Tag: Nasa

QvQ 19.1 – Jiffy vs. Sasquatch

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21 PAX showed up to the first round of QvQ 2019. This first round is the classic match up from last year, which was decided by ONE point! That’s right, the reigning champ versus his challenger.

Jiffy versus Sasquatch

Brief history: Sasquatch lost to Jiffy last year by one point. ONE point! It was necessary for the match up to be repeated given the level of intensity at which both of these #HIM operate.

The clock struck 0515 and I directed everyone’s attention to the championship prize. A custom F3 shovel flag curated by YHC.

The intent of this shovel flag is to be much like a championship belt. I hope that it passes hands over the years, and we write the name of each years’ reigning champ on the back of the handle. It shall be brought to CSAUPs as well at any time the champion posts and desires to gloat. See below for a glimpse of the trophy.

0515.

I had five minutes to lead a quick warm up to get the PAX ready for what was to come.
Once we got our Tappy Taps out of the way, it was time to get down to business.

The rule of order is the competitor who is earliest to arrive will get to decide who goes first. Jiffy arrived at about 0435, so he was the clear winner. He chose to receive and go on the offense first.

0520.

Coupon Roulette

We came upon a sinister circle with 20+ cinder blocks, 50/60lb dumbbells, and retaining wall blocks! He had us circle around the coupons and choose one.

With your selected coupon you will complete in cadence called by Jiffy:

Shoulder press x 10
Curls x 10
Squats x 10
4 Count Flutters x 10

Jiffy then rolls three dice. One determines the direction we rotate. Two determine how many coupons in that direction we shift.

Get to your next coupon, repeat. Roll again.

Next coupon, do equal amount of burpees to number of coupons we rotated. Repeat four movements.

Roll again. Next coupon, do equal amount of partner clap push ups to number of coupons rotated. Repeat movements.

We hit round four and I was praying for a miracle, because my arms were already smoked.

0530.

Sasquatch takes the reigns and moves us to the pull up bars for a very creative assembly line of face kicks.

Nine PAX line up at pull up bars. The rest at various nearby stations. Do one pull up, shift one bar to the left. Once you reach the end you then BTTW crawl back to the other side of the pull up bars. Then head out to the street.

The remaining PAX are either doing burpees at either curb on the street nearby or run/nur down and up the hill (AKA Quadzilla!). Once you finish your respective station, move to the next and tap somebody at that station to proceed.

That was super original, and also tclaps to Jedi for doing a full handstand walk with no wall support both times through.

0540.

Jiffy gets his second opportunity to remind us why he is the champ.

We remain at the pull up bars and count off by threes.

Group 1: four rounds of 5 burpees/10 squats and then end with 10 partner clap push ups.

Group 2: four rounds of 5 pull ups/10 Merkins and end with 10 partner clap push ups.

Group 3: run to bottom of hill a dm bearcrawl up. At each cone do 10 Carolina Dry Docks.

We made it through 2.5 stations before running out of time. A great use of the AO. I wondered how Sasquatch was going to answer this painful segment.

0550.

Sasquatch has us count off by fours. He then leads us on a brisk mosey to the turf field. As we approach, we see two sleds at the closest end zone, and two at the far end zone. He sets one group up at each sled and has us complete the following exercises as a group on repeat:

Seal Sit-Ups x 10
Jump Squats x 10

Meanwhile, one PAX from each group pushes the sled 100 yards across the field to the opposite end zone. Once they reach the end, swap with someone in that group and they then push the sled back to your original group. Continue that snake like move until time is called. Woof.

0600 couldn’t come soon enough. Those sled pushes were terrible.

We hit 0600 and head back to COT to vote. The votes were cast, the points were tallied, and a winner was decided upon.

The winner of week one of QvQ is:

Sasquatch

It was close, but this time it was decided by 7 points. Sasquatch was awarded a patch since he will be advancing to the championship on 10/30.

A great showing by both of our competing Q’s. I think I speak for everyone when I say that was one of the more difficult workouts as of late at The Coop. And we’ve had some tough ones!

I’m looking forward to week two. We’ve got the Airborne Bad Assery of Geronimo lined up to take on our very own 1st F Q – Shady!

