Tortoise & Hare, episode 4

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Crawlspace, Right Said, Michelin Man, Hair Band, Chunks, Natural Ice, hambone, SalPal (retired), bluemule, Focker, Judy, Decaf, DintyMoore, Spammer (Charlotte), Speed Walker, Baby Boy, Light Weight, Five Points, Temper Tantrum, Unc, Skid Mark, Long Way, Trajectory
FNGs: None
COUNT: 24
CONDITIONS: Unbelievable beautiful mid-August morning – 68 degrees and a break in the humidity.

WARMUP: Standard pre-run warmup – SSH, HBWs, Squats, Leg Stretches, WMH OYO.

THE THANG: Find your Pace Partner and RUN!! Congrats to Judy and Focker for bringing their group in with a PR two weeks in a row! We had a total of 4 PRs this morning among the 4:13 Strong men. Thank you to my F3 brothers for such a strong showing and for being so encouraging.

MOLESKINE:

ANNOUNCEMENTS: 9/11 Convergence, The Struggle on 11/1, Tennessee Tussle on 11/9

COT: Prayers for focus, strength and endurance.

NO BURPEE REQUEST

AO: bomber
Q: hambone
PAX: Sherlock, DintyMoore, Pep, Chunks, Hair Band, Puzzlah, Hedwig, CubCadet, Papa Bear
FNGs: None
COUNT: 10
CONDITIONS:

WARMUP: No time to waste–no warmup.

THE THANG: CubCadet requested that there be no burpees + running, and because I respect the most respected members of the most respected AO in Nashville, how could I not oblige?

The thing about the burpee is there is a whole bunch of gettin’ up and gettin’ down. Why not just cut out the extra movement and do the merkin and the squat separately? The geriatrics in the crowd approved.

Besides the running and stopping for merkins and squats, we also managed to get a quick set of pull ups and then moved over to bear crawls + other work near Nebraska Ave.

The closeout was Jacobs ladder with NO BURPEES–just merkins and squats. Work your way up to 7 and then SSH for the six.

MOLESKIN: DintyMoore was late, but he was able to follow his nose to my stank and catch up with the crew. He just knew how to get us.

Sherlock came flying in with rizzzzz because he caught lots of red lights on the way over, but he made up for it by catching up and then performing Jacob’s Ladder like a champion.

Speaking of late, Chunks came flying in on his fleet feet accompanied by Hair Band. He was pretty smoked, but “that was the pace he picked”.

Papa Bear, Hedwig I don’t want you guys to feel left out–you guys looked excellent on the bear crawls. I know you’ll lead some in the future.

Puzzlah I couldn’t notice any problems with the hip. The man is large, but he moves like butter on a lobster.

Speaking of lobster, Pep, I’m really sorry I didn’t have more at 525. Sometimes all I have to give is my love and the workout.

CubCadet, I fulfilled my promise, so even though you may not technically be AOQ, your word reigns supreme and I honor it–even if I have to use a bit of semantics to get the workout in that I want.

COT: Prayers for Hedwig’s 2nd cousin (technically?) and his awesome life and passing. Prayers for the Beam/Beem family and the loss of their child (thx DintyMoore). Prayers for Hair Band’s 5 minute move.

hambone out.

It’s not back to back frisbee when the week in between is cancelled

AO: atlantis
Q: SalPal
PAX: Detective Pikachu, Chunks, sooner, Cable News, Subway, Three Stooges, Tea Party, Hair Band, Toothless, Pole Dancer, Dr. Stoogie (sp?), Lotso
FNGs: 2 Dr. Stoogie (sp?), Lotso
COUNT: 13
CONDITIONS: Damp and moist.

WARMUP: Misc stretches + fence jumps.

THE THANG:

3 burpicides to give the illusion of a proper workout. Then, ultimate frisbee!

MOLESKINE: Call out your favorite moments in the comments.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
1st F: Brew Ruck, Night Movez, GEODIS 5k, Gulliver’s Travels
2nd F: Sooie Party, Hunger Games

COT: Lotsa prayers – family difficulties, work, kids, changes in living situation, career. Keep offering it up fellas.

