F3 New Orleans

Author: Kuch

  • No Peace Without War

    Like many of you, I’ve taken to reading and following David Goggins, whose story is both inspirational and at times, crushingly real. I won’t spoil any of it – the book is well worth the 20 bucks.

    One of Goggins’ guiding principles is the concept of going to war with yourself on a daily basis. He believes in challenging yourself, putting yourself in uncomfortable or impossible positions where you’ll be forced to make a decision to either quit or push through. Only by choosing to accept and push through the pain does real growth occur. This of course turns out to be a metaphor for life, where our ability to handle the difficult, the uncomfortable and the stuff no one else can do leads to true fulfillment.

    Today, as we set out on absolutely perfect morning, greeted by a breeze, temperatures in the 70’s, and a perfect sunrise, I borrowed some words of encouragement from his book. It’s only by giving more than we thought we had when we got there this morning that we grow. I think we all lived up to that today.

    Quick warmup of SSH, Hill Billies, Arm Circles and Mountain climbers, followed by a brisk run (thanks Catfish) to the base of the intersection.

    Once we arrived we partnered up for some 1. AMRAP Mary (to give the shoulders a break from Iron Pax) 2. sprints up and mosey down the levee.

    Once complete, we lined up for an Indian Run down the levee. Swept the 6, turned back for a Bataan Death March all the way back. As we got close, everyone was instructed to drop for burpees and sprint it out.

    We swept the 6 and headed back to the flag for some burpees to seal the deal as the clock struck 6:15. Moment of silence to focus on thankfulness for the present and how we could help others today. Surge led us out with the prayer for generosity.

  • So this is 40… when do I get my old man strength?

    14 PAX posted for the Chamber on Monday, March 9 for a mostly perfect morning, little cool, little humid, mostly great anyway. YHC was born 40 years ago on Sunday, March 8, but was otherwise engaged on that day with a 10-year-old girls soccer tournament, so the celebration was moved to Monday.

    The plan was simple: cram in a decent workout and leave enough time for a quick ultimate frisbee match at the end. But Kuch, it’s dark, did you forget about daylight savings time? How are we going to see a damn frisbee? This is going to be the worst game ever. Why do you have such terrible ideas?

    Well, dear reader, never fear. I planned ahead:

    But first, the workout:

    Quick lap around the parking lot right into

    • SSHx20
    • Hill Billies x20
    • Windmillsx10
    • Mountain climbersx10
    • Something else x something

    Next, a quick tribute to 40. 40 burpees, 10 per minute, OYO. So you can take 6 seconds per burpee and do 40 slowly, or you can do 10 quickly and use the remaining 30 or so seconds to rest. Your call.

    Next, we hit the tires for a preview of the Ultimate Frisbee match. We separated into 2 groups of 7, each person gets 3 flips in, and sprints to the second tree and back while the next person is flipping and so on. Team Small Tire claimed more flips; Team Manly Tire claimed more, uh, manliness. After a few rounds of each, quick Indian run to the parking lot and back.

    And finally, it was time for the Ultimate Frisbee Showdown. I’d like to say Team Manly Tire dominated, but due to about 30 dropped frisbees on the goal line, the game ended in a 3-3 draw. Some on team Small Tire suggested the referee (YHC, also a member of Team Manly Tire) might have been biased and ruled Saban out of bounds when he really scored a TD, but unfortunately for Team Small Tire, those complaints were summarily overruled. A last second score sealed the tie.

    COT, Name-o-rama, and prayers of thanks for good health and for comfort and grace for those of us waging our own private battles. I know I’m healthier at 40 than I was at 30, and I know that’s because of F3, so as always, I’m truly thankful for all of you who push me to be better. – Kuch

  • Time Trials at the Stomp

    Since we do all this damn running anyway, we might as well see how we’re doing, right? There is some good research that suggests setting real goals and regularly tracking progress increases our chances for success. So let’s do it. Today: a 5k

    Of course, there is also the matter of a beautiful hammer adorned in freedom and f3 stickers that we would like to hang on to. Perhaps the “men of the Wally run” or the weekend crew will actually bring it out to the Stomp for all to enjoy next time.

    In no particular order, here are the times submitted to me and a list of the PAX who have not submitted a time yet, in the event they decide to:

    1. Shuffles: 18:47
    2. Briefs 24:57
    3. High Rise 28:37
    4. Jesus Juice 24:58
    5. Rev Sox 26:06
    6. Shorty: 25:24
    7. Kuch: 24:55
    8. Da Parish 29:56
    9. Boo Boo 29:10
    10. Belloq 24:05
    11. Rudy 24:10
    12. Catfish 21:20
    13. Screwtop 22:07
    14. Blowfish 28:30
    15. Tool 28:30
    16. Sheetrock 23:30
    17. Tugboat 38:08 (3.04 miles)
    18. Mahatma
    19. War Eagle
    20. Bongo
    21. Breadsticks 22:07
    22. Holygrove
    23. Frac Sac

    We will revisit this challenge post RRR and see if we got any faster.