Announcements

Broga at The Ranch tomorrow! A special recovery focused workout for those running Ragnar this weekend.
QvQ next week: Geronimo vs Shady!

Prayers/Praises

Wegmans’ father in law has prostate cancer. It’s slow moving, but it’s cancer. Pray that it can be eradicated without much detriment to his M’s father.
Pray for the multiple PAX with pregnant M’s. It’s a transitional time but it’s well worth it. Pray we can as husbands love our wives like Christ loves the church while they are going through so many changes.

Thanks for the great beatdown, men.

Punch List out.

TClap |
8

Sometimes You Are The Six/IronPax wk2

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This is simply one PAX’s IronPax story.

Of course you can see who is posting this backblast, but that is really not relevant.

You can review the PAX in attendance and know which region and which AO this was held, but that is irrelevant, too.

IronPax was created by F3Greenwood for the Nation to step out of their comfort zone, to be tested and stressed physically. to organize a little competition, to see where you stand with your peers.  Throwing in a little competition to the Nation is a good thing; competition (much like running times in races) is definitely a driving force to maintain, build upon and evaluate individual’s fitness levels.

But ultimately it is about 2 things:

1) You vs. You.  How far, hard and/or fast can YOU push yourself? Where does YOUR fitness level stand? Do YOU need to post more to maintain YOUR desired fitness level? Are YOU taking advantage of the F1 opportunities in your region?

2) PAX supporting PAX.  When you are out there doing a weekly IronPax challenge, you are out there WITH OTHER PAX DOING IT.  You will not be left behind, and you will not leave others behind. Use your fellow PAX for inspiration. They are with you doing it.

After having done IronPax in the past, my goal this year was to simply finish each week’s workout. Week 2’s “Meatloaf Massacre” challenge was a super hard arm workout challenge. For this runner’s skinny arms,  adding in I have not been posting as much as I should recently, I knew I was going to have a tough time.

Cinder blocks were brought by a PAX. 12 men had taken the challenge on this day.

By round 2, I knew I was in trouble. This was going to be a struggle. I was ready to quit then knowing I was not going to finish. I kept going simply by the fact that other PAX kept going. Through round 3, into round 4, I had fallen way behind as my arms were nearly dead. I was watching the clock as we got closer and closer to 0600.

After 30 of 50 merkins in the last round (with one running lap to finish), I announced I was done. I didn’t want to hold anyone up.  But my quitting was not an option for 2 of my fellow PAX (who these PAX were is also irrelevant, but WE know who they were). “How many more Bolt?” was asked. It did not matter to them. I was getting  20 more done. “Ok, 5 at a time. We’re doing it with you. Let’s get it done.” Back on my knees in front of my cinder block with 2 PAX to my right. 5 merkins, rest. “5 more Bolt.” So 5 more, rest. Then 5 more, rest. And the last 5. “Go get your last lap done, Bolt.”  Before I knew it I was done.

I certainly was not expecting to be the six, but now I had an IronPax time to submit.

And that’s all that really mattered on this day.

I’m expecting I will need PAX support in the final 2 weeks of IronPax. And I know I will get it.

TClap |
17

Honoring 5 heroes from 9/11 at the Honey Badger

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16 PAX joined me to honor our fallen heroes, this time I went off the book and decided to do my own version and honor some of the heroes from the tragedy of 9/11.

-During the September 11 of 2001 attacks, 2,977 people were killed (excluding the 19 hijackers) and more than 6,000 others injured

-The immediate deaths included 265 on the four planes (including the terrorists), 2,606 in the World Trade Center and in the surrounding area, and 125 at the Pentagon

-Of those who perished during the initial attacks and the subsequent collapses of the towers, 343 were New York City firefighters, 23 were New York City police officers and 37 were officers at the Port Authority.

