Author: Short Sale (Page 2 of 19)

In SA’s effort to rejuvenate Downtown, he was kind of enough to invite me to Q. I was off today and following Thanksgiving, I thought I’d have plenty of time to plan a circus that would top any previous workout. Well, I got into the brownwater a bit yesterday and after a re-load of my MIL’s fantastic cooking, the only thing I was good for was a seat on the couch to watch football or basketball. The more I thought about it, let’s get to simple fundamentals of what I do. Here ’tis…

Warm-up – no arrows, no cadence, we’re going straight cardio for 10 minutes. 4 exercises at 20 seconds, 3 rounds, w/ 20 second rest between. We did 2 sets:

• Set 1: SSH + Mtn Climbers + Freddie Mercury + Imperial Walkers
• Set 2: Skater Jumps (new one, plus as a combo exercise drew plenty of complaints) + Iron Mike Tysons + Split Jack Toe Touch (Freight said these were Boy Band dance moves; may petition the Exicon to call these “NSyncs”) + Perfect Form Merkins

Oh – we did begin with the pledge and a brief disclaimer (you vs. you, modify if needed (there seem to be a lot of modifying and “I’m not doing…”) which is why this is a you vs. you workout).

Despite the offer of Option A to continue the cardio for another 35 minutes, it was never an option. We moseyed to Main/South for a hillish stack ’em set:

• Main/South: 10 HR Merkins, run down street to South/Franklin for 5 burpees, run up the hill
• 10 HR Merkins + 20 Parker Peters, down for burpees and back
• Stack on 30 Squats, down for burpees and back
• Stack 40 Freddie Mercury, down for burpees and back
• Stack 50 American Hammers, down for burpees and back

Light mumble chatter, mostly about Freights Ultimate Frisbee Tournament and the shenanigans that occurred, fair, not fair, teams unbalanced – the usual complaining that occurs, much to the Tournament Director’s delight. I dropped one MF’er but technically I was paraphrasing something Freight would say. Apparently there is a off market over/under on my F bombs. Sometimes the under comes through (see Iowa football this season, can’t score but can defend).

Let’s keep this train moving and head to the top of the parking deck. In my remaining time, we’ll go for 11’s. One end of the deck is Eccentric Dips – use the rail and burn your triceps. This was a crowd pleaser. Run to the other end for Derkins. Lots of modifications. I ran past 45 minutes – so sue me.

COT: Announcements – ChristmasTown 5k – show up early and meet left of the YMCA; Converngence 12/2 TFY, Christmas party that night; Beer ruck 12/9. Prayer request – Turtleman, EZ Rider’s Family, Purple Haze’s mother with a skin cancer spot. I took us out.

Thanks for the opportunity to lead. No women, no props, just a solid effort to please the Site Q. Hopefully he’ll invite me back.

Enjoy the rest of the holiday weekend. Go Pack!

Short Sale

It was Veteran’s Day at the GasHouse. Flintstone had yet another brilliant 1st F concept – all Saturday AO’s should do HEROWOD’s in honor of service men (and women). Along with many of you, I’ve employed these routines in my workouts before so it was merely a matter of picking which ones to do. I did the following:

Zachary Tellier

• 10 Burpees
  • 10 Burpees
  • 25 Merkins
    • 10 Burpees
    • 25 Merkins
    • 50 Lunges
      • 10 Burpees
      • 25 Merkins
      • 50 Lunges
      • 100 Sit Ups
        • 10 Burpees
        • 25 Merkins
        • 50 Lunges
        • 100 Sit Ups
        • 150 Squats

Dedicated to U.S. Sgt. Zachary D. Tellier, 31, of Charlotte, NC (USA) a combat infantryman with the 4th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, at Fort Bragg. He died Sept. 29, 2007, of wounds sustained while on a ground patrol in Afghanistan.

The previous April, Tellier’s unit was conducting a mounted patrol when one of its vehicles drove over and detonated a bomb, which set the vehicle on fire, according to a statement from the 82nd Airborne.

