Friday, Nov. 3 | Combine | Kiewit Middle School |42 degrees
PAX(18): Nailed It, Flatstick, Bollywood, Janikowski, Q-Tip (RESPECT, RESPECT), Killians, Baby Back, Juke Box, Poppa Smurph, Beaver, Summer Catch, Skipper, SuperFly, Armbrah, Cataracts, Bubbles, Fugitive, Sparty
Pre-Runners: Bollywood, Poppa Smurph, Skipper, Armbrah, Bubbles, Sparty
Rucker: Q-Tip
Oh what a morning! I was excited to be back on the Q and to be at The Combine. I woke up and was delighted to see the temps were in the 40’s. As I arrived to Kiewit, there was already one car there awaiting the pre-run as the next few trickled in shortly before 4:45am. The run was great, the temps were cool by the tracks, we spotted at least 4 deer, and there were 0 animal attacks. As 5:15am quickly approached, the numbers grew nicely. The men were lively and seemed excited this morning as they were very talkative as 5:15am rolled around and Flatstick pulled in right on time!
It was the first time taking the PAX through our traditional F3 welcome since March and it was like riding a bike. Everything flew off my tongue in verse. I wrapped it all up with introducing myself as Sparty and reminding the men that I am not a professional and please modify if there is anything you cannot complete today. At the conclusion of my welcome, I asked the men to take a nice mosey around the track and meet behind the east endzone where we would start Warm-a-rama.
Warm-a-rama:
- Cherry Pickers – 15IC
- Sun Gods – 10IC F/10IC B
- Moroccan Night Clubs – 10IC – keeping the excitement from yesterday at the Berm
- At this time I asked the men to move to the grass
- Small Ones
- Sit on feet
- Lung, twist, reach for the sky
- Extend forward from the Lung
- Pigeon Stretch
Now that we had the men loose, it was time to get their bodies moving.
Pre-Pre-Thang – Burpees Mile:
- Partner up, 1 partner runs a lap around the track while the other performs Burpees AMRAP style. When the runner returns, he would tag his partner and they would switch. Each guy would do 2 rounds each which equals 4 laps (1 mile) as a pair.
Not everyone loves to run or is great at it. Acknowledging that, we took 2 10-counts to let the PAX catch their breathe.
Pre-Thang – Chair Mile:
- Similar to the Burpee mile, except rather than burpees, you did a wall sit against the newly constructed retaining wall on the east side of the track.
As this concluded, we took another 20-second count to recover. We didn’t have much time left, but we needed to still do The Thang.
The Thang:
- 30 Merkins
- 200M Bernie Sanders
- 20 Merkins
- 200M Bernie Sanders
- 10 Merkins
“OMAHA!” It was 5:52am and time to get to the flags to wrap up. While we have continued to evolve and all men are Freed to Lead, I’ve noticed that more times than not, we either conclude with no core work or with only performing Rancid Style Hammers, or Sarpy Slammers if you’re down south. I wanted to give the men a taste of the old days.
6MoM:
- Gas Pumpers – 15IC
- Alternating Heel Touches – 15IC
- LBCs – 15IC
- American Hammers, Rancid Style – 18IC
And we were done! The men did great and I think they felt like they got a good workout in today to start their weekend off right.
NOR: Good energy from the PAX, but we did miss a “Respect” for Q-Tip as we only nailed one of them.
No FNGs today.
Announcements: F3 Poker Night is going down at MCL tonight. F3 Omaha Retreat is Jan. 4-6 and men are encouraged to look into it and sign up.
Prayers: For all of the PAX competing in the Goodlife race this weekend, especially the HIM running their 1st Half-Marathon! Flat Stick is the Key-Note Speaker in Lincoln this afternoon – please keep him in your prayers!
Nugent Flag Pass: Our man Janikowski received the flag yesterday from Slow Piiiiiiiiiiiiiitch! He shared some brief words on his experience of meeting Grad when we were teenagers through a mutual friend. Janikowski passed the flag on to Summer Catch!
COT: Get comfortable, this is a long one. At the beginning of this year, I had faced some adversity as I experienced an injury with my knee that took me out of running and working out for 4 weeks. When I returned, I immediately discovered that I no longer enjoyed running, which had become my passion over the previous 3 years. I managed to push through it for the next month or so trying to rediscover my love for running. While running through piles of snow in Wisconsin in March, I had the dumb idea that maybe what I needed to do was to run a 50k. When I got back to the resort we were staying on, I got on the old google machine and started browsing the internet for a race that might catch my eye. I stumbled upon the Bohemian Alps, which is a 33 mile race in Brainard, NE. The selling point for me was that it was on Sept. 30, Nugent’s 2-year anniversary from when he passed away. This seemed like the calling I was looking for so I signed up on the spot.
I spent the next few weeks doing research and constructing a training plan. I had run 2 marathons before this, so I had a good foundation to go off of. I ended up putting together a plan of 24 week training that involved running 4-5 times a week and mixing in workouts every week. During this time, I ran over 890 miles and completed a marathon, ran 24 miles twice, and 20 miles 4 times. I put in a ton of work and felt like I was in the best shape of my life. My body never broke down and I felt healthy and strong going into my race. I had a nutrition plan as well as a hydration plan as my long runs served as a testing ground. I was prepared for the expected. I was not prepared for the unexpected. There were 4 obstacles I dealt with that day: 95 degree heat index, a heart rate that I couldn’t get below 165, constant rolling hills, and the surface was like running in a sandbox. Most of my long training runs started around 5am and temps never got above 75. I was training in Zone 2 and keeping my heart rate between 135-145bpm. I ran hills as much as I could. 95% of my runs were on concrete.
There were check points at miles 8, 16, and 24, then you finished around 32/33 miles. Through mile 8, I was doing really well. At mile 16, I started getting impacted by the heat. I took a break and sat down to eat food and hydrate. When I left that station, everything changed. It was now over 90 degrees. At mile 20, I had to take a 10 minute break and work on cooling my body temp down as I felt overheated. At mile 21, I stumbled into a ditch and puked everything out. I rebounded shortly and ran through mile 22. When I got to mile 23, the wheels started falling off. I ran out of water. I was stumbling around the trail and felt like I was going to pass out. I was hidden from the road and I had no idea if anyone was close to me. Knowing that there was a check point at mile 24, I used all of my energy to stay on my feet and keep walking. When I arrived to the check point, they tried pouring water on me, while also forcing me to drink something and eat food. I couldn’t talk, keep anything down, and eventually had to lay down. After 20-30 minutes of not getting any better, I decided to throw in the towel. It was the first time I ever quit anything and I immediately felt like a failure and that I let people down.
I share this experience with you because it was through this example that I actually came out on the other side feeling significantly stronger and wiser. I knew I was in the physical shape I needed to be in, there were unforeseen circumstances that I wasn’t prepared for. I had pushed myself beyond any limit I had ever taken it before, and now I know how much I have in my tank to push through difficult situations. Often times we give ourselves challenges, but they are ones that we know we can achieve. Seldom do we put ourselves in a situation that we could fail because we want to avoid it. Failure is key to growth and leadership. That experience gives me the ability to be better an go as far as I can. I encourage you all to consider how far you can go, and to be open to failing. My boss always says, “Fail fast, and fail forward.”
YHC took the PAX out in Prayer.
Sparty,
Aye!