F3 New Orleans

Tag: War Eagle

  • Blue Angel Dropped B.O.M.B.S

    YHC has been out of the Qing game for a while trying to finish off another semester of PhD work. So when the opportunity came to Q The Foundry it was a no brainer. YHC has a habit of showing up extra early the mornings of Q to scout out the AO and make sure everything is in place for the beatdown ahead. Around 5:25, Screw Top and his band of misfits emerged from the gloom followed by a gentleman wearing a Jesuit blue shirt introducing himself with a “normal” name like John or something like that. Clearly, we had an FNG joining us this morning without the PAX member who EH’d him. (No worries, Walleye, we took care of him).

    5:30 – Disclaimer and we were off heading towards the City Park office.

    Warm-Up:

    SSH, Mountain Climbers, Hillbillies, Windmills, Arm Circles.

    The Thang

    Mosey to the Foundry. Along the way, the FNG became quite interested in each of our names. “I bet you aren’t an Auburn fan.” YHC knew then we had a genius on our hands

    B.O.M.B.S

    Partner up. As a pair complete the following as one PAX member runs to the track and back:

    Burpees X 50

    Overhand Claps X 100

    Merkins X150

    Big Boy Sit-Ups X 200

    Squats X 250

    Post-Thang

    Mosey to the beginning of the Roosevelt Mall. At the first bench complete 5 dips, 2nd bench 10 dips…carry on till you get to 40. Mosey back to the flag.

    Our FNG competed like a champion. Turns out he served in the Air Force, flys for FedEx and had a royal blue shirt. He throughly enjoyed supporting the Navy and proudly accepted the name Blue Angel.

    COT

    *Sorry for the delay in writing the backblast. As always it was a pleasure to lead this great group of men.

  • Get out of bed sleepy head!

    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.

  • Tee-Tee Returns

    Thanks to Douille for giving up his birthday Q so I could lead a 3-year anniversary beat down. I meant to give him a shout out during the work out and totally forgot so please tell him happy birthday next time you see him. I racked my brain to come up with a good workout involving the number 3 but none seemed to want to stick. I figured I’d catch my groove with something and moved on to the idea that I would provide a little F3 Nola 5/11/16 trivia.

    Warm UP:

    Disclaimer and quick mosey to the peristyle. It’s always refreshing to see America’s future lounging around the lagoon with a good vape in hand at 6:30. I must say I was a little jealous of the one guy with three girls but recalled that set up usually meant no deal was going to be sealed and buddy you might just need to pack it in the for night. Nonetheless I think they were curious of the pax and when one young lady started doing side straddle hops I lost the pax momentarily. We re-centered though and knocked out those SSH IC x 30, IW IC x 30, Grass Grabbers IC x 30, Peter Parker IC x 20, Mountain Climbers IC x 20, Parker Peter IC x 20, and something else.

    The Thing:

    Mosey around the way OYO to the little foundry. Plank and wait. Divvy into groups of 3: Al Gores, Pull-ups (count, 10), Dips. Rotate and repeat x 1.

    Mosey further around the way OYO to the track.

    Trivia fact one: 5/11/16 was a banner day at The Skinny. FNG’s included YHC plus Quick Draw (anyone spotted our favorite boy in blue lately?) and G-spot. Not sure who in the pax that day knew that ‘G-spot’ is a nickname for Greensboro, NC but the name caught on. I assume G-spot omits that nugget when detailing how he really got his name.

    Anyway the pax has caught their breath by now and is ready to run a mile. Easy enough but catch 10 burpees at the start of each lap. On the last lap instead of crossing the finish line the leader stops 20 yards short of the finish line and the next guy stops 20 yards short of him etc, etc. Plank and wait and the 6 with sweep you up to the finish. This went ok.

    Trivia fact two: I left my first beatdown with the name Tee-Tee. There was some trepidation in the name but urinary names can do that. My kids were stoked when I came home from the gloom and explained my new name. Well it didn’t last. Sometime between the post and the publication of the backblast (Shorty was Q so it may have been a bit) I was renamed Tinkles. Some backroom maneuvering but I think the right call was made.

    Indian run to the NOMA fountain. Spirits were running high so no need for more trivia. Need was for: RLSU IC x 20, LLSU x 20, Classic Tinkles (someone else said it not me) IC x 20.

    Partner up. Partner one stay and do modified LBC with feet on the bench. Partner two run around the now-open circular drive around NOMA. A pleasant mix of AC and paint fumes hung in the air around the museum. I almost vomited but survived. Switch.

    Just enough time to catch a view of Muscleship doing classic Muscleship aka Indian Walk or something like that.

    Mosey back to the flag with just enough time for some plank work on the side walk. We welcomed back Rudy from his butt cyst recovery run. Didn’t see any bloody discharge on the back of his shorts so I assume that it went ok.

