The Final Tortoise & Hare

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Crawlspace, Right Said, Chunks, Michelin Man, Focker, tampalibra, hambone, Judy, Young and Restless, Skechers, Speed Walker, Baby Boy, Light Weight, Five Points, Temper Tantrum, Skid Mark, Long Way, Trajectory
FNGs: None
COUNT: 19
CONDITIONS: 72 degrees – perfect running weather!

WARMUP: Standard T&H warmup routine – SSH, IWs Squats, Leg Stretches

THE THANG: Partner up and RUN!!! Five PRs this morning and two others beat their six week average time. Overall a great effort by this group of determined men.

MOLESKINE: It is always easier to do hard things when you are doing it with someone else. Thank you for the consistency in coming out to run with this class. It made a huge difference. I think this is the fastest class we have ever had, and a lot of that credit goes to the running partners that encouraged the 4:13 Strong men to keep going.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Signing Day is this Friday, 8/30 at 11:30am. All are welcome. It is a fun way to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of these 8 men.

Reminder – No Tortoise & Hare for the next 3 weeks. We will have our first run with a brand new class on Tuesday, 9/24

COT: Skid Mark closed us out in prayer this morning.

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.

Tortoise & Hare, Episode 3 of 6

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Decaf, Young and Restless, bluemule, Chunks, hambone, Focker, Natural Ice, Michelin Man, Longhorn, Judy, Right Said, Crawlspace, SalPal (retired), Speed Walker, Baby Boy, Light Weight, Five Points, Temper Tantrum, Unc, Tampax, Skid Mark, Long Way, Trajectory
FNGs: None
COUNT: 24
CONDITIONS: 73 degrees, low humidity, beautiful sunrise – a perfect day for a run.

WARMUP: Assign PAX to their pace groups and begin the standard warmup – SSH, Squats, HBWs, Stretches

THE THANG: Every man was assigned a group to run with. It was the task of each man to stay with the assigned group. Doing so would ensure a Personal Record time for every 4:13 Strong man. Four were successful, six could not do it.

Congrats to Speed Walker (25:49), Five Points (26.23), Baby Boy (26:27) and Temper Tantrum (28:58).

Thank you to all of my Pacers for setting and holding the bar.

MOLESKINE: The 4:13 Strong men are in week 4. This has traditionally been the hardest week of the 40 Day, not because we do anything different, but because the men become comfortable and over confident. Please keep the 4:13 Strong men in your prayers this week…they all need it!

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Signing Day for this class will be Friday 8/30 at 11:30am. Join us, help celebrate what our men have accomplished and enjoy a delicious lunch of Hot Chicken with Mac & Cheese.

COT: Prayers for strength, healing and endurance.

Tortoise & Hare – Run 2

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Decaf, Chunks, Crawlspace, Longhorn, Judy, SalPal, Right Said, Michelin Man, hambone, Focker, bluemule, Detective Pikachu, Parkman, Speed Walker, Baby Boy, Light Weight, Five Points, Temper Tantrum, Peso, Unc, Tampax, Skid Mark, Ling Way, Soft Soap, Trajectory
FNGs: None
COUNT: 26
CONDITIONS: Cool 79 degrees with 87% humidity. It was hard to tell if we were running or swimming.

WARMUP: Oval Up…SSH, Squats, IWs, Stretches

THE THANG: RUN!! 3 miles around the campus. Crawlspace took off and wasn’t seen again until the finish line. 8 of our 12 4:13 Strong men set PRs this morning! We were “all in” in 41:22. It was a great morning of encouragement and hard work. Thank you SalPal and Michelin Man for providing the entertainment while the six worked his way to the finish line.

MOLESKINE: Thank you to all the F3 support this morning! You all have no idea the magnitude of the impact your presence has on the 4:13 Strong men. Keep coming back!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

COT: Baby Boy took over the COT and closed us out with a prayer of gratitude.

