Author: Whoopee (Page 14 of 25)

2 started early with some EC then 5 ruckers and 1 runner cranked it up at Diablo. The ruckers headed to the hill with a newby (Defib) sporting his new sweet Rucker from GoRuck. On the way we did merkins at the lights until we got to Gastone’s Hill. Up the hill we did 5 mountain climbers at each mailbox on the right, flutters for awhile at the top, then squats on the way down. We then headed up towards Union Road for some more work with 11’s that turned out to be 12’s but counted by 2’s and in the end would have stumped the Midoriyama counters. I don’t really know how many we did but I was tired. We did Mike Tysons on 1 end and squats (I think) on the other end. We then moseyed back to start and stopped by the construction site/soon-to-be-PlanetFitness for some upside down planks on the wall until Outhouse made me laugh so hard I had to stop. We then moseyed to the dumpster for some loading dock jumps and bear crawling. We threw in a few step ups just before getting back to home. At home we had just enough time for all pax to call an exercise before starting the COT.

Good work this morning. Hushpuppy was getting some running miles in-nice job. It was good to see a new face at Diablo-hope it was worth your time Defib. We have a great group of regulars at Diablo but any of you fellers feel free to jump in any time and see what this is about. Although it’s not the same as running, these ruck workouts can definitely kick your butt if the Q wants to.

thanks for coming out for a Sammich early in the morning-Whoopee

So today I got up early, got to the AO at 0530 and waited for someone to arrive…..I re-read the Q Source for this am since I am the Q and waited…..still no one. So I started doing Merkins while I got my stuff ready to ruck. Still no one….0559-I’m off, rucking sort of solo. I have my phone attached to my ruck and was listening to Jocko. Heart-wrenching story on this week’s podcast. Definitely worth listening to. That and some other things got me thinking more about some stuff I had been thinking about this week-I have noticed a lower number of pax posting lately in GasHouse, most noticeable on Saturdays. I think this has been noticed by several others. I know there are a lot of reasons-work, travel out of town, family, holidays-I am guilty of this at least as much (probably more) as others. HOWEVER, a common theme for good leaders, in fact in my opinion after hearing many I respect say the same, is that good leaders put others on their team before themselves-that is one of the major characteristics of GOOD LEADERS. That means (for me) putting all of you before me-that does not mean at the expense of my family/work/personal responsibilities, but it does mean on those days when I don’t feel like posting, I still post anyway. As Jocko says, at least go through the motions even if that is all you can do. I don’t think I have done a good job of this over the last few months. I have fartsacked. I have worked out alone. I have whined and complained about being sore/hurt/injured….whatever. I have put my wants and needs before others. And I think this has resulted in others doing the same thing for whatever reason. The end result is that less have posted to some of our workouts. You may get some info from Watts Up with data saying I am wrong, but I do think our numbers are lower in the bootcamp workouts ESPECIALLY on Saturday which has always been a strong day for recruiting FNGs and improving our overall fellowship. Lower numbers on Saturday generally lead to less Coffeeteria meals. If you still don’t agree, tell me the last time you went to breakfast with the F3 guys in GasHouse (not Folsom) on a Saturday morning? If you think I am pointing my finger at you, I probably am but just realize I am also pointing it at myself. I have not done a good job and plan to make a better effort not just for me but also for you. I don’t say any of this lightly and expect I will offend some of you. You know where I will be on Monday morning at 0530 if you want to discuss further……

As far as our backblast, I rucked with Merkins/squats over to and up Gastone’s hill, Pockets rucked the normal route, and Roscoe ran the normal route. We all finished safely and skipped Q Source due to low attendance. I’ll be prepared to lead Q Source next week on this week’s topic if needed.

