Summer is here. And with it, the muggies. So 8 PAX ran and walked and sweated.
COT: Saban saving the day. Seriously. Great work Saban, and thank you for being willing to step up for a stranger when she needed that help. Great example for all of us to strive for.
Lovely 65 degree morning at the lakefront. A far cry from last week’s 40 degree gale force winds. 10 PAX to celebrate Mayhem’s birthday. YHC received a few texts suggesting that I use the Mayhem Merkin in the workout. Fear not, that was definitely included in the plan.
5:30am sharp – a quick sing-a-long for Mayhem, then across the street for a warm up. Despite the warm temp, Squints refused to part with his NYY sweatshirt, celebrating opening day.
Thing 1: Route 66, with Mayhem Merkins.
YHC caused confusion by incorrectly calling it 11s. That’s what I had planned – until he arrived and saw how lovely the waters of Okwata were. Fortunately, people quickly figured out what was up. Frac played the roll of Triple Shift by critiquing my form as I demonstrated the MM. Jesus Juice seemed quite confused as to how it was a 10 count exercise. No amount of counting it could quite solve his issues. Thumb War managed to convince a few people to go Shoulder-Tap-Hip-Slap rather than the approved technique. Mayhem and High Rise led the way, while YHC brought up the rear.
Thing 2: 3/27. YHC has a thing for numbers. Today: 3/27. 27 is 3 cubed. 3*3*3 = 27.
Run the H8 loop. At each corner, do 3 burpees. Counting the starting and finishing point, that yields 9 stops. 3 burpees each. 27 burpees.
Thing 3: The PAX utterly failed when given a choice between a) Repeating 3/27 2 more times (total of 81 burpees) or b) What YHC had up his sleeve. Confusion reigned, and voter fraud was widely reported. So YHC chose plan B.
Top of the levee for a bear crawl indian run to the House of Pain. Then pair up for 5 stations: Pull-ups (or hangs), Big Bois, Dips, Sweat Angels – and the timer: run over the levee for 3 burpees and back.
Bongo talked for the entire 15 minutes – something about how he received an email from a Nigerian prince and was now traveling to go collect his money.
COT – Great to see Floaties out again. Becoming quite a regular already! Okwata never fails to disappoint, so many possibilities out there. And getting to watch the sunrise over the lake for a few minutes afterwards – offers YHC a chance to reflect on life and how to follow the example of these great men and “be better”.
As per usual, the Runners came and killed their workout from Coach Gregg.
YHC did a nieghborhood lap that felt faster than normal. It may have been the cooler air. Here’s to hoping that the weather get’s even cooler!
KB and YHC pulled up at a little before 5:20 to see a herd of runners running away from the proverbial flag and all of their cars taking up valuable parking space. The days of a Lakeview Clown Car were apparently over.
With just KB, Vagabond, and YHC at the flag at the start time we felt a rumbling, before we knew it, the herd had surrounded us. It felt like a reenactment of the Mufasa Death scene in the 1994 classic, The Lion King. Before we realized what had happened Vagabond was taken away and the herd had left.
KB was nursing a sore ankle and not to leave a fellow pax behind, we went to his car to lift some heavy things. Turns out, the heavy things included, but is not limited to:
a bike
a 80 lb sandbag
20 lbs of laundry (unsure if clean or not)
a 65 lb kettlebell
a 15 lb ruck weight (this was found in the pocket of said laundry)
and some manner of creature that I dare not describe.
After lifting some of the weights around, Triple showed up; apparently he sensed the dirty laundry.
Nearing the end of our weight lifting session, we could hear the lackadaisical languishing of the runner herd; apparently they could start 10-15 minutes before hand, but could run all the way to 6:15.
We ended up with 16 Pax including Vagabond who reappeared unharmed (or rather no worse off than before)
COT involved some education on today’s festivities originally being called All Hallow’s Eve referencing All Saint Day tomorrow and continuing on to All Soul’s Day the day after.
You cannot ignore the H8! We tried. There was no H8! in April. Honestly, I forgot all about it. I guess I tried to push the H8! way down deep, but it never went away. The last few months have shown me that the H8! is always there. I can’t ignore it. I have to deal with it.
