F3 New Orleans

Author: Tinkles

  • Q Exchange Program at El Diablo

    Shortly after the roll-out of our nifty new Q log system I received an email telling me I had signed up to Q El Diablo. Was this real? I asked around at Monday’s Audubon workout and most felt El Diablo had to be either in Kenner or the West Bank. Perhaps the name doesn’t exactly say Old Metairie but indeed the AO map confirms the Pontiff location. I gather Hawg may have had the notion that we could all branch out of our comfort zone from time to time when he signed my up to lead today. Thanks for pushing us Hawg.

    As I didn’t know the favored flavor or lay of the land for the AO I ran with the idea of keeping our beatdown on the football field. It is nice to not have to dodge pot holes or tree roots or lay on acorns during a beatdown.

    Disclaimer and off we go for a warm up loop around the track.

    Warm UP:

    • SSH IC X 30
    • Grass Grabbers IC X 20
    • Imperial Walker IC X 20
    • Arm Circles Forward and Backward IC X 20 each
    • Peter Parker IC X 15
    • Mountain Climber IC X 15
    • Parker Peter IC X 15

    The Main Event: Utlilzing the football field we did modified BLIMPS. Starting at the goal line, run to 25 for a set of 5, back to goal line then to 50 for set of 10, and so on to opposite 25 and goal line for 15 and 20. That would be Burpees X 5, Burpees X 10, Burpees X 15, Burpees X 20 then on to Lunges. This took a good 35 minutes and only left us a short amount of time.

    Bear crawl wave from sideline to sideline with LBC halfway there.

    COT: Intentions for those deployed, Hokie Pokie and his mom and their family, and prayers of hope for those struggling with COVID isolation during the Holidays.

    Thanks for the opportunity to lead and for a great start to my day!

  • Got to Keep On Moving

    I was looking to bring some pace to The Skinny today so I figured we’d cover some ground and mix in some different elements. We had fun.

    Warm Up: Mosey to band stand for a warm up.

    • SSH IC: 25
    • Grass Grabbers IC: 25
    • Windmills IC: 25
    • Peter Parkers IC: 20
    • Mountain Climbers IC: 20
    • Parker Peters: 20

    Mosey through the oak alley to the track. Two column Indian run all the way to St. Charles fountain. Pause for work:

    • Right leg step up IC: 20
    • Derkins Down/Up: 20
    • Left leg step up IC: 20

    Mosey to St. Charles neutral ground at Walnut. PIMPS down the neutral ground. Repeat back the other way.

    Mosey back to track. Indian run with two columns that became one with attrition. Back to the flag.

    Enough time for some mary:

    • American Hammers IC:20
    • Penguins IC: 20
    • LBC IC: 20

    Times up. Good time was had by all.

    Good showing for Monday am. I’m going to work on organizing the Q line-up while waiting on our Q list to come back to life. Intentions for those in the way of the upcoming storm. Prayers that we make a positive impact today!

  • The Inaugural Roast on the Coast!

    Completely Stupid and Utterly Pointless: where else in our lives can we embrace that motto and it actually makes you a better person?

    When COVID scuttled our plans for the Hood to Coast the wheels started turning on an alternative event that we could pull off locally. A combination of Yankee, myself, Nip Tuck, Cowbell, and others started talking of what we could do and someone mentioned running to the Florabama as a half-joke. From there things evolved, and true to F3 form, the group found a way to make it happen. The group evolved over time as we lost some guys to volley ball injuries and others to COVID concerns but other guys stepped up. We wound up with a solid mix of Northshore and Southshore, running elites and grinders, barely-out-of-hate range to respect-respect range, F3 old timers and relative newbies. What we arrived at was a group of guys willing to step out of their comfort zones and try something different. No one knew exactly how it would go or what to expect but everyone did know that no man is left behind and that together we can accomplish what we set our mind to. What could go wrong? Who knows but also who cares? This group was willing to take that risk and reap the rewards.

    When the dual hurricanes formed we knew our run was at risk but we were prepared to be nimble and modify as needed. Fortunately (for reasons much more important than our run) we were spared the worst from the storms and we were able to depart Audubon park at 2:00 on Thursday. Car 1 kicked us off with Roots leading the charge. Car 1 consisted of Roots, Bushwacker, Catfish, and Cavalier. Car 2 was Bad Moon, Cowbell, Nip Tuck, and 86. Car 3 was Tinkles, Tanked Up, Steve, and Gideon.

