AO: Top Rope | Aldrich Elementary
31 degrees, cool air, bright moon in the western sky
PAX– Naughty List, Da Fridge, Convoy, Kryptonite, Big Unit, Grip and Rip, Barbershop, Z-Bo, DaKine, Home Alone, Motorboat, Desk Pop, Icebox, Bogey, DOA, Chowda, Big One, Slow Pitch, Mother Goose, Oopma, Beaver, Schnitzel, Killswitch, Supafly, TSwift, Finger Paint (FNG), LPC, Room Service, Wait Time, Thor
Q: Roadhouse
The alarm went off at 4:30 and I felt great! It had been a while since I had Q’d and I was excited about it. There is a feeling I get when I Q that just scratches me right where I itch. I feel honored to lead a great group of men. I feel lucky that anyone would actually let me lead a workout. And I feel a sense of responsibility to help the PAX walk away a little better than they showed up. And that last part is the best part. This probably wont surprise many of you but I spend more time on the COT then I do on the workout. I think it matters too much to shortchange. It is not fair to the men who need to hear something that morning.
So, my workout was set. My COT felt good. And it was 31 degrees on January 11th. Doesn’t get much better. Or does it…
I pulled into the lot around 5:01 am. Just the right time to not be included in the pre-run or a SMURH but with enough time to look around the space and get setup. And by get setup, I mean, put two pieces of paper on the ground. I strategically placed my sheets on the ground and went for a walk. I practiced my COT a few times before some guys started showing up.
Before I knew it there were thirty men circled up around me. A remarkable group that included guys that I was really close to, guys I had never met and a handful of guys I had not seen in a while and needed to. I started to welcome the PAX when a familiar silhouette appeared out of the darkness. One that made me feel warm all over. One that made me smile. One with amazing calves. It was my brother Slow Pitch… I paused the intro and walked over to him. We wrapped our arms around each other like two brothers that had been separated at birth and were finally reuniting. I could feel on my thigh that he was enjoying the hug as much as I was…
I finished the intro and invited the PAX across the street for Warm-a-rama. We circled up and then a I heard some scuttlebutt from the west side of the circle. Another person had entered the circle. An FNG. Daniel. A blur raced past me and TSwift jumped into Daniel’s arms and yelled with excitement. He has been working on this one. I couldn’t tell for sure but I am fairly certain that Daniel too, could feel TSwift’s excitement on his leg as well. What a morning! Now onto Warm-a-rama.
WARM-A-RAMA:
SSH’s 15 IC
Big Ones 10 count each leg
Cherry Pickers 15 IC
Imperial Walkers 15 IC
Goofballs 15 IC
After WAR, we moseyed back to the school and I had the PAX line up along the North wall. I gave my instructions and we got to work.
Wall Work:
10 Donkey kicks
Balls to the wall 10 count
10 chicken peckers
10 Australian mt climbers
After one set, we moseyed across the playground lot and then lined up back on the wall. Let’s do one more set.
10 Donkey kicks
Balls to the wall 10 count
10 chicken peckers
10 Australian mt climbers
When we concluded the wall work, I asked everyone to join me on the baseline under the basketball hoops. We were going to grind today.
THE THANG:
We’re going to do a 2-man tag team grinder today.
Partner up. One guy will do exercises while the other guy runs to the front of the school and does set of 10 Dips, 10 Derkins and 10 air squats
The other guy will do the list of exercises in AMRAP until the other guy returns
Heels to Heaven
Starfish Crunches
Flutter Kicks
Freddy Mercuries
Box Cutters
Heel Touches
LBCS
E2Ks
At 6:05, Omaha was called. We circled up and did some Hammers!
MARY:
Hammers 31
Name-a-rama:
Fairly smooth with 31 sweaty dudes…
Announcements:
CSAUP coming at the end of January
TSwift passed the Nugent Flag to Home Alone and spoke of the brotherhood of F3.
We named Daniel “Fingerpaint” because he met his wife in an art class and you know…
Prayers:
TSwift’s friend Gwen is battling cancer.
Toto’s family member Waverly is having health challenges
COT:
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about courage. About what gives people courage and how some people are able to jump, and others keep their feet firm in ground. I have always admired those risk takers, those jumpers, those seemingly fearless people. And candidly I have never been someone who likes to jump, to get out of their comfort zone, to take risks and face fears.
But that has changed these last few years as I have learned more about courage. You see courage is not about not having fears; it is about being afraid and then jumping anyway.
Nelson Mandela once said: “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”
But there have been some lessons I have learned about courage.
The first is that courage is not anything you have to go find. It is in you. Each and every one of you. And if you need proof, look in the rearview mirror. Look at what you have accomplished and overcome and looks at the fears and the doubts that you have already conquered. When you did things like:
- Moved to a new city to start a new life
- Changed jobs and tried something new or different
- Got married, had kids, got divorced…
- Had a hard conversation with someone you love
- Chose to be teacher
- Jumped out of an airplane
- Made a difficult decision because you knew it was the right thing to do.
- Came out to F3 for the first time to dance with a bunch of idiots
You see we all have that courage inside of us, we just need to figure out how to draw into it and dip into that well.
That brings me to my other lesson. And that is that it is a lot easier to be courageous when you know there are people there to support you. To catch you when you fall. That have your back. I was lucky enough to experience this recently as I took the leap and tried standup comedy the first time. And in the hour before I went on stage, I saw my family walk in, I saw my friends walk in and I saw my F3 brothers come out in waves. A dozen of them from Wait time, who doesn’t remember cuz he was shit faced, to Gator and Slick, Big One, Frosty, Kielbasa, Touche, Convoy, Ozark, Lansbury, Spreadsheet and Killswitch. All there for one reason, to support me. I have to tell you, I felt ten fucking feet tall that night knowing that my PAX was there and knowing that even if I failed miserably, which you could argue I did, they would be there for me.
You see courage is not a solo sprint. It is a journey with the people in your corner, the people you love the most. It is a leap of faith, faith in those that have helped you get to where you are and those who have been there in the darkest times.
So, I will ask this of you, find your fears. Point them out. Identify them. And then go to that well of courage to move past them. Whatever they are, whatever you are facing down. Because a) you have done before and b) we are here for you. No matter what!
I love you all.
Roadhouse