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3 Amigos

FNGs:
Warm Up:
The Workout: We ran and it was fun
Mary:
Announcements:
T-Claps (Recognition):
Prayer:

+1 Point #June Challenge

FNGs:
Warm Up:
The Workout: We Ran…and it was good…and we went by crossways on a U Turn route 🙂
Mary:
Announcements:
T-Claps (Recognition):
Prayer:

“I don’t Recall”

FNGs: Not Today
Warm Up: Mosey over to the high school and circle up for warmups
The Workout: Stage 1: Make our way to Buckhorn Elementary School and stop periodically for merkins, mountain climbers, squats and star jumps 1×10. Once at Buckhorn we went to the playground in back with walking trail and partnered up for 1 pax to do the merkins while the other ran the loop, switch, then mountain climbers, switch, squats, switch and star jumps.

Stage 2: Ladders on the way back in Honeycut Farm. 4/10 of a mile stretch where we increased pace from half marathon, 10k, 5k and 1 mile. We did 1 set of the 4 excercises from prior to rest. Then mosey back to start and repeat this ladder 3x
Mary: Clockwork Merkins in a roundabout…. instead of holding plank, we ran around the circle as YHC called out the time
Announcements: June Challenge
T-Claps (Recognition): All the guys doing 75 Hard
Prayer: Praise to Boy George for working through a complicated situation with his house closings and finding a solution.  “never give up” even in our day to day men. Stubs and the family. Slide Rule – there was a pop in by Pineapple and he mentioned his mom passed on Monday. Reach out to our brother.

Cletus: Yogurt 4 yr & 57 yr – Takin’ Care of Business

EC: Abe, Alpine, Bleeder, Cupid, Lipstick, Skidmark, Pikachu, UTI. In May 2018, @Skidmark invited me to an F3 workout. Probably the easiest headlock ever. On May 13, 2022, 27 men posted to celebrate my 4 years of F3 and 57 years of life. When we came rolling in from EC at 5:27 am, I was overwhelmed by more than two dozen men, circled up, ready to go.

Special invitation: Yogi, who was at my first workout. When it was time for my F3 name, after fruitless discussion around Raleigh native, environmental worker, and more, I got the “What was your first concert?” question. Answer: BTO, you know, Bachman Turner Overdrive, who sing, Takin’ Care of Business. Dorton Arena, ~1975. Yeah, Yogi chimed in, Takin’ Care of Business – TCoB! Slide Rule heard “TCB” and immediately thought TCBY – The Country’s Best Yogurt. Ok, your name is YOGURT!

Warmup: 1) Run to top of Ivan lot. 2) Circle up for 57 SSHs. Count off: 27! 3) Mosey to amphitheater lawn area. 4) Jack Webbs to 30; 19 pickle pounders, 19 squats, 19 Catalina wine mixers. (19 x 3 = 57) 5)  Mosey up to greenway, on your six. Guantanamo. Wide range of pushes from nice and easy to brutal by Pikachu. Long time to circulate 27 PAX. Mosey to truck to pick up gloves. Note: Should have picked up speaker too! Mosey to rock pile. Each PAX grab a rock.

During the workout, I missed several counts and received much-deserved grilling. During my days of Q’ing Cletus, I was never known for counting.

The Thang 1: Count off in 1s and 2s. Simple exercise – 1s bear crawl to top of parking lot and back, while pushing your rock. 2s do AMRAP curls for the girls (Round 1), rut rohs (Round 2), prisoner squats (Round 3).

The Thang 2: Circle up in “grassy” lot. Similar to Banana Seat’s and Pikachu’s AC/DC Thunderstruck workout, I used Takin’ Care of Business as the song and we did a burpee with every “Takin’ Care of Business.” That’s 27 (compared to 31 for Thunderstruck). Volume was way too low, so yes, should have grabbed speaker while at truck. Anyway, everyone grilled me for that.

Mary: Circle up on tennis courts, where it all began. Big boy sit-ups, Pickle pounders, Box cutters, Protractor. Have a nice day.

Announcements: #Junechallenge and more on Slack. Highlighter running for Congress.

Prayer requests: Yogi prepared a list of goals at the suggestion of his pastor. Boy George selling house and moving family. Highlighter pointed out those who need help mentally may not be reaching out. Find them.

Message: Thanks for all the F3 support over the years. It’s a real privilege to be part of this group. Each one of you has been a positive influence in some way. Thanks for keeping the F3 SouthWake standard high. F3 is the real gift.

