F3 Knoxville

Tag: Crawdad

Two Deion Sanders Equals a Ronnie Lott

THE SCENE: Beautiful East TN morning, not too hot, not too much humidity (we could breathe and weren’t swimming).
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER

WARM-O-RAMA:
42 SSH IC, 21 baby arm circles forward IC, 21 baby arm circles backward IC, 42 merkins OYO, 42-second squat

THA-THANG:
Mosey to the weekday A.M. parking lot via the dragon’s tail – pass a light post, do a burpee.

Workout stations in all four corners of the parking lot – CMU curls, CDDs, burpees, and squats.  Do 40 reps of the exercise and run to the center and do 2 round-the-clock merkins.  Run up mini-cardiac/mini-Everest and back down to the next station.  Do 40 reps of the exercise, run to the middle and do 2 RTC merkins, Bernie up the hill, and run back down.  Repeat until all stations are done, alternating between running up the hill and Bernie-ing up the hill.

Bear crawl to the flag pole next to the Pavillon.  Circuit with 4 stations of exercises, 10 reps each, and 2 burpees at the flag pole.  The exercises were: box jumps in the play area (aka the Cloud), pull-me-ups (table rows) in the Pavillon, pull ups in the dugouts (or where ever a pull up could be found, e.g., a tree branch), calf raises on the stairs (10 each leg), plus the aforementioned burpees x 2 at the flagpole.  Ran the circuit until the Q called time.

Bear crawl back to the parking lot to do four more stations of exercises, this time CMU triceps extensions, merkins, lunges, and a PAX choice (hello Dollys).  Due to time, do 20 reps of the exercise, run to the center and do 1 8-count Bodybuilder (basically a burpee with a plank jack added in for good measure), and then run to the next station and repeat.  We left out the runs up the hill in between stations to make sure we had time for Mary.

Cash-out sprint up the hill to get to Mary.

MARY:

The Q was out of breath trying to chase Edit up the hill, so Crawdad led the PAX through 21 box cutters on a 4 count.  Then, the PAX did 42 LBCs OYO.  Ended with a 42-second plank right on time.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
16 total PAX.  High Heels left early to meet the cable guy, but he conveniently reappeared at Panera for Coffeteria.  Veggie was there, but his tag was not in the system.  One FNG who was visiting Goober from Indiana (Goober has brought a lot of his friends to F3, either Goober likes us or hates his friends).  He was named Brown Bag.  Unfortunately, the Q forgot to get his contact info, so hopefully Goober can provide it.

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
My birthday was the day before.  Try to guess how old I am.  Talked about Ecclesiastes – my favorite book in the Bible.  Read it for yourself.  Here’s my summary: bad things happen to good people, good things happen to bad people, but do what is right regardless because that is what God wants.  Talked about time because the most famous part of Ecclesiastes is the passage on time, just ask the Byrds.  Time is my enemy.  There is never enough of it, it goes by too fast, and you can’t get it back once it is gone.  It goes by faster and faster as the milestones of life pile up.  Talked about my dad and him being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease when I was in high school and how that affected him physically and me mentally as I watched the disease progress over the years.  He died in 2017 at the age of 79.  I was 40.  No one knows how much they have left or what they have left.  But we all know what we can do today.  When I am tired or want to be lazy, I think of my dad and other people who cannot do what we do in F3.  One day, I won’t be able to do it either, for whatever reason (injury, age, disease, death).  So, I do it now.  I get up and do it for my dad and those who can’t and for the me one day who won’t be able to do it either.  That way, when I can’t, I can at least say and know that I did.  When I could, I did, and I did until I couldn’t.  No waste.  No regrets.  Carpe diem.
MOLESKIN:
Prayed specifically for Junk’s wife, Crawdad’s wife, and Thunderstruck’s mom.  General prayers of thanks for the precious time that we have, for the ability to make the most of it and to build a foundation of better living for our family and friends and to make great memories that last a lifetime even as the time passes, and for the peace to let time go and to accept the next season (as Ecclesiastes calls it) of life when it comes.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Convergence at Big Ball coming up in a couple of weeks followed by the third F at Redeemer.