Whoopee

Today was another good day. Six men posted with heavy purses and got some good work in. We started with the pledge then circled back for Hushpuppy. He was not hungry for a Sammich so he went his own way with headphones on. We took off for Gastone’s Hill with nothing but a smile on our face, skip in our step, and a purse full o’ rocks (or something else heavy). I did not really have much in mind, but did not sleep well the night before so I figured it would all be ok. We started up “The Hill” with rucks in our hands (no straps) and at each mailbox on the right did 5 chest presses. After reaching the top we commenced to doing flutters with rucks over our heads. I wanted to do this without a specific number in mind, so as to encourage some idle chatter. It was a bit quiet, kind of too quiet…..which is not always a bad thing, but kind of made me feel a little less than appreciated……so I told the crowd we would continue with said exercises until I felt some love. Thankfully OutHouse spoke up at some point and proclaimed his love for Whoopie (Goldberg in a quiet voice). It’s ok, I felt the desired effect from Shi…I mean, OutHouse. Rucks on and head down “The Hill” for more stuff. At every mailbox on the right, face downhill and gimme 3 Merkins. Not too bad, but still feel like the Merkins with the ruck are tough. We got to the bottom and did some squats until some more comments to make me (or Whoopie Goldberg) feel loved….again, thanks Shi……I mean, OutHouse.

Next, mosey from “The Hill” to the soon-to-be Planet Fitness for a new exercise called Bulldog Merkins. We lined up in a row and first guy did exercise while rest sat in People’s Chair and did chest presses with their rucks. We took turns doing 5 Bulldog Merkins-feet on the wall about 2 feet up and extend out into Merkin position and do 5 Merkins with feet on the wall. Pretty tough, but will do more reps and sets next time.  I was a good start. Next we moseyed thru part of the parking lot for some 4 corners. I asked Clavin to call the exercise and against my wishes, we did American Hammers in 10, 20, 30, then 40 reps at the 4 corners. BTW, I hate American Hammers……a lot…..and I hate them more now. I did not make that mistake again. For the 2nd round of 4 Corners I called the exercises and we did Clavins (AKA, calf raises) in 20, 40, 60, 80 reps at the 4 corners. Gave desired burn then we moved on. I think we went to the bank next. Somewhere along the way we prepared for the F3 International Convergence in Morocco next year at OutHouse’s request-a few Moroccan Night Clubs.

After finishing at the bank, we had a few minutes to kill so we did a new-ish exercise I sort of made up on the fly: Roadkill Froggers-at one side of the street drop into road kill position (ruck on, lay down on concrete like…you know, roadkill), get up then jump (frog hop) one time. Get back on ground in road kill position then get up and jump again. Repeat this until you either get hit by a car or get across the street. We all made it safely across then hit some more Moroccan Night Clubs for the last minute or so then called it a day.

COT:

announcements-9/11 Memorial Stairclimb will be 9/18/20-put that stuff on your calendar now britches-it was great this year and is gonna be HUGE next year. You don’t want to miss this thing.

Convergence in 2 weeks at The Yank-get there and support your brothers

Quick prayer then we were outta there.

Good work this am guys. Those purses don’t get any lighter, you just get a little bit stronger. Keep up the good work. Next week will be DryRub with the Q so get those arms loose. I suspect it’s gonna hurt.

Whoopee

7 Guys came out for a ruck workout. I did not have anything special planned. We went to the park, did a bunch of exercises, lot of ruck on, ruck off exercises. I didn’t really have time to be here this am-lot of stuff to do at work and really thought about wimping out and asking someone to cover for me. Glad I did not do that-in the 4-ish years of F3 GasHouse I don’t regret posting even once. Well, maybe when I posted at once of those “running” AOs. I don’t remember what we did, but got the BB posted so my brothers would get credit.

Whoopee

Full disclosure, my wife should be listed as the actual Q for this. She found out about this and sent me the link. I think her email said something like “you and your friends should do this, it sounds like an F3 kind of thing.”

Fours studs and some dude named Whoopee met at the Schiele this am. The plan was to go to Charlotte, meet up with Roscoe briefly, then hit the stairs for 110 flights in memory of the 9/11 first responders who gave the ultimate sacrifice 18 years ago. Roscoe was working this morning.

