Half Dozen for 3, 5, and 6 miles @AGS..

/in /by

YHC made a return as Q to AGS this morning, having been a participant in a series of strong Q’s offered over the past few weeks by Slide Rule and Pikachu. With Speed Racer Hill repeats offered 2 weeks ago and a crazy labyrinth of hills concocted by Pikachu the week prior, YHC planned a 6 and 3 mile route for PAX that offered several gradual rolling hills.

Rolled out of Wescott and realized at the light at Sunset and Holly Springs Rd. that I was trailing 187, who was on his way to Womble. I laughed at the irony of trailing behind him and what would be the whole morning during the run. Arrived to see  several vehicles parked. Planted the flag and welcomed Cowboy, LED, and Sprinkler, who got headlocked by YHC at Panera yesterday after indicating he had never tried AGS.

50 degrees at go time. 6 o’clock hit and we were off to the back parking lot for the following exercise:

Warm Up: SSH X20. As we finished SSH’s, Redenbacher comes rolling in. 3  Burpees OYO for the late arrival.  Hillbillies X15, Imperial Walkers X15, Good Mornings X20, mosey back to the flag, squat hold for the six. Prison Squats in cadence- on YHC’s up and down.

Squat hold while I explained this morning’s routes…

The Workout: Testing out AGS for the first time, Sprinkler committed to 3 miles with Cowboy, who decided to run with him. The 3 mile and 6 mile route led PAX down and up Stinson to Bass Lake Road past Lowe’s food on the left. At the light at Holly Springs Road, 6 mi PAX headed toward Rhamkatte Village, while the 3 mi PAX took a left onto Holly Springs Road and the long way around the baseball fields to Grigsby back to the flag. LED, 187, Redenbacher proceeded up Rhamkhatte Rd to a right on Skymont. Followed Skymont all the way down to the greenway trail that leads to the neighborhood where we run EC at Paradise City. We got halfway down Skymont before Redenbacher had to “pull a Lipstick” and journey to the Jones Park facilities a little earlier than anticipated. Continued on with 187 and LED ahead in the distance.

Big shout out to 187 and LED for picking up the six frequently this morning. YHC was fatigued and just not feeling it, but they stuck with me making several circle backs. As we exited the greenway, we did a full loop around Arctic Ridge before heading back up the way we came, but this time visiting Veterans and Jones Park back onto Holly Springs Road, before making the final push to Womble.

After everything was said and done, LED and 187 got their 6 miles in. YHC, Redenbacher, and Cowboy got 5mi, and Sprinkler pushing a bit over his 3 target. Solid work for a Sunday morning.

Mary: She bailed on us.
Announcements: 3rd F next weekend. Mama’s House- help painting a ramp, 1 car garage, and touch up some windows. Check Slack this week for updates by LED on times, etc.. YHC challenged PAX this week to seek opportunities to help our community and volunteer time\resources. Great work by the Master’s Shield Lock Team yesterday. A simple gesture no matter how big goes a long way.

T-Claps (Recognition): Sprinkler’s first visit to AGS and getting miles in both yesterday and today. LED and 187 for picking up the six. Cowboy for holding Sprinkler accountable on his run as well as squeezing out extra miles around Womble. Redenbacher for escaping the clutches of the fartsack to join us just in time.

Prayer: Fonzie battling the flu. Those who are battling illness related to the flu and pneumonia. Those with newborns, continued prayers for continued health. YHC took us out.

This Looks Like Blue Ridge Relay

/in , /by

FNGs: None today
Warm Up:

SSH x10

Frankenstein x10

Daisy Picker x10

Squat hold while we reviewed the route
The Workout:

Had a bit of a different route for the pax today – something that would highlight some of the hills on this side of town:

https://www.strava.com/routes/23350714

When we were coming up cemetery hill Deadbolt stated “this looks like Blue Ridge relay.” I told him it was never too early to start training and our back blast had its title.