    Nip Tuck charted our course and he laid out the 36 leg route. The leg highlights:

    • Leg 1 Roots: Run through the heart of good old Nola
    • Leg 2 Bushwacker: (Armstrong park to gentilly walmart)-broken sidewalks felt like a trail run through pot smoke-filled humid jungles of vietnam
    • Leg 3 Catfish: Danziger Bridge / chef highway / old gentilly road (aka the beast meets the east)
    • Leg 4 Cavalier: 4:15 pm. Rainy, cool, fast paced through the lovely New Orleans East
    • Leg 5 Bad moon: leg 5 was my swamp-horsefly-sweat-a-thon
    • Leg 6 Cowbell: chef menteur thru Venetian isles- horseflys and humidity with a good mix of road kill
    • Leg 7 Nip Tuck: fish camps, nutria and rabbits en route to Fort Pike
    • Leg 8 86: Rigolets Bridge “Teddy Bears, Busted Tanning Beds and Such”
    • Leg 9 Tinkles: Mosquito breeding grounds and narrow bridges on LA/MS border
    • Leg 10 Tanked Up: Mississippi woods- deliverance in the dark
    • Leg 11 Steve: torrential rain and the wrong pair of socks gave me a generous blister the size of Mississippi before even getting to mile 2.
    • Leg 12 Gideon: Midnight run on a two foot sidewalk with crashing waves through a thunderstorm gifted by the last bands of Hurricane Laura. Screaming at the moon with adrenaline.
    • Leg 13 Roots: vehicle one surviving the torrential rain and darkness on MS Coast (and 3 hours of quality sleep at the Quality Inn)
    • Leg 14 Bushwacker: (pass christian to long beach) – skies opened up half way through and a passing car deluged me with a waterfall
    • Leg 15 Catfish: ms gulf coast, long beach to gulfport. 
    • Leg 16 Cavalier: 1:37 am beautiful rainy morning along the MS Gulfcoast
    • Leg 17 Bad Moon: generous amounts of rain with a tailwind…my soggiest run but favorite
    • Leg 18 Cowbell: Biloxi to ocean springs- early morning rain over the Biloxi bridge made for a super enjoyable run
    • Leg 19 Nip Tuck: Drizzle dark but good sidewalks leaving Gulfport through the neighborhoods. 
    • Leg 20 86: Oceans Springs High School”My Kingdom for a Shoulder”
    • Leg 21 Tinkles: beat the heat for a sunrise run across the Pascagoula River
    • Leg 22 Tanked Up: Pascagoula coast, central town area and hot 🥵
    • Leg 23 Steve: it was either guardian angels or the Hickson aliens of Pascagoula that dropped a bottle of Dasani from the heavens right when needed in the unbearable heat.
    • Leg 24 Gideon: Death Valley. 100+deg heat index on black top highway with no shoulder. Crossed the border into Alabama, and possibly the valley of Death. 7miles. Survived only thanks to Car 3’s help.
    • Leg 25 Roots: Grateful to finish in Bayou La Batre after dodging 18 wheelers on the highway and suffering though the blistering heat
    • Leg 26 Bushwacker: (bayou labatre)- the blaze was on! And the joys of being finished we’re immeasurable
    • Leg 27 Catfish: out of the pine woods of to the base of the dauphin island bridge (cedar point)
    • Leg 28 Cavalier: 2:12 pm. Rain dance work, lucky to have the rain for the first half of a hot 6 miler across the bridge to Dauphin Island
    • Leg 29 Bad Moon: Final leg a combo of Death Valley heat and full sun  made me miss the rain and wet shoes
    • Leg 30 Cowbell: Fort Morgan- brutally hot  but a surprise from my fan club on the side of the road helped push me through the “roast”
    • Leg 31 Nip Tuck:  find your own route through the wildlife refuge, beach and gated neighborhood!
    • Leg 32 86: W Beach Road/Lee Callaway Bridge”Dude Where’s My Support Vehicle?”
    • Leg 33 Tinkles: Highlights of Gulfshores: Alvin’s Island, Surf Style, Hooters, Seas and Suds. Feels great to be finished
    • Leg 34 Tanked Up: Sprint on  Perdido Beach road, Perdido. Gazing  at the wonders of the sea and condos !
    • Leg 35 Steve: with the sun setting behind me and familiar landmarks such as the Orange Beach Publix, this 5k provided much needed relief and an opportunity to turn on the speed.
    • Leg 36 Gideon: The Final Countdown. Sweet release. The victory lap. Cool running into the evening. The energy and honor of bringing it home made it a light run. Proud to close it out for such an impressive group of brothers.

