To Q or not to Q, that is the question. Once the Q’ing bug bites, a pax seems to want more and more. The last Speed edition of stride that YHC Q’d has been awhile. That one involved some cops & robbers and track work, but the desire to do more is ever present. River Bluff High gives so many potential opportunities of suck. YHC always ask himself, “what will the pax want?” YHC hates hills, so that is what the pax get. Anytime YHC looks up any article on speed work there is also an assortment of exercises that build the core. Now, we all know running with faster pax makes you faster, but what do the faster pax do? They work harder, they build their core, and they do hills! YHC got the EH wagon rolling last night, and Twitter lit up like a Christmas tree. No Show helped and before long, record numbers of pax began to spill into the parking lot. A couple of pax even got in what they thought was early for some Stride XL, until a certain pax spoke of getting up pre-0300 to be at the Snake Pit for some Rucking. YHC and his classmates were taught not to call people crazy, as there is no diagnosis, but YHC also doesn’t know a better name for that kind of person. That must be why the term, CSAUP exists.
Conditions: 40F, breezy, brisk, dark
Disclosure
Opening Prayer
The Thang:
Mosey out of the parking lot heading towards cemetery hill. Head up Cemetery Hill and take a left on the main drive. Head down the main drive until the first right at the parking lot and make a legal U-turn to head back to the top of Cemetery Hill. Circle up and Plank until the 6 arrives. Once all Pax are accounted for it’s time to stretch some. There’s nothing like a little TTT X 15 IC to get the hamstrings loosened up. Once everyone is appropriately stretched, head down the dark, spooky Forest Trail. YHC’s headlamp was on but quite dull. We could feel nuts under our feet, but YHC couldn’t see them. There was talk of a moose being grabbed by the horns, but YHC didn’t see a moose. Head down the hill, past Candy Stripe Gate back into the parking lot ans mosey to the bottom. Circle up and Plank until the 6 arrives. Once all are at the bottom, further plans are discussed. Sprint to the top of lane 1 and do 10 squat jumps, wo-jo to the bottom (flipping 1/2 the way to the bottom of lane 2), sprint to the top of lane 3 and do 20 squats. YHC knows it’s not Tuesday, but strong legs make for a faster runner. Circle up and Plank until the 6 arrives. Once the 6 arrives, work on some plank fest to honor No Help. Neutral, static mountain climber with right leg up, neutral, static mountain climber with left leg up, neutral, recover. Mosey to the curb in front of the helicopter pad and find a piece of it. 30 toe taps each leg OYO, plank when you are done. Once all the pax are complete, head back towards cemetery hill and find some wall. 15 step ups with each leg, OYO, plank when you are done. After all done, head to the top of cemetery hill and find some curb again. 30 little baby box jumps OYO, plank when you are done. Once all are done, head down cemetery hill at a 5k pace (don’t pass the Q, you don’t know what’s next), and make a right. Loop into the parking lot for a second to mess with an exploring ranger, then head down Tundra Hill. YHC was told by a certain Murse about an exercise known as quadraphilia, and decided to try it out. Back peddle up Tundra hill to the top and mosey back down. Continue for a total of 3 ups and 2 downs and plank at the top. Once everyone is caught up, slowsey to the entrance of Gator Stadium and head down onto the soft, cushy field of dreams. Everyone line up on the goal line and spread out. It’s time for suicides of suck. Sprint to mid-field and back peddle back, Sprint to the far goal line and back peddle back, and then sprint to mid-field and back peddle back. Circle up and Plank until the 6 arrives. Once the 6 arrives, mosey around the field for 2 laps, then head up to the top.
COT/BOM
Moleskin:
A great effort by all pax. YHC was really pleased to see all of the pax coming together this morning. The high numbers aren’t just an ego boost for the Q’s or fluff to the F3counts, it is a sign that what we do is better each other, not only physically but in all aspects of life. Accountability is priceless. Strong work to the all of the pax.
Announcements:
February 7: Convergence at SnakePit, 7am. If you haven’t been to SnakePit, located at White Knoll High School, you’re missing out on a great AO. This convergence also offers a great DoubleDown opportunity as several pax are participating on The Go Run 5k at 9am. Register here: www.thegorun.org.
February 28: Lexington Race Against Hunger. 10K starts at 8:20. Plenty of time to post at 6:15 or 6:30 bootcamp. Another DoubleDown opportunity. Register here: www.lrah.org
March 7: One Year Anniversary Convergence at Graveyard. While March 1 marks our 1-yr anniversary, we’ll celebrate on Saturday, 3/7. New goal: 175 pax! Get the EH machine rolling.
March 20/21: P200, still taking names for possible alternates. Let Alter Boy know if you are interested.
April 11: Ultimate Challenge Mud Run. This is F3’s Super Bowl. DO NOT register on the mud run site. F3 will have a special link with which to register. YHC will be the F3 Mud Run QIC. Also, No Show has agreed to be our Mud Run Region Q. Preblast coming soon.
Prayer Requests:
Trey Kannaday passed away leaving behind his wife, Melissa, and 4 yr old daughter, Ella Carlisle. Please keep up with up the prayers for the family. His funeral is today.
SayWhat’s sister diagnosed with Cancer
Madelynn Nelson passed away last week. Her funeral is today.
Sebastian – 3rd grader at Meadow Glenn with Leukemia, now dealing with elevated blood sugars requiring insulin.
The family in Victoria Lakes subdivision who lost everything Friday, from a fire in their home.
Closing Prayer
Devotional: Sorry it didn’t happen as sometimes the breath is taken from me. Hearing of the deaths, particularly of a child, still takes my breath from me. It’s not the devotional I planned, but I invite you to read on for what I should have said this morning.
Let us to remember these people that are grieving. Look at them as a person, not as someone who is broken. Their hearts are hurting, but just like a fire, beneath all of the ash and debris, therr is an ember still burning. They may not know it, but one day it will ignite again. They will stop just existing and start living, not in our time but in their own time. It will happen. There will be days that they feel they cannot take another breath, but something deep inside will push them. This life is given to us by Almighty God, and it is His book, not ours. Our lives are broken up into chapters, and no matter how hard we try to write our own stories, we must realize that we are not the author. Times of woe are just another chapter in our life. Just as their are times of mourning we will have times of joyfulness. Death is not something you get over. It is something you learn to live with. The loss you feel today is the same loss you will feel the rest of your life. The struggle to breath will ease, but other days it will be just as bad, and sometimes it will even be harder. After more than 6 years, I still struggle to breath after losing my 2 children. Yes, they are in a better place, but I’m not there. I am sinner and I am selfish, and I want them here with me. My heart goes out to those hurting now. I know the pain they feel is different from my pain, as we all experience our losses in our own special way, but that doesn’t mean that one person hurts more or less than another. The hardest part for me is looking at my other children and thinking, “what will I do if it happens again?” I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I’ll depend on God’s strength to pick me up and carry me, again.
To those that are hurting: Don’t stop breathing. Don’t stop living. Don’t stop loving. It’s okay to hurt. It’s okay to yell. It’s okay to be angry. Keep talking to God. Something beautiful will happen. Maybe not today or tomorrow, or even next year, but something beautiful will happen.