F3 New Orleans

Category: Backblasts

  • Octal October & October Surprise

    Octal October & October Surprise

    “And this is what ye have shipped for, men! to chase that white whale on both sides of land, and over all sides of earth, till he spouts black blood and rolls fin out. What say ye, men, will ye splice hands on it, now? I think ye do look brave.” ~~Captain Ahab

     

    So today we ditched the decimal(base 10)counting system and went with octal(base 8) counting. With a twist; If any PAX cadenced 8,9,18,19 we all had to do 10 merkins for punishment.

    Here is a table for reference:
    1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20 decimal count
    1,2,3,4,5,6,7,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,20,21,22,23,24 octal count

    here is how it went;

    short disclaimer

    warmup

    all in OCTAL CADENCE; side straddle hops, imperial walkers, toe touches, good mornings, arm circles, lunges, butt-kicks, squats, seal-jacks, mummy-kicks, high-knees
    we all fumbled the counting one time or another, and thus ended up doing about 120 “punishment for not concentrating”” merkins

     

    mosey to the “BEDROCK QUARRY”
    each PAX picks out a good sized limestone boulder, for coupon exercises
    on the ground for rowing exercise, then up for arm curls, all in octal cadence

     

    mosey to the front of the Taj Mahal
    circle up by the flagpole – step back to outer ring, everyone in plank position,
    10 merkins each, then one PAX jumps up and runs around and up the steps, while the PAX planks,
    repeat until all took their turn
    Next, bear crawl in to the flagpole, crab crawl out, repeat
    Next, 10 burpees

    mosey to the back of the St.Tammany Parish Courthouse Annex parking garage,
    backwards lunge walk halfway up the first floor ramp
    turn and sprint up rest of the way
    jog/walk across the second floor ramp
    backwards lunge walk halfway up third floor ramp
    turn and sprint up rest of the way

    And now….Moby-Dick takes over the queue with his October Surprise: and the PAX is treated to the inaugural launch of SV Pequod, with each PAX member getting the excellent opportunity to drag Capt Ahab on a Nantucket Sleigh ride, and then to play Capt Ahab and be dragged. Much fun and cheering as we all took turns. See picture of Shooter towing two!! And that non-skid surface was not stopping us!!

     

     

     

     

    And the PAX gives YHC a hard time for not knowing the nuances of the novel “Moby-Dick”, but in Catholic elementary school we were not allowed to read anything with “Dick” in it.

    Nice spray-paint job on the SV Pequod, Moby!! You must have used a template.

    mosey back to the trail head.

    count-o-rama, good prayer led by Shooter, we bid our adieus and head out to take on the day.

  • Across the River with El Wire a classic

    El wire stepped up for Landing Strip who damaged his “wrist” doing whatever Landing Strip does in his free time.  Probably burpees.  Probably.

    Warm up SSH and some other things.

    Ran to Monkey Hill.  Did some backwards bear crawls.

    Also did a variation of douilles – instant classic the levee.  There were Russian Twists.

    We American Ninja warrior’d using the soccer goal- you had to grab the bar and slide across the “river”.

    Then we finished with a Ring of Fire on the bandstand.

    Tclaps to Wire for stepping up.

    Next Q lets learn how to post one of these things.

    Convergence is Saturday.

  • Wisner Mountain – Stomp #111

    “I just felt like running” – Forest Gump

    The 111th Stomp took place this morning, and 9 brave men were there to enjoy it.  The gloom graced us with lots of humidity and a lack of wind had the PAX really fired up to embark on a long mosey.  Welcome Jiffy from F3 Birmingham who is in town for a few days.  Rumor had it we were going to conquer the newly opened Wisner Overpass, so after briefing the PAX on the route and the usual disclaimer, we were off and on our way to the east side of City Park.  Here’s what we did:

    Leg #1:  Mosey at your own pace from the flag on Roosevelt Mall to the foot of the Wisner Overpass.  Approx 1 mile.

    Leg#2:  Run at your own pace up and down the overpass on the pedestrian lane and once on the north side, veer left on the service road along Bayou St. John for approx 100+yds, turn around at the stop sign and head back across the overpass.  This made for an approx .85 mile loop.  The goal was to run this loop (full or partial) multiple times until approx 6:05ish.  T-claps to the guys in the front PAX for knocking out three full loops plus some lagniappe.  Others knocked out 2 and some change.  The inclines seemed long and a tad brutal but nothing the PAX couldn’t handle.  The absence of breeze allowed us to really take in the all so pleasant aroma of steamy swamp mud from the bayou and carbon dioxide from the interstate below.  YHC got the impression the PAX was pumped up when we got to the bridge and glad when we departed.

