F3 New Orleans

Category: Northshore

  • Memorial Day Murph at the Marsh

    Fourteen men posted this morning to pay their respects to Lt. Michael Murphy and the millions of others who have sacrificed everything for our country.    To honor that sacrifice, we did The Murph.

    YHC gave a quick recap of Lt. Michael Murphy’s story – he was part of a four-man Navy Seal team that was overwhelmed by Taliban forces in Asadabad, Afghanistan.  All four men had already been wounded and, unable to radio for help from their sheltered mountainside position, it was Lt. Murphy who opened himself to more gunfire in order to successfully make the call.  In fact, after being shot in the back and dropping the radio, he picked it back up and finished the call before returning to the fight. He saved one man’s life that day.

    The crazy thing is just how many similar stories there are.  There’s PFC Ross McGinnis, 19, who deliberately threw himself onto a grenade in Iraq to save all four people in his vehicle.  Or Sergeant Henry Johnson, part of the Harlem Hellfighters, who suffered 21 wounds while rescuing a soldier and repelling a German raid in WWI. Or 1st Lt Jack Lummus who continued to give orders at Iwo Jima after losing both legs to a landmine.  The list goes on and on.  And today, we should take a minute while we are at our family BBQ’s or poolside and reconnect with that history and remember the legacy of these heroes.

    With that in mind, we began the simple benchmark workout:

    • 1 mile run
    • 100 pull-ups
    • 200 merkins
    • 300 squats
    • 1 mile run

    The PAX broke up the middle section into 20 rounds of 5 pull-ups / 10 merkins / 15 squats, then hit the final run hard, finishing right around 50 minutes.  COT and Grundy prayed us out.

    It was an impressive sight to see so many men post to the Milestone Marsh at 0500 on their Monday off.  For me, the legacy of our fallen heroes is folded into the DNA of F3.  I see the qualities of leadership and selflessness spreading across F3 nation as if they’re contagious.   And it’s not simply as a group, but the individual men of F3 all seem to embody that spirit personally.  And isn’t that the best way to remember our heroes, to try and embody their greatest qualities?  Thank you men for the remarkable effort, and enjoy your Memorial Day!

  • Luck O’ the Irish

    In YHC’s limited experience at the 10K Au Lait, today’s PAX of 9 men was, if not new, matching an AO record. That feat was thanks, in part, to 1st time attendee, Mick, who brought a little Irish luck this gloom in the form of “cooler” temps. Unfortunately, all of the Irishmen present did not have enough collective luck to ward of the misery of the soul-sucking humidity that’s only just getting started.

    So it was in jovial spirits that we began our “99%” traditional route through the quiet streets of downtown Covington…

    99% chicanery

    COT

    Mick took us out with some deeply shared sentiments of gratitude and appreciation. The invigorating run was followed up by some always enjoyable F2 coffeteria at Abita Roasting Co. Until next time, remember, all paces welcomed at the 10k Au Lait!

  • The Sound of Cowbells on the Farm

    With an inspirational consistency not seen since the Ol’ Ringo of ’18, YHC feels compelled to give special mention to Ei for cranking out a Mandeville Straight right out of left field! Also tumbling through the vast emptiness of YHC’s brain was the fact that today marked the 2nd (1st time in Q’s solemn presence at least) meeting of veteran south shore and veteran north shore legends in Mr. Farmer and Mr. Schedler.

    Speaking of Mr Farmer, as per somewhat usual, his long-time neighbor and homie Chewy came rolling in just late enough to let the warm up breathe a little. Further speaking of…

    WARM O RAMA

    This morning demanded we start of with:

    10x Abe Vigodas (great job counting PAX)

    10x High Knees

    25x Cherry Pickers

    10x Imperial Walkers

    THANG

    As the PAX embarked on the regular route, the mumble chatter began in earnest, despite the already-ubiquitous humidity promising a Shooter-approved beat down.

    MARY

    Upon reconvergence and ample recovery time (depending on who you ask?) the PAX gathered at the workout equipment, where Freddy Mercurys were continuously performed while each man did 5 pull ups and 5 knee ups. When all were done the beat down was concluded with 2 minutes of plank, right hand up, left hand up and back to plank.

    COT

    Steve lead us out by speaking his appreciation, which appreciatively did not evolve into a meandering ramble, as our collective exhaustion could’ve lent itself to. Thanks guys, you each rock individually and as a PAX!

