Selfishly, I wanted the miles and running workouts are pretty easy to Q. In past iterations of the February running challenge I found myself skipping the beatdowns and just running. With an all-time interest (t-claps to the HIM men who got us motivated) maybe the Q’s will find a way to blend the two. Today was an attempt at that.
Warm up: SSH X 20, Grass grabbers X 20, couple of hamstring stretches
The Thang: OYO laps starting at the bandstand and heading downtown on the dirt path to the main track where we headed toward the river and back uptown cutting back to the parking lot and main shelter (classic El Wire route). When back to the shelter do 10 merkins. Repeat and when back to shelter, dips X 10. Repeat and when back to shelter, decline merkins X 10. Keep that rotation going through as many laps as possible. Each lap was about .4 miles and several guys knocked out 11 laps with most hitting ten. Well done!
Count off, namorama, and intentions. Prayer to help us be mindful of lifting up others. SYITG!
Today marked our third mile trial at the Uptown Tsunami AO since we decided to copycat (sort of) the Wally Sprint. Perhaps in a time when COVID isn’t as rampant we can do a joint time trial with our cross-town brothers. On this Tuesday, however, the uptown usual suspects gathered at the starting line for 45 minutes that would see their heart rates peak early, and from there it was a task just to hang on.
The Thang: .5 mile warm up followed by some light stretching, high knees, butt kicks, shuffles, and a sprint.
1 mile at your best. Times ranged between 5:50 and 7:30 for the 7 runners.
Next, we used the “Running Man” markers on the track at the park to fuel the rest of the workout, progressively speed up for 5 running men, jog for 5. That got us another lap around, followed by a .5 mile cool down.
4.something miles total (depending on your watch)
Excellent effort by all. Thanks for the opportunity to lead.
I do not think I have ever actually taken the time to honor MLK day. Maybe in elementary school before it was holiday. Though back then it could have been mentioned in the context of replacing Robert E. Lee day. Embarrassing to admit, but of course change only comes when you are willing to take an honest look at things. I have never been against the holiday, though I certainly looked at it as a day off or an opportunity for a long weekend. But this is what we all love about F3. Of course, the challenges are physical en face, but those of us that stick with F3 realize that its being challenged in ways much beyond the physical are what keeps us coming back. I couldn’t be prouder of my 45+ minutes spent today with my brothers.
I enjoy history and geography and was vaguely familiar with the story behind the Black Pearl neighborhood. I did not know that before it was the Black Pearl it was N-town. Before it was N-town it was N-town sans abbreviation. It was home to many of the domestic employees and laborers that powered to Uptown economy. It is now 67% white. Despite this changing demographic, it is still home to highest density of churches (not verified) that you will find in a neighborhood. One of those churches is Mount Moriah Baptist Church. Mahalia Jackson, the famous New Orleans gospel singer, got her start at this very church. The most pleasant surprise of my reading was that Mahalia Jackson sang the opening hymn before Dr. Martin Luther King’s ‘dream’ speech at the National Mall! I amazed at the blessings to be found should you be willing to look for them. Thanks to those who joined me this morning.
The Thang:
• Warm-up: SSH X 28 (mind fart, no meaning), Grass grabber X 20, IW X 20, Hillbilly X 20
• Black Pearl neighborhood run and tour:
o Broadway Mission Baptist Church: standard plank for 2 minutes
o Mount Moriah Baptist Church: elbow plank for 2 minutes
o Greater Pleasant Green Baptist Church: panther plank for 2 minutes
o Plymouth Rock Baptist Church: side plank/arm raise 1 minute each side
o Zion Travelers Baptist Church: contralateral arm and leg up and hold, 1 minute each side
o Williams United Methodist Church: elbow plan/arm raise 1 minute each side
o St. Charles Avenue Baptist Church: merkin ring of fire x 3
• Drew Brees memorial, 9 burpees in front of Drew Brees’s house (it is F3 afterall)
Back to the flag and few minutes late and with Landing Strip walking slow to avoid a mid workout poop (moop). Great talk lead by Sandbar about how MLK often spoke of the importance of communities coming together in times of crisis. Words that definitely apply today. Thanks for the opportunity to lead!