    Leg #3: Backtrack leg#1 and head back to the flag at you own pace.

    Most guys covered between 4-5 miles total.  I think a few could have probably gone 5+ if YHC had mentioned prior that there was no need to wait at the start/stop of each leg….sorry for the mixup.   Either way, those guys kept busy with core work while waiting for the six.  Apparently JV’s watch was not in sync and made him tardy at the end but we’ll give him a pass since he’s posted 200+ times this year.

    Closed out with a COT and prayer.  Thanks to those who posted and continue to push each other.

    Tool

     

  • Splash Attack is Back

    Pre-Thang

    It’s been since January 13th, 2017 since YHC has Q’d in a New Orleans AO.  This is partly due to a hip injury, work travel, and of course laziness.  T-Claps go out to Reluctant Yankee for the forced Q sign-up i.e. extreme EH’ing.

    Warm-Up

    Mosey around the streetcar tracks and over to Wolfpack Lawn for some Jack’n’around:

    • IC: SSH x 25
    • IC: Seal Jacks x 20
    • IC: Rock-ettes Tow Touches x 15

    The Thang

    Mosey over to Wolfpack Escalator for some OYO:

    • 15 Burpees
    • Run up escalator
    • Derikans x 10
    • Inch warm to corner
    • 30 Monkey Humps
    • Bear Crawl to beginning

    Mosey over to Wolfpack Hill.  Backwards run up ramps and forward run on the flats to 4th floor.  Thumper was nearly lost but no man is left behind.

    A YHC favorite: Bring Sally Up

    Mosey over to the Greenwave ROTC pull up bars and break off into pairs…woops, the ROTC was actually using their pull up bars.  So the YHC let the PAX over to the bike racks under Wolfpack Mountain.  The PAX divided into 2 teams.  Team 1 conducts 10 burpees as the count while Team 2 performs the following, flapjacking each set coming to a total of 40 burpees

    • Hand Stand Holds
    • Wall Walks i.e. like Forearm Plank Walks but against the wall
    • V-Ups
    • Wife Pleasers

    Mosey back to the flag.

    Announcements: It was a sad to day to hear about the loss of a fellow F3 brother in Houston during a workout.  A moment of silence was held to honor our brother and be with his family for support.  Thanks to all that showed up this morning before Nate comes to town.  Stay strong, keep getting better, and be safe out there.

  • Common Core

    QIC pulled up to the Marsh to see zero cars, zero F3, and 3 minutes to beat down. My first thought was of how my  machinations to bring more abdominal agony could’ve been discovered (reviewing all groupme post of the last week), causing such fear as to preclude the formation of more than a solo PAX.  But then, before I could say Avengers Assemble! Butt Splice, Carpool, and Shooter converged on the spot, and with a collective double take, we spied the injured Grundy pull up, figuring to get one more beat down under his belt before an 8am MRI. We proceeded to zip through the warmorama to get to the good stuff. There wasn’t much mumble chatter, aside from grunts, groans, a bazooka explosion and general discontentment as the core (and upper quads) were set ablaze with some hanging leg lifts and  our Monday favorite, the Bruce Lee! (now with 2 bonus sets!!!) Keeping to the running theme of QIC discovering how much better some things look on paper than feel in reality, We hit the court for a suicide ladder….up AND back down. Every time we returned to our starting point we would perform 8 count body builders, increasing reps x5 upon each return. Once we hit x20 we proceeded to reverse our way back down the suicide ladder of horrendous pain and torturous exhaustion. As if everyone’s simmering hate for QIC wasn’t quite ready to boil over yet, we squeezed out 20x hanging knee raises to put a proper period on this pre-dawn persecution. We wrapped up with COT  and offered special intentions for healing of Grundy’s wrist. As we dispersed, I noticed a white shirt drift off into the gloom towards the monkey bars. Apparently not sufficiently beaten down, Shooter was off to shake out a few pull ups for the ISI challenge (BEAST!) I guess it’s back to the drawing board to bring a more adequate amount of pain next time…

     

    WARMORAMA

    SSH x20

    Asskickers x20

    Hillbillies x20

    Goofbals x20

    THANG

    Hanging Leg Lifts x20

    Bruce Lee – Putins, Leg Lifts, LBCs, Heel Touches, Crunchy Frogs, 100s: 5  supersets x20 each

    Suicide Ladder (up AND down) – Starting with x5 8 count body builders upon 1st return, increase by x5  until up to x20. Then, starting with x20, decrease by x5 upon each return

    Hanging Knee Lifts x20

    COT

    Countorama

    Prayerorama

    The PAX brought some serious intensity, inspiring job guys!

