F3 New Orleans

Tag: Milestone Marsh

  • Northshore at The NOLA Mothership

    With the Northshore convergence taking place, YHC wasn’t sure how many Pax would post to the Mothership.  Expecting a large presence on the NS, YHC was surprised to find 25 Pax gathered around the 4 shovel flags.  YHC was very happy to see 3 FNG’s post, keep up the EH’ing!

    YHC decided it would be a good idea to dedicate the Mothership beat down to the Northshore in honor of their 2 year convergence.  Since the NS was planning a beat down that would visit each AO, YHC created one as well, with more of a virtual visit to each AO.  0630, so time for the disclaimer, then….

    Mosey to the Great Lawn for the Warmup.  The Pax will begin and end at the Mothership….

    SSH IC x 31
    Imp Sq Walkers IC x 10
    10 Burpees OYO

    With the warmup complete, the Pax took a virtual bike ride to the first AO…

    Milestone Marsh

    YHC read a BB that had Waterpik doing suicides on the basketball court, so cones were set up to resemble a court for:

    Burpee Suicides
    Start at base line, sprint to first line, then back to base line for 5 Burpees
    Sprint to half court and back to baseline for 5 Burpees
    Sprint to 3rd line and back for 5 burpees
    Sprint full court and back for 5 Burpees

    The Pax mount their virtual bikes for a ride to the next AO….

    Grandmothers House

    YHC read a BB where Pelican, Shooter, and Ocho did some 11’s. Using the first and last row of cones…
    10 merkins first row, 1 Bobby Hurley last row
    9 merkins first row, 2 Bobby Hurley last row
    Continue until 1 merkin and 10 Bobby Hurleys.

    The Pax mount their virtual bikes for a ride to the next AO…

    The Gipper

    Turbo seems to like sprints, based upon his BB. Using the cones again….
    Sprint from first row to last row, and complete 5 burpees, then slow mosey back.
    Sprint from first row to third row, then some exercise, 5 merkins maybe…slow mosey back
    Sprint from first row to second row, then maybe 5 squats, slow mosey back….
    Sprint to last row again, and collect cones on the way back.

    The Pax mount their virtual bikes for a quick ride to the next AO…

    City Hall Scramble

    Apparently Bushwacker likes to do a 5k run with Burpees and merkins, according to the BB…..
    The Pax did a modified 5k run, stopping near Morning Call for 10 Burpees OYO. The Pax continued to the open lawn
    near NOMA where they enjoyed a round of:
    Catalina Wine Mixers IC x 10 (YHC had to fit them in)
    Continue on to the NOMA fountain for:
    Freak Nasties IC x 20

    The Pax mount their virtual bikes for a short ride to the next AO…

    Captains Cove

    Captain Sparkles really likes to run…..seriously, he has a running AO named after him….that’s cool!

    This AO is a 10k run, which the Pax did a modified version…
    Line up in two columns on the path that goes around Lagoon Number 7 for:
    Bataan Death March!
    An Indian Run where the last Pax drops for 5 Burpees, then sprints to the front. Each Pax got to do a set, which took us one lap around the lagoon.

    The Pax mount their virtual bikes to ride to the final NS AO…

    The Lakefront

    Steve had a BB where there was some bearcrawls and 8 Count Body Builders…nice
    8 Count Body Builders IC x 10
    line up at first tree, bear crawl to third tree for 5 Burpees OYO
    Bear Crawl to 5th tree
    Merkins IC x 10 (4 count)

    Mary

    Flutter Kicks IC x 20
    Hello Dolly IC x 20
    Rosalitas IC x 20
    Tins Snips aka Egg Beaters IC x 20
    American Hammer IC x 20
    LBC’s IC x 20

    The Pax mount their virtual bikes and head back to the Mothership Flags, but with a 6:29 arrival, the Pax had time for a quick mosey to the Great Lawn for:
    10 Burpees OYO

    Mosey to the Flags

    COT
    Count Off, Name-O-Rama.
    3 FNG’s joined us this day and were brought into the F3 Brotherhood. Welcome Mambi (He’s a hunter, said he harvested Bambi’s brother), Wolverine, an Ohio State alumni, and Recall, who does something with food and beverage.
    Intentions, and closed with a prayer.

