Day: February 20, 2022

The first installment of the F3 Gastonia HIM Retreat had been brewing for a long time in YHCs mind. Planning comes second nature for YHC and getting to do fun stuff with the guys is always…fun. That said, the plan was to head to Bonclarken, the conference center for the Associate Reformed Presbyterian church in Flat Rock, NC. It’s an easy 1 1/2 hour drive up the mountain to the beautiful grounds where 1st ARP Gastonia’s house named Carroll Cottage waited for the PAX to arrive. This is what happened…

Boudin, CPAP and YHC left home just after 2 on Friday and arrived at the cottage right at 4 to find two guys wandering around the back of the house like they were casing the joint. Good thing it was just Oompa and Montross! A grocery list was made and we headed off to the mega-Ingles to get in several thousand steps while we stocked up for the weekend. Upon arriving back, a couple other dudes showed up and we messed around for a while. YHC broke out one of the best games ever to learn the PAX something new, Farkle! Its a dice game where you total up points based on different combinations and the first to 10,000 wins. It was fun.

At the appointed time, we headed to Pi Squared Pizza to have some authentic Detroit style pizza. Our tabel was waiting for us and they had already gotten a jump on cooking the “pi’s” when we arrived thanks to calling ahead. It seemed to be a hit as there was nothing left when the dust settled. From there we went to Triskaleon Brewing for some live music and good beer. Shirts were shed. There may be photographic evidence.

Back at the house we ate some food, played some games and generally messed around but hit the hay at a reasonable hour in preparation for the big day that lay ahead.

The alarm sounded at different times for the PAX and we gathered out front of the house for a countoff. 19 PAX were ready for the beatdown YHC had planned out. A disclaimer was given and we headed out for a mosey.

Down the hill and around the bend we found a flag flying where we stopped for the Pledge of Allegiance. Moseying on down to the pond we stopped for a warmup of Don Quixotes and Goofballs. More moseying happened and the we gathered at the gazebo over the water. YHC asked for the mission of F3, which Tesla recited verbatim flawlessly. AYE! 5 burpees, or at least as many as the PAX could manage given limited space. Moseying back on the trail led us to the hill on the lower side of the dam pond.

Elevens were called. Crab Cakes at the bottom, crab walk up the dam hill and V-Ups at the top were the command. The PAX handled this well. We tried EHing a couple of what looked like college age dudes who were running laps around the lake but the laughed and just kept going.

The PAX moseyed over to the YAB (Youth Activity Building) for the next part of the beatdown.

Dora 123 was on the list. Partner up and do 100 Def Leppard Merkins (aka CDDs), 200 Monkey Humpers and 300 Goofballs, counting the right leg only. While the exercises were done, partner 2 would run around the bath house about 50 yards away for some cardio.

A fellowship mosey past the Gaga Ball court and the Paintball woods led us to a soccer field where the PAX sprinted from one end to the other. Pretty sure YHC won this race.

More moseying took us to the cool enclosed, articifial turf Soccer Pit. This was a perfect place with even ground the next round of pain.

Luckily, the JBL Flip was toted around and the enclosed area had perfect accoustics for back and forth exercises. YHC called the exercise at each end with varied duration, however we lunge walked from side to side after each one. There were lots of Donkey Kicks, Australian Mountain Climbers, Merkins, Wall Sits and of course Lunges.

A short mosey over to the Camp Bunk House area took the PAX to the steep, frosty hill that many worried was too slippery for use. Not so! It was perfect for BOMBS. It went like this. Partner up for 50 Burpees, 100 Overhead Claps, 150 Merkins, 200 Big Boy Situps and 250 Squats. Partner 2 would bear crawl up the hill and walk down the stairs to switch off. Some of the PAX took a faster, more unsafe path by running down the hill instead of the stairs. As far as YHC knows, only Oompa slipped on the frosty surfaces and he is tough enough that he wasn’t fazed.

When we were done, we fellowhip moseyed back to the yard at Carroll Cottage for namorama, prayer requests and announcements.

Breakfast! We cooked bacon, sausage, eggs, biscuits and even livermush (but it was still disgusting) and ate our fill. God is good! Just a little rest and time to let the food settle and we were ready to go on our extendo-ruck.

Look up Freights backblast for details on the ruck. It was fun.

We got back in time to cook dinner or hamburgers and hotdogs on the grill. Before that though, we played some more Farkle and other games. Then dinner, digestion and relaxing. It was a full day to say the least! Bedtime came pretty early for some much needed sleep.

