I don’t know, it just doesn’t have the same ring to it.
But hey, that’s what you get when you cut off two fingers and a few left turns. Apparently Legal and Bean could further trim the route if Tank doesn’t return from his European vacation soon.
T-claps to Parrot for getting some extra, and to William for his ever-improving one mile sprint.
Coffeteria followed, where we learned not to wade into Bushwacker’s reading history – some things you just don’t want to know.
I don’t know, it just doesn’t have the same ring to it.
But hey, that’s what you get when you cut off two fingers and a few left turns. Apparently Legal and Bean could further trim the route if Tank doesn’t return from his European vacation soon.
T-claps to Parrot for getting some extra, and to William for his ever-improving one mile sprint.
Coffeteria followed, where we learned not to wade into Bushwacker’s reading history – some things you just don’t want to know.
My favorite part of Q’ing a Gipper beatdown? The disgusted look on Moby’s face when he finds out I have the Q and starts muttering obscenities under his breath. It warms my heart and makes me realize that some tiny part of me actually looks forward to being Moby’s age.
Light chatter among the gathering crowd before a group of us took off on the 1 mile pre-thang, which saw a little excitement today: a silver sedan barreling down Theard and blaring Fortunate Son, thought it’d be a wise idea to take a left turn (and, mind you, not an intersection empty of… say, 5 running pedestrians) at 65 mph and accelerating, nearly taking out Einstein. Of course, you can’t take Einstein down that easily – he deftly outmaneuvered both the vehicle and a large puddle without much effort. I guess all those ice skater hops and star jumps have paid off. The whole episode became slightly awkward when we then caught up with Fogerty only a block later, to find him gently reversing into his apartment parking spot (still full volume with the Creedence, though; I’m sure his neighbors love him).
Having survived a brush with death and safely back at the Gip, we found a nice crowd of 10 for the Juneteenth holiday. Knocked out the usual warmorama before taking off for the back of the Justice Center for a routine of 3 exercises, 15 reps of each, followed by a lap around the courtyard and another 3 exercises:
– Merkins, Squats, Dollies (IC)
– Hand-release Merkins, Bobby Hurleys, Gas Pumps (IC)
– T-Merkins, Lunges, Dying Cockroaches (IC)
– Staggered Merkins, Star Jumps, Box Cutters (IC)
– Wide Merkins, Sister Mary’s, Wife Pleasers (IC)
Chatter of Shooter’s burpeepalooza from the day before – a routine named “Hightower” (but apparently NOT after the character in Police Academy?!?) – sent our Pax down the 80’s rabbit hole, with characters and quotes from One Crazy Summer, Better Off Dead, and others being bandied about.
Next up, over to the front of the Justice Center for the usual leg routine:
x12 IC Step ups, Freak Nasties, Step Ups (other leg), Derkins -> 5x calf raises up each step
x12 IC Bulgarians, Freak Nasties, Bulgarians (other leg), Derkins -> 5x calf raises up each step
x12 IC Step downs, Freak Nasties, Step downs (other leg), Derkins (we caught you doing extra derkins, Moby – so don’t be acting like this was a hard beatdown!)
After solving the mystery of whether it was a Yorkshire terrier or Amber Heard that crapped the bed, it was finally time to call it and return to the flag. COT, announcements (more brutal Spartan training at the Scramble and an Akbar 5-year anny on Saturday), and then Einstein prayed us out with intentions for the Perrin family, the Tillery family, and Grundy’s new baby. It was really great to be back at the Gipper, made me realize just how much I miss this AO and the Covington Pax. Thank you gents for having us and for the opportunity to lead!
A bunch of dads ran!
This fall, some of the PAX of the Northshore will be CSAUPing at the Spartan Beast obstacle race near Dallas. There is a palpably intense excitement in the air and this beatdown was designed to make sure all in attendance felt it. YHC, along with some some kind and committed brothers, arrived at 5:15 to begin setting up. We just beat the pre-thangers back to the flag in time to get things started promptly.
WARMORAMA
Warm up consisted of briefly attended tabata, and a garbled pronouncement of rules, regulations, and “the way things aughta go”, which, thanks to Jose’s requisite comments and interjections of others, were immediately and throughout the course disregarded, slightly adopted, and outright ignored. But a great challenge was mostly bested and a fun time was had by all teams of 2 who attempted.
1. Tire Shuttle – step in each of 6 tires while running through (QIC tripped and fell so never assume anything is TOO easy!)