  • Back-to-Back Blasts

    Anyone who has posted with me knows that YHC is not much of a talker.  Hell, I can hardly find enough to say for one backblast each week.  And yet here we are.  YHC supposes it is a small price to pay for all the benefits of F3.  And hey, if a bear craps in the woods and no one is around to write a backblast about it, did it really happen?

    Pre-beatdown, with mumble chatter about our aches and pains from the last few days, Einstein noted that as the PAX gets stronger, the ceiling on beatdowns is pushed higher and higher.  It’s both great (hey, we get our money’s worth) and at the same time pretty awful (might not be able to walk like a normal human being the next day).  That got me thinking about Chewy’s request for a more restorative beatdown on the Northshore, which is a great idea.  Today’s beatdown, though, wasn’t going to be so restorative. And with that in mind, YHC gave a disclaimer for the first time in… well, too long.

    Warmorama: Air presses, overhead arm circles, arm circles forward and backward, SSHs, hillbillies, high knees.  All x 20 IC.

    The Thang: First stop, the quarry for some rock work.  Part of YHC’s mission this week was to introduce Cowbell to the various offerings at each AO, and this seemed to be one we hadn’t seen much of lately. 

    • Curls x12 IC
    • Squat-to-Overhead-Press x10 IC
    • Bent over Rows x 12 IC

    Rinse and repeat, swapping the counts. Then we gingerly placed the rocks back just as we had found them (so as not to offend the beautifying efforts of the Covington Garden Club), and we were off to the front of the Justice Center, where the bulk of today’s efforts would take place.

    First, a quick stop at the benches for lateral jump overs x20 OYO, and Bulgarians x10 IC each leg. Then partner up…

    P1 runs the length of the courtyard, up the stairs, does 15x jump squats, and returns to relieve P2, who is planking in front of a bench, walking his hands up onto the bench and then back down again, repeatedly. There’s probably a name for this or, at the very least better wording to explain it, but YHC can’t take the time to look it up in our exicon.

    After two rounds of that, we did a variation, P1 runs same route, does star jacks x10, while P2 is now walking his feet up to the bench and back down, adding a derkin in each time both feet are up on the bench. R&R.

    A quick 10 count then grab a bench for step ups x15 IC each leg, and freaks x15 IC.

    Next up, suicides across the courtyard for P1, Mahktar N’diayes for P2. Swaparoo. Again the beautifying efforts of Covington were appreciated, as some men opted to save the skin on their forearms and avoided the concrete, using instead the small gardens near each bench.

    And then the finale, P1 up at the top of the stairs holding a people’s chair and doing air presses, P2 bear crawling backwards up the stairs.  (We missed you Maverick.)

    Back to the flag for a quick Mary of 100’s, Crunchy Frogs, and LBC’s x20 IC.

    COT and Einstein Cowbell prayed us out.  Thank you for following my lead today guys, I sincerely appreciate it!

  • Make Grandmothers Great Again

    Without Coconuts or Ringo to provide the kind of steady care that Granny needs, she has been on her last gasps for a few months now.  We won’t go too far with the dying grandmother imagery (because that’s just tasteless), but let’s just say it’s been pretty bad here on Tuesday mornings.  Four men, however, posted on this particularly gloomy morning to provide a little resuscitation.  (Yes, this included Ei on his second consecutive post and third post of the month – don’t worry, Ei, no one’s keeping track.)  And, with the promise of Chewy returning from his triathlon and Cowbell firmly locked in, things should hopefully be looking up this summer for our dear Granny.

    So the intent of today’s workout was not to… take it easy, per se… but after Shooter’s brutal whipping yesterday at the Marsh, a lighter load might not be such a bad thing.  So we started with… 

    Warmorama: Abe Vigodas x10 IC, good mornings x10 IC, arm circles… at this point Ei interrupted to note that this was actually exactly how Shooter began yesterday’s beatdown. 

    Exactly?

    Oh well. On to reverse arm circles x20 IC, seal jacks x20 IC, and we’re off on a mosey to the tunnel.

    The Thang:

    First up, a set of 11’s:  starting at the base of the tunnel with x1 burpee, backpedal up the largest hill in Mandeville and, with no Wacker in sight to complain, perform Sister Mary K’s x10 IC.  With such a light crowd we did the 11’s together, and there was more chatter about The Dawn Wall (where we discovered that Cowbell was also a huge fan and had read the book), until the lack of moving air and burpees finally set in.

