Tortoise and Hair

Date: 2026-04-07 AO: Tortoise and Hair Q: Red Skull , PAX: Brown Slip, Crawlspace, Barney, Hipster, Right Said, Chunks, Pearl (Jonathan Halter), Wham-O, Red Skull, hambone, Decaf, SalPal, Young and Restless, Squid (Boise), Angry Bird, Groot, T-Bone, Turkey, Hot Topic, Cheese Wiz, Holy Water, Mater FNGs: None COUNT: 22 CONDITIONS: Perfect PR weather, 46 with a hint of a sunrise
WARMUP: Led by Cheese Wiz who took us through the standard pre-run activities
THE THANG: RUN!!!
MOLESKINE: We had five out of eight 4:13 Strong guys set a PR today, and 7 out of 8 finished below 30 mins. This is by far the fastest class we have had. Next week, everyone finishes sub 30!
ANNOUNCEMENTS: The Standing Strong Dinner is this Thursday. If you are interested in joining us, let me know. We have a few available seats.
Signing Day for this class will be Friday, 4/17. Make plans to enjoy the celebration and stick around for some lunch and fellowship. We will begin the ceremony at 11:30am.
COT: Prayers for strength, healing and guidance

[Tortoise and Hair] Tortoise and Hair

Date: 2026-03-31 AO: Tortoise and Hair Q: Red Skull , PAX: Wham-O, Red Skull, Chunks, Pearl (Jonathan Halter), Decaf, Right Said, Angry Bird, Groot, T-Bone, Turkey, Hot Topic, Cheese Wiz, Holy Water, Mater FNGs: None COUNT: 14 CONDITIONS: Perfect day for a PR if it wasn’t for the locked gate!
WARMUP: Standard pre-run warm-up: SSH, Windmills, Squats, IWs, Stretches.
THE THANG: Partner up and RUN!!!
MOLESKINE: We had a new class PR of 22:59 this morning, and that was even with the locked gate! In total, four out of eight had a new PR today. Thank you for pushing and encouraging the 4:13 Strong men.
COT: Prayers for healing, wisdom and endurance.

Tortoise and Hair

Date: 2026-03-24 AO: The Stronghold Q: Red Skull , PAX: Hipster, Crawlspace, Brown Slip, Red Skull, Pearl (Jonathan Halter), Barney, Decaf, Right Said, Wham-O, Stir Fry, Angry Bird, Groot, T-Bone, Turkey, Hot Topic, Cheese Wiz, Holy Water, Mater FNGs: None COUNT: 18 CONDITIONS: A very cold and dark 43 degrees with a much lower “feels like” temperature.
WARMUP: Standard pre-run warm-up: SSH, Squats, IWs, Stretches, WMH
THE THANG: RUN!!! 3 miles around the 4:13 Strong campus.
MOLESKINE: We had 3 men set a new PR this morning, one of which was a new fastest time for this class. Holy Water coming in at a fast 23:30!
ANNOUNCEMENTS: 4:13 Strong Standing Strong Dinner at Rocketown is two weeks away. Secure you spot be registering now. Once the table is full, the spots are gone!
COT: Prayers for strength, truth and wisdom.
PLAYLIST:

Run #2 – Getting Faster!

Date: 2026-03-17 AO: tortoise-and-hare Q: Red Skull , PAX: Pearl (Jonathan Halter), Brown Slip, Barney, Decaf, Nut Spread, Angry Bird, Groot, T-Bone, Turkey, Hot Topic, Cheese Wiz, Holy Water, Mater FNGs: None COUNT: 14 CONDITIONS: Uncomfortably cold, windy and dark!
WARMUP: Standard pre-run warm-up with some Windmills thrown in for fun.
THE THANG: RUN!!!
MOLESKINE: This class is fast. 4 out of 8 finished sub 30 mins, and 3 more finished sub 32 mins. Our slowest man today was 36 mins, but that was because he was dealing with some leg pain. I expect to see this group all below 30 mins in the next 2 weeks, and that wold be a first for a 4:13 Strong cohort.
COT: Prayers for strength, courage and wisdom