Mary:

Not today
Announcements:

ATT long run February 22nd

Q Swap this week
T-Claps (Recognition):

Oboe and Oyster for getting after the cemetery hill segment.

All pax for picking up the 6 throughout.
Prayer:

Wallaby’s family

3 Year Mixed Bag

/in /by

Drove in to see Pablo doing a solo EC run before the workout, nicely done!

FNGs: Nope

3 Years ago on this day, Tonka picked me up and treated me to a workout Q’d by none other than Midget at Disney.  It sucked.  I did every rep of the first set and was quite proud of myself, until I realized we were 10 minutes in to a 45 minute workout and I was quite done.  Sometime in the next 15 minutes as we were doing repeats on the stairs, Midget tapped me on the shoulder and told me to just wait at the top for everyone.  I think he was afraid I was going to fall out and hurt myself going up/down the stairs.  I also think he was right to be afraid of that.

It’s been a great 3 years.  One of my fond memories was training for my first HSHM.  That year, we did hill repeats & track workouts on alternating Wednesdays (“Speed Racer” was the AO) led by Pilgrim, Bernie, and Wrangler.  As a little homage, I brought out one of those workouts for this morning.

The Workout:

There was a lot going on this morning.  The Fritter Goobers + POTS went on a Ruck.  Not sure how far they went.  At some point they stopped for refreshments.  I’ll let them tell that story.

Double D was hoping for just miles, so Mookie mapped out a nice 4-5 mile route for him and he took off solo.

Forceps missed his alarm, but made it for COT & 2ndF 🙂

The rest of us did hill repeats on Stinson.  Starting at the bottom of the hill stop sign:

  • Run hard to Ivan parking lot; recover back to stop sign
  • Run hard to Cletus parking lot; recover back to stop sign
  • Run hard to Grigsby stop sign; recover back
  • Hard to Grigsby; recover
  • Hard to Cletus; recover
  • Hard to Ivan; recover

If you did the whole thing, it was right at 6 miles.

Mary: Pfft
Announcements:

Awesome COT after the run.  One of the best I’ve ever been at.   Too often it’s just “name / age / f3 name; quick announcement; let’s go”.  This morning we actually talked a bit about what we’re doing and why.  I really appreciated the time.
T-Claps (Recognition):  Oboe was a man on a mission this morning.  Awesome job beating down those hills.
Prayer: Running the hills made me think of a Pax I haven’t seen in a long time who used to be out there for these workouts — Princess Cut.  I know life hit him pretty hard for a while.  I wasn’t close enough with him to be there to help, but I know I miss him out in the gloom.  It made me appreciate what we’re doing with the Shield Lock even more.

Thanks for a great 3 years men, looking forward to the next 3.

Who picked this route?

/in , /by

FNGs: None

Warm Up:     Light jog to the back end of the parking lot, butt kickers back. Switched to Carioca L\R, R\L back to other end of the lot. Frankensteins with a set of Lunge Walks and circled up for Imperial Walkers, Hillbillies, Fazio Arm Circles IC all with a 12 count. Michael Phelps to close out the warm up.

The Workout:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mary: Ran out of time today.

Announcements: Check Slack and Facebook

T-Claps (Recognition): PAX that showed up this chilly morning for some miles.

Prayer:  Oboe’s Father in Law, unspoken

YHC took us out. Always an honor to lead.

The Rain Don’t Matter..6 PAX Get Some Hill Work

/in /by

Pre-Blast reaffirmed that AGS would be open despite the rain that was scheduled in the forecast. Arrived to Womble via Stinson this morning so that YHC could get a good look at the street name which would serve as an end point for this morning’s hill repeats. Come to find out its Lacombe Court. As I noted this, I began the uphill climb in the Knight Rider and quickly came upon a light up vest in the back drop of a light fog and drizzle. Moving at a decent pace, Pikachu was just finishing up his 5th mile on to what would be a 15mi morning on this rainy and cold morning. What else can be said, the kid likes to run no matter the conditions.

