Bell Tower – Starting the Third 500
September 9th, 2022
AO: Bellevue West High School
66 degrees, clear skies and slight breeze
PAX: FedEx, Icy Hot, Stranglehold, Crankbait, G-String, Girl Dad
YHC — Thomas
I had been excited to Q the Belltower ever since I heard that Girl Dad was launching a site.
However, being a West O PAX myself, I hadn’t yet made the trek east to post. I was a little
familiar with the AO having been there before for basketball games, but wasn’t sure exactly what
to plan for a beatdown. I knew the track would be a safe bet, and once I had settled on my COT,
I had a good game plan.
I arrived around 5:00 am with just enough time for set up. When I pulled in the only vehicle in
the lot was Girl Dad’s, so I suspected a more intimate group, which would be nice. He and I
stopped down to the track to set up and then walked back to the shovel flags where a few others
were starting to trickle in. We thought we saw a pre-runner in the distance, and it happened to be
G-String who was coming in hot. At 5:15 I welcomed the PAX, shared the mission, five core
principles, disclaimer and also the hope for a train whistle. And with that we were off on a short
mosey before warm-a-rama.
Warm-A-Rama
Side Straddle Hops – 15 IC
Tappy Taps – 15 IC
Imperial Walkers – 15 IC
Sun Gods – 10 Forward / Backward IC
Cherry Pickers — 20 IC
At the conclusion of warmarama we headed over to a nice wall on the school for the Pre-Thang.
Pre-Thang
The PAX lined up against the wall and repeated the following exercises three times:
Wall Sit – 20 count
Donkey Kicks – 10
Balls to the Wall – 20 count
The Thang:
We took a short mosey down to the football field where I outlined the Thang. Along the way we
tried to recruit a late arrival who we thought was may be there for a 5:30 start but turned out was
not there for F3. Our bad 🙂
Once we got to the track I decided that with the small group we’d stay as one group and
complete the workout together. There were four stations placed around the track. We’d
complete the exercises at station 1, then run 500 yards (1 lap + 100 yards) to the next station
and rinse and repeat till Omaha was called.
Station One
Heels to Heaven – 20 IC
Werkins – 30
Alternating lunges – 20 each side
Station Two
Low Dollys – 20 IC
Alternating Should Taps – 30 IC
Squats – 40
Station Three
LBCs – 20 IC
Carolina Dry Docks – 30
Jump Tucks – 40
Station Four
Box Cutters – 20 IC
Merkins – 30
Bobby Hurleys – 40
At 5:50 we had just completed the fourth lap and Omaha was called. The PAX then moseyed
back to the shovel flags.
6MOM
The PAX circled up on their six for Mary:
Heals to Heaven – 15 IC
Heal Touches – 15 IC
American Hammers – 21 IC
Announcements and Prayers
Prayers for Max. Vala’s tickets are available for next weekend.
COT
I first joined F3 a little shy of my 40th birthday and noticed the fairly narrow standard deviation
around the age 40 as we went around for Name-A-Rama. I turned 43 earlier this summer and
Girl Dad joined me at this sweet age yesterday. I finally got around to reading Freed to Lead
this summer (don’t wait if you haven’t read it yet). And in the book they talk about 43 being the
start of what they term the “Third 500” (hence the workout).
For those that haven’t read the book, the Third 500 references the third of four legs in a crew
race. But you can apply it to the third quarter of a football game or basketball game or the
grueling miles starting in the second half of a full marathon. And in life, 43 is really the
beginning of what I at least hope is the second half of a long life. And just like halftime
adjustments during a football game (unless you’re Scott Frost), this is a great time to really
decide what you want that second half to look like and start accelerating. From the book:
Without any notice or fanfare, a man of 43 takes stock of his life and realizes that something
very important has shifted while he was busy building his career and raising his children.
Things are different now. When he looks for the authority that has always been there, older and
external to him, he can’t find it.
Suddenly he realizes that he is looking in the wrong place. To find authority at 43, he needs to
be looking in the mirror. He is authority. And for the first time in his life, he doesn’t chafe at
authority, as he did when he was in his First 500, bumping up against parents, teachers and
coaches, or in his Second 500, when recognized the need for authority figures, but viewed them
as set apart from him by age and experience. Now, he just feels naked.
Before I read the book I didn’t have a good explanation for what I was feeling. I didn’t know if it
was the pandemic, or the proverbial mid-life crisis, but I felt naked and vulnerable. So if you’re
feeling that, whatever your age, know that you’re not alone. I’m blessed to have discovered F3
and I’m excited to share my Third 500 with this group of men. Happy Birthday Girl Dad!
With that I took us out in prayer.
Aye!
Thomas