    Mosey back toward the trailhead with a quick stop at the benches for Freak Nasties, x10 IC.  

    Onward, with Cowbell showing off his athleticism with a few cow-gongs, and then we were at the amphitheater stage for some Rochamburpees.  Partners were Zoo and Ei, Cowbell and YHC.  Chillcut plank, rock-paper-scissors, winner takes the merkins and loser takes the burpees.  Count starts at 1 and play was up to 10.  Losing in the beginning is pretty inconsequential, but a loss on the final two is just brutal.  YHC was not sure what was going on with Zoo and Ei, as it looked like Ei was just laying on the ground watching Zoo do a bunch of burpees. Maybe he’s just that good at rock-paper-scissors?

    Finally, back at the flag for a simple Mary of flutter kicks, x40 IC.

    COT and Zoo prayed us out.  Thank you guys for posting in this ideal weather, and giving me the opportunity to lead.  SYITG.

  • First at the Marsh for ole EiEi Oh? Literally/Figuratively

    YHC arrived at the Marsh to the sights of an unfamiliar truck.. As I exited, so did one EiEi now that’s a pleasant surprise but certainly a welcomed one.. Then the likes of another arrival not seen in sometime with Pelican pulling in as Steve and Bushwacker make there way to center court.. Of course the Marsh would not be complete without the pillar of Monday posts Water Pik rolling in right on time.. We circle up at center court to warmup for our “Marsh 500” on this heavy humid Gloom.. Not sure of the track temperatures but most of the PAX would soon be cooling things down with much perspiration as we embark down Lamarque street..

    Warmup

    15 IC Toe Touches

    10 IC Good Mornings

    15 IC Windmills

    10 IC Arm circles forward/reverse

    15 IC SSH

    Thang

    Assembled on Lamarque for the first bit of instruction. Simple Mosey to the first cross street for our 1st of only 5 exercises.. 20 8 count body builders OYO, as the YHC knew that he would not be able to maintain an accurate count as we progressed down Lamarque. Corner 2 20 8 count body builders, 25 Merkins. Moseyed on to our next block 20 8 count body builders, 25 Merkins, 34 Squats. By this point Q was beginning to wonder what possessed him to elect 8 count body builders as one of the exercises, but then Bushwhacker noticed the Ragnar t-shirt YHC was wearing which states “It’s not crazy if we all are doing it!” On to the fourth corner for 20 8 count body builders, 25 Merkins, 33 Squats, 50 Plank Jacks.. Arrived on the 5th corner at Lakeshore and Lamarque for completion. 20 8 count body builders, 25 Merkins, 33 Squats, 50 Plank Jacks and 100 LBCs.. By this point the objective of the PAX is to just complete in whatever order necessary or as we like to say modify to your abilities… PAX began some mumble chatter of a possible Uber pickup, which made the YHC feel as though he had delivered a quality product for a great price… “Marsh 500” complete 5 corners, 5 exercises and 500 Total reps.. Moseyed our 1/2 mile return to the court arriving with 2 mins to spare for a chill cut Plank followed by 10 IC J-lows..

    Glad to have all you men post this Gloom, especially EIEI. Looking forward to seeing you at other AO’s as well 👊🏻!!

    count, announce, COT

    👏🏻👏🏻 to EIEI for closing us in prayer!!

    Always appreciate the Gloom with you brethren of F3!!

    👍🏻👊🏻✌🏻 til the next Gloom!!

  • Fuzzy Balls

    22 PAX strong on the Mandeville Lakefront. 23 if you count Brat who joined us for a little foreplay as he works his way off injured reserve. Brat, an officer with the NOPD, injured himself successfully tackling and arresting a bad guy. The PAX’s consensus is that he should use a Tazer next time Indiana Jones style or perhaps transfer to a Northshore police agency where a polite request to stop, issued with an English accent, is all that is required to apprehend a criminal.

    Kicked things off with warmup of seal jacks, toe touches, SSHs, imperial walkers, merkins, and Jane Fondas. We then divided into three teams, and YHC retrieved his bag and revealed his fuzzy balls.