A solid pax showed up for the first Skinny of 2021. I for one am fat and out of shape and was glad to have the motivation to get the week started well. A quick show of hands demonstrated that Bieber was the only pax present who is participating in this month’s ISI. I figured we could join him for a day. The rest of the pax enthusiastically agreed.
• Warm Up:
o Forward arm circles X 20
o Revers arm circles X 20
o Grass Grabbers X 20
o SSH X 20
• Socially distance run for a bit. Regroup and hit 5 burpees at each of the next 5 running man markers.
• Pull over for a Merkin ring of fire:
o Standard X 10
o Left arm staggered X 10
o Right arm staggered X 10
• Socially distance run for a bit. Regroup and hit 5 burpees at each of the next 5 running man markers.
• Slow mosey to corner of Walnut and St. Charles
o BLIMPs down St. Charles
o Turn around and BLIMPS backs
• Socially distance run for a bit. Regroup and hit 5 burpees at each of the next 5 running man markers.
• Socially distance run for a bit. Regroup and hit 5 burpees at each of the next 3 running man markers. Made it back in time for almost timely departure.
Count off to 16, namorama, and intentions for a great 2021. Thanks for the chance to lead. I don’t think we started a group movement but Bieber keep representing us!
I love baseball. I love everything about it. Because I love it so much, I have been wanting to Q a baseball inspired beatdown for a while. While 50 degrees in a sweet December gloom doesn’t necessarily lend itself to thoughts of afternoons under the blue skies, maybe the following 9 Innings of Suck will…
Warmup:
Short Mosey, SSH X 20 IC, Grassgrabbers X 10 IC, Windmill X 10 IC, Imperial Squat Walker X 20 IC, Forward Arm Circles X 10 IC, Reverse Arm Circles X 10 IC.
The Thang: I had longed to trespass on the nicely turfed ballfield nearby to complete this beatdown, and in so doing each position on the field would be the location for each Inning of Suck. Since the field was locked, we settled for a nice damp, dark, unmarked field.
Each inning started with a 50 yard jog, included the inning/position exercise, and concluded with a 50 yard sprint back to the starting spot (dugout).
1st Inning/Pitcher: 10 Burpees OYO 2nd Inning/Catcher: 25 Low Squats IC 3rd Inning/1st Base: 20 Bonnie Blair OYO (2 is 1) 4th Inning/2nd Base: 20 Side to Side Shuffles IC (groundball pickups) 5th Inning/3rd Base: 20 Hand Release Merkins OYO 6th Inning/Shortstop: 20 Side to Side Shuffles IC (groundball pickups) 7th Inning/Left Field: Jack Webbs Rep Count 1-7 on the Merkins 8th Inning/Center Field: Jack Webbs Rep Count 8-15 on the Merkins 9th Inning/Right Field: 10 Burpees OYO…Finish Strong!
The jogs/sprints in between innings represent getting on and off the field…never walk on a ball field…green means go!
Since we still had time, we moseyed back towards the flag for some Extra Innings:
Partner up for some DORA 100, 200, 300 with a “to the fourth light and back” run: 100 Squats 200 Floyd Mayweathers (1 is 1) 300 LBC’s
Back to the Flag for Count-o-rama, Name-o-rama, and COT.
This was an amazing way for me to start my day. Merging my love of baseball (however twisted) with the opportunity to Q a PAX that shows trust, works hard, makes you laugh, encourages, and shows appreciation throughout is something I don’t take for granted. Thank you all!
It was my honor to lead a great group of men this morning as we recognize, remember, and celebrate our Veterans. Whether in times of war or peace, those who have stepped up to serve our country deserve the recognition and praise of all those who call this wonderful country our home. My sincere gratitude and lots of prayers go to all the Veterans of the past, present, and future.
Disclaimer and Mosey to Warmup:
In Cadence: SSH X 20, Windmill X 10, Grassgrabbers X 10 Peter Parkers X 15, Mountain Climbers X 15 Forward Arm Circles X 10, Reverse Arm Circles X 10 *Sufficiently lathered in the humid air…we moseyed to the train tracks and levee.
