Still full from the amazing dinner prepared by 86 at the Harrah’s steakhouse and my ears ringing from the Foo Fighters show that last until 1am. Not sure how it happened but I managed to forget to set my alarm but I just naturally woke up at 5:08am. Plenty of time to get to the AO.
Tinkles who was also up VERY late split the group and took a crew for the Angry Wave – Hokey Pokey Bad Moon, 86 Gatsby Chips and some others went their way.
My phone had no charge so no special jammy fanny. Damn it!
OG warmup on the Loyola lawn: SSH x 20, Hillbilly x 20, Mtn Climber x 20, Peter Parkers x 20, Roaches x 20
Then we ran to the top of WPM x 25 plank jacks on one side and 10 hand release merks. Ping Pong back to the 6.
At the top we got a partner and did a quick lap one floor down
FLIP FLOP x LC CRabs, Monkey humpers, Freddies, and Fire hydrants
So that was four more laps
Then down to the benchs for some dips and some bulgarian split lunges IC
Finally was a base chase challenge. Team one vs Team two. Team two won so team one had to pay up 10 burpees.
Things don’t always go as you plan – but we got it done. A messy am and Q but it was a pleasure to lead. I am missing some PAX – leave me a message below and I will add you so that you can get credit for attendance!
Whenever I sign up to Q or when someone signs me up to Q (Fracsac, Hawgcycle, Tool, et. al., there is always a nervous energy that starts to build up until the morning of the beatdown. I’m not exactly sure what causes that. Maybe its leading the PAX, maybe its the unspoken expectations of a great workout, maybe its the work that will be required, or maybe its the bean burrito I ate the night before. Well, whatever it is, the date on the calendar doesn’t move no matter what happens the day before. I can’t let my F3 brothers down!
DISCLAIMER AND WARM UP
Arrive at the virtual flag in front of NOMA, give the disclaimer and then take off to the coupon pile by Tad Gormley. Man, that is far! Maybe we can move the AO to the baby foundry to be more centrally located to the coupons, but I digress. We arrive at the coupon pile and break the pax up into groups of three (3). 2 pax members grab one coupon each and the other pax member grabs two coupons as we head to the field next to Roosevelt mall. Circle up for a warmup of 20 SSH, 20 Hacky Sacks, 20 High Knees and 20 Butt Kicks, and 20 J-Lows all IC.
THE THANG
Line up in groups of three facing the sidewalk of Roosevelt Mall and perform the following exercises.
PAX 1 (Timer) – Farmers carry two coupons to the sidewalk and back (25 yards). PAX 2 – Burpee broad jump three (3) times out and three (3) times back. PAX 3 – Thrusters with coupon. 2 rounds
PAX 1 (Timer) – Farmers carry two coupons to the sidewalk and back (25 yards). PAX 2 – Lunge walk with coupon overhead five (5) times out and five times (5) back. PAX 3 – WW2 situps with coupon. 2 rounds
PAX 1 (Timer) – Farmers carry two coupons to the sidewalk and back (25 yards). PAX 2 – Side lunge with coupon five (5) times out and five times (5) back. PAX 3 – Sundial – plank walk in a circle with feet on a coupon. 2 rounds
THANG TWO (2)
Absolution x 10 IC, Angle Grinder x 10 IC and A.L.A.R.M. (Shoulder press, lunge, LBC, run to the sidewalk and back, and mountain climbers all with a coupon.
Put the coupons back, headed back to the virtual flag and was incensed that the Mothership crew was tresspassing and, of course, mumblechatter ensued :-). With a few minutes left, we do some mobility to cool down.
COUNTOFF, NAMERAMA and CIRCLE OF TRUST
So honored to lead such a great group of men. Prayed for Rudy’s father, for the safety of Amanda Eller (she is the niece of my mentor and is the missing woman in Hawaii) and that we would positively impact others by being involved and virtuous.
There was excitement oozing from GroupMe yesterday in anticipation of the party at Okwata. Bones was trying to draw the uptown crowd in. The lakeview clown car(s) all showed up! 16 Pax joined YHC on the lakefront to celebrate the day a legend was born. Brief disclaimer, then a mosey around the mardi gras fountain with butt kicks, high knees, and carioca.
Circle up on the grassy area for a warmup.
SSH IC x 49 – Hokie Pokie figured it out…… Abe Vigodas IC x 10 Arm Circles IC x 20 Grass Grabbers IC x 15 Peter parker IC x 20 Mountain Climbers IC x 20 Parker Peter IC x 20
Party favor 1
Mosey to the top of the levee for a disperse Indian Run. Last pax runs to the front and yells disperse and an exercise. Pax disperse either side of the levee, complete 3 of the exercise, and run back up the levee back in formation. YHC called it a little over half way through as time was a concern. Regular Indian run to a clear spot for:
Catalina Wine Mixers IC x 10 (Crowd pleaser) Disperse Indian Run is a challenge with 17 Pax. But no complaints here!