We had hundreds of heroes that day but I decided to honor 5 that made a great impact, they are not in any specific order but here are their names:

  1. NYPD Officer Moira Smith was the first officer to report the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 when she saw the first plane strike the first tower of the World Trade Center. Smith, a 13-year veteran, ran into the towers and began assisting in the evacuation. Officer Smith is credited with saving hundreds of lives that day, giving her own in the process. She was the only female NYPD officer to die on 9/11.
    She was survived by her 2-year-old daughter and her husband.
  1. Welles Crowther was an investment banker working on the 104th floor of 2 World Trade Center (the south tower). When United Airlines Flight 175 struck the south tower, Crowther remained calm. Just minutes after the plane hit, Crowther called his mother to let her know he was okay. He then began assisting others in evacuating, at one point carrying a woman down 17 flights of stairs, only to return to the 78th floor to continue helping others.
    Crowther had made it out of the building and was running back into it with a “Jaws of Life” tool when the tower collapsed. He was 24 years old.
  1. Mark Bingham ark owned a public relations firm, the Bingham Group. He was a passenger on board United Airlines Flight 93. Bingham was among the passengers who, along with Todd Beamer, Tom Burnett and Jeremy Glick, formed the plan to retake the plane from the hijackers, and led the effort that resulted in the crash of the plane into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, thwarting the hijackers’ plan to crash the plane into a building in Washington, D.C., most likely either the U.S. Capitol Building or the White House. Before their final mission, Mark called his mother and told her that he loved her very much. His mother, Alice Hoagland, is a former flight attendant. Since Mark’s death, she has become a world-renowned expert on airline safety as well as an activist for LGBTQ issues in memory of her heroic son.
  2. Ronald Paul Bucca was a Fire Marshal with 23 years on the job with FDNY. An Army Special Forces reservist, Bucca was known as “The Flying Fireman” after a spectacular fall from a tenement fire escape. Bucca, a marathon runner, died responding to the 78th floor of the south tower moments before it collapsed.
    He was the only FDNY Fire Marshal to be killed on 9/11.
  1. Retired United States Army Officer Rick Rescorla was working as the head of security at Morgan Stanley on the 44th floor when tragedy struck. Rick was there during the bombing at the Trade Center in 1993 and believe that the Towers were still a target for terrorists. He even predicted that a plane might be flown into them one day. He implemented security procedures for Morgan Stanley, including having practice evacuations every three months.
    On 9/11, Rick systematically helped the firm’s 1,000 employees out by ordering them through the stairways. He sang a Cornish battle song to boost morale, as he had done for his troops in Vietnam. After someone told him that he also needed to evacuate Rick said, “As soon as I make sure everyone else is out”. He was last seen heading up the tenth floor when the Tower collapsed.

WARM UP

We started with a slow mossey around the parking lot with some toy soldiers in between runs.

Back to COP for warm up exercises:

Windmill

Moroccan night clubs

Low Slow Squats (crowd favorites)

Cherry pickers

THE THANG

Mosseyed to the pull up bars area were some utensils had been setup for the following 9-11 format WO, 9 exercises with 11 reps each and then RUN down the hill to the stop sign and NUR back up, RINSE AND REPEAT, the plan was to do this 5 times, one for each hero but due to time restriction we completed 4 circuits with just enough time to run back to COT for announcements, prayers and praises.

11 pull ups BAR

11 big boy situps

11 toes to BAR

11 sledgehammer swing

11 knee raises BAR

11 merkins

11 slam ball to ground

11 Carolina dry docks

11 tire flips

It was a tough workout but it’s totally worth it when honoring our heroes; everyone pushed themselves through it with lots of mumble chatter but at the end we left better men!!

I was honored to Q the Honey Badger this week, thank you Dirty Harry for the opportunity to lead. #NeverForget

TINSEL out…

TClap |
4

September 11 Memorial Stair Climb

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Today I was honored to lead 39 men of the Fort in my version of a 9/11 Stair Climb…. I asked these gentlemen to bring rucks or sandbags and headlamps. This was to simulate the equipment worn by the first responder’s who entered the World Trade Center to do their jobs. We also had Charetta appear courtesy of Dirty Harry…she was our victim that needed to be  carried up and down the NaFo bleachers ….everyman carried their fare share of weight.

The workout was simple!!!!  There was no warmup….we didn’t need one….

