2023 F3SW TownHall

2023 F3 South Wake Town Hall

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BREACH INTRO

Ground Rules for the Meeting – Show Respect to everyone, Let each other talk, be kind

F3 Core Principles were reviewed
 
Everyone asked to remember our WHY
 
Rough Spots Addressed Up Front – Based on Breach conversations with PAX to this point since becoming Nantan for SW
  • Breathtaker – Seen by some as a measuring contest that was limited to those with the budgets to participate
  • Covid – Division based on and still present since F3 SW AO shutdown
  • June/May Challenge – Competition/Points/Rules – PAX pushing themselves rubbed some the wrong way
Let’s use this opportunity here to discuss our perspectives, work on fixing things, and move on.
 
OPEN DISCUSSION
 
What’s the Problem/Solutions?
  • Pre-covid – more comradery, more community, more supportive.  AOs started despite the shutdown
    • Should we have more convergences to bring a larger group of PAX together more often?
    • Growing number of workouts happening at set dates/times weekly that aren’t on the website, not pre-blasted, don’t present themselves as open to all (undisclosed)
      • Concern raised about FNGs going to these undisclosed workouts, are they being introduced to the greater F3 South Wake?
      • Concern raised about a lack of time shared with PAX that only go to undisclosed workouts
    • Point Countered – some have moved away from Social Media including Slack making it harder to share with a wide audience but noted that there are still some that go to 
    • It was discussed that we have ~472 PAX listed on the website, it was estimated that we have ~100 Active PAX in reality with a split of about 20 in FV / 18 “BlackOps” / 40 HS
      • Feeling was that we are losing PAX, folks are falling out, and our division can lead to the feeling that we are lacking in community
      • It was countered that covid or not, this has always been the case.  People decide F3 isnt for them, cold weather, hot weather, life happens, injuries, it’s always in flux
      • The PAX that arent showing up are opportunities for us to continue reaching out and staying in touch – growing 2nd and 3rd F would mean avoiding losing PAX to injury or workout related reasons for not showing up.
      • Lots of good growth and FNGs joining us all the time – great leadership coming from them too.
  • We used to be more grass roots, less structured – No one person calling the shots
    • Lot’s of rules being dictated down from the leadership team, should we remove leadership and be more FREED TO LEAD?
    • Point countered
      • Leadership team is a model that exists throughout the nation.  Part of what F3 is
      • No dictators in the leadership team just FREED TO LEAD PAX trying to help set examples around the Fs
      • Other than Covid there have been no rules or mandates passed down nor should any one F3 person be able to do so.
      • As in Covid, it was suggested that F3 not officially meet in alignment with national and state laws – black ops AOs popped up, no one stopped them.
  • Transitioned to a run club, covid spurred more running for all PAX and it’s continued
    • Bootcamps are pushing 3+ miles, R4TJ is pushing 9-10 miles
      • Was told that if you don’t expect to bring 3 mile minimum to Paradise City, don’t expect to Q by Site Q
    • Point countered re:mileage
      • Strava shows more experienced runners ‘picking up the six’ for greater mileage at AOs
      • Paradise City is listed as a high intensity workout with a 3 mile min expectation every week
    • BREACH:
      • Reviewing website listings to ensure clarity on what bootcamps vs running vs high intensity means
      • Conversations with Site Qs around working to maintain a standard depending on the expectation bootcamps should be less than 2mi, shovel flags, Q School, etc
  • Did we grow too fast?  Should we consider shutting down some AOs?
    • Discussion in the room resulted in the idea that AOs should self-govern, Site Qs should take responsibility/decision to officially close it down based on lack of attendance/Qs
  • We need to plant shovel flags more often
    • Site Qs need to take responsibility for planting a flag
    • It was suggested that we should have a 2nd F for making shovel flags – DOC and VIDEO examples – these are all over the internet
  • We need to keep up with BackBlasts
    • These are maybe largely unseen but a valuable resource for FNGs learning about F3 and eventually running their own Qs
    • Can be valuable to PAX going to a new/different AO to get a sense of what typically happens there.
    • Can be valuable to PAX Qing an AO for the first time
    • BackBlast Generator is now available to make it easier – Ask SoftServe for a website login if you dont already have one.
  • 2nd F
    • Is in a good place – Coffee is shared almost daily and regularly
    • It was asked that there be more emphasis on sticking around after COT if possible, 2nd F can be open to more with a few more minutes in the lot
    • More social events?  Rush Hour Karting was suggested recently, talk of a 75 Hard BBQ Celebration
      • Need more leadership in planning events, just like 1st this is a leadership opportunity
      • Doesn’t have to be well thought out or planned – Pick up BB games, Disc Golf, whatever you’re into just invite others if you are looking for people to hang with.
  • 3rd F
    • We have always been great about stepping up and taking care of our own – family hardships, celebrating new 2.0s, moves, etc
    • HS Food Cupboard is still out there but they are getting alot of support from the Boy Scouts, less needs for us at the moment
    • Holly Springs and Fuquay Town partnerships have been good for F3 SW
      • Can we shift our relationship to be less about manual labor?  What else can we offer?  Professional Services?
      • It was pointed out that things like HollyFest have been great for bringing FNGs to Fuquay
      • FV PAX were set to be at CelebrateFV but it was cancelled due to weather in 2022
      • We are listed as a free exercise class in Fuquay Parks and Rec – has brought FNGs and made our workouts officially sanctioned by the town so we won’t be kicked out of parks.
    • School Partnerships to find more 3rd F opportunities, improve our relationships there as well
      • Will likely need to find local school leaders – NutCracker has had the Principal at a workout before 😀
    • Parade Participation?
    • Abe is our 3rd F Q
      • Reach out if you need support with any ideas on 3rd F leadership opportunities.
      • Freed to lead, we need leadership in 3rd F and 2nd F like we have in 1st.  If you see something worth doing go after it.
    • 3rd F is organic and is best limited to 3-5 guys, shared bible study or book study
    • Doesn’t just have to be about doing physical good, it’s about spiritual good as well.  Great examples out there today on this too.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
  • We can’t force our way back to the way things were.  Things Change.
  • Intentionality.  We should still figure out who we want to be as a region and individuals and work towards it.
  • Negativity spawns negativity – we need to be mindful of how we talk to one another.  Especially on Slack where inside jokes and playful banter can be taken the wrong way.  
  • Slack – Think your messages through and recognize when in-person, phone, or direct text messages to smaller groups are warranted.
  • If you aren’t adhering to the F3 Core Principles, you aren’t running or attending an F3 workout.

