F3 Knoxville

Tag: Crawdad

Hey, Let’s Move Swimmies’ Car!

THE SCENE: Unusually Warm, upper 70s, partly sunny but getting dark earlier and earlier…
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER Check
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 SSH, 4-ct IC, 10 Cherry Pickers, 4-ct, IC, Twist stretches…

Then Jinxy told us Swimmies (who we thought was just typically late) was actually stuck on the entrance road with a blown clutch.  So… forget the rest of the warmup… MOSEY RUN TO THE RESCUE!

Followed Swimmies to his car, which was on the entrance road from Lyons View, dead in the water, smelling very unpleasantly of fried clutch.  It was HIM’s to the rescue! Pushed it up to a pull off area, then proceeded with warmup.

10 Hillbillies, 4-ct, IC, Little of this and that.

THA-THANG:

[Q crumples up his Weinke and starts just making stuff up, since the original workout was supposed to be on the opposite side of the park from where we moved the car… Crawdad appears out of nowhere.  So does Brick.]

Moseyed to terraced hill on side of Everest.  Start at the bottom, do 5 reps of three exercises , then run up to first terrace and return, do 10 reps of each exercise and run up second terrace and return, then do 15 reps of each exercise and go all the way to the treeline.  EXERCISES: Merkins, Squats, American Hammers (2-ct)

MOSEY to perimeter trail and over to edge of park that looks out at the Veterans Cemetery.  Pause, take a moment to pay respects to the Veterans buried at the cemetery.

NICKEL/DIME/QUARTERS along perimeter trail to top of the Tail of the Dragon.  Run 1 light post, do 5x exercise, run 2 light posts do 10x exercise, run 5 light posts do 25x exercise.

  1. [Can’t remember the first exercise… something awesome]
  2. CDDs
  3. Mountain Climbers (2-ct)

MOSEY to the hill along the Tail of the Dragon that leads up to the monument.  Do 7’s Top: Prisoner Get Ups, Bottom: Prisoner Cell Merkin Burpees.  These were brutal.

MOSEY to AO. DORAS.  Partner 1 works on exercise, Partner 2 runs about 2/3 up Baby Cardiac.  Exercises are 100 Merkins and 100 BBS.  Final Sprint up Baby Cardiac with everyone.

MARY:
Hamstring stretches, 20 American Hammers, 4-ct, IC

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
17 strong. No FNGs
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Veteran’s Day is tomorrow, and it’s had me thinking about those who have served our country, the men and women that have been a part of the armed forces, as well as their families.  We took a moment earlier to pause and remember those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our country.  What does sacrifice entail?

One of the defining traits of human beings is altruism. Altruism is the practice of doing things that benefit others even at the cost of your own happiness, welfare, or (to use a biological term) “fitness”.  It is unusual in the Animal Kingdom because of the principle of “Survival of the Fittest”… if an action benefits someone else rather than you, you might be the one eaten by a cheetah on the Serengeti, or fail to make sweet love with that attractive she-moose over there, or die of thirst in a desert with a limited number of watering holes

What force is it that allows men and women to sacrifice their comfort, families, even their lives in service to others?  To me, it is the gift of Grace from God.

St Francis of Assisi articulated this when he said “Above all the grace and the gifts that Christ gives to his beloved is that of overcoming self.”

But there’s more to it than that. Even though we have the ABILITY to sacrifice and be altruistic doesn’t necessarily mean we will USE that gift.  What inspires us to use it?

Bob Hope, who entertained troops overseas for decades, once said, “I saw more courage, more good humor in the face of discomfort, more love in an era of hate, and more devotion to duty than could exist under tyranny.”

And as Ernest Hemmingway said in a FAREWELL TO ARMS, “When you love, you wish to do things for that which you love. You wish to sacrifice. You wish to serve.”

Another saying about veterans is that they don’t fight for what’s in front of them, they fight for what’s behind them.  We are fortunate to live in a country that is free from tyranny, where military service is voluntary, where autocrats and dictators do not hold sway over our democracy.  The veterans that paid the ultimate price didn’t fight for themselves, they fought for what they loved.  America the Beautiful.  The Land of the Free.

