The forecast called for rain, lightning, and some pretty rough waters on the lakefront. YHC’s primary concern upon waking was that he might be the only idiot willing to show up.

There was also a small problem with the advertised plan. The night before, YHC had promised H8! practice. On the drive in, things briefly got worse. Through the rain, YHC thought he spotted Hawgcycle’s red truck. Dammit. If Hawg was there, we’d actually have to do the H8! practice as advertised. False alarm.

Then things started looking up. Cheesesteak was already there, casually stretching in the rain. Rudy pulled up behind YHC in his Micromachine. And then, to everyone’s surprise, at approximately 5:29:30, Scooter dragged in.

Four PAX. More than enough bad judgment to proceed. With the lightning getting increasingly close, the PAX unanimously agreed to spend the next 45 minutes at the House of Pain.

Disclaimer given. Mosey to the HOP.
WOR: The usual stuff, just under cover.

As we warmed up, YHC’s mind began wandering toward the obvious question: How in the hell are we going to spend 45 minutes in this one little pavilion?
Turns out, pretty easily.

Thang 1
1 dip : 4 squats up to 5:20
1 squat : 4 dips up to 5:20
Oh the triceps

Thang 2
Two rounds:
• Pull-Ups / Dead Hang
• Mountain Climbers
• BBSUs
• 35 SSH — Timer

Thang 3
1 irkin : 4 derkin up to 4:16
1 derkin : 4 irkins up to 4:16
Oh the arms

Thang 4 — DORA
Partner up:
100 BBSUs
150 Squats
200 Flutter Kicks
While one partner worked, the other enjoyed a scenic tour of the pavilion:
Up and down, up and down over the two picnic table/benches → 2 Burpees → up and down, up and down over the two picnic table/benches.
Turns out you don’t need 200 yards of lakefront, a levee, or even decent weather to make grown men regret getting out of bed.

Thang 5 — Mary With a Twist
One PAX went to the pull-up bar for a dead hang with knees-to-chest core work while the other three performed a Mary exercise IC.
Around five rounds until YHC finally looked at the clock and discovered that, against all odds, we had successfully spent nearly the entire beatdown in one pavilion.

COT — Right There at the House of Pain
No reason to tempt Mother Nature with a ceremonial lightning-strike mosey back to the flag.
Prayers for family, students, and silent intentions.

Four PAX woke up to pouring rain, lightning, and an angry lakefront.
All four could have looked outside, made the perfectly reasonable decision to be “weather-aware,” rolled over, and gone back to sleep.
Instead, all four showed up.
Cheesesteak. Rudy. Scooter. Mayhem.

We braved the conditions. We improvised. We put in 45 minutes of work.
And all four walked away better because of it.
H8! practice will have to wait.
And if Hawgcycle’s red truck actually shows up next time, we may be screwed.
SYITG