To Take Down a Titan

AO: titan
Q: SalPal
PAX: Detective Pikachu, Hair Band, Avalanche, bluemule, Pep, Barry Lee, Salami, The Merchant, greyalbum, Sherlock, Planter
FNGs: 1 Planter
COUNT: 12
CONDITIONS: Ripe for Adventure

WARMUP: Quick mosey + dice burpees.

THE THANG: Buckle in. Bold + Italics = critical path through workout.

Your party has answered the call to slay Nashvillia, the evil goddess of woo girls, beer bikes, and unsavory public behavior. She is a powerful deity, so you will have to acquire mighty artifacts and magicks to slay her.

Your path takes you through the Forest of Sir Bearington, a sentient bear with no love for humans. The party druid disguises everyone as rabbits to help avoid detection. Broad jumps!

You arrive to the blacksmith to decide on your weapon, and in doing so, prove yourself worthy to wield it. Do you choose:
1. Realmbreaker, The Legendary Greathammer of the Dwarf King Ulush? – 5 minutes, 11 burpees EMOM
2. Heartseeker, The Mythical Bow of the Unspeakable Hunter, Garog? – 5 minutes of suicides, EMOM
3. The Whisper, The Unassuming Dagger, Which Grants Invisibility? – 5 minutes of isometric merkins

You decide to take your new weapon out for a spin and gain some sweet sweet experience points. You find a nearby cave and stumble upon:
1 – an arch-lich, its eyes burning with hatred as it attempts to consume your soul. 15 Burpees! 15 Lt. Dans!
2 – a mind flayer and a legion of intellect devourers. 15 burpees! 10 Lt. Dans!
3 – an enraged earth elemental. 15 burpees! 5 Lt. Dans!
4 – a pack of hobgoblins. 15 burpees!
5 – a few goblins. 10 burpees!
6 – a single rat. 5 burpees!

Might alone will not slay the goddess; you need magic. Duh. An archmage has lent you his spellbook, but you only have time to learn 1 spell. You decide on:

Fireball – Ring of Fire
Lightning Bolt – Catch Me If You Can Burpees
Snow Storm – Howler Monkeys

Finally prepared, you slip into the grand throne of Nashvillia. You find the temple fortress surrounded by beer-drinking valkyries screaming “Party in the US” and throwing cans at attempted intruders. You opt for:

1. Outright Violence: Burpee-Jumps to the half field and back
2. Stealth. Bear Crawl around Parthenon

You make your way to the grand throne room, and find Nashvillia waiting for you! This is the final assault. Your options:
1. Charge blindly ahead: Field-Long Boo Boo Bear Crawls
2. Work together with the party in a coordinated attack: DORA, 100 Lt. Dan’s.

Nashvillia, weakened by your attack, transforms into her final form: a terrible pink dragon with the words “Venmo for drinks” etched in its side. This is your last chance! You:
1. You realize that your strength lies in friendship, and you move as one, shoulder to shoulder with men you have learned to call brothers: 10 Booyah Merkins, 10 Hi-Five Jump Squats, 3 sets
2. You make a heroic last stand, staring death in the eye as you shoulder the responsibility of defeating this fiend, even at the cost of your own life: 10 Worlds Worst Merkins

At the very end of every adventure, there is a lesson. You discover:
1. The demons you face, and strength to conquer them, come from within you, and that life is the struggle to overcome the darkness in men.
2. Glory comes from not just the stories we tell, but the comrades that can share in those legends.

Either way, 10 burpee buyout.

MOLESKINE: Don’t take things too seriously. Have fun with the hard things. Make every day an adventure

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Hunger Games, Sooie Party, Brew Ruck, Night Movez, Run around the Castle (GEODIS). See Slack for more.

COT: Prayers of gratitude for progress with adoption process for Grey Album. All other intentions spoken and unspoken.

