Conditions
Conditions are perfect….there’s nothing good on TV…..conditions are perfect, it’s business time.
Circle Up, Disclaimer, Warm Up
SSH x 15 IC
IW x 15 IC
TTT x 15 IC
Calf Raises x 10 IC
Windmills x 15 IC
The Thang (Part 1 – Appetizer)
After a brief warm up the #menofdepot counted off by 2’s and 1’s. Note I said 2’s and 1’s instead of 1’s and 2’s. Tclaps to Soft….Toss for rebelling against the counting convention those commie muppet bastards over on Sesame Street have tried to make us conform to. We know what you are up to Mr. “The Count” and shall not be beguiled by your vampire ways #teamlautner #teamlestat. Go back to the coffin from whence you came, creature of the night! #publikskool #2>1.
Group 1 ran clockwise down the hill to the road and around to the brick pile (picked up 2 bricks) and then to the soccer field. Group 2 did similar, but ran counterclockwise and instead of bricks each PAX grabbed a block. Tclaps to all for no head on collisions in the gloom!
The PAX then left their bricks and blocks in a line for a brief time and we headed to the playground for a little “Business Time”. As an homage to YHC’s Wonderwall and Musical Bears music based activities of previous Q’s (#crowdpleasers, #mumblechatterincreasers, #selfindulgence), YHC incorporated a similar activity into this Q. The song of choice was Flight of the Conchords “Business Time”. It is a lovely diddy about two young lovers in love with some practical information about the importance of good dental hygiene and recycling thrown in for good measure (they are a band that cares about the issues). It can be streamed live for free here:
For those unfamiliar with the band, they are New Zealand’s 4th most popular folk parody duo. High Praise indeed…
So the activity was for the PAX to work to failure on one of three exercises before switching to the next for the ~4 minute duration of the song. The exercises (in no particular order) were:
-Arm hangs from the monkey bars (add in pull ups if your name was Kitty Litter, otherwise hang and watch Kitty Litter do pull ups) #respect
-High plank (with back straight as an arrow or rump in the air depending on the PAX)
-Leg lifts (hold leg’s ~0.01″ to 12″ above the ground depending on the PAX)
The Thang (Part 2 – The Main Course)
The song ended, and the PAX were ready to get down to business. The main activity for today was loosely based on the Palmetto 200 (P200) race. The teams laid out their bricks and blocks in a line in their respective areas making stations. The team captains were selected based on P200 experience (Neck Brace for team 1 and Stagecoach for team 2) and given a reflective slap band. The PAX then assembled in a line with their bricks or block in front of them. The process went a little like this for each team:
Runner – run AYG from the starting line, around the power pole and return, hand off the wrist band to the next PAX.
Warm Up – this is the position next to the runner, warm up by doing 20 squats OYO and 20 SSH OYO, rinse and repeat until the runner returns.
PAX with blocks – 10 block rows, 10 curls, 10 overhead presses, 10 big boys – rinse and repeat
PAX with bricks – 20 curls, 20 flies, 20 tricep extensions, 10 big boys – rinse and repeat
Team finishing first planked on 6.
Each time the runner would return, he handed off the bracelet to the warm up PAX, and all of the other PAX rotated down a station and exercised while waiting for their turn to run. The runner went to the back of the line and began the exercises. Once all of the PAX had done their run the teams swapped positions (blocks vs bricks) and the activity repeated for Round 2.
After Round 2 was finished, the PAX again swapped positions (bricks vs blocks) and a new twist was added for Round 3. To simulate a bit of P200 exhaustion for your 3rd leg, the running PAX had to carry a brick in each hand, again run AYG.
YHC forgot to rotate our teams for Round 4 (the ultra round) and activities here changed up a bit.
Runner – farmer’s carry 2 blocks across the soccer field and deposit them there for the “warm up” PAX
Warm Up PAX – run along side your fellow F3 brother and motivate him with kind words of affirmation and encouragement……
realistically more like this with the bunch of savages known as Depot (warning explicit content)…
Then the warm up PAX returns the block back to the other side of the soccer field and the runner PAX offers similar levels of encouragement #KGP.
Meanwhile the other PAX are doing the following:
10 merkins, 10 plank jacks, 10 squats, 10 big boys – rinse and repeat until it’s your turn to run and/or adequately motivate your fellow PAX.
Once Round 4 finished – return the blocks and bricks to their respective homes. No time for dessert.
The PAX then congregated at the shovel flag – count-a-rama, name-a-rama, announcements, and BOM (more below on this)
Moleskin
YHC hoped to capture a little bit of the essence of the P200 in the Q. While there was no barbecue, beer, or dancin’ ladies at the end, hopefully a little sense of the camaraderie, teamwork, and the importance of reflective outerwear came through. Clearly after today’s Q there are some good candidates for next year’s P200….so let the EHing begin! If you’ve never done it, You Can Do It!