The Taper

There was a vote yesterday between two routes YHC posted. BUT since I drew the voting maps I got to choose what we did despite Lipstick and UTI’s attempt a voter fraud.

FNGs: None but we need some
Warm Up: Count off. Red messed up the count and has to repeat K math.
The Workout: 5 miles on about the flattest course I could design.
Mary: We stretched, somewhat and counted off again.
Announcements: The sweet smell of trash has made it’s way to Fuquay so there will be a cleanup on Sunday after the ruck. It was promised to be the “most fun trash pickup ever.” See LED or Breach. Lawn Dart has made contact with a swim coach to prepare pax for upcoming tri’s. If you’re interested contact Lawn Dart. Let’s not waste this person’s time.
T-Claps (Recognition):
Prayer: YHC took us out.

Was I Missed?

After the callout from Dumbo last week, I realized I hadn’t been to Paradise City in a bit. Well, YHC decided to throw down a “no secrets here” workout, where everyone looped the entire park more than several times. I think around 3.2-3.5 miles, depending on watches, etc. All Pax stepped up to take several turns in calling 10 count exercises at our stops along the way.

FNG’s: none.
Warm Up: Warm up lap around the entire parking/soccer field L loop. Stopped at bottom of ramp, Top of Stairs, Corner of Sportsmanship, Guardrail, top of hill by tennis courts, over by dumpsters, knee wall at top of ramp. Exercises along the way were: SSH, Imperial Walkers, Frankensteins, Irkins, Good Mornings, Sir Fazio’s, Shoulder Taps…all x10.

The Workout: Split in two groups, that ran opposite directions, all stopping at the same spots, to do a PAX choice of a 10 ct. exercise. Two rounds were Indian runs, two rounds were Mosey. We finished a last round together until reaching the basketball courts…literally as time expired.
Mary: built in
Announcements: Long Ass Run Sat. Feb 12th on the ATT…details from Skidmark.
T-Claps (Recognition): Good to see Tetanus back out at Paradise City! Thanks Dumbo for the push!
Prayer: Spoken/Unspoken. Thanks fellas for the opportunity to lead!

3-Alarm Fun Run – 2021 Year in Review

“How did these runs with 3-Alarm get started?” “What are 3-Alarm’ conditions?” “Why does it burn when I pee?” Here’s the answers to your burning questions.

First of all, shout out to everyone who posted in 2021!!! As you know, 3-Alarm wants to meet everyone in F3 SouthWake. Here’s our start: 16-Bit, Banana Seat, Bobby Bouche, Bobby Dall, Bondo, Cancun, Cash Roll, Cupid, Dawgpound, Dumbo, Emeril, Fanny Pack, Forceps, Full House, Gillette, Go-Gurt, Gump, Lipstick, Martini, Maybelline, Midget, Pikachu, Slide Rule, Snooze, Sprinkler, Swisher Suites, TomTom, U.T.I., Wild Turkey, Woody, Yogurt, Yoshi and 2.0s 3rd Down, 4th Down, Flower, Isabella, Slash, Sketch, Vader. That is an awesome start! Good times are in the attached photos. Who did I miss?

How did all this begin? My daughter (F3 Slow Pitch) and her boyfriend (F3 Go-Gurt) were friends with 3-Alarm from high school. One night in the fall of 2019, they were Facetiming with 3-Alarm and he got wind that I was in F3. I had never met 3-Alarm before. They handed me the phone, introduced me, and 3-Alarm immediately said his classic, “Heeeeeey!” and “Let’s go run!” That’s all it took.

Pure Joy – 2019 November 1st Run. I invited Pikachu and Go-Gurt on that first run. It was cold and dark and drizzly and I was definitely overdressed. See photo. I knew nothing about pushing a running chair and barely knew 3-Alarm. But I quickly learned, this kid is excited about running! He would yell out, “Weeeeeeeeee!” and “I’m happy!” What a blast! Pikachu remembers: “My just overwhelming memory from the first run, and really all the runs, is just pure joy. Every time I run with 3-Alarm it doesn’t matter what kind of day I’ve had or what mood I’m in – he has a contagious joy that has the ability to just completely turn my day around!” Wild Turkey has expressed this same sentiment. He looks forward to leaving the work behind and enjoying 3-Alarm’ enthusiasm for life.

