On Tuesday evening, December 31st, YHC put out a brief message: Get some rest tomorrow, because Thursday will feature the 400 at Okwata. This was done for several reasons:
- First and foremost, the 400 is hard. It’s a great aerobic/anaerobic mix, and I at least tend to get winded pretty quickly.
- Second, if YHC knew that was coming, the thought, at least, was that YHC would be more responsible on New Year’s Eve knowing that he would be sweating out every drop of vodka. And publicly committing to it was the best way to assure it would actually go down.
- Finally though, the 400 is a good test of where we all are. When you finish it, there is a sense of accomplishment. It’s a benchmark you can revisit and track progress, and progress is something we should never stop striving for, in whatever form it may come.
What is the 400? I had last done it courtesy of a Triple Shift Q, and struggled mightily through it, but I believe it goes back to the early days of Okwata. The 400 is
- 10 trips over the levee and back
- stopping at the top of the levee, then the neighborhood side of the levee, then back to the top of the levee, then back to where you started for….
- 10 reps of a particular exercise
So a typical round is:
- run up the levee for 10 merkins (for example)
- run down to the other side for 10 merkins
- run back up the levee for 10 merkins
- run back down to where you started for 10 merkins
Today we did
- SSH 50% effort for a warm-up. (YHC had done an abbreviated warmup because last time, we’d used almost the entire 45 minutes to complete it, so we used this as part of the warmup)
- Merkins
- Burpees
- Squats
- Carolina dry docks
- Bonnie Blairs (3 count, 1,2,3 1; 1,2,3 2)
- J-Lo’s (3 count)
- LBC’s (3 count)
- Monkey Humpers (3 count)
- At this point, we still had some time, so YHC decided we would redo the SSH at 100% so as not to short ourselves. So SSH (3 count)
- Final exercise, only one choice (and a very popular one judging by the groans and mumblechatter). More burpees!
Some stretching led by High Rise, prayers for one our pax who has a child going through some challenges, and something I wanted to share with the group from a friend who recently died from brain cancer. Several months before his death, having lived with the cancer for a few years, he remarked:
“While I’ve lost nearly everything, physically, financially, emotionally, materially, Never, not once, have I lost hope, belief, faith.”
I know of no better way to live.
I also know of no better group of men than this one, and for that, I thank all of you. Here’s to a great 2020. – Kuch