    Bushwacker nicely broke down our experience into round 1, 2, and 3. Round 1 was the race, round 2 the after party, and round 3 was Saturday out on the water. Before we could close the book on round 1 we wanted to finish with a COT. The Florabama parking lot provided the perfect location to get together. We attracted a group of onlookers which included a drunk grandfather in an upside down Waffle House Visor, a cougar in a sequined skirt and sash reading ‘trophy wife’ (made us wonder what type of trophy that is!), and a guy who could of otherwise been our peer (including a trailing line of kids) though could only mutter to us ‘you boys going to get some p….. this weekend?’. It set up a surreal background about which directions life can take and for me it made me all that more thankful for the positive influence of F3.

    Gideon had the awesome idea of customized medals that we all got for finishing the race. During the medal ceremony named an award for each individual signifying their contributions to the group. We had a fun time with this. The winners are:

    • Bushwacker: The Sticky Icky Award
    • Catfish: The Banana-Whacker Award
    • Tinkles: The Coldest Cucumber Award
    • Tanked Up: The Pony Boy Award
    • Nip Tuck: The Cartographer Award
    • Gideon: The Lazarus Award
    • 86: The No Shoulders Award
    • Roots: The High Noon Award
    • Bad Moon: The Swcheatty Award
    • Steve: The Gump Award
    • Cavalier: The Rain Dance Award
    • Cowbell: The What Hurricane? Award

    Round 2 and round 3 will have to be the subject of another backblast but needless to say the fun rivaled that of round 1. Thanks to the social hosts and boat captains for making all of that happen.

    There has been much discussion about what is next for the Roast on the Coast. I think its a start of a tradition and every F3 pax should consider joining the next iteration. Talk to any of the participants and hear some great 1st hand accounts.

    So Completely Stupid and Utterly Pointless? Of course it was in concept but in reality proved to be significant and impactful! Thanks to each of you for making F3 what it is and for making this kind of event possible. Much Love!

  • Light Lundi

    Following the funday of all Sundays the pax was light today. This worked well with my plan to primarily run. The RRR challenge is effective in changing the focus and most all in pax were set to GPS mode. We had some nice conversation and feel like we got a good feel for the Rex run course tomorrow.

    Warm-up: Grass grabbers IC x 20, Imperial Walkers IC x 20, SSH IC x 20.

    The Thang: Nice loop around the park and fly. Made a stop near the levee for some Mary (Russian Twists, LBC, Dying Cock Roach IC x20) and again at the Labyrinth for a ring a fire (3 rounds of ten since we were efficient). Moseyed back to the traditional flag spot.

    COT: That the remainder of carnival is safe.

    Thanks for the opportunity to lead.

  • Double Booked

    I was happy to take the fill-in Q though during my pre-workout moment of silence in the bathroom I checked my calendar for the day and saw I had a 6:30 meeting. Oops. Too late now- will just have to modify. Plus the pax always likes a quick run around the park.

    Warm up:

    Mosey around the parking lot to the bandstand for a warm up: SSH IC x 30, Forward arm circles IC x 20, Reverse arm circles IC x 20, Grass Grabbers IC x 30.

    The Thang:

    To the track for two columns of catch me if you can with 3 burpees for the tailing pax. Continue until all pax have rotated through.

    Pull off into a really dark and wet circle of trees for an honorary ring of fire in the style of South Caroline Dry Docks in honor of visiting Pax, CDC, from S.C. Form from the pax was spotty at best.

    Indian Run to the fountain benches. RLSU IC x 20, Dips IC x 20, LLSU IC x 20, Derkins/Should Taps/Derkins IC x 30.

    Back to the track for POW run to the grassy knoll. Circle of mary. Sensitive pax not loving the wet turf. Comrade Douilles IC x 20, LBC IC x 19, Dying Cock Roach IC x 20

    Two column Indian Run back to the flag. This was a good 3/4 mile run that the pax handled well. Shout out to two guys that have busted their butts and are step for step with the long runs: Squeal and Quincy. Nice work fellas!!

    And I’m done, had to split out. I heard there was some additional Mary and something about nominating Tinkles for a F3 organizational award. You guys are so thoughtful. See you in the Gloom!

  • The Summer Packet of Backblasts

    Much like my kids summer work for school some things are just hard to get done and 1/2-assed when they do get done. Apologies to school teachers and thorough backblast authors.

    Warm-up: Not really sure anymore. Combination of jacks and maybe grass grabbers.

    Warm up 2.0: Jog-sprint combo through the lights of the oak grove

    The Thing: Traditional items such as catch me if you can, jack web, legs and arms at the benches, sprint-jog alternates, Mary at the grassy knoll, Indian Run all the way home.

    Back to flag for namorama, and COT.

    …. now back to watching YouTube in my underwear!