Tortoise & Hare, ep 1

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Right Said, Chunks, bluemule, Michelin Man, Focker, Natural Ice, SalPal, Decaf, Longhorn, Judy, Duncan (F3 Waxhaw), Speed Walker, Baby Boy, Light Weight, Five Points, Temper Tantrum, Bumble Bee, Peso, Unc, Tampax, Skid Mark, Long Way, Soft Soap, Trajectory
FNGs: None
COUNT: 25
CONDITIONS: 73 degrees and very humid

WARMUP: SSH, Squats, IWs, Right over Left, Left over Right, WMH

THE THANG: RUN!! The first 3 mile run for the new class and for some of our F3 PAX. The 4:13 Strong men started of in a sprint and made it to the first turn before they started walking. We had a fast finish of 26:15 and an “all in” time of 38:34. Not bad for the first run. We will do one more run before breaking into Pace Groups.

Thank you Michelin Man for leading the wrap up exercises as we brought in the six.

MOLESKINE: Thank you to my F3 brothers for coming out this morning. Your presence makes a huge difference for the 4:13 Strong men.

COT: Prayers for strength, wisdom, courage and endurance.

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

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: bluemule, Hacker (Franklin), Skeet, Longhorn, Decaf, Judy, Chunks, Buritto (Franklin), Yak, Frozen, Westside, Pacer, Trajectory, C#, Triple 7s, Blitz, Sgt Meatball
FNGs: None
COUNT: 18
CONDITIONS: perfect running weather – 63 and no rain!

WARMUP: Yak took us through a warm up which included SSH, IW, and a little stretching.

THE THANG: RUN!!! 3 miles around the campus. No train, no rain, a little pain. We have multiple PRs this morning – 5 from the 4:13 Strong guys and a couple from the F3 crowd. Overall, a great morning at The Stronghold.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: The 4:13 Strong annual fundraiser is this Thursday. Several of our men will be on the stage sharing a testimony or performing some original music. It is going to be a great night!

COT: Yak closed us with a prayer.

Tortoise & Hare v3

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Hacker (Franklin), Chunks, Judy, Decaf, Longhorn, Popper (DR from Alpha), Yak, Frozen, Westside, Pacer, Trajectory, C#, Triple Seven, Blitz, Sgt Meatball
FNGs: None
COUNT: 16
CONDITIONS: Windy, 72 degrees with occasional rain drops…perfect weather for a PR!

WARMUP: SSH, Slow & Low Squat, IW, Right/Left Stretch, WMH

THE THANG:
RUN!! We took the normal 3 mile route. No route disruptions encountered today.

Plenty of time for some Mary while waiting for the six. Mary included burpees, SSH, lunges and more burpees before dropping to the ground for some flutter kicks, prom dates and hello dolly’s

MOLESKINE:
We are in week four…the hardest week of the 40-Day Challenge. The 4:13 Strong men were invited to dig deep and keep pushing. A positive attitude and an honest effort is all it tasks to stay on track.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
4:13 Strong is headed to Franklin on Saturday to help defend the flag. Join us at The Armada at 6:30am and help keep Alabama from going home with our flag.

COT: Prayers for strength, wisdom and courage

Tortoise & Hare

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Crawlspace, Hacker (Franklin), Michelin Man, Chunks, Judy, Decaf, Army Surplus, Yak, Frozen, Westside, Pacer, Trajectory, C Sharp, Triple Sevens, Blitz, Sgt Meatball, Training Wheels
FNGs: 1 Training Wheels
COUNT: 18
CONDITIONS: Wet and Soggy

WARMUP: SSH, IW, Squat, Leg Stretch, WMH

THE THANG: A perfect day at The Stronghold. The wet weather created a little adversity which provided the opportunity for us all to choose between an attitude of joy or frustration. The train created a disruption that allowed us all the chance to choose between doing the right harder thing or taking an easier shortcut.

MOLESKINE: Over the past week, we have let five men go from this current class (from 15 to 10) as we continue to weed out those that are not yet ready to take this opportunity seriously. Those five men are now back in uncomfortable, unsafe and even dangerous situations. Hopefully we will see those men come back and try again with a future class.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: The Tennessee vs. Alabama showdown is less that two weeks away. Help TN defend the flag by showing up on Saturday 4/6, 6:30am at Pinkerton Park in Franklin. Check middle-tn for more details.

COT: Prayers for the men at 4:13 Strong and for those that are no longer with us.