Final Tortoise & Hare for Class 42

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Skeet, Right Said, Hair Band, Chunks, SalPal, Longhorn, baggervance, bluemule, Natural Ice, Decaf, Cabana Boy, Moon Walk, Tealfin, Midnight Club, Practice?, Night Light, Chef Boyardee, Cruise Line, LifeSaver, Dr. Seuss, Skechers, Double Flush
FNGs: None
COUNT: 23
CONDITIONS: 70 degrees – perfect weather for setting a PR

WARMUP: Circle Up 1 min late as YHC lost track of time while pairing pace setters with runners. Standard warm-up of SSH, IWs, Squats and stretching.

THE THANG: Every 4:13 Strong man was assigned an F3 man who was charged with setting and holding a pace. The pairings and pace assignments ensured that every 4:13 Strong man would be able to set a PR if they stayed with their pacer.

The pacers did a fantastic job. The 4:13 Strong men not so much. We had two reach a new PR and two that came very close. The other eight turned in a pretty pathetic final run.

MOLESKINE: You may be set up for success, but succeeding still requires effort. The 4:13 Strong men had everything they needed to turn in their best run of the class…the only thing lacking was the attitude and the effort.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Signing Day for this class is this Friday (6/28). We will gather at 11:30am. The ceremony will begin around 11:40am and will last less than 30 minutes. Lunch and fellowship will follow. Come join us and help celebrate what these men have accomplished.

COT: Practice? jumped in to close out our morning. Following the COT he shared that was his first time leading a group prayer.

Tortoise & Hare v5

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Hacker (Franklin), Judy, baggervance, SalPal, Chunks, Right Said, Decaf, Cabana Boy, Moon Walk, Tealfin, Midnight Club, Practice?, Night Light, Chef Boyardee, Cruise Line LifeSaver, Dr. Seuss, Skechers, Double Flush, Pick Me!
FNGs: None
COUNT: 20
CONDITIONS: The summer humidity finally found The Stronghold. It was a sticky 77 degrees at 0530.

WARMUP: Circle Up for the standard pre-run warm-up: SSH, IW, Squats, Stretches, WMHs.

THE THANG: Partner Up, Set a Goal, RUN!! Today we saw 5 new PRs! The runners were “All In” by 40:17. Our Rucker was in by 50:00.

MOLESKINE: It is easier to do hard things when you have a partner to encourage you.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Signing Day for this class is next Friday, 6/28 at 11:30. Come join us, celebrate the accomplishments of this class and enjoy some Hot Chicken and Mac & Cheese.

COT: Prayers for clear minds, strong hearts, wisdom and courage.

Tortoise & Hare v3

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Decaf, bluemule, Hacker (Franklin), Chunks, hambone, baggervance, Michelin Man, Hair Band, Longhorn, Right Said, Judy, Cabana Boy, Moon Walk, Tealfin, Midnight Club, Clean Plate, Practice?, Night Light, Chef Boyardee, Cruise Line, Skechers, Double Flush, Dr. Seuss, Pick Me!
FNGs: None
COUNT: 25
CONDITIONS: A perfect 72 degrees with a beautiful sunrise over The Stronghold

WARMUP: Some extra encouragement was needed to get the circle formed this morning. Once we were all in the circle, we did our simple stretches and warmup: SSH, Squats, IWs, WMH, Stretch

THE THANG: Partner up and RUN!

MOLESKINE: Despite having an F3 partner who was tasked with setting the pace, most 4:13 Strong men took off on a 1/4 mile sprint and left their partner behind. Once we made the first turn past the smoke stack, 4:13 Strong were out of gas and had trouble keeping up with their partner. What a great example that being consistent is more important than being fast.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: The Struggle 002 kicks off tomorrow night at 9pm. We have 10 4:13 Strong men and 10 F3 men that are embracing the challenge.

COT: Prayers for encouragement, strength and consistency

Tortoise & Hare v2

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Thunder Duck, baggervance, bluemule, Right Said, Chunks, Michelin Man, Hair Band, Decaf, Cabana Boy, Moon Walk, Tealfin, Midnight Club, Clean Plate, Practice?, Night Light, Chef Boyardee, Cruise Line, LifeSaver, Double Flush, Dr. Seuss, Pick Me!
FNGs: None
COUNT: 22
CONDITIONS: Perfect running weather – 63 degrees with a beautiful sunrise.

WARMUP: Circle warm-up with some SSH, IWs, Tappy Taps, stretches and squats.

THE THANG: Pair up and RUN!!! We had three 4:13 Strong PRs this morning. We also recorded the slowest 3 mile run since the inception of the program – 59:17. Thanks to Chunks for sticking it out with Cruise Line and offering some encouragement along the way. We have plenty of room for improvement.

