F3 New Orleans

Author: Hawgcycle

  • CSAUP – Q50 Bleau Moon Night Run

    YHC was privy to a spectacular light show as I crossed the bridge.  It started raining on me about half way across the lake.  I arrived at Fontainebleau State Park to find about a hundred people huddled together under the registration pavilion eagerly awaiting word if the race was canceled.  The organizer, Ceasar Torres, remarked he had never cancelled a Q50 race in the 10 years he had been having them.  He decided to push the start time back 15 minutes and cancel the 10 mile race (which is just as well…in my stupidity I signed up for the 10 mile, but I am pretty sure God knows my capabilities and canceled if for me).  At 8:55 Ceasar told everyone they could run the 5 mile race if they wanted and he would refund the money to anyone that didn’t want to run.  I think a few people may have opted not to run, but the rest of us headed out into a light drizzle.

    The Thang

    5 mile loop through the trails of Fontainebleau State Park.  There were about 10 strides along the beach and the rest was in the woods.  Glo sticks and strategically placed volunteers light the way.  The trails were nice and wide enough to pass someone in most places.  Lots of mud holes due to the rain added to the enjoyment.  The trail crossed back on itself for about half a mile.  At that point I wondered if I made a mistake, since I couldn’t see anyone in front of me.  My goal was 45 minutes, and I came in just over that.

    Moleskin

    Here are the results.  I also found this video.  It is from a different year, but looks very similar to the weather we had.  The food was provided by The New Orleans Mission and they were taking donations.  They had fresh strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and melons – Best fruit options I’ve ever had at a race.  They also had Jambalaya, Red Beans, and Liquid refreshment.  I don’t know if it is the 2nd best night race in the world, but it is certainly my favorite so far.

    -Hawg

     

  • The H8 Debuts

    YHC arrived this morning to Amnesty complaining about his soreness from Monday and self-proclaiming BS for his own Q.  I knew at this point that we couldn’t mess around this morning.  I can’t have him self-proclaiming BS for his own Q and mocking mine.  Best to try and keep him out of breath so he can’t talk.

    There was an open date on the Q sheet for this morning.  It was my intention to take it, but I didn’t want to proclaim it, for fear Tool would not show up.  I had a special double dose of his favorite exercise planned.  Unfortunately, he either caught wind of my plans or was DR.

    Gave the disclaimer as Cowbell rolled in with flag #2 to make us 6 strong.  To celebrate 8/4/2016 and my obsessive compulsion for numbers and multiples…

    The Thang

    Warm-up COP (all IC):  SSH x 16; IW x 16; Peter Parker x 16; Squats x 16; DQ x 16; Mountain Climbers x 16

    1st Dose of Quadriphilia:  Line up on levee and run down and back up always facing the lake.  AMRAP for 4 minutes.

    Mosey to the foot of canal for the debut of the h8.  Run south along the east side of canal to the top of the levee, cross the street, bear crawl across median and continue running south down the west side of canal, run back across the median at the bottom of the levee and north up the levee on the east side of canal.  Bear crawl across the median again at the top and head north down the levee on the west side of canal.  Run across the median when you get to the bottom, arriving back at the starting point.  At the starting point you do a descending burp and merk pyramid starting with 8 burpees (burpee with 8 merkins, burpee with 7 merkins, burpee with 6 merkins, etc.).

    The route was basically a figure 8 on Canal with bear crawls during the portion on the top of the levee and a descending burp and merk after you finish each 8.  We did AMRAP in roughly 25 minutes.  With each lap, the burp and merk pyramid started with a lower number.  In OSHA’s absence, Amnesty suggested running across the street before starting the bear crawl.

    After the h8 we headed back up the levee for the 2nd dose of Quadriphilia.  The Pax were excited.  Everyone loves that exercise.

    That took us to the end of the workout and we moseyed back to the flag through the swamp that is Okwata.