Admittedly, I was pretty focused on climbing the stairs with an occasional thought of the obvious reason we were there. However this quickly changed when we got there and listened to the opening ceremony speeches. We heard brief speeches from the fire department chief and Roscoe-both of whom did not use notes and spoke from the heart with a great message of welcome to the city of Charlotte and sacrifice by those serving the public now and many years ago-this reeled me in a bit. The clincher was the recording of the radio communication from the first responders when the planes hit the towers. The only part of this I distinctly remember was the operator talking to the fire department/first responders requesting for help-“Send all you’ve got!” in a frantic and very distressed voice. Holy NUTS! This put things a little more into perspective. I was fighting back tears hearing this today-the thought of those people rushing in to save others-when people were jumping out of the buildings to their death, these people-the first responders-were rushing in to help.

We should all remember this every day, but especially around the time of 9/11 each year. When you are having a bad day, when you get a little sandy V at home and don’t want to fold those clothes or empty that dishwasher (you know what I am talking about), when you are just a little tired and feel like fartsacking…..remember, there are MANY others who would trade places with you in a second just for the chance to get back out and post for a workout or go back in time to do something nice for those who they love. Remember.

They do this event each year-we met some others who have done this several years and others like us there for the first time. I can’t tell you how many firefighters were there in full gear, but it was a lot. They struggled, but they did not quit and they pushed through, and they remembered.

Next year I will be there with my ruck and with a shovel flag. I hope you will consider doing this next year also-it was a great event.

This was supposed to be “officially” part of BRR, however the BRR was not ready for ruckers just yet…..so being the HIMs that we think we are, we decided to go ahead and do our thing. We had several planning meetings and a pretty good game plan, but nothing could have prepared me for this trip. Just know there is no way I can convey how much fun this trip was. Like prior relay races, I knew there was going to be some pain and some joy, but this was a really good trip.

This trip provided us with a break from the usual beatdowns at the GasHouse AOs along with several sleepless (except for AT) nights that amplified our personalities. Having run BRR twice, I really think this was harder for me. The leg fatigue was worse despite getting enough sleep during the trip. We went out in pairs for most of the legs and this was the “golden part” of this trip. Getting to spend somewhere between 1 and 3 hours with one of your brothers pretty much one on one is nothing short of excellent. Combining that with the time spent in the van as a larger group was outstanding. I can honestly say this is probably the best way to do BRR for guys in F3-you really need to think about this rucking thing for BRR next year. We made some good planning decisions but also learned a lot about how to improve this for future years.

We named our van Packin’ Heat for obvious reasons. I think we had 6 handguns, 8 knives, a hatchet, and a can of mace. We were a force to be reckoned with before leaving GasHouse. We got dinner on the way up to Linville compliments of Allen Tate-what the heck were you and the waitress doing back there???? We started our legs just after 8pm and motored through them like champs. Along the way we saw a ton of snakes (mostly, but not all dead), a bald eagle, a bear (yes, you read that correctly, an F’ing B-E-A-R), more dogs than Allen Tate could count, and several truck-stealing-at-midnight-escaped-convicts-who-are-still-following-me-at-this-time rednecks. We ate the best hamburgers in the world for lunch followed by some ice cream/custard thing called “concrete” that was good enough to go back next year just for the chance to eat it again. We finished it off with some fine dining and BudLights at 0830 this am at one of the oldest breweries in Asheville waiting for the SECOND team to finish BRR.

Along the way I learned a few things:

I learned Watts Up should have been a truck driver. The man can flat out drive a van-if he hadn’t lost so much weight, I would say we should rename him Large Marge (PeeWee’s Big Adventure from the 1980’s-look it up you damn millennials). He also does not complain…at all. He is solid and dependable and someone I know I can count on to do what he says 100%. He was meant for F3 and F3 was meant for him. He underestimates his level of fitness also-the man killed his mountain goat leg at the end of the race in the dark going solo then (I think) jumped in the van and drove us to the next leg. WTF?????!!!!!

Roadie snores. He also loves our country enough to search out a tattoo artist with similar vision and is working on a tattoo of the American Flag for his left arm. This is time consuming and expensive. But he loves our country and tattoos, and that is why he is having this done. Respect from me, Roadie. You have given me a new perspective on tattoos-thanks.

