Fitness. Fellowship. Faith.
THE SCENE: Dark and gloomy
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER:
WARM-O-RAMA:
Started the timer
THA-THANG:
Death by squats: starting at 1 minute and at each minute mark after, stop and perform squats- add 1 rep per minute (1, 2, 3, etc all the way to 29) moving under load during the “downtime” between sets. 435 total squats completed, then begin death by calf raises, sets up to 30 reps. (465 total). Death by monkey-humpers for the last 15 minutes (120 total). Then join JUCO main for BOM.
THE SCENE: Dark and gloomy, high chance of smoke
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
S.S.H. x 10 IC; Cherry Picker x 5 IC; OHC x 10 IC
THA-THANG:
Mosey to the “new” parking lot, brief stations in the first corner, split into 4 groups of 3 for the main event. 4 corners of the lot, each has 2 exercises x20 reps to complete. After completing corner reps, run 3/4 of a lap to next station, moving as a group. AMRAP. Each group completed at least 2 full 4-corner laps.
MARY:
Roughly 2 minutes remained upon arrival back to AO, just enough time for 50 Overhead claps, in cadence. Judging by the grumbling, this was the correct recipe.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
This was a tough one men. I knew walking in that I would struggle to hold it together, and almost didn’t make it through the first paragraph of the poem. My grandfather cut a poem out of a newspaper sometime in the 1940’s or early 50’s, titled “Thoroughbred Man” that he gave to my dad circa 1953. My dad carried it in his wallet for 50+ years, to the point that he had to laminate it with a new typed copy just to preserve it. He passed it on to me in 2002 before my first trip into a warzone. Years later, I had it emblazoned on a plaque for him to put up on his wall. He passed away in January 2015 after struggling through dementia and alzheimers’ for several years. That was the longest day of my life, standing watch at his bedside for 20 hours, praying and talking to him. I had siblings rushing in from as far away as Colorado. About an hour after the last of us got to spend some 1 on 1 time with him, we all held him as he breathed his last, then his stubborn heart (if you knew him, you’d understand) went on for another 5 minutes. I didn’t have the composure to share all of this in the BOM, so here it is. I prayed for him. I wanted more time with him, but I also knew that it would only prolong his suffering. I prayed for God to take him. After I took the plaque down off his wall, it stayed hidden, in a closet. When I moved I put it up in my workshop, but still didn’t see it often. I spent a lot of time embarrassed and ashamed of the man that I had become. I wasn’t living up to what I was responsible for. F3 has changed that in me. Laziness, fear, and anxiety are afterthoughts now. The plaque is in a spot where I see it daily, where it should be, as a reminder of how I need to live for my family. It reads:
Am I the thoroughbred man, I want my laddie to be:
In the days that are now his future, Do I want him to be like me?
Nature’s put my mark on his features, I’m putting my stamp on his soul.
Can I help my boy reach the highlands, If I strive for a lesser goal?
’tis a sobering thought for fathers, aye a sobering thought for me;
As my boy sets on life’s ocean, shall he chart his course by me?
Shall he think the thoughts that I think; shall he say the things that I say;
Shall he live the life that I live; when I come to the end of my way?
To our boys is the task of the future, we’ll soon leave the world in their care.
As a father, I’ll help or hinder my boy’s life burdens to bear.
For this law is not to be broken, ’tis almighty God’s wonderful plan-
I must be a thoroughbred father, if I’d sire a thoroughbred man.
HIMs, we can’t be perfect. But, we can do better than we are. If you have to think twice about doing something, odds are it is sinful. If you are about to do something that you wouldn’t want your wife, kids, or God to see you do, stop. If you don’t want your son to grow up to be like you, change. And, if you wouldn’t want your daughter to bring you home to meet you, sins and all, do something about it.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
JUCO is hosting convergence on 3/28/20, put it on your calendars and get out there! Mermaid and myself will be heading up a pre-ruck from 0600-0700 before the beatdown, full smokey plus the third leg.