Tellier pulled two paratroopers out of the vehicle to safety, suffering severe burns to his hands. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with valor for his actions.

After he was burned, Tellier jumped up in the turret to return fire, said Sgt. Michael Layton, a member of Tellier’s unit. A lieutenant made Tellier get out of the vehicle because of his injuries, Layton said.

“Zachary Tellier has to be the biggest hero I’ve ever known or heard of, not just because of what he did, but because of his personality,” Layton said. “He came in the Army because he wanted to be around soldiers and serve his country, and he paid the ultimate sacrifice.”

Hey Buddy

• 250 meter run
  • 5 rounds of:
  • 10 Lunges
  • 10 Squats
  • 10 Big Boys
  • 8 Burpees
• 250 meter run

This hero workout is dedicated to Patrolman Christopher Mark Goodell of Waldwick, NJ, who died on July 17, 2014, due to a collision between a truck and his stationary unmarked police car. Chris’ badge number was 38, hence the 38 total repetitions per round (10/10/10/8). The 5 rounds represent the 5 years he served as an officer. Chris specifically liked running and bodyweight movements. “Hey Buddy” was Chris’ signature greeting.

Oscar Temores

• 8 Rounds of:
• 11 Hand-Release Merkins
• 30 Walking Lunges
• 19 Big Boys

This hero workout is dedicated to Master-at-Arms 3rd Class Oscar Temores, U.S. Navy, who was killed when his patrol car was struck by a vehicle that forcibly sped through the security checkpoint at the main gate of Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Virginia Beach, VA, on November 30, 2019.

The vehicle entered Fort Story at Gate 8 while driving the wrong way in the outbound lanes at a high rate of speed at 7:35 pm. Personnel at the gate immediately requested assistance and MA3 Temores responded to the scene. The civilian driver of the vehicle intentionally struck MA3 Temores’ patrol car head-on.

MA3 Temores had served with the U.S. Navy Security Forces for only 10 months. He is survived by his wife and 2-year-old son.

Of the PAX, Roscoe completed all three rounds (he spoke the least and listened to metal music on his phone #focus). The others pushed as well. We were fortunate to have Oompa Loompa as a Marine Corp veteran, battling as he always does despite some physical challenges. Included in this respect is Roscoe as a new veteran of the police force. We’re fortunate to have protection in all forms serving us. In addition to the PAX, the workouts honored these fallen men in a small way.

Thanks for the opportunity to lead the workout.

Short Sale

Labor Day weekend – I led the Iron Pax Challenge for that week. What # you ask? Who gives a shit – it was weeks ago. We did epic work I’m sure, at least Defib, Whoopee, and JJ. Enjoy the brevity, it’s the only time I’ll forget to write a novelette known as my BB (I promise). This will probably knock me out of the end of year awards for Best BB…well, time for someone else to win, I guess.

This is the title of Chapter 16 in Admiral William McCraven’s book The Wisdom of the Bullfrog.” Really a short chapter that doesn’t have a lot of depth in story or instructions. The premise came from his experience on the Underwater Demolition Team’s responsibility to clear obstacles so boats could land on beaches – the Battle of Normandy as an example. Explosives are required and to ensure total destruction, it’s better to use more than less, hence the title.

McCraven uses this analogy to aid his recovery from a few military jobs in which he was relieved of his duties (aka: fired) due to his lack of leadership or improper strategy. His offered solution is to double-down and work harder or “overload” in order to re-prove his abilities as a leader. For someone of McCraven’s accomplishment, he has failed at various times of leading. He also overcame. The point is everyone fails. DREDD shares this in our study of QSource.

Our group of PAX today had solid discussion about the Overload principle and when it’s effective or even ineffective. Answer is, “it depends.” The take-away is when adversity hits, take the lesson and let that drive you to validate your character.

Oh, and some ran and some rucked. Scrat was late but made it for another post.