Arrived to the parking lot to see DawgPound make his way to AGS this morning. Grabbed the flag out of the back of my car. As I made my way to the planting zone, Master Shake comes rolling in, along with Deadbolt not far behind. Nemo arrived shortly after that and before YHC knew it, we had 6 PAX on a very rainy and raw morning in the gloom.

On mornings like this, especially on a Sunday, it would be so easy to stay nestled in the fartsack. These 6 HIM made a decision, however, and showed up. To honor that commitment, YHC planned some hill work, being sure to stay close to shelter in the event the rain picked up. As it would turn out, the heavy rain held long enough for PAX to get 4-5ish miles this morning.

Warm Up: Light jog to the back Ivan lot via the left side of the soccer fields. Circled up for Imperial Walkers X12, Good Mornings X12, Fazio Arms F/B X12. During this series, DawgPound expressed his displeasure with the exercise count going to 12 each time. Not sure why there was an issue. We do this every Sunday and is the standard during football season at AGS. I guess Dawg just doesn’t like 12 for some reason. Finished up the the last set of Fazio’s and then mosey’d to around the lot to the back side of the Ivan lot. Circled up for some Hillbillies X12, Frankensteins and alternating lunge walks. Wrapped up the warm up with prison squats on YHC’s cadence down and up X12.

The Workout: With the uncertainty around when the heavy rain would fall, we’d keep close to Womble as mentioned. Decided on some old school Speed Racer for this morning’s workout. PAX ventured out of the Ivan lot to the left up Stinson for a series of 2.5 hill repeats. At the top of Stinson, PAX would perform 6 Burpees (just because 6 came to mind this morning and Dawg didn’t like 12 counts). From the top of Stinson, PAX would then head all the way down to Lacombe Ct, where they would perform 6 star jumps. Rinse repeat twice with PAX picking up the six throughout the hill runs. After the last set of 6 burpees was perfomed, YHC instructed PAX to take a left out of Stinson and onto Grigsby taking the long way around the baseball fields and then head back to the shelter in front of the flag for Mary.

Mary: Planks with alternating calf stretches, cobra stretches, runners pose stretches, downward dogs
Announcements: CSAUP Next week- Dec 7th. Get your Frosty on! F3 Christmas Party at Midget’s on Dec 14th.
T-Claps (Recognition): All PAX who posted this morning putting in work in the cold rain.
Prayer: Prayers for Wallaby and his family. Prayers for Nemo’s brother-in-law. All PAX and family faced with challenges during this holiday season. Continued health as we close out 2019. All unspoken. YHC took us out.

Alot to be Thankful for.. 9 PAX at AGS to Shake It Out..

/in /by

Before we get into the specifics of this morning’s shakeout run workout, I’d like to reflect on a few takeaways from yesterday’s race. Yesterday morning was perfect in comparison to last year’s balmy 36 degree tundra trot.  A brisk 47 degrees yesterday morning, allowing PAX to shed some layers and nix the gloves. Minus the slight wind, I’d say the sky Q threw us a bone and created some optimal conditions for some magical runs to happen in Southwake. Rolled into the Purple Cobra AO meeting spot to clown car with Full House, 187, and Redenbacher. As we roll into Ting, we see a swerving bicycle toting several flags on its way to the basketball courts…Banana Seat in the house. Parked the car and then shortly headed to warm-ups, with about 30 PAX ready to get after it, and several more there for support every step of the way. Always amazed to see the photos after the race at how big the group photo gets year after year, and equally impressed with the new faces that come into focus year after year.

Let’s face it, this race has significance for so many reasons. We train here, we live here, we know every nook and cranny of this course and we know who we were with when we ran it. This race is significant mostly because its personal. Every PAX who has posted in SouthWake has a memory along this course and if you have been around long enough, you know the sense of community and the overwhelming sense of support when you see familiar faces along the route on race day. Not to mention, nobody puts an exclamation point on this race like F3 Southwake. Shovel Flag escort for every PAX up that ramp to the finish. There is nothing like it. Leave no man behind and the race isn’t finished until the last one is in. That’s what is special about this race. The journey we take every morning as we wake up to get those PRs isn’t easy and we push each other to accelerate in all phases. The sacrifices we make as individuals to rise out of that fartsack in the crazy morning hours and make each other better men collectively mentally, physically, and spiritually is that much more gratifying when you scroll through all of those pictures and strava feeds after the race.