Time Lapse – 2021 Spring. Covid had been around for a year or so. I hadn’t seen or heard from 3-Alarm in a looooong time. While dropping off my 2.0 Zumba at Holly Springs School of Dance (HSSOD), I pulled into a parking spot, looked to my left, and lo and behold, there’s 3-Alarm. “Davis!” I shouted. We were both glad to see each other. I asked Davis is he had been running lately. His joy quickly turned to dejection, as he answered NO. Sensing this urgent need, I said, “Let’s go run!” That’s all it took.

2021 Tuesday Runs – Pure Joy. Since early June 2021, F3 has been running with 3-Alarm every Tuesday. Why do we do this? Pure Joy! So much fun. I asked 3-Alarm what he likes most about our Tuesdays together. He says: F3 feels like family. Everyone welcomes me with open arms.

3-Alarm has impressed me in so many ways on these Tuesdays. He has an infectious enthusiasm that resonates with everyone. He literally has fans everywhere. During our runs, we’ve had fans stop their cars, shout out from their porches, stop us on their dog walks—just to say hello. In the summer, this happened over and over. What do you remember about your first meeting with 3-Alarm?

Tuesday Splashes. We were settling in on Tuesdays and more and more PAX kept trickling in. Early supporters included Bobby Bouche, Cancun, Dawgpound, Fanny Pack, Go-Gurt, Martini, Maybelline, Pikachu, Wild Turkey, and more. To sweeten the draw and to make things more fun for 3-Alarm, we added a splash down at the end of the run. By the time we reached August, we had a record turnout in the record heat. See photos.

FNGs. 3-Alarm has a keen ability to make friends and did his own recruiting for the Fun Run. While out walking with Mama Hope, one of his nurses, he met people and got busy. He texted me and was so excited to announce that he had an FNG coming. The following Tuesday, we dropped by Cole’s house. Cole wasn’t completely ready, but joined us for his first F3 workout. He was wearing very thick sweatpants in the August heat and I know he was roasting! We named him Snooze because he loves to chill and sleep. 3-Alarm also recruited Charlie, a 7th grader, who lives in Holly Glen and rides BMX and MTBs. We named him Cash Roll after a BMX trick created by BMX champion Daniel Dhers

911. Things were not always peachy on our runs. 3-Alarm has several conditions (Polymicrogyria, Dandy-Walker Syndrome, and seizures). In late September, the seizures were serious enough that Pikachu, Wild Turkey, and I followed our procedures for this situation. We timed the seizures and called Davis’s mom, then 911. Davis spent a few days in the hospital undergoing extensive diagnostic tests. For the next 3-4 weeks, we had second F instead of running. If we ever have to call 911 again, 3-Alarm wanted to request the specific medics who he had befriended on his ride to the hospital 😊.

“Out of the Goodness of His Heart?” In October, Bondo organized a special treat for 3-Alarm and all of us—A visit from Mr. and Ms. Wuf. See photos and separate backblast Wuf Sighting on Acorn Falls, October 26, 2021. Davis’ mom asked me this question during the October visit from Mr. and Ms.Wuf. The answer of course, was YES, Bondo did this out of the goodness of his heart. Certainly a highlight for 3-Alarm and all of us. Woody: Don’t take that picture without me!

“That’s a big cat” In October the Halloween lights and yard decorations were in full bloom. Wild Turkey did not wear his glasses on these runs or was hallucinating. A giant Rudolf looked like a cat 😊 This was followed by many Christmas light runs through Hilly Glen. Again, lots of fun, see photos. Wild Turkey says the neighborhood lights runs were among his favorites of the year. See my favorite in the BONUS FOOTAGE below. What your favorite 3-Alarm memory of 2021? Reply below.

Christmas Party 2021. Mr. Ambitious requested an F3 Christmas party at his house. I explained that it would be a little challenging to organize given the short notice, Covid surge, and busy schedules. But, all the F3 brothers came through. We had a party of at least a dozen PAX and 2.0s. Pikachu brought the magic hot cocoa maker and we showered 3-Alarm with some additional F3 swag and coffee gift cards (like he didn’t have enough!). See photos.

What’s next? 2022 brings another 52 opportunities to experience the Pure Joy for yourself. Are you ready?

BONUS FOOTAGE

2019 HS Half Midget, Pikachu, Snap. Midget lined up Pikachu and Snap to push 3-Alarm. Pikachu remembers:  I remember hearing I was recruited with Snap and knew we were gonna have fun flying through the springs! The joy that Davis has on race day is on a whole other level. And at Holly Springs Half that day the grit that he showed was on a whole other level too – the bumpy course definitely didn’t do him any favors but he persevered and definitely gave me one of my best HS Half memories (and there are plenty of great ones over the years!). Note that Pikachu also ran 3-Alarm in The Quay, where many of you met 3-Alarm on his way to the finish line.

