F3 New Orleans

Tag: High Rise

  • 43 going on 44

    23 PAX posted in the the dark at Rock City. The effects of the time change were felt as I tried to wake up and get ready to make the trek to Metairie. It was still so dark I could barely see who all had shown up in the dark gloom. At 5:30 The announcement and disclaimer were given and off we moseyed to the grassy area near the rocks for Warm-up.

    Warm-Up

    SSH x 20, Hillbillies x 20, Moroccan Night Clubs x 15, Fwd Arm Circles x 15 Rev. Arm Circles x 15, Mountain Climbers x 20

    THANG1 :

    Grab a Rock – Form 2 lines on the path, walk path around to the hill doing Left, Right, Center with Rock above head (don’t rest it on your shoulder!)

    THANG 2

    Dora 1, 2, 3 First stop at the Hill – Partner up –

    100 Thrusters combined while PAX 2 goes over the hill and back, flapjack. Plank and wait for the 6

    Mosey to the large field with your rock

    200 Curls for the Girls combined while PAX 2 runs to tree line and back. LBC and wait for the 6

    300 Chest Press combined while PAX 2 runs tree line and back. LBT and wait for the 6.

    THANG 3

    Circle up for a Merkin wave. Plank up, Q starts with 10 alternating arm rock push ups, next person starts on second rep and goes around. With 23 PAX there was lots of mumble chatter about the length of time planking.

    6 MINUTES OF MARY

    LBC’s x 43 – (My last beat down at age 43)

    Flutter Kicks x 15, Penguins x 20, Dying Cockroach x 20, American Hammer x 15

    Put up your rock and Mosey back to the flag.

    COT

    Count-o-rama, Name-o-rama, No FNG’s, Very disappointing because I love naming people and then hearing about it the next day. Announcements: Sunnyside for 2.0’s March 17 at Audubon Park – Drew Brees Playground. F2 at Wrong Iron March 21st 6:30 PM. Special Intentions, & Prayed it out with a sweaty ball of man, still in the pitch black darkness.

    Always and honor and pleasure to lead this group of High Impact Men that motivate and drive me everyday to be the best I can be.

    SYITG

  • It’s all about Grip strength

    After the long Mardi Gras season, I think everyone in NOLA is a bit off their game the day after Fat Tuesday….but 5 PAX strong showed up on a cold Ash Wednesday to kick start our morning. Answering the call to fill in for Hawg I showed up with only a minimal plan in mind….we weren’t going to get wet!

    Warm – mosey to the covered pavilion circle up and get the blood flowing.

    • 10 Greg Louganis 
    • 10 low slow squat
    • 10 side lung
    • 20 SSH
    • 10 ea leg scorpion kick 
    • 10 

    Move over to the railing 10 each leg step ups

    Mosey to the center of the park area, circle up for push up ring of fire x 5 then mosey along the running path, stopped at street crossing 5 burpees on your own.  Mosey to the outdoor gym near W. Napoleon.  QIC has been reading the Iron Sharpens Iron chatter and this month Triple Shift has made an emphasis of “grip strength” by performing a Flexed Arm Hang – we started with a 1 minute effort; taking a 1 minute rest then 4 30 sec hangs with 20-30 sec reset in between.  A lot tougher than it may sound, so if you haven’t made an effort to grip the bar yet…..get some!

    Then…While at the gym we broke up into 5 stations – 5 low hang pull ups was the timer, incline merkins, box jumps, dips and elevated leg lifts (again this was harder than it looked).

    Mosey up the running track to the edge of the lake – lined up for some core work: 20 flutter kicks, 10 scoops, 20 more elevated flutter kicks on elbows.

    Mosey back towards the gym, lined up on the side of the track, line of jump squats x 5 x 5.  Rev Sox helped move this along.

    Mosey back towards the start….Oh QIC decided Indian run was best but didn’t communicate completely……It got worked out, last man did 3 push ups then ran to the front and so on.

    Stopped at parking lot, found some measuring points (parking spaces) lunged to one side of parking area performed 10 merkins, bear crawled back did 5 burpees.

    Mosey again – stopped at light poles (3 were in a row before crossing the bridge to the starting point) 10 merkins, 10 jump squats, 10 Catalina Wine Mixers.

    Mosey again – well to the bottom of the bridge – lunged walk up and over.