We managed to work through a Burpee Apocalypse with an equal number of squats plus some good core work while waiting for the six.

COT: Prayers for family, strength, wisdom and encouragement.

Tortoise & Hare, v1

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Chunks, Skeet, Hair Band, SalPal, Natural Ice, Hacker (Franklin), Michelin Man, Longhorn, Decaf, baggervance, Touchback, Cabana Boy, Moon Walk, Snooze, Clean Plate, Practice?, Night Light, Chef Boyardee, Cruise Line, LifeSaver, Skechers, Pick Me!
FNGs: None
COUNT: 23
CONDITIONS: Perfect 70 degrees with a beautiful sunrise just as promised.

WARMUP: SSH, Imperial Walkers, Tappy Taps, Squats, Stretches

THE THANG: RUN!!! – The first official three mile run for this class. Hair Band set the pace and the rest of us tried to keep up. The first 4:13 Strong finisher was Practice? at 25:03. We had one more 4:13 Strong man finish under the 30:00 (LifeSaver). All in time of 51:28 so there is a lot of room for improvement.

MOLESKINE: Thank you for coming out and helping the new class figure out what it means to run 3 miles. Before our next Tortoise & Hare, this group will have some opportunity to practice their running. We will run penalty miles Wednesday and Friday morning at 0530. Same distance and same course as today. All are welcome to join.

COT: Closed with a prayer for strength, courage and guidance.

Tortoise & Hare v6

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Hacker (Franklin), Longhorn, Chunks, Right Said, baggervance, Decaf, Michelin Man, Bruritto, Yak, Frozen, Westside, Pacer, C#, Triple Sevens, Blitz, Sgt. Meatball
FNGs: None
COUNT: 17
CONDITIONS: Perfect 66 degrees with a light mist at the start

WARMUP: SSH, IW, Squat, Stretch

THE THANG: Partner up – each 4:13 Strong man picked an F3 man to run with him and help him reach a new PR. It worked….today we had 4 PRs and 6 sub 30:00 finishers! Thank you to the PAX for your one-on-one encouragement today. You made a big difference.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: One more run with this class. Next Tuesday will be the final installment of Tortoise & Hare for this class. Signing Day is next Friday, 4/26 11:30am. I would love to pack the house and run out of food so please come join us!

COT: After setting a new PR, Yak closed us out with a prayer.

Workout in the key of G-string

AO: greenmachine
Q: G-string (Eli Kresta)
PAX: Focker, Esposa, Betty Ford, Breadsticks, baggervance, Grape, moneyshot, Cowboy, Deep State, FeelTheBerns, Haggis
FNGs: None
COUNT: 12
CONDITIONS:
Warm, light breeze, perfect for a beatdown

WARMUP:
– Motivator x7
– BACs
– Back-BACs
– Overhead Claps
– Evolution of Man (There and back)
– 5 yard inchworm
– 10 yard Alligator Crawl
– 15 yard Bear Crawl
– 20 yard Gorilla Run
– 50 yard Sprint to the Endzone

THE THANG:
(Split into two teams and each team takes a sandbag)
Two Rounds of both relays

– Team is all in high plank
– one-by-one each PAX does 10 endorphins
– Run ten yards and return to plank (Al Gore when you fail plank)
Losing team does five burpees
Another relay
– Team does slow squats
– PAX with the sandbag does 15 thrusters
Losing team does five burpees

Back on the line for a burner. Twenty yards of lunges, twenty merkins, then lunge back and twenty more merkins.

Twenty yards burpee broad jumps with twenty squats at the end. Return with the same MOT and squats at the end zone

MARY:
– High plank while we went over the mission, core principles, and credo. 5 Merkins after each.
– Slow ass leg raises x20
– Penguin Heel taps x20

MOLESKINE:
My dad wasn’t the most present father when I was growing up, but he was adamant about faith. And one of his favorite quotes when I was being a typical teenager was “honor your father and mother.” There came a day when I was in college when I realized “honor” and “obey” are NOT the same. There is honor and respect in telling your father when he has done wrong. There is love in correction. Even correction of a parent/family member.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Murder mile (no clue what it is actually called) coming up in April
Any of y’all are welcome to come to workouts at the brig where I am AOQ. It’s Wednesdays @ Grassland park 5:45am
Biscuit Run Saturday, March 2. (message me if you want details on either)

COT:
Intentions were shared, prayers were said

Tortoise & Hare

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Skeet, baggervance, Decaf, Long Horn, Woodpecker, D Pole, Wookie, Goldie Locks, Army Surplus, Yak, Lost & Found, Evel Knievel, Sunshine, Neanderthal, Prince’s Hot Chicken, Tatter Tot, Iron Flush, Mittens, Mr. Krabs
FNGs: None
COUNT: 20
CONDITIONS: 36 degrees and sloppy

WARMUP: SSH, Slow and Low Squats, IW, OYO stretching

THE THANG: RUN!!! 3.0 miles around the 4:13 Strong campus followed by some traveling Mary since there was extra time.