  • Gnarly Tune Up

    I figured I would try something a little different. I’m pretty sure this could be the longest partner run in F3 Nola history. We need the reps though and no place like the home field to start working on some race day prep. As fortune had it all in attendance were from Team Uptown! Sorry world!

    Disclaimer and let’s stay here for a warm up.

    • SSH IC x 25
    • Windmills IC x 20
    • Forward arm circle IC x 15
    • Classic Seaman IC x 15

    Divide into two groups. 5k pace less than 9:00 and greater than 9:00. Grab a partner form the other group. You’ll see little of this guy today!

    Partner run with the running partner doing a loop around the park, approximately 1.8 miles. The at home partner will repeat BLIMPS plus 35 LBC plus 5 pull ups until their partner returns.

    Not to divulge their identity but a couple of pax killed their loop! All did well. As the groups finished there was time to catch some voluntary Mary plus some merkin ring of fire. Times up!

    Count off, namorama, FNG naming, COT. Welcome Sediment, environmental engineering, and Guts who hails from F3 Winston Salem and now calls NOLA home.

  • Respect the Mountain

    I’m out of practice. Secondary to other commitments I haven’t posted at Wolfpack proper in several months. I underestimated the stairwells, especially the stairwells in June. More on that later. The red Friday workout in honor of Sgt. Joey Bovia from Metairie was planned for the Uptowner. In a clear move of imitation/flattery I wanted to incorporate the 8 exercise for 31 reps scheme into today’s beat down at Wolfpack.

    Disclaimer and brief introduction of the Angry Wave duo of Bad Moon and Roots and we are off.

    Short mosey to the bench area in front of Loyola for our 8/31 warm up:

    • SSH
    • Imperial Walker
    • Mountain Climbers
    • Peter Parker
    • RLSU
    • LLSU
    • RL Bulgarian Split Lunges
    • LL Bulgarian Split Lunges

    Mosey to the Mountain for a quick regroup and two-column Indian run to the top.

    Assemble on the peak for Dora 1-2-3. Burpees, Merkins, Russian Twists (one is one) while the partner goes down the stairs to the ground level and back up the other stairs. The stairwell loop took longer than expected and once I got started I don’t think I ever caught my breath or got my heart rate back below 130. After me and G-spot each did two laps we still in the middle of Merkins and time was getting short. Audible to staying up top and finishing your reps together. Kudos to the Pax for busting ass on this. The time passed quickly but the intensity didn’t allow for much banter which I missed.

    Mosey back to the flag. 35 pax! Had to grab my phone as my hypoxic brain wasn’t going to remember beyond the guy to my right. Two FNGs who, based on the namorama video footage, didn’t look too beat down. Welcome Creeper (a legit actor whose credits include some NCIS (he played a rapist) and Jeepers Creepers 3) who gave a nice reminder that every moment is a gift from God (paraphrase). Welcome Uncle Rico (almost ‘Precursor to the Heisman’ or similar) who has a career in football (coaching) who during his HS QB days was backed up by Baker Mayfield. I look forward to learning more about these two gents.

    COT with special intentions for BellHop and his battle with cancer and for a friend of Roots whose son was in a serious ATV accident. A prayer of thanks for great men like Joey Bovia and all the veterans who died on D-day or elsewhere to secure our freedom. A prayer of thanks for the strength we get from each other. Amen.

    Thanks for the opportunity to lead!

  • Tee-Tee Returns

    Thanks to Douille for giving up his birthday Q so I could lead a 3-year anniversary beat down. I meant to give him a shout out during the work out and totally forgot so please tell him happy birthday next time you see him. I racked my brain to come up with a good workout involving the number 3 but none seemed to want to stick. I figured I’d catch my groove with something and moved on to the idea that I would provide a little F3 Nola 5/11/16 trivia.

    Warm UP:

    Disclaimer and quick mosey to the peristyle. It’s always refreshing to see America’s future lounging around the lagoon with a good vape in hand at 6:30. I must say I was a little jealous of the one guy with three girls but recalled that set up usually meant no deal was going to be sealed and buddy you might just need to pack it in the for night. Nonetheless I think they were curious of the pax and when one young lady started doing side straddle hops I lost the pax momentarily. We re-centered though and knocked out those SSH IC x 30, IW IC x 30, Grass Grabbers IC x 30, Peter Parker IC x 20, Mountain Climbers IC x 20, Parker Peter IC x 20, and something else.

    The Thing:

    Mosey around the way OYO to the little foundry. Plank and wait. Divvy into groups of 3: Al Gores, Pull-ups (count, 10), Dips. Rotate and repeat x 1.

    Mosey further around the way OYO to the track.