    Meet at the edge of the lake – another push up ring of fire except this time it was a catch me if you can around the outer parameter of the pavilion.  Kuch put up a good push which got everyone else behind him motivated. 

    Mosey to the starting point – 2 minutes of plank.

    COT – We push our selves to improve both physically and spiritually as solid men that lead.  I’m blessed to have been given the chance to be in a position today to be a part of the Popeyes PAX….Thanks. 

  • End of February, end of RRR

    Gloomy morning at Okwata. Last day of February, last day of 2019 RRR and YHC’s legs are definitely feeling it. Been a great month – getting pushed by all the PAX to pull a Forest Gump and just keep running.

    And as 5:30 approaches, out of the gloom emerge Kuch and Ya Mom’N’Dem – 2 PAX who have been pushing and inspiring me all month. Running to the workouts, running home. Way to go guys!

    Disclaimer given, and off we go – looking for a rare patch of dry ground in the swamplands of Okwata.

    Warm Up

    Circle up at the foot of Canal Street. Typical Warmup, as YHC is a bit of a creature of habit. As Triple Shift noted – all exercises in cadence x28 (28th day of February. SSH, Hillbilly, Peter Parker (“Stay here” yells frac, so we may as well stay here), Shoulder Taps (“stay here” the Pax grumbles, so YHC obliges), Parker Peter. Recover

    But wait – no warmup is complete without burpees. So we’ll do a Burpee Box: run the canal St loop with 7 burpees at each corner (28 total burpees). If you finish, sweep the 6 and join them for their burpees as well. Mahatma quickly identifies that the name of the game is “stay together”. But he and Cowbell sprint off anyway, earning the opportunity to sweep and pick up two more sets of burpees. Nice work!

    Animal Crossing

    A few rounds of mosey up the levee, animal walk across, and mosey back down the levee. First its Bear Crawls, then Crab Walks, then Duck Walks. Each time, plank at the bottom for the 6. Make room for the sandal-footed hippie who decided to disrupt the workout on his run to nowhere.

    Route 66

    Across the street. Route 66 with Merkins. Go. Certain unnamed PAX reached lightpole #10 and became confused with what to do next. Ole Miss apparently does not cover counting when numbers exceed fingers.

    Cirlce of Time / Benches

    Back across the street to one of the underutilized areas of Okwata – the circle of 8 benches. A PAX of 17 made this a bit crowded, but we’ll make do. Partner up at each bench. We’ll go clockwise around. PAX noted that it was wet. Quite wet. Shoes will be wet. But – no griping allowed. Persevere. Accelerate. Own It.

    • Right Leg Step Up x20 (everyone). Lunge Walk clockwise to the next bench.
    • Left Leg Step Up x20. Lunge Walk clockwise.
    • Monkey Humpers x25. Lunge Walk clockwise
    • Low Slow Squats x20. (this was to be Box Jumps – but the dampness and crowds seemed to make that a bad idea. So improvise…). Lunge Walk clockwise.
    • Dips x20. Bear Crawl clockwise
    • Incline Merks x20. Bear Crawl
    • Regular Merks x20, with the whole group throwing in extras to motivate the rest of the PAX. YHC shoulders are feeling the burn. Bear Crawl onward.
    • Derkins. AMRAP. YHC has a clock. Go. Much grumbling and groaning ensured. 1:10 of derkins.

    A soggy group of PAX gathered up and moseyed back to the flag, where we got in a last round of LBC x28

    And with that, we wrap up the end of February. 2.3 miles earned for RRR. Close out with intentions (several PAX praying for close friends and family suffering with illness). And then prayers – as always YHC asks for the grace of God’s wisdom to use the gift of a day in service of Him, and in service of his family and friends.

    Then – as a little bit of lagniappe, Team Okwata (cowbell, mahatma, kuch, ya mom’n’dem, rudy) took off on one last 2 mile run to celebrate the end of RRR. Thanks for the month – for the inspiration, and for the F2.

  • We’re up all night to get War Eagle a little culture

    [5:25 AM, City Park, on a wet gray morning]

    War Eagle: What is that thingamabob in your hand, Kuch?

    Kuch: That’s a bluetooth speaker. It plays music.

    War Eagle: Where I’m from, dancing is outlawed and the only music allowed is people singing Sweet Home Alabama.