The Thang:
11’s consisting of 8 Count Body Builders at the bottom of the levee with Jump Squats at the top. Start with 10 X 8 Count BBs then to the top for 1 X Jump Squat, then 9 and 2, 8 and 3, etc. All the way down to 1 and 10. *On your own: Little Baby Crunch and Little Baby Twist til the 6 finished up.
Another mosey led us to the statue in front of the zoo for some partner work. Each group was responsible for 300 total reps completed via 5 rounds of: 20 WWII Sit Ups, 20 Merkins, 20 Bonnie Blairs. While one partner repped it out, the other partner ran a short loop in front of the Zoo. Partners switch out and pick up the count.
To close we circled up on the field in front of the zoo for some Mary:
In Cadence: 20 X American Hammer, 10 X Penguin, 10 X Box Cutter, 20 X Dying Cockroach, and On your own X 20 WWII Sit Ups.
Back to the flag for some light plank work, then Count-o-rama, Name-o-rama, announcements and intentions.
Seaman will be Qing a Sunnyside on Thanksgiving Day @ 8:00am, Drew Brees Playground.
Prayers were offered up for spoken intentions, silent intentions, and all of our Veterans.
Gentlemen, thank you. As always, stepping up to the Flag at 5:30 finds me one way and stepping away from it at 6:15 finds me a little better.
Woke up early to this beautiful, cool, dry morning to setup the field in front of Audubon Zoo with our F3 flags. Then I moseyed to our usual Birdcage COT spot to meet up with 45 other PAX to celebrate F3Nola’s 6 year anniversary. Before the disclaimer, I told the PAX that this is our actual anniversary date, and The Birdcage was our very first weekday AO. We then headed over to the field in front of Audubon Zoo with our warmup exercises in cadence. To honor our 6 year anniversary, we started the day with 6 burpees OYO.
1.) SSHs x 20
2.) Windmills x 10
3.) Self Love x 10
4.) Imperial Walkers x 20
5.) Peter Parker, Parker Peter, MCs x 15
We divided the PAX in 2 groups in the middle of the field. One group was facing the Zoo while the other was facing Magazine Street. Each group had their own marker to reach to (which was about 50 feet away).
Round 1 – moseyed to the marker and did 10 hand release merkins. Then moseyed back to the middle of the field and went back out to marker to do 15 hand release merkins. Then moseyed back to the middle of the field and went back to the marker to finish off with 20 hand release merkins. Then converged back to the middle of the field to wait for the Six (SSHs until the Six was done).
Round 2 – similar routine as round 1 except we did 10, 15, and 20 big boy situps.
Round 3 – similar to round 1 except we did 10, 15, and 20 jump lunges. Also, instead of running, we were side hopping.
Round 4 – similar to round 1 except we did 10, 15, and 20 leg raises.
Round 5 – similar to round 3 except we did 10, 15, and 20 squats.
Round 6 – similar to round 1 except we bear crawled to the marker and moseyed back to the middle of the field with 20, 40, and 60 overhead air presses in between.
Round 7 – similar to round 6 except we bunny hopped to the marker and moseyed back to the middle of the field with 5, 10, and 15 burpees in between.
At some point during the workout, we saw a shooting star with a crescent moon in the backgound.
Round of Mary
We did the following in cadence:
1.) American Hammers x 20
2.) LBCs x 20
3.) Hello Dolly x 20
4.) Low Country Crabs x 10 (Yankee’s lead)
5.) Dying Cockroach x 20 (Hawgcycle’s lead)
COT
We finished the beatdown with COT. Announcements and prayers. Someone mentioned Bogey is buying for everyone who shows up at the Deutsches Haus tonight. We thank Sky Q for giving us the strength everyday so that we can do this on a regular basis. Always grateful to be out in the AM with the PAX and hopeful for many years of this.
Few of us had some F2 coffee at PJ’s on Magazine. Always entertaining conversations with the PAX. SYITG
Conditions: Humid and Partly Cloudy. 73 degrees, 100% humidity. Wind 4 mph from the NW
The Thang
We divided up into nine teams to play some Rarájipari. Teams of 4 or 5 kick a baseball as they run. No real rules other than you have to kick it everywhere you go. Today each team had to visit four landmarks to collect a playing card. They could collect the cards in any order. First team to make it back with all four cards and the ball was the winner. The landmarks were the Peristyle, The Dueling Oak, The Singing Oak, and the Rugby Pitch. Overall mileage was roughly 3 miles for the efficient teams, over 3.5 for some of the more directionally challenged teams.