A huge shout out to our non-running PAX for the support yesterday. All were strategically placed throughout the critical areas of the course offering encouragement, positive energy, and a few choice phrases to entice jailbreak speed up the ramp to the finish. Banana Seat, Slide Rule, Blue Hen, Flannigan, Dovetail, Skidmark, Shredder, Gump, Dauber, Wallaby, and WebEx. I’m fairly certain I may be missing a few, and for those that YHC may be missing, you are appreciated by everyone running yesterday.

The PRs yesterday were aplenty. Safe to say the training paid off and then some. If I were to create awards from yesterday, they would be as follows:

Best Comedic Duo Performance: LipStick and Mrs. LipStick- First congratulations to Mrs. Lipstick. She did an incredible job finishing I believe her first half and also doing it while going 13.1 with LipStick selfie sticking most of the way. Anyone see the FB video? TV gold right there. At many points while I thumbed through the pics, it appeared that she wanted to throttle my boy, Lipstick, but great job again to his M for pushing through. Lipstick, love you buddy.. great support out there.

Most Improved: UTI is absolutely crushing it. 6 Halfs under his belt and the times keep shrinking like the average number of exercises Midget performs during workouts.

WOW Award: True to his name, ShamWow just absolutely killed it yesterday. Knew going in he’d have a good run with the training he put in, but dear lord, I think he may have set the bar to a whole new level with his performance yesterday.

Dig Deep Award: Wasn’t able to witness this finish, but heard Breach tracked down the 2:00 pace group with about a mile left to finish with a sub 2. Way to push.

HSHM Rookie of Year: Aquaman not only went sub 2 in his first half, but he flirted with a sub 1:50. Though his body may have broken down a bit at the end, he put in a very gutsy run and has grown exponentially this past year. One to watch next year for sure.

Iron Horse Award: I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, when I reach 50, I want to be like Yogurt. This guy is an absolute Beast. A podium performance yesterday with Alpine pacing his run. This guy is a grinder and as mentally tough as he is physically. Incredible run yesterday.

Excellence of Execution Award: If you were a WWF fan from back in the day, Brett Hart dubbed himself as “The Excellence of Execution.” Very methodical and executed moves with precision and efficiency. Here’s the thing about 187 that I love. He is about as efficient as they come. Shows up, puts in work, and then you later look at the Strava feed and think… “Oh, Damn. No he didn’t..” It probably takes YHC longer to pick up his jaw from the floor after seeing some of these runs than it is for 187 to run these races. Another podium performance in his age group. Incredible.

Youth Gone Wild Award: Remember that guy, Cupid? He started posting here and there when he started F3. Then we wondered what the hell is he doing running all hours of the day. Started running with Pikachu before and after Run the Quay at about a 9min pace. Well, I want to introduce you to 7:45/mi for 13.1 pace Cupid.

Under the Radar Awards: Who is this Katniss guy? I thought he didn’t like running or think he could run earlier this year. Amazing sub 2 performance yesterday. Silently, he has accelerated and another one to keep an eye on at his next half. There is also that other guy, Dahmer, who has silently put in some strong work on these HSHM runs to also get himself a sub 2 finish.

Don’t Call it a Come Back Award: Though the training hasn’t been perfect from week to week, Forceps has made his way back to healthy runs in recent weeks, finishing very strong up the ramp yesterday. I anticipate we will get him back to full speed in the upcoming months.

Double Down Award: Full House, I’m not sure what you were thinking putting back to back halfs on your calendar this month, but I’m sure glad you were out there yesterday. Coming off of a strong sub 2 Richmond Half and putting in some strong miles at HSHM yesterday. I appreciated the push at miles 10 and 11 to keep me going.