    Thus, it became clear to YHC that some music would be important to War Eagle’s continuing New Orleans education. So after a quick disclaimer, off we set to find a dry spot to warm up and moseyed up Roosevelt Mall to an intersection. Only the day before, I’d been humiliated around this very spot as I attempted to sprint to the finish ahead of Cowbell and Hawg at the Stomp, only to have them “jog” right by me. Cowbell was a little late today and did not reach the mosey spot until after we had already warmed up, so I will call it even.

    Warm-up – all x20 or so

    • Arm Circles
    • Hill Billies
    • Windwills
    • Parker Peter
    • Some hip stretches
    • Mosey back down Roosevelt Mall to the far side of the track for the workout

    First Tune of the Day – Tubthumping by Chumbawamba

    • “I get knocked down, but I get up again” = burpee
    • Everything else = SSH

    We started getting a little sloppy on the SSH, so we did some in cadence. When we finished, one lap around the outside of the track to maximize those RRR miles.

    Second Tune of the Day – Get Lucky by Daft Punk

    • “We’re up all night to get Lucky” = airsquat
    • Everything else = Al Gore

    Again we got a little sloppy, and there was a bit of mumblechatter about whether YHC had thought this one through all the way. Instead of acknowledging that this might actually have been a pretty terrible idea, penalty burpees were handed out. When War Eagle critiqued YHC’s form on the penalty burpees, more penalty burpees were issued. Mumblechatter died down a bit after that. Another lap around the track, and T-claps to Cowbell, Smooth, War Eagle, & YaMom & Dem who took it upon themselves to sweep the six each time. I have been the six, and I know what it feels like to have people push you. Knowing you are not out there by yourself while everyone else moves on is a big deal, so kudos guys.

    Third Tune of the Day – Flower (the Sally song) by Moby

    Only one thing to do here, and that’s up and down merkins holding it at the top and bottom. Another lap around the outside with some more sweeping from the fast crew.

    Fourth Tune of the Day – Proud Mary

    What else would you do to Proud Mary other than some Mary? So we got down on the wet ground and alternated 10 lbc’s and 10 flutter kicks IC, one after the next, till the song ended.

    Out of tunes to play, we Indian ran back down the track to the exit, where we moseyed to the flag for a minute or two of planking. Next time, we will get to Thunderstruck…

    As always, thanks for letting me lead. It’s a privilege. F3 has stripped me of my excuses, and forced me to accept being uncomfortable. When we started RRR 4 weeks ago, I didn’t think I could run more than 2 days in a row, I thought I needed more sleep, thought my knee needed more rest and my shin splints and my back would keep me from ever running any real distance again and so on. As we close in on the end of this challenge, I know that I have vastly exceeded what I thought I was capable of just a month ago. For that, I can only thank all of you who set a constant example of hard work, dedication and consistency. SYITG – Kuch

  • King Kong Escaped Audubon and Found His Way to Rock City

    Filled with excitement, YHC grabbed his passport this morning and went on a Metry field trip to Q his very first Rock City. YHC got to the AO about 15 minutes early and spotted Kuch, YourMomandDem, High Rise, and Abacus getting a head start by running a lap around the park to get some miles for the Run Ranger Run. T-claps for that!!! 22 strong Pax showed up on a cool, dry, windy Monday. YHC gave his standard disclaimer and told the Pax to mosey to the rocks, to pick up a decent size rock and mosey straight to the middle of the football field. Mumblechatter from Rudy telling YHC that Metry folks don’t lift up the rocks before warm-ups. Well… too bad. Off went the Pax.

    Warm-ups

    Circled up in the middle of the football field and did the following in cadence

    SSHs x 20

    Windmills x 10

    Hill Billies x 20 (YHC was trying to stay focus with his cadence count while Rudy was doing Imperial Walkers instead. Rudy claimed that Pax in Metry don’t do Hill Billies.)

    Seal Jacks x 20

    The Thang

    Pax lined up in the middle of the football field with their rocks facing the field goal. Pax did the following exercises in the following sequences without stopping except in the middle of the workout where Mahatma gave us a 20 count.

    Moseyed toward the field goal and performed 10 slow merkins IC.

    Moseyed back to the middle to the rocks and performed 10 manmakers OYO.

    Moseyed toward the other field goal and performed 20 plankjacks IC.