Cool Down
As teams arrived back to the start High-Rise led as he took stretch requests and YHC closed us out with a little Mary before we sealed the deal.
NMM
Chaos ensued at the start. A couple of Pax went down with turned ankles and balls were lost.
We started with nine balls. We ended with five. Not sure of the specifics, but one team was rumored to have lost two balls somehow.
One team lost a ball off the Wisner Bridge. That leads to a number of questions.
The teams that went to the Peristyle first had to weave their way through a Zumba class to get to the flag.
This workout was much more compliant with Corona restrictions than what Papa Smurf did on Monday. Although our pods were sharing the same ball, YHC was the only one without shoes. CDC guidelines limit shoeless Rarájipari players to one per team. In an abundance of caution, other teams shod all of their players.
Some teams were looking for Dueling Oaks. Just to clarify, the Oaks themselves have no beef with one another. The Dueling Oak, singular, was the location of many a human duel back in the day.
T-claps to Rudy, Boo-Boo, and Kuch for helping YHC put the flags out this morning.
T-claps to Bushwhacker and Cowbell for making the trek from the frigid North. Cowbell was showing off a strong sock game today.
Every Rarájipari team has a 6. And depending on what group we are in, that could, for the most part, be any one of us. The fast guys are usually controlling the ball up front and the 6 is keeping a consistent pace trying to keep up. You may be falling farther and farther behind, but you keep running. You keep plugging away. Inevitably someone kicks the ball into the shrubs, or into a giant mud hole, or off the Wisner Bridge and you catch up. It’s hard to overstate the importance of consistency in every aspect of our lives. Keep plugging away – you’ll get there.
Another fine day at the mountain with 22 PAX: Bieber, Angie’s List, Peppa, 86, Squeal, Apostle, Tube Steak, Seaman, Gabrielle, Hawgcycle, NipTuck, Landing Strip, Moana, Bones, Mr. Peabody, Brushburn, Willie, Tinkles, El Wire, Flaming Lips, Bad Moon, Catfish (Q).
Took a brief mosey around the block and circled up on the usual lawn for a warmup – SSH, Goofballs, Peter Parker, Mountain Climbers, Parker Peters, and Imperial Walkers. Moseyed over to the base of the mountain.
First Level – Did some Nickels and Dimes with 5 low jump squats, 10 bonnies (2 is 1), and SSH waiting for the end of the minute. 5 rounds, then ran up to level 3, forwards on the flats, backwards up the inclines. Plank jacks waiting for the six.
Third Level – Did a round of Bruce Lee – American Hammer, Leg Raises, LBCs, Penguins, Crunchy Frog, 100s. 30 Reps for all cadence exercises (everything except 100s). Ran up to level 5, forwards on the flats, backwards up the inclines.
Fifth Level – Nickels and Dimes again with 5 Burpees, 10 hand-release Merkins, and Shoulder Taps waiting for the minute. Did 3 rounds, then ran to the top, forwards on the flats, backwards up the inclines.
The Top – Monkey Humpers for the peak. Back down the stairs to the base, then to the flag. 7 burpees OYO for the finish. COT, Coffeeteria @ PJ’s.
Always a pleasure at the mountain, and glad to finally get a set of Bruce Lees in!
The mid-August air was heavy, but the feet were fast and light this morning. Nine of us gathered for a choice between two routes, each with a midway convergence on some cold refreshing water that had been placed strategically for these PAX to indulge in. Or you could show up late, play your own version of “catch us if you can” and join us back at the flag for the COT.
As usual it was a great run. Some fast times this morning despite the deep Southern August air. Thank you for the chance to lead this beatdown, and thanks for trusting the route. Motivated and inspired by all…always.
Our thoughts and prayers to all the families starting back to school, and of course for all the intentions that weigh on the hearts of the F3 family.
Thank you to F3 Nation for being there for all of us.