The object was to climb the bleachers 27.5 times up and down carrying a ruck or sandbag….the goal 1980 steps or 110 stories….NaFo bleachers are 36 steps up and down…the men of the Fort  conquered this simple request but there was a catch…..when they came back down they had to do 9 inclined merkins and 11 squats… I think most did more than the required amount and for that I’m in awe…. I love being part of this great nation

Before the climb I shared a little about my experience that day 18 years ago as an NYPD officer and I asked each man to reflect between the hours of 8:46 am to 10:28 am these were the hours that changed my life and change the world as we knew it….I also wanted to remember my friends who gave their lives to save as many people as they could that morning :

NYPD PO MARK ELLIS TRANSIT DISTRICT 4

NYPD PO RAMON SUAREZ TRANSIT DISTRICT 4

PAPD PO ANTONIO RODRIGUES PORT AUTHORITY BUS DEPOT

I worked with these gentleman and they will never be forgotten…

Thank you Punchlist for letting me.lead these great men .

We had one FNG Lassie….welcome

TClap |
11

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

 

TClap |
6

The Pantheon Claw

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It was another fine morning at the Pantheon. 70F and 90% humidity. Just the kind of morning that makes the fart sack look even better than normal.  But 12 HIM valiantly defeated the FS this morning in order to gather in the gloom.  2 of them launched a ruck about 5 minutes before the official start time, and YHC will dedicate very little more time to their cause.  They can write up their own backblast if they want to advertise just how awesome their morning was.

WARM UP

We started with a brief disclaimer.  Then ran clockwise around the school to the south lot for 20 SSH, 10 windmills, and 20 Moroccan Night Club.

That dora

Another mosey to the BB court for a quick bit of Dora.  The PAX paired up and shared. 100 pushups, 200 squats, and 300 LBC.  The runner would trot on down to the other side of the court, perform 2 burpees, then run back to tag their partner.

t stance walking

When that was done YHC showed the T Stance Walk to the PAX, which was to be performed the 25′ or so from the end line to the end of that free throw circle thingy.  I will describe below.  However, during my extremely eloquent demo and explanation, a TWSS was released in response to “It should feel weird, but won’t be too hard”.  As we all know, the only prescription for a TWSS is 5 burpees…  I thought it was Tardy who was responsible for our added betterment, but we found out that Lutefisk was the sponsor of our delight.

Open T Stance Walk:

  1. Start with R Foot at a 45º angle to the right
  2. Step L foot so that it is in line with the R toes, L foot is at a 90º angle to the left
  3. Dip down until knee is on the ground, 90% weight on L foot
  4. At this point your R knee should brush your left ankle, and your R ankle off the ground
  5. Stand up and repeat, zig zagging just a bit as you follow a straight path

On the way back, Closed T stance walk.  This time instead of pointing the feet 45º out/away, point them 45º in/across the body

This was done twice. There was some mumblecomplainchatter.

When finished we moseyed over to the amphitheater for the main event.

THE CLAW

The map produced of this particular exercise:

PAX started from the bottom (the thumb) and ran along each of the concrete paths.  Stopping at the end of each to perform a quick set before going to the next finger.  When returning to the thumb, they did LBCs.

Round 1
5 merkins
5 squats
5 monkey humpers
bear crawl there and back for the final finger
40 LBCs at the thumb

Round 2
10 merkins
10 squats
10 monkey humpers
bear crawl there and back for the final finger
60 LBCs at the thumb

There was JUST enough time to do one more round!

Round 3
15 merkins
15 squats
15 monkey humpers
bear crawl there and back for the final finger
And immediately mosey back to COT!

COT

Back at COT YHC stopped to get his phone for name-o-rama.  And to take a breath…  There were some announcements, praises and prayers.  A few minutes after disbanding, the ruckers showed up and more fist bumps were administered.

TClap |
4

Fields of Gory at The Ranch – And The Importance of Sharing Your Burdens

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Jiffy gave me a holler this weekend to Q here. I was in the lower spectrum of the Flux lately and Q-ing a mostly black diamond AO was just what I needed to get out of it. Thank you Jiffy for the opportunity!!

As I rolled in a little after 5, I saw Straight Up getting in a prerun. That’s always nice to see and also be a part of. Get after it my man!!

Quite a few PAX showed up. I was surprised since I was “competing” with the launch of Shady’s new Minnow Pond HIgh-Intensity-Run AO. Regardless of numbers, the fact that PAX show up to get better is always good to see. Word the night before was that there would be an FNG. Sure enough, the FNG held their word and posted. Awesome!! We briefly explained what F3 is, then went through the 5 core principles of F3 and also a full disclaimer. Then off we went.

