Fall Sprint Classic

AO:  The Patriot

QIC: Lucius

THE PAX:   Apollo; Bambino; Bone; Elvis; JAG; Jenner; Lazlo; Maj. Payne; Ozark (FNG); Poe; Pocket Chicken (DR from Nashville TN); Shark Week; Sticks (aka “Styx”?); Three Mile; Two Percent; Villa

Seventeen PAX celebrated the arrival of cold weather with some spirited SSH warm up, followed by a sprint workout on the (mean) streets of Arlington and the Patriot track.  DR PAX Pocket Chicken and FNG Ozark (recruited mid-workout!) joined in the fun.  Here’s what we did:

WARM UP:  SSH; Cherry Pickers; SSH; Downward Dog; Merkins; Six-Count Seal Clap Squats; LBACs

THE THANG:

Route 66: PAX ran between light poles, performing Six-Count Seal Clap Squats at each.  PAX performed 1 rep at the first pole, then added one a rep at each interval until reaching 11.  Total of 66 Six-Count Seal Clap Squats (6-CSCSs ?).

3/4 Mile AMRAP Challenge:  PAX split into teams, then sprinted between exercise stations, spaced 200 meters apart, each team relieving the preceding team.  Stations included AMRAP of: Merkins; Carolina Dry Docks; Plank Jacks; Lion-king squat thrusts (with cinderblock); Cinderblock Curls; Cinderblock Overhead Lunges. The PAX completed ¾ mile of sprints and six exercise stations.

THE MARY:   Flutter Kicks; Box Cutters

COT:  Today’s exercises emphasized forward motion.  As you go through your day, think about what in your life needs a push forward.  Then push it.

F3 The Love Train Rolls Out Of The Station

F3 The Love Train rolled out of the Vienna Train Station this morning at 0630 with Bone, JAG and YHC. We ran down the W&OD Trail for just over 3 miles and turned around.

Among the many conversation topics, Bone had the brilliant idea of forming an F3 The Capital team for the BRR 2020 (that’s Blue Ridge Relay). I ran it in 2016 & 2018 with some of my F3 Gastonia brothers, and they remain some of my closest F3 friends. Half-way through it in 2016, we all decided it was a stupid idea, we’re 1 & done, and never to return. Moods changed as we crossed the finished line, and within two hours we were all signed up for the next one.

So what do you say F3 The Capital? Are there 12 worthy men to run through the NC mountains next September?

Coffeeteria: After the run we walked to Cafe Amouri to continue the conversation. There we met a family with a newborn and two parents trying to figure out to restart their workout routine. I hope we’ll see the dad soon!

Monk

 

Pre-Blast: All Aboard F3 The Love Train! 

F3TheCapital’s first running/rucking AO. Launch Sunday, November 3, 2019

Sundays 0630 Vienna Train Station (Vienna, VA; meet near the Red Caboose)

Before anyone asks … it’s called The Love Train because we meet at the Vienna Train Station and go to Café Amouri afterwards. And love is the best motivation for fitness, fellowship, and faith.

This workout is for everyone, regardless of your ability. Run or ruck, six miles or one, at your pace down the W&OD trail. We start together at 0630 and end together with COT after we pick up the six.

1st F: Fitness. Who’s it for?

  • Runners & ruckers (obviously)
  • Guys just starting to accelerate fitness
  • Boot campers ready for a challenge
  • Guys preparing for CSAUPs like Grow Ruck, relays (BRR), half-marathon, marathon
  • Once / month for M’s & 2.0s (1st Sunday; ht–Bone for the suggestion)
  • Anyone who Loves to Train
  • And fellowship for everyone: Talk while running/rucking = easy 🙂 Talk doing burpees = hard 😦 

2nd F: Fellowship. Coffeeteria after the run.  

3rd F: Faith. In F3 Faith is about purpose as well as service. Whatever a man’s faith, he’s often thinking about it on Sunday. So The Love Train meets then. When circumstances change, love motivates positive change, like an old railroad line becomes a fitness trail. Love exists between people, like cars linked on a train, accelerating together.

Details:

  • Run/Ruck: Sundays 0630 at the Vienna Train Station, Washington and Old Dominion (W&OD) Trail, Vienna, VA 22180. Meet near the Red Caboose
  • 2nd F at 0730 at Cafe Amouri, 107 Church St NE, Vienna, VA 22180

I chose the W&OD for safety and accessibility, but more than that because the W&OD is busy on Sunday mornings, and Cafe Amori seems to be THE place to stop after your workout. Our presence there will make F3 visible to many men. I wouldn’t wish Sad Clownishness on any of them, but it’s there, and so are we. 

So here it is: F3 The Love Train. Hope to see you there.

Monk

Sandbag Shuffle

AO: The General

QIC: Maj Payne

The PAX:
Trolly
Toolbox
2 Percent
Subprime

Sometimes life is easy, and we can skip along through the day without any extra burdens slowing us down. Sometimes though, it feels like we’re weighted down, and life is a struggle. Today in the gloom, the PAX struggled together, carrying a sandbag through the beatdown. And by sharing the burden together, the load was lessened, and the burden didn’t seem so bad. In fact, it was kinda awesome.

Here’s what we did…

WU:
20 x SSH
10 x IW
10 x WMH
10 x Cherry Pickers
10 x BWS
25 x Merkins

The Thang:

Mosey aimlessly on the turf field to a point of no particular importance for a ….

Sandbag drag: PAX form a plank circle. Drag sandbag to right x 3, then to left x 3. This was a bit more discombobulated than expected, working muscles in angles they don’t usually contract.

Pick up bag, and move to Quincy Park baseball field…

It’s escalator time:

10 x Merkins at home base, run to the 1st corner and add 10 x jump squats, run and add 10 x diamond Merkins at the 2nd, run and add 10 x Bonnie Blairs at the 3rd, run and add 10 x wide Merkins at 4th. Finish the loop adding 10 x burpees.

Move to tennis courts…

Animal Crawlers:
1st Gorilla Crawl width of one tennis court, 5 x Merkins, Crawl Gorilla back
2nd Bunny Hop width of two tennis courts, 10 x Merkins, Hop Bunny back
3rd Bear Crawl width of three tennis courts, 15 x Merkins, Crawl Bear back

Pick up sandbag and mosey to the playground for a quick round of…

Pull-ups: 10 x pull-ups for each PAX. Rest in plank for those not conducting exercise.

Mosey together back to W&L turf football field. Time for a quick Mary!

Mary: 25 x flutter kick

COT: Had a brief discussion about faith and what it means in F3.  It’s not necessarily about what each PAX specifically believes.  In other words, we all come from different religious faiths, backgrounds and philosophies, and that’s what makes the collective PAX so strong.  In F3, it’s about believing in something larger than yourself.  The PAX gather in the gloom to be there for each other. All express their faith in different ways, and that’s great. Today, we shared the burden of a sandbag together, and it made the beatdown awesome. Whenever we share the weight of daily burdens with those around us, we contribute to making life better, and that’s what we should always strive to do as leaders!

Aye!

Glow stick shuffle (+ other fun)

8 pax posted this morning at #delphi for glow stick shuffle and other fun.

PAX: Nano, Hightower, Mule, Obadiah, Glee, YNAB, Pop Fly, U-boat

Q: U-boat

“The Thang”: Warmup (short mosey with merkins, lunges, and side shuffle); Routine (Double Quarterpounder with planks between sets; 100×100 Cut-A-Flips with partners); Mary

Q’s mumblechatter: pursue excellence in relationships, marriage, parenthood, jobs, and community leadership