Freight is a dedicated father and friend. He works hard to be a great provider for his family and cares about the people who work under him. He may have an opportunity to change positions at work if someone retires soon, however it would require traveling quite a bit-this would take him away from his wife and daughter and I just don’t see that happening, at least not unless it is necessary. He also grew up fishing and hunting with family despite not necessarily having a love for those activities, but more a love for his family.

Voodoo loves his family, his job, and how he can help people. He values his partner and the relationship they have to both work towards the same goal-getting people better and providing a good living for their respective families. He also has plenty of fast-twitch muscles-the type that help you walk fast but not necessarily for a long time. I had to work to keep up with him on our leg we did together. And that damn green light needs to go-HOLY NUTS that thing was crazy annoying but kept us safe-no way a car would not be able to see that thing. He also has a daughter that adores him. They talked/facetimed several times-she facetimed him at 0615 to let him know she was getting beignets at Disney World-THAT WAS AWESOME! Enjoy that Voodoo, the day is coming when she will be grabbing the car keys and disappearing for several hours without facetiming you.

HIPAA is an animal-I knew this already, but this trip reminded me. He jumped in on more legs than he needed to. He kept us on track with directions and “leg data.” He CRUSHED the mountain goat leg and finished an hour ahead of predicted time and (I think) kicked a bear’s ass on his way up the MG leg. All I know is we never saw the bear again after HIPAA got to the top. HIPAA is another “meant for F3” guy from top to bottom. His focus is on not only pushing the rock, but also how can he help those around him push the rock. We all say this, but he practices this constantly. He is one of those guys who “gets it.”

Allen Tate…..wow. Where to start? The guy can go to sleep in seconds in a van. He can sleep through just about anything. He is probably one of the most generous and thoughtful guys I know. The only thing bigger than AT’s heart I think is his sense of humor. He kept us rolling just about from the start. I walked with him on an early leg and realized quickly how much this man respects his family and friends. From the time he spent with his grandmother in her later years up to his dedication to his father now (almost missing this trip because of Hurricane Dorian) this guy is impressive. He has a way of looking at a situation and finding the silver lining and purpose for why he is there and doing what he is doing.

As far as our backblast goes, we did a lot of rucking, we got more sleep than we needed, and we ate some food along the way. Other than that, no big deal. Really, just a boring trip to the mountains. Consider this next year. You will not regret it. I guarantee that 100%.

Whoopee

Diablo Sammich got started right on time. Six men with bags took off after the pledge and rucked to the old Harris Teeter (soon-to-be new Mattress Warehouse Outlet) with an old lady named….? Can’t remember, had to Google it just now-Ophelia. She weighs about 40# and doesn’t talk much. Once we got to the parking lot, the menu was discussed. We were going to do a version of this week’s IronPax challenge. It’s called Loredo:6 rounds of exercises with 400 meter run after each round. We modified the numbers and did the following: 6 squats, 6 Merkins, 6 Lunge Steps per leg then rucked around the lot. On the lunges, one of us carried Ophelia with the plan to carry her around the lot-we only moved her while lunging. After a round or 2 of this we increased the reps to 10 for each exercise. Eventually we carried Ophelia more than just lunging. At some point we saw some young men with soccer arms run by us. Words were exchanged and all I can say is, at least 1 of us will be getting a new insurance agent VERY SOON. We moseyed back in time for COT then got outta there.