Yogging pace mosey around the front parking lot of the school for a quick warm up to get the muscles warm and blood flowing. Some great conversations along the way. Then back near where we started for the COP:

20 or so of the following:
* Sidestraddle hops (SSH)
* Windmills (WM)
* Imperial Walker (IW)
* Hillbilly walker (HW)
* Moroccan night clubs (MNC)

Then off to the field out front for the main event. Once we were staged I shared some intro words of my message (see below), then we got into it.

Fields of Gory:

Two LED candles placed at either end of the field for marking and romantic ambiance, roughly 100yds apart. No roses or chocolates though, sorry. PAX lined up along one end. Start at one end with an exercise, do a transition to the other side, do another exercise, another transition back, etc. A total of 4 rounds were done, so we transitioned 400 yds total. Here’s what we did:

Round / Exercise / Transition:

  1. 75 merkins then Lt Dan (100 yds) to next
  2. 100 hillbilly squat* then bear crawl (100 yds) to next (which was where we started)
  3. 125 flutters (2 ct) then broad jump (100 yds) to next
  4. 150 elbow plank peter parkers (SC) then sprint to start/finish area
  • Hillbilly Squat = Do a sumo squat, then after you come up you lift one knee up and side crunch the same side elbow down to where they both almost or lightly touch. Then place foot back down and straighten up from the side crunch. That’s one rep. Repeat, alternating L-R sides as you go.

There was a lot of good mublechatter the whole time, and the FNG had plenty of help understanding the terms as well as plenty of encouragement and motivation to complete the work at hand. You know, because that’s how we F3 HIMs roll!! That’s the way to get FNGs to come back.  Everyone did GREAT!!

We still had some time, so we circled up on the field for a people’s choice Ablab / Mary

  • Jiffy – Russian twists
  • Mr T – Boxcutter
  • Mainframe – ?? Something that made Mr T really rip a few good, loud, long ones that made us all laugh good. That’s all I can remember from his turn. He and Cable Guy need to get together.
  • Harry Carry – Freddy mercury

After that we were done and toasted. On to COT.

FNG Naming / Announcements / P&P

  •  FNG was EH’d by Straight Up. They work together and have done some OCR events together. Got ‘Scooter’ because he loves to bike ride and motorcycle ride.
  • Read your newsletter – Journey group starting up, Q Source convergence, Invergence in September, Ragnar, etc
  • Prayers for Jiffy’s mom who was very recently diagnosed with lymphoma.
  • Prayers for my M. See below.

It was a great morning! The FNG really hung in there well. Great mumblechatter. A lot of hard work put in. It was a much needed blast!

NMM – Sharing Your Burdens

The past year or so I have not really been talking much at my Qs. Just setting the work expectations and getting things done. If I did talk it was brief, not much expansion, much of a message for others to marinate on and get better from, or input from the PAX at all. Even at my Q at The Fire Ant two days prior to this I was pretty quiet. Today was different. I felt I had to. Not expectation from site Q or anything, rather I needed to do it. I needed to share for myself and others.

I briefly mentioned some of what’s below to the PAX during the workout to frame my message, but I am going to expand upon this here. Get something to drink and get comfortable if you want to read on. I ask that you please do.

To be 100% honest, since the completion of the Custom DSM event and Star Course 26 after, I have nearly completely lost all motivation to post. The DSM was May, star course was June. In the past month or so I may have posted a handful of times. I’ve been just burned out in every way. In the few months prior to the DSM I completed a GRT, then 1/2 marathon, full marathon, P200, a GRT-L combo, Pathfinder Advanced training, a Mile-High mountain ruck (thanks Dirty Harry), and have also completed every GORUCK monthly themed challenge. I was posting a minimum 5 days a week as well, with pre-runs or pre-rucks 2-3 times a week mixed in for good measure. My body was getting hammered, so the physical burnout was obvious. But I was also quite mentally and emotionally burned out. Stick a fork in me I’m done burnout. Alot of stressers in my life. There was a lot on my mind, a lot of distractions. Job stresses; worrying about my 86 year old mom; family worries; the highs of completing the physical challenges and subsequent lows of pain, recovery, healing, and slowly getting back in a groove for the next things; my older brother getting divorced and selling his house that we all made a TON of great memories in over the years; worries about my older son who has ADHD and was recently diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome (a form of Autism); I had a coworker who recently committed suicide – and nobody at work knew he was suffering; I am OCD so there’s always something around the house that I feel has to be made better.  And there was more. They started overwhelming me mentally and emotionally. Between the physical, emotional, and mental burdens, they felt 100x heavier than my ruck at the DSM Heavy. The Jester was pulling his strings on me. I was feeling I was in downward spiral. I’ve never been diagnosed as depressed, but I started wondering if I was. I was in the low range of The Flux for sure. It’s part of life. It happens.