    Great coffeteria was enjoyed by all that stayed.

    YHC hopes you enjoyed this tribute to our NS brethren. YHC will make it back up there before long.

    Thanks for posting with me today, and for pushing me.

    NMM
    It’s the little things that matter. After the 8 Count Body Builders at the Lakefront AO, YHC was about wiped out. Walleye apparently noticed, and he gave YHC some words of encouragement that proved enough to take it to the finish line. We push each other to improve and to succeed, taking our bodies farther than we thought they could go. That’s F3.
    Remember, F3 is an organization of leaders, not an organization with leaders. If you haven’t signed up to Q yet, get your name on the signup sheet.

  • Carpe Diem Convergence

    The F3 Nation knew about YHC before YHC knew about the F3 Nation.  You see, YHC’s brother-in-law, Lynchpin, lives in Charlotte.  In the early days, before the F3 Nation planted its flag in NOLA, Lynchpin routinely and enthusiastically regaled YHC with stories of legendary beatdowns and CSAUPs, tongue in cheek nicknames, funny exercise names and other F3 lore.  Then, when F3 decided to expand to NOLA, Lynchpin tried to EH YHC, but YHC begged off.  It all sounded, well to be honest, like a cult and how could YHC trust Lynchpin anyway?  After all, he married YHC’s sister.  Ugh.  But resistance was futile.  The NOLA PAX crossed Lake Pontchartrain in its Durham boat, Reluctant Yankee at the helm like George Washington crossing the Delaware. Nacho and Chewy fell in upon the PAX’s arrival and, together, they planted the shovel flag in the Gloom on April 9, 2016.  F3 Northshore was born.  How could YHC resist a free workout in his own backyard?

    A few weeks later, the NOLA PAX boarded their Durham boat and retreated back across the Lake, leaving the Northshore PAX to make the most of their gift of F3.  We stumbled about, we made mistakes, we created a new AO only to abandon it a few weeks later, and we had more than a few beatdowns with one or two PAX.  Somehow, however, we made it and two years later look forward to seeing one another regularly to suffer and have fun together.

    As this morning’s two year anniversary convergence approached and YHC learned that the weather more likely than not would be awful, there was no concern.  Two years of meeting rain or shine, hot or cold, left no doubt in YHC’s mind that the PAX would post.  And post they did.  And you know what?  The weather held off just long enough for us to celebrate our birthday with a 3 hour beatdown, visiting 5 of 6 Northshore AOs by the mechanical device known as the bicycle.

    Mandeville Lakefront:  4 burpees OYO, 19 SSHs IC, 20 IWs IC, and 16 Seal Jacks IC.

    Captain’s Cove:  4 vertical jumps OYO, 19 Copperhead Squats IC, 20 Sumo Squats IC, and 16 Regular Squats IC.

    Milestone Marsh: 4 plyo Merkins OYO, 19 Merkins IC, 20 Shoulder Taps IC, 16 slow seconds Mission Impossible.

    At this point, Chewy politely pointed out that he had figured out what YHC was up to with the count but that our birthday is April 9, 2016, not April 19, 2016.  Point well taken.

    Grandmother’s House:  4 Sister Mary Katherine’s OYO, 9 front to back lunges IC, 20 45 degree lunges IC, and 16 later lunges IC.

    And then, after a 10 mile mosey on the Tammany Trace to Covington:

    The Gipper:  4 Freddy Mercury’s IC, 9 Freddy Flutters IC, 20 Hello Dolly’s IC, and 16 Flutter Kicks IC.

    Then we mounted our bikes for the 10 mile ride back to the shovel flag for the countorama, nameorama, Shooter’s prayer and a coffeeteria, arriving about an hour later than anticipated.  No one will confuse YHC for a Swiss train conductor after this morning’s logistics, that’s for sure.