Same announcements as yesterday. Prayers for Turtleman, Jackson Hall, Huck, and Les Nesman

There is no doubt when you think of the PAX that represent our region, Freight is one name that is near the top of the list. Loved, hated, imitated, but never ignored. He’s been a Nantan, Site Q, 3rd F, relay organizer, and many other good things. He narrowly missed being the best Q in the region by a single vote. It was no surprise that he saw an opportunity to create more exposure for our organization and claimed a section of Garrison Boulevard as Gastonia F3’s adopt a highway. In leading that responsibility, he organizes about 4 or so clean-ups per year. Saturday was the fall campaign. I had been after Freight to Q the GasHouse just so the PAX continue to understand and appreciate how good my Q’s really are. So, the October 14th plan was for Freight to Q and then lead the highway clean-up. On Tuesday, Hunchback and I get a text that Freight has to work. Hate to see it when work gets in the way of leading a workout. Oddly weather.com indicated significant rain in the forecast for Saturday morning. Feel free to play connect the dots. No problem for me, as the Site Q, I’m prepared to Q at all times.

Warm-up: brief disclaimer – SSH IC x 10, Imperial Walkers IC x 10, Toy Soldier IC x 10, Side to Side Lunge IC x 10, Arrows IC x 10, Squats IC x 10. >> Pledge

Thang: Mosey out of the parking lot, 5 of the PAX followed behind me. As I prepared for this unexpected Q, I flipped through a virtual file cabinet of ideas. Since there was a steady drizzle of rain, I settled on using First Presbyterian Church and their two covered porticos. At the top of the hill, we began with 10 hand-release merkins, traveling to the bottom of the hill under the lower portico we started with 1 jump-squat. 11’s is the name of the drill and we’d work our way up and down the reps. Between the two bases the parking lot had several low points which allowed Whoopee to stomp through (if only we’d have known, his F3 name could have been Puddles). The wise veteran Def Leppard pointed out that wet feet, wet socks, wet shoes are a recipe for blisters. Whoopee didn’t seem to care. Def described in vivid detail his experience walking to the start line of a half marathon that his shoes got wet in the grass and caused a blister at mile 7. Somehow, he managed to complete the race – those were the good old days. A svelte looking Pockets led the way. As I have not posted a lot lately, I’ve not witnessed this clean headed, slim version of Pockets – evidence of a lot of hard work – well done.

We finished the routine and took a longer-ish mosey up the back driveway to the top of the hill where the youth building resides. Roscoe proudly disclosed the herculean effort it took for the Building and Grounds Committee, Youth Committee, Appropriations, Finance Committee, Decorating Committee, Side-walk Beautification Committee, and Music Committee coming together in unison to submit the consideration of the possibility for the idea of a Pickleball Court to be created in the parking lot. This was 10 years ago before the world even knew what Pickle-ball was (#vision). Now I heard rumor the Basketball Court Committee was a bit upset at the very thought of additional lines being painted near their precious court. Through some adept political maneuvering, the Basketball Court Committee was placated with the recommendation for the court to re-paved by 2031. The Elders had been sitting on this for years waiting for the one opposing member (a former tennis player no less) to pass away of what appears to be natural causes, clearing the way for bids submitted and interviews to take place so the cheapest contractor could be hired. Thankfully Jorge Villanueva’s fee of six Budweiser double deuces for each of his 9-man crew was accepted. Until some Karen on the Music Committe realized Jorge moonlights as a weekend lawn-care service that is used by nonother than the Committee chair of Building and Grounds Committee. Hard to believe at a church of all places that such favoritism could occur. Once that nepotism was identified, debated it was solved reducing the compensation to 4 cases of Budweiser. Promptly, the court was painted in an hour. If you know of anyone willing to donate the net, tell Roscoe.

Back to the workout – we gathered under the porch to reprise the cardio portion of the workout I led at the Ricky Bobby. The above story was based on some of the ensuring discussion about church committees and Roberts Rules of Order and how inefficient or maybe frustrating church or work committees can be at times.

