Remember those episodes of Mr. Rodgers we used to watch as kids? They had a magic word with every episode. Later through mainstream TV in the 80’s and 90’s, shows like Saturday Night Live and Nike commercials featured Eddie Murphy and the “Admiral” David Robinson, providing parodies like Mr. Robinson’s neighborhood, where each provided comedic satire mimicking Fred Rodger’s word of the day. Well, Southwake….Today’s word of the day on this Sunday was…Ready?….ACCOUNTABILITY.

Full disclosure in this backblast in an effort to be completely transparent with PAX who continue to inspire me on a daily basis. YHC put up the pre-blast yesterday afternoon advertising a 5mi EC with a 6mi Main Event. The alarm was set for a 4:20am rise. Hit snooze twice.. Something about those 18 minutes, made YHC feel a false sense of security, knowing that I had enough time to make it to Womble in time to plant the flag and get PAX started for this morning’s run(s). As YHC finally woke, the back wasn’t feeling right. Same feeling from the week before. Surely PAX would understand if I ‘mailed it in’ this morning and decided to stretch instead of running EC. Last week I got a mile in and had Maybelline lead PAX on the designed route. In retrospect, stretching was the logical option, but after reading Aquaman’s FB post on discomfort this week, I should have planned better and ultimately would have been fine continuing on the route.

Arrived late to EC- about 4minutes. As I drove down Stinson across that set of speed bumps I know all too well from Cletus and Ivan EC, I had convinced myself that I’d plant the flag and tell LED and H1N1 that I just didn’t have it this morning.  They were the only PAX with an HC and a planned route that started at 5am heading into this morning. I had convinced myself that I would save it for the main event and even had a line…”You guys go ahead on your route. I’ll stay back and stretch and prepare for the PAX at 6am.” As I made the right into the Womble lot, I see the light up vests and headlamps. “Damn it, Mookie…If you can’t Q it, don’t do it.” And with that gentle reminder, YHC mumbled, “If you are showing up, so am I..suck it up” and pulled into the parking space next to LED’s truck. No more excuses… These guys were now waiting on YHC. It wasn’t just H1N1 and LED. We had Pikachu, Bernie, and Cupid, making a 6 pack for this morning’s EC run.

Asked LED if he had a route. He and H1N1 were doing the escape route to Ting for around 7-8 miles. Perfect. The remaining 4 would follow and circle back when we got to the Paradise City EC neighborhood. I think the last time I saw LED and H1N1 all morning was in that parking lot. Those dudes exited Stinson with a purpose and as we reached Jones onto Veteran’s Park, those light up vests faded to black. Cupid, Bernie, and Pikachu kept YHC honest. As I sat back in a comfortable 9:10 pace, I could still see them and knew if I kept them in sight, I’d be holding my own on the run. As we made our way out of Veteran’s, YHC lost them them on the ‘Boardwalk’ into the PC neighborhood. Light up vests then proceeded back toward YHC and at that point knew they reached the turn.

Made it back on the ‘Boardwalk’ and on to Veterans. Pikachu called an audible and indicated that we could bypass Veteran’s and venture toward Holly Springs Road by way of Rhamkatte Village. Also determined at that juncture to ride on the left side of Pikachu instead of behind, while also picking up the pace to be in front. Something was brewing inside of Pikachu and had enough wits to be above the fray instead of below…At that point, YHC’s back issues from earlier subsided. Guess its a part of getting older and just takes longer to warm up. Made our way through Rhamkatte and onto Holly Springs Road. Asked for a route confirmation… Do we go straight down Bass Lake to Stinson or do we get back to Womble via Holly Springs Road-Raleigh, Grigsby-Stinson?….

Neither. We ended up going Bass Lake to Earp, Left on Raleigh and then Grigsby and onto Stinson. All EC PAX arrived back to the lot and were greeted by an AGS regular- Master Shake. While YHC switched out Hokas, Pikachu made a pit stop, Cupid did some stretching, Bernie adjusted his earbuds.