    Thanks, as always, for allowing me to lead a workout in a group full of leaders. – Kuch

  • Get in gear for the new year with 400 reps

    On Tuesday evening, December 31st, YHC put out a brief message: Get some rest tomorrow, because Thursday will feature the 400 at Okwata. This was done for several reasons:

    • First and foremost, the 400 is hard. It’s a great aerobic/anaerobic mix, and I at least tend to get winded pretty quickly.
    • Second, if YHC knew that was coming, the thought, at least, was that YHC would be more responsible on New Year’s Eve knowing that he would be sweating out every drop of vodka. And publicly committing to it was the best way to assure it would actually go down.
    • Finally though, the 400 is a good test of where we all are. When you finish it, there is a sense of accomplishment. It’s a benchmark you can revisit and track progress, and progress is something we should never stop striving for, in whatever form it may come.

    What is the 400? I had last done it courtesy of a Triple Shift Q, and struggled mightily through it, but I believe it goes back to the early days of Okwata. The 400 is

    • 10 trips over the levee and back
    • stopping at the top of the levee, then the neighborhood side of the levee, then back to the top of the levee, then back to where you started for….
    • 10 reps of a particular exercise

    So a typical round is:

    • run up the levee for 10 merkins (for example)
    • run down to the other side for 10 merkins
    • run back up the levee for 10 merkins
    • run back down to where you started for 10 merkins

    Today we did

    1. SSH 50% effort for a warm-up. (YHC had done an abbreviated warmup because last time, we’d used almost the entire 45 minutes to complete it, so we used this as part of the warmup)
    2. Merkins
    3. Burpees
    4. Squats
    5. Carolina dry docks
    6. Bonnie Blairs (3 count, 1,2,3 1; 1,2,3 2)
    7. J-Lo’s (3 count)
    8. LBC’s (3 count)
    9. Monkey Humpers (3 count)
    10. At this point, we still had some time, so YHC decided we would redo the SSH at 100% so as not to short ourselves. So SSH (3 count)
    11. Final exercise, only one choice (and a very popular one judging by the groans and mumblechatter). More burpees!

    Some stretching led by High Rise, prayers for one our pax who has a child going through some challenges, and something I wanted to share with the group from a friend who recently died from brain cancer. Several months before his death, having lived with the cancer for a few years, he remarked:

    “While I’ve lost nearly everything, physically, financially, emotionally, materially, Never, not once, have I lost hope, belief, faith.”

    I know of no better way to live.

    I also know of no better group of men than this one, and for that, I thank all of you. Here’s to a great 2020. – Kuch

  • The Freaking Exception (?)

    After reading the email this morning, it occurred to me that I may have forgotten something important last week. It wasn’t my wife’s birthday, remembered that. Thanksgiving? Who could forget it. Black Friday? My coffee at uptown PJ’s only cost an arm and half a leg in celebration of Black Friday, so it wasn’t that. No, YHC may have (allegedly) forgotten (potentially) to post a BB from the Foundry this week. I may have (according to some sources) been mentioned in the weekly email. For this – if it refers to me – I am deeply sorry (allegedly). Regardless, as I have gotten on others before about failing to post a BB, no excuses. Just like it’s better to send a wedding gift six months late than not at all, please allow the following to serve as YHC’s BB from last week.

    On Wednesday, we were joined by 1 FNG and 3 out of towners – Side Effects, Charmin, and Uptown Girl – for out traditional foundry workout, consisting of offensive music, an appropriate amount of mumblechatter, and Tabata. The mumblechatter is because we always forget the rotation halfway through; Tabata is because it’s a rockin good time; and offensive music is required by law as a tribute to Jesus Juice, whose playlists consist mainly of people screaming obscenities over 300 beats per minute.

    But first, on a muggy morning, we did a quick warmup on the track of

    • SSHx20
    • Arm Circlesx20
    • Mountain Climbersx20
    • IWx20
    • Self love OYO as we walked to the lanes of the track

    From there, the usual: 2 lines, Indian Run to the Foundry.

    When we arrived, 8 stations of Tabata, consisting of

    • Snake Derkins (just a Derkin on the thing we call a snake, not some cool new exercise that involves slithering around while doing merkins. although….)
    • Upright rows 
    • seated dips
    • Squats 
    • Shoulder taps
    • Hanging crunches 
    • Plank + alternating arms up in the air
    • Burpees

    We got 5 rounds in, and Indian ran back to the track for some cyo Mary, including

    • LBC’s
    • Doctor W’s
    • flutter kicks
    • something else

    We moseyed to the flag where we arrived at 6:15 sharp. COT, prayer, and then coffeeteria at PJ’s on Canal. Thanks for coming out. – Kuch

  • Lunatic Fringe – We all know you’re out there. But where is Bogey when you need him?