P.S. Thanks to Sleepover for suggesting all the burpees.

Walking with God

THE SCENE: Insert info about the weather, etc.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Plank Jacks, 10 Cherry Pickers, 10 Windmills, 40 Above Head Hand Clappers (4 count), High Knees to end of parking lot, Butt Kickers back to start of parking lot.
THA-THANG:
Mosey on roadway toward gate entrance at Lyons Bend.  Stop on right side of road where walking trail hits road. 20 American Hammers.

Mosey to Cone that will be about 30 yards east on trail. We will do Route 66’s to cone that will be on trail east and then south on trail.  We will come back to starting cone after each Route 66.  We do four Route 66’s with the following exercises:

  • Mountain Climbers (4 count)
  • Merkins
  • Big Boys
  • Dive Bombers

Mosey west and cross roadway.  We will stop to do 20 more American Hammers.

Mosey on trail to bottom of Mt. Everest.  We will do the following exercises then run to summit of Mt. Everest and repeat the exercises.

  • 10 Burpees
  • 20 Merkins
  • 30 Squats
  • 40 Baby Crunches

Mosey to stop sign at northeastern corner of Admin bldg.  We will stop to do 20 Hello Dollies.

Mosey to Monument and then down the Dragon Fly to the shaded parking lot across the street from parking lot at entryway to Northern Ball Park.  We will have the following races across the parking lot with the man winning the most races getting a free breakfast from Lily:

  • Bear Crawl Race (small length of parking lot)
  • Hop Race (small length of parking lot)
  • Bernie Sanders Race (long length of parking lot)
  • Frisbee Accuracy Throw
  • Sprint Race (long length of parking lot)
  • If there is a tie between the winners (for example, five different men win the above events) then we will have a playoff with a Paddle Ball Accuracy Contest

Mosey to AO.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
Use the TAGS on right-side to record PAX (BE SURE TO INCLUDE YOURSELF) in attendance. Be sure to select the AO in CATEGORY above TAGS and then delete these notes!
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

What Does A Walk With God Look Like?

Have you ever wondered what taking a walk with God would be like?  What would he want to talk about?  How often would he glance at you as you walked along a path?  What would it be like to have Him in your presence?  Would it be comforting?  Scary?  Terrifying?  Wonderful?  Would God be gazing at nature as He walked along with you?  What would you want to say to Him?  What would you want to ask Him?  What if he touched you?  What would that be like?

In the Bible, we read of those who are awestruck in the presence of God.  They fall to their knees before Him.  Yet we also read of God being the great Comforter, the great Physician, the rock upon which we can lean and rest.

The Bible teaches us that God is always with us.  He is omnipresent.  As we walk along in our journey of life, He is there.  So if He is truly there, why not talk to him?  Why not ask Him what He is thinking?  Why not talk to Him about both the beauty and ugliness you see in this world.  Why not ask Him for his strong and steady hand?  Why not lead on him like he is your father, your Heavenly father?

I got the idea for this message when I was listening to Careless (Shawn Slate) deliver a sermon at Redeemer Church of Knoxville.  He talked about taking walks with his wife.  He commented that he tends to walk with a fast pace, rushing ahead, wanting to hurry up and get to whatever the destination is.  His wife, meanwhile, walks much more slowly, not so rushed, wanting to gaze at the scenery, the world around her.  Careless said he has learned more about walking with God by walking with his wife.  He has learned to slow the pace, take time to see the beauty of God’s world, and also take time to talk to the woman he loves and married.

I want to spend more time walking with God.  I need to take the time to do that with a slower pace in mind.  I need to truly focus on Him better when doing so, actually think of Him being in my presence, truly there with me.  When I pray, I need to think of Him reaching out to touch me.  It may raise some hairs on my head but it will also bring me closer to Him.  That’s what He wants.  And, when I think about it, that’s what I want to.  Furthermore, isn’t that what YOU WANT?  Use your imagination if you have to at first.  Expand your thoughts, think of Him with you, walking beside you.  Slow your pace for a while and converse with God.

