F3 Knoxville

Eyes on the Prize

AO: asylum-pm
Q: Crash Dummy
PAX: Lilydipper, Pele (Jon Lindberg), Pusher, Lizzy, High Heels, Curveball, Tenderfoot, Dung Beetle, Dain Bramage, Shogun
FNGs: None
COUNT: 11
WARMUP: Run around pavilion/playground back to AO. SSH – 20ea. Windmills – 10, Monkey Humpers – 10. Pterodactyls – 10 (fwd/bwd). Stretching. Run the parking lot.

THE THANG: Partner Up! Partner A: Bernie up Baby Cardiac. Partner B: Reverse Lung. X3.

Run to top of Cardiac: Suicides: 5 Merkins at top. Turns: Jump Squats 10 reps. Finish at the bottom.

Mosey to Caribbean: Every other island 5 Burpees.

MARY: N/A

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Hardship Hill, Genesis

COT: Proverbs 17:24: “A discerning man keeps wisdom in view, but a fool’s eyes wander to the ends of the earth.”

2026 Translation: Wise men lock in, fools fantasize. Wise men create; fools just wait. Wise men build what’s in front of them. Fools daydream about what they’ll do someday.

I love daydreaming. I buy a lottery ticket hoping it hits but the truth is, it wouldn’t hit if I played the lotto every day from the day I was born until the day I die. What matters is hard work and dedication. You have to put in the work. Every. Single. Day!

Crash Dummy Performs A Pusher Q (Guest Speaker at the COT)

AO: asylum-daybreak
Q: Crash Dummy
PAX: Mr Jinxy, Lizzy, Pusher, Brick, High Heels, Pac-man, Crawdad (Robbi Dickens), Veggie (Rylen Huddy), Lulu (Greg Huddy), Cart Girl (John Sadler) (Chatt, TN), Honeydew, Swimmies (Nathan Chesney), Snitch (Cory Beilharz )
FNGs: None
COUNT: 14
WARMUP: Run around pavilion/playground back to AO. SSH – 20ea. Windmills – 10, Cherry Pickers – 5, Mountain Climbers – 20. Pterodactyls – 10 fwd/bkwd. Monkey Humpers – 10. Stretching. Run the parking lot.

THE THANG: Mosey to bathroom: Every 4th light pole, 10 Merkins. 4x. (Rabbits hold squat).

Run back to bathroom. Run up Pickett’s Charge to the Coliseum.

4 Stations (3, 6, 9, 12 o’clock): **2 count when applicable.

1st Rd: Dry Docks/Squats/American Hammers. 10 reps each.
(Rabbits: Wall Sit till 6 arrives. After each rd)

2nd Rd: Jump Squats/Merkins/American Hammers. 10 reps.

3rd Rd: Iron Mikes/SSH/American Hammers. 10 reps.

4th Rd: Bobby Hurleys/Reverse Lunges/American Hammers. 10 reps.

Mosey back to bathroom parking lot: Lunge walk or bear crawl to the end. Turn around and do 5 Burpees every other island to the other end. Run back to AO.

MARY: Pusher led Motivators – 5 count. LBCs until the end.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Escape from Haw Ridge. 2nd F at Xul.

COT: Guest speaker: My father, Carl Reitz, who spent time in Pakistan and Guatemala, talked about winning the lottery by being fortunate to live in the US. He explained how lucky we all are to not have to worry about food, shelter, clothing, etc. He asked each man to give thought to the air we breathe each day because so many people in this world aren’t as fortunate as we are.

“With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility”

AO: asylum-pm
Q: Crash Dummy
PAX: Mr Jinxy, Switchhitter (Tony), Lizzy, Sparkler, Rooney(Carl Whipple), Brick, Drum Major, High Heels, MD Hammer, Curveball
FNGs: None
COUNT: 11
WARMUP: Run around pavilion/playground back to AO. Pterodactyl – fwd/reverse – 10ea. SSH – 20ea. Windmills – 10, Cherry Pickers – 5, Tempo Squats – 10. Monkey Humpers – 10. Stretching. Run the parking lot.

THE THANG: Run to hill (near Pickett’s). 7’s: Squats/Merkins. Run to the small parking lot. Every lamp post you add 1 Burpee. Lung Walk to the next lamp post. total of 7 lamp posts. Reverse. Start at lamp post 10. Reverse Lunges (x2). Bernie to next post.
Ran to Bat Cave to view the construction. Ran back to AO.

MARY: American Hammers

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Escape from Haw Ridge

COT: I recently attended a work conference in Las Vegas. The CEO of my company talked about a bible verse that he reminds his kids of once a year:

“From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked” (Luke 12:48)

Greatly paraphrased by Uncle Ben to Peter Parker “With great power comes great responsibility.”

