Halleck Park
67 degrees, clear skies, light breeze, beautiful morning
PAX- Sweet Roll, Heartache, Gigablast, Mako, Shocker, Dexter, Samatage, Stranglehold, ICB, Big Rig, Tenacious D, Girl Dad, Butterfly (FNG), Longboard, 008, Animal House, Parsacs, Dozer, Snapshot, G-String, Bobsled Duracell.
Q: Roadhouse
This one was exciting for me. To be one of the first Q’s on the schedule under my man, Sweet Roll’s new reign at the Steel Mill….? That was an opportunity I could not pass up! And you know how much I love coming South to get some swagger.
Sweet Roll texted me Wednesday night and asked if I wanted to do the Love Run. It was an easy yes. I set my alarm at 4:30 AM to make sure I got there at 5 to meet him. I wanted some time with my old friend. I met Sweet Roll in the gloom a long time ago but really came to fall in love with him when we worked together for over a year! He is kind and generous and devilishly handsome. And the thing I love the most about this guy; you can count on him! He is a man of his word and when Sweet Roll says he is going to do something, he does it! And it today’s world, that matters!
I arrived at Halleck at 5 AM ready for the 2.14 mile run. No Sweet Roll. I looked around and there was a group of Sandlot pre-runners. That pace was not for me. There were some dudes Smurphing behind me. No thanks. I slowly walked around the site and then decided the a walk around the lake would be perfect this morning. I started my walk and found it so peaceful. Halfway through my first lap my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out and saw Sweet Roll’s name on the screen. “Hit snooze too many times. Sorry. I will be there soon.” I let out a deep breathe, thankful all was good. I would later find out that he and Chris Stapleton partied hard the night before. Worth it!
I walked a few laps around the lake and then made my way to shovel flags. Cars were starting to pull into the lot. PAX starting returning from Pre-runs and a few finished up their Murphs. One of the reasons why I love coming to Sarpy is that I get to meet so many new guys. I introduced myself to the men as they circled up and hugged some of the guys I knew and was happy to see.
By 5:30 AM, there were 23 of us and we were ready to get swole. I started the F3 intro and then was immediately interrupted by KOA loudly doing his F3 Intro across the street at the Sandlot. Clearly a shot across the bow and a challenge from my brother. I had two options. Speak even louder to drown out KOA and his intro or… let KOA have this one.
KOA is a doctor, a handsome man, an incredible athlete, a family man and a generous soul. I am twice divorced and my number one hobby is dry humping the earth in the early morning. He needed this one.
I quietly finished my intro and was excited to hear that we had an FNG, Michael. We welcomed him to the gloom and then circled up for Warm-a-rama.
Warm-a-rama:
Big Ones
Tappy Taps
Torso Twists
Frog Squats
High Knees
After Warm-a-rama, I wanted to get a little mosey in. I ordered the PAX to take a lap around the duck pond. We went at a great pace and enjoyed the gorgeous morning and the tremendous view.
Pre-Thang:
Mosey around the lake
After the mosey, we circled back up at the Pavilion. It was time for the Thang. It was a two man grinder. Under the pavilion, there was a list of dumbbell leg exercises. By the light pole across the street there was a list of different curls. In between stations, we would rifle carry our dumbbells. It sounded like a good idea. Everyone partnered up and I asked if anyone needed one. A man, stepped into the circle and said, “I need one.” It was Girl Dad. A smile lit up my face and a bulge immediately grew in my pants. I loved Girl Dad and it had been way too long since I had seen him. And with that, we started to grind.
The Thang:
Biceps Station-
Hammer Curls – 15
Rotating Curl – 15
Alternating Curls – 15
Narrow Curls -15
Cross Body Curls -15
Legs Station: AMRAP
Bulgarian Split Squat
Calf Raise
Dumbbell Step Ups
Dumbbell Goblet Squat
Dumbbell Side Lunge
At 6:05, Omaha was called. We made our way back to the flags and circled up for some Mary.
Mary:
Sarpy Slammers- 22
And with that, we were done. The beatdown was over and I felt swole as fuck!
Swole Award:
008 passed the Swole award to Samatage. This kid was running with his dumbbells in between stations, #beastmode
Name-o-rama:
The highlight of NOR was Sweet Roll kicking things off with a very sexy bicep flex.
We then named our FNG. He worked for Caterpillar for a long time so the name was obvious, Butterfly.
Announcements:
Shoe Drive this week Flag pass at The Pit on Saturday. Chernobyl->Busser
The day was Wait Time’s 8 year anniversary. reach out to him this week and thank him for planting his seed in Omaha!
Prayer Requests:
The Steffensmeier Family as Pete continues to recover
Pit Stop and his family More prayers in our hearts
COT:
In June I did a comedy show at the Funny Bone. I thought it went well. Got a lot of laughs, felt good about my set. Big shout out to all the F3 guys that were there that night. It was a blast.
Two weeks later, I got my scores from the judges. They were terrible. I’m talking 15s out of 40. I was gutted and felt so defeated. I actually had thoughts quitting comedy. The young insecure boy that I once was came to the surface and I got really down on myself. So far in my comedy journey, I had gotten good feedback. This was my first gut punch.
My first thought was to tell no one about these scores. It was embarrassing. It was like hearing that you are no good in the bedroom. That is not news you want to share with other people. So I kept it to myself and it started to fester.
I Q’d at the Labyrinth the next day and as we started to mosey, I told Gator about my shitty scores. He was there that and has become my writing partner for my material (Side note- it is a blast working with him and I think he is a genius). He scoffed at the scores and encouraged me not to get down on myself. He was there that night and said the whole place was laughing. That is what matters. I started to feel better. Thanks Gator!
At coffee I talked to Wait Time about it. He did the same. Lifted me up and encouraged me to keep going. The next day I talked to The Big One about it. He followed suit and told me I need to put those scores out of my mind and to get back out there. All three guys took me from a place of doubt and insecurity and turned into one of encouragement and support.
Last Saturday, I got back on stage and it felt so good. Fuck it felt good. And honestly I don’t know if I would have without the support of my brothers in the PAX.
So there’s a two part lesson here:
Lesson #1: When you are struggling. Talk to someone. Talk about your shit! I don’t like being the person people worry about and it is hard for me to talk about struggles and be vulnerable. When I got divorced the first time I hid it from people for months. And I really struggled… But when I talked to someone it got so much better. Not only do the people around you want to help but many of them have been where you are and can offer support and perspective.
Lesson #2: Be there for people when they need you. When you see someone looking down or carrying something heavy, ask about it. Offer an ear, a shoulder, a hug. Just be there and lift people up. Right now our brothers are struggling at work, at home, with their esteem and their hope. They need help and some of them aren’t going to ask for it. So seek them out! And be there for them.
Thank you to you guy and to the brothers who picked me up when I was down.
I love you all!
Roadhouse; CLB