2021 HS Half Banana Seat, Wild Turkey, Yogurt, and 3-Alarm plus Midget, Matt, and Wolfie. 3-Alarm called out this event as one of favorites in 2021. Banana Seat helped Matt push Wolfie. Wild Turkey ran 9 miles EC. I was feeling good but did not push 3-Alarm until around mile 7 of the race, which was mile 16 for Wild Turkey! Forceps, Cancun, Wild Turkey, Mama Hope’s son, YHC, and others joined 3-Alarm and his dad for Second F at 3-Alarm’s favorite coffee shop, Our Moments in Time.

“Erin, Erin, Erin!” A chance meeting at the FV Christmas parade. This is probably my favorite outing with Davis in 2021, maybe because it was completely unplanned and unexpected.

Davis’s sister and my 2.0 F3 Zumba were among the hundreds of dancers from the Holly Springs School of Dance performing in the parade. We had both dropped off our dancers early and by chance walked up the hill together to select a prime spot to watch. Davis’ dad (Dan), Davis, and I joined a woman who was sitting on one of the built-in benches in front of town hall, poised to see her kids and grandkids pass by in their 4-WD Jeeps and such. “Kathy” shared her bench with Dan and I while Davis positioned himself front and center on the curb to wait. I must admit, sitting on that bench had a real Forrest Gump feel to it. I had a blast just sitting there hanging with Dan, who I had only met once or twice. Kathy watched and listened to our interactions with Davis and was intrigued. By the time it was over, our new friend Kathy was a big fan.

Watching Davis interact with the parade was amazing. For once, I grabbed his phone and took photos from there. Everyone was friends with Davis.

“I’ll email you!” About halfway through the parade, a convertible rolls up among the elected officials waving to the crowd. Suddenly, 3-Alarm sounds the alarm. He starts bobbing up and down and yelling, “Erin, Erin, Erin!” over and over again. Dan and I looked at each other like, What? Davis kept yelling. Finally, the legislature representative Erin turned our way and saw Davis. She was so excited! Davis, how are you? Great to see you! And as she is rolling away, she’s pointing at Davis, twiddles her thumbs like she’s texting, and exclaims, “I’ll email you!” It was the craziest thing I had ever seen. Dan and I were flabbergasted. And I was so impressed. This just showed the range of Davis’ influence. All the way to the Legislature in downtown Raleigh!

One year anniversary

FNGs: None
Warm Up: SSH, Frankensteins, good mornings, sir fazio arm circles.
The Workout: (2 lines)Lap around the Teeter with my LSU football. We had some drops so we had so several sets of burpees, squats & Merkins.

6x hills & a different exercise at the top & bottom.

Shoulder burnout with rocks.

2x flies, front shoulder raises, side raises, shoulder press & sir fazio arm circles.

Mary: Call arounds which were hurtful.
Announcements: Frosty CSAUP, HS Half F3 tent (see slack).
T-Claps (Recognition): My one year & everyone in F3 SW for making me a better man, father & husband.
Prayer: Banana Seat’s shoulder, Hasselhoff’s friend.

Wuf Sighting on Acorn Falls

10-19-2021 “Don’t take that picture without me!”

FNGs: FNGs to 3-Alarm Fun: Welcome Uncle Bondo, Uncle Full House, Uncle Slide Rule, and Uncle Sprinkler, and of course, Mr. and Ms. WUF. When I arrived at his house today, 3-Alarm told me that F3 feels like family—like he has a bunch of uncles. Today, he met “Uncles” Slide Rule, Sprinkler, and Bondo for the first time.
Warm Up: Bondo had announced as early as Thursday, that we were having a “special guest” at the 3-Alarm second F on the coming Tuesday. On Friday, we announced at Kung Pow, then at other AOs, including U-turn on Saturday and Paradise City on Monday. Then, on Monday, Bondo told me we were having TWO special guests! Awesome! I kept it low-key with 3-Alarm so that I would not accidentally spill the beans. “We’re just having a Wolfpack day.”

