Tortoise & Hare, Run #5

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Barney, Decaf, SalPal, Hair Band, Crawlspace, bluemule, Michelin Man, Wham-O, Young and Restless, Sunshine (Willy Lomam – Austin), Toss & Catch, Old Maid, Step Back, Beyonce, Puppy Chow, Purple Rain, Napleon, 1 Star, Black Jack, Cow Pie, Cool Runnings, Clorox, Big Mama, Allan Horner (Pepper Potts), Ben Blaney (Baby Bop)
FNGs: 2 Allan Horner (Pepper Potts), Ben Blaney (Baby Bop)
COUNT: 26
CONDITIONS: 77 degrees and high humidity

WARMUP: Regular pre-run warm-up routine – SSH, Windmills, Squats, Hillbilly’s, stretches, WMH and others needed stretches OYO.

THE THANG: Partner up and RUN!!! We had two men set a PR today – Cool Runnings and Step Back. This marks the 3rd PR in a row for both of them which has earned them a PR or ER shirt from All Out Running Co, courtesy of Chunks

MOLESKINE: Like most weeks, the 4:13 Strong men started with an all out sprint and ran out of gas well before the barn. A couple have learned to pace themselves, but most still start too fast and burn out well before the finish line….just like they approach life. Sometimes the key to going fast and far is to slow down.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Signing Day is Friday 8/22, 11:30am. Start making plans to join us for this special celebration. Lunch is included!

COT: Prayers for love, joy, peace, patients, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.

90’s Summer Morning Beatdown

AO: thestronghold
Q: Hipster
PAX: Tebow, Pearl (Jonathan Halter), tampalibra, Red Skull, Dan and Dave, Right Said, Barney, toga, Chunks, Natural Ice, Purple Tiger, Young and Restless, Decaf, Wham-O, Napoleon, Step Back, Cowpie, Blackjack, Puppy Chow, Big Mama, One Star, Clorox, Cool Runnings, Beyonce, Purple Rain, Old Made
FNGs: None
COUNT: 27
CONDITIONS: Pleasantly Moist

WARMUP: Classic WOR, grab a coupon

THE THANG: Name That Tune – 90’s Hip Hop Hits

Blockey buy-in (10 I think?), start the music

Each song we are moving around campus, carrying the coupon.

At each stop – Around the Worlds waiting for the 6

Once all in – 413 PAX has the chance to name artist and title. Correct answers reduce # of blockeys, incorrect answers add more.

There were 8 or so stops around the Stonghold, with a smattering of correct answers, averaging about 7 blockeys per stop, with some WW1’s mixed in for good measure.

Back to the startex for the blockey/WW1 finisher.

MOLESKINE: Lively PAX this morning, decent showing with Name That Tune considering most of these pups hadn’t yet been born.

Thanks to the F3 guys who added some extra support and encouragement for the slower PAX, great group effort all around.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: 50 miler coming up

COT: Prayers for 413 families going through some stuff, and the current class to stay focused and persistent. Always an honor to lead!

Tortoise & Hare #4

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Young and Restless, Decaf, Barney, bluemule, Michelin Man, Wham-O, Chunks, Right Said, LIGHTNING(Devario Parson), Speechless (Bryan), Bubbles (Tyler Slaughter), hambone, Hipster, Old Maid, Step Back, Beyonce, Puppy Chow, Purple Rain, Napoleon, 1 Star, Black Jack, Cow Pie, Cool Runnings, Clorox, Big Mama
FNGs: None
COUNT: 26
CONDITIONS: Perfect for a morning run

WARMUP: Standard pre-run warm-up: SSH, Windmills, Squats, IWs, Stretches

THE THANG: Partner up and RUN!!! We had two 4:13 Strong men set PRs today at opposite ends of the clock. Cow Pie came in with a new class record of 24:04 and Big Mama finished in 40:30, shaving 15 mins off his first 3 mile time.

MOLESKINE: 26 men running 3 miles on a Tuesday morning at The Stronghold…what an amazing way to begin the day. Thank you to all my F3 brothers for coming out today! It was great to have the regulars and to welcome Bubbles (Tyler Slaughter), LIGHTNING(Devario Parson) and Speechless (Bryan) to the Tortoise & Hare!

ANNOUNCEMENTS: 50 Mile CSAUP on 8/29…still time to put a team together. If you have a team with an open spot, there are several 4:13 Strong men that have expressed interest in joining in. Let me know and I can connect you.

COT: Prayers for family, school, strength, wisdom and endurance.

