It’s only Wednesday and were taking Short Cuts already!

/in /by

FNGs: N/A too scared for a Lipstick run
Warm Up: 100 Burpees OYO….or maybe we did SSS x25, Good Mornings x10, Monkey Humpers x10, Butt Kicks, High Knees, Frankensteins, Testy Check
The Workout: The fan favorite Turkey Route.  BTW- the skin under the turkey’s neck is called snoods. YHC couldn’t remember but knew it started with an S.  Mileage 4.8 (Short Cutters) to 7 (Beast Mode Joplait)
Mary: saving Mary for another day
Announcements: Fire House Safety Lesson tomorrow night 4/25 at 1830.  YHC and Slide Rule found out they are both sharing 10yr Wedding Anniversaries tomorrow.  Here is to another 10 years!
T-Claps (Recognition):All the Pax for getting up and getting in the miles.  Shout out to Cowboy for the hard work he has put in on the running! Warbuck as he continues to get faster.  Mr. Worldwide for picking up the six.
Prayer: PAX –  It’s been a really strong winter of posting, new AO’s, FNG’s…  Looking forward to a great summer. Can’t wait to see what it brings and the impact we have on each other and our community.

Speed Work: Yogurt/YHC

Get off of my lawn….

/in /by

Warm Up:  Daisy Pickers, Frankensteins, High Knees, Butt Kickers, light jog

The Workout: You’d of thought that it would be a little less smelly at R4TJ with certain company off frittering.  The Holly Springs landfill continues to give and give.  One of our newest PAX Snap informed us that he had a place along our route.  To which our man Cowboy quickly replied, “you might want to watch out for this one guy we run with sometimes…”  We were then onto our task of the morning –  The Little Dipper.  We had 5+ miles logged in the end.  Lots of good Picking Up The 6 by Slide Rule and Snap. – https://www.strava.com/routes/17536755

Mary: She knows… She knows…

Announcements:  FREE Safety Training at the fire station next Thursday.  Bring smoke detectors to donate.

T-Claps (Recognition):  Cowboy for setting up the safety opportunity at the fire station – let’s support him and the firehouse next week!!!

Prayer:  Silent Prayers in COT but YHC extended prayers to all PAX over this holiday weekend.  Stay safe and enjoy your families.

Post-EC:  Nemo, Redenbacher, and YHC shared some sprints up Ting ramp in Yogurt’s honor.

Snoods

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Warm Up: Dynamic Stretching per the PAX
The Workout: The new favorite route was in play today, the “Turkey”.  Today we discovered if you loop ting at the end, you create the Turkey’s snoods.  For those that don’t know the snoods, it is the red dangly skin under their head.  Good Miles out there this morning 5-10 total.

T-Claps (Recognition): Kudos to Skidmark and Pikachu for 10. Great to see Auquaman and Emeril get miles in at 0445, to make bible study at Hope after.
Prayer: UTI’s Grandmother just had a heart procedure

♪♫♬Ooooh that smell ♪♫♬ Can’t you smell that smell ♪♫♬

/in /by

♪♫♬Ooooh that smell ♪♫♬ Can’t you smell that smell ♪♫♬ Ooooh that smell ♪♫♬ The smell of warmed over garbage and rubber surrounds you ♪♫♬

Pre-EC: Skidmark, did like 4 miles before we got there…  Overachiever 😛

Warm Up: Frankensteins, Daisy Pickers, High Knees

The Workout (Main Course):  The pre-blast advertised turkey and dessert but the smell was anything but that.  The smell at R4TJ was somewhat thematic to it’s iconic name, warmed over wet garbage that the cold morning air easily carried to our noses.  MMM… MMM…  None-the-less, the PAX that made it out of bed this morning (those that didnt know who they are…) readily took on their running challenge – THE TURKEY!!!  5 miles including Sportsmanship Way (Head), Main (Neck – the best part in my opinion), Holly Springs Rd (Breast), Linksland Dr (Tail feathers), Crossway (Back), Main (Neck again), and finishing back at the end of Sportsmanship Way (Head again).  Along this festive route there was accountability, finding Nemo, the smell of burning rubber in the neck/breast region, picking up the six, near-merlot-ing on Crossway, good conversations, and you name it.  Well done PAX, hope you felt satisfied after all that Turkey.