Mumblechatter I Wish I Was a Part of Award: Only saw the trio of Emeril, Dawgpound, and Cowboy finish the race, but after hearing about a few conversations they had during the race, I so wish it would have been recorded for prosperity purposes. Hearing how Emeril was ‘inspiring’ Dawg and Cowboy throughout the race makes me think we should somehow do a documentary next year.

Houdini Awards: Unfortunately, I didn’t see them prior to the race, but H1N1, Fonzie, and LED absolutely smoked it yesterday. Very strong training performed by those guys leading up to the race and it all paid off yesterday.

2020 HSHM Headlock Award: Fresh off a Solid 5k performance yesterday, Master Shake has HC’d on next year’s Half Marathon.

That Shower is Gonna Hurt Award: Last but not least, Redenbacher not only PR’d yesterday by over double-digit minutes, he did so with exploding nipples. I didn’t see how bad it was until the hairpin turn as he was passing me. His shirt looked like a crime scene and made me want to place a smiley face beneath the 2 red circles across his chest. All in all a strong run for him yesterday as well.

To round out yesterday’s race, I also wanted to give a big shout out to M4L, Pikachu, and Snap. Looks like 3Alarm had a great race as well and was made possible by y’all helping him navigate the course. Additional kudos to Nemo, Boy George, Lipsync, and Coal Ash for solid 2:15 , 2:30, 2:45 pacing.

One other thing…I’m proposing now that we make Freddy’s the official post HSHM race venue. If anyone has yet to experience the triple steakburger and fries, you ain’t living your best life. Yogurt, UTI, Aquaman, Bullseye, M4L, and Redenbacher can all attest that a 2nd F at Freddy’s is where its at for the perfect grease bomb to complement your PR. Heck, we should book Crosby and Bender Street now to play at this cathedral of burger heaven.

With all the great things that happened yesterday, I figured it would be a good idea for a shakeout run this morning with some much needed stretching. 9 PAX showed, most of which had run yesterday.

Warm Up: Light jog around the soccer fields to the back Ivan lot. Circled up for Good Mornings, Daisy Pickers, Michael Phelps, Prison Squats X10. Lunge Walks and Frankensteins to the far side of the lot. Hillbillies and Moroccan Night Clubs X12. Squat hold while YHC explained the route.
The Workout: A light 2-3 mi run up Stinson to Raleigh, Left on Rogers, right down Main Street. Right on Main St. back to Raleigh St. and back to the flag for Stretch O’ Rama.

Mary: Stretch O’Rama with each of the 9 PAX calling out a stretch exercise for a 10 count. With Thanksgiving coming up on Thursday, we then executed a plank o’rama, while PAX shared what they were thankful for this year and as we approach the upcoming year. And yes.. as Redenbacher was present, plank o’rama did include some “Nipplers.”

Announcements: CSAUP- Dec 7th, Holiday Party- Dec 14th, Wrightsville is just around the corner. 2nd F at Dunkins post-AGS.
T-Claps (Recognition): Outstanding job by PAX all week up to and including the race.
Prayer: Continued prayers for Quiver and his family, Crab Legs, and those still on the mend. Safe travels for all those travel this week for the holiday.

Always and honor to lead. What a day yesterday, not only for F3 SouthWake, but for the community to see once again what what we are all about.

Nooks and Crannys

/in , /by

Before becoming an official South Wake AO, this Sunday morning meet up was an accountability run for Mookie and Deadbolt. They probably met on their own some, but then started inviting others. I was one of the early PAX to join them on Sunday mornings for this awesome sunrise run. So, when Mookie requested a Q, I jumped on it.