MOLESKINE:

ANNOUNCEMENTS: This class will be running in the Dream Streets 5K on Saturday 2/24. Join our team and come run with us. You can register at runsignup.com/Race/TN/Nashville/westnashdc5k

COT: Prayers for focus, endurance and families.

More Hare Than Tortoise

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Hair Band, Judy, baggervance, Young and Restless, Decaf, Right Said, Crawlspace, Skeet, Long Horn, Woodpecker, D Pole, Wookie, Goldie Locks, Army Surplus, Yak, Lost & Found, Evel Knievel, Sunshine, Neanderthal, Peach Pie, Prince’s Hot Chicken, Tatter Tot, Iron Flush, Mittens, Mr. Krabs
FNGs: None
COUNT: 26
CONDITIONS: 39 Degrees

WARMUP: Long warmup led by Neanderthal

THE THANG: 3 miles around the 4:13 Strong campus. A new class record was set as well as some individual PRs.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: This class will be running in the Dream Streets 5K on Feb 24. Join the 4:13 Strong team and come run with us.

Discern the signs

AO: thestronghold
Q: morning star
PAX: Chunks, Skeet, Minnie Pearl, Wolfpack, baggervance, Dan and Dave, Decaf, Shocker (Mark Holmes), Red Skull, morning star, Woodpecker, D Pole, Wookie, Goldie Locks, Army Surplus, Yak, Frozen, Lost & Found, Evel Knievel, Sunshine, Neanderthal, Peach Pie, Prince’s Hot Chicken, Tatter Tot, Iron Flush, Mittens, Mr. Krabs, Long Horn, Bill Dance(?), Dantana, Cat Man
FNGs: 1 Cat Man
COUNT: 29
CONDITIONS: high 20’s and lively

5:30 – disclaimer given … YHC asked men to raise their hands if they were willing to take personal responsibility for their own safety. Modify as necessary.

WARMUP: mosey to the light, circle up … motivator x5, lazy imperial walkers x10, hard style low slow squats x11

YHC taught PAX how to do fast and loose drills (active recovery) … dubbed “Mickey’s” or “Soviet Sprinter Shakes” … the idea is to shake the tension out of your limbs as if you were shaking water off after a shower.

THE THANG: partner up and stay in a circle. 11 seconds of jump squats, then 49 seconds of active recovery …. for 30 minutes. pairs take turns carrying coupons around the basketball counts, completing 5 supermans between the far two goals.

PAX were instructed to transition from jump squats to SSH if they experienced 1 of 2 signs: lots their power on the jump or had trouble singing along/talking between sets of squats.

It was long and monotonous and we passed our time by encouraging each other, signing along with “Lean on me” (which was on repeat). The challenge was to stay mentally engaged the whole time; powerful jump squats and constant movement during active recovery.

Mary: baby crawl, bear crawl, cat crawl, imperial walkers, skipping … all done while moving in a circle.

MOLESKIN: YHC shared the story of when my mom kicked my dad out of our apartment when I was 13. Talked about how that flipped my world upside down. I cried myself to sleep that night, lonely and afraid. Ultimately my parents got divorced and my adolescence was an experience of me being emotionally orphaned; there was not a place in my home for my heart to express itself or grow in maturity.

YHC shared how I used to avoid my past, the painful memories and even grew to despise my story.

However, as I’ve leaned to go back to those traumatic moments, bring them into the light, share them with others … I’ve found the capacity to offer grace, kindness and tenderness to parts of my heart that were frozen in time. As I practice this, I grow in resilience.

Just as we had 2 signs that we used to transition exercises during the workout we also have signs that our heart and body gifts us with: emotions. Each emotion I experience can be a doorway into my story. And if I discern it and go back with curiosity and kindness I have an opportunity to find healing and ultimately grow in maturity.

New approach to consider: we accelerate our capacity to do hard things not by gritting our teeth but by offering tenderness to our hearts.

So, go forth and do the hard internal work … do it with a guide (a trusted friend or mentor or counselor) and see your maturity advance!

YCH blessed the PAX and we ended with “Heart on 3”.

Was wonderful to finally make it out to the stronghold.
– m out!