Set 1: SSH, Mtn Climbers, Freddie Mercury, Imperial Walkers all at 30 seconds successively with a 30 second rest between each set for a total of 3 sets.

Set 2: Mummy Kicks, Split Jack Toe Touch, Bonnie Blair, Ski Abs: 30 seconds each with 30 second rest between sets for 3 sets.

The rain picked up momentum at this point and fearing some melting that could occur, we stayed under the porch for some Dora. P1 exercises while P2 runs down the stairs and does 1 burpee. Each pair completes a total of 100 merkins, 200 squats, and 300 flutters (count 1 side). With a few minutes ahead of the top of the hour and fear of additional melting, we did a couple of ab exercises under the safe covered shelter. At 0757, we headed back to base.

COT: F3 lunch 10/18/23 at noon in Dallas (I think), 1/2 marathon ruck in Belmont 10/21, 40-day challenge began – find a wedding or tailgate near you ASAP, check newsletter and SLACK for more details. Prayers – Turtleman came home Friday – prayer for his M, family, and caregivers. Send him a note of encouragement, Jackson Hall and his battle, Huck, and others.

In the parking lot, checking the radar and seeing the rain was going to be with us for a while, I humbly submitted to The Committee the road clean-up be postponed until better conditions were present. With a good portion of the SLT in attendance, the proposal was escalated to the Head of Safety, Purple Haze. Always with one finger in proximity to the red button, His Highness Haze stated for the record: “well, it is raining, and what if a car was unable to stop while we were picking up cigarette butts and used crack pipes on Garrison Boulevard.” The Head Q of Safety agreed it was a bit dangerous to hold this activity. I looked at Nantan Roscoe for confirmation – he of the Decentralized Command theory – “it’s your call,” he commanded. I took a visual inventory of the prayerful hopes on the PAX faces they had completed their penitence in the rain already and no more was desired. “Highway Clean-up is CANCELLED” I decreed to glorious applause. I then took us out in prayer and the PAX scattered into their vehicles. Sometimes committees aren’t really needed to make an efficient and impactful decision. As a plus, Freight now must return to lead the clean-up which gives me a Q before the year ends.

Humbly submitted.

Short Sale

Head of the Committee to Make GasHouse Great Again (MGGA)

My second Q at the Ricky Bobby coincides with my second post. Coincidence? I think not. But I asked Nutria to Q the GasHouse (11/4) and happily reciprocated. Going in the only thing I knew would happen were Monkey Humpers in front of Sargento’s house. The rest of the workout built off that. With some newer faces to me, I gave a brief Disclaimer (better to have form than speed, you vs. you, etc.)

Warm-up Part I:

• Seal-Jacks IC x 10, Toy Soldier IC x 10, Imperial Walkers IC x 10, Side to Side Lunge IC x 10, Arrows IC x 10, Good Mornings SC x 10 >> Pledge

Warm-up Part II:

Stay in the parking lot for some speed cardio. Anyone that has done Insanity videos will see where I ripped off the exercises and format.

Set 1: 4 exercises for 30 seconds each, 30 second rest between sets: 3 sets; SSH, Mtn Climber, Freddie Mercury, Imperial Walker (PAX observed it’s like everything was a version of SSH – smart PAX – there is a science and plan to the program, sometimes)

Set 2: same routine of 4 exercises at 30 seconds with 30 second rest between sets; 3 total sets: Mummy Kicks, Split Jack Toe Touch, Bonnie Blair, Ski Abs

I let the PAX catch their breath and with the warm-up officially over, we moseyed left from the parking lot to Winder Street leading into Cramer Woods. I did a brief recon before arriving to ensure the number of houses. As fate would have it, there are 11 mailboxes on the left and right side of the entire Winder Street. How fortunate. I scooped up Nutria on my return to the AO. Nutria was in full sprint carrying the shovel flag. Site Leader doesn’t play.