    Ran back to the middle and performed 15 low slow squats with the rock IC.

    Ran back toward the field goal and did 10 Cat Wine Mixer IC.

    Ran back to the middle and performed 15 thrusters OYO.

    Jogged toward the other field goal and did 20 Peter Parker IC.

    Jogged back to the middle and did 15 rows IC

    Jogged to the field goal and did 10 genuflects IC x 2 (10 on each leg).

    Moseyed back to the middle and muscled up another 10 manmakers OYO.

    Moseyed toward the other field goal and did 20 Parker Peter IC.

    Moseyed back to the middle and did 20 chest press IC. (With a serious tone, Mahatma said to the Q “lets do 100 of these,” and YHC knew that was not going to happen.)

    Ran to the field goal and did 15 lunges IC.

    Ran back toward the middle and muscled up another 15 thrusters OYO.

    Ran to the other field goal and lined up by the goal posts and bear crawled back to the middle and ended with last 10 manmakers OYO.

    To sum up the workout, Pax did 20 merkins, 30 manmakers, 30 thrusters, 40 plank jacks, 40 Peter Parkers, 40 Parker Peters, 15 low slow squats with the rock, 30 rows, 40 chest presses, 10 Cat. Wine Mixers, 20 Genuflects, 30 lunges, and about 1.6 miles of running in between.

    Round of Mary

    Everyone stayed in the middle of the football field and did the following exercises in cadence:

    LBCs x 20

    Flutterkicks x 15

    Hello Dolly x 15

    Dying Cockroach x 20

    Brought our beloved rocks back to their home and moseyed to the flag. While waiting for the Six, Pax planked and did 5 Nolan Ryan IC on each side.

    COT

    Ended the day with Count O Rama, Name O Rama, announcements and intentions. No FNGs. We prayed for all the mentioned intentions and also a safe Mardi Gras season for all of us. YHC is very grateful to be able to lead the workout. Always an honor to workout with my F3 brothers. Thank You for accepting an Uptowner at a Metry AO. SYITG.

    King Kong

  • Hokie Pokey does ABC’s

    With Run Ranger Run in full effect, and with the split of the Mother Ship Saturday workout into two Pax’s, Hokie Pokey thought it would be good to get some running in between exercises.

    Warm up started with a run to the railroad tracks and back with folks circling back to the six until we were ready to gather.

    • 10 baby are circles forward
    • 10 baby arm circles backwards
    • 10 big arm circles forward
    • 10 big arm circles backward
    • Right leg lunge forward with clockwise and counter clockwise trunk stretch.
    • Left leg lunge forward with clockwise and counter clockwise trunk stretch.

    Another run to the tracks and back with leaders getting extra running in by circling back to the six.

    1st exercise ~ “A” ~ Ascending testicles with balls to the columns and hold for 1 minute, down for 30 seconds, back up for a 2nd minute, back down for 30 seconds and back up for a 3rd minute… followed by …
    Another run to the tracks and back with leaders getting extra running in by circling back to the six.

    2nd exercise ~ “B” ~ Burpee’s on the law suicide style… 1st tree and back for one burpee; 2nd tree and back for 2 burpee’s; 3rd tree and back for 3 burpee’s… the last, 10th, tree and back for 10 burpee’s. For our fitter men, they could box jump while the rest of the Pax wrapped up. This was followed by …
    Another run to the tracks and back with leaders getting extra running in by circling back to the six.

    3rd exercise ~ “C” ~ Chillcuts (Dancing Style) ~ Elbow planks with right leg up for one minute, then back to rest in the elbow plank position for 30 seconds and left leg up for one minute. This was followed by …
    Another run to the tracks and back with leaders getting extra running in by circling back to the six.

    4th exercise ~ “D” ~ Diamonds ~ Diamond Merkins ~ AMRAP style ~ as many as possible in 60 seconds followed by 30 seconds rest… 5 times … followed by
    Another run to the tracks and back with leaders getting extra running in by circling back to the six.

    5th, and last “exercise” ~ “E” ~ Elevator ~ with 10 squats, 20 jump squats, 30 second Al Gore, 40 Front Lunges and 50 back lunges.

    We mosey’d back to the flag and heard we logged 3.6 miles as we counted off to 25. No FNG’s.

    Thank you for the opportunity to workout with such a great group of guys! I admire you all and appreciate you pushing me!