Sunday morning, some PAX got in a run or yoga but most caught up on sleep. All were happy with their choices, although some weren’t happy with the choices others made. Go figure! Next Breaker Breaker led us on a devotion about having a servant’s heart and leading by serving. Great discussion ensued. Bubba Sparxxx led a Q Source discussion based on the DRP and how that is the daily decision to make ourselves better and also those around us we may not even realize we’re impacting by taking the DRP. More discussion happened and we enjoyed it.

The last mission of the weekend, other than cleaning up the house, was to march over to the Flat Rock Village Bakery. There isn’t much room in the cozy little restuarant but they had a nice enclosed porch with a heater. The selection wowed the PAX and we chowed down. Some questioned whether they actually make their own product and it was confirmed that there is a guy at the bakery who begins baking the stuff each morning at 2am! That’s dedication to your craft!!!

We headed back to the house, finished cleaning up after BOS, Pigrim’s Progress and Kaepernick did the heavy lifting and then we hit the road. We’ll definitely do this again, at least annually, maybe more than that.

Until next time, keep taking the DRP and ALWAYS BE EHing!!!

27 degrees at the Horse this morning. Whoopee ventured over to Belmont for a Q at Members Only, Stroganoff was out of town and Roscoe’s 2.0 was not feeling well. We had EH’ed yesterday’s FNG Cholula to make it two in a row but no such luck this morning. At 0630, Flintstone, JJ, and I talked a bit waiting to see if anyone was coming in hot – not uncommon at the Horse, but we new Sargento was on the retreat. After a minute, Flintstone said he’d hang a bit more in case anyone posted late. JJ and I took off for the loop. Even after the 10 mile CSAUP from yesterday, JJ could have pushed the pace but was kind enough to stick w/ me and pull me along, especially the gut check where Strava said I turned one of my better times. Around 7:15 we reconvened in the parking lot for the COT. Same announcements and prayer requests as yesterday. I took us out. We forgot the pledge. JJ had to leave for church. Flintstone and I ventured into the Teeter for Q-Source.

I asked Flintstone if he wanted to postpone a week but he said “no way – this is a great topic.” So we pressed on to have a conversation about what it takes to pursue “Getting Right.” I say “pursue” because getting right is a daily practice to continually sharpen. As we’ve learned, there is not plateau, you’re either accelerating or decelerating. I compared this effort to my running. I’d love to be better at it – to run along in the low 8’s at a conversational pace. Running with JJ this morning at a little more than 9 minutes, we talked the entire route, but there were times I had to catch my breath to complete the sentence. Even when training for relays or half marathons, I’m amazed at how quickly any comfortable running pace or stamina I earn during “training” can dissipate. For me to put in more running in the off time comes at the cost of missing bootcamps. Some wise person among our brotherhood may say that is what EC is for and I should give that a try. The point is I need to bite the Daily Red Pill to move from an amateur toward a professional.

I wish Cholula would have posted this morning. After yesterday’s workout, some of his thoughts about needing F3 are the definitions DREDD uses to describe being a Sad Clown or a Mascot. Going through the motions,  putting on a good show but being miserable on the inside. This year’s theme to “always be EH’ing” has multi-tenants. Sure we want to grow but there are men in our community that are dying on the inside. An aging male traveling through life with family and work needs an outlet. All of us that have grabbed hold of the F3 principals know this to be true.

The Christian faith offers the hope for those that choose to follow Jesus can reach the kingdom. This can happen at any point of a person’s life as Jesus offered grace to the men he shared the cross. So to is the ability of a man to Get Right. We can find the prescription of the Red Pill bottle but if it sits in the medicine cabinet unopened, we can slowly slink back to the Sad Clown couch. Each day we face the task to take the DRP. DREDD shares the first one is the toughest to swallow because the Disruption that can occur in the form of Movement. A man now has the decision to continue taking the pill. However, DREDD also points out the second dose can be as challenging as the 100th or the 500th. The way things become easier is to continue pushing to Get Right. The more fit you become, the faster you can go because you build guardrails to keep you on the road.

College and Pro Football begin training camps in the late summer to prepare for the upcoming season. I often hear Head Coaches talk about the installation of their plays and philosophies and the reason they drill over and over is to get the players to “play fast” or “play downhill.” Ideally the coaches want the players to know their assignments so well they react and execute without thinking. Yet another visual to think about as you pursue Getting Right.

Here is to keeping the Daily Red Pill bottle close by and take it as often as you can.

Small but elite crowd this am at Members Only. Not unexpected due to F3 Retreat. We ran a solid pace and got 5 miles in. Thanks for showing Pockets.