But you know me, we’re not just doing 11’s, lets trick this pony up a bit. Instead of 1 exercise compounding, we’ll do 3. Count the left side mailbox: HR Merkins + Mtn Climbers + Jump Squats; 1 then 2, then 3, and so on to 11. Oh my gosh Short Sale, that is like a burpee – again, there is a science behind the plan. One caveat – at the 8th house, do 5 monkey humpers with arse facing the house. Only thing was Sargento went to Ground Assault, so only his M benefited from the show. We arrived at the end of the road and since we must return, this time we’ll count the other side of the street’s mailboxes (still 11 of them). Change the routine to Iron Mike Tysons + LBCs + Star Jumps.

We gathered for the 6 and fellowship moseyed to the base. I heard Cherie Berry comment they should have gone to the ruck AO. Maybe, but you would have missed a most excellent boot camp. I even got SA to get up early and drive extra to support me.

COT: Lunch next week, 40 Day challenge, Ruck events – check other backblast and SLACK. Prayers for Turtleman (comes home Friday) and lift up marriages – there are peaks and valleys to these relationships. Sometimes we’re leading and sometimes we’re following (or being directed…).

We all have our home AO or our favorites. Mine is the one that I’m currently the Site Q which is the OG GasHouse. Unless I have a unique Q that requires a specific set-up, I take the same route each Saturday morning which means I’ll drive down Churchill Drive, take a right at the library onto Garrison and left into the Schiele. Why this route, well it’s the street my grandparents lived and then when they moved to a retirement home, my wife and I bought their house and it became our own. So, this weekly trip has a bit of nostalgia even though I’ve been up and down the road thousands of times. But as F3 has only been in my life for almost 8 years now, the downward hill just after Dixon to the speedbump speaks to me in a different way than those early years of my life.  Today was finally the day the hill would be in play.

Warm-up – actually a twist with Tube taking the warm-up for a few exercises. Those Pain Lab guys get out of their vehicles warm as Tube needed only a few exercises to get their bodies ready. Boot campers were dismissed. We moseyed out of the lot and to the library to finish the warm-up as our old bodies and particularly our legs needed some stretching:

• Good Mornings SC x 10
• Toy Soldiers IC x 10
• Imperial Walkers IC x 10
• Side to Side Lunge IC x 10
• Maybe 1 or 2 more I can’t recall.

We trotted left out of the library onto Churchill and cruised up the road taking note of Stroganoff’s house (1st on the right) and then arriving at the speed bump just past Wilkins. The hill was clearly in view and the PAX felt what I was about to say. It’s a quick climb to the top – not a true Soul Crusher as Freight calls these beasts but when you do it 10 rounds, it becomes a beat-down. 11’s is the call with 10 Jump Squats at the bottom and 1 Perfect Form Merkin at the top. As we progressed throw the routine counting down and up respectively, I began to realize this lengthy run was going to take most of the workout. Stroganoff shared he had to depart at 7:30 for his daughter’s soccer game. He would make it to round 9 while the remainder completed the effort.

Next up was the PAX choice – 4 corners or another Hill burner. Nutria chose the 4 corner option. We began at Churchill and Edinburg with 10 Flutters, then went along Edinburg to  Queensgate, stacking the flutters with 20 Penguins, up the hill to Nottingham adding in 30 Big Boys, to Nottingham/Churchill for the finale with 40 Mtn Climbers. That didn’t take too much time, so lets use the last 12 or so minutes to get in 3 rounds of what I thought would be the real Thang. We moved to the base of Queensgate which I have used that hill before  (as has Whoopee) as it is tough climb. I had a sign with 6 exercises and reps on it. Due to the lack of time, we’d go about halfway up. Each PAX selected 3 of the 6 to complete in the allotted time. I’ll spare you the details but fare to say they were challenging.