  • The Dawn of the Single Reverse Indian Run

    With Run Ranger Run in full swing, I thought it would be good to get a few miles in during the beatdown on Thursday morning at Okwata. So without further ado, at 5:30am I issued the disclaimer & we mosey’d to the intersection of Canal Blvd / Lakeshore Drive for the Warmup

    Warmup

    • 20 side straddle hops
    • 15 concrete grabbers
    • 20 plankjacks
    • 15 imperial walkers

    The Thang

    After the warmup, we did a count-off in which each of the 12 PAX was assigned a number; 1-12. The number was relevant because we did a variation of an Indian run called the ‘Single Reverse Indian Run’ (which is a completely made up name) which entailed the PAX running in a circle up & down the paved part of the levee at the intersection of Canal Blvd / Lakeshore Drive. While the group of PAX was doing a traditional Indian Run, each individual member of the PAX would then peel off to take a turn sprosey’ing (running at a speed that falls in between a sprint & a mosey) the same route until they re-connected with the PAX. So PAX 1 would peel off first, and when he got back to the group, PAX 2 would go; and so on until all 12 PAX had a turn. Seeing as how I hadn’t done this before, there were a few hiccups along the way. When it was time for PAX 1 (High Rise) to peel off to do his individual run, he just ran down the levee & then back up to the group; he didn’t run the whole route before returning to the group. So when PAX 2 (Cowbell) began to run, I explained he had to run the whole route before returning to the group. What we soon discovered, though, was that this was a pretty tall order & that we would probably be there all day if we continued in this fashion. So, to his credit, Rudy, suggested that we keep the exercise the same, but have the individual members of the PAX do the individual runs in reverse, so that they would run into the group of PAX doing the traditional Indian Run instead of having to essentially catch up to the group of PAX doing the traditional Indian Run. Rudy then ran to get Cowbell to communicate the change, and after this tweak, most PAX were able to complete their individual lap using the reverse technique. To Smooth’s credit, he did not go in reverse; he completed his individual lap running the same direction as the group (using what some may refer to as the elusive reverse reverse technique).

    After one of the most complicated Indian Runs ever attempted in 21st century America was completed, we mosey’d down the lakefront to where the potted plants (or what many in the lower 48 refer to as planters) are located near the water. What I learned from my last Q at Okwata is that there are indeed only 10 planters on this part of the lakefront. With this knowledge fresh in mind, our next exercise was to run from the 1st planter to the 10th planter. Once at the 10th planter, the PAX would do 5 derkins, and then we’d run back to the first planter and do 5 irkins. We did this 5 times so that we did a total of 50 combined derkins & irkins.

    Once completed, I took a quick glance at my watch and noticed we had about 10 minutes left, which was plenty enough time for us to mosey back to the paved intersection of Canal Blvd / Lakeshore Drive so that we could do 2 laps of Bernie Sanders up the levee. For this exercise, the PAX would do a Bernie Sanders up the levee (run backwards), and then do a forward run down the levee. Once at the other side, the PAX would then do a Bernie Sanders back up the levee and then a forward run back down the levee. We did this twice, and truth be told, most of the PAX seemed like they were #FeelingTheBurn in a physical sense by the time we were done. Some of the PAX may have also been #FeelingTheBern in a political sense as well, but it wasn’t relevant to the exercise & I am not a mind reader, so who knows.

    After this exercise, time was up. So we mosey’d back to the flag & did the count-off, name-o-rama, announcements & prayer. Turns out we had cranked out a little over 4 miles during the beatdown, which was nice for all the guys tracking for Run Ranger Run. High Rise had also brought out an FNG with him to the Beatdown. It turned out the FNG had wrestled back in high school with Kuch, so he was aptly named “Half Nelson.” Thanks for letting me lead, fellas. I appreciate it & I enjoy it.

  • That Was Super

    Run Ranger Run crunch time ensured that we had a healthy number of Stompers on Tuesday. In order to maximize our time, we ran the traditional route down the bayou, 22:30 out, then turned around and came back. The only rule was that you must have a negative split. We didn’t all achieve the negative split, but we were close. We circled up for COT a minute or two late and gave thanks for the day.