Block Party

Date: 2026-03-13 AO: thestronghold Q: tampalibra PAX: Shocker (Mark Holmes), Pearl (Jonathan Halter), Young and Restless, Decaf, Chunks, Red Skull, Tinkertoy, Ginger, Barney, Winger (Bill Diebenow), hambone, Groot, Mater, Grimes, Angry Bird, Turkey, Puff Puff, Holy Water, Hot Topic, T-bone, Cheez Whiz FNGs: None COUNT: 22 CONDITIONS: Windy
WARMUP: SSH x 50, Squat x 10, LBACF x 10, LBACR x 10, Air Press x 50
THE THANG: Rep scheme: 10 + mosey, 10 + 20 + mosey, 10 + 20 + 30 + mosey…up to 50 and then start dropping reps from the bottom
10: We’re not worthy 20: Thruster 30: 4-count flutter 40: HR Merkin 50: Block curls
Mode of transpo -> Burpee broad jump Mode of transp <- Lt. Dan
MOLESKINE: Prayers for strength and perseverance, shut out the negative voices (internal and external), court dates, etc. Stay focused!
ANNOUNCEMENTS: Chunks 50k Struggle: Endure
PLAYLIST: Heavy breathing

A Time for Reflection

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Right Said, Brown Slip, toga, Young and Restless, Wham-O, Dan and Dave, Barney, Hipster, Decaf, Phonics (Franklin), Mater, Dinky, Mosh Pit, Shred-It, Cuties, Speed Date, Raisin, Old Man River
FNGs: None
COUNT: 19
CONDITIONS: 45 degrees…the first chilly workout of the season at The Stronghold.

WARMUP: SSH, Windmills and Willie Mays Hayes. Mosey to the first school parking lot to continue the warm-up with Squats and Imperial Walkers.

THE THANG: Long mosey to the far front lot followed. YHC demonstrated the cadence for 8-Count Body Builders by doing five and then invited each 4:13 Strong (8 in total) to lead the group in a set of five. Before leading they needed to share something that they had learned in the past 40 Days. Decaf jumped in to share and lead bring our total count to 50 8-Count Body Builders.

We celebrated our accomplishment with a mosey to the back of the campus. Then each 4:13 Strong man was invited to share their vision for the future and how that vision is different today vs. 40 Days ago, and then lead us in another set of 5 8-Count Body Builders. Barney jumped in at the end to share some of his wisdom and gave us 5 more 8-Count Body Builders, bringing our total to 95.

We reversed course and retraced our steps making stops at both locations on the way back home. Hipster had the privilege of getting us to 100 and Wham-O got us to 105.

Once we got back to the flag YHC offered another 5 to get the total for the day up to 110 8-Count Body Builders.

MOLESKINE: It was a great morning. Thank you to the F3 PAX for coming out and supporting our men. Winners of the 4:13 Strong shirts were Right Said, Dan and Dave and Phonics

ANNOUNCEMENTS: That was the last workout at The Stronghold for 2025. Please consider spending your Thursday mornings at greenmachine or atlantis for the next several weeks but make sure you come back to thestronghold in January!

Signing Day tomorrow at 11:30am. All are welcome.

COT: Prayers for wisdom, strength and guidance.

Tortoise & Hare, Final Run…#6

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Wham-O, Hipster, Michelin Man, Dan Tanna, Laces Out, Barney, Decaf, SalPal, Brown Slip, Salami, Mater, Dinky, Mosh Pit, Shred-It, Cuties, Speed Date, Comic Book Guy, Raisin, Old Man River
FNGs: None
COUNT: 20
CONDITIONS: Perfect 61 degrees and dark

WARMUP: Standard pre-run warm-up: SSH, Squat, IW, Stretches, WMH

THE THANG: Partner up and RUN!!!