Changing of the guard

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Men,

 

The last two years have meant the world to YHC. When first asked to be the Nantan of South Wake I was honestly terrified. I came home to my M and said “why in hell would they trust this to me?” After some soul searching and reassurances from others, I accepted.

 

3 months into my time as Nantan COVID hit full force and I made the call to shut us down. The world was a different place then, but damn what a lesson in leadership that turned into!

 

Throughout it all, it has been truly an honor to watch our region continue to grow and mature and to see all of the FNGs that have grown into High Impact Men over the past two years. I have witnessed countless friendships blossom, seen first time GoRuckers and Marathoners, witnessed community impact beyond what I would have thought possible (anyone wanna sling some mulch next weekend? anyone?), seen (and experienced) firsthand the impact of 75 hard, and watched our relationships with BOTH of our local towns flourish into true partnerships.

 

Some of our newer pax may not know, but Deadbolt served as our first Nantan for many a year. He was voluntold for the position the day he turned 50 and (I’m guessing) probably didn’t know what he was signing up for, but he stewarded us into official regionhood and saw us grow from 6 workouts a week to 15+. I’ll be forever grateful for his leadership and his ear when I needed advice over the past two years, and I’m confident that both of us will continue to be active and involved as we transition the Nantan role over again.

 

I’m thrilled to introduce Breach as our next Nantan. Many of you know him for his passion for Travis Manion Foundation, for his crap talk during workouts, and for his sheer willpower in everything that he does. I’m confident that he is the right HIM to lead our region for the next 12 – 18 months. Please thank him for his leadership the next time you see him and let him know how you want to be involved as we continue to grow F3 South Wake!

 

Pikachu out!

2022 SLT!

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It is with great excitement that I share your 2022 F3 South Wake Shared Leadership Team!

 

  • 1st F – Fanny Pack
    • Fanny Pack has been our 1st F Q for about a year now and has been killing it. He has an increadible passion for all things 1st F (and all things F3 really). If you have an idea, question, or anything else related to 1st F (new AOs especially!) he’s your guy.
  • 2nd F – Full House
    • Full House is new to our SLT but certainly not to South Wake. He’ll be your guy for anything from a beer to a picnic. Have an idea for an awesome 2nd F that might take some coordination? Drop him a note and make it happen!
  • 3rd F – Abe
    • From 2F2F (that’s 2nd Friday 2nd F) lunches to service projects with the Town of Holly Springs, Abe has an absolute fire for all things F3. He’s your new 3rd F Q – this means he’s bringing the dynamite! Maybe you’ve figured out your D2X and want to put it into practice – Abe is here to help you make it happen!
  • Comz – Warbucks
    • No way you haven’t seen Warbucks all around Slack and all the AOs. He’s taking over as our Comz Q – an easily underrated portion of the SLT but critically important. From Slack to website and even more, Warbucks helps us talk all the crap outside of the workout.
  • Weasel Shaker – Woody
    • Mr. Woody. Quite the fire in this guy and a lot of it is with passion for F3! He’s taking over as Weasel Shaker – a bit of a wild card in the SLT. He’ll be keeping a keen pulse on our culture, helping watch AO numbers and placement, and lots of other things. See something that looks wrong to you? He’s your guy.
  • Recruitment – UTI
    • Fresh off being our 3rd F Q, UTI is working to establish a new position on the SLT. The vision is to identify what needs to be done to adhere to core principle #2 as well as where should we go to spread the word.