     

  • Pre-blast for Wisner Overpass Christening

    Calling all runners of F3 NOLA….we will be running the Stomp tomorrow (Tues) and are trying out a new route.  The plan is to christen in the newly opened Wisner overpass which has a 12ft wide pedestrian lane separate from the vehicular lanes.  It’s safe, well lit, and as smooth as Bogey’s vocals.  For those that may be unfamiliar with the Tues Stomp, we meet on Roosevelt Mall at the usual time (5:30am) and typically focus on running (at your own pace) with some occasional lagniappe thrown in.  Tomorrow will be all running with the following plan, broken down into three sections:

    Leg#1:  Approx 1 mile OYO.  Mosey down Roosevelt Mall, veer left at the museum, left on Enrique Alferez Dr. towards Christian Brothers School, right on Freidrichs Ave., left on Wisner sidewalk on Bayou St. John side, zig zag around grassy area currently awaiting new paved path which will bring you to the foot of the Wisner Overpass.

    Leg#2: Approx .8mile each loop OYO.  Despite the “No Pedestrian” sign, there should be plenty room to walk/run through….no worries about ignoring the sign since many people have been using it including the area council member tweeting a photo with people on the overpass.  Each loop to include a run over the bridge, once at the bottom, veer right on the “service road” near the bayou, run approx 100 yds to the end of the service road near stop sign, run back (along Wisner shoulder or ??) then back over bridge.  That should be approx 0.8 miles and can be modified if needed.  The goal is to run as many loops (full or partial) before having to make the journey back, most likely around 6:05-ish.

    Leg #3:  Approx 1 mile OYO.  Backtrack Leg#1.  You can also mix it up by cutting through to the paved track going around the City Park Festival grounds.  Either way should be the about the same distance.  Aim for being back at the flag by 6:15.

    We can alter this route as time goes on, or abandon it if it’s too vanilla.

    If you don’t enjoy running, you can still post and just do burpees at the flag for 45 minutes.

    See you in the gloom.

    Tool

     

  • Touch, Touch, and Touch

    Yet another delightful New Orleans fall morning: 75 degrees and 100% humidity.  I love fall in the south.

    YHC had arrived at Rock City early to embark upon a northshore-inspired pre-thang run AND to scout out the planned Q.  Alas – the gates to the football field were chained and locked (perhaps to protect them from the ferocious pounding of Hurricane Nate?).  After pondering the PAX suggestion of having COP#1 include scaling the fences, YHC decided instead to pull a JingleVader and make the Q up on the fly.  Disclaimer issued (doing my best to follow Hawg’s lead in describing the perils), and off to the races.

    COP #1: The usual warmup location.

    • SSH x25
    • IW x25
    • Plank-o-rama with Peter Parker, Plank Walks, Parker Peter, Mountain Climber each x25.
    • Shorty grumbling.  Surprise.

    Grab your rock.  How Big, Shorty asks.  Sheesh.  Just grab a rock and go.

    COP #2: Find a comfortable gravelly parking lot next to soft grass.  Perfect location.  Dora 1-2-3

    • 100 Burpees coupled with Lunge Walk half-way across the lot, Walk Lunge back (trying not to fall over).  LBC waiting for the 6
    • 200 Shoulder Press coupled with Bear Crawl 3/4 of the way, run back.  LBC waiting for the 6
    • 300 Squats coupled with Sprint across the lot and back.  LBC waiting for the 6
    • YHC had to explain several times to the apparently hard-of-hearing PAX: “Touch the curb here.  Sprint over there.  Touch the curb.  Sprint back.  Touch the curb.  Touch, Touch, Touch.  Get it?”  Eventually, they got it.  YHC learns he needs to use smaller words.

    COP #3: Grab your rock and circle up in the field

    • Shoulder Press x10 (grumbling about more shoulders?)
    • Rows x20
    • Bench Press x20
    • Cockroach x20
    • Repeat

    Deliver the rock back home and return to the VSF.  Countoff (11 PAX survived Hurricane Nate and were ready to roll) and Name-o-rama.