MOLESKIN:
Prayers for Junk’s wife, for Thurnderstruck’s mother, for Crawdad’s wife, for Farva’s friend who died, and for Baby Smalls who was recently born.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Next 3rd F is August 10 at 8:30, Redeemer Church of Knoxville.

It’s High Heels in the End Zone

THE SCENE: If there was a nicer Saturday morning to work out in, I don’t want to know about it
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER Cap’n was there, so I think that covers us
WARM-O-RAMA:
Archie and Cap’n were in cooldown mode after 3 rucking miles…Pusher and Crawdad were pulling in…

10 Windmills IC while waiting for Crawdad and Pusher

25 SSH, but only 5 IC. The other 20 we were supposed to do in our heads. We did not all end at the same time. Could’ve been Q’s fault. 10 Burpees OYO.

BAC forward and reverse, OHCs in between

THA-THANG:

Little Mosey over to the base of Spaceship Hill. Catch Me If You Can with 10 LBCs to the stop sign on the far side.

Another mosey down to Area 51, which has missed us, and which also had an unidentified structure. We took it apart and did some CMU Doras. Pusher found a hole that was hiding, but recovered on the mosey like the badass that he is. 

Indian run over to the FiA parking lot, where Abcess had already delivered baloons. We presented them with a birthday present, candle, and we sang Happy Birthday. Q started us off about two octaves too high but he is not paid for his beautiful singing voice.

Down to the soccer fields to meet Jack Webb! Back in college we used to play Ultimate Frisbee, so we played in Jack’s honor. 2 burpees for everyone if the frisbee touches the ground, 5 merkins for a team that gets scored on. High Heels got the Golden Glove Award.

MARY:
Mary Schmary

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:

Rats and roaches live by competition under the laws of supply and demand; it is the privilege of human beings to live under the laws of justice and mercy.”
― Wendell Berry

MOLESKIN:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Rusty Math

THE SCENE: Couldn’t be prettier
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER Choirboy is a lawyer, so I’m going to say we’re covered
WARM-O-RAMA:
SSH, Windmills, Crawdad’s arrival (not an exercise, but certainly a ritual), BACs+OHCs, reverse and repeat
THA-THANG:
We took the Moseytown train up to the old Rockpile (RIP), where midnight elves had created Blockhenge. We tore it down and beat our arms and shoulders to death. We crawled like bears, we ran like I guess Bernie Sanders would if he could, we lifted CMUs in every way we could.

Moseyed over to Grinch’s Hill, which honestly is way worse than Hardship Hill. We were raising money for Operation Enduring Oatmeal, which is a charity that tries to get Jinxy’s order right at Panera. Squat and Merkin 11s. Proton swept us to the Cloud.

Rusty is a math genius and just for us, he invented a new way to concieve numbers and counting.

Box Baby Boxes at the cloud, followed by a visit from Jack freaking Webb, whose superpower is changing the density of air. He does not make it lighter I’m afraid.

We took Skunk Alley to Cardiac and by then it was time to take it to the house.

MARY:
There’s no  Marys in Operation Enduring Oatmeal
COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
6 dudes with busy Saturdays…Proton, Crawdad, Hawk, Rusty, Choirboy, and YHC
CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
Excerpt from “This is Water” by David Foster Wallace, in honor of graduation season
MOLESKIN:
Grateful to be out there with these men.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Apparently some other F3 guys are running around somewhere today. Best of luck to you!

God Exists

THE SCENE: Drizzling, temps in high 60’s.
F3 WELCOME & DISCLAIMER
WARM-O-RAMA:
20 Side-straddle hops, Plank Stretches, 10 Rockettes, 10 Cherry Pickers, Michael Phelps
THA-THANG:
Mosey to parking lot by entrance way to Northern Ball Fields.  Go to CMU pile.  Split into teams of two men each.  Each team grabs a CMU.  We will be doing Doras.  Partner One does Bernie Sanders to end of parking lot then sprints back while Partner Two does exercise with CMU.  Then partners switch.  These are the exercises:

  • 100 Overhead Presses
  • 100 Curls
  • 100 Rows
  • 100 Squats with CMU at chest.