THE SCENE: 45 degrees, little bit of humidity to get the sweat flowing on the pre-ruck.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Cherry picker x 7 IC
Windmill x 10 IC
OHC x 20 IC
THA-THANG:
Repeat of the “flight of the blue falcon”. Given one 12x8x16 CMU and 5 PAX, one HIM holds the CMU overhead while the rest of the herd runs for a 10 count, then herd completes AMRAP of exercise designated by blockholder until he reaches the group and passes it off. Rinse and repeat until time is up, exploring the AO. Bonus points at equalizer for taking advantage of the benches (dips) and playground (pullups).
MARY:
finished right on time
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Keeping with the theme that Tank set earlier in the week, I mentioned 2 verses, “let all that you do be done in love” and “love your neighbor as yourself”. When you step into a situation, whether it’s work or home, approach with peace, don’t enter with negativity or disgust, as you don’t know what others are dealing with. Also, be truthful, but do so in a loving manner. Respond to emotion with respectful emotion, and respond to facts with facts. Don’t be like me and tell your M, who is terrified of flying, that everything will be fine when she panics about turbulence. Or, even if you do, when she asks “how do you know?”, don’t say “i don’t, but I can’t fly the damn plane, so why worry about it”…
MOLESKIN:
An interesting point that was brought out in the mumble chatter: this is a great hip-pocket Q, with minimal planning necessary (as long as someone has a CMU). Also, it’s great for FNGs to start learning the exicon, or for a Q who is unfamiliar with the AO to get a tour of the space.
THE SCENE: 45 degrees and overcast
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
Side straddle hops x 10 IC; Cherry Pickers x 7 IC (slow); overhead claps x 25 IC
THA-THANG:
Second installment of the “flight of the blue falcon” 2 PAX hold XL CMUs above their heads while the rest run as a herd through the AO for a 10 count. When 0 is reached, herd performs exercise selected by a CMU holder until CMUs catch up to the group. 2 new carriers are selected and they choose the next exercise and start counting. Exercises included burpees, burpees, more burpees, hurpees… this group grasped the “blue falcon” concept very quickly.
MARY:
Upon return to the AO, we did a relay race across the grinder carrying the CMUs, with non-runners holding a plank.
Relay ended and we circled up with only 2 minutes left, so we completed 50 overhead claps IC to finish.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:6-7. We need to cast all of our anxieties and fears on Him, and leave them there, not reel them back in like we’re fishing. What does it mean to cast them away? Take on the attitude of Cortez, who in 1519 sailed from Cuba to Mexico and told his men to burn the ships, which gave them only 2 options: conquer or die. Burn the ships of addiction, whether it’s deleting apps from your phone, dumping out a bottle, eating better food, adjusting your daily routine to avoid a co-worker that drives you to sin. We are 100% in control of the things that we put into our bodies and minds, and we need to be diligent about the doors we leave open.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
JUCO is introducing a new OTB (for now, with a goal of being a regular option) ruck option on Monday mornings from 0500-0615, joining the main JUCO crowd for the BOM at the conclusion. It will be a burbs-style beatdown (but slower) covering mileage and incorporating ruck-based exercises.
THE SCENE: A crisp 65 degrees, beautiful weather for my tour of the AO
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH x 10; Cherry Pickers (slow) x 7; Overhead Clap x 25; Moroccan Nightclub x 25.
THA-THANG:
Inaugural “Flight of the Blue Falcon”
MARY:
Arrived back at the AO with about 5 minutes to spare, completed flutter kicks x 25, tempo squats x 20, then overhead claps/moroccan nightclubs until time was up (lost count in the midst of the mumble-chatter).
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
1 Peter 5 v. 6&7 say “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” Talked about what it means to cast anxieties on Him, and that it means to cut the cord and leave it there, not reel it back in like a crank-bait. Shared a story about a flight with my M, when she got very nervous during a turbulent flight. Being the “good husband” that I thought I was being, I told her not to worry, that it would be ok. Of course, that didn’t help, and she looked at me, panicked, and said “how do you know?”. My too-quick and too-honest response was “I don’t, but I can’t fly the damn plane, so there’s nothing I can do about it…” This is a good reminder that as men, we need to be honest, but we need to do so with love.
MOLESKIN:
The Asylum bunch was fun, but way too courteous. I should have explained the “blue falcon” concept better at the beginning, because they were asking “who wants the block?” instead of just handing it off to the next vict.. er, uh, participant.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Keep an eye on the Q calendar, me and “my friends” as Mermaid called them, will be making appearances at more AOs to spread the love.