Party favor 2
Mosey back to a drier area for a little Shock and Awe (Happy Birthday to Me!) SSH IC x 6 10 Burpees OYO SSH IC x 6 9 Burpees OYO SSH IC x 6 8 Burpees OYO …….. …….. SSH IC x 6 2 Burpees OYO SSH IC x 6 10 Burpees OYO (cause we don’t do 1 Burpee) Nobody commented on the odd 6 SSH. YHC let an extra slide by the first time, but there was no chance of letting anyone actually know. So 6 SSH’s it was throughout…….
Mary Tin Snips IC x 15 Flutter Kicks IC x 20
Party favor 3
Mosey back to the levee for : Quadraphilia with 5 burpees at the top of the levee each time up. Completed approximately 5 minutes of this horrible evolution before time was up
Mosey back to the virtual shovel flag for countoff, name-o-rama, announcements, intentions, and closed out with a prayer to the Sky Q.
NMM
Thank you for showing up in force this morning and celebrating my birthday with me. A legend was born this day. That’s right, YHC shares a birthday with Janet Jackson………
15 strong at The Stomp for a rousing round of rarájipari. We divided into to 4 teams and YHC gave the obligatory disclaimer about the inherent dangers to your ankles. I then called out a destination that only a few were familiar with and the race was on.
The Thang
Two teams headed down Roosevelt Mall toward the museum and two headed the opposite direction. YHC gave the team of Screwtop, Shuffle, and Manscape some bad directions a couple of times which allowed our team of Bongo, Kuch, El Guapo, and me to catch up. Once we made it to the woods we could hear another team. After much wandering around in the Couturie Forest, the team of Tool, Fracsac, Rev Sox and Abacus made it to the top of Laborde Mountain first, where Tool being the HIM that he is, immediately started leading everyone in some Mary. After a couple of rounds of Mary there was still no sign of team four (Dirty Dell, Briefs, Room Service, and Half Nelson). Being up against the clock, YHC had everyone start race #2 back to the flag while I went deep into the forest to locate the Team Dirty Briefs. They were close. YHC led them to our city’s highest point for future reference and then we were off to the flag. When I caught up to the other teams, Team Screwscape Shuffle was nowhere to be found. They were about a mile ahead of everyone else. My team made the decision to take Marconi on the way back and we got to the flag with about 5 minutes to spare. Still no sign of the Screwscape Shuffle. We found them at 6:15 apparently running victory laps around City Park.
The Skinny
Mandals are freaking awesome for playing rarajipari. It’s as if the game was invented by people that wear them. Just ask Kuch about my sandwedge ability to get the ball out of the rough
T-claps to me, Bongo, and Kuch. We were on a team with El Guapo and he didn’t run off and leave us. Maybe he could have, but I’m going to believe that we hung with him out of our own improvement
Marconi is definitely the fastest way to Laborde Mountain. We will have to outlaw that route in the future.
T-claps to the Lakeview Krewe as they continue to successfully EH every man in the greater New Orleans area. This is Hall of Fame type EHing that we are witnessing by Screwtop et al., a la Reluctant Yankee 2015-16, 2017 Triple Shift, or the HNJ Flood of 2018.
T-claps to Rev Sox for rocking the tank on an unofficial Tank Top Tuesday.
Strong showing of fourteen runners and four cyclists posted at the Stomp in City Park to get their usual Tuesday fix. With the annual Bar-a-thon just 10 days away, YHC figured the PAX could use some training to make sure the legs and lungs will be up to par for the pinnacle of F3 CSAUP events….liver training will be OYO in evenings. Since it wouldn’t be practical to squeeze in 6 miles, 6 bars, and 6 beers in the gloom, we opted for a “Bridge-a-thon” instead to include 6 kilometers, 6 bridges, and 6 rounds of burpees. Goal was 40 minutes, F2 encouraged, and awards to follow for various categories TBD. As the clock neared launch time, we recapped the 6K route w/burpees x10 at each of the 6 bridges: Start with normal run down Roosevelt Mall, across bayou, left on Moss St., left on Desaix Bridge, right onto Wisner overpass, run down paved path along bayou, hit Harrison bridge, turn around, pass in front of Pan Am Stadium down Zach Taylor Dr, left at underpass, then Henry Thomas Dr to Roosevelt Mall back to the flag, then sweep the six or start some Mary.