I want to stress that all of these men are not in place to be gatekeepers, but rather enablers. No one wants to play mother may I with new ideas, just make sure we don’t launch 3 AOs on the same day 1 mile from each other. Ultimately these pax all have significant vision and passion for their respective positions and I’m very eager to see what they accomplish over the coming year!

 

I’d also like to thank Dawgpound, UTI, and Mookie for their service as 2nd F Q, 3rd F Q, and Weasel Shaker over the past year! When you see these guys in the gloom give them a fist bump and a thanks!

 

As always, it is an honor to lead,

Pikachu.

What’s Your Why?

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Why do you do what you do?

 

I don’t mean why do you have your career, or why are you a runner and not a cyclist.

 

When you look at what you do to impact the world around you, why do you do what you do? Do you serve at church because your M wants you to? Do you go with ebbs and flows and let those around you dictate how you spend your precious time and talents, or do you have a sense of your talents (Dolphin), purpose (Daffodil), and mission?

 

Maybe you’re interested in exploring topics like this. If you are – our 2022 Q Source Study officially kicks off this Wednesday, 0645 – 0715 at Panera in Holly Springs. Q Source is F3’s model for virtuous leadership and is conveniently broken down across 52 topics. Available online here. 

 

Just like a workout, we’ll begin and end on time, and will have a different Q each week. Look for us towards the back, separate from the 2nd F crew. If your schedule permits I hope you’ll find some time to come chat with Dumbo, Dawgpound, and YHC.

 

A few logistical updates while you’re reading my ramblings:

 

  • Tiger Blood has moved – new location is Holly Grove Middle School. This gives us access to a track again. GPS pin. Also a new start time of 0530 for standard 1 hour weeks (every week but the first of the month – first of the month is still 0500 – 0630)

 

  • Tea Time is back open! Mondays at 1900, Womble Playground. It’s a murph (1 mile run, 100 pull ups, 200 merkins, 300 squats, 1 mile run) – time is until the last pax finishes. Push yourself and get good at pull ups!

 

I hope you’ve all enjoyed your holiday season, taken some time to reflect on 2021, and embraced the challenge to accelerate in 2022.

 

Pikachu out.

What do you want to be part of?

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I confessed to our SLT (Shared Leadership Team) at our most recent meeting that YHC has been failing to cast vision. I let myself be reactionary for a while through COVID and then got busy with life. I confessed to them and I’ll confess it to you for some accountability. So here we go.

 

What do you want to be a part of?

 

Do you want to be part of a neighborhood workout, or part of F3?

 

Do you want to be part of a political group, or part of F3?

 

Do you want to be part of a run club, or part of F3?

 

Do you want to be part of a workout group, or part of F3?

 

Do you want to be part of a service group, or part of F3?

 

Do you want to be part of F3 South Wake, or part of F3 Nation?

 

Maybe some of those hit home for you. Maybe none do. Hell maybe all of them do. We are what we are because of our mission (plant, grow and serve small workout groups for men for the invigoration of male community leadership), core principles (free of charge, open to all men, held outdoors, peer led, ending with COT), and all 3Fs (fitness, fellowship, and faith). Not just because of our mission. Not just because we’re hard asses who work out outside year round. Not just because we end our workouts with an opportunity to get vulnerable. But because of all of those things working together.

 

And that’s why we’re part of something bigger than just one workout. Bigger than one neighborhood. Bigger than one political party. Bigger than one religion. Bigger than one city. Bigger than one F3 region. Bigger than one state. Bigger than one county.

 

For so many years I preached against going and posting in other regions. Or at least against doing it as often as Midget 4 Life did. But in age there is wisdom. And I’ve learned that there’s value in staying connected to our brothers in CarPex, JoCoGa, and Raleigh. I’ve realized that there is more to F3 than just here in South Wake. And that’s just another reason why it’s so critical that we align on what we are (and what we aren’t). It’s why it’s so valuable that we communicate in a cohesive way (but maybe minus the Slack stats…..IYKYK). And it’s why it’s imperative that we drive ourselves to unity, not division.