But the big hitter came recently. My wife of 14 years, Stephanie, had been having headaches off and on over the past few months, like since the beginning of the year. Sometimes debilitating ones where she would have to leave work quite early and go home, crawl in bed, and rest. Some days she’d have them, some days not. Totally random. She has a stressful job but on days she had a rough day at work, she may not have one. No BP issues causing them. No sickness present. Blood work showed no causes. Docs thought it was migraines. Migraine meds did not help. Got an MRI. Later we got the results – docs found something on the right side of her brain, it appeared old,  was small,  and did not appear to be a tumor. We were told to go see a neurologist.  As you could imagine, that caused ALOT of stress between us two as well as our families.

But I kept all of that in. Did not really talk about that much to anyone. I stayed home, did not work out, did not talk to others, kept mostly off social media. Even when others pinged me I kept away from discussing things. I felt nobody really cared about my problems. This is pretty much how I can be, and have been so most of my life.

I felt I was directly headed to a breaking point. I could feel my BP rise – and my home checks of it confirmed it. The pressure cooker was piping hot, packed full and expanding, and about to burst. This was no way to live. I had to snap out of it but had no motivation to muster up the momentum to move forward.

Sometimes the momentum for movement comes from outside yourself. Last week I got invited to a birthday party for a fellow PAX Olaf (the younger one). I of course accepted. That was a lift, a positive impact, initiator event #1 in itself.  As I was getting ready to leave with my family in tow, I got a message from Jiffy. He wanted me to get out and Q at The Ranch. I could’ve made an excuse but I accepted.  That was a lift, initiator event #2. Then I went to the party and had some great 2nd F with the PAX there. Even then, I still did not mentioned some of this to the other PAX that were there – I did not want to be the grey cloud in the party. So I put on that façade of all is well when it really was not. As the party drew to a close (at least for me), another event that initiated my movement happened. Router asked if I wanted to Q at The Fire Ant. I could’ve made an excuse but I accepted. That was a lift, initiator event #3. Finally seeing the PAX at the party, just being around them even if I did not talk much – that was another lift, initiator event #4. I went home feeling MUCH better. Those commitments gave me  purpose and responsibility.  It was quite a lift out of the doldrums for me. I don’t think those PAX know how much that made a difference but they do now. They are VERY MUCH appreciated!

I mentioned some of this to the PAX just before we started the main event. I let them know I was very thankful to be back in the gloom after some time off. That getting back out helped me re-discover how valuable the people in my life are to me. Who are my real positive impactors are in my life. I then challenged the PAX to think about who the impactors are in their life, who they can talk with to share their burdens. You should always be able to talk to your M, the Sky Q is ALWAYS there for you if you let Him in your life, and sometimes your friends in your life are more of a ‘shield lock’ than you may know. You don’t have to be in F3 to be considered one in my opinion.

We cranked out the first two rounds of exercises, then I took a few minutes to discuss more.

I  mentioned how getting back out in the gloom this week and talking, sharing, sweating with others was quite cathartic and a great form of therapy for me. I did not slam everyone with all my burdens, nor have deep mumblechatter discussions about any of them during workouts, but just the act of bringing out my wife’s health issue in the COTs where I posted this week let out a lot of the pressure I had built up.  We PAX are hesitant to bring things out in the COT, no matter how big or small a burden. That’s all I needed to get my boat straightened out from its list to port and get my mind to where I can feel better about things, which I do. I also mentioned that we men are “wired” for the need to fix things we see ‘broken’. So when someone comes to us with an issue, we see it as a “problem” that needs fixing, so we start going into offering solutions. Sometimes that’s not what people need. Sometimes they know the solutions, may not have mentioned them, and know they are hard roads to travel. Sometimes folks just need a set of sympathetic and empathetic ears. Sometimes we men just need to listen, let the conversation flow in the direction the other person takes it, which sometimes will self-lead to solutions that THEY can find, not that WE provide. But most importantly, we need to get our burdens out in the open with others that impact our lives.