Whoopee gets a wild hair up his arse Friday afternoon on his drive home from work. Makes you wonder how often these ideas spark – I’m sure more often than we know. This one he acts on immediately and fires off a Slack post for a “flash CSAUP” to begin at the GasHouse at 0500. We all know CSAUPs are “completely stupid” but a flash CSAUP, well that’s even stupider if that is even a word. Idea, meet at 0500 at GasHouse, leave out for 10 mile run and perform 25 merkins every mile. I see this post on Slack and a slew of devious thoughts stream like a super wifi. Maybe I rip up the weinke and take the bootcamp post on a 6 mile run doing 25 burpees every mile or so? Maybe I do 30 minutes of merkins and 30 minutes of running? But then I look at the weinke and think, there is enough torture on here so lets go with that.

0650 at 28 degrees – the flash stupids are back from their odyssey. Others are gathering into a circle. Awesome to see Clavin among the guys. Whooper is a late arrival wearing shorts and a t-shirt – Voodoo offers him a thin pair gloves but he accepts the thick pair from Whoopee instead. Unfortunately he’d have to learn a hard lesson about wearing pants or sweatshirt. Also present is FNG Jeremy that Tiger EH’ed. I take a minute to share the 5 core principals. On “Peer Lead” I share I’m not an expert, I researched a bunch of $hit on YouTube and culled this thing together. Merely suggestions but better to execute form than reps. Let’s get to it:

• Toy Soldier IC x 10
• Imperial Walkers IC x 10
• Side to Side Lunge IC x 10
• Almost called Gravel Pickers but in honor of Site Q Whoopee that disregards this effort as exercise, I quickly call Moroccan Night Clubs instead – IC x 10
• Mountain Climbers IC x 10
• Start in plank, walk your feet in tight to downward dog, CDD’s IC x 10 (I did that to try and get to a proper form)
• Pledge

Nine bootcampers  follow me out of the parking lot and east on Garrison and to the Grier track. I share the grand plan of the Dee Workout. Like Pizza Man, I’m a fan of these Hero WODs as they are quite challenging. I searched for one with a mix of cardio (running) and bodyweight exercises. The Dee looked like a good one. Named for Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) Special Agent De’Greaun “Dee” Frazier  was shot and killed in the line of duty during an undercover drug operation in Jackson, Tennessee on August 9, 2016. Agent Frazier leaves behind a wife and two children. He devoted his life to protecting and serving his community. I share the routine as:

• 20 Burpees
• 30 Hand Release Merkins
• 40 Squats
• 400 meter run
• 4 rounds

A tidal wave of backlash and groans swarm from the PAX. “Sister Act did this yesterday” I was told by a few. “He did it Downtown, but the order was different.” No way I thought – what are the chances we pick the same workout? Well, this has occurred before when Purple Haze did the Zachery Tellier on a Midoriyama Thursday and I had that queued up for my Downtown Friday workout. Amid the mumble chatter of the Flash CSAUP guys saying they’ve done enough merkins and the repeaters from SA’s workout Friday bitching like punk-ass teenagers I take control. “I don’t give a shit what workout you did yesterday or this morning – I’m doing the Dee right now…so do whatever you want.” I began and some of the PAX followed in. Others claimed Sandy V and did other exercises of their choice. Allow me to share a few quotes:

“You know I already did 250 merkins this morning…”

“Actually 275, Roscoe added 25 more.”

“Why didn’t you do 300? Y’all not feel like finishing?”

“Man my arms hurt…”

“I need to modify these burpees, I’m kind of tired…”

“Yesterday was harder b/c we did burpees last”

“No, yesterday was harder b/c we ran hills”

You get the idea of the general whining that was going on. By round 3, it was pretty quiet among the group. Finally we finished the routine. For the benefit of our FNG, I ask if a few PAX would share how long they’ve been doing F3 and something meaningful to them about it. All great comments, mostly about the friendships and bonds that have formed more so than the exercise or First F part. Before any tears formed, I announced “follow me” as I ran around the gym to the covered walkways. I’ve always wanted to use these in a workout, today is the day.