The PAX all completed the mission, some modified up or down, most with extra time for additional running and/or Mary. The guys on bikes embarked on a longer route and met us back at the flag, just in time for the “awards ceremony“. In true Barathon fashion, koozies were awarded for the following random categories, with the entire PAX coming to a 2-3 second consensus for each award:
Fastest Runner – El Guapo took home the chic Nyx koozie, since he was the manliest guy that morning and can best pull off using a girly koozie
Most Sophisticated/Best Dressed – Chips was unanimous winner with his tank top and bright orange shoes…he left with the fancy zip-up longneck koozie
Most Ordinary/Average PAX – After a breif debate, War Eagle took this title for the morning and left with the most average, used koozie that YHC could find in his garage.
Best Cyclist – Amnesia was awarded this by his fellow biking peers, I think for his speedy use of the Blue Bike.
Sweatiest Guy – This was to be the most coveted award since it meant you probably worked the hardest….went to Screw Top, who took home a custom, one-of-a-kind vintage F3 puffy foam koozie. T-claps for pushing hard!
T-claps to all, and sorry that everyone didn’t get a trophy.
COT included usual announcements, GiveNola details, and a reminder that while many of us might joke about beer drinking being a “sport”, YHC suggested we strive to do it in moderation and not let it get the best of us….and to be a help to others around us who may be slipping down that slope. We lifted up several intentions for those battling illness as we closed with a prayer.
Great to see lots of new faces lately consistently out in the gloom. And lots of good F2 as always. I was able to chat with a few guys along the run, which is always a good way to start the day. Also shout out to Dirty Dell who used his doctor skills to asses a downed PAX. Fortunately all was well.
Conditions: 72 degrees, 90% humidity, winds out of the SSE at 4 mph.
Participants: 30 Pax including, 7 H8!ers, and 14 first timers.
Each lap consists of running south to the top of the levee, crossing canal (bear crawling the neutral ground), running south to the bottom of the levee, cross canal and run north to the top of the levee, cross canal (bear crawling the neutral ground), running north down the levee and back across canal to the starting point. At the starting point you do a descending burp and merk pyramid starting at 8 (burpee with 8 merkins, burpee with 7 merkins, …..burpee with 1 merkin)
At the end of the 2nd lap the burp and merk pyramid starts at 7, etc.
The goal is to complete 8 laps in 40 minutes. According to MapMyRun, each loop is approximately 0.4 miles. Therefore, to conquer the H8! you will have to do the following in 40 minutes:
Run just less than 3.5 Miles of Hills
550 Yards of Bear Crawls
36 Burpees
120 Merkins
We did AMRAP and then moseyed back to the flag.
The Skinny
12 finishers for a 40% success rate: SOGO, Cowbell, Smooth, Mahatma, 86, Thighs, Mariah, Triple Shift, Dirty Dell, Ya Mom N Dem, Screwtop, and Hawgcycle
No one got nine. Who will be the first?
I feel like YHC spent most of my energy chirping at Mahatma, at least until the 5th lap at which point he left me far enough behind he couldn’t hear me anymore.
I may have to put cones out next time to protect the integrity of the H8!.
Rudy had his first DNF at the H8! but it was for medical reasons. His doctor says no burpees. I would like to find a doctor like that.
YHC had a different title in mind for the beatdown today, but God had other plans. YHC arrived at the Muscleship AO ten minutes early in real gloom, rain and lightening. Catfish was already in place and doing somersaults in the rain. Then Bogey appeared out of the gloom. At this point, there was no turning back. The Muscleship flag was planted as a total of ten PAX arrived, including Pace Car from Houston, ready to conquer the day. YHC is not creative, but made a feeble attempt to be creative with an animal themed workout to satisfy Kuch’s recent fascination with animal exercises; however, Abacus quickly pointed out a obvious missed opportunity for a Star Wars theme being May 4th (May the Fourth be With You)! Again, creativity is not YHC’s area of strength.
Warm-up
As leaders we have the responsibility of the safety of those we lead. With lightening in the area, an open field, and a shovel flag built out of metal pipe, YHC made the decision to adapt the planned beatdown to avoid the lightening. A short mosey was made to the overhang at the entrance of NOMA for a warmup IC, as follows x 25: SSH, Hill Billies, Arm circles (x 10 each direction), Grass Grabbers, Plank Jacks, Abe Vigodas (x15).
The Thang
We moseyed to a nearby pavilion for the amended beatdown and were greeted with music and booths for the Daiquiri Run, where the pre-race prep involved libations and cigarettes. There was mumble chatter about registering for the race to exude dominance over the smoker division, but the PAX chose a wet, semi-animal themed beatdown. We opted for the neighboring play area, which provided little shelter from the rain or the lightening, but it’s what we had. As an added bonus, we were treated to an unexpected test of mental toughness by having to dodge garbage strewn throughout the play area. An immune builder technique for the PAX and the children of NOLA.
