Wild Kingdom
March 19th, 2024
39 degrees, clear skies, the big dipper was visible and bright
PAX- Shark week, Phoenix, Fine Print, Thermos, Moonshine, Chicken Hawk, Grease Fire, Crowd Source, Gator, Sweet Sweet, Hotwire, Slow Pitch, Escobar, Pit Stop, Barbwire, Tater Tot, Boob Tube, Switch Foot, Gundy, Wait Time, Khakis, Sparty, Speed Bump, Armbra, Chiclets, Anonymous
Q- Roadhouse
The alarm went off at 4:30 am. It was early but I felt great! It had been a couple months since I had Q’d a workout and when the man himself, Sweet Sweet, hits you up and asks you to Q… you say YES!
It had also been sometime since I had been to the kingdom. It is a special place, my go to Tuesday spot before I gave birth to the Trident in 2021. I was eagerly anticipating my return and to get a little weird with the boys.
As I pulled into the parking lot, it was FULL! Does anyone remember when a couple of guys would pre-run? Now I would argue more guys pre-run than don’t. It is incredible. The pre-run challenge is in full effect and thank god because Chiclets and I’s “Don’t work out in January challenge” had done some damage to my body and my fitness.
I started to walk the hallowed grounds and get a feel for the morning. It was cool and crisp and, a perfect morning for a beatdown. I knew I wanted to head towards the shitter shack for Warm-a-rama and the pre-thang but I was not sure where we would be grinding on this gorgeous morn. The dam was always a favorite of mine but surprisingly long once you started running it. And then I recalled a path on the south side of the site. It was straight up hill and would be a worthy adversary for the PAX on this morning. I walked that way but found it terribly difficult to find the path. It was dark and a light… I did not have.
On this first day of spring, I found myself confused by why it was so dark and then I remembered Daylight Savings was just a few weeks ago. Listen, I don’t get daylight savings, I don’t see the value in it and I think its crazy that some states just don’t acknowledge it. BUT it is here and it is fucking dark at the Kingdom…
I mapped out the workout and headed back to the shovel flags. Soon some men started pulling into the lot and others arrived back from their pre-run. By 5:30 AM there were 27 of us there and some of my favorite people in the world. And a few I don’t care for…
I welcomed the PAX and limped through the intro. I got the 5 core principles but forgot the 3Fs and the mission. I let them know I was not a professional and then gave them a quick history lesson.
4 years ago, I had my VQ at Paradise. It was one of my most memorable days of F3 as it was my VQ. It was pouring rain and as it turned out, it was our last workout before we shut down due to Covid. Some would argue my VQ single handedly shut down F3 Omaha but I would like to think it was just bad timing…
Some of the men who were at that ominous day stood before me this morning… Wait Time, Tater Tot, Slow Pitch, Sparty, Khakis. They were all there and they were here again today as we breathed life back into F3 Omaha.
We moseyed over to the parking lot by the water and circled up for some Warm-a-rama.
Warm-a-Rama:
Silent SSH
Tappy Taps
Big Ones
Imperial Walkers
Sun Gods
The mumble chatter was good for WAR so I thought I would shut everyone up with some wall work. I hate wall work but I often do it during my beatdowns to push myself.
Pre Thang: Wall Work- 2 Rounds
Donkey Kicks
Australian Mt Climbers
Chicken Peckers
Inverted Pickle Pushers
After 2 rounds of wall work, I was exhausted. The group was quiet. I heard a lot of heavy breathing. It was not the first time there was some heavy breathing at the bathrooms at Zorinsky. That’s for sure…
I borrowed a light from Khakis and led us in a mosey over to the path on the south side of the site. Once we all arrived I had everyone pair up. We were going to grind. The PAX quickly paired up and I hopped in with Tater Tot and Sweet Sweet. This would prove to be a excellent choice as Tater and I giggled for the entire length of the workout.
THE THANG:
We’re going to do a 2-man grinder for the Thang. At the bottom of the hill was core work. At the top of the hill was a list of bullshit exercises AMRAP.
Bottom of the Hill
20 Flutter Kicks
20 Star Fish Crunches
20 Freddy Mercuries
20 LBCs
20 Box Cutters
Top of the Hill:
Copperhead Squats
Heels to Heaven
Cherry Pickers
Bonnie Blairs
LBCS
Carolina Dry Docks
Bobby Hurleys
Starfish Crunches
Air Presses
At 6:05, I called Omaha. The beatdown was hard. Constant motion and the hill was much longer than I expected it to be. We moseyed back to the flags and called it a day! We had completed the beatdown and we had done it together!
Name-a-rama:
NOR was dark but very smooth. Good energy!
Announcements:
April 20th 6 year anniversary beatdown at the sanitarium
Pop up at Beacon Valley
Prayers:
Sputnik and his family
Borland and his family
T-Party and his family
Pit Stop and his family
All the other PAX who need our prayers.
COT:
Two weeks ago, I was lucky enough to take a spring break trip with my son Bodhi. I was excited about the trip but what happened was much more than I planned.
We had an amazing week. We went to the beach, Legoland, SD Zoo, Museums, mini golf, and more and more. He traveled great and we just had a really incredible time together.
But what I left with was this feeling of firsts. The greatest gift I got on this trip was to see things through the eyes of a 5 year old boy. First time seeing the ocean. First time on a roller coaster. First time flying and looking out the window. First rental car, first Airbnb. And his excitement was so refreshing. As adults and professionals and fathers and husbands, we get so caught up in the minutia. The details, the hours, the schedule, the bills, the things we HAVE to do. And we lose sight of the beauty of things. The excitement around life. I was so blown away at how much Legoland cost, that I almost didn’t enjoy it. Bodhi’s first roller coaster was the greatest memory of my life.
So here is my challenge, see life through the eyes of a child. It is more fun. It is more beautiful and simply, it is fucking awesome!
I love you!
Roadhouse, CLB