The Workout: When 3-Alarm and I rolled around the corner at 6 pm, we were pleased to see new faces: Full House, Slide Rule, and Sprinkler. Full House and Davis already knew each other because they were neighbors about five years ago. When we have PAX who are posting to the 3-Alarm Fun for the first time, we do introductions. 3-Alarm wants folks to know a few basic things about him. Specifically, he has several conditions that limit his mobility. Seizures are also part of his condition. In spite of these conditions, he loves to run. And he loves it when the F3 brothers take him. None of 3-Alarm’s conditions affect his brain. Deep down, he’s just like any other 19-year old. Introductions: CHECK!

Lots of other PAX posted: Wild Turkey, Snooze, Forceps, and Lipstick and his three 2.0s. Of course, Full House, Slide Rule, Sprinkler, and myself were decked out in Wolfpack gear. Wild Turkey asked if he had missed the memo about wearing Wolfpack colors. Hmmmm, well I figured he probably didn’t have any—at least he was not wearing a Carolina shirt like last week. I pulled the Tar Heel magnet off his Jeep and placed it in the back. Lipstick left his Carolina gear at home too, and out of luck, Snooze—another Carolina fan, wore a bright red hoodie. Nice! We all hung out anticipating the arrival of our guests.

Right on time, I saw Bondo roll down Acorn Falls. He had to drive past us to park, so I distracted Davis with a photo of Bondo and the rest of the 1983 Wolfpack Cheerleading Squad. That’s right, Bondo was a cheerleader at NC State in 1983—the year the Wolfpack won the NCAA championship in basketball. He was there when Lorenzo Charles dunked the “alley oop” from Derek Whittenburg and the Cardiac Pack beat the Phi Slama Jama of Houston for the 54-52 national championship win. Unbelievable!

As Bondo and his M unloaded the guests and escorted them up the sidewalk, I kept 3-Alarm distracted until the right moment. Then, he peered down the sidewalk and had a look of bewilderment. He squinted. He blinked. He could not believe his eyes. When he realized it was real, he busted out with, Oh wow! over and over again. See photos.

The Wufs embraced 3-Alarm both literally and figuratively. They high-fived everyone else. Bondo and the Wufs gathered around 3-Alarm and presented him with lots of Wolfpack stuff from 1983. The stash included a team photo featuring the star players and Coach Jim Valvano (Coach V), a vintage Pack Power bumper sticker signed on the spot by Mr. and Ms. Wuf, and a copy of the Technician—NC State’s student newspaper, from the day after the Wolfpack won the national championship. Plus, a photo of the 1983 Wolfpack cheerleading squad featuring Bondo himself in his senior year.  And a bright red NC State Cheerleading T-shirt, welcoming 3-Alarm to the NC State Cheerleading community. Wow!

From there, we took lots of photos. While lined up for the big Wolfpack F3, photo, we hear, “Don’t take that picture without me!” from up the street. Woody! 3-Alarm and all of us busted out laughing. Woody ran down the sidewalk and dropped into the back like a photo bomber. Now we had our zany component.

Then, 3-Alarm reminded Woody that burpees are required if you are late. BAM! Woody dropped and kicked out five very nice burpees. You should have seen the height on those things!

What does the Wuf do when the Wolfpack scores a touchdown? Howls Awoooooooo! And a pushup for every point. The Wuf dropped and kicked out some pushups.

Mary: After many more photo ops, it was time for Mr. and Ms. Wuf to go. After all, they are students and have to study. We hung out for a bit more before complete darkness. Wild Turkey and I helped 3-Alarm gather up the loot and head in. Another fantastic 3-Alarm second F. This one will be hard to top!

Finally, after the Wufs were gone, Cancun rolled in with his 2.0s. Always great to have him for the second F here. Today, he missed the Wufs.

T-Claps (Recognition): Thanks again Bondo for creating some memories for 3-Alarm and all of us!

Announcements: 3-Alarm planning to run next week (10/26)

Ask Lipstick about the wooden car he made when he moved down here from NY

FNGs: N/A

EC: Lipstick, Dahmer, Emeril

Warm Up: Foot Trace, Daisy Pickers, Spinal Rotations, Good Mornings, Hip Thingamajigger

The Workout
: 6 Exercises, 8 rounds per exercise, quick 30 second lap around the median to keep heart rate up.

(Lateral Lunge, Bow Draw, Squat, Uppercut, Waterfall Pullover, Z Press)

Mary: Stretching

Announcements: CSAUP

T-Claps (Recognition):

Prayer: Prayers for Dahmer as he is starting a new job.  Prayers for Stubs as he goes in for a MRI on Friday to check on his brain cancer