    Thanks for letting me lead, guys, and thanks for your willingness to try something different and new and for posting despite the threatening weather and actually being disappointed it didn’t pour on us.

    Some parting thoughts:

    We’ve come a long way on the Northshore.  Things have become almost comfortable and, while there’s a lot of positive to that sentiment, there are dangers too.  We could stop growing.

    So here’s a call to action.  Commit to EH’ing more FNGs and supporting them through their virgin post so that they return.  Commit to Q’ing more workouts, putting time into planning your Qs, and posting timely BackBlasts.  Commit to a CSAUP.  Commit to making yourself better and leading by example, always keeping your eyes open for growth and leadership in all three of the Fs.  If we want F3 Northshore to grow, then we are the ones that need to make it happen.

    Carpe Diem.

     

     

     

     

  • Monday, Monday

    YHC showed up at the Milestone Marsh and, immediately, spotted a racoon, but, unfortunately, there were no other F3 brothers posting for this morning’s beatdown.  So, as one might expect the mind games began…should I stay or should I go?

    YHC decided to stay, as getting out of the fartsack seems to always be the hardest part.

    Warmup:

    SSH

    WM

    GM

    Excercises. Didnt really count, and dont remember the exact order, but here goes:

    Bear Crawls, Line Drills across basketball court, Crab Walk, Jog backwards.  At each baseline, I did these excercises: merkins, squats, lunge jumps, plankjacks, leg raises from reverse plank.

    mosey to workout equipment.

    pullups, australian pullups, freak nasties, merkins.

    mosey back to basketball court

    more running, running backwards, shuffling, line drills.

    ISI at baseline.

    Peace Out, back to the Hotel.

    Prayed myself out for a good week.

     

     

  • Name change?

    That was the question of the morning at the Milestone Marsh.  YHC told the Pax to mosey on over to the”Workout”Equipment and Bushwacker, who pretty much does a play-by-play broadcast during every beatdown, opined that it was really “children’s play” equipment.  And, truthfully, he is probably correct.  But, I have a better question to ponder…Is it too late to rename Bushwacker, “Jim Henderson”, the F3 play-by-play announcer????  I think it would suit him well.

    Warmup

    20 SSH, BK, HK, WM, GM all IC

    Thang:

    we broke into two groups and alternated excercises across basketball court.

    group 1: plank, reverse plank, plankjack, burpees, hand release merkins, squats

    group 2: run the length of basketball court, line drills, lunge walks, bear crawls, run backwards, shuffle sideways.

    mosey to “workout equipment”

    pullups, hand release merkins, freak nasties.

    reverse “australian” pullups.

    Mary:

    FK, HD, Rosalitas, putins, feet to heaven, leg raises, LBCs, more FK, more putin.

    countarama, nameorama, thanks to the Bushhhhwacker for praying us out

    Thanks guys for making me a better man and getting off the the great start to the week.

     

     

  • Marsh Madness!!!

    With the beginning of the week and March madness tipping off on Thursday. The QIC arrived at the Marsh to the sights of 2 Cinderella hopefuls waiting at center court. Would either be selected by the NCAA committee for this weekends tournament? Or would they need to except another invitation to the CUSAP at the Tough Mudder on Saturday spearheaded by the Bushwacker? With the latter of the 2 choices clearly in their sights as well as mine we tipoff our training with the warmup..

    25IC SSH, 15IC WM, 25IC IW, 15IC GM, 25IC BK, 15 IC SJ

    With the opportunity of slipping in as a number 16 seed the ISI challenge would prove the worthiness of one Steve rocking out 35 on this Gloom.. With Captain taking second and the QIC rounding out the PAX we all responded with a sigh of completion and reverence to Turbo for coming up with such great challenges… We began a Mosey down Lamarque to the lakefront. Arriving at the bulkhead we completed an upper body of 15IC Freak nasties, followed by 15IC Derkins and 15IC Erkins. Climbed on top the sea wall and Racoon crawled about 50 yards west. Next we focused on legs completing 10 step ups each leg, followed by 15 box jumps. Using the sea wall as a guide to a perfect 90 degree squat of 15 followed by right single leg squat 10IC back to regular squat 15, and completed left leg single 10IC. We then began our journey back up Marigny to the Marsh. Closing things up we completed 8 count bodybuildiers to 20 and then took to the six for Mary. 30IC flutter kicks, right single leg extension wife pleaser and left single leg wife pleaser wrapping up with 30IC flutter kicks..

    countoff, announcements, COT

    Thanks to Captain for praying us out and Steve for the lessons of survival when supporting a fellow brother on a bachelor party.. Well done lads!!