2.Sandbag StepUp – holding 50lb sandbag, 10 Step Ups on sea wall (MAY have forgotten to mention the step up part)
3. Bucket Carry – 5gallon bucket filled with sand carried out and back
4. Sledge Hammer Slam – 15 wacks on the tire with a 10lb maul
5. Tire Toss – 2 tires tossed individually out and back
6. Sled Drag – 2 45lb plates on a minil sled pulled out and back
7. Battlerope – 3″ battlerope slung up and down for 15 reps
8. Rope Climb w/ Cowbell (not the short crunchy-frogging runner) – climb rope appx 12′ and tap the bell. As indicated prior to start, if a PAX was unwilling or unable to complete an obstacle, they were to complete 10 Burpees and move on. However, the rare and awesome challenge that a rope hanging from a tree posed caused a bit of a pile up by the time QIC and partner Shooter arrived. Immediately Shooter was pulled in by the tractor beam as well
9. Dummy Drag – appx 150lb hose dummy dragged out and back
10. Tire Pull – giant tire with long rope attached, pulled length of rope
11. Spear Throw – in addition to the Rope Climb, Farmer’s carry, Sand Bag, flags and cones our own Zoolander (aka Chaka Zulu)supplied his new favorite toy to be thrown at and stuck into a foam target strapped to a tree. However, our honorary FNG, Al Gore, let us know with great protest that we were committing arbocide and proceded to take picture of the crime scene, and tear down the foam target for good measure.
12. Farmers Carry – set of appx 30lb logs with handles carried out and back
13. Tire Flip – giant tire flipped end over end out and back
14. Sawhorse Hurdles – 4 8′ sawhorses spaced 6′ apart hurdled over
Strong Work, great fun, fantastic teamwork!
COT
Count, Name, Grappler demurred praying us out in lieu of Rev Russo.
Just a small taste of thing to come in October, gentlemen. Thank you for allowing me to lead you in tackling this Fire/Spartan obstacle course
Post Script: Many thanks to the many hands who made light work of picking up the coupons!
Good group of seven today at The Gipper
Warmup: toe touch, side straddle hops, arm circles, imperial walkers, scissors, hillbillies, hi jack hi jills, smurf jacks, etc.
Thang: 3 sets of coupon work interspersed with downtown trapezoid runs.
Fletch prayed us out.
A bunch of foolish hims showed up to run in this heat. YHC was ridiculously stupid and showed up a half hour early to get in a half Murph at the playground. Oh well, SYITG
Man it has been a while. YHC couldn’t remembered exactly when Ei left, partly because even when he still lived here he had stopped posting regularly, was skipping the annual event he started and – maybe most heartbreaking of all – had ceased all GroupMe musings like his infamous “No Horses In The Tunnel” post. Despite that, he is a tough man to forget.
Or is he?
Much to Ei’s chagrin, when he pulled in to the Gipper and enthusiastically greeted Moby after a three year absence, Moby couldn’t remember who the hell he was. Though, as Moby offered in consolation (pointing at me): “Hey, I can barely remember that little shit.” Fair enough – us Mandevilleans have not done such a great job posting to the Covington (or Slidell!) AO’s. Hoping that changes now that Summer is here and some of us are no longer beholden to our kids’ school schedules.
Anyhow, it was good to have Ei’s wit and energy back in the Pax and, once Legal, BBQ, and DarkWing Duck rolled in, we got to it.
YHC had the day before received the Nation’s email about the tragic passing of Jason Richard, aka “Falcon” (of the St. Louis – Mermemac region), father to four and husband to a wife who has been battling cancer. He was an FNG who collapsed on his first workout just as the pax were naming him.
So in his honor, we stuck together and performed “The Falcon 026”:
14 SSH’s (IC)
26 Flying Squirrels
26 American Hammers (IC)
26 Lunges
26 Curls
One Lap around the depot (approx. 400 meters)
26 No cheat merkins.
14 SSH’s (IC)
BBQ prayed us out with intentions for the Richards family, and gratitude for the return of old friends like EiEi. Good to have you back, brother, even just for a day.
First off, let’s just take a moment to recognize the Pax that got out there early for the pre-thang – I think there were 7-8 guys? And that’s not counting Jose and JV, who started even earlier to roll at their own pace. AND, an additional t-claps to Jose for not only EH’ing JV, but also for getting out to the Marsh extra early for a pre-pre-thang of 30 minutes of pull-ups.
And I’d argue we were off to a good start even before that, when in the wee hours of the morning the temperature mercifully dipped down into the mid-60’s. That small fact made all the difference – were it not for those 8-10 degrees, JV (by his own admission) would’ve punched that guy on roller blades in the face. And hasn’t Christian Slater suffered enough these last few years?
Usual warmorama (can you decode them all?): WM’s, IW’s, GG’s, HB’s, AC’s, SSH’s. And 20 Merkins OYO.
Split Q today, with YHC (Steve right now), up first. I tried to find the most pricker-filled patch of grass to mosey to for our first set of:
Nickel and Dimes I:
5 burpees, 10 hand release merkins, then SSH until next minute – for a total of 5 minutes. (Shout out to Catfish who taught me that one way back when.)
Many noticed PI’s entrance at this point, but few saw Zoolander’s sly exit.
Next up: Partner Races (or foot races, if Turtle had been there):
Line up at the start of Marigny for a sprint down the longest block known to man. Winner does 10 merkins, loser 10 burpees.
Tank, who positioned himself as the final sprinter, noted that every guy looked good running that block. “If I was passing by and saw those guys, I’d say, ‘Wow, those guys are athletes.’” High praise from the leader of the gazelles.