The Thang:
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 over 3 Miles of Hills
• 550 Yards of Bear Crawls
• 36 Burpees
• 120 Merkins
We did AMRAP in 40 minutes.
NMM
• This was a full compliance hate – Strict 40 minute time limit, running on the sidewalk, no corner cutting, and bear crawling the entire length of the neutral ground.
• We had 12 guys attempt the H8! Today. That’s a good turnout. T-claps to The Architect, High Rise, Mahatma, Mayhem, Pinewood, Mr. Rodgers, Rudy, Smooth, SOGO, Thighs, and Triple Shift for choosing to do hard things.
• Was Mr. Rodgers brazen enough to attempt the H8! in a weighted vest?
• A special shout out to High Rise and Mayhem for resisting the pull of the LVCC and their Temple of the Ole Man River. Members of the temple are devoted to a Chatbot they call Coach Greg. I was hoping a few more members would be willing to choose to battle the H8! Especially without their High Priestess Kuch and his Eunuch Glitter Balls in attendance. Unfortunately, the devotion of the following was too strong for them to waiver from the Supreme Chatbot’s commands. Bongo, El Guapo, Jesus Juice, Mama’s Pride, Saban, Sandberg, and Thumbwar sacrificed their manhood in sacred devotion to Coach Gregg this morning with a 45-minute easy run ritual.
• Three completed all 8 laps today: Smooth, YHC, and The Architect.
• Smooth went back out for lap 9 and was about 5 seconds short of finishing the running portion of the lap.
• If you have ever helped with a Youth Run Nola event, you will know that the kids take off in a sprint when the gun goes off. They do not know the difference between a 100-meter dash and a 3-mile run. I’m guessing Pinewood is a YRN alum.
• There were a few guys that finished the eight laps in just over 40 minutes. They are prime to get all eight in April.
• Speaking of April, we now have 6 months to prepare. Let’s keep pushing each other to stay disciplined and continue accelerating.
13 PAX at the stomp, expecting a traditional out-and-back in the late summer humidity. But if they had checked the schedule, they would have seen “800s” in the description. Kuch spoke for the PAX when he whined “can’t we just run on Marconi?” No, said YHC. And as the watch struck 5:30 – it was time for a disclaimer and then to the track.
2 lap mosey for a warmup (as Amnesty correctly observed, “That’s an 800!”).
The Thing: Yasso 800s.
Run an 800 at your 5k pace (or faster). Then mosey a 400 recovery lap. The 400 should be approximately the same duration as your 800. Rinse and Repeat.
YHC thought he was going to target 8:30 runs. But he got sucked in by Jesus Juice’s taunting and ended up pushing 8:00 pace for 4.5 800s. But that didn’t hold a candle to the speedsters – Smooth, Guapo and Saban (surprise surprise)
FNG (named Shredder) swore that he enjoyed it… And promised that he’s coming back.
Thanks everyone for willingness to do something new. And thanks to Screwtop and Breadsticks who altered their rigid training plans to join us on the track.
13 PAX at the stomp, expecting a traditional out-and-back in the late summer humidity. But if they had checked the schedule, they would have seen “800s” in the description. Kuch spoke for the PAX when he whined “can’t we just run on Marconi?” No, said YHC. And as the watch struck 5:30 – it was time for a disclaimer and then to the track.
2 lap mosey for a warmup (as Amnesty correctly observed, “That’s an 800!”).
The Thing: Yasso 800s.
Run an 800 at your 5k pace (or faster). Then mosey a 400 recovery lap. The 400 should be approximately the same duration as your 800. Rinse and Repeat.
YHC thought he was going to target 8:30 runs. But he got sucked in by Jesus Juice’s taunting and ended up pushing 8:00 pace for 4.5 800s. But that didn’t hold a candle to the speedsters – Smooth, Guapo and Saban (surprise surprise)
FNG (named Shredder) swore that he enjoyed it… And promised that he’s coming back.
Thanks everyone for willingness to do something new. And thanks to Screwtop and Breadsticks who altered their rigid training plans to join us on the track.