MOLESKINE: As men get comfortable with routine, they tend to let their guard down and slip into the comfort zone. 4 out of 9 4:13 Strong men were so deep into their comfort zone that they didn’t even hit their past five week average time. These men earned another run tomorrow morning. They will continue to run each morning until they get below their five week average.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Signing Day, Friday at 11:30am. Come join us for a celebration and lunch.

COT: Prayers for wisdom and perseverance.

Finish strong

AO: thestronghold
Q: Wham-O
PAX: Barney, Dan and Dave, Right Said, Chunks, Hipster, Decaf, Sanctions, Cuties, Dinky, Mosh Pit, Speed Date, Go Fish, Comic Book Guy, Old Man River, Mater, Shred It, Raisin
FNGs: None
COUNT: 18
CONDITIONS: starry and cool

WARMUP: side straddle hop, squat, Willy Mays hays, arm circles, stretches (runners and sky/toes)

THE THANG:
– Indian run to far intersection
– 21s (side straddle hop to 21 self count) PAX must end on 21 exact
– 10 penalty burpees. PAX executed well, however a few were heard “counting cards”, the house called the cheating + 21 burpees
– Mosey to basketball court with coupons.
– Partner timed exercise: 1’s with block, 2’s lunging, timed by lunging person reaching partner.
– Exercise Rounds: curls, over head press, blockees, curls (for the girls)

THE FINISH:
– Indian Merkin “Run”
– all PAX in plank position, back of the line progresses forward up the line by doing 1 merkin with just the PAX directly in front of him. Once he reaches the front of the line, he planks and awaits the next man progressing. The exercise ended when the line progressed across the entire basketball court.

MOLESKINE: word of encouragement was that “Leaders run towards smoke” there isn’t always an obvious fire, but don’t turn your back on the metaphorical smoke in your world. Go stand in the gap, run towards conflict, and address issues before they burn things down.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: the Struggle! Signing day next Friday 10/24

COT: :pray:

Penultimate Run

AO: thestronghold
Q: Barney
PAX: SalPal, Decaf, Right Said, Chunks, Barney, Brown Slip, Salami, Dantana, Cuties, Dinky, Mosh Pit, Speed Date, Go Fish, Comic Book Guy, Old Man River, Mater, Shred It, Raisin
FNGs: None
COUNT: 18
CONDITIONS: Crisp & clear

WARMUP: Led by Raisin: SSH, Squats, IW, Stretch, WMH

THE THANG: 3 miles on a crisp morning. Early finishers picked up the six or reentered the circle for Burpees & Squats from 10 down to 1 followed by various planks, including alternating leg/arm raised planks.

MOLESKINE: PR set by Raisin: 18:41

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Career Fair & Signing Day next week followed by The Struggle.

COT: Prayed for injuries, families, and safe return of Red Skull.

Tortoise & Hare, Run #4

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Touchback, Laces Out, DintyMoore, Judy, Hipster, Right Said, Chunks, Barney, Decaf, SalPal, Salami, Wham-O, Bruh Bruh, Mater, Dinky, Mosh Pit, Puppy Chow, Shred-It, Cuties, Go Fish, Speed Date, Comic Book Guy, Raisin, Old Man River
FNGs: None
COUNT: 25
CONDITIONS: Wet, warm and dark

WARMUP: Standard pre-run warm-up: SSH, Squats, IWs, stretches, WMH

THE THANG: Partner up and RUN!! We were teased by the rain this morning…it held off until we got started and then somewhere along the route is started up.

SalPal hosted the After Party this morning, inviting everyone to join him at the picnic tables for some split squats, dips and decline merkins and more spilt squats.

MOLESKINE: Some how we were able to run 3 miles in the rain and attend the SalPal After Party but couldn’t execute the count in the circle. Life can be hard so at least get the easy parts right!

COT: Prayers for focus, consistency and endurance.