It wasn’t all that complicated which I’m sure your surprised to hear. I guess sometimes I can go that way. Anyway it was effective and we enjoyed the fellowship.

COT – prayers for Turtleman. No announcements. Roscoe took us out.

Until the next one.

Back to Back Q’s for me but Sunday is pretty easy, except I was 55 seconds after 0630. Still by the official clock in my car, I flew into the parking lot and told Roscoe, JJ and Winehouse to take off. Hunchback had his 2.0 and Scrat who has more posts than Allen Tate this year. Flintstone came in later than me, but he was rucking since he put in 15 miles yesterday. Since I was the Q, I felt obligated to run the main loop and not the wus route. So, I compromised and took the short cut down Hudson and onto the greenway. I jumped ahead of the real runners, but I did finally run the gut-check this summer – not great, but completed – Who Dares Wins as the story goes.

Turns out Gavel was on the course early and it was nice to have him join us for Q-Source. Had a girl in training at Starbucks so it took a minute before we could begin.

We’re reading The Wisdom of the Bullfrog by Admiral William McRaven. I had the pleasure to cover Chapter 8 Who Dares Wins. The title comes from a British officer named David Stirling who created a mission to defeat German holds in North Africa in 1942. The mission was to have machine gun mounted Jeep raids go into enemy territory to take out positions and men using his Special Air Services (SAS). Stirling was asked to develop a motto for his team which he chose “Who Dares Wins.”

McCraven used the term before sending 24 Navy Seals on a covert mission called Operation Neptune’s Spear. You may be more familiar with the outcome of the mission than the name itself, which culminated in the death of Osama bin Laden. Leading up to May 1, 2011, the US had gathered intelligence on a unique compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan where a tall figure would briefly walk outside of the 3-story building in circles. The “Pacer” as he was known on the images was purported to be non-other than bin Laden however the accuracy of the information ranged from 40 to 80% depending on the small number of individuals that were briefed, including President Obama. McCraven was brought in to design the mission which had 165 phases. There was high risk should the mission fail, but McCraven planned for every possible contingency, including if one of the two helicopters were to crash (which one did).

Obviously this illustration is a fantastic point to describe the ultimate risk and reward. This could translate into your life if you were considering a job change, a life change, maybe opening a business, or making an investment. You must carefully weight the risks and decide your tolerance should the objective fail. We often read about the founders of companies that bet on themselves and ultimately won, but the reward didn’t come without failures and learning along the way. Obama had the ultimate decision to approve the mission. He was reminded that he’d made a pledge to the American people that if given the opportunity, he’d bring bin Laden to justice. In this window of time, the intelligence was never 100%. But McCraven planned the mission so well, the President was confident Seal Team 6 could execute the plan and capture or kill the Pacer. His decision paid off and the mastermind was brought to justice by American forces.

Who Dares Wins – try that on the next time you’re faced with a decision.

I read the backstory for Operation Neptune’s Spear at Politico. Interesting at the time was the Press Correspondent’s Dinner that Donald Trump was the “roastee.” Also some of the familiar names that were providing counsel to the President. One in particular seemed to be more concerned if the mission failed, the possible impact for the President’s opportunity at re-election. I guess that person was less concerned with avenging justice for the American people and more about his own interests. See if you can figure out who it is, or read for yourself:

‘I’d Never Been Involved in Anything as Secret as This’ – POLITICO

I re-committed to running another half marathon – a “thon” to Sargento. I began that journey in late 2022 only to have South Point schedule their athletic awards the same weekend as the Austin Thon, causing our trip leader to cancel. Ooompa takes the Texas bull by the gonads and commits in 2024 and that prompted Sargento to go for his Texas state running event once again. Now comes the physical and mental challenge of committing to that training (Again!). My last “thon” sucked because I failed to train properly. This time, I’m trying a new approach which is to strengthen my legs so they will be prepared for the mileage. I’m in week 2 of multiple leg focused workouts. Lots of squats, Romanian dead lifts, and Bulgarian split squats…basically any European based leg exercise. I decided to share this fun with the PAX attending my Q at the GasHouse. An hour of leg work and we only ran a mile and a half. I only did 20 total upper body reps. If there was ever a Q built for Quiche, this was it but alas, he probably chased Buckeye for another hypothetical half marathon. But here is the good news, Spiderman posted on a Saturday. The Bulldog Q wanted some sunlight, and it was a pleasant surprise.