    Trivia fact one: 5/11/16 was a banner day at The Skinny. FNG’s included YHC plus Quick Draw (anyone spotted our favorite boy in blue lately?) and G-spot. Not sure who in the pax that day knew that ‘G-spot’ is a nickname for Greensboro, NC but the name caught on. I assume G-spot omits that nugget when detailing how he really got his name.

    Anyway the pax has caught their breath by now and is ready to run a mile. Easy enough but catch 10 burpees at the start of each lap. On the last lap instead of crossing the finish line the leader stops 20 yards short of the finish line and the next guy stops 20 yards short of him etc, etc. Plank and wait and the 6 with sweep you up to the finish. This went ok.

    Trivia fact two: I left my first beatdown with the name Tee-Tee. There was some trepidation in the name but urinary names can do that. My kids were stoked when I came home from the gloom and explained my new name. Well it didn’t last. Sometime between the post and the publication of the backblast (Shorty was Q so it may have been a bit) I was renamed Tinkles. Some backroom maneuvering but I think the right call was made.

    Indian run to the NOMA fountain. Spirits were running high so no need for more trivia. Need was for: RLSU IC x 20, LLSU x 20, Classic Tinkles (someone else said it not me) IC x 20.

    Partner up. Partner one stay and do modified LBC with feet on the bench. Partner two run around the now-open circular drive around NOMA. A pleasant mix of AC and paint fumes hung in the air around the museum. I almost vomited but survived. Switch.

    Just enough time to catch a view of Muscleship doing classic Muscleship aka Indian Walk or something like that.

    Mosey back to the flag with just enough time for some plank work on the side walk. We welcomed back Rudy from his butt cyst recovery run. Didn’t see any bloody discharge on the back of his shorts so I assume that it went ok.

    Circle up. Trivia fact three: I was EH’d by Walleye with an assist from Roots. This gave me the idea of having the pax say who EH’d them during the namorama:

    • JV- Yankee
    • Rudy- Heisenburg
    • Catfish- F3nola.com
    • 86- Tinkles
    • Angie’s List- Willie
    • Douille- Bagasse/Yankee
    • King Kong- Angie’s List
    • War Eagle- Baby Face
    • Two Utes- Hawg
    • Colonel Mustard- Seaman
    • Bongo- Maverick
    • Gabrielle- Seaman
    • Triple Shift- Triple Shift
    • Organ Grinder- Google
    • Fracsac- Maverick/Bubba
    • Heisenbery- Bogey

    T-claps to Seaman, Yankee, and Maverick for topping list of EH’ers

    Close with a prayer with special dedications to Fracsac’s mom, Triple Shift’s friend, and Moms. Thanks for the chance to lead and looking forward to another 3 years!

  • A,B,C…1,2,3

    I only posted because I was the Q. The time change, the Mardi Gras break, the darkness of the gloom- all good reasons to sack. As been said many times, if left to my own devices I wouldn’t be there. Thanks to F3 I was. Disclaimer which included a very Confession-like ‘my last Q was 6 months ago’(!) and we were off.

    Warm Up in oak alley:

    • SSH IC X 30
    • Hill Billy IC X 30
    • Arm circles X 10 and reverse

    The Thang: I wanted to do Catch Me if You Can all the way around the park with some beat downs interspersed. Keeping the pax in order necessitated lining up in alphabetical order so we got a little brain workout as well. Once organized we made our way around the park doing Catch Me if You Can with the last guy in the column dropping off for 3 burpees. This seemed to please everyone. Alphabetical order insured we all got a chance to participate!

    First beat down at the row bars for: rows (count to 10), lunges, Bobby Hurley’s, LBCs, Low Slow Squats

    Next COP across from the bridge: Merkin Wave with bear crawl to center and out between each wave. 3 waves total.

    Next COP was at the benches by the fountain: RLSU IC X 20, Dips X 15, LLSU X 20, Classic Tinkles (just offering that moniker)(Akin to naming yourself ‘Ice Man’ or similar I assume): Shoulder taps IC X 10 straight into Derkins IC X 10, followed by shoulder taps IC X 10

    Mosey on to grassy knoll for some Mary:

    • WW 2 sit ups X 20
    • Dying cockroaches X 20
    • Douilles X 20
    • Supermans X 20

    Back to the track and on to the pull up bars. Short on O2 I went with the same rotation that we had done at the row bars. The mumble chatter involved Yankee wondering how many likes his posts get. He must work with adolescent/teen girls all day.

    Back to the flag and only several seconds over the time limit. Not bad.

    Count off, namorama, and COT. Continued prayers for Angie’s dad.

    Thanks for the opportunity to lead!