    Moleskin

    I think the h8 has potential as an Okwata PT test.  AMRAP in 40 minutes one morning and then measure ourselves again a few months later.  The Burp and Merk Pyramid is a good way to keep count of your laps.  I think 7 in 40 minutes is a good goal.  I was disappointed that Kim-Chi didn’t splash this morning.  I’ve always wanted someone to splash during one of my Qs, but I am obviously not there yet.  Kim-Chi had potential after his late night ice cream gorging, but the workout was not quite hard enough.

     

     

  • Hawgcycle Tries to Kill The Uptowner

    “Try everything once, except folk dancing and incest” – Thomas Beecham

    Words to live by especially for a young man growing up in Arkansas.  Things got dicey in High School when I was forced to Square Dance with my Football Coach during P.E., but that is a story for another day.  True to good ole’ Tom’s quote, I decided to introduce an all Yoga workout at The Uptowner today.  As awkward as leading a bunch of dudes through Yoga poses might be for 45 minutes, it’s not one of the things restricted by Thomas Beecham’s quote, so I figured we had to try it.

    I am not a professional trainer and I am certainly not a Yogi Master.  The only Yoga I have ever done was Yoga X from the original P90X DVDs.  That was probably my favorite (and at the same time most hated) part of P90X, along with the Plyometrics.  I was surprised at how hard it was the first time I did it, but I could tell it was good for me, strength and flexibility wise.

    So, in an effort to help the PAX proactively prevent hamstring and back injuries, I channeled my inner Tony Horton and tried my best to remember the first 45 minutes of Yoga X.

    The Thang

    We grabbed some rocks to use as Yoga blocks, but I don’t think anyone used them.

    • Mountain Pose (5 deep breaths)
    • Wide Stance Hamstring Stretch
    • Split Leg Hamstring Strectch
    • Side Stretch
    • Sun Salutations x 3
    • Series of Asanas (Mission Impossible to Upward Dog to Merkin to Downward Dog, to Pose, and then back to plank)  Poses included:  Runner’s Pose, Crescent Pose, Warrior One, Warrior Two, Reverse Warrior, Triangle Pose, Chair to Prayer Twist, Twisting Triangle Pose, Right angle Pose to Right Angle Pose & Grab.

    That was all we had time for.  I purposefully took my time and did not make it to Warrior 3 or Half Moon.  Maybe next time?

    Naked Man Moleskin

    Fortunately we had an FNG today, but unfortunately his first introduction to F3 was Yoga.  My bad.  Not sure where we go from here.  Maybe it’s worth trying again some day at The Uptowner (assuming people continue to come after this).  If so, our resident Yogi Shorty should Q the next one.  Maybe it becomes wildly popular as our Chi gets right and we decide to start a Yoga only AO (Sculpture Garden seems appropriate).  Or maybe we decide to never mention this day again for as long as we live.

    JV says we do not want to mention this to Douille and I whole-heartedly agree.  I doubt he ever looks at a backblast other than the Uptown ones, so we should be good.  When I mentioned that anything is worth trying once, Amnesty reminded us all of how much trouble that philosophy can get you into in New Orleans, especially in the Quarter.  Fortunately we were in Jefferson Parish this mornig, so I carried on.  I definitely need to bring some Yoga Music next time.

    Namaste

     

     

  • Morning Calling – How God Makes Men Chapter 1 (Pre-Blast)

    The Thang

    Bible study is scheduled for 0600 on July 16th at Morning Call in City Park.  We will be discussing the first chapter of the book How God Makes Men which studies the life of Abraham.  You can purchase the book here:  http://www.amazon.com/How-God-Makes-Men-Principles/dp/1601424620/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

    Having the book is not mandatory to attending.  Feel free to come check out the discussion even if you haven’t read the chapter or bought the book. All are welcome, with or without preparation.  However, if you are interested, checkout the applicable chapters in Genesis Chapters 11 – 22.

    If that seems like a lot of Old Testament reading to you, check out the condensed version of the story in the New Testament: Hebrews 11:8-19.

    In discussing with JV he has some even condensered versions – “While Abraham trusts God, he continues to screw up sometimes in awfully spectacular ways, but God made a promise to him and there it is.  We’re all lucky suckers, thank God.”  Or to condense even more: “God blesses, we sin, yet he still forgives with more grace.”