    Circle up. Trivia fact three: I was EH’d by Walleye with an assist from Roots. This gave me the idea of having the pax say who EH’d them during the namorama:

    • JV- Yankee
    • Rudy- Heisenburg
    • Catfish- F3nola.com
    • 86- Tinkles
    • Angie’s List- Willie
    • Douille- Bagasse/Yankee
    • King Kong- Angie’s List
    • War Eagle- Baby Face
    • Two Utes- Hawg
    • Colonel Mustard- Seaman
    • Bongo- Maverick
    • Gabrielle- Seaman
    • Triple Shift- Triple Shift
    • Organ Grinder- Google
    • Fracsac- Maverick/Bubba
    • Heisenbery- Bogey

    T-claps to Seaman, Yankee, and Maverick for topping list of EH’ers

    Close with a prayer with special dedications to Fracsac’s mom, Triple Shift’s friend, and Moms. Thanks for the chance to lead and looking forward to another 3 years!

  • I’m told there was a 45-minute workout today

    Last week, High Rise was thrust into the spotlight at the Danger Zone when the Q failed to show. This week, High Rise was thrust into the spotlight when YHC had to make an abrupt exit to take care of a most urgent matter.

    Before all that though, we warmed up with a lap around the track, where we did some high knees, butt kicks, skipping, running sideways, zombie walks, and moseying.

    Next, we split into 2 heats for the following:

    • sprint 100, jog 300
    • sprint 200, jog 200
    • sprint 300, jog 100
    • sprint 400

    Somewhere around the time we came around the second turn of the 300 sprint, YHC broke the news to High Rise that he would, in fact, be Q’ing another workout on very short notice. Luckily, High Rise took it in stride.

    • YHC: Yo, I gotta go. real bad. you got this
    • High Rise: Sure thing. What’s next
    • YHC: Uh, sprints
    • High Rise: uhhhhh. okay

    YHC had planned some parachute runs and round two with the new, hopefully fixed, speed ropes, but when ISI doubled the normal turnout at the DZ, those plans were scrapped for a “spur of the moment” workout. Luckily, High Rise was up to the challenge. I’m told the following occurred while I was gone:

    • 400m sprint
    • Relay Races
    • PAX choice MARY (dying cockroaches, penguins, merkins, crab cakes, Freddie Mercury)

    Luckily, YHC returned in time to suggest we finish up by timing our fastest quarter mile. This was met with some groans – apparently there had been running while YHC was busy handling nature’s call. Who knew?

    We finished up with some stretching and a bit of grumbling from Rudy, so I’d say we were fully back on track by the end. War Eagle prayed us out. Thanks for letting me lead half a workout, and thanks to High Rise for being a great sport and taking the reigns. – Kuch

  • Bridges & Burpees in lieu of Bars & Beers

    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.  

    Hope to see everyone at the Tchoupitoulas Barathon on May 17.  It’s always a blast, even if you’re not a beer drinker.  Details here:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2019-tchoupitoulas-social-aid-athletic-club-bar-a-thon-the-38th-registration-46260502408

    Tool       

  • H8! #6

    The Thang

    Event: The 6th running of the H8!

    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.

  • Adapt, Improvise, Overcome!

    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.

  • Jazz fest stomp

    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.

  • “F3 Has Changed My Life”

    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.

  • Better late than never Backblast – we put the “Ab” in Abacus

    YHC enjoyed the Easter weekend with Friends and Family and was a bit tardy with this backblast. Well off we go. YHC wanted the workout to focus on our “ABS”. Also wanted to focus on some pull-ups as I don’t think we do these often enough.

    On to the warmup as follows: (probably off a bit on some of the counts)

    Windmills x 15, Grassgrabbers x 15, Self love – arm stretch (ode to Hawgcycle) (this brought some mumble chatter from the PAX), SSH x 15, Peter Parkers x 15, Nolan Ryan x 15 each side, Low slow squats x 15

    Grab a rock and mosey to the playground – on top of the wood chips.

    THANG 1 – YHC wanted a new exercise combo so we did a Febreeze – 2 Big Boy sit-ups then 10 air presses. Increase sit-ups by one and air presses by 10 until the last round we did 9 Big Boy sit-ups and 100 air presses. Somewhere along the way we lost count but finished strong.

    THANG 2 – YHC continues with the Ab theme – each PAX does 10 pull-ups. While waiting for the pull up bars, all other PAX are doing flutter kicks on your own.

    THANG 3 – Bench presses 5 count followed by 10 LBC’s. Increase bench press by 5 and LBC’s by 10 until we did 25 presses and 50 LBC’s.

    THANG 4 – repeat of thang 2 – more pull ups and flutter kicks.

    THANG 5 – random exercise – 100 monkey humpers

    THANG 6 – bench presses with rock, combined with more flutter kicks

    Bring rocks back to the pile – close it out with some Yoga type stretches with guidance from Triple Shift. I think we each did about 892 flutter kicks. COT, name-a-roma – FNG Prodigal Son, and closing prayer from War Eagle. Impromptu coffeteria due to Easter holiday for some fellowship was a great way to end the morning.

    Thanks again to all – SYITG.