 

Have I screwed this up in the past? Hell yeah. I condoned and even advocated for things that in hindsight only divided us. They had good intentions, but the road to hell is frequently paved with those. But I can’t change the past – I can just promise to learn from it and try to steer our region in the right direction. That is the commitment of your entire SLT – we do what we do because we deeply care about F3 and have a passion to spread it throughout South Wake and beyond. That’s why I was so hype to be at Holly Springs Half this past weekend and also why I’ll be giving to Give2Give. Because I care incredibly for what we do, and I believe there are sad clowns everywhere who need F3 in their lives, just like I did 5 years ago. If you’ve been around a while you’ve heard me say it – Holly Springs wasn’t home until F3.

 

I believe deeply in what we have. And I’ll fight like hell to protect it, and get on every soap box I can find to tell someone else about it. And I hope you’ll do the same.

 

Pikachu out.

Opening for Business

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Men,

 

As I’m sure has been the case for the majority of you, the last month has been tough on YHC (that’s Your Humber Coordinator – aka me – for those that are wondering). I’ve fallen out of routines, gotten slack on my sleep schedule, and despite the virtual accountability and options (shout out to @16-bit for Containment Zone) feel a distinctive 45 minute hole sized gap in my life on a nearly daily basis.

 

Good news is – there are preliminary signs that the efforts of our greater community as a whole have been beneficial. Rather or not you agree with the science, at the end of the day social distancing is an act of love – love for those who are essential and must continue to have interaction for our society’s functioning, and those that are extremely high risk to this disease. Of course we all have our opinions, I simply implore all of you to consider the logic and reasoning that your brothers have for either a) working out or b) continuing to stay home. View things through their eyes, be considerate of their situation, and speak with love instead of vitriol.

 

All of that being said – the Wake County stay at home order has officially been announced to expire as of midnight on Thursday, April 30th. This will default us to the NC order, which allows gatherings of up to 10 people provided social distancing is maintained.

 

We have verified this path forward with HSPD (and would expect that Fuquay would agree as well although I do not know of a good contact there offhand) – meaning that as of Friday, May 1st we are clear to reopen provided that:

  • Workouts stay in groups of 10 or less. I propose we stay above reproach and target no more than groups of 7 or 8. Come prepared to Q every day (we have enough experience that pop up popcorn Qs should not be difficult) and make it clear to any passerbyers that we are abiding by the legal requirements
  • We maintain social distancing – this means >6 ft clearance between pax, no partner work, no shared coupons
  • Playground equipment is still closed and cannot be used (sorry Tea Time – Murphs will require modification for a while longer)

As always, we each work out at our own risk, and it is ultimately each pax’s decision as to when they come back out to group workouts.

 

Remember our mission – to plant, grow and serve small workout groups for men for the invigoration of male community leadership (emphasis mine). Leadership in times like these does not appear as nitpicking, complaining, or criticising the decisions/prioritizations of other pax. Rather it appears as support, caring, and enabling our community to return to as close a sense of normalcy as possible so that we can continue accelerating for those close to us.

 

Individual site Q’s maintain leadership over their sites – please over communicate rather than under communicate.

 

The Gloom belongs to us – I’ll see you in it!

Pikachu.

Planning on Livin’ 3rd in 2020

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You saw the 2020 Leadership update from Pikachu, the 3rd F job desciptions, the pre-blasts about a meeting for 3rd F 2020 planning.  So… what happened?

TL;DR

  • We are going to make 3rd F work like 1st F – Site Qs, Q sheets, AOs, schedules, backblasts, flags, trackers, and shirts
  • We are going to create more opportunities to lead and serve
  • Our goal is to make F3 South Wake synonymous with community outreach and support
  • We aim to rival Fitness as the hook, EHing HIM along the way
  • Site Qs named for our 4 new AOs The Heart, The Mind, The Cloud, and The Accelerator
  • Site Qs are (in order of AOs) YHC, Shredder\Tetanus, ShamWow!\Dovetail, and Dhamer\Abe
  • Next Meeting January 17th, 5:30AM @ Dunkin’ Donuts – feel free to join us!

The Meeting – 12/18/19

Dahmer, Shredder, and Dumbo were the very first to answer the job ads for new 3rd F Site Qs.  We started chatting and figured out that the best time to meet was going to be during the normal operating hours of the gloom.  We set the date, the time, and the place.  I opened the meeting up to the rest of the PAX so that we could get as much brain power and muscle on this as possible.

10 HIM answered the call to sacrifice 1st F and help kick-off 3rd F for 2020.  The same names tagged in this BackBlast.  Others sent their regrets and since the meeting more HIM have approached me with ideas and an eagerness to get involved. :heart warmed:  This crew is astounding!