The veterans who have served and died for this country overcame self, and is so doing, in my opinion, became one with the Grace of God.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for several PAX and their relatives.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Help with Faith

THE SCENE: Insert info about the weather, etc.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Plank Jacks, 15 Iron Mikes, 10 Windmills, 10 Tempo Merkins, 7 Wide Arm Circles Forward and Backward
THA-THANG:
Mosey past stop sign on the southeastern side of the admin bldg.  Run down to the lower parking lot east of the admin bldg.  Divide into teams of two for Doras.  While one Teammate 1 runs up roadway and around corner to do ten merkins , Teammate 2 will start the exercises.  After doing ten merkins, Teammate 1 runs back to replace Teammate 2 on the exercises and Teammate 2 runs up the hill do to the merkins.  Here are the exercises for the Doras:

  • 100 Merkins
  • 100 Big Boy Sit-ups
  • 100 Flutter Kicks (4 ct)
  • 100 Side-Straddle Hops
  • 50 Hand Release Merkins
  • 100 Hello Dollies (4 ct)
  • 200 Baby Crunches

Mosey to semi-circle lane that goes by soccer fields.  We will high-knee for 25 pole lengths then do 3 burpees and continue until done with the semi-circle.

Mosey to parking lot at southern ball fields.  There will be five cones places from one end of the parking lot to the other.  We will run to the first cone, do a listed exercise, run to the next cone, do the same exercise, and continue to the end of the parking lot.  We will run back doing the next listed exercise.  Here are the exercise:

  • 10 Dive Bombers
  • 10 Diamond Merkins

Mosey past outdoor chapel and to grassy area across the street.  We will do 20 American Hammers.

Mosey uphill to the area where we did Doras.  Stop at two inclines along the way to do 10 Wide Merkins.

Mosey to A0.

MARY:
Finish up with 10 Carolina Dry Docks.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
16 men, no FNGs.
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
My wife, Jan, and I have been watching the TV mini-series The Crown on Netflix.  The shows are based on true stories involving the reign of Great Britain’s current Queen Elizabeth.  One of the recent episodes focused on Queen Elizabeth’s husband, Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh.  He is a man who loves adventure.  He was an officer in the Royal Navy during World War II, loves sports, and particularly loves to fly planes as a pilot.  The episode I am referring to depicted him during the time that the American Apollo Astronauts first landed on the moon.  In the episode Phillip, as a pilot, is fascinated with the mission and highly regards the astronauts, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins.

As a man who must take second fiddle to the Queen, Phillip questions his own life.  He certainly loves the Queen and certainly has privileges as her husband but there is a part of him that has wanted to set his own course vs. follow the traditions and duties of the Royal House.  At about this time, a minister named Robin Woods becomes the new Dean of Windsor. He heads the chapel that serves the Queen.  He asks Phillip for use of some unused Royal Buildings that he desires to be a retreat for ministers.  Prince Phillip is a man who is bored with the Royal church services but he agrees to the Dean’s request as the buildings aren’t being used anyway.

During the buzz of the future moon landing, Dean Woods catches up with Phillip and invites him to the retreat center to listen in on a group discussion of visiting ministers.  The ministers sit talking about problems, something Phillip isn’t that keen on, and discuss the decline in faith and worship service attendance among the people of England.  Phillip sees all this “talk” as nonsense, particularly when there are astronauts out there doing something great, incredible, landing on the moon of all things.  When asked by the ministers to participate in the talk, he tells them to stop bemoaning the decline in worship among the people of England and get off their butts.  What is needed is action, action such as seen by the Apollo Astronauts.

The astronauts, of course, land on the moon and are heroes. They go on a world tour and come to England, even for a short trip to Buckingham Palace.  Prince Phillip asks for and is granted a short personal meeting with the men.  He is overcome in the anticipation of meeting these men who are like Gods to him.  When he does meet the men, they are sneezing and sniffling, fighting off colds they have acquired in the exhausting schedule they have had since their return to Earth.  Phillip wants to know what they “found” on their journey, not the physical moon dust but that special “meaning” they discovered out in space.  These young astronauts have no answer for him.  They didn’t really have time to think about the meaning of the universe on their journey – the were too busy following procedures, doing the things that they had been trained to do.  These astronauts had certainly done something special and to be admired but they were also just three young guys, fighting off colds.  And frankly, what they were more interested in was hearing from Phillip what it was like to live in a place like the Buckingham Palace.

Phillip’s desire to find meaning in science, in adventure, in space, goes awry ands leave him unsatisfied.  And, in his bewilderment and dejection, he returns to the retreat center to meet once again with the Dean and visiting ministers.  He apologizes for his previous behavior.  He is now willing to participate in the “talk” that he previously thought to be nonsensical.  And, in talking to them, he asks for something.  He recognizes that what he has been lacking all along is faith.  Faith in something that goes beyond actions, science, and the privileges of Royalty that he has long known is not enough for him.  And what does he ask the ministers for?  He asks for Help. Help with his lack of faith.