Warm-up:

• Good Mornings, Toy Soldiers, Imperial Walkers, Side to Side Lunges and MNC’s all IC x 10
• Pledge
• Mosey

Five men followed me out of the parking lot and we headed to the front of the First Presbyterian Church at the circle. Leg day began with 5 jump squats then run the circle to the benches to do 10 Jump ups, run to the top of the circle, 5 jump squats, then 10 right leg step-ups, top of the circle for 5 jump squats, back to the benches for left leg step ups; top of the circle for 5 jump squats, then to the benches for 10 glute bridges. We repeated that routine.

Time to stretch. When Wojo Q’s his speed workout, I like that he does a warm up and then builds with stretching before adding the next phase. I demonstrated some hip mobility movement that can free the hips and upper thighs. We did some patented right over left followed by left over right. We then worked on calfs and hamstrings followed by glutes. This was done to limit some soreness from leg day.

Thang #2 – mosey to the rear of the church where there were 6 stations, only one card failed to be marked by the Q (q-fail).

1. Regular Squat – use kettlebell in any position
2. Deadlifts with 30 lb DB
3. Elevated front lunge left leg w/ 20 lb DB
4. Elevated front lunch right leg w/ 20 lb DB
5. Alternating Side Lunges w/ 30 lb DB
6. Heel Elevated Squats using the curb (no weight)

We all ran through this routine three times. Each round was 40 seconds on and 15 second rest. Without counting this was perfect for mumble chatter – which ensued into a variety of male subjects and humor. Roscoe found some Slavic leg competitions to entertain he and Whoopee…Spiderman surprisingly remained quiet and pushed through. JJ lamented over the Tarheels supposed improvement in defense,  Whoopee shared he was going to be in a car for 7-8 hours to Nashville with his M and daughter taking her back to school. Whoopee had done such a great job helping his wife recover from surgery, it was suggested the return home trip could bring the just reward of a road hummer (What on earth?!) Yes, the mere mention of this activity had all of us aging men reach deep into the memory banks for those dating years when such a concept actually had a snowballs chance in hell of happening. Man, leg day does challenge the mind.

We stretched a second round. Thang #3 occurred at the Youth PAD using the half wall for 5 Bulgarian Squats R then L then we lunge-walked through the porch and once at the other side of the parking lot, we did 10 Mike Tyson’s just to say it was not all legs. Two rounds of that were enough and it was time to mosey back. We had 3 minutes to spare – I introduced the bicycle pretzel crunch to much delight, followed by dollys and flutter kicks. Tube piped in with American Hammers and Spider/man finished it off with none other than Peter Parkers.

Announcements – Next Saturday at the GasHouse, Defib is digging into Hell and bringing a shovel full of Annihilation; it is best if you plan to fart-sack b/c pre-annihilation was awful. Crowders Mtn Hike next Sunday 8/27 meeting at the parking lot at 0800. Pack light as this will be a lengthy ruck ridge to ridge.  Sunday, 9/3 is the Coconut Horse Derby where Flintstone’s belt is on the line. I hear Gold Digger is not competing, so this opens things up for a competitive push of 5 miles. The next morning at 0700 at The Fuse (that is the big stadium down from the Leather and Lace – in case some of you need a landmark – we’ll have a Convergence inside the stadium. Parking is behind the field. Look for a re-post of the pre-blast b/c there seems to be confusion.

Prayers – Turtleman is battling his ass off…keep lifting him up; Norwood is recovering, a football player from Forestview was carted off the field, get well Mayor and Def Leppard, and there were a few more. I took us out.

