Retreat! Retreat!

I pulled into Folsom this morning with an ailing ankle that has been giving me problems off and on for about a month now. With that being said, my workout plan was in flux…I had some things in mind for the end of the workout, but I really wasn’t sure if that was the best decision for my foot. So as we kicked things off, I had said item on the weinke and figured I’d let the workout dictate whether I called it or not.

To my surprise, a new sweet-looking shovel flag with dual flags in a V position was waiting for me. Nice work Bedpan. Rumor has it he got the idea while browsing Pintrest. I think HIPAA has created a double-secret undercover F3 Pintrest site or something!

We continue to grow too! We had a young FNG with us today as Medicine Woman brought out young Nick Cooper. He lives near MW – a tough 14 year old young man who rides 4 wheelers, dirt bikes, runs track, and listens to country music. He’ll be ok around Folsom! I wanted to name him Baby since he looks a little like Justin Bieber, but I just couldn’t do that to a 14 year old HIYM like Nick because we want him to tell his friends about F3 so we settled on Quad. Welcome Quad!

Warmarama:

SSH – 10 IC
Imperial Squats 7 IC (IC didn’t work as well as I’d hoped so I cut ’em short)
Merkins – 5 single count
Mountain Climbers 10 IC
You guys better be glad Quad was there because it was going to be a Slaw-ter Starter!

Thang:

I shake up the PAX by taking a left out of the parking lot. The PAX were confused. I thought Medicine Woman was going to just leave and go home! He pushed through though, probably because he didn’t want to look like a sissy in front of Quad! We mosey around the pond and found a surprise.

Now I mentioned earlier I had something in mind for the end of the workout and wasn’t sure if I should call it and I’d let the workout dictate if I called it. Well, God sent one of his little creatures out of the woods to let us know that I needed to change the workout plan. As we’re running on the trail around the pond, I see a skunk on my right. I immediately stop and announce “Skunk!”. Pastor Clever and Gumby slam on the brakes as well, the others are catching up. Then, we see that tail raise up. “RETREAT! RETREAT!” I yell as a jailbreak naturally occurs. Yes, the men of Folsom were mere seconds from being sprayed by a skunk at point-blank range!

So I adjust the plan and we head to the lower shelter. I found the lights this morning without Roadie’s help, BTW.

• Derkins 20
• Diamond Merkins – 10 OYO
• Step Ups 15 IC
• LBCs – 15 IC
  (frankly I’m not quite sure on the counts here because this was not on my weinke and I just made it up as we went)

I continue to struggle counting LBCs in cadence. I naturally try to count each crunch as 1….meaning 4 crunches for every 1. I figured it out though.

Mosey to the flag. There’s been a lot of discussion about the tragedy at Surf and Turf in Bessemer City on GroupMe the past few days. I know people who were there as I’m sure many of you do, but Medicine Woman knows the family really well on a personal level. As we waited for the 6 at the flag, MW was sharing some updates on the family. I felt the need for a little prayer over the situation and asked MW to lead us in that, as he obliged. Thanks for those words MW! Pledge to the flag and short mosey to the Sr Center parking lot for…

• 11’s featuring Merkins and Star Jumps – 1 Merkin, cross 2 parking lots, 10 Star Jumps, run back, 2 Merkins, 9 Star Jumps…you know how it goes. Pastor Clever and Gumby put a lap on MW, Quad, and I so gave them an extra set, which they gladly knocked out. Good work guys!

Mosey back through the park and left at the fork to Sparky’s Lot for
– Burpee Long Jumps – these are always a hit. Gumby said ‘You’re a man after my heart, first 11’s and now this”. I will admit, they are borrowed from your weinke brother!

• Route 66 back across the parking lot,. Lunge to the lines and do Bobby Hurleys at each line. We did all 12 lines so it was really Route 78.

Just a few minutes left so we cut across the camping lot behind the tennis courts. Most PAX were getting pretty gassed and Hank had to hit the road anyway. I did not anticipate the amount of water that would be standing in that field. Feight would have whined and probably turned around but the HIM of Folsom had no real issues. MW reminded us that if he could survive sticking his head in the homless urinal uptown, we could survive this!. Good point brother!

• 22 for the vets to finish it of.

Time! As for that mystery exercise, I will just save that for another day.

Announcements – The Murphy on Memorial Day

COT – YHC took us out in prayer. Thankful to God for bringing us all out safely to become better dads and better men. Prayed for the kids with EOCs coming up, all of our families, and the victims at Surf and Turf.

Moleskin –

I consider myself from Bessemer City (went to school there, my church is there, my family is there, etc) and I got a call from Sparky Sunday asking if I was ok and if I’d heard about the tragedy at Surf and Turf. I hadn’t even heard about the incident yet…it had only been about 20-30 minutes before and an F3 brother was checking in on me. That was a good feeling for sure, but then my mind turned to the sadness of the situation. What happened has happened and we don’t truly know all the details yet. What I do know though is mental health and mental illness is serious. I worked in the field for about 6 years and saw some of it first hand. Mental illness can change a person and sometimes, meds (not just those for mental illness) can as well. Keep loving on and supporting those around you struggling. Many of us are going to have times where we are going to grief, stress, sadness, depression, etc. Keep each other close and don’t hesitate to reach a hand out to a brother in need. Just as important, the COT is a place where you can share some of those demons you’re battling. We may not be able to “fix it”, but we can pray for you and we can support you, and do our best to help out!

• Montross