I don’t know what kind of faith Prince Phillip has found in his life.  But, at the end of the episode some words were posted for the viewer.  The notes proclaimed that Prince Phillip and Dean Woods became close friends and have been personal confidants for the last 51 years.

What are you searching for?  Where do you put your energy, your interests?  If your search for meaning leads you to something other than God, it is very likely that you will not be satisfied.  As Faulkner said, it is all sound and fury leading to nothing.  Have faith in something more.  Search for God.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for many.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
5th F3 Knoxville Anniversary on Nov 7.

Believe It

THE SCENE: Sunny, temps in 60s.  We met at Parking Lot at Southern Ball Fields because the Admin Bldg Parking Lot and area has a large political rally there.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side Straddle Hops, 10 Iron Mikes each leg, 10 Cherry Pickers, 7 Twists, 10 Little Baby Arm Circles Forward and Backward, 10 Tempo Merkins
THA-THANG:
Mosey to parking area by residential units north of the soccer fields.  We will do 20 American Hammers.

Mosey to roadway that heads to Northshore Entrance of the park.  Go left on the little drive that heads south before you go to the park entrance gate.  We have dubbed it “The Road to Nowhere.”  We will have cones set up in a flag formation.  We will run to each cone and do the exercises listed.

  • Cone 1:  10 Burpees  Bernie Sanders to Cone 2
  • Cone 2:  10 Shoulder Taps (both shoulders = 1)
  • Cone 3:  10 Hand Release Merkins
  • Cone 4:  20 Star Jumps
  • Cone 5:  20 Big Boy Sit-ups.  Bear Crawl to Cone 6
  • Cone 6:  20 Hello Dollies (4 ct)
  • Cone 7:  20 Merkins
  • Rinse and Repeat two more times

Mosey to Area 51.  We will do 20 Curb Dips in Parking Lot, then run up hill to roadway.  Those on roadway will do Baby Crunches until all men arrive.

Mosey past stop sign at Southeastern corner of Admin Bldg to hillside.  We will do Sevens off the hill toward the cone planted about 20 yards away in the grass.  At top of hill we will start with one Mountain Climber.  At bottom of hill we will start with six Burpees.

Mosey to AO.  We will do sprints between large light poles, starting with sprints at half speed, then going to 3/4 speed and ending with full speed.

MARY:
20 Flutter Kicks, 20 Bicycle Kicks, 10 Tempo Merkins.
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
19 men with one being an FNG, Hayden Corbitt, whom we dubbed “Kermit.”
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

“Let your faith roar so loud that you can’t hear what doubt is saying.” Author unknown.

During times like this coronavirus pandemic it may be more difficult to believe in God.  How can God let this terrible thing happen to us and to the whole world?  Yet, at the end of April, when the Coronavirus was hitting us hard and so many were quarantining, a Pew Research Center survey of Americans found that 24% said that as a result of the pandemic there faith was stronger.  Only 2% said their faith was weaker.

When people say they don’t believe in God, or when we ourselves express disbelief in God, our actions usually portray something different.  People may say they don’t believe but find themselves praying for something good to occur when a loved one is ill.  People who believe that this world is nothing but chaos or that creation is random still desire and strive for order in their lives.  People who say that the world is bad still hope for good things to happen to them.  People who say there is no love in this world still hope to be loved.  Unbelievers still yearn for something more in their lives, and essentially pray for their holes to be filled.

God sees our disbelief and tells us to believe.  I think of Christ coming to the disciples after breathed his last breath on the Christ and saying to Thomas, touch my, fill the wounds in my skin.  And he felt for Thomas for not believing until he did see him, did touch him.

God, help us through this difficult time.  Fill our holes.  We pray for you, even at times of disbelief.  Let our faith in you roar so loud that we can’t even hear what doubt is saying.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Knoxville area in face of Covid-19 as there has been a recent rise in hospitalizations here.  Prayers for Romeo after his very serious motorcycle accident.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Convergence and 3rd F at Bomb Shelter this Saturday, October 17 from 7 am to 9:30 am.