    Abraham did make some spectacularly poor decisions…a bit surprising coming from the man referred to as the Father of our Faith.  Regardless of his mistakes we can learn a lot from the amount of trust He had in God.

    Chapter 1 of the book speaks of 3 tests God put to Abraham:

    • Will you believe God’s great promise for an invisible future or cling to the visible present? (related to God commanding Abraham to leave Ur and go to an unknown land.)
    • Will you trust God to do what seems impossible? (related to God’s promise of a son to Abraham in his old age.)
    • Are you willing to Give God the one thing you most want to keep? (Related to God commanding Abraham to sacrifice his only son.)

    One of the things that jumped out to me in this Chapter was the Author’s explanation of Bible Time .  He referenced the passage in 2 Peter 3:8 – “Dear friends, don’t let this one thing escape you: With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.”  Do you think this concept of Bible Time is applicable today?  Does it change the way we live? Have you ever had a calling that you expected in short order that was fulfilled in Bible Time?

    Lastly, take a moment to think about the parallels of exercising your faith and physical exercise.  How do you exercise your faith?  Does exercising your faith make it grow? Can your faith get weaker as you get older?  What would cause it to weaken?

    See you in the light,
    Hawg

  • Rock & Roll

    5 men met at the new Uptowner SF location near the Rock Pile.  YHC snuck up on Boges and JV from the Fire Department Service Road.  Bubba found that my idea about parking across the tracks and walking was not a good one.  The side street ends right around the area you would want to park.  The nearest parking location is to park at the end of Ridgewood Drive and walk from there, although the normal Pontiff Playground Parking provided a nice cool down walk back to the cars.  Enough about the parking.  I gave the disclaimer and reminded the pax that this is a water bottle friendly workout.

    The Thang

    Warm-up COP (All IC x 20):  SSH, IW, Torso Twists, LSS; Peter Parkers, Rotating Merkins, Seal Jacks, Hillbillies, Monkey Humpers, Parker Peters, Windmills, Ranger Merkins

    Grab a couple of rocks:  One man maker rock and one rock for showing good form.  Bubba selected 3 rocks for improved versatility.

    Bring Sally Up Bench Press – Max Reps during each Bridge.  * Bogey seemed extra excited about this one.  The man must love some Moby.  I didn’t realize it, but this stupid song is called “Flower.”  The man says “Bring Sally Up” 150 times, yet he’s going to name the song Flower.  Wasted 5 minutes of my life searching for the darn thing on Google Play.

    Mary: LBC IC x 85; Fartlek Freddie* IC x 25; Hello Dolly IC x 20 (that makes at least 495 LBCs between YHC, Kim-Chi, and JV over the last 2 days). *This was a regular Freddie Mercury, but I changed the tempo throughout.  Not sure if I’m feelin’ it.  I do like the alliteration though.

    Roxanne con roca – Squat on Roxanne, Overhead Press on Red Light.  I informed the PAX it would be wise to go with the good form rock here, but I was wrong.  This exercise calls for a man maker.  There was a little too much downtime in this one.  Maybe we should hold the rocks over our heads, or do calf raises during the downtime.

    Mary: LBT IC x 20; Putin IC x 20; Flutter Kicks IC x 20

    Flora 1 – 1.6 – 1 – 0.6:  Partner up.  This was originally intended to be a Flora 1-2-3, but that didn’t happen.  We also added a fourth set.

    • 100 Merkins – Partner 1 does 10 Merkins with feet on rock.  Partner 2 planks with feet on rock.  Flap Jack – some rocks are not suitable for feet.  Modifications were needed.
    • 120 LBCs – Partner 1 does 20 LBCs con roca.  Partner 2 holds feet 6 inches off ground with roca extended over chest.
    • 100 Squats – Partner 1 does 10 Squats con roca. Partner 2 holds a deep squat.
    • 60 curls – Partner 1 does 10 curls con roca.  Partner 2 holds la roca as if he was holding a dinner platter with elbows at 90 degrees.