Once Upon a Time in 13 Rowdy Colonies

AO: greenmachine
Q: Hair Band , Black Lung
PAX: Dumpster Fire (F3 Naperville), Pebbles, moneyshot, Hipster, McAfee, The Merchant, Rocket Mortgage, Works for a Guy, Natural Ice, bluemule, DintyMoore, Dilbert, Good Morning America, Cowboy, El Capitan, Wolfpack, SalPal, Hair Band, Sparrow, Tim the Toolman, Black Lung, Esposa, Grape, Country Parkour, Under the Table, Haggis, Strutter, Chunks, Michelin Man, Focker, Fake Job, Late to The Party
FNGs: 2 Fake Job, Late to The Party
COUNT: 34
CONDITIONS: bright and swampy

WARMUP:
30 SSH, 5 Good Mornings, 10 Merkins, 10 Squats. 10 LBAC, 10 Reverse LBAC, 10 Imperial Walkers, 10 Hillbillies.
Thing 1: Burpee Apocalypse (10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1)

THE THANG:
A salute to the 13 colonies.
1. 10 New York Yurpee (Burpee Variation. Merkin at bottom of burpee is a clap-merkin and on up portion there are 2 tuck jumps per burpee).
2. 30 Virginia V-Ups
3. 50 South Carolina Side Straddle Hops
4. 30 Rhode Island Iron Mikes (2-count)
5. 30 New Hampshire Hand Release Merkins
6. 50 New Jersey Jump Squats
7. 50 Connecticut Crunches
8. 35 Maryland Merkins
9. 50 North Carolina Dry Docks
10. 50 Massachusetts Mountain Climbers (2-count)
11. 50 Georgia Gorilla Humpers
12. 50 Pennsylvania Plank Jacks (2-count)
13. 50 Delaware Dips

Run half lap around the track and start from the top. 3 rounds.

Total reps 1776.

MOLESKINE:
This workout was a beast sprung most from the tortured mind of Black Lung
We had 5/34 men completely finished the work out
We finished by reading the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence & saying the pledge of allegiance

Preamble: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

COT:
– SalPal requests prayers for his baby on the way and his baby they just pulled from daycare

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.

The Return of Bagger Vance

AO: thestronghold
Q: baggervance
PAX: Chunks, Hair Band, Natural Ice, Skeet, Shocker (Mark Holmes), Red Skull, Decaf, Dan and Dave, Mayday (F3 Omaha), 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: 23
CONDITIONS: A perfect 63 degrees with a beautiful sunrise. Rumored to be the last nice day for a while.

WARMUP: Circle up in the parking lot for a standard warm-up consisting of SSH, IW, HBW and some fancy stretching. Take off for a brief run which included some side shuffle and skips.

THE THANG:
Meet on the basketball court for some movements to half court and back. Bear Crawl + Crawl Bear x 2, Inch Worm, Worm Inch.

To the block pile, every man grabs a block. Block work included Merkins with feet on the wall, Murder Bunnies, Redrum Bunnies, Blockies, OH Press, 1 arm OH Press, Block Swings, Lung Walk, Rifle Carry, March back to block pile to drop off the blocks.

Meet in the circle for a little BV Yoga before time was called.

MOLESKINE: Good energy this morning. It was nice to see some of the 4:13 Strong guys push hard and complete the work instead of giving up and stopping short like they would have done a couple of weeks ago. Progress is being made!

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Signing Day for this class will be Friday, June 28 at 11:30am.

COT: Prayers for fallen 4:13 Strong men, families and our city.

Tortoise & Hare v4

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Hacker (Franklin), Natural Ice, Chunks, Right Said, Hair Band, Decaf, Longhorn, SalPal, Cabana Boy, Moon Walk, Tealfin, Midnight Club, Clean Plate, Practice?, Night Light, Chef Boyardee, Cruise Line, LifeSaver, Dr. Seuss, Skechers, Double Flush, Pick Me!
FNGs: None
COUNT: 23
CONDITIONS: Absolutely Perfect. 57 degrees with a beautiful sunrise.

WARMUP: SSH, Squats, Hill Billy Walkers, Stretch, WMH.

THE THANG:
Partner up and RUN! We had three PRs this morning, and everyone was in by 45:10. Cruise Line did 1.6 miles with a 30lb Ruck and was waiting for everyone at the finish line.

Circle up for some Mary while we waited for the six to come in. We did PAX choice and made it about 1/2 around the circle before calling “Time”.

COT: Prayers for perseverance, 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.