I’m Diving In

THE SCENE: Raining, temps in 60s
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side-Straddle-Hops, 10 Mountain Climbers, 10 Windmills, 10 Rockettes, 10 Lunges, 7 Wide Arm Circles Forward and Backward, Little of This and That

THA-THANG:
Mosey to Bottom of Cardiac.  We will run up hill and do the following exercises at the following areas:

  • Curve 1:  25 Carolina Dry Docks
  • Curve 2:  25 Dive Bombers
  • Curve 3:  25 Decline Merkins
  • Benches:  25 Bench Dips

Mosey to Parking Lot by South Ball Fields.  We will do suicides running to each of 6 cones, doing 10 Merkins, and running back to do 20 Baby Crunches.  Those who finish first get a 30 second break, then rinse and repeat.

Mosey back to the main street.  Do 20 Bench Dips off of curb.

Mosey to Parking Lot with Islands (Jinxy has named it “The Caribbean” and the name has been officially sanctioned by Crawdad) that is south of the Northern Ball Fields.  We will Bernie clockwise around the parking lot the first time, stopping at every other island to do 10 Hello Dollies, 4 ct.  We will skip around the parking lot the second time, stopping at every third island to do 10 Flutter Kicks, 4ct.  We will Grapevine left around half the parking lot and Grapevine right around the other half, stopping at every fourth island to do 10 Squats.

We will High Knee to sidewalk that leads to the ball fields.

Mosey to the Pavilion at the Northern Ball Fields.  We will do 20 Picnic Table Pull-ups then run to playground to do 10 step ups at benches (five starting with one foot and five starting with other.  Then we run back to Pavilion.  Rinse and repeat two more times.

Mosey to beginning of Mini Cardiac.  Bernie to park sign then run the rest of the way to the AO.

MARY:
20 Flutter Kicks (4 ct), 50 Hello Dollies (4 ct)
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
17 men, no FNGs
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

My Christian beliefs have not come about by a sudden conversion as it has for some people.  Rather, my road to belief in God has been one full of twists and dips.  I have found it difficult to commit to God in the face of my doubts.  Is God truly there?  Did God create the universe?  Is God a good and loving god?  Why would a loving God allow pain and suffering in our world?  I have read Christian books on apologetics to help me better understand the arguments for Christianity.  But like other men with much greater minds than I, including Pascal, St. Augustine and C.S. Lewis, I have found that reason alone is not enough for me to believe in God.  One can rationalize both belief and disbelief.  I had a philosophy professor at Baylor University who once said that philosophy cannot prove that God exists – but also cannot prove that God does not exist.  God is a great mystery.  To believe, we must, as Van Morrison writes in one of his songs, “let go into the mystery.”

There is a scene I love in one of the first of the Star Wars movies, The Empire Strikes Back.  Luke, after a battle with Darth Vadar, hangs to a latter.  If he falls, it appears he will certainly die, as the crevice below seems to go on forever.  He learns that Darth Vadar is his father.  Darth Vadar offers him the chance to live, beckons Luke to take his hand and join him, proclaiming that together they can rule the Galaxy as father and son.  What does Luke do?  He lets go!  And in doing so, he plunges to the depths below.  He lets go into the mystery.  He allows the “Force to Be With Him.”  And, of course, we later learn that by letting go, he lives.

Pascal, St. Augustine and C.S. Lewis found out that joining with God takes faith – a trust that goes beyond reason, beyond rational understanding.  At some point you just have to trust what you can’t see.  So, I can make all kinds of arguments for the existence of God – but, those arguments cannot take away the uncertainty – ultimately, I have learned to say, ok God, I’m going to trust you, here I am.

There is a Christian song called “Dive” by Steven Curtis Chapman that captures the need to take the plunge if one is going to trust in God:

The long awaited rains
Have fallen hard upon the thirsty ground
And carved their way to where
The wild and rushing river can be found
And like the rain
I have been carried here to where the river flows, yeah
My heart is racing and my knees are weak
As I walk to the edge
I know there is no turning back
Once my feet have left the ledge
And in the rush I hear a voice
That’s telling me it’s time to take the leap of faith
So here I go

I’m diving in, I’m going deep, in over my head I want to be
Caught in the rush, tossed in the flow, in over my head I want to go
The river’s deep, the river’s wide, the river’s water is alive
So sink or swim, I’m diving in (I’m diving in…)

Brothers, I count to 3 and I dive in, whether it makes sense or not – I dive in hoping that Jesus will catch me like he did Peter who in his fear, started sinking in the water while Jesus stood upon it.  And like Peter, I ask, “Lord, to whom else shall we go?”  I’m diving in.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Lilydipper’s wife, Jan, who is now getting radiation for her breast cancer; prayer of praise for Choir Boy’s wife whose health is improving; prayers for young people during this pandemic, including a high school student at Hardin Valley that recently committed suicide, an adolescent that Lulu knows who is coping with anorexia, and Abscess’ son who recently got into a severe automobile accident – he is ok but definitely suffered injuries; prayers for family/friends of a friend of Pele who lost his life in a solo plane crash yesterday.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Convergence and 3rd F on Saturday, October 17, 7 am at the Bomb Shelter in Alcoa.