Then I challenged the PAX to think about a current burden in their life, big or small. Then I went and asked each one of them to say aloud to the other PAX one or two words that could best describe that burden. We all heard things like “job security”, “family health”, “struggles with my son”, “M’s health”, “job stress”, “financial issues”, “my mom”, “marriage”, and more. So there is proof we all have burdens. It was great to hear, and I thanked them all for their openness, vulnerability, and honesty.

Then we got back after it to complete rounds 3 and 4.

When it was over we discussed the fact that during this workout we 1) thought about who are impactors are, who are shield locks are, who we can talk to. and 2) a burden in your life. In a nutshell we know an issue, we know we have to talk about it (if we have not), and we know who we feel we can talk to about it. So now I challenged the PAX to DO IT. Get it out to someone. Get outside the comfort zone (or relieve the pressure). Talk. I’ve heard and also mentioned to the PAX that sometimes folks are afraid to bring things up in the COT for a slew of potential reasons. That discussing burdens are what Shield Lock relationships are for. Understood, BUT that’s what the COT is for. Sometimes all it takes is getting it out. Sometimes they don’t want deep discussions that morning. If folks approach you later after COT, or sometime after that workout, to further discuss then there it is, your concentrica is forming on its own. But folks will never know unless you air it out.

OR – be the one with the ears to listen to someone. If you know someone who appears to be a pressure cooker…….ask them if they are OK? If they want to talk. Sometimes that’s all it takes to be the impactor to cause positive movement towards a direction of improvement. Pusher did just that with me after COT at Clydesdales the day before my Q at the Ranch, and it was amazing how it made me feel, how it uplifted me. Thank you my friend.

TO THOSE READING WHO WERE NOT THERE:
Scan the list of who was at this workout. How many of you knew someone on the list of attendees have one of these issues mentioned above? Do you know other PAX out there that may have one as well? Can you identify or know of someone who is a “pressure cooker” ? How often do you hear something from them in the COT? Don’t be afraid to ask someone “how are you doing?” after the COT and we are chitter chattering before we leave. Be the impactor. Start the momentum shift. Sometimes that’s what others need.

While we worked out on that field at The Ranch, every one of us gave it our all, let it all out on that field. We were all exhausted when we got to COT – not to mention wet, dirty, and grassy. Yes!! Mission accomplished!!. But as we discussed, sometimes when it comes to our burdens we carry, that’s what we have to do – let them out and leave them out for all, especially those close to us. OR help someone do that. Even if it’s just a mention of them in the COT. That one small step can be the impactor towards positive movement for improvement.

Thanks for the opportunity to lead. God bless.

-NASA

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Four Corner Rooney

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A last-minute-at-a-social-gathering Q request from the site Q FINALLY got me out of my doldrums of fartsacking and moping around for the past 3-4 weeks. I put on almost 4 pounds from my DSM weight, not watching what I ate, not working out. I needed this. Thanks Router.

Funny thing. I showed up early, around 5am, to site. NOBODY there. No lights in the parking lot. Pretty dark. I see some dude with a flashlight walking around. No other cars, just a dude in a hoodie (not racial profiling – I saw the person was white). Did not have my glasses on so I had no idea who it was. Then it seemed the dude started walking towards where I parked. I locked my doors and wondered if I should leave. I’ve been in these situations before and had someone try to carjack me once when I lived in Norfolk VA, also when I lived in Los Angeles, and also when I was in Miami visiting friends. I’m done with that stuff. My spidey senses were tingling!! My heart rate was elevating so I started backing out, then I saw a familiar face. I asked and it was Pothole. WHEW!! Man that was messed up.