    The iconic opening words to the song made famous by the 1985 smash hit “Vision Quest”. Who could forget this iconic scene? Look at those moves! No wonder this movie was so popular!

    Okay, so perhaps a minor exaggeration on my part as not a single member of the Pax could identify that song this morning, or its significance (Lunatic Fringe is in main song played in Vision Quest, which is where the name Kuch comes from). At least Shuffles has the excuse of not having been born in 1985. Bogey would have nailed it of course.

    Despite my disappointment, we decided to workout anyway on this cool crisp morning. Temperature at kickoff was right around 50, and although we may have felt a few raindrops, the weather, overall, was pretty nice.

    We moseyed to the center of the intersection, with some high knees etc… on the way, for some quick, fast paced warmups so we could all…. warm up. Except High Rise of course, who some might say was slightly over-dressed for the occasion, having worn perhaps his entire closet full of sweaters, scarves, parkas, mittens and what have you. Fitting for a man who solved the climate crisis yesterday by declaring it #2cold2warm. Regardless, High Rise remains #2legit2quit in my book.

    Once the warm-ups and player intros were complete, we headed up to the levee to Indian Run to the concrete portion for our next activity. Rockin tunes were played as we passed the speaker off. When we got to the concrete portion, there was a fence that briefly confounded all my 5:40 AM logistics… luckily, someone suggested we walk around it, which we did.

    On the concrete, we did a couple rounds of merkin ring of fire, and moved right along to a simple tabata, 20 seconds on, 7 second rest, 4 exercises x2 for each session. Burpees, LBC’s, Merkins, Squats. After completing each round of those 4 exercises twice, we ran up and down the levee 10 times to catch our breath. We completed this circuit 3 times, before Indian running back the other way.

    When we reached the intersection, we headed back to the flag for a few more rounds of merkin ring of fire until 6:15.

    We prayed for the strength to take care of our elders, the ability to appreciate our own health, and the humility to grasp that one day, we may be the ones who need help. I know that I need your help to continue to get better, and so, as High Rise suggested this week (before solving an existential crisis for all of humanity), I note that I am truly thankful for all of you, for everyone who showed up today, for everyone who has ever shared a word of encouragement with me during a workout, for everyone who has ever held me accountable, and for everyone of you, who inspires me each day. Thank you. – Kuch

  • You don’t have to be perfect, just better than yesterday

    20 runners were greeted with an absolutely perfect pitch black morning at the Stomp today. The temperature hovered around 65 degrees for the entire run, and at no point did we see the sun. Thanks to Daylight Savings Time and those long Spring and Summer days, we’re treated to at least a mid-workout sunrise for most of the year. In fact, the sunrises will be back next month when Daylight Savings Time kicks in. Until then, let’s enjoy these last few chances to make our way through the dark, quiet streets of New Orleans while the city sleeps.

    About 6 months ago, some of us timed ourselves in a 1-mile at the Danger Zone. Since the DZ is no more, YHC decided to bring the time trials to The Stomp. The instructions were simple…. well, I thought they were simple at least.

    • Bring an activity tracker
    • All run one warm-up mile together
    • Once your activity tracker makes 1 mile, run Mile 2 as hard as you can
    • Regardless, turn back at 20 minutes and run back to the flag.
    • Send me your mile 2 time

    Even with a little confusion, this mostly went off without a hitch. The purpose of the time trial is not to see who’s fastest, but see how we’re improving. Sure, it’s fun to run around in a tank top in the early morning grabbing grass and doing a few burpees, but overall, I think we all want to get a little better, faster, stronger. To that end, I’ll post your time from today if you send it to me, and I’ll tag this post with #timetrial . Search that tag next time we do this and see how you’ve improved. Here is what I have. This is not necessarily the order in which they finished:

    1. Shuffles
    2. Tua 6:47
    3. Dirty Dell 6:37
    4. Briefs
    5. Screwtop
    6. Belloq 6:51
    7. Hawg 6:40
    8. Jesus Juice 7:02
    9. Rudy
    10. Kuch 7:06
    11. Breadsticks 6:32
    12. Rev Sox 7:51
    13. Tool 8:49
    14. Woz
    15. Bongo
    16. Chips
    17. Tugboat
    18. Hokie Pokey 10:30
    19. Thumb War 8:13
    20. Gideon

    Few rounds of Mary led by different PAX, and then 5 burpees for each pax member who did not stick with the group early on. The usual formalities and a prayer for peace and stillness in our lives. Thanks for having me. – Kuch

  • Stompkwata

    Despite fair warning, 14 men set off into a pleasant September gloom this morning at Okwata. The warning: bring your running shoes, we’re trying something new. And so we did.

