out.
Place
Last
Time
9
Spud
1:28:49
18
Rad
1:38:22
23
STH
1:44:32
25
Gekko
1:47:46
26
Photobomb
1:47:49
28
Zima
1:51:18
57
NASA
2:13:38
65
DaVinci
2:24:18
N/A
Gears
1:18:51
NMM
Trail Races are a lot of fun and a lot can happen. Here are some insights and comments.
Gears went rogue and ran 8ish miles. That or he got lost.
Photobomb dropped another type of bomb not knowing a few female runners were nearby. We asked if they’d like to pass and they stated they were fine, just don’t do that again.
Rad stubbed his pinky toe that morning and it fell off during the race
Several PAX learned the importance of fueling and hydration
A female runner offered her children to NASA for adoption (in jest…we think)
Spud and Zima tied for most crashes (2 each)
Spud continues to prove that he is not human
Gekko and Photobomb were bosom buddies. I tried to keep up but when Photobomb took the lead around the 9 mile mark, I waved them goodbye.
Tclaps to NASA who just keeps pushing himself in all 3 Fs
Tclaps to DaVinci who just started running and said sure, why not run 10.5 trails
All in all it was a great race, great community of runners and Legal Remedy on tap at the finish. The Rock Hill Striders know how to throw a party. I try to keep an eye on these somewhat CSAUPy events and will continue to try to keep the PAX updated.
20 Men (1 FNG) posted at the Swamp. 11 Ruckers went off to do Rucker things while 9 stayed with YHC for a little AMRAP.
We previewed the course and had a little COP including Windmills, Imperial Walkers, and Moroccan Night Clubs.
The Thang:
30 Minutes Partner AMRAP, Half a Mile Circuit with 7 stations:
20 Merkins
20 Big Boy Sit Ups
20 Peter Parkers
20 Parker Peters
20 Carolina Dry Docks
20 Side Straddle Hops
1 Burpee x Lap Count
Moseyed to COT for 5 MOM:
Too many Flutters
Just enough American Hammers
A touch of Freddy Mercury
Naked Man Moleskin:
I had a Cake Boss worthy Homily to share this morning, but maintaining order is more important than imparting wisdom during the 1st F Q. So, you get the abbreviated (and likely better thought out) version here.
At the beginning of the AMRAP, I asked the guys to partner up with a guy who was comparable fitness-wise. I asked them to share how many laps they thought they could get around the course. I have no idea what each guy said, but the intent was to push each other to meet that goal. I stayed with the FNG and visiting Java from Raleigh.
The purpose of this, and what I wanted to close out with, is that if we aren’t setting goals, we are just going through the motions. There was some chatter on the twitter machine about moderate workouts being #problematic. Someone put it best when they said “as long as the guys are working to get better, that’s not an issue”. So my question to all PAX, regardless of fitness level, is “what are your goals”. My 1stF goals this year are to a.) run 1500 miles and b.) finish my second marathon in 3:30 or better for a PR. The reason I put it here is because goals only matter if someone keeps you accountable for them (thus the partner AMRAP).
Every PAX should have a goal for all three F’s, because all 3 F’s are important. Beyond the F’s, this branches out into your personal and professional life.
Set Goals, Don’t just Coast. You’ll be amazed at what you can do.