    Time flies when you are standing still.  Great to see the continued growth at The Uptowner.  Maybe we have 6 next week?  YHC is on Q again.  After that, we need some guys to sign up.  Click here if you are a man.

    COT

    We finished with prayers of Thanksgiving for God’s blessings and mercy.  We also prayed for those affected by the tragedy in France.  Then we enjoyed some F2 with a nice long walk back to the cars.

  • The World Starts Preparing for Next Year

    5 warriors of Okwata gathered together the morning after the greatest sporting event of all time. The Q was dragging a little and was slow to get started. YHC tried to make up for over the next 43 minutes.

    The Thang

    Mosey to the land of the fountain for the Warm-up COP (all IC): SSH x 20; IW x 20; Moutain Climbers x 20; Merkins x 10; Squats x 20; Merkins x 10; Good Mornings x 10; Windmills x 10

    Mosey to the vigilante bars for some pull-up work:

    1st COP – Each man with a spotter did 4 sets of 8 pull-ups and 2 sets of Bernies.

    2nd COP – two men do hanging knee-ups on the bars while the other 3 do alternating lunges.  All IC and then flapjack.  4 sets consisting of 8,7,6, and 5 reps.

    Mosey to the top of the levee for Mary:  LBC x 80; LBT x 20; Putin x 20

    Jack Webb (2:1 Ratio – Shout out to the NS) – escalate to 10 merkins and 20 air presses

    Quadriphilia – 4 minutes of running down the levee and back up, always facing the Lake.

    Mosey to the bottom of the levee so we can bear crawl back up.

    Sungazer Yoga – Facing the sun we did some Yoga crap.

    Mosey back to the flag and try not to twist my ankle.

    Moleskin

    People on the levee playing Pokemon Go before 0600.  We are no longer the craziest group in NOLA.

     

  • The Inaugural Gnarly Nutria

    18 F3 Men and about 25 Pokemon Go players invaded Audubon Park last night looking to do something completely stupid and utterly pointless. The F3 men were a success and I can only assume the same for the Pokemon Go players.

    Put this on your calendars for July 19th, 2017 @ 2115 hrs

    The Thang

    It was Uptown vs. The World.  The World team consisted mostly of men from Lakeview and Metairie, although we will accept F3 men from all parts.  There was some controversy as to which team Jingle Vader would be representing.  As we all know, he is a man of the World; however, on a postal code technicality he was relegated to the Uptown team.

    The competition consisted of 3 laps around Audubon Park, roughly 5.33 miles in total.  Each man received 1 point per lap.  Anyone completing all 3 laps received 1 bonus point for each man he finished ahead of (including teammates). In the end our Uptown brothers prevailed 105.5 – 81. Results are below:

    Uptown 105.5
    [table “” not found /]

    The World 81
    [table “” not found /]

  • The Uptowner Launches

    4 horseman met for the inaugural Uptowner.  We met at the normal Pontiff SF spot, but this proved to be too much moseying to get to the rock pile.  Next week we will meet at the Rocks.  Tell your friends.

    SFx made the unfortunate decision to attend Wolfpack Mountain instead.  20 years of weightlifing down the drain.  He sent me this picture after the workout:  The New SFx

    The Thang

    We took a much too long mosey to the Rock Pile.  Circled up next to the rock pile and got comfortable.

    Warm-up COP: SSH IC x 40; Imperial Squat Walkers IC x 20; Good Mornings IC x 10; Arm Circles IC x 15 Forward x 15 Backward; Toe Raises IC x 15

    We then selected two rocks each from the pile.  One “good form” rock (read small) and one large rock.