    Round of announcements (Octoberfest run this week, Convergence next Saturday).  Prayers and intentions (Cowbell special intention, Babyface hospital visit this week, victims of shootings and hurricanes).  YHC offers a prayer for his sister’s birthday today, in particular remembering the bonds of family that help us all through times of trials and tribulations.

  • 10K Plus

    I am not certain if it is uncouth, unbecoming, untoward, crass, or a violation of the F3 chapter in Emily Post’s Etiquette, but what follows is a backblast of an officially unofficial workout which will hopefully very shortly hereafter become an officially official workout at the recently dubbed CAPTAIN’S COVE.

     

    Five PAX arrived at the predetermined, slightly changed location (what gazebo???).  We were about to begin our pre-departure routine when Ocho rolled in hot, in a most silent and environmentally friendly fashion, although that may be subject to debate when one considers the volume of ore required to be mined to manufacture a lithium battery for a Prius, not to mention the challenges that disposing of such presents.  Nonetheless, the Ocho-operated Prius glid into the parking lot.  Apparently the parking lot stripes are laid out in an unintuitive manner, resulting in the Prius intersecting a yellow stripe at an acute angle.  Mumble chatter erupted (well, erupted may be a bit too dramatic a verb, but there was mumble chatter, trust me) as the Pax laughed and pointed at the parking job Ocho executed.  Perhaps Ocho heard the chatter because he proceeded to engage the Prius’ hip and trendy electric motor once again and, with a bit of pitch, yaw, and roll piloted the silent auto into a position parallel to the stripes.

    Countorama, nameorama, prayerorama.  And we’re off.  Three pax proceeded at a slightly faster pace, and C-Spark announced that the three in the lead would add the “Thursday Scramble Loop”.  This allowed the trailing Pax to catch up and overtake the lead pax.  At Sunset point, lead Pax met up with tail Pax and kept going.  We finished in two groups at the gazebo that does indeed exist, with the lead group getting an extra ~1/2 mile in, thanks to the loop.

    Really digging the 10K Fridays guys.  This, with the City Hall Scramble, has seen several self-proclaimed “I’m not a runner” Pax tackle the mental obstacle of running.  Excellent, excellent work guys!  See ya next time.

     

    Ei

  • Staying on Track

    “The only bad workout is the one you didn’t do” – Author unknown 

    Another strong turnout with the PAX this Saturday.  T-claps to Worms for EH-ing a FNG and also to Coxswain for bringing his pops.  T-claps to Rudy for a pre-thang mosey along with joining us for a COP and giving us a taste of classic Rudy before ducking out to help the in-laws.  YHC had been kicking around several ideas and settled on a few themes for the day.  Theme #1 would center around October being the awareness month for both Down Syndrome and breast cancer.  YHC’s 13yr old son was born with Down syndrome, also known as Trisomy 21, which is a genetic disorder caused by the prescense of a 3rd copy of chromosome 21.  This meant 21 would be our number of the day.  We would also acknowledge awareness for breast cancer by adding in a few rounds of burpees as part of the “Burpees for Boobs” initiative led each October by the Spartan Race.  After the disclaimer, Here’s what we did:

    Mosey to grass area in front of sculpture garden for the pre-thang.

    SSH X21

    IPW X21

    ABE VIGODA X21 (this progressed to windmills due to heckling from Rudy)

    ARM CIRCLEs X21

    BURPEES OYO X21

     

    Then a briefing to the PAX on theme #2 which would involve a mosey around the 1.8 mile loop of the City Park amusement train tracks with stops along the way.  By paralleling the tracks, this would lay the groundwork for our “staying on track” theme with some related inspirational quotes courtesy of Google.  There were opportunities to modify the distance and the PAX planked to wait for the six at each stop.  After starting the mosey near the tracks by the sculpture garden, the rest of the workout went as such:

    Stop #1 – Refinery for a 4 minute, 4 exercise OYO circuit

    PULL UPS X21

    BODY ROWS X21

    SQUAT JUMPS X21

    BOX JUMPS X21

    “You only fail when you stop trying” 

     

    Stop #2 – Prison Bars aka Tool Wall

    CALF RAISES x35IC (keep ’em guessing)

    HIP SLAPPERS x21 IC

    CALF RAISES x30IC

     

    Stop #3 – RR Crossing

    LUNGE WALK to first light pole

    CRAB WALK to second

    LUNGE WALK to third

    CRAB WALK to fourth

     

    Stop#4 – Grass stretch near CP Ave.