Mosey to Pavilion at Northern Ball Fields.  We will do Totem Pole.  There will be five exercises.  We will do first exercise for 30 seconds.  We will continue to add an exercise each time until we have done all five exercises.  We will then drop the first exercise and go through the exercises repetitively, dropping one each time until we have done last exercise alone for 30 seconds.  Thus, we will do each exercise five times.  These are the exercises:

  • Burpees
  • Hello Dollies
  • Picnic Table Pull-ups.
  • Decline Merkins with feet on bench of picnic table.
  • Squat Jumps

Nest, each man does squat with back against wall of pavilion.  We will hold the squat for 60 seconds.

Mosey to Dragon Fly just past the parking lot directly across the street from the parking lot by the entrance way to the Northern Ball Fields.  We will do Route 66 up the Dragon Fly with the following exercises:

  • Mountain Climbers (4 count)
  • Dive Bombers

Mosey back to CMU pile in the parking lot by the Northern Ball Field Entrance Way.  Each man grabs a CMU.  We will do the following exercises in cadence:

  • 20 Overhead Presses
  • 20 Curls
  • 20 Rows

Mosey back to AO.

MARY:

We will do stretches of right leg and left, then stretches of each arm.

COUNT-OFF & NAME-O-RAMA
10 men, no FNG’s.

CIRCLE OF TRUST/BOM:
In his novel One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez chronicles the history of a fictional small town in Mexico called Macondo.  At one point in the novel of plague of insomnia infects the little town and the residents go without sleep.  In the process, they lose they begin to lose their memories.  A main character in the novel begins to write on all types of tiems in the town so that people will not forget what they are.  The people join in to help.  Finally, the people in the town place a sign to it’s entrance way that says Macando.  And, they place an even larger sign in the center of the town that says God exists.  

In his book, The Journey of Desire, John Eldredge said that he laughed at the  above story when he first read it.  On his second reading, he began to understand the significance.  He then thought to himself that he should hang a sign above his own bad that says “God exists.”

The significance is that we humans, even us believers, often forget that God exists.  Oh, we may remember He exists at a shallow level but we forget the existence of God at the deeper, most meaningful level.  We forget that He is our Creator, He is the Great Physician, He is the Loving Father, He is the Alpha and the Omega.  The Israelites were constantly forgetting God.  He delivered them through the Red Sea to escape the Egyptians and days later they were complained about water supply.  When he provided water they complained about food.  He sends down bread from the sky and they bemoan the lack of water again.  They later worship false idols.  They must be reminded again and again about the existence of God.

I find myself doing the same thing.  I may go to church and hear a sermon or sing a hymn that stirs my heart, that reminds me of God’s love for me, that motivates me to climb mountains, to forget my fears, to live for my fellow man.  On Monday morning I awake before going to work and find that I have forgotten everything I learned the day before.

In his book The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie, the main character falls from an airplane at the beginning of the book.  No parachute, he just plummets from the sky – and lives!  It is a miracle and he claims that he will always remember the miracle, always be thankful for it.  Yet, as time goes on, he forgets the miracle.

What is it about humankind that leads us to forget the existence of God?  We have these moments where we feel loved by God, saved by Him, grateful and thankful.  Then we forget.  Things happen to us that are miracles and we are amazed by them.  But we forget!  That is why it is so important to make the great HC toward God.  We must keep reading our bibles.  We must keep going to worship.  We must keep meeting with others who are forgetful believers like us and talk about the wonder of God, share in his Glory, so that we remember, so we don’t forget that – GOD EXISTS.
MOLESKIN:
Prayers for guys at Neyland Stadium today and for Crawdad’s father.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:  Hardship Hill on May 18