In His Mansion

THE SCENE: Insert info about the weather, etc.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side-Straddle-Hops, 10 Burpees, 10 Plank Jacks, 5 Burpees, 10 Cherry Pickers, 10 Imperial Walkers, 10 Windmills, Michael Phelps

THA-THANG:

Each man picks up a pair of bricks from my truck.  We then run to parking lot by entrance to Northern Ball Fields.  There will be exercises posted at each corner of the parking lot.  Do the exercise listed, run around the parking lot, then do the next exercise listed.  Always have bricks when running.  Once exercises at one cone are complete, go to the next cone and do those.  When a man is done he will have done 12 exercises (3 from each cone and run around the parking lot 12 times).  Here are the exercises from each cone:

  • Cone 1:  1. 50 Overhead Presses with Bricks  2. 20 Big Boys  3. 50 Curls with Bricks
  • Cone 2:  1. 50 Rows with Bricks  2. 20 Big Boys  3.  50 Wings Up with Bricks
  • Cone 3:  1. 50 Wings Out with Bricks  2. 10 Mini Man-makers 3. 50 Wings Down with Bricks
  • Cone 4.  1. 50 Punches with Bricks.  2. 10 Mini Man-makers  3. 50 Triceps with Bricks

Mosey with bricks back to the truck and replace them there.

Mosey to stop sign at Northeastern corner of admin bldg.  We will do 20 American Hammers.

Mosey down steps to small alleyway.  Pick teammate. We will do Doras.  Teammate runs up stairs, around to beginning of alleyway and back to teammate while teammate does exercises.  Teammates the switch off.  Here are the exercises:

  • 150 Squats
  • 150 Big Boy Situps
  • 100 Merkins

Mosey to Parking Lot that semi-circles by soccer fields.  We will Bernie for 20 fence stakes then lunge for 10 tent stakes and repeat that pattern to the end of the parking lot.

Mosey to beginning of mini-cardiac.  Bernie to park sign, then sprint the rest of the way back to the AO.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
13 Men, no FNGs
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Thomas Merton:  “Creation isn’t something that just happened in the beginning and then God walked off and left us to our own devices.”

Imagine if that were true.  God created this universe and everything in it and then said, “Good luck everybody, I’m going to sleep.”  Would the creator do that?  I don’t think so.

Thomas Merton:  “Creation is going on all the time.  That creation is absolute and perpetual.”

That creation is a gift and a miracle.  It surrounds us and is within us.  Yet, we so often fail to see it.  Some of the great church hymns have God saying to us (or use to Him), “Abide in Me”, knowing that we so often fall short in doing so.

James Finley describes this failure to see God’s gift to us in this way:

What if all along you’ve been living in this incredible mansion all your life but through a tragic mental condition you think you’re living in a little tent behind the garage?  And every week your psychotherapist comes over for your weekly session, and your therapist says, “Look, I wouldn’t, honestly, I wouldn’t lie to you on this one.  You’re in a mansion.  You’ve been living in it all along.”  You say, No.  No.  I . . . as a matter of fact, I don’t even think I deserve to even try to get in there, actually.”  In God, we live and move and have our being.  We’re living our life in the vast interiority of God pouring Himself out and giving himself away as every breath and heartbeat, as every passing moment of our life.  This is confusion.  Jesus called it blindness.  Buddha called it ignorance.  We don’t see the God-given, Godly nature, the boundary-less generosity of every blessed moment in our life.”

To abide in God is to accept his gift, to recognize His beauty, to breath it in what John Eldredge calls “The Sacred Romance.”  Other spiritual writers call it the “Sacred Dance.”  To abide in God is to ask him to abide with us.

I will close with some lines from the song “Abide With Me”:

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies
Heav’n’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers of praise for Lillydipper’s wife (done with double masectomy surgery) and Choir Boys’ wife (does not have lymphoma and is getting rehab for the pain she is experiencing); prayers for wife of Mr. Jinxy who will have surgery on September 17; prayers for Lulu and Doubtfire who both have lost their mothers this past month.