Let Your Light Shine….

In preparation to Q the workout before Thanksgiving, I read the average American consumes 4,500 calories at the traditional Thanksgiving feast. That doesn’t include the snacking and round II that comes a few hours later. To burn that off, you would have to do burpees for nearly 8 hours. That’s a lot of damn burpees – even for Dolph. Maybe I could build a Weinke that can at least allow a few extra bites of tasty food. After all, this only comes once a year.

I missed my 4:50 am wake-up call. I could blame technology or the programmer of said alarm clock. Many thanks to my lovely M for the wake-up call at 5:07 am when she nudged me (no, not in the good way) to say “aren’t you leading that work-out thing this morning?” Faster than Clark Kent could enter a phone booth, I began to add the layers necessary for the 31 degree temperature that awaited outside my door. Thankfully I had enough sense to load the coupons into my car the night before. Up, up and away, I went, arriving hot to see five other idiots leapt from their fart-sacks for a three course meal of calorie burn – as had been advertised in the pre-tweet. No FNG’s but the quick disclaimer was stated – you’re an idiot for being here, let’s all be idiots together…

Warm-up

• Toy Soldier IC x 10
• Don Quixote IC x 10
• Grass Picker IC x 10 (Whoopee gets an F for not participating)
• Merkin IC x 10

 Pledge

Thang

                 Taking a right out of the parking lot, we lined up for an Indian Run. You might think that theme links in with Thanksgiving but there was another attempted symbolism that you can read below. So, the Indian Run instructions were “line up behind me and as you arrive at the front of the line, take the flashlight from the leader. Various forms of ‘leadership’ were observed. Stroganoff got all “Whoopee-like”, in my face, Gastone quickened the pace, and Whoopee ran in unique patterns, daring us to chase him. We lasted a few rounds before we took a break of “7’s” using the curb for Derkins and Dips. Plank for the 6…start Indian Run up the hill to arrive at the Dollar Store parking lot. Need to complete another round of 7’s sticking with Derkins and Dips.

Once complete – group mosey toward our vacant grocery store for the Second Course. Tucked within the old shopping cart vestibule, the coupon fairy had made a few deposits among four stations.

• Station A:

• High Plank – rotate lifting water jugs to a bench (20 total)
• Rocky Balboa – extend arms and hold sand filled pvc pipe (20 each leg)
• Plank to Squat (15)
• Bobby Hurley – with 10 lb medicine ball (15)
• Run 50 yards to end of parking lot and return to station B
• Station B
• Block Webbs – Merkin, then press a half block (10)
• Squats – hold half block (20)
• Curls -big boy cinder block (20)
• Moroccan Night Clubs – hold 10 lb dumbbell (20)
• Run 50 yards to end of parking lot and return to station C

• Station C
• Hip Slappers (10 each side)
• Blockies – big boy block (5)
• Lunge – hold water jugs (20 each side)
• Merkins (20)
• Run 50 yards to end of parking lot and return to station D

• Station D
• Flutter Kicks – hold sand filled pvc pipe to keep the arms engaged (20 each leg)
• Donkey Kicks (20)
• Dying Cockroach – with bricks (20)
• Crunchy Frog – with bricks (20)
• Run 50 yards to end of parking lot and return to station A

During one of the first stations, Whoopee injured his calf muscle. I thought he was going to head home, I believe he was headed that way too. But after a few stretches and walking off the pain, he was back in the ring – to fight through the end. Those are the kind of nagging things that would have a single man workout hitting the power button and turning the lights off. We would have understood had that been the case, but I believe the effort of the group caused another swell for Whoopee to ride out the wave. Everyone was giving their best effort. Great job by all the PAX.

The third course was going to be a fun task of suicides and side-straddle-hops but to avoid further injury and with less than 10 minutes to go, YHC decided to save that for a future Q. With the time, I dug back to a work-out from a few months ago led by CSPAN where he said “go pick your least favorite exercise and give it your best effort to conquer it…” or something like that. The six of us spread among the various exercises and went after it getting a few more rounds and one more run before it was time to return to the AO. Where we had a little more than a minute. I could see Mary’s fat ass standing at the sno-cone counter with her arms folded. I shut her up with LBC’s and Freddie Mercury.

Moleskin

As the PAX heart rate’s cooled down I shared a mini Third-F which had been jingling in my mind after Monk’s lesson Saturday where he was reading from the book of 1st John. One of the verses we discussed stated “God is light and in him is no darkness at all.” As I wrestled with the message, something sparked for the Indian Run to begin our workout. As each leader of the line held the flashlight, handing it off to the next man, the symbolism is sometimes we carry the light – God’s light – to shine it before others and to lead them. But then quickly we are out of control and we are in the middle of the pack, sometimes falling to the back, but in this instance, we are always following the light (even when Whoopee is running in circles). The run from the back to the front is the most challenging task and takes the most effort to become the leader, even for a short time. The hope is we all stick with the task to follow the light, weather out in front or trying to get there.

With that said, I shared more of God’s word. 2 Corinthians 4:6 – ‘For God who said “Let your light shine out of darkness,” he made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.’ And another passage from Matthew 5:16 – ‘In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven.’

We lifted prayers for Dr. Feelgood’s mother and some friends of Easy Rider as well as the little girl that lost her young life, giving in to the grips of suicide. At a time where we are thankful for many blessings that we have families and friends within warm places and tables of food. We can also be thankful for the gloom where F3 brothers gather to push the rock another day. Fortunate to lead and be with a fun group of men.