    Appreciate the lead!

     

  • Code Red at the Marsh

    It’s been fairly well-documented, but The Marsh has been on life support for weeks.  A harsh winter and the prolonged absence of Butt Splice has put the AO into a deep coma, and resuscitation has been slow and unsuccessful.  YHC provided some half-assed CPR this morning, but knows that it’ll take the return of Señor Splice and some warm weather to really get this AO moving again.

    Here’s what went down this morning: YHC rolls in a little early (that’s right, I’m back in a car now), and whips out the phone to see who’s Q.  A glowing, empty slot stares back at me.  So… it’ll either be a Round Robin, or no one will post.  Turtle made some vague mention of possibly-maybe-potentially showing, and one of the Seal Team 6 members can always surprise you.  But as the minutes wore on it became clear no one would post this morning, and YHC felt awake enough to do something.  Now, if this comes off as, Hey, look at me, guys! I went out and got some while you guys fartsacked!, let me just assure you that last Friday at the Cove was another no-show morning, and YHC did absolutely nothing.  (I noted to myself that it took 66 steps to get to the car and only 42 to make it right back to my bed.)  And this morning was not much more: a bit of standard warm up, jog around the block, descending ladder of pull-ups, the ISI challenge of the day, and some mary.

    Now, with the Marsh facing such decline, I’m going to make a commitment to make at least the next two Mondays.  Maybe the next three.  And I challenge you guys to do the same.  Shooter’s got the Q next Monday, let’s show the man some support!

     

  • A Grueling Murph for President’s Day

    YHC has only done one murph in my year plus stint with F3 and it was brutal.  Why I wanted to revisit that experience is beyond me, but I decided President’s Day was as good a day as any to give it another go.  (And if some loose association was needed, it was Washington himself who first awarded the Purple Heart some 223 years before Michael Murphy would get it for his heroism in Afghanistan in 2005.)

    So yeah, this seemed like a good idea last night.  Now, running to the AO at 0440 (who uses cars these days?), it suddenly seemed like a terrible idea.  My mind was scrambling to come up with other options.  Then I strolled up to the Marsh to find Sensei Shooter (also carless) waiting alone, and I knew the Murph was going to happen.  You see, Shooter has come to every beatdown for the past two weeks.  And for the past week, he’s been running to each AO (save the Gipper, of course) rather than driving.  AND, he’s putting up consistent mileage each day for the run challenge.  And the man has a job and a family.  He’s an animal and an inspiration.  So had it been anyone else, I might’ve altered course and given in to the weaker me.  But Shooter inspires the best in everyone and therefore deserves the best.  So we got down to it:

    1 Mile

    100 Pull-Ups

    200 Merkins

    300 Squats

    1 Mile

    We made pretty good time, coming in just under our allotted 45 minutes.  Thanks brother, for elevating all those around you.

  • On Holiday At The Marsh

    Dashing out the door this morning in an effort not to be late to my own Q, I neglected to bring my gloves or even a sweatshirt.  As soon as the wipers hit a massive sheet of unyielding ice on my windshield, I realized I was woefully underdressed for the 29° weather.  Too late, no time.  And so, pulling up to the Marsh right at 0500, I sat in the car and began that inner monologue that has become too familiar over the past few cold weeks: Maybe no one will show today…  Maybe I can turn this car back around… Maybe I can get right back in bed… This mantra never really works, and post-beatdown, I’ve always been happy for that.  Which is why it was so shocking that today, for the first time in a long, long time, no one posted.