So back in the mid-80’s when I was a puberty exploring Jr. High student,  trying to contain billowing testosterone within my jeans, I would travel under these covered awnings. Something about the general nature of adolescent young men is the burning desire to jump and touch door thresholds, basketball nets, really anything that is just out of reach. All white men wish they could jump and outside of Rex Chapman and a few others, most of us in this demographic are relegated to simple things such as the roof support of the covered walk ways. So lets climb out of this rabbit hole and tell you what we did. The PAX would grab the post or roof or whatever they could to hang as long as they could. EZ Rider had a bit of a tough time with the low height but fortunately Tiger didn’t need a step ladder. So jump and hang as long as possible. When you can’t go any longer do the following:

• 15 LBCs
• 15 Mtn Climbers
• 15 Flutter Kicks
• 15 SSH’s
• Repeat this for about 8 minutes: hang then circuit

Not sure if anyone got anything out of this. It looked better on paper than it was to execute for actual exercise. The way I saw this described was the Q would set a timer for 5 minutes and every time form broke, the clock stopped and you did the circuit and re-started the clock so a total of 5 minutes would be completed. Easier said than done.

We headed back to base with time for a little bit of Mary until time was called.

Announcements: Rice and Beans Tuesdays at 6 pm. See Tiger as we need to build the roster and support especially as we get toward the warmer months. Pre-blast for the Community Foundation Run on 4/9 – sign up and support the F3 Foundation. Upcoming races for various PAX. Prayer requests: Watts Up – family battling cancer and health issues; Roscoe’s M and FIL, Tiger’s M/2.0, Whooper and his M and their baby’s safe arrival in a few weeks.

Next time I think about doing a WOD, I’ll check with the Q from the day before to be sure I don’t repeat it.

Thanks for the opportunity to lead.

Short Sale

8 men showed up for 3 Corners and plenty of lunge-lunge-burpees.  Here’s what we did:

EC was Dirt, Whoopee, and YHC.  Dirt and Whoopee went all the way out to Hudson and back.  YHC wasn’t so ambitious.  We all made it back for the main event.

The Thang:

• 15 x SSH (IC)
• 15 x Imperial Walkers (IC)
• 15 x Dying Cockroaches (IC)
• 15 x Mike Tysons (IC)

Mosey towards Martha’s.  Fake left turn to the main entrance.  Mosey on down to the grounds entrance.  From here, we choose to enter the sacred grounds by:

• Lunge-Lunge-Burpee

Once we reached the center of the fields, it was time for some stackable Three Corners.

• 10 x Merkins
• Run back out the length of the field
• 10 x Merkins
• 15 x Squats
• Run the outfield fence
• 10 x Merkins
• 15 x Squats
• 20 x Toe Touches
• Run back to the center of the fields

Once we were all back, we

• Bear Crawl around the concession stand

You know who is great at bear crawls?  Short Sale! That’s who!  And he wasn’t even there!

At any rate, that was so much fun we did it again, using a different field and different exercises

• 10 x Superman Pullups
• Run back out the length of the field
• 10 x Superman Pullups
• 15 x Monkey Humpers
• Run the outfield fence

“I don’t always hump, but when I do, I hump monkeys”

• 10 x Superman Pullups
• 15 x Monkey Humpers
• 20 x Freddie Mercuries
• Run back to the center of the fields

Once we were all back, we

• Bear Crawl around the concession stand

Enough of that stupid, there are plenty of other stupid things to do, so we left the sacred grounds by:

• Lunge-Lunge-Burpee

And went back towards the Turd Shack where it was noted that there had been many rounds of 11s done before.  Today would be another one of those days, but complicated, because teachers like making things unnecessarily complicated.

• Mosey to the other side of the parking lot
  • 11 x Nolan Ryans R
  • 11 x Oblique Crunches R
  • 11 x Crunchy Frogs
• Mosey back, stopping halfway for
  • 1 x Burpee
• Return to the other side for
  • 11 x Nolan Ryans L
  • 11 x Oblique Crunches L
  • 11 x 4-count Flutter Kicks
• Repeato, counting down on each side by 1 each time (except for the burpees)

Work til we’re close to time, then haul back so we’re not late, with a Jailbreak at the top of the lot.

COT came, and Folgers cough got a little strong.  Phlegm came up, but nothing else.  He turned to the group and just said “Almost”

Announcements:

• 2nd F Lunch
• Retreat
• Spots on Smokey Mountain Relay available
• Walk option at The Sandlot

Prayer Requests:

• Families
• Student at YHC’s school

Moleskin:

Folgers pushes it, man.  I know when he first showed up, not knowing anyone in the group, then splashed merlot multiple times his first post, we weren’t sure he’d come back.  Stinky Bird stuck with him that day, and he had quite a streak going splashing merlot.  Then he didn’t, and now he goes as hard as anyone out there.  And now he’s closing in on 100 posts.  There are chapters to his story that none of us have read, but I know we’re all glad to have Folgers out with us in The Gloom.

Thankful for the opportunity to lead.

Yabba Dabba Doo