When I rolled into the parking lot and planted the flag, Master Shake and Forceps were already chatting it up. Seinfeld’s “Bro” episode was mentioned. Something about chafing.
Warm Up: With the temperature hovering about 30 degrees, we got busy quickly with SSH 25x. Then some right over lefts hammy stretches followed by some left over right hammy stretches. Full static squats, with feet flat on the ground. Arms out front, feel the stretch in your calves. Crumb Snatcher wandered freely as we warmed and prepared for the run. Sporting a new headlamp, she was easy to spot when it was time to roll.
The Workout: The goal of today’s run was to explore some of the details—the nooks and crannies, as pre-blasted—of the Bass Lake Loop, which is generally considered to be the most difficult part of the Holly Springs Half Marathon. We hopped on the greenway, following it around the softball fields and up to the flag poles, then across Grigsby and down the toward Bass Lake. We covered lots of non-HSHM topics on our journey.

Back to HSHM, we discussed slick or icy bridges, hills, and mulch. This greenway will likely be your fastest section. Go ahead and enjoy the speed. There’s not that much effort to gain some speed. This speed offsets the hill climbs you are about to do.

First hill is up to the picnic shelter on the far side of Bass Lake. I explained how to divide this hill into two pieces. The first climbing section levels off a bit at the bench. A short “flat” section to catch your breath. Then, a much longer slog to the top. On the down-hill, again, enjoy the speed. Little additional effort to run fast, but big payoff when offsetting those climbs. Forceps remembered HSHM performances past.

Next hill is from Bass Lake, up through Sugg Farm. Most importantly is to watch your footing. There are lots of roots and plenty of loose rocks. Otherwise, it’s just digging. Shorten your stroke and don’t look any farther then 10 feet or so on front of you. The climb levels off before you reach the opening to the pasture. More steady up hill ’til you reach the cedar tree right before the entrance gate. Once you reach this point, you’ve completed the climb out of Sugg Farm!

Cruise ’til you get to Womble.

Arrived back at the start. Forceps rolled on to get 11 miles today. Master Shake and I chatted for a minute, then headed out.

Mary: none
Announcements: none
T-Claps (Recognition): Nice work fellas!
Prayer: Keep PAX healthy and strong.

Double Feature, Double D Birthday, and a Double Dose of Fellowship @ Dunkin

/in /by

Lots of miles in SouthWake again this week as many PAX are locked in with focus on the HSHM, while some are also tapering headed into this week’s Richmond Full. YHC got a mid-morning message from Pikachu on Saturday, looking to co-Q a 3mi option with some Yoga and asked if we could include that in the pre-blast. With that, a double main event was in play, along with some EC and 6-mi run.

With the extra hour of sleep, surely there would be new faces showing for Sunday’s installment of AGS. This morning managed to bring out a few…

Arrived to Womble about 9 minutes late for the 4mi EC that started at 5:10am. UTI was already in the lot staying warm inside the confines of his Corolla. Pulled in, planted the flag, gave a quick apology for my tardiness and then we were off. Headed up Stinson, then on to Grigsby following the HSHM greenway to the back of the new development and then back up the other side of the neighborhood near Sugg before heading back to Womble. Exchanged some great mumblechatter with UTI on a wide array of topics. As we arrived back to Womble, I lost feeling in my thumbs and instead of stretching, quickly reached for my gloves that I left in the car. Quickly began resuscitating my thumbs by breathing life into my knuckles. Damn it was cold this morning… A balmy 37 degrees.

Paced a bit back and forth and like clockwork in the lot, while Master Shake rolls in and then immediately followed by Pikachu. At that point, a rare Slide Rule appearance starts to take shape. Then Oboe and hey wait a minute…Coal Ash? Quiver got the memo on the 3mi and yoga and decided to join the party. Finally, DoubleD rolls in to start his birthday off right with a run and some fellowship.

6am hit and we were off around the soccer fields for the following warm up.

FNGs: None

Warm Up: Led PAX to the back Ivan lot to circle up for sets of 12 of the following exercises: SSH, Prison Squats, Good Mornings. YHC’s cadence count was a bit quick this morning, likely the result of the cold weather. Butt kickers to the curb, where we switched to Frankensteins to the end.