In lieu of an animal theme suicide routine, the PAX performed alligator merkins, dragon walks, frog hops, and bear crawls at the distance of two support poles per exercise.
Next, the PAX paired off for DORA 1-2-3 consisting of 100 crunchy frogs, 200 incline merkins, and 300 LSS. A 363 routine of merkins and LSS was completed, with some confusion over the Q’s cadence. Tclaps to the PAX for staying with it.
Then some Mary consisting of the following x 20: side lunges, tin snips, LBCs, penguins, and Freddy Mercury.
Next, the PAX formed a circle and executed a Ring of Fire using burpees and LSS, x5 each.
The PAX moseyed back to the flag just in time for the lightening and rain to stop. With two minutes left, the PAX completed monkey humpers x 20 and smurf jacks x 15.
COT: Count off, name-o-rama, announcements, intentions and a prayer. Tclaps to the PAX for showing up on a truly gloomy Saturday; staying with it through less than ideal conditions; and helping me adapt, improvise, and overcome. It’s truly an honor to be part of such a great group of men and even more of an honor to be given an opportunity to lead them.
Im over a week late so apologies if I missed anyone or got their name wrong. We mixed it up this morning. We stayed together for the most part for the first half and had some jazz fest artists’ music playing in the background. After disclaimer, we did some quick active stretching. Then it was a “blue” Indian run to where esplanade ends (or begins depending on how you look at it). We circled up and did a few more exercises then it was all out sprint down esplanade to dog park across from Santa Fe restaurant. From there we cut over toward the fairgrounds mixing in some exercises with sprints until the entrance to the jazz fest. It was on your own back to the flag following the same way we came. About 5.0k distance covered in honor of the 50th fest. A little bit of time for some stretching then the circle up for name o Rama, intentions, and announcements. Fun work out this am. Thanks screwtop for the pic.
14 Pax including 1 FNG posted in the gloom at City Park next to the imaginary flag.
The QIC (YHC) was commemorating a belated birthday Q (first Q in over a year), and thought it would be fun to do a few of his favorite things. But first, a quick mosey to the grassy neutral ground for a little warm-up COP.
SSH – in cadence x 20
Hillbillies – in cadence x 15
Self Love – ic x 10
Merkins – ic x 10
Slow Windmills – ic x 10 (or was it 15?)
10 Burpees on your own
Then the Pax followed a slightly lost Q to “the Refinery” – a bit farther away than YHC remembered for some simple exercises in groups.
Burpess x 10 for the count
jump the snake
pull ups
dips
knee ups
And with all that out of the way, the fun was about to begin. Mosey over to the big grassy area next to the water – it was nicely lit by the construction lights at the Children’s Museum. Pax put on a show for the construction fellas.
First: Tabata!! (20 seconds on, 10 seconds off x 8) Exercises: mountain climbers, burpees, squat jumps, lunges, and repeat.
Now that the PAX was nicely lathered up, some more fun was to come: Animal movements! Out about 10 yards and back, 5 burpees then the next movement. Movements: bear crawl, frog jumps, crab walk, shoulder rolls (followed by dizzy burpees)
There was some mumble chatter about this time, especially about prickers and dizziness. YHC was having a blast.
On to the climax of the morning – mosey to the track for … 1000 meters of Hades!! Run/sprint 400m, walk 100m Run/sprint 200m, walk 100m Spring 100m, walk 100m
By now, we had run out of time for anything besides the short mosey back to the imaginary flag and the COT where we named SlowJo.
In a feat only New Orleans can accomplish, the PAX arrived to a cool yet muggy morning at 5:30 today. The sun might even have been peeking through the clouds as we set off into the humid air for a run. With the H8 last week, the new sprint workout, and the general level of intensity at the workouts lately, YHC thought a simple run this morning – no burpees, no sprints, no Mary – would be a nice change of pace. And so, that is what we did.
One of the nice things about a run is that it gives you time to talk. I personally got to run with several different PAX and catch up on all the latest. Among those I was able to run with was Steinbrenner from F3 Memphis, who is in town for a convention. We traded some war stories, learned we were both former high school wrestlers with a tendency to eat an entire large bag of chips in one sitting, and talked about the myriad ways F3 had affected our lives. Somewhere along the way, he looked me in the face and said “F3 has changed my life”.
Later I went to lunch with a friend, and we were joined by another PAX member from this morning, Briefs. Briefs is new within the last month or so, but you wouldn’t know it from the workouts. As we were walking out of the restaurant and chatting about the run this morning, he looked me in the eye and said “F3 has changed my life.”
They say good things come in threes, and it is F THREE, so I will say this much: F3 has changed my life. I think the myriad ways in which this statement is accurate are well known to all of us, and to suggest it’s only a physical change would be silly.
So thanks to all of you for that, as well as the opportunity to lead this morning.
