29 December 2021 / Mainstage / 5:30 a.m. / Millard South / 10 degrees (Real Feel 0) / Wind NNW 7mph / 67% humidity / Mostly Cloudy
PRE-RUNNERS (9): Barn Door, Cheap Seats, Escobar, Griswold, Sister Act, Ozark (respect), Obi-Wan, Yogi, and Gator
PAX (22): Sister Act, Fine Print, Blades of Glory, Yogi, Beaver, Sweet Sweet, Barn Door, Baby Shoes, Mufasa, Sparty, Griswold, Lite Brite, Sasquash, Crab Cakes, Cheap Seats, Ozark (respect), Brady Bunch, Gump, Obi-Wan, Ruxpin and Gator.
Gators are warm-weather creatures. And like many PAX new to F3, this is my first winter honoring our core principle: Always Outside! So, at 4:52 a.m., it was with some trepidation that I stepped out of my car and into the cold. But I was excited to see that a large group of prerunners had assembled at the Shovel Flags. Upon our return, many more PAX had arrived to brave the cold. Thankful for the PAX (and the lack of a strong wind!)
Mindful of the temperature, the Q quickly made his way through the mission statement, the credo, and the following five core principles:
(1) We are free
(2) We are open to all men
(3) We always outside (nice refrain from the PAX on the perfect day for it)
(4) We are led by our peers in a rotating fashion; and
(5) We always end in a circle of trust.
The Q let the PAX know that we would keep moving forward today – both thematically and physically to avoid the cold. Burpee trivia questions would be aboutmistakes that turned out to not actually be mistakes at all… But, too much standing still already: time to mosey!
Run around to the parking lot on the north side of the building for:
Warm-A-Rama
SSH x 20 IC
HIGH KNEES x 15 IC
SUN GODS w/ Johnny Dramas x 10 IC (forward and reverse)
PLANK (briefly)
PIGEON (right leg)
PIGEON (left leg)
DOWN DOG
PLANK
UP DOG (Fine Print wins the pun award for this beatdown)
DOWN DOG
CROUCHING MERKINS X 10
(kind of like a Carolina dry dock, but with ankles crossed and up on your toes; more on these later)
We were good and warmed up. Mosey to the west side entrance for the first trivia question:
Q: A scientist was working on a super-strong adhesive. Instead, he created the weakest of glues. Dejected, he shelved the project. Ten years later, another scientist came along and found a use for the glue in what highly-popular product?
This was no sticky situation for our man Ozark. He immediately said:
A: Post-It Notes
Nice! Bobby Hurley’s x 7. Mufasa seemed to imply some collusion between the Q and his neighbor, Ozark. All I can say is: people in glass houses…
Mosey to the south west corner of the building for:
The Pre-Thang: A Wall Pyramid
5 Australian Mountain Climbers IC
10 Chicken Peckers IC
15 Donkey Kicks
20 Second Balls to the Wall
Ten count and then we kept moving forward…
20 Second BTTW (courtesy of Griswold)
15 Donkey Kicks (brought to you by Cheap Seats)
10 Chicken Peckers IC (compliments of Crab Cakes)
5 Australian Mountain Climbers IC
Phew! Run to the south east wall. Partner up for:
The Thang: The Monkey Chair
PAX 1 does the People’s Chair.
PAX 2 runs to the east entrance; 20 monkey humpers IC; Return; Flapjack.
I partnered with Blades of Glory who has finally learned that shorts and single-layer attire lose their appeal in single-digit temps. He was also crushing this workout and was quick to relieve me from the burn of the People’s Chair. More burn from the monkey humpers and back. We did two rounds and then planked till the six was in. Then ran to the east entrance and did our next trivia question:
Q: When Coca-Cola was invented, a key ingredient was accidentally added. What was it?
Lots of guesses. Mostly from Mufasa. But he just kept saying “cocaine” repeatedly. Before we fizzled out, the correct answer popped into Sister Act’s head:
A: Carbonated Water. Until this happy accident, Coke had plain water in it. Now it was time for:
The Post-Thang: The Tricep Trio
(1) Dips x 40
(10 legs at right angle; 10 right leg up; 10 left leg up; 10 both legs out)
(2) Ranger Merkins x 10
(3) Crouching Merkins x 10
Rinse and Repeat. As Crab Cakes would say, this was a good time to note that we just don’t do enough ten counts during our beatdowns.
Mosey to the south end parking lot for:
6-M-O-M
Beast Mode x 30 seconds
Alternating Knee Taps x 20
Plank x 30 seconds
Gator Spears x 20 (10 each arm)
(aka Nolan Ryans – thanks Sparty!)
Chilcut x 30 seconds
Gator Tails x 20 (10 each leg)
Recover. Whew.
Run to the Shovel Flags. Final trivia question:
Q: Who accidentally discovered penicillin? (Hint: He is SNOT related to the author of the James Bond novels)
A: Alexander Fleming.
Burpees x 7.
Count Off and Name-O-Rama: 22 PAX (thanks for being here guys)
Announcements:
CSAUP on January 29. Griswold encouraged the PAX to attend this awesome event.
TAPS:
OT and his M need prayers as they fight COVID
Speedy recovery for Chiclets
Continued prayers for Fine Print and his M
Prayers for Sister Act’s family as they grieve and cope with two recent tragedies
COT
I highly recommend the 2007 Disney movie ‘Meet the Robinsons.’ It is more than just a funny kids movie. It has a great message about the need to keep moving forward.
In the story, our main character is Lewis. He and his friend, Goob, grow up in an orphanage. Older Goobturns out to be the villain in the story. While Goobholds on to the past and is bitter and alone, Lewis is able to keep moving forward with the support from his adopted family.
In one scene, Lewis tries to fix a peanut butter and jelly sandwich gun that his future self invented (There’s some time travel in the story). Lewis fails to fix the PB&J gun and then it explodes, sending a fury of PB&J all over the family at dinner. Lewis cringes and is embarrassed. He apologizes profusely. But, to his surprise, everyone around him congratulates him on making a such an awesome failure. One family member says: “From failing you learn. From success… not so much.” You can watch the clip here.
Looking at the PAX of F3, each and every one of you is a high impact man. And you are who you are because of all of your life experiences, including your mistakes. All of that is what made you who are today. And you should be proud of who you are. So, all of your mistakes in life weren’t actually mistakes. Like the mistakes of Post-It Notes, Coca-Cola, and penicillin, there is always much to learn from our “failures.” Your mistakes were just things that happened along the way of the path that brought you here today. You wouldn’t be here without them.
So, reflect in what you learned in 2021. And in 2022…
Keep Moving Forward.
Cheap Seats took us in prayer (Thank you for your words today).
It was a privilege to Q for the first time at Mainstage. Especially so because the Nugent Flag was passed. One HIM to another: Ruxpin to Blades of Glory.
Aye!
Gator