Another great day at the Sammich-Come join us-Whoopee

We did not really have a Q…..but then again do we ever? It’s a running AO. We run. Not much for a backblast……usually. BUT NOT TODAY. We started off with 4 runners on time and a rucker who left earlier. I am always looking for advice. Well, not always, but today I was and more often nowadays I am appreciative of advice and definitely see the value much more than I have in younger years. I knew Defib had just taken his first child to college and dropped her off. I also have it on pretty good authority that he is a pretty intelligent guy and cares a lot about his family, like a lot of other F3ers I know. In the past I was not so worried about that college thing. Having watched Stroganoff send his son a couple years ago, Linus do that with his daughter, and then both do it again this year with child #2, this college thing has gotten my attention. Also, seeing a few other first-timers struggle this year (you know who you are) has made it more real. Since my twins will be heading to college (hopefully) in a couple years and I know that time will fly by, I asked Defib what he said to his daughter before leaving her in the presence of a bunch of hormone-filled, bone headed nimrods we like to call “young men.” I was once one of them and I know what goes through their minds….which is why I would like to break the arm of every “young man” that shows up at my door step before even saying hello.

So for the next 5 miles I ran with Defib (this was a PR for me this AM) and gleaned as much advice as I could. By mile 3, I was spent and it was all I could do to keep up with him but I did not want to break the conversation so I kept pushing, even the last few hundred yards with him yelling in my ear to push harder and finish strong-thanks for that, I think. I was worth the pain. I just hope I can remember what we discussed.

Once we got back I laid down on the sidewalk and a few minutes later a biker stopped and offered to provide CPR….Thankfully I was aware enough to get up and speak with him-it was someone Defib and I know from work so I had to put on a happy face and act like I was not really that tired.

Later after the COT and as we were preparing for Q Source, Gastone tells us of a time he was trying to EH a guy in the frozen food section of Harris Teeter by saying, “Hey, you look like you work out.” I think he said something to the guy about a corn dog or sharing a baked potato but I am not sure. Anyway, the guy has not been seen at an F3 workout so maybe we need to keep Gastone out of HT for awhile.

Today was a good day for me. I see the evidence of Iron Sharpening Iron more and more often as I get older. When it involves my family as the receiver of the sharpening, it really sinks in. I would encourage you to lean on your F3 brothers whether it is through Whetstone, at a workout, a 2nd F event, 5K or longer race, memorial event like Pizza Man led this weekend, or going back and forth from a CSAUP. There is a reason we all come out here and do this crazy thing we call F3. Part of it is so we can take our shirts off in public……but really it is much deeper than that. Really dig in to F3 and get to know your brothers. You will find a way to get sharpened if you want from every single person out here if you just try. I have and I might be one of the most bone headed nimrods you have ever met.

thanks for letting me hang around you men and rubbing off on me in whatever way you have for the past few years-Whoopee

7 Pax got to Diablo and took off for some stairs. We started with the pledge then rucked to the school for the stairs and started up and downs. Before starting, we called out birthdays and roughly half of us did our exercises at the top and the other half at the bottom (not both unless you wanted some EC-get some Watts Up). The exercises were 5 merkins with ruck on-each trip up or down you did the exercises then kept moving. It was not that bad at first but got progressively tougher. Once the desired amount of time had passed, we started back for home after a quick word about tolerating others and loving them for who they are rather than finding something to argue about. You can apply this wherever you want-work, family, friends…

We got back to start after getting some Monkey Humpers at the lights on the way back-there were a bunch of them but we got back right on time, did our COT, then everyone took off. Once again we proved FOOD>>>>drink. Come try it out. You just might like it.

REMEMBER: BRR-Ruck meeting this Sunday at 3pm at McAllister’s.

Whoopee

OK guys, I got the final call from BRR management. We will not be “officially” part of BRR, however that is not stopping us.  We still have plans for BRRuck and here is the rough draft: We will ruck similar to BRR starting approximately 115 miles out of Asheville and utilize similar (not identical) transition zones. We will basically be doing a CSAUP so there is no liability for the BRR people-there is your disclaimer-there is no one to sue and you are an idiot. That being said, it’s gonna be great. We plan to start rucking at midnight on Thursday night, September 5 and ruck in pairs (or more if we have more pax) until around lunchtime on Saturday, September 7. You will likely do 3 (or more) ruck legs and should never be alone. We will be back in Gastonia sometime late Saturday afternoon. What you need is a ruck, whatever food you want to eat/drink, and money for gas. I need a firm HC from you if interested so let me know so we can make plans.  Hope to see you then.

Whoopee