Mary:  More affiliated with lambs… not Turkeys…

Announcements:

  • Good chat about the DeeDee 5k – make an effort to be there next year.  Great running opportunity with 2.0s
  • Lots of Mumblechatter about those things already posted in announcements on Slack

Prayer:

  • Crablegs, Shredder
  • Full House took us out

Post-EC (Dessert): Yogurt hosted UTI for some sprint repeats on the Ting ramp…  Good Stuff!  Come on out and join Yogurt for this Mondays and Wednesdays.  Its good and good for you.

 

R4TJ – Well That Went Downhill Fast…

/in /by

EC – Before: Skidmark

Warm Up: Good Mornings, Monkey Humpers, Various Stretching, .5 miles up Arbor Creek Way and .5 back to the start of the workout.

The Workout: For today’s workout we opted for speed over distance.  Mumblechatter on the run included some unfortunate turns of phrase that really hug the line of appropriate adult conversation but you must of course consider the guys listed in this backblast and really it shouldn’t surprise you all that much.

  • Start at bball court together
  • 10x Plank OYO
  • Sprint to bottom of the ramp together
  • 10x LBCs OYO
  • Sprint to top of the ramp together
  • 10x WWIIs OYO
  • Sprint to Dumpster together
  • 10x Merkins OYO
  • Sprint to Next Corner together
  • 10x Freddie Mercs OYO
  • Sprint to Mid-point on the guard rail together
  • 10x Dips OYO

Repeat 3x

Mary: We wound down the workout by throwing some of our thoughts and feelings about mental illness onto the table for discussion.  YHC outlined the similarities in the workout to how we might feel in life.  We all start and end together.  At times someone is faster or slower, more fit or less, but we have the ability to look out for one another, support each other, and if we do it right we can always work to get “right” together.

Announcements:  Check Slack for the latest summary of announcements from Pikachu.

Prayer:  Pray that we might look for opportunities to pick up the six in all aspects of F3, 1st to 3rd.  Outside of F3 we stay mindful of opportunities to find and support the six in anyway we can.  We pray that those that may feel like they are the six or are in need of being supported and lifted up find the strength to raise their hands or reach out for help.

EC – After: Lipstick, Yogurt, YHC

5 PAX for the Turkey Loop

/in /by

Warm Up: Stretching and other fun things
The Workout: This week we introduced a new route “The Turkey” which was a nice 5 mile loop.  We headed out of Ting Park and went up Main St. to Holly Springs Rd. Hooked a left on HS Rd, down to Linksland. At Linksland we hooked a left to Crossway and enjoyed some hills, on our way back to Ting.  We all enjoyed the climb on the third hill on Crossway! Well I think we all did 🙂

Post Workout: Speed work with Yogurt.  As advertised, M&W at Ting, suicides on the ramp.  (It’s fun stuff)

Announcements: Check out all the new info on Holly Springs Town site around road & sidewalk expansions.  Specifically Sportsmanship Way
Prayer: Full House’s Father- He has been in and out of hospital for 6 weeks now.

R4TJ – Hair of the Dog

/in /by

*Image does not indicate a book endorsement.  Never read it but the cover works.

Warm Up: High Knees, Butt Kickers, “togetherness” jog up Sportsmanship way.