Been a long while since I’ve been to Okwata, let alone Q’d it. Thanks to Pinewood, the AO is enjoying a resurgence in popularity – nice work! The time was right to (re-)introduce the PAX to the 40 (originally inspired by “40” by U2). I did publish ahead of time, so the pansy lakeview group that was worried about wet shoes would have the opportunity to stay home. Not my fault that Jesus Juice didn’t read slack.
Forgot the disclaimer, then off to the top of the levee for a quick warmup, giving Hawg a few extra minutes to show up.
The Thang: The 40
10 exercises. Each one is 4 sets, alternating side of the levee. Each set is 10 reps.
40 trips over the levee. 40 reps of each exercise. 40 total sets. You get the idea.
* Merkins
* BBSU
* Squats
* Carolina Dry Docks
* Dr. W
* Lunges
* Floyd Mayweather
* American Hammer
* Monkey Humpers
* Burpees
Back to the flag a few mins late for COT
Random Thoughts:
Great to see 15 Pax in the gloom!!
Dr. W: took a few tries to get the cadence right. Definitely a crowd favorite!
Monkey Humpers followed by a run over the levee. Quads feel that.
High Rise is amazing. 45 minutes of continuous talk about work with Ya Mom And ‘Dem. YMAD didn’t say a word. Just let High Rise keep talking.
Pinewood correctly predicted the grand finale – Burpees! And he’d never done this before.
Taco (or Tacos, or Taci?) — great to have a 2.0 in the gloom with us!
Thank you, Kuch, for not letting The Juice know what was in store until it was too late for him to back out.
Music selection was heavily, and I mean HEAVILY, critiqued. But who knew there were so many “40” songs.
Notable in their absence were Triple Shift and Snooze.
"There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibiity for changing them." – Dr. Denis Waitley
YHC has been choosing the former when it comes to the gloom. Mainly due to not prioritizing sleep early enough at night and living within a 24hr day cycle…anyone know where I can get a longer day? It's difficult for everyone to manage life within the time we are given. Since we cannot change the time variable, all that's left are the choices we make within the day. These choices are rooted within intentionality, and the choices you make create your reality for you and those around you. Therefore, whatever you do, be intentional with your time each day.
To work on intentionality, I think it's important to have a tool in your workshop like F3. Something that is always there for you to choose. A F3 workout provides a platform for us men to make this choice every day…and I'm grateful for that.
The Beatdown:
Two parts today:
COT:
Ended with name-o-rama; announcements, prayer….due to 6yrs of buffering, YHC forgot the count-off (Tclaps to Amnesty for keeping me honest).
Mumblechatter:
Run Cajun Run: https://www.runcajunrun.com/
Here's to being more intentional and choosing the later!
-Shorty
Roughly 2 weeks ago scanning the Q sheet I saw an opportunity to travel outside the norm and signed up for Swollfest. Of course some habits are deeply engrained so leaving at 5:15 pushed the envelop, YHC pulled up at 5:30, shoes untied. Thankfully the LVCC crew was locked and loaded with blocks pulled waiting and ready.
Warm Up at various cadence intervals
Scantron x 2
Mnt Man Poopers
AbeVegodas
Side Lunge
SSH
Front lung with arm circles
Grass Grabbers
Tabata 30 on 10-0 off some with blocks
Mnt Climbers
TriCep Extensions
Jump Sqt
Curls
Front Lunge with block on your back
3 Rounds – JesusJuice informed YHC there are several timer apps created eons ago and was curious why it wasn’t being used!? Apparently the “ding” is a motivator.
365
3-Burpees
6-Box Jumps
5 – Rounds
OYO
Circle up for Mid Mary
Dr W’s
Leg Raise
Opposite Leg Raises
AMRAP 10 minutes
All 20 reps except Burpees x 5
Rows
Burpees
Kettlebell swing
Over Head Press
Sqt front raises
Oh all to the tunes from Rock City
Another Round of Mary
Gas Pump to scissor kick
XFactor
WWI sit ups
Finisher 2 rounds of Indian Push Ups
Note – YHC had a brainfart in that the end of the line was supposed to complete the entire snake of the line – flip flopping from the end through he beginning (my explanation may not be communicated well so I’ll have to Q again to get it right). That said shout out to squints and other pax that completed the gauntlet twice.
COT
Good to see other pax that are showing up consistently holding each other accountable. Thanks be to God.