    BEAR CRAWL approx 30yds to oak tree

     

    Stop #5 – Water Fountain

    Plank and wait

     

    Stop #6 – The two pedestrian bridges

    Partner up with PAX#1 running over bridge, BURPESS x10…for the ta-tas, run back over on second bridge

    while PAX #2 alternated between TIN SNIPS and LBT

    “You gotta hustle for the muscle” 

    YHC hoped to work in 3 rounds of these but had to cut it short with 2 rounds due to lack of time.

     

     

    Stop #7 – RR Crossing on the far end of the field from where we started.

    “Even if you are on the right track, you will get run over if you just sit there” 

    Line up at first light pole for said exercises and mosey to next with decreasing reps at each one.  This was an OYO circuit intended to be a brutal grand finale with 10 stops but had to be cut short.  The altered version included:

    CROSS FIT MERKIN x20,  GROINERS x20 at first light pole

    CROSS FIT MERKIN x15,  GROINERS x15 at second light pole

    CROSS FIT MERKIN x10….time expired around this point so back to flag to call it a day.

     

    COT: 

    YHC also read the following: “During Down Syndrome Awareness Month, we celebrate the significant contributions that people with Down syndrome make to their families, to their communities, and to our Nation.  We also salute the family members, caregivers, medical professionals, and advocates who have dedicated themselves to ensuring that these extraordinary people enjoy lives filled with love and increasing opportunity.  As a result of these remarkable efforts, people with Down syndrome are living longer, more enriching lives than ever before”.  – part of a statement released by The White House this earlier in the week

    We also capped off the train track theme with YHC mentioning the importance of “staying on track” in life.  This was inspired by the loss of a good friend 6 weeks ago who let his life and health get off track.  None of us are immune to slips and stumbles in life so it’s always good to strive to stay “on track” and keep those people close to us “on track” as well.

    Name-o-rama along with a welcome to FNG’s Bubble Wrap and Lasagna.

    Moleskin:  YHC was hesitant to structure a workout around a long run like this, never knowing when/if some “non-runners” may show up.  I rolled with it even though a few of the new guys mentioned they’re not crazy about running.  Gladly, there were a few shortcuts that allowed for modified distance and they still seemed to get in a solid beatdown.  T-claps to Yankee, Walleye, and others for making sure that “no man was left behind” and keeping the rear PAX company.  At times, I was occasionally the last guy in a mosey and was always appreciative of those that scaled back on their run to make sure to push me on mine.  Now that I’m a little better shape than my early days with F3, I now find it very rewarding when I can reciprocate that favor to newcomers and strive to make sure they are felt both welcome and motivated.

    Thanks for letting me lead.

    Tool

  • #ConqueringH8!

    Event:  3rd Running of the H8!

    Conditions: Breezy and 70ish

    Field: 12 F3 Nola Pax

    Post your results in the comments below to have a record of your progress.

    The Thang

    Each lap consists of running south to the top of the levee, crossing canal (bear crawling the neutral ground), running south to the bottom of the levee, cross canal and run north to the top of the levee, cross canal (bear crawling the neutral ground), running north down the levee and back across canal to the starting point.  At the starting point you do a descending burp and merk pyramid starting at 8 (bupee with 8 merkins, burpee with 7 merkins, …..burpee with 1 merkin)

    At the end of the 2nd lap the burp and merk pyramid starts at 7, etc.

    The goal is to complete 8 laps in 40 minutes.  According to MapMyRun, each loop is approximately 0.4 miles.  Therefore, to conquer the H8! you will have to do the following in 40 minutes:

    • Run over 3 Miles of Hills
    • 550 Yards of Bear Crawls
    • 36 Burpees
    • 120 Merkins

    We did AMRAP and then moseyed back to the flag.

    Moleskin

    • 5 of the 12 participants #ConqueredH8!  That’s a pretty good percentage.
    • Welcome to Cowbell and Nip/Tuck, the two newest members of H8! club.
    • Nip/Tuck is the first Uptowner to #ConquerH8!
    • SOGO showed up 6 minutes late, or he would have conquered.  #DontBeL8.
    • Now that Cowbell has done it, I fully expect to see him standing across Lakeshore Dr. in flip flops with a Pina Colada in his hand observing the next one.

    Shorty suggested that #ConquerH8! become the new social motto for the world.  There’s a lot of hate in the world today and this has been are rough few months.  So let’s keep growing this thing.  There were thousands of men this morning that committed to making themselves better, and that’s some good news for the world.  Keep at it.  #ConquerH8!