Quiche – we missed you but you are loved in your absence.

I’ve been trying to get Sister Act to Q the GasHouse for the past few months. Dude’s really busy either going to the beach, working, or making excuses. I get his trepidation. The last time he co-q’ed, he went down in a heap of flames in the first round of Q vs. Q. Tentatively mark your calendars for Saturday, September 16th for the Redemption Tour (probably in pencil rather than pen for the time being). Once that was settled, I get the unexpected text saying “gonna make an appearance at Snooze tomorrow.” Wow, this is a surprise. SA has a doctor’s appointment for an MRI to finally get a look at that left knee. As I am building out my Weinke, I text SA if his knee can manage some squats or lower body work? A quick response: “I can handle what you got!” Why should I have expected diffrent? SA will figure out how to crawl at a 9 minute pace before he gives up. Keep on keeping on brother. I also learn another bat flipper is anticipated as Ball Joint desired some prep-work for his tri-athlon. Since I was the Q, I now had to plan a little more for the workout than I expected. TBH, I’d not really thought about until that point. Here is how it went down.

Warm-up (hey Def Leppard, I got there at 0738):

• Good Mornings SC x 10, SSH IC x 10, Imperial Walker Squat OYO x 10, Toy Soldier IC x 10, Side to Side Lunge IC x 10, 5 burpees OYO

Linus still has my shovel flag, so we had to mosey to the McAdenville Town Hall to get the pledge. We continued north up Main Street to reach the front of the YMCA, site of the Christmas Town 5k. Recall there are about 2.5′ brick walls that are about 20 yards apart. We’ll begin with 11’s: 10 Mike Tysons, bear crawl the 20 yards to then do 1 dirty hook-up. Jog back to the other side.  This was a shoulder burner. Thang #2 kept us in the same spot for the Triple Nickel: use the ledge for 5 derkins, run across and do 5 box jumps (or step ups); do it 5 times. Fellowship mosey to the back side with the concrete stands and the soccer field. We partnered up for a work and run thing. 2 PAX used the steps for 4 rounds:

• AMRAP: 5 Bulgarian Squats left, 5 right; flapjack
• AMRAP: Dips; flapjack
• AMRAP: Derkins; flapjack
• AMRAP: Decline Peter Parkers

My feet got wet on the dewy soccer field. That doesn’t sound manly but I don’t care – we moved to a paved parking lot on the back street behind the Main Street restaurants (former site of the Def Leppard party supplies; aka: the State Credit Union ATM). We ran a stacked 4 corners: building with 5 burpees + 10 Jump Squats + 20 Merkins + 40 Mtn Climbers. We had 5 minutes left, so moseyed back to the firepit for a little Mary. I introduced the bicycle pretzel crunch – it’s awesome.

COT: Announcements: 2nd F Lunch next Wed, Crowders Hike, Flintstone Belt derby, Convergence, F3 Dads 8/19 @ Folsom, JJ 5k will be 9/30. Prayers: Turtleman’s CarT treatment going on this week for another few days, Mayor’s knee surgery (today), triathlon participants (especially when Slaw is swimming), Def Leppard on the IR, SA’s MRA for knee. I’m sure there were others – consider your brothers in prayer – it’s helpful.

Snooze is winding down. We had the A-team this morning with SA, Balljoint, and Broker. No disclaimer required – just solid work, which I think they got their money’s worth. Seems the regulars are tapering at this point – which is the point of this summer time workout. School begins next week and Nutria has the Q (as of this moment, check the schedule). Judging by the traffic in McAdenville that gets pretty busy between 7 and 7:30, I imagine next week could be crazy with school going too. We’ll assess the situation and make a decision if we’ll finish the month or pull the plug early. SA and Balljoint were curious to see how Snooze worked. If you have some extra time on a Friday morning, stop by at 0645 to see what this AO has to offer before it ends.