    I suspect that was partly due to the cold, and mostly due to the fact that it was MLK Day, and many were off work and could sleep in for a change (ahem…especially those returning from a big hunting trip).  Well, I’m not gonna lie and say I wasn’t a little bit excited by the prospect of a no-show.  But, in honor of King and his famous speech (which will have it’s 55th anniversary this year), YHC knocked out 55 pull-ups, followed by 55 merkins as quickly as humanly possible.  Then I drove back home (I’m not a total idiot), got my sweatshirt and gloves, and went for a short mosey.  And then… I got back into bed.

    It certainly wasn’t the caliber of a true F3 beatdown, but it was just enough to get out of bed for.  And it was a good reminder of why I need the F3 brothers in my life.  King’s notion that we are all brothers and sisters, despite our many differences, is a powerful one, and one that I see at work in the F3 nation every week.  So thanks to my brothers, enjoy your holiday, and YHC expects to see you men back out there tomorrow at Grandmother’s House.

  • Santa’s Last Stop

    Twas the gloom before christmas when all through the marsh not a creature was stirring except for c. sparks. The shovel flag dug in the cool of the air, knowing the rest of the pax would be there!!

    These Pax must be loco! we all roll up sharing our stories of the Ms calling us nuts for posting on Christmas! but this is f3 and we can’t stop won’t stop!! Sparkles filled the prophecy of the santa suit minus the belly with a dazzling santa sweatshirt! Bushwacker in the christmas spirit wore his santa hat too!

    WARMARAMA

    Ssh 20 ic

    toe touches legs apart 20ic

    half mile mosey to the lake

    THANG

    20 box jumps and 20 squats oyo rinse and repeat x3

    20 derkins and 20 freak nasties oyo  rinse and repeat x3

    mosey back with 10 stride sprints at each stop sign

    20 dips and 20 pull ups oyo rinse and repeat x3

    20 australian pull-ups oyo

    MARY

    20 lbc ic

    20 freddie mercuries ic

    20 flutter kicks ic

    rinse and repeat

    cot, bom

    shooter with a pray out!

     

     

  • Pub Crawl, F3 Style

    It was a rainy morning at the marsh and one of the nice things about that particular AO is that the large covered basketball court provides ample shelter for a beatdown with no need to get wet.  But where’s the fun in that?  Any man willing to show up at 5am in the rain is prepared for pretty much anything, and getting wet is likely the least of his concern.  But before venturing out, we’d start off with a warmorama under the cozy confines of the court: Good Mornings, IW’s, Windmills, Seal Jacks, SSH’s, Butt Kicks, High Knees, all IC, at or around 20x.

    The Thang:

    What better way to start the morning than with a 6 pack?  Similar in count to a set of 11’s, but starting with 5 merkins and 1 pull-up, and finishing at 1 merkin and 5 pull-ups.  Then a mosey in the rain to…

    Old Rail Brewery for a Pub Crawl: The Pax lines up along the parking curb, bear crawls through a small, refreshing reservoir in the middle of the lot to reach the opposing curb and perform 1 derkin, with feet propped up along curb.  Bear crawl back, 2 derkins.  Repeat, all the way to 13 derkins.

    Slow mosey over to the trailhead stairs and partner up: P1 runs half the corridor, up the stairs and back, while P2 does squats.  Again, with merkins, monkey jumpers, squat jumps.  Repeat, adding calf raises to the mix.

    Mosey back to the marsh for one last 6 pack before shutting this crawl down with a mary of 50 LBC’s, IC.  As The Manny noted, this was definitely the worst pub crawl any of us had been to.  But no one splashed merlot, and we hobbled away a bit stronger and with our dignity in tact.

    On a side note, this run in the rain reminded YHC that I neglected my backblast duties after our 10k in the sleet two Friday’s ago at the Cove (12/8/17).   It’s was borderline freezing, with a mix of rain, sleet, and hail – just another instance of the indomitable spirit of the Northshore Pax (Bushwacker and Pelican, I’m looking at you) that should be noted for posterity.