During the meeting, I threw down the vision that I prepared for the South Wake Leadership team for all in attendance to hear.  I wanted their feedback and to start us off.  This wasn’t a plan set in stone and for us to launch 2020 I needed everyone at the table.  You can page through this awesome and ever-changing PowerPoint OYO – It has changed a bit since the meeting and will likely continue to change as we continue building this thing.  https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/14rcT2XZDKsv2jIorN85W474V0xJVa9p-V8wzzSx7ijw/edit?usp=sharing

At the conclusion of the slideshow, the conversation started and everyone talked about their ideas.  It became pretty clear where everyone fit in terms of their AOs.  If you don’t recall from the job descriptions there is a slide called “AOs High Level” and one called “Site Q job descriptions” that go into detail.  For this post the quick and dirty is that there are 4 AOs to start.  The Heart (Community Outreach), The Mind (Q Source and Small-group internal reflection), The Cloud (tools of the trade and the media front-end to this operation), and The Accelerator (This group will be finding new ways to push us all in 3rd F and driving focus to things we already do for race support)

New 3rd F Site Qs

These are the guys to look to in key areas of focus as described above and in the slide deck.  I will be supporting all of these efforts but these leaders will own their AOs and drive the agendas as they see fit.  Like any site Q, they won’t do it all.  They will be EHing South Wake PAX to take Q through the course of the year at specific dates and times.  They will be creating the schedules and looking for HIM to help.

  • The Heart – YHC will lead this effort for now but technically the position is still open for someone to come on “full-time”.  I think there are a few interested parties and Dumbo has already said he wants to lead up our efforts around the Food Pantry.
  • The Mind – Shredder and Tetanus will be taking point as Co-Qs.  Good ideas already flowing from these guys and I cant wait to find out more at our next meeting.
  • The Cloud – ShamWow! and Dovetail, ShamWow! is very excited to bring the sales skills that you can’t see on TV to 3rd F.  Dovetail knows his way around the a Cloud and is ready to bring those skills to the 3rd F cause.  Updates will definitely be headed to the website and expect our Social Medias to get a bit more attention.
  • The Accelerator – Dahmer and Abe, Dahmer and Abe are already collaborating and putting up ideas on this one.  One of which includes a charity running event.  Nothing is baked but this is another exciting area of focus for 3rd F in 2020 and one to watch with anticipation.

What’s Next

Everyone is hard at work thinking through what 2020 should look like.  A list is being generated of past and new 3rd F efforts.  We are making an effort to focus on South Wake exclusively but some exceptions will be made.  We’ll aim to build a pre-arranged schedule that will include weekly activities (AO Mind Group Meetings perhaps), monthly activities (service outreach), quarterly (not sure yet) and yearly (race support stuff like CSAUPs or Wrightsville).

We’re going to bring all of that back to Dunkin’ on January 17th and aim to get it on the website around that time.  Our meetings will be open so please join us if you would like to listen-in or contribute.  We’ll be happy to have you.

Bad 2020 Pun Title Goes Here

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What’s up F3 South Wake! So a few months back I had the honor of being nominated within the leadership team to fill Deadbolt’s shoes as our next Nantan. (For those unaware, the lexicon defines Nantan as “A cultural/spiritual Leader within a Starfish-modelled Organization who Influences through VAPE.” VAPE is defined as “Acronym for the four F3 Leadership Skills: Vision, Articulation, Persuasion, and Exhortation.” Honestly I had zero expectations of being selected to be our Nantan but I am honored for the opportunity and can’t wait to see what 2020 holds in store. That all being said – these are my ramblings about how I envision us moving forward into the 2020 year as a region. As always, we are at our core Freed to Lead. There is no requirement that anyone, even an FNG, listen to what I (or the rest of your leadership team) have to say here or anywhere else, but after a lot of reflection and consultation with numerous pax at our core I believe it is a good objective list for the 2020 year and beyond!

 

Speaking of leadership team, I’d like to highlight who we have stepping down, stepping up, and staying the same for now. It may look like slightly organized chaos (and well you wouldn’t be wrong) but we discussed after having the entire team start anew at the same time in 2019 that we would like to have some continuity when team changes happen, so we’re staggering our swaps moving forward.

 