After my BP lowered I got out and PAX started rolling in. No new FNGs. Light but solid group of PAX, some of whom I’ve spent ALOT of quality battle buddy time with under a ruck. Awesome to see them. Since the custom GORUCK DSM event the numbers at ruck AOs have significantly dropped. Not surprised. Anyhoo, disclaimer was disclaimed and off we went.

Light jog w ruck on around the parking lot, about 1/3 mile or so. Then COP. 20 or so each of the following:

  • SSH
  • Windmills
  • Imperial Walker
  • Hillbilly Walker
  • Moroccan night club

Then off to the field. Electric candles marked the 4 corners of a rough football field size area. A typical 4 corners workout setup. Start at one, exercise, transition to next, exercise, transition, and so on. I used the GORUCK Rooney WOD s my guide. I’ve done it at 2 GORUCK events and it sucks. But time made me trim down the number of rounds, and I modified it (mod-up) a little. Google it if you want to know what the real one is. But here’s mine for today:

Cone / Exercise / Transition Mode (ALL with ruck):

  1. 75 Mountain climber (double count), then bear crawl to next
  2. 75 LSS then Lt Dan to next
  3. 75 Flutter (double count) w ruck overhead, then bear crawl to next
  4. Plank w 75 ruck drag side to side (double count), then Lt Dan back to start

Note to self: Make each one 100 instead of 75. This alone took about 25 minutes to complete. I had about 10 minutes left. 100 of each would have put me with a few minutes left to COT. I am not much into talking anymore so we grabbed a 60 out of Routers truck and put in about a mile rucking around the school, then to COT.

COT / Announcements / P&P
* Read the newsletter – QSource convergence, Invergence, etc
* Router’s M going into surgery. Prayers for safe surgery and quick recovery
* Kids, parents, teachers – school is LESS THAN 3 WEEKS AWAY!! What happened to summer??
* My M – she’s been having headaches off and on for several months now. Got an MRI last week, then recently found the MRI found something. Waiting to see a neurologist next.

I have not been talking much at my Qs lately. I may divulge why some other time. No change today. Just lay out the work and get it done. Everyone did great. We had some great conversations when we could. It was great to be back out with the homies. Get the hear rate up, sweat, feel some pain, chatter a little, goof off a little. See a GREAT sunrise with a waning crescent moon. God is GREAT. I needed that. We needed that. We are blessed more than we know sometimes. Thanks for the opportunity to lead.

God bless,
– NASA

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Beach Ants

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6 PAX made it out for the GORUCK beach challenge at the Tega Cay beach club’s volleyball court.

The challenge:
20 Flutters (with press for EC)
30 meter bear crawl w/ ruck drag (about x1.5 length of court)
20 Russian twists
…for six rounds of sandy fun.

Finished up with a mosey up the road and back to COT.

Talked about the new AOs coming to the region. The 3 mile+ bootcamp sounds fun. Read your newsletter.

Thanks Router for the opportunity to lead and shame on me for taking so long to write up a really short backblast.

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Mountain trip to Dupont State Forest on August 3rd with Trail Running, Rucking and Biking options – there will be a 2nd F afterwords

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3rd F

Alright we are 2 years ago we did a mountain trip to Roan Mtn. it was one of the best trips I have made with my fellow F3 brothers. After 10-16 miles we went to Daniel Boone Inn to refuel.

With this in mind I wanted to continue to do this hopefully every year. So on August 3rd we are going to do another mountain trip. This time it will be Trail Running, Biking and Rucking options.

Our destination will be DuPont State Forest. We will leave from the Newport Walmart at 6 am it is a 2 1/2 hr trip. we will either go to the Hooker Falls Access or the Lake Imaging Access. For runners we will try and get 12-18 miles in for Mountain bikers Vuvuzela has about 20-30 mile rout lined up.

 

2nd F

Afterwords will will go to Daddy D’s and refuel.

 

Make sure you bring water and something for energy do not come unprepared you will regret it. I did exactly that last time. This will be an unforgettable trip that we will try and do every year. we need to clown car to get there since there are no rental vans available.

Reach out to me if you have any questions.  I have attached links below.

Dupont State Forest Trail Map-1

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g49206-d2069003-Reviews-Daddy_D_s_Suber_Soulfood-Hendersonville_North_Carolina.html

www.Dupontforest.com

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