    COP #1 (All IC):  “Say Anything” Squat (GF rock) x 12; Rows (Large Rock) x 20; “Say Anything” Lunge (GF rock) x 10; Bench Press (Large) x 20; Dead Lift (Large) x 12; Shoulder Press (Large) x 15; Curls (Large) x 20; “Say Anything” Toe Raises (GF) x 20

    Mary: LBC IC x 75; Superman IC x 20

    COP #2 (All IC) – Press Set:  Squat Press (GF) x 15; Curl Press (Large) x 15; Squat Press (GF) x 15

    Mary: Slow Flutter IC x 10

    COP #3 (All IC, All GF Rock): SA Squat x 10; Rows x 20; SA Lunge x 10; Bench Press x 20; Dead Lift x 10; Shoulder Press x 20; Curls x 20, SA Toe Raises x 20

    Return the rocks and Mosey (much too far) back to the VSF.

    Moleskin

    I don’t know about everyone else, but YHC thought this passed by quickly.  As stated we are moving the flag location to the Rock Pile.  You can still park in the same spot and walk, or there is a dirt road that leads to the Pump near the Rock Pile.  Veterans may start parking on the street across the tracks and walking over.  I enjoyed the first one and am looking forward to the rest.  Thanks for indulging me.

    -Hawg

  • 610 Stomp #44 – Fartlekin’

    5 fartlekers gathered for the weekly 610 Stomp.  Not only was Amnesty back from Hawaii and recovered from his hula accident, but he also orchestrated a subtle, yet successful EH on Splash, motivating Splash to make his way to the Roosevelt Mall this morning.  T-claps to the both of ya.  YHC gave a subtle disclaimer and it was time for…

    The Thang

    4.5 mile run with Fartleks to the the Jose Marti statue at Jeff Davis and Banks and then back along the other side of the bayou.  The Pax stayed together for this one.  We jogged at a conversational pace.  YHC would yell out random percentages to step up our pace to (e.g. 65%, 80% 100%, etc.).  We would run for a random length at that amount of effort.  We finished with a couple of minutes left to seal the deal: 8 burpees, 1 super slow merkin, 3 burpees, 1 super slow squat with a hold at the bottom, and finished with 2 burpees (although YHC lost count and did 3).

    Moleskin

    I’m a fan of the fartleks.  I am feeling this workout.  Looking forward to doing it again the next time I Q the stomp.  Not sure how I lost count going to 2.  Even I can usually count that far without issue.  I’m blaming the fartleks.

     

  • What happens in Hawaii stays in Hawaii

    YHC got the text last night from Amnesty that he threw out his hip doing the hula.  So the Pax was stuck with me again.  7 men gathered at a very soggy Pontiff Playground.  Rudy reminisced about Marlin’s Q when they worked out with the pumps on.  I gave the disclaimer, we hopped the puddle and moseyed to the rock pile

    The Thang

    Warm-up:  SSH IC x 40; DQ IC x 12; Peter Parker IC x 30; Lunges IC x 20; Superman IC x 20; LBC IC x 40; Superman IC x 20

    Pick a Rock – Go big or go home.

    COP:  Squat Thrusts IC x 15; RL Decline Merkins IC x 10; Rows IC x 15;  LL Decline Merkins x 12; Rows IC x 10, Squats IC x 15; Bench Press IC x 25

    Mosey about 100 yards and circle up for 10!  #crowdpleaser.  (Shoulder Presses, Squats, Sit-ups)

    Mosey to the Kaboom! for some Tabata Stations.  Assisted Pull-ups, Box Jumps, Bernies, Rock Burpees, Swerkins, Squat Presses, Squats – Repeato

    Mosey down the track to the flag.  We only had time to get in one Fence Chunkers.  Grab the rock and return it to the rock pile.

    Moleskin

    T-claps to the Pax today.  I tried to keep the pace quick, but I couldn’t shake them.  There’s something about carrying rocks around like cavemen that gets the week started right.  I wanted to incorporate more fence chunkers, but given the divots created by the one toss, it’s probably best we were short on time.  The Pax seemed very impressed by the duct tape I was sporting on my knee.  I think they envisioned that it was my caveman way of suturing a gash I had received doing something very manly.  Alas, it’s only my home remedy for a giant wart.

    COT

    Remember those in our community with family members going through treatments and doctor’s appointments today.