The Workout: Following the great Wrightsville race of 2019 there was mumblechatter about soreness and a desire to continue resting.  R4TJ arrived as it always does an a gloomy Wednesday morning and it managed to headlock a few PAX that were on the fence about getting back on their legs.  What better for those weary heads and legs than a good old-fashioned run.  Hair of the Dog… Am I right!?  We returned to the Little Dipper for a 5 mile jaunt with varying goals/paces to suit.  Due to the upcoming Tobacco Road Half and some time constraints some chose to modify, repeating something similar to the last week’s episode of R4TJ (see: https://f3southwake.com/2019/03/06/r4tj-stay-right-4-wrightsville/)  We picked up a Bernie on the way as we passed Town Hall… Surprise!!!

Mary: Um…  was she on the run with us?  Oops…

Announcements:

A Call for Speedwork:  SlideRule is looking to start training for a fast 10k and would like to find/explore opportunities for more speed work.  Yogurt shared that he has been running the ramps on repeats following Paradise City and R4TJ.  R4TJ is also open to guest Qs and/or ideas on how we might incorporate more speedwork.

Triathlon:  If you havent caught it there is a slack channel dedicated to Triathlons.  We discussed the target Sprint Tri at Harris Lake June 1 and the possibility of some non-AO/direct F3 opportunities to do some training in the pool, on the bike, and on the run (speedwork included).  Join Up!  See you in the gloom, pool, and maybe even in the daylight.

Prayer:  Prayers for Shredder, prayers for Bernie as he tackles his Full this weekend, prayers out to the rest of the Tobacco Road Marathoners as well.

R4TJ – Staying Right 4 Wrightsville, Through Science!

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Warm Up: It was a cold morning out at R4TJ and the landfill was emitting a decent level of funk.  We started by moving our legs for 1 mile at jogging pace as a group (2x around the Ting loop)

The Workout: We sped up for 3 miles at race pace going out and back from Ting to Town Hall.  Good mumblechatter this morning about our goals for the race and some thoughts/tips on having a good race.  DawgPound shared a learning he had around keeping your heart rate down by bringing your arms down below your heart as much as possible during the run.  Flanigan and I chatted a bit about the BRR 9 man logistics, it was great to see him out at his first R4TJ.

Mary: On return to Ting, slow back to jogging pace and turn for the 6.  Once we were all back together and safely within the Ting parking lot, we stuck together for another lap around the Ting loop at that jogging pace.  As determined by science, this was a good run that kept us warm and moving as we head into Wrightsville.  It definitely reminded YHC how easy it is to get carried away when you have a goal pace, I ran faster than I should have…  OK in a training run but it could mess me up on race day.

Announcements:

Wrightsville!

Prayer:

  • Continued prayers for the Courtine family.
    • The family has asked that donations be made here in their son’s honor https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/1443146
  • Prayers for Lipstick’s mother-in-law and their whole family as she goes in for surgery this week.
  • For all of our runners this weekend.  That they stay injury-free and stay safe as the celebrate post race.

R4TJ Intervals – Turn Around at the Dead Possum

/in /by

Intervals as promised. Mumble chatter revealed that the rain about 5 a.m. introduced thoughts of fart-sacking. Hope that no PAX turned around! If you missed it, I have a standing invitation to join me for sprints after every Paradise City workout.

Warm Up: Jog to top of ramp, reach for stars (but keep your feet on the ground), GMs, windmills, lunges, figure fours keeping back flat, classic reach for toes while sitting. Indian run around the usual loop at Ting.
The Workout: Intervals in this order: medium, short, long. Medium intervals consisted of a second lap around the usual loop, but this time, picking targets ahead–estimated 100 yards. Completed sprints to three or four targets (poles, corner, medians, stop sign). Jog in between. No Indian. Next: Short intervals.

Short intervals: Ramp it up! Divided ramp into five segments 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. While YHC was picking out finish lines, Pablo noticed that the blue “watch for foul balls” signs made nice markers. Cool! I’ll use these from now on. Starting with segment 1, the shortest, YHC Q’d the start. Heavy breathing already, maybe that was just me! Walk back down, we don’t stop moving. Segment 2, Pablo Q’s start, man these guys are fast. Segment 3, Deadbolt Q’s the start. We hammer through segment 3. Segment 4, Moby Q’s the start, now we’re feeling it, much longer segment, but the good thing is, the walk back down is longer! OK, Segment 5, YHC Q’s the start. Remember, it’s a long way to the top if you want to rock and roll–Careful not to spend all of your energy too early! Wait, I don’t have much energy left! Nonetheless, all four of us really hammered to the top. Next: long intervals.