The idea is that we are held responsible for what we have. If we are blessed with talents, wealth, knowledge, time, and the like, it is expected that we use these gifts to glorify God and benefit others.

Get Out of Your Own Way

AO: asylum-pm
Q: Lilydipper
PAX: Drum Major, Tenderfoot, Switchhitter (Tony), Rooney(Carl Whipple), High Heels, Brick, Lizzy, Pele (Jon Lindberg), Pusher, Joshua Foster
FNGs: None
COUNT: 11
WARMUP: 20 Side-Straddle Hops, 10 Iron Mikes, 10 Ice Skaters, 10 Tennessee Rocking Chairs, 10 Rockettes, 30 Grady Corns, 7 Pterodactyls Forwards and 7 Backwards

THE THANG: We will do the following sets of exercises, doing the first, then running (counter-clockwise) around pavilion twice, doing the second, then running around pavilion twice, then the third and then running around pavilion twice:
– 20 Big Boy Sit-ups
– 20 Merkins
– 20 Picnic Table Pull-ups

Next, we will do totem pole, building on exercises then chopping them off, with 30 seconds for each exercise. Here are the exercises:
– Plank Jacks
– American Hammers
– Bobby Hurleys

Next, we will do the following sets of exercises, doing the first, then running (clockwise) around pavilion twice, doing the second, then running around pavilion twice, then the third and then running around pavilion twice:

– 20 Star Jumps
– 20 Carolina Dry Docks
– 20 Smurf Jacks

Next, we will do the following sets of exercises, doing the first, then running (counter-clockwise) around pavilion twice, doing the second, then running around pavilion twice, then the third and then running around pavilion twice:

– 20 Flutter Kicks
– 20 Bench Dips
– 20 Step-ups on Benches

Finally, we will do the following sets of exercises, doing the first, then running (clockwise) around pavilion twice, doing the second, then running around pavilion twice, then the third and then running around pavilion twice:

– 20 Freddie Mercuries
– 20 Decline Merkins
– 20 Incline Merkins

MARY: No time for sweet Mary.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: The Knoxville Region has starfished again into an eastern and western region. Thanks to Mermaid for being a fantastic Nant’an for the Knoxville Region. Our western region will have Stripped as the Nant’an. Our eastern region will have Swanson as the Nant’an. Asylum PM will be in the eastern region.

COT:
Message:
Get Out of Your Own Way
I recently read an interesting article about interview with Ben Stiller. In the interview he said that the worst decision he ever made in his life was to cut his then 9-year-old daughter, Ella Stiller, from a scene she had been filmed in for a movie Ben was making, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Ella, who is now 23, laughs the occurrence off, saying the scene didn’t really make sense in the movie. But for Ben, cutting the scene goes to a deeper issue, which he states is his obsession with his work and his perfectionism. While a goal of Ben Stiller has been to be a good, loving, and available father, he has found that his perfectionism with work sometimes stood in the way of that.
I think it a good thing that Stiller sees that difficulty in himself and is vulnerable enough to admit it. By seeing that fault, he has been able to work on it although he has found himself struggling with it again and again.
Where do you get perfectionist or obsessed? What stands in the way of you being available to others? What stands in the way of you fulfilling dreams? What stands in the way of you being the HIM that God wants you to be? Those questions make me think of that song by U2, Get Out of Your Own Way.
An area where I frequently find I must get out of my own way is having my life in order and getting things done before I take the time to relax and just be. You guys may not see that side of me. When I get home from work or F3, I have these tasks that I feel I need to check off: get bills paid, get email messages answered, straighten out the house, make sure everything is clean and put away, get the laundry done, etc. etc. etc. That obsessive need to work before play can be a good think . . . things do get done. But it also has stood in the way of my getting time to relax and spending time with my family. And, what is truly more important – time with family or getting those clothes cleaned and put away? I am not a workaholic who avoids family but I can certainly learn to let things go more, particularly if time with family is involved.
How about you? Where do you need to get out of your own way? Is there something you need to let go of a bit so that you pay attention to another aspect of your life? If so, assess it and pray about it. Ask God to help you to finds ways to change.

Prayers: Prayers for our bother, Mr Jinxy and his wife, Susan. Susan had to be hospitalized Saturday morning with intense nausea. She was found to have a duodenal perforation. She is being treated with antibiotics at the hospital but may have to have surgery to repair the perforation if the antibiotics do not take care of the issue. Prayers for our brother, Steam and his wife Megan as she is due to have child any day now. Prayers for Will, the five-year-old student of the wife of our brother, Drum Major. Will is undergoing extensive treatment for a significant health issue. Prayers for our brother, Joshua Foster (Shogun). We congratulate him for getting a major new client for his company. We pray for him as he travels to Washington, DC to be the major person working to help that company.

Best Naturday Ever!