  • Nantan (see above) – Deadbolt is stepping down 2.5 years of official leadership (and many more before he got titled) after helping our region get established as its own thing. If you like this F3 South Wake thing then give DB some love next time you see him. Respect
  • 1st F Q (fitness – all that fitness stuff that we like so much) – YHC (Your Humble Coordinator, that’s me) is stepping out of this role. Banana Seat, the original form king, will be stepping in. BS has already lead Q school, yelled at people about form, encouraged usage of the Q sheet, reminded site Q’s of what they’re supposed to do, and yelled at more people about form. Don’t Q 10,000 merkins or expect to hear from him.
  • 2nd F Q (fellowship – delicious delicious coffee, donuts, movies, games, and all the other ways you spend  time with your F3 brothers when you aren’t sweating) – Emeril is stepping down (and in high style after a fantastic Christmas party!) and Dawgpound is taking the reins. There’s already some great conversations happening around even more ways you can hang out outside of the gloom – keep your eyes, ears, and taste buds ready.
  • 3rd F Q (faith – that dynamite!) – Slide Rule is kinda in between. Something about a baby. Don’t worry though, I hear swype text input is a thing for Slack between burps and diaper changes. This guy was the defacto 3rd F Q for a long time before putting the title next to his name and he definitely has kept us accelerating. Our own wonderfully named U.T.I. is taking up the mantle moving forward and already has big things planned. He even brought a powerpoint to our first meeting – the apple clearly hasn’t fallen far from the tree ;P
  • Weasel Shaker (the guy who keeps us doing what we say we do and not what we say we’re not) – Skidmark is staying in this role for another 6 months. If you haven’t been yelled at for not doing a back blast, running without lights on, or any other myriad of things then you must be steering clear of our Weasel Shaker. Skidmark also does a ton of behind the scenes work in keeping an eye on workout numbers and culture across the board so that we grow smart and controlled.
  • Coms – Gump is stepping down after doing an absolutely amazing job of building a coms team for everything from website design to Q sheet input all while keeping our Slack and Facebook habits communications flowing smoothly. 16-bit will be stepping in and already has some ideas about how we can get even more phone notifications communicate even better with our F3 brothers.

 

Give these guys some love when you see them in the gloom – they’ve all sacrificed some evenings (and lots of text messages) to keep F3 South Wake churning along. They’re also fantastic resources within our pax and I would highly encourage you talk to any/all of us about anything you believe we should do more/less/better/different.

 

That all being said – here are my musings about what the future holds in store for us. All for your reading pleasure!

 

~ Pikachu

 

Wow. What a year 2019 was. We became a region thanks to Deadbolt’s continued leadership. We established our first leadership team. Slack is Back. Lots of new AOs. Numerous first time half and full marathons. Q-Source and 3rd F for really the first time in our region’s history. More coffee (and poops thanks to Lipstick) then we can count. Q Swap with our Carpex brothers. Another Long Ass Run. Wrightsville. BRR. Holly Springs Half and flag runs up the ramp. 3rd annual Frosty CSAUP, annual Christmas party, Oakwood24, Throwback AO Week, and it looks like 11 pax that will complete the accomplishment of setting a goal and tracking their workouts throughout the year. Way to be men!

 

Plant

 

For the first time in the past two years we have grown enough in number of AOs that we are not averaging 20+ at any given AO (not to be confused with Any Given Sunday). This has been great organic growth from pax members stepping up to plant new AOs (too many to list) with new and unique offerings all over the place (Kettlebells have become all the rage, Sheepdog offers something you can’t get anywhere else, running continues to be popular) and some rivalries developing (looking at you R4TJ and TBD). We should continue to closely monitor workout numbers to keep our numbers closer to the F3 target of 8 – 15 to allow proper community building and accountability.

 

We have also (deservingly so) gained a reputation as a running region. While this is great for pax like YHC who love to run and are always seeking more miles, we have at times treaded on the line of Open to All Men. We must strive to plant workouts that are intentionally (and consistently) low/no running. 5-Onnit has filled this to a degree, but I envision multiple, permanent options that establishes this side of our community and allows pax that are committed to the no/low running life (or are starting their Fitness journey and need to start there) somewhere to accelerate as well. T-Claps to Forceps for the excellent work on this front with Groundpounder.

 

Grow

 

We should strive to continue to grow within our community. Our 1st F will continue to draw new men in, but we should continue to find new ways to get our name out there and make all of South Wake (not just Holly Springs!) aware of F3. FiA did a great job of outreach at Holly Springs Half Marathon – we should find some active outreach activities of our own to do. We have done events with Hope Community church in the past – I’m sure we can find at least 4 events throughout the year to staff to spread the word about F3. If F3 means as much to all of us as we frequently say it does then we should have no qualms getting 4-5 guys together to spread the word at a few events!

 

We must also continue to have our pax grow accelerate in all aspects of their lives. We do a great job of pushing each other to accelerate in their Fitness (lots of great half and full marathon testimonies out there) but do we meet our full potential outside of fitness? Are we creating community(ies) outside of workouts? Shield locks? Serving together? Slide Rule continues to accelerate us here, and the January Shield Lock challenge is a fantastic start. We’ve seen many of these groups be organically created over the past years – let’s be just a bit more intentional with them moving forward. It doesn’t have to be awkward or forced, just purposeful and value added.