    Since we started doing Okwata, YHC has been wanting to run to the large Lakeshore Drive bridge for a change of pace. Today, we did it.

    It’s around 1.1 miles just to get there, so we had to be quick. We wrapped our warm-up into our mosey with some high knees, butt kicks, Super Marios, carioca, and Zombie walks.

    When we got to the bridge, the instructions were simple: 11’s with burpees at the bottom and merkins at the top. YHC had measured it out, and from base to center of the bridge is about 1/10 of a mile, so each “lap” would be 2/10 of a mile. No one quite completed the 11’s, but Breadsticks was close. Breadsticks seems to have found another gear lately. T-claps for that.

    T-claps to Two Yutes, who went back and swept the runners on the way there, giving them the instruction so everyone could get started. We called an end to the 11’s leaving around 12 minutes to return to the flag, and according to my calculations***, we arrived exactly on time. All in all, we ran about 4 miles, with about 1 mile of that being uphill, broken up with some burpees and merkins. We may try this one again during Run Ranger Run.

    Surge closed us out with a prayer. Thanks for trying something new with me today. – Kuch

  • The Killer Burpees

    We had a nice breeze Monday morning when we arrived at the UNO Human Performance Center for the newly dubbed Chamber of Horrors. The instructions were simple – do the Iron Pax week 1 challenge, consisting of an aggregate 150 yards of broad jumping, 150 yards of bear crawling, 150 burpees, 150 big boy situps, and 150 Bonnie Blairs. The challenge itself was anything but simple. Everyone rose to the occasion anyway, and we all completed it in under 40 minutes. Breadsticks paced us at right around 31 minutes.

    When I first began F3, I could not do a burpee. Rather, worse, I did not even know how to do a burpee. First, I did something of a squat thrust, completely omitting the merkin and the jump. In fact, I thought the guys jumping and clapping after each rep were taking a victory lap on me or something. Look at me, this is so easy I’m gonna let you know each time I complete one by jumping and clapping for myself. I thought my squat thrusts were pretty damn good, even if I could only do about 5 of them before exhaustion.

    Then, I found out the jump portion was not optional. This makes a lot of sense in hindsight, and my only defense is that I function at something less than optimal mental processing at 5:30 in the morning, especially before I got used to it. Squat thrust + jump. Okay fine, I can do this, but I don’t have to like it.

    Then I noticed the merkin part. Ohhhhhhh. When guys around me are generally saying to no one in particular “watch your form on those burpees”, they’re totally talking to me, right? Damn.

    Since then, I have made burpee form something of a personal crusade. It’s funny how you can take something you’re bad at, and really focus on it, and all of a sudden, it’s not so bad anymore. You crack the code. By paying careful attention to each step AND committing to yourself to never do 9 when 10 is called, to never cheat on form, and to never accept less than your best, you can improve.

    And so if I’m a bit of a burpee nazi with others sometimes, please accept my apologies. I wish someone had more directly told me that I was not doing burpees correctly early on in my F3 career. This is the form I at least attempt to emulate at all times:

    Chest all the way to the ground; everything hits at once. Back straight.

    If you ever see me doing them wrong or dogging them or you think I’m cutting a corner, please return the favor. Don’t let me get away with cheating myself, and I won’t let you get away with cheating yourself. Deal?

    Afterwards, we gave prayers of thanks for all we have, and enjoyed a coffeeteria at Starbucks on Harrison.

  • Okwata in the Fall

    Or at least it felt that way. The 22 PAX present were treated to 71 degrees and a beautiful sunrise this morning. They were also treated to: LEG DAY. (After Screw Top’s beatdown the previous day, YHC was in no mood for Merkins or Burpees)

    Mosey to the center of the intersection no one ever uses (possibly because we are in it) for

    • Mountain climbers
    • Scorpion kicks
    • SSH
    • Arm Circles
    • Hill Billies
    • All x20

    Split into 2 groups for the second running of the Single Reverse Indian Run. Like an Indian Run, but all the PAX run the loop and up and down the levee, while the last in line peels off and runs the opposite way around the loop.

    20 second count, enough time to stretch out the hips with a little open the gate and close the gate.

    Next pair up for 5 Bernies and 5 Planks. PAX 1 runs backward up the levee while PAX 2 holds one of 5 different planks, starting with high, low, left, right, and ending with bows and toes. Alternate with partner after each plank and Bernie.

    Finally, a bit of DORA 1-2-3 OYO

    • 50 Money Humpers
    • 100 Jump Lunges
    • 150 Squats

    *After each exercise is completed, one sprint up the levee and back. We made it to, but not through the squats, when it came time to head back to the flag.

    Vigorous run back led by Smooth, just in time for 6:15, where we circled up and admired the sunrise. Hokie prayed us out. Thanks for pushing me today. – Kuch

    Total Mileage: 2.86 miles