CONDITIONS
Temps in the 70’s and clear skies. A strong breeze coming across the Appalachians and downhill to us flatlanders tousled the PAX’ hair much like it did the leaves and branches left over from yesterday’s storms. Just like yesterday, E-lectricity was in the air as it always is on a Depot morn, but there were few new (and old) additions for the PAX today including….
- An SUV parked in the far parking lot waging an epic battle no doubt, its driver keeping us safe from the Pokémon that lurk in these here parts. Said driver did have the wherewithal to turn off their lights as a critical mass of PAX gathered in the gloom. #Squirtle
- Over the rustling of the leaves the PAX could hear the roar of a dual exhaust V8 Mopar as Hostel wheeled into the parking lot looking like Buddy Love in his boy’s lifted 4WD Dodge truck. #SoundsLikeFreedomToMe
- Speaking of souping things up, Joanna returned YHC’s block, mid-Side Straddle Hop. Apparently while YHC was away, Joanna took it to his workshop for some “upgrades” to improve its strength and durability.
- Today also saw the return of F3 Lake Murray’s resident hammer throwing, plane jumping out of, traffic weaving in and out of, Marine and Nantan Pothole. Rumor has it, Lumbergh pulled the old “bait and switch” on Pothole by luring him back into the gloom and then cleverly not posting today. Pothole, if it’s any consolation, “bait and switch” is better than Lumbergh’s other two favorite games “touch the pole” and “hide the peanut”. #CountYourBlessings
- The final thing of note today was that per YHC’s request, most of the PAX showed up in black to celebrate YHC’s own return to the gloom and first time leading the Q in a since Q1 of 2023. This #BackInBlack theme would extend to our tunes, as you’ll see below.
DISCLAIMER/WARM UP
- Side Straddle Hops x 16 IC
- Little Baby Arm Circles x 10 forward/backward IC
- Imperial Walkers x 10 IC
- Slow Through the Tunnels x 10 IC
- Grab a block, congregate at the track for further instruction
THE THANG (Flashdance, 2023)
A week or so back, Flashdance did a ball busting and muscle blasting “choose your own adventure Q” (my words, not his) that was a mix of a little bit of everything. YHC decided to take that winning formula, make the handwriting less legible (that says “tris” not “tits” #HeardInTheGloom), and hit CTRL + C and then CTRL + V into today’s weinke.
Here’s how it went down:
YHC sets a 5 minute timer. In that 5 minutes your goal is to complete as many of the exercises/reps shown on the board below as possible. At the end of 5 minutes, we run a lap, stopping to do 5 pull ups or up to 50 seconds of hanging from the pull up bar (and if Joanna, the occasional tire flip). When we are back to the start, a new 5 minute timer starts and you pick up where you left off. Rinse and repeat for 4 laps. You’ll note there are some repeated exercises with variations such as doing the reps slowly (Sloverheads – OHs done slowly) or using the topography to make reps harder (e.g., uphill big boys, downhill merkins, etc.)
While we were working out, YHC provided some #BackInBlack tunes to motivate the PAX for peak performance including:
- Paint it Black – Rolling Stones
- Folsom Prison Blues – Johnny Cash (aka, the man in black)
- Paranoid – Black Sabbath
- Black Betty – Ram Jam
- Black Dog – Led Zeppelin
- Black Smoke Rising – Greta Van Fleet
- Back in Black – AC/DC
- Sad But True – Metallica (from the black album #SpinalTap)
- Fell on Black Days – Soundgarden
- Black Gold – Soul Asylum
Blocks up, 4th lap done, we had only about a minute for Mary which consisted of:
- Pol Worker – Flutter Kicks (double-count) x 10 IC
- Darla – Butterfly Stretches ~20 seconds
COT/BOM/End Workout
MOLESKIN
It’s been great dipping my toes back into the #gloom after being away the last few months. While I need the reps and the running, the thing I missed most was the laughs, the snark, and the general tomfoolery from this group of guys. I love that jokes that would have made me laugh in middle school are still funny with a group of “responsible adults”. I hope that never changes. If you’ve been hitting the gym, running on the track, or otherwise have disengaged from F3, I’d encourage you to stop on by for some merkins and a good fart joke. It might do you (and us) some good.
TClaps to the 8 pax that showed today to celebrate my extended return to the gloom and to Flashdance for inspiring (inspiring = creating) today’s Q.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Nothing new from the PAX to report, but after Joanna on Thursday, the Q sheet needs some serious TLC. MANY dates open the next 2 months. #GitErDone
PRAYER REQUESTS
Nothing specific called out from the group, but I thought of a few on the way home to throw in:
- Traveling PAX – Lumbergh (Philly), Buddy Love (Boston), Laettner (a tropical island), Soccer Mom (not sure where, but presumably on the road for work).
- Our Ragnar Team (Pol Worker, Box Wine, Buddy Love, Moose, Magoo, Lunchlady, No Help, YHC) – we head out Thursday to the mountains of WV to claim glory for F3LakeMurray and likely break a few world records.
- Neck Brace – A fellow Ragnarian, but sitting this one out due to injury. #SpeedyRecovery
- Stagecoach’s circadian rhythms #SingleNate
- #Preakness – I heard those stallions were stamping about the last few weeks. We missed them out there today.
TL:DR
Incognito mode>deleting your internet search history>BBCA (ask Pothole about that one)
#SYITG!