    Each team received a fuzzy tennis ball (yes, YHC had three) and instructions to race with it about a half mile west along the Lakefront to the Shaft. To begin, there were only three rules: first, you cannot run if you are holding the ball; second, no pass backs-you cannot receive a pass back from the man you just passed to; and third, the entire team had to stop dead and perform five burpees every time the ball touched the ground before proceeding. Then Cowbell whipped a legal pad out of his briefcase and starting asking questions and for clarification on a few items so we ended up with a few more rules. No wonder you guys don’t get anything done on the Southshore.

    Circled up upon arrival at the Shaft for T merkins and alternating Supermans..

    Back to the races with another tennis ball sprint further westward along the Lakefront to the playground where we circled up for prisoner squats, hand release merkins and crab cakes.

    Raced back eastward with our fuzzy balls to the Shaft for a third COP consisting of a merkin wave, lunges, Supermans, arm circles, overhead hand claps, and air presses.

    One final race back to the shovel flag, wrapping things up with some Mary…single leg raises, scuba Steves and a 60 second plank.

    Countorama, nameorama and Phoenix prayed us out on the way to the coffeeteria.

    Thanks for letting me lead, guys, and thanks for competing so earnestly in the silly tennis ball game.

  • Sandy Returns

    A Grundy beatdown in 2019 wouldn’t be complete unless Sandy showed up. And showed up she did. But let’s warm up first.

    Warmup included, Seal Jacks, Butt Kicks, High Knees, and Nolan Ryans. All of them were in cadence.

    We then moseyed to the parking garage to meet up with the aforementioned Sandy who was conveniently waiting in the Grundymobile.

    We showed her the usual respect and did a planking tunnel of love and pulled her through with our right arms up the first ramp. We then pulled her through our legs down the straightaway to the other ramp. We rinsed and repeated up the second ramp pulling through with our left arms.

    On the top we partnered up and did catch me if you can with three laps for each team. Turbo decided to make YHC’s first backpedal extra long. Thanks man…

    We then got in some of my PT and did some core work while one PAX took a band and in a squat shuffled left and right up the straightaway. We did that for every PAX while switching the exercise in between.

    After a Indian run on the roof we left Sandy behind and went to the Justice center benches. We did a Steve classic with some step ups and freak nasties in cadence.

    We moseyed back to the flag and concluding with a count off and COT with prayer.

    Thanks for letting me lead!

  • Mother’s Day Au Lait

    Three PAX need to work on their priorities. Or perhaps they have superior time management and family diplomatic skills. Either way, Bean, In Time and YHC met for the weekly 10k Au Lait on Mother’s Day morning, ran for 10k at a leisurely pace while discussing the advantages of running at a leisurely pace, and then high tailed it back home for Mother’s Day festivities.

  • Mother’s Day Hangover

    Never has the PAX been greeted by a larger amount of refuse at the Marsh. Obviously, it was a raucous affair for mother’s day at the park. As YHC was going about the all too routine affair of picking up the AO, Shooter pulled up and slowly ambled from is sleek ans sporty Honda Fit. Waterpik trundled up in his reliable SUV shortly thereafter. And just when we thought the roster had settled at three, the n0w-familiar truck of Cowbell illuminated the court with its headlights. Having just signed up the previous day, QIC navigated his way through the mist of hesitation that lay at the foot of the unpropitious beat down his slightly demented imagination had conjured up. (It was worse than it sounds…)

    WARM

    x15 IC:

    Toe Touches

    Cherry Pickers

    Air Presses

    Arm Circles (10 F, 10 R)

    High Knees

    Butt Kicks

    THANG

    At the corner of Lamarque and Livingston, the PAX dropped for 10 Merkins IC. Then we did another 10 Merkins IC. We followed that up with yet another 10 Merkins IC. That abuse continued until 5 sets were complete, at which time we mosied southbound to the corner of Lamarque and Monroe. There, we did the same set count with Squats. Upon completion, the jolly band of brothers skipped back to the previous corner, and proceeded to rinse and repeat. Heeding Cowbell’s mention of Q’s core prowess, it was off to center court for:

    MARY

    50 LBCs

    40 Freddy Mercury’s

    30 Putins

    20 Hello Dolly’s

    10 LMCs

    20 Heal Pulses

    30 Flutter Kicks

    40 100s

    50 Heal Taps (or Penguins)

    COT

    Waterpik prayed us us out, and Shooter welcomed Cowbell to his 1st visit to the Marsh and surprised us all with a new batch of hid very own beef jerky! Eat your heart out Steve and Captain Sparkles!!!!