And….then here it is.. just what in the hell is going on here at AGS?  In rolls DoubleD, followed by 187, Lipstick, SkidMark, Pablo, and an FNG UTI headlocked at Dunkin Donuts after the Saturday Dad’s Workout. Second FNG in 4 weeks at AGS.. Honestly, only in F3-Southwake do we see FNG’s showing up to first workouts getting 6 miles, having only run 3mi ever as their longest run prior. What’s even more impressive is that they keep showing up after and in impressive fashion.. Look at Master Shake- think he is on 4 straight weeks of AGS.

Walked over to greet Skidmark and mistakenly asked if he was ‘Getting 10mi this morning.’ His standard was vastly different than YHC’s standard this morning as he replied with a, “No Mook, I’m getting 18.” Yeah- note to self, next time YHC asks how many miles Skidmark, 187, Bernie, Pikachu, Lipstick, and Cupid are getting on a weekend day, just take the number YHC has in mind and multiple by 2….or in Pikachu’s case..muliple by 3. Good Lord, Pikachu…31 miles at 8:40 pace? Seriously? #Respect

6:00am hit and we were off with the following workout.

FNGs: Welcome, Juul!

Warm Up: Light jog around the tennis court lot. Circled up for Imperial Walkers X12, Hillbillies X12, Good Morning’s X12, Fazio Arms 12F\12B, Prison Squats X12, One extra Prison Squat with a hold for Morocan Night Clubs. One final squat hold to explain the route.

The Workout: Bernie and the additional gazelles (Skidmark, Cupid, 187, Lipstick, and Pikachu) had a planned 18 mi run, which would take them down and up Stinson, with a right onto Bass Lake, Left on Salem Ridge, Left on Linksland, and down Holly Springs onto Starbucks and the U-Turn route. YHC decided to change this morning’s planned route to mirror the first 3-4 miles of Bernie’s route so that PAX could run together for part of the way. The only exception to this morning’s 6 mi route was a slight detour within Rhamkatte for a lap and then back onto Holly Springs Road to Raleigh, Grigsby, and Stinson to the lot. Kudos to Pablo and DoubleD for picking up the six throughout the 6mi route.

Mary: Stretches OYO after the run.
Announcements: F3- Family Cookout next weekend. Sign up sheet on FB and Slack.
T-Claps (Recognition): All PAX getting quality miles this morning 6-18-31 mile distances. Also to Redenbacher, Full House, and UTI for completing a preview 1/2 marathon this morning. Also T-claps to FNG-Juul on his first workout and Master Shake for making AGS a ‘thang’ this past month.

Prayer: COT was conducted before the Main Event. Continued prayers for Pikachu’s friend, Josh whose grandmother passed last week. Continued prayers for Bernie and his family. YHC took us out.

Men- Listen up. I want you all to know that every one of you, those I’ve come to know well these past 2 years and those I’ve met a few times in the gloom..Whether you know it or not, you all continue to inspire YHC. Truth be told, I had no desire to run and workout this morning and is sometimes true from week to week. In fact, as stated earlier in this backblast, I am sometimes totally reserved to ‘mail it in.’ The power of ‘showing up’ is a real thing. It’s one thing to ‘show up,’ but it’s not just a matter of ‘showing up,’ its a matter of ‘showing up’ with intent. Every one of you showed up with the intent to make each other better this morning and every morning I make my way out of the fartsack and into the gloom. It’s what I enjoy most about morning’s in the gloom. You are the first faces I see, and the one’s YHC knows will be there in those times of discomfort (including rounds of DoubleD inspired Coyote Ugly’s) whether its in the gloom or in life. The Richmond Marathon and Holly Springs Half are just around the corner…. After what YHC witnessed this morning, there is no question…F3 Southwake is ‘Showing Up.’ Always an honor to lead on Sundays and looking forward to many more in the upcoming months.