Circled up one last time for Fazio Arms 12F\12B. Led PAX back to the flag with a squat hold, while explaining the route.

The Workout: For the 6mi run, PAX took Stinson to Holly Springs Road and then onto Jones Park, through Veterans, and then out to the neighborhood that is on the EC route for Paradise City. YHC instructed PAX that when they entered the neighborhood, we’d take a sharp right along the power lines and then circle around to the side street-Arctic Ridge Way they use as part of the Half Marathon route, and proceed back put to the greenway onto Veterans and Jones. When we made it out of Veterans and onto Jones, PAX took the new side path up to Rhamkhatte. When we conquered Rhamkhatte, we then proceeded down Bass Lake and a right onto Stinson before meeting back up at the parking lot.  Pikachu and Quiver joined us for the first 1.5 miles and then headed back to get about 25 minutes of Yoga. Strong runs by all PAX with frequent circle backs to pick up the 6. As we arrived onto Stinson, YHC mentioned to Coal Ash if he remembered the time before Deadbolt had a boat and ran regularly on Sundays, but specifically the time he pulled both of us up Bass Lake at AGS and then decided to incite a jail break up Stinson to the lot.

He says, “yeah- I remember that,” just as he eyes UTI, Slide Rule, and Double D about 100 yards ahead. He then says, “You think we can catch them?” To which I knew I had a little left in the tank, but probably not enough to go full blast. After about 70 yards, YHC died off but kept an 8:45 pace up the hill, but saw Coal Ash get after it and before I knew it, he was running along side of those gazelles. He caught em, and upon later Strava review had me PR’ing that segment. Always get a great push from Coal Ash, especially up the hills. Coal Ash then circled back one final time to pick up Master Shake.

Now knowing what I know from last week, Master Shake found another gear I hadn’t seen before. Almost as if someone clicked another speed on his blender setting for the last 1/2-1/4 mi. Today, YHC knew enough that he wanted to see someone else chase him down at the end, so I stopped my morning run at the lot. After exchanging a few fist bumps with Oboe, UTI and Pikachu, I see Slide Rule, Coal Ash and Master Shake jockeying in for the last strides of their run, with Master Shake having a Glengarry Glen Ross moment…This dude is closing and getting stronger week in and week out.
Mary: May have taken our great group birthday pic with DoubleD. Didn’t catch her name so not sure.
Announcements: CSAUP-Frosty Dec 7th
T-Claps (Recognition): All PAX getting miles this morning with the time change.
Prayer: Prayers for M’s who are expecting, those PAX with new infants. Continued health to those PAX training for races. Prayers for Slide Rule and his upcoming exam on Wednesday. Another year older and another year younger\stronger, special prayers for a great year ahead for DoubleD. Happy Birthday! #respect.

2nd F at Dunkin. Good mumblechatter. Slide Rule enjoyed a fritter. Thanks for the coffee, UTI!

Shaken..Not Stirred, but Strong despite the added Water

/in /by

Pre-Blast called for a 5-mi ‘shake out’ run this morning at AGS. Arrived to Womble this morning and fittingly see Master Shake parked and ready to go. The weather humid this morning, almost a complete 180 from yesterday’s perfect 51 degree dry forecast. Parked toward the tennis courts was a truck I hadn’t seen before and out emerges Martini, fresh off a distance PR at U-Turn yesterday. I know Halloween is a few short days away, and a ghost in the form of Pilgrim now comes into focus. He’s got a half planned and is meeting Bernie this morning for some miles, who is just a few strides away.  Nemo pulls in and we have 4 PAX for this morning’s run at AGS and conducted the following warm-up.

Warm Up: Quick jog from end to end of the lot, with alternating lunge walks, butt kickers, and carioca. Circled up for Imperial Walkers X10, Deep Squats IC X10, Hillbillies X10, Fazio X10F\10B. Squat hold while explaining the route.

