Tortoise & Hare, Episode 5

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Crawlspace, Right Said, Michelin Man, Focker, hambone, Longhorn, Decaf, Young and Restless, Chunks, Speed Walker, Baby Boy, Light Weight, Five Points, Temper Tantrum, Skid Mark, Long Way, Trajectory
FNGs: None
COUNT: 18
CONDITIONS: 66 degrees – a perfect morning for a run

WARMUP: Five Points led us through the warm up this morning. SSH, IWs, Squats, Leg Stretch, WMHs

THE THANG: Find your Pace Group and RUN!!! We had two PRs this morning: Temper Tantrum at 26:40 and Five Points with a new PR and class record 25:36. This is the fifth consecutive run that Five Points has brought home a new PR!

MOLESKINE: The F3 participation in our morning runs is making such a huge difference. I don’t think that we have ever had a class with so many sub 30 runners.

Next Tuesday is the final run with this class. I am expecting to see 8 PRs to close down this installment of Tortoise & Hare. Make plans to join us for the final run.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Signing Day for this class is Friday, 8/30 at 11:30am. Join us for this fun celebration and stick around for a great lunch.

COT: Prayers for strength, endurance and thanks for new life.

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.

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 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, 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.

Final Tortoise & Hare for Class 2

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Chunks, Right Said, bluemule, Decaf, Michelin Man, Longhorn, Skeet, Hacker (Franklin), Detective Pikachu, John Deere, Yak, Frozen, Westside, Pacer, C#, Triple Sevens, Blitz, Sgt Meatball
FNGs: None
COUNT: 19
CONDITIONS: A perfect morning for a run. 43 degrees, a beautiful sunrise, a train and a locked gate.

WARMUP: Westside took us through our warmup – SSH, IW, Stretches, Squats and Tappy-Taps

THE THANG: Pair up – each 4:13 Strong man picked an F3 running partner and set a goal time for the run. The pairings seemed to work well as today was our fastest run of the class. We were “All In” by 34:00 with 7 out of 8 4:13 Strong men setting a new PR.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Signing Day is this Friday, 11:30am. Come celebrate what these men have accomplished and stick around for some lunch and fellowship. It is one of the best ways to spend your Friday lunch hour.

COT: Red Skull closed with a prayer.

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.