 

Serve

 

2019 will go down in the history books as the year that we gained a 3rd F for the first time. We might not be where Slide Rule wants us to be (guy has high standards!), but we should recognize that we have improved a ton and have grown so much as a region. T-Claps! 2020 should be the year that we continue to serve and be active within our community – we are, and always will be, Freed to Lead, but I envision us selecting the key (and popular) partnerships from our 2019 Breathtaker campaign (Healing Transitions, Meg’s Smile, Food Pantry, A Cure In Sight, etc) and doubling down our efforts (and thus impact) on these organizations.

 

I would also like to see us serve the pax of our region further through internal 3rd F opportunities. Q-Source was again a huge step up for us as a region, but the nationwide effort ends with the 2019 calendar year and we need to move on to something else. The Garner area pax have a great study that meets weekly on Thursdays at 0545 at the Banks Road Sheetz. I would like to see an option or two pop up around our Holly Springs/Fuquay pax – remember it doesn’t have to be Christian focused (and ideally all of our options shouldn’t be). There are some rumblings of new opportunities – I look forward to what our region plants in the 2020 year!

 

So there you have it. Let’s go enjoy our holidays and if you’re in town get after it with those throwback AO mini-convergences. 

 

See You in the Gloom!

 

~ Pikachu

2020 Shield Lock Challenge!

/in , , , /QIC:

Let’s start off 2020 right with a little #3rdF challenge.  1 month long, all you have to do to win is spend time with your Shield Lock.  Winners announced first week in Feb.

First things first,

What is a shield lock?

I think it’s easier to illustrate this with a conversation I had on a run the other day (no, not the one where Skidmark tried to kill me):  Paraphrase here —

Me: “I’ve not seen you in a while, you been posting a lot?”
Him: “Not really, trying to get back into it.”
Me: “Oh, what’s been going on?”
Him: “You know the normal stuff, work got busy, fell into some bad habits, gotta get back into it and get some accountability”
Me: You have a clown car or group of guys who can help out?
Him: “Kind of, but not really.  Work means I have to be punctual so I can’t ride with them, so I just try to show up on my own”

I’m sure we’ve all gone through something like that — life gets busy, things get in the way, good habits start to get replaced with bad ones, and suddenly it’s been a few weeks since you’ve posted in the gloom and a lot of that progress you’ve been making starts to slip away.  It starts with fitness, but quickly bleeds into losing ground on the intentionality and dedication you’d been working on elsewhere in life.

Here’s the thing: we all know that if we reached out and said “Hey man, I need some help, I’m struggling here”, every single guy in F3 would be there in a heartbeat to support.  A shield lock is more than that, though.  Your shield lock are the guys who call you first.   They are the ones who notice you’re slipping and reach out a hand before you’ve slid down to the bottom and realize you need help.

On a more personal note: back when my 2.0 was born, I struggled hard getting back to work.  If I would have picked up a phone and called any number of my golf buddies and said “Hey guys, I’m drowning here, I can’t focus at all and my work is slipping” I know a bunch of guys would have loved to help me out.  But there was no one Proximate to me to notice the issue, no one I met with Periodically to have opportunity to address the issue and certainly no one who felt they had the Purpose or role to step up and say something.  And let me tell you, when your head is barely above water and you don’t know how to handle it, it’s next to impossible to articulate the need for help.  There’s a small group explicitly tasked with that role this time around, and for that I’m extremely thankful.

That’s the shield lock: the small group of guys with whom you are Proximate, Periodic, and Purposeful.

For Dredd & Helmet’s Take on this (which is where I got the above info), See Q1.7 from QSource or listen here: Skip to 28 Minutes

So what’s the Challenge?

Pretty easy!

  1. Get 3-5 guys to commit to complete the challenge for the month of January & come up with a team name
  2. Work out together during the week.  Bonus points if you all EC or one/some/all of you Q the workout!
  3. Hang out!
    (note: “coffeeteria” after workouts doesn’t count.  Need to make an intentional #2ndF effort)
  4. Serve
    “Serve” can be a wide array of things.  A book study, a service project, serve together at church etc.  But, do it *together* (so, don’t count all of you happen to go to the same church on Sunday and nodded to each other in the atrium).
    I’m not going to go “Slack-Cop” on this, so if you mark down “We served”, it’s good enough for me.

That’s it.  Basically, spend the month of January intentionally being with a smaller group of guys.  You’re literally #winning every time you go grab a drink together.

Please note, all of these can be completed in larger groups.  If someone organizes a big service project in January, would love to see ALL the shield locks there.  LEAD something together!

How do we do it?

Let me (Slide Rule) know your team name and who’s in the Shield Lock.

I’ll make a tab for your team on the Shield Lock tracker, found here: Shield Lock Challenge

At least weekly, log your time together.