The Workout: Shake Out Run.. PAX proceeded down Stinson and up to the stop sign at the Bass Lake Road intersection. Moved left on Bass Lake, past the Dauber Cathedral (Lowe’s Foods). At Holly Springs Rd, we took a right and headed down to Linksland, where we took a right and then an eventual right on Salem Ridge. At the end of Salem Ridge, proceeded back up Bass Lake onto Stinson and then took a trip back to the flag via Ivan parking lot and the back side of the baseball fields to complete the 5mi run.

Mary: Stretches OYO
Announcements: HSHM in a few weeks. HSHM channel on Slack.. be on the look out for segment runs during the week via ShamWow and that determined Aquaman.
T-Claps (Recognition): All PAX for first battling the humidity and then the steady rain that came down as we reached Salem Ridge. Nemo for picking up the six. Martini for following up his strong U-turn performance with his first AGS appearance.  Acceleration alert on Master Shake. During the last 1/2 mi to the flag he took off in a gear YHC can only describe as blender setting- Liquefy. This guy is showing up every week and every week getting stronger.

Prayer:

YHC shared a few takeaways from yesterday’s long runs. OK- Let’s start with that WTF Half Marathon that started at 3:30am yesterday. Insane- Yes. Completely Pointless- No… The story behind this one is deeply rooted in accountability. About a year ago, Pikachu and Skidmark started an AO called Crazy Time, which had a 4:30am start on Friday’s and ended, leaving enough time for some EC and then eventually patronage to Cletus or Ivan. This AO has since been on hiatus, but in August-September, posts of 8 mi EC’s started to proliferate on Slack, which prompted YHC to ask Pikachu the question…”Why don’t you just do a Half Marathon EC.” To which Pikachu responds, “Is that an HC, Mookie?” I then replied with the following, “Not this month, Pikachu, but sometime in October around HSHM training time. Here’s something you may not know about YHC. I am a man of my word and although it sounded crazy, I did suggest it, and to the point that I wrote down that this would happen in October. So last week when Pikachu was at AGS, I verbally HC’d for yesterday as a promise to him, but more importantly as a promise to myself to commit to this insanely early run. In the process, I even managed to headlock Redenbacher and M4L for the run.

The moral of the story is this, it’s only crazy until you do it. Yesterday was a lesson in accountability and commitment. The fact that we had 4 guys doing a 3:30am half marathon was impressive, but not as impressive as the parking lot at Ting as we arrived back to the lot and onto the ramp in the final 1/4 mi. With all the cars parked, I could have sworn race day came a few weeks early. The PAX in SouthWake have always inspired YHC and in race season, like it is now, its a pretty incredible time to witness all of this positive energy amongst PAX to become not just better runners, but better individuals, who accept challenges together and convert the crazy into a commitment to be better men, better husbands, fathers, and contributors in the community. Amazing, Men! I’m all out of adjectives.

Additional prayers were sent for those PAX battling injuries and those training for races for continued health. Those experiencing marital challenges and all unspoken. YHC took us out.

10 PAX for AGS

/in , /by

EC: Fonzie, LED, H1N1, Redenbacher

FNGs: None

Warm Up: Standard Mookie Warm up…light mosey around the lot and  alternating butt kickers and high knees, which then morphed into a set of carioca. Squat Hold while YHC explained the route.

The Workout:

Standard Half Marathon route from Womble to the Greenway, around Bass Lake (counterclockwise),  up through Sugg Farm, and back to Womble for YHC, Nemo, and Master Shake. Yogurt ran essentially the same route after CoT.

Bernie and Pilgrim completed their power testing at the Womble loop.

H1N1, LED, and Fonzie continued on toward Ting and back after EC to get in 9 miles total.

Oboe rucked with breathtaker +20…solid work Oboe.

Mary: Not today, we were short on time when we arrived for CoT.

Announcements: Check Slack and Facebook.

T-Claps (Recognition): All PAX for showing up to get some miles. Oboe for a solid Ruck.

Prayer: Continued prayers for Bernie and his family and all unspoken requests.

YHC took us out.