Back at the pricker-filled, ant-infested (sorry Bird) patch of grass for:
Nickel and Dimes: First Blood Part 2
10 Sister Mary’s (2:1), 5 squats, plank until next minute. 5 minutes.
And another partner race down Marigny, with winner taking 10 merkins, loser 10 burpees.
There were plans for Nickel and Dimes III: Nickel and Dimed With A Vengeance, but thankfully Bushwacker had arrived and it was time to cede leadership duties. Even I was hating myself by this point. (Though I’ll point out, quite a few guys still had plenty fuel left in the tank for Wacker – including Russo, who was somehow able to calculate the age of Madonna’s hoo-ha in between Side Straddle Hops [approx. 130 yrs old, if I heard correctly].)
So without further ado, time to turn the pages of this backblast over to the man himself, the Wacker of Bushes (and here you thought he was the long-winded one!).
Geez! Chatty Cathy, huh, guys?
Anyhoo, YHC got a taste of this race business (10 Burpees courtesy of Mr “I’m not really trying hard” Tank), and no thank you sir! Instead, a healthy order of circuit training was on the menu.
All OYO, plank for the 6:
50 100s, 40 SSH (single count), 30 Freddy Mercury’s (2is1), 20 Jump Squats, and 10 Burpees. 1 lap around Noah’s Ark and plank for the six. I reckon we made it through 5 or six rounds, with the final lap continuing to the flag.
COT
Count, Name, Steve prayed us out. Guys, I don’t know why you put up with Steve and his shenanigans, but I know he appreciates the allowance of said pied piper status. On a much more humble note, I appreciate this brotherhood and the ability to contribute in any small way to its lively and fulfilling existence.
First off, let’s just take a moment to recognize the Pax that got out there early for the pre-thang – I think there were 7-8 guys? And that’s not counting Jose and JV, who started even earlier to roll at their own pace. AND, an additional t-claps to Jose for not only EH’ing JV, but also for getting out to the Marsh extra early for a pre-pre-thang of 30 minutes of pull-ups.
And I’d argue we were off to a good start even before that, when in the wee hours of the morning the temperature mercifully dipped down into the mid-60’s. That small fact made all the difference – were it not for those 8-10 degrees, JV (by his own admission) would’ve punched that guy on roller blades in the face. And hasn’t Christian Slater suffered enough these last few years?
Usual warmorama (can you decode them all?): WM’s, IW’s, GG’s, HB’s, AC’s, SSH’s. And 20 Merkins OYO.
Split Q today, with YHC (Steve right now), up first. I tried to find the most pricker-filled patch of grass to mosey to for our first set of:
Nickel and Dimes I:
5 burpees, 10 hand release merkins, then SSH until next minute – for a total of 5 minutes. (Shout out to Catfish who taught me that one way back when.)
Many noticed PI’s entrance at this point, but few saw Zoolander’s sly exit.
Next up: Partner Races (or foot races, if Turtle had been there):
Line up at the start of Marigny for a sprint down the longest block known to man. Winner does 10 merkins, loser 10 burpees.
Tank, who positioned himself as the final sprinter, noted that every guy looked good running that block. “If I was passing by and saw those guys, I’d say, ‘Wow, those guys are athletes.’” High praise from the leader of the gazelles.
Back at the pricker-filled, ant-infested (sorry Bird) patch of grass for:
Nickel and Dimes: First Blood Part 2
10 Sister Mary’s (2:1), 5 squats, plank until next minute. 5 minutes.
And another partner race down Marigny, with winner taking 10 merkins, loser 10 burpees.
There were plans for Nickel and Dimes III: Nickel and Dimed With A Vengeance, but thankfully Bushwacker had arrived and it was time to cede leadership duties. Even I was hating myself by this point. (Though I’ll point out, quite a few guys still had plenty fuel left in the tank for Wacker – including Russo, who was somehow able to calculate the age of Madonna’s hoo-ha in between Side Straddle Hops [approx. 130 yrs old, if I heard correctly].)
So without further ado, time to turn the pages of this backblast over to the man himself, the Wacker of Bushes (and here you thought he was the long-winded one!).
Geez! Chatty Cathy, huh, guys?
Anyhoo, YHC got a taste of this race business (10 Burpees courtesy of Mr “I’m not really trying hard” Tank), and no thank you sir! Instead, a healthy order of circuit training was on the menu.
All OYO, plank for the 6:
50 100s, 40 SSH (single count), 30 Freddy Mercury’s (2is1), 20 Jump Squats, and 10 Burpees. 1 lap around Noah’s Ark and plank for the six. I reckon we made it through 5 or six rounds, with the final lap continuing to the flag.
COT
Count, Name, Steve prayed us out. Guys, I don’t know why you put up with Steve and his shenanigans, but I know he appreciates the allowance of said pied piper status. On a much more humble note, I appreciate this brotherhood and the ability to contribute in any small way to its lively and fulfilling existence.