    NMM
    • T-claps to Smooth. He was able to make it just past Earhart. That is the farthest I’ve ever known anyone to make it. 6.5 miles for a just over a 7 minute/mile pace. That’s poster material.
    • T-claps to War Eagle. He has become a runner in the past couple of months. The young buck must have been feeling his oats as we rounded NOMA on the back stretch. Like a horse to the barn he took off as Rudy and El Guapo approached. He was a good 10-15 feet ahead of me and I was not able to close the gap. I was seriously wondering if he was going to beat me to the flag.
    • He didn’t.
    • There was a supermoon in the sky. Problem was that we couldn’t see it. If you haven’t noticed, it will be raining in New Orleans for the next two months.
    • T-claps to Amnesty and Tool who, each nursing their injuries, were willing to get out on their bikes and get some work in. The ride-by heckling was a nice touch.
    • Running in shoes is the worst. How do you all do it? It’s awful. If anyone is headed to Hawaii soon, let me know. I’ll give you $5 to pick me up a pair of Locals slippers from the nearest CVS.
    • Run Ranger Run 10 Member Team Standings as of 1512 hours on 2/20. It’s tight:
      • #5 Okwata (507 miles)
      • #6 Rock City (494 miles)
      • #7 The Birdcage-1 (476 miles)
      • #8 Mothership (470 miles)
      • #10 Northshore (461 miles)
      • #18 HNJ (362 miles)

  • Backblast – 2019-02-16

    Another day aboard the Mothership. 23 PAX total.

    Attendees: Catfish, Highrise, Gabrielle, King Kong, Jesus Juice, Screw Top, Fracsac, Care Bear, Brown Eye, Organ Grinder, Tubbs, Angie’s List, Flipper, Rudy, Two Yutes, Dewey, Bongo, Mudbug. We had three FNGs. Welcome Scrapple, Da Crane, and Sunny D!

    Started the workout with a mosey to the lawn on the side of the museum. Ran some side straddle hop, arm circles, abe vigodas, and overhead claps to warm things up. Moved to plank position for Catalina wine mixers, plank jacks, peter parkers, and parker peters.

    From here we moseyed to the museum fountain for a Dora. Dora included 100 box jumps (on the fountain), 200 dips, 300 LBC’s, while partner hopped up the steps, did 5 merkins at the top, and hopped down.

    From here we moseyed back to the field for burpee suicides. These involved suicides with length of 2, 4, then 6 trees, with 5, 10, then 15 burpees at each end.

    From here we moseyed to the paddleboat dock for monkey humpers, squat jumps, and lunges. Followed these up with a lovely long round of Jack Webb.

    Moved to the grass to round things out with some Mary – Crunchy Frog, Penguins, Leg Lifts, American Hammer.

    Thanks to everyone who pushed through, this was a good one! Can’t wait till next time!

  • We’ll Never Finish in 45 Min….Yep it took 47

    I’ve been talking about it for some time now and had it loaded in my truck; the tractor tire was armor-alled and ready to roll……yet the levee was calling.

    Quick disclaimer and a challenge to push yourself to the limit before giving in. Mosey around the fountain to circle up for the warm up.

    All in cadence:

    Low Slow Squats x 10

    Leg swing left x 12 then right x 12

    SSH x 20

    Scorpion kicks x 10

    Shoulder taps x 15

    Pax moseyed up the levee – Q gave instructions – Indian run, disperse – Repeater 

    – once Pax gets to the front of the line he yells out his choice of an exercise movement then yells disperse – ALL pax runs to either side of levee and performs the  movement x 3.  Each time the next Pax runs to the front and gives the next exercise movement the Pax runs down to either side of the levee and performs the movement x 3 THEN runs up and over to repeat the 1st.  Each time a Pax gives a new movement all other movements are then repeated after running up and over the levee.   Regardless on how you count it…..we ran a lot of levees! 2.8 miles up and over

    This was on the boarder line of insane….and there was a lot of “chirping” by the those normally expected yet every pax pushed through and completed the task.  

    No time to spare mosey to the flags!

     COT

    Count off – Name O Roma – FGN made his presence known with a LOT more details so fittingly we came up with TMI!  He’s a welcome addition to our PAX and will be pushed by Hokie Pokey to make the Uptowner. 

    QIC was no doubt disappointed NOT having time to roll out the tire but none the less proud of the brothers on hand that pushed through!

    It’s a blessing and honor to lead!