Friday, February 10 | The Brick Yard | Stinson Park | 6 Degree Wind Chill
PAX (13): Double Dip, Sweet Sweet, Vanilla Ice, Smashmouth, Short Circuit, Invictus, Squints, Ambar, Speed Bump, BIFF, E-85 (HATE), Bobsled, Sparty
QIC: Sparty
Pre-Runners: Smashmouth, Sparty, Double Dip, Invictus, E-85 (HATE) and his dog
Pre-Ruckers: Bobsled
It was so great to be back on the Q-Schedule today as it’s been about 6-8 weeks and I wanted to inflict some pain on the PAX. I showed up early for the pre-run not knowing what the attendance would be like. While I was aware of the Woodshed Flat Friday, apparently Brick Yard has the same option which I wasn’t aware of. When asked, I said, “Do what’s best for you guys, but I’m taking on Shirley this morning.” Glad I did because I got Local Legend status for my effort, boom! When pre-running the morning you are Q’ing, there is always this excitement in anticipation of what or who you will find at the Shovel Flags when you return. Today, it was my little bro (he’s older, much older, but also much shorter).
I had already set my coupon where I had planned for our beatdown to happen, so as we were standing there watching the clock to get to 5:30am, I suggested to the fine men to also put their coupons where mine was. Right on time at 5:30pm, a car pulled up. I knew exactly who it was so I went through my welcome very slowly in an effort to wait for Armbar to join us. We shared a few laughs as he joined us and then we took off on a very short mosey to the grass in front of the Shaft Structure.
Warm-a-rama:
- Sun Gods – 10 F/10 R IC
- Cherry Pickers – 15 IC
- Moroccan Nightclubs – 15 IC with hip swagger
- Big Ones – 10 IC
- Tappy Taps – 10 IC
- Small Ones – 30 seconds
- ATMs
- Alternating Shoulder Taps – 15 IC
- Tempo Merkins – 15 IC
- Merkins – 15 on down
- Michael Phelps – 10 IC
I wanted to be intentional about WAR as I am coming off of an injury that was likely caused by a lack of stretching. We then took a short mosey to the SW corner of the park where a short steep hill lives.
Pre-Thang: Sparty’s Tabata
- 20 seconds of Bernie Sanders up the hill and back down
- 10 seconds of Monkey Humpers
We completed 10 full rounds of this quad deteriorating beatdown. I knew exactly what would happen as this is one of my favorite Pre-Thangs when I know I have a nice hill to work with – a couple rounds of sarcastic jokes, then no words and heavy breathing. As we wrapped up, I offered the opportunity for the men to take a nice walk with our man BIFF while they regained consciousness in their thighs. And finally, we had arrived to the Beatdown.
The Thang (AMRAP:
- 10 Burpees
- 10 Weighted Squats
- 10 Thrusters
- Lap around the park
We started by numbering off, which never starts well, to break up the group and have half the guys run while the other half started in on the exercise. I really like workouts like this because it raises the heartrate, pushes guys, and they can make the workout as hard or easy as they would like based on the speed they would like to go. It’s also a nice little test to see if guys partner up or go solo, there is no right option here. Double Dip lapped everyone, but there was a judge in our presence that questioned his technique on the thrusters…..I was really proud of the way the men got after it and I tried to practice exhortation while we pushed through the pain. At 6:05am, I called “OMAHA!” All the men grabbed their coupons and took a nice walk back to the flags for Mary.
6MoM
- 15 Gas Pumpers IC
- 15 Alternating Heel Touches IC
- 13 American Hammers IC
Announcements: Heartland Hope tomorrow, Polar Plunge tomorrow, blood drive next Friday, F3 Event next Thursday.
Prayers: District Wrestling starts today, prayers for everyone traveling this weekend.
COT: The timing of my Q today was great for my message. Last week, Pantyhose asked me how things have been for me following our retreat last month. I informed him that I was in a powerful position for transformation. While his response was, “ok,” I think his head said, “uhh what?” This comes from a powerful quote that I am using as my motto this year. These last several weeks have been difficult and a little strange for me. I’ve talked about being in a dark place a lot over the last several months. I continue my battle with sobriety. I started therapy a few weeks ago. And I got hurt and had to rest for 3 weeks without working out. This challenge lead me to my motto:
“Always remember This! Grapes must be crushed to make wine. Diamonds form under pressure. Olives are pressed to release oil. Seeds grow in darkness. Whenever you feel crushed, under pressure, pressed, or in darkness, you’re in a powerful place of transformation. Trust The Process.” I hope this may be something that helps you if life gets you down.
YHC took the men out in Prayer.
Sparty,
Aye!