The inspiration for round 4 came from YHC reflecting back on a particularly long leg at night during the P200. For much of that leg YHC ran alone and at times there were no other runners in sight, although on occasion there were vans from other teams parked along the road. Often someone from the vans would shout out a few words of encouragement that really helped to keep YHC going. It was a nice feeling and without fail it gave YHC a much needed boost of energy to keep on keepin’ on.
You’ll see the devo below that highlights the impact having a kind word can have on the folks that we interact with each day. In the spirit of that, I thought I’d share a few Tclaps for the PAX who did the hard thing today and slayed the fartsack (in particular order, since I’ll do it how I recorded it at the BOM #efficiency #lazy):
Neck Brace – Tclaps for introducing me to burpees during my first F3 workout (and letting us know each time you are open….(are you ever not open?)…on the handball field)
Blue Crab – Tclaps for saving my bacon last Saturday and coming out of nowhere to swat away that handball goal….dude’s got wheels
Roommate – Tclaps for helping ease me into my first P200 experience and the good times in the van (did not mean for that to come out sexual if read that way)
Arrears – Tclaps for your selective taste in music….I’m 0 for 2 so far, but I have some ideas for next time..do you like the Carpenters? Bee Gees?
Turkey Burger – Tclaps for introducing a new way to farmer’s carry blocks at speed. The SC Dept of Agriculture is investigating the legality of this method.
Sir Topham Hat – Tclaps for an appreciation of the no look handball pass and for hanging in solidarity with me on the arm hang #nopullups
Lumbergh – Tclaps for chicken, waffles and pole touching (did not mean for that to come out sexual if read that way)
Mr. Mister – Tclaps for becoming a regular at F3 and the fact that I have the song “Broken Wing” in my head most drives home when you post
Bumblebee – Tclaps for introducing (maybe reintroducing) the cinderblock farmer’s carry to me. I’m still awaiting the Popeye forearms, btw
Kitty Litter – Tclaps for your vocal appreciation of Flight of the Conchords during the Q, F3 karaoke night anyone?
Stagecoach – Tclaps for helping me with zoning changes in my neighborhood to open a night club in my front yard….we didn’t talk about that??? details are in a briefcase w/unmarked bills….make it so
Moose -Tclaps for being handball MVP most games (negative Tclaps when on the opposing team….then you are dead to me)
Chubbs/Buddy Love – after your performances today, Tclaps for signing up for the 2019 edition of the P200. Required reading here: http://www.palmetto200.com/palmetto200
Devito – Tclaps for your sarcastic contributions to the Twittersphere, as SC says “if only our depot twitter feed had a like button”
Soft Toss – Tclaps for being AOQb and dealing with that F3Depot twitter a’hole…..not sure how you put up with that guy. Keep killin’ it out here brother.
Fool’s Gold – how did you get on this list? Do you even lift bro?
Announcements
Quarterly convergence this weekend (Saturday 5/12/18 at 0615) at the Roost. The Roost is located at the Chapin High School track at 300 Columbia Ave, Chapin, SC. Be there or be an equilateral four-sided object.
Speed for Need/Get in the Pink 5k is tomorrow 5/12/18 – see pre-blast below and/or reach out to Magoo or Thumbs Up for details. Pre-blast has everything you should need to know.
From Laettner to Roommate – “I’m sorry guys, I didn’t set my alarm…Love, Laettner”
Prayer Requests/Devo
Phonebooth’s M
F3 brothers who are on the IR
Unspoken
This Devo brought to you courtesy of Monica Brands at “Our Daily Bread” from Saturday Feb 3rd titled “How to Change a Life” (all rights reserved, copywrited, etc., etc. please don’t sue me Monica/ODB):
Sometimes our lives can change in a moment through the powerful impact of others. For rock n’ roll legend Bruce Springsteen, it was the work of musical artists that helped him through a difficult childhood and a persistent struggle with depression. He found meaning in his own work through the truth he’d experienced firsthand, that “You can change someone’s life in three minutes with the right song.” Like a compelling song, others’ well chosen words can also give us hope, even change the course of our lives. I’m sure most of us could share stories of a conversation that forever impacted our lives – words form a teacher that change the way we saw the world, words of encouragement that restored our confidence, gentle words from a friend that carried us through a difficult time. Perhaps this is why the book of Proverbs spends so much time emphasizing our responsibility to treasure words an use them wisely. Scripture never treats speech as if it’s “just talk.” Instead, we are taught that our words could crush someone’s spirit, or, through words of wisdom and hope, nourish and strengthen others. Not all of us have the ability to create powerful music. But we can each seek God’s wisdom to serve others through our speech. With just a few well-chosen words, God can use us to change a life.
I believe there is a lot of wisdom in the above. Pothole speaks often of those “dark corners” that we all have. There are a lot of cases where a smile, a kind word, or even a bit of shared laughter might just make the exact impact someone needs to get them back on the right track. Food for thought HIM.
TD:DR Kindhearted>being a rat bastard>The Count
#SYITG