A solid crowd of supportive, encouraging HIM showed up to my VQ just in time to beat the downpour of Tropical Storm Elsa.

PAX:  Bobby Boucher, MadDog2020, Fanny Pack, Kosher, Fonzie, LED, Pablo, 8Bit, Breach, BossHogg, Hardy, U.T.I, Ricoh_Suave, Sputnik, Florence/FloJoe, Quiver, Yogurt, Fram, M4Life, Bondo, Swisher Sweets, Sprinkler, Redenbacher, Bobby Dall, Dahmer, and Poopeater

FNGs: None
Warm Up:  A quick intro to the group:  First by presenting the outstretched waist band of my comically large size 40 shorts and telling all that two years ago today, these shorts fit me quite well  (my “fat pants”, as Fram called them).  I then explained that today, July 8 is my two-year sobriety anniversary, which was met with a generous round of applause, and that today also coincided with a Disney AO which was the site of my F3 debut – so it seemed a fitting opportunity to take my first Q.

Now the real warmup:  Mosey down to the community center parking lot (because I got a little excited and took off running before warmups) where we counted off by 2s, followed by good mornings, SSH, frankensteins, sir…did we do sir fazios?  Maybe I forgot that.  But finished with merkins – 10 standard, 5 slow-count up/down.

The Workout:  PAX lined up for some Jail breaks.  Grumbles of disapproval were heard and I almost felt bad…almost.  7 sprints total, of varying lengths along the parking lot.  Bits of Woody’s life story were told during the intermissions between runs.  Apparently YHC talked too much because I ran out of time well short of what I had planned.

Next we moseyed to the school building where 1s and 2s split – BTTW & LBC, 20 count IC, then switched.  More stories were heard.  Moseyed again to the stadium entrance where we did some dips and derkins, with more yammering on by YHC between sets.  Moving on, we stopped near the main entrance of the school where 1s/2s did People’s chair (sorry for calling them wall squats, I think that’s a P90X term?) and Plank Jacks.

Should be noted that PAX did an excellent job of jumping in to call cadence when YHC was noticeably winded – thanks!

About this time I realized I was way over my time limit, had to deviate from the plan and call some audibles to wrap it all up by 0615.  Moseyed for a bit then split 1s/2s into single file lines for an Indian Run back to the starting point. Threw in a surprise stop for 5 burpees OYO, just because.  Very cool to see, just before reaching destination, entire PAX crowd circled back to pick up the 6 to finish up unified and strong!

YHC gave a quick summation of the stories and anecdotes that were heard along the way before Mary…or was it after?  Whatever.   That is:  This amazing body and everything it’s capable of is a gift, not to be left idle.  We do this to celebrate what we have, to use it, to build it and make it stronger.  We do this because we can.

Mary:  In no particular order because I had none planned and don’t quite remember – box cutters, homer to marge, a quick downward dog stretch, toe taps, and some side hip raises (another move I didn’t know the F3 name for – sorry)
Announcements:  No time – YHC saw 0617 on his watch and told all to just check Slack and bring it in for prayer.
Prayer:  Because I’m selfish and made this AO all about me, the prayer followed suit.  It was one of thanks, for pulling me out of darkness and for bringing me to this group at just the right time in my life.  But also that this group would take inspiration from my stories, share them with those around them, and be the light to as many as possible so that no one feels that they are alone in their struggles.