Using the remaining time, I decided to run to whatever point enabled us to get back and end on time. Our first long segment was uphill. Trust me, we were feeling it. The chosen streetlight was a loooooong ways away. I walked across this finish line. Navigating the increasing traffic, we crossed for another sprint. Sometime overnight, a possum had volunteered to mark the turnaround spot in the northbound lane. Trust me, this POSSUM WAS DEAD–a fact that was reinforced by oncoming traffic. We ran fast down the hill OYO. PAX choice for the final, flat sprint to the finish. Again, this last segment was loooooong, but all emptied the tank!

Totally impressed by everyone’s efforts. Each of us boosted our baseline level of fitness, no doubt!
Mary: Mary consisted of Pablo killing the final LONG sprint to the stop sign, with the rest trailing. Strong finish!
Announcements: 2.0 Workout at “Wimble” Saturday morning 9 am
Prayer: Diagnosis and treatment for Moby’s father’s medical issues. Also, Moby’s 2.0 was sick this week. Prayers for Deadbolt’s checkup today.

R4TJ – Relay Racing for beach bodies and PRs

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EC: Skidmark and 187 went out for some bonus miles

Warm Up: Windmills, Daisy Pickers, High Knees, Butt Kickers

The Workout:  PAX of 10 formed 2 teams of 5.  The teams were formed to match paces of the teams as equally as possible.  A member from each team was staged at the infamous 4 corners of Ting Park with an additional station positioned on the main road between the basketball courts and the base of the ramp.  The corner at the base of the ramp served as the starting line for each relay race.  The matched runners sprinted from their station to the next tagging their teammate to start the next leg.  As each of the 5 member teams completed their circuits a score was tallied at the base of the ramp.  With each completion the PAX at each station would advance to the next spot.  Eventually everyone got a shot at each leg of the race, with everyone completing 5 races going clockwise around the circuit and 1 going counter clockwise where our runners continued on through the circuit picking up their teammates along the way.

At the competition of the final counter clockwise circuit.  The two teams formed 1 team for an Indian Run back to the basketball courts continuing on the counter clockwise route.

I promised FUN…  Hope it was 🙂

Mary: Skidmark led us in some stretching.

Announcements:

187 turned the big 40 today!

Deadbolts call for support at the veterans event on Saturday at Hope.

Skidmark gave an epic speech!  Most of us forgot it as he was saying it but the standout moments involved our beach bodies and something about PRs.  You had to be there…  In the moment we all had a vision of this exact scene (again Happy Birthday 187 – you are WELCOME! – Apologies and/or you’re welcome to Cowboy, Short Pole, Yogurt, Banana Seat for not capturing you in this vision…)

Prayer:

Prayers that we all stay healthy and injury free.

YHC thanks everyone for their prayers for Benji

Prayers that you can all erase the image from this Back Blast from your brains… sweet dreams 🙂

Edit: Updated thoughts on Skidmark’s speech

BTW – I was joking around about Skidmarks speech and I realized that I did minimize his message which was about a sense of pride we should all have in ourselves for getting up and getting out there everyday. Even in this very dreary week you can see Strava lighting up with outdoor activity as we know many would opt to stay in bed or maybe hit the dreadmill (cough cough SlideRule). Point is we are all individually remarkable and as a group we are more than remarkable. Hence the beach body and PRs reference which fit into his speech better than my own re-hash. As we often like to say, “Good Work Men!”. Keep it up, keep getting better. Hope I captured the essence of the speech well enough. Please feel free to elaborate Skid but the image stays 🙂