The Details

  • 1stF (max 18 pts / week)
    1 point / pax at a workout (max of 3 pts)
    +1 point if the entire shield lock posts (this balances scoring for 3, 4, 5 person groups)
    +1 point if all who posted from shield lock also ran EC
    +1 point if someone from shield lock Q’d (might want to start filling up that Q Sheet now!)
    Top 3 workouts / week count toward total (Max of 6*3 = 18 pts)
  • 2ndF (7 pts / week)
    7 Points if the entire shield lock does anything 2ndF during the week.
    Can not be associated with a workout (Panera after U-Turn doesn’t count, for instance)
  • 3rdF (15 pts total)
    15 points if the shield lock does something service related over the month.

Most points wins! Ties broken by 3rdF, then 2ndF, then most Q, then most EC points, then week 4/3/2/1.  Winners announced first week in February.

Important Note:

There was an F3 podcast recently about guys who are “cheating on their family” with F3.  They’re running away from problems at home and use F3 as a way to do it.  The shield lock better be the guys who are helping you address those problems, not run away from them.

Any questions?  Feel free to ask!

Thankful for “More than a Workout”

/in , /QIC:

Around this time last year, Deadbolt reached out and said that SouthWake was becoming a “Real Region” in 2019 (we’d previously just been a part of F3 Raleigh); part of that process was having 1/2/3F Q’s (as well as a Nantan / Weasel Shaker / Comz) and would I be willing to step into the 3rdF leadership role.  Without a doubt I accepted.  So now, with 2019 winding down and in the process of bringing along a Co-Q for 2020, I wanted to take a minute to reflect on the year…

In December 2018, a small group of us met together to try and answer the question: “What does a healthy 3rdF look like for SouthWake”.  A year later, I feel like we’ve realized that vision in a lot of ways (and in many ways, we have a *long* way to go).

Primarily: We wanted the men of F3 to be better people (not just faster, stronger, leaner: better) because they were involved in F3.  We also wanted to see Holly Springs / Fuquay-Varina / JoCo be a different place because F3 is here.

One of the first things we did was the “Slack is Back” campaign.  For those who don’t want to hear it again, skip ahead.  But I think it’s worth saying one last time.  Facebook (aside from being a scourge on society and just the worst) is like going to a huge festival or stadium.  Yeah, *everybody’s there*, but it’s tough to see the people you really want to see unless you make a lot of effort (and tune out an epic amount of noise from all the other people).  Slack was a solution that was like going to a dorm or apartment complex — it’s a little more out of the way, but you know the people you see when you’re there are the people you *meant* to see.  I think we’re finally over it (gif wars notwithstanding) and most of the region knows that, if they want to be involved and informed, Slack is where we can find each other.

Next up, Breathtaker.  I’ve written at length on this already: (Why Breathtaker?  ) so will skip it.

We also had QSource.  This was 52 weeks of leadership training.  We started with 3 groups and 1 is still kind of limping along to the finish.  But, despite not making it all 52 weeks, I saw some awesome relationships being strengthened and I hear a lot of people using the “lingo” of QSource.  So, while we may not have finished the race, I think our region got better because of this.  (I hear it recently got released in book form — I found the content to be extremely valuable in case anyone is looking for holiday reading).

But success went beyond those — our goal was to #accelerate our region, and I think some things over the last few months have demonstrated how far we’ve come.  The organic, immediate, and significant outflow of support for food kitchens for Thanksgiving is awesome — that’s the kind of thing F3 is *meant* for:  A PAX recognized a need, reached out, and we stepped up and supported in a big way.  I know we’re going to come through for the Oakwood 24 in December as well.

Last, I want to talk about Shield Locks.  There’s another post on this coming soon (and a stupid challenge to boot!), but what makes me the most excited about looking at 2019 is the number of small groups of guys who have banded together for a common purpose.  A shield lock might start out as the guys who make sure you’re there at 5:30, but the goal goes way beyond that —- it’s the guys who call you out when you’re not #accelerating across the spectrum of your life.  #IronSharpensIron, but it takes a real commitment to let someone else have that role in your life.

Next Year

I’m very happy to announce that our very own UTI will be taking on 3rdF Q responsibilities in 2020.  We will officially change over in July, but he will be Co-Q for the first part of the year as I step away from the role.  I’ve gotten to spend a lot of time with him this year and he’s got a great perspective on who we are and who we can be (and really, you guys deserve someone who measures his meat consumption in miles).

I truly appreciate the opportunity to lead in 2019.  It’s been a growing experience for me.  I’ve learned a lot personally about leadership and believe me when I say the challenges of this year have been humbling, frustrating, but ultimately very worthwhile.  I know I’ve frustrated the hell out of some of you this year and I am very sorry that my “leadership” has been a source of irritation over the course of the year.

I can’t say it well enough, often enough, or loud enough, but: I truly thank you guys for F3.  Our group is doing great things.  I’m proud to be a part of it and can’t wait to see where we go next year.