Tortoise & Hare, Run #3

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Decaf, Barney, Michelin Man, bluemule, baggervance, Hipster, Drop Trow, Wham-O, Crawlspace, Tebow, Old Maid, Step Back, Beyonce, Puppy Chow, Purple Rain, Napolen, 1 Star, Black Jack, Cow Pie, Cool Runnings, Clorox, Big Mama
FNGs: None
COUNT: 23
CONDITIONS: Better than last week!

WARMUP: Chunks started us off with a challenge….achieve 3 PRs in the next 4 runs and win an All Out Running Co shirt!

He then led us through our pre-run warm-up – SSH, Squats, Stretches

THE THANG: Partner up and run. As the name indicates, we had a bunch of hares from the start. A herd of 10 4:13 Strong men took off like they were being chased while 2 stayed comfortably in the rear. By the time we hit the smoke stack, 5 of the 10 were gassed. By the time we circled the barn another 3 dropped back. But 2 maintained the quick pace and finished in the run in 25:00.

The six gave us more than enough time to work through a Burpee + Squat Apocalypse with some Flutters and WWIs at the end just for fun.

MOLESKINE: Failure to join the circle at the end of the workout resulted in a little extra running as a reminder of the importance of putting the group’s needs before your own.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: CSAUP 50 Miler coming up at the end of August. Get your 5 man team together now and remember that there are some 4:13 Strong guys that can help fill team gaps if needed.

COT: Prayers for Wendy’s in the loss of his sister; prayers for strength, wisdom and endurance.

Good Warmup

AO: thestronghold
Q: SalPal
PAX: Chunks, Barney, Wham-O, Purple Tiger, Shocker (Mark Holmes), Young and Restless, Red Skull, Decaf, Puppy Chow, Step Back, Napoleon, Purple Rain, Old Maid, Big Mama, Cow Pie, Cool Runnings, Clorox, One Star, Beyonce
FNGs: None
COUNT: 20
CONDITIONS: Absolutely perfect, if you ignore the heat advisory

WARMUP: Never heard of such a thing.

THE THANG: 100 SSH, Good ‘ol Sally Shake’n’Bake, Deconstructed Burpees + Bear Crawls

MOLESKINE: Received a temporary ban from the Stronghold. I guess I did something right…

ANNOUNCEMENTS: CSAUP 50!

COT: Families, patience, discipline and excellence.

Tortoise & Hare, Run #2

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Wham-O, bluemule, Michelin Man, Chunks, Right Said, Crawlspace, hambone, Young and Restless, Hair Band, Judy, Decaf, Toto, Road Trip, Old Maid, Step Back, Beyonce, Puppy Chow, Purple Rain, Napoleon, 1 Star, Go Fish, Speed Date, Black Jack, Cow Pie, Cool Runnings, Clorox, Big Mama
FNGs: None
COUNT: 28
CONDITIONS: Moderate temps and high humidity created an absolute sweat-fest at The Stronghold.

WARMUP: Standard pre-run warmup routine: SSH, Squats, IWs, WMH and any other body part needing a stretch before running.

THE THANG: Pick your group (Fast, Medium and Less Than Medium) and RUN!!! Thanks to the great showing and encouragement of my F3 brothers, 8 out of 14 4:13 Strong men set a PR today. Thank you for showing up and offering encouragement.

MOLESKINE: Hard things are easier when you do them with someone else. Thank you F3 for such a strong showing this morning. I think this was the biggest run group we have ever had on a Tuesday!

ANNOUNCEMENTS: 50 mile CSAUP on Aug 29…get your 5 man team together now. There are several 4:13 Strong men that are interested in participating so if you are looking for a fifth, let me know.

COT: Prayers for wisdom, strength and endurance.

Struggle

AO: thestronghold
Q: tampalibra
PAX: Skeet, Barney, Wham-O, bigbang, Minnie Pearl, bluemule, House Arrest, Squatter (F3 Muletown), Red Skull, Decaf, Shocker (Mark Holmes), Hipster, Young and Restless, Dan and Dave, Chunks, hambone, Ponzi, Purple Tiger, Purple Rain, Black Jack, Beyoncé, 1 Star, Napoleon, Clorox, Old Maid, Go Fish, Step Back, Speed Date, Cool Runnings, Cow Pie, Puppy Chow, Big Mama, Kneecaps, Slick Rick, Tebow
FNGs: 17 Purple Rain, Black Jack, Beyoncé, 1 Star, Napoleon, Clorox, Old Maid, Go Fish, Step Back, Speed Date, Cool Runnings, Cow Pie, Puppy Chow, Big Mama, Kneecaps, Slick Rick, Tebow
COUNT: 36
CONDITIONS: Ripe

WARMUP: SSH x 30, Squats x 10, Merkins x 15

THE THANG:
Grab a block!

In the format of 7’s we started with 15 lunges (1is1) and 1 curl+1press, 14 lunges and 2curl+2press…1 lunges and 15curl+15press

Next we did 7’s: thrusters and burpees – mode of transpo is an overhead block carry

Circle up for 20 4-count flutters with block overhead, 19 block situps, 18 4CF’s, 17 block situps, etc all the way down. Don’t believe we made it past 15.

All-in-all a great workout! We were ~5 minutes over on the first two blocks, we should have had ample time to finish the core block. It’s not over-Q’d it’s the standard but 30+ guys are hard to move and hambone’s goofy ass tried to cause confusion on the counting and Red Skull somehow forgot how to demo a thruster like they haven’t been a staple of Struggle 001-004

MOLESKINE:
YHC got an urgent and tough call mid-workout that pulled me away for a second. Sobering example that stuggles dont care what you’ve got going on. Trying to help some dudes out? Trying to get your life in order? Finally submitting to God after years of straying? New baby on the way? New job? etc etc They’re coming brothers whether we like it or not so how can we prepare? We practice hard things so that we know how to respond when hard things happen.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
F3 Ragnar thingy – get at Chunks if you’re one of those weirdos that love running
Struggle 005 – announcement and new promo video about to drrrrroop

Tortoise & Hare – Run #1

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: bluemule, Decaf, Young and Restless, Barney, Michelin Man, Wham-O, Chunks, Road Trip + 14 FNGS
FNGs: None
COUNT: 23
CONDITIONS: Sun light and very humid!

WARMUP: Standard Warm-Up – SSH, Squats, IWs, WMHs, stretches

THE THANG: Break into 3 groups – Fast, Medium and Slow…and then RUN!!!! Our fastest time was 23:25 and our “all in” time was 50:07. We had a great effort by several men who worked really hard and a couple men who decided to test the clock and leave some room for improvement.

MOLESKINE: A great first run. Now the mystery of the run is gone and everyone knows they can do it. Next week we will see improvement.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: None

COT: This is a big class full of energy and personality. The 4:13 Strong men are anxious for change and crave fellowship with positive men who can offer encouragement.

Welcome Back Struggle 004

AO: thestronghold
Q: SalPal , Chunks
PAX: bluemule, Dan and Dave, Wham-O, Sanctions, Papa Bear, Chunks, greyalbum, Crawlspace, Not-a-Sport, catfish, Penny Loafers, Shocker (Mark Holmes), Barney, toga, Decaf, Bobby Hill, Ice Box, Pick Me, Pope, Road Trip, Wendy’s, Stir Fry, Ambassador (F3 Annapolis), Mutt, Stage Dive
FNGs: None
COUNT: 26
CONDITIONS: Slightly moist.

WARMUP: A lot of side-shuffle hops and burpees, as it ought to be. Thanks to Chunks for getting the ball rolling.

THE THANG: 3 Groups rotating through sprints, burpees, and planks on a 1 minute timer, with 5 seconds to rotate. T-Claps to Dan and Dave for decreasing sub-30 second splits on all his sprints.

10 burpee salute to the Strugglers as they rolled in at 0600 hours.

Close with planks/”watersplashers” for Mary.

MOLESKINE: Great chatter and attitude today, and glad to be out in support of the men doing this latest Struggle. High concentrations of HIM on the 4:13 campus today.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Struggle 005 date TBD.

COT: Lift up the men that took on the Struggle the last 16 hours.

Tortoise & Hare, Run #4

AO: thestronghold
Q: Red Skull
PAX: Young and Restless, bluemule, Chunks, Right Said, Wham-O, Barney, Judy, Decaf, Wendy’s, Ice Box, Stir Fry, Road Trip, Bobby Hill, Mutt, Singlet, Touchback
FNGs: None
COUNT: 17
CONDITIONS: It is starting to get warm and humid. 66 degrees except by the barn where the temperature is noticeably cooler.

WARMUP: Road Trip was tapped to lead our warm up. While he switched up the order on us, he hit all the usual warmup exercises.

THE THANG: Partner up and RUN!! A great morning for a run. The F3 PAX were a huge source of encouragement to the 4:13 Strong men. For the first time ever, every 4:13 Strong man turned in a new Personal Best time! Thank you for all of the encouragement that you provided today.

MOLESKINE: Based on past experience, this is the hardest week of the 40 Day Challenge, not because we do anything different but because this is the week that things start to become a grind. The men have to dig deep and find some source of encouragement to keep pushing. Today, we saw 7 men who have done just that!

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Struggle 004 is this week. The 4:13 Strong Clay Shoot is this Friday. Spots are still available for anyone who would like to participate. DM me and I will get. you hooked up.

COT: Everything about the COT went in reverse order this morning, but we got it all in! It was a great start to the day at The Stronghold!