AO: asylum-daybreak
Q: Natty
PAX: FixerUpper, Lilydipper, Brick, Natty, Crawdad (Robbi Dickens), Kung Blue, Casey Kasem, Doubtfire (Nick Bond), Crash Dummy, Waffle House (Brady Greene), Swimmies (Nathan Chesney), Dain Bramage, High Heels
FNGs: None
COUNT: 13
WARMUP: SSH, Toy Soldiers, Thai Fighters, Grady Corns, Shoulder Press, Chinooks (B), Moroccan night clubs, Army Cherry Pickers, seal claps, tempo mkns

THE THANG: Mosey to the Restroom walls to perform some Australian Nut Knockers, then 20 Bobby Hurleys, all out run up the grassy knoll to the level spot for 20 mkns then continue on up to top of hill, squats until 6 was up. Next were three rounds of 10 BBS followed by 5 mucho leggos running down the strip and back in between rounds. Dips until the 6 was up. ID a partner then mosey down to the level field High Heels mentioned was the wettest part of the park. All good for some wheelbarrows to tackle the length of the field with your partna. Mosey / Jog to the bowl performing some (B) side shuffles and Bernie’s along the way and hold a low plank til 6 up at base of bowl. Proceed with 3 laps fast as ya can around the bowl and doing 5 burpees at base and 5 at top each lap. Flutters and Big Boys until 6 was up. Indian run to the back beast hill, rear man performs 5 HR mkns and sprints to front of line. Quick pace up the hill to level spot to perform Apollo Ohno’s and Bonnie Blair’s. Quick pace mosey and return to AO

MARY: crab reachers, hello Dollie’s, Freddie mercuries Superman’s and gas pumps

ANNOUNCEMENTS: convergence starfish here 1/31

COT:Best Day Ever

Last year I travelled to Steamboat Springs, CO 3x, as many of you know to visit my sister Beverly, and brother-in-law Gary who is facing Stage IV Lymphoma. As an added bonus, Steamboat is quite a paradise all year long. Each time while on these trips I’d see stickers that said, “Best Day Ever.” I heard it was coined by a local guy revered by others for his positivity and efforts to get youth active in their community and enjoying all the activities Steamboat has to offer.

I didn’t really investigate it more, but still liked the phrase, so it always sat in the back of my mind. On this last visit I spent almost 2 weeks in CO and always when I go in the winter, I’m eager to hit the slopes. Unfortunately, there was very little snow when I arrived and so for more than a week, I just looked up at the mountain, hoping for some big dump to arrive and let me miraculously ski all the runs I could. Well, that did not happen, but we did get some snow for a few days in a row after Thanksgiving, enough to take a chance and hit the slopes. They basically had one run open the 1st day I went (they called it 2) and the 2nd day they had 2.5 runs (they called 5). For reference, when fully open, they have 184 runs, not to mention the ones you can make on your own through the trees or going out of bounds.

I generally try to strike up a conversation with folks when I ride up the chair lift. One guy asked me where I was from and when I said Knoxville, TN, he lit up & said he owes Knoxville and the 82’ World’s Fair for his career choice b/c it was when and where the Apple McIntosh was introduced and he spent his earnings from working the fair that year on purchasing one which launched his path into IT. But on another run up the lift I sat with an old man and a young lady who had never been there before. She asked about the conditions, and I said, well, considering there were basically two runs, we had very little snow and the visibility sucked, it could be better. But the old man said, “Best Day Ever!” I immediately responded, ya know, you are totally right. Without knowing all the back story on the phrase, I knew right then what it meant to that community. Savor every moment you have in nature, savor the days, months, years you have left to enjoy God’s creation and all the possibilities that lie in it. Just because there was only a couple runs open, it was still awesome, still wonderful, and I luckily had not paid the standard $289.00 lift ticket price, because I learned last season how to save. Point being, no matter what the conditions are, or what your favorite activity is, cherish the ability to do it, to live it, to share it with others and if you have a crazy or unfortunate event or story to tell, it at least makes you interesting at parties.

My trip home gave me that story…I booked a Lyft ride the night before for a 5 AM p/u and flight at 7 AM. Woke up, got ready, carried luggage downstairs and looked at my phone…no driver. Scrambled, freaked a bit because I wanted home bad. Then finally got an Uber p/u at 5:40 for what’s normally a 30 min ride to the airport, was much longer due to the blizzard that arrived for my departure. A nice Jamaican guy in an SUV picked me up and we got going only to get in a convoy of cars behind the snowplow which we followed slowly all the way to the airport. I arrived with no time to spare, got lectured by airport staff, but allowed to load my luggage, get through security and right on board only to wait 2 hrs. to leave (after watching an entire movie on the tarmac). De-icer broke and so once finally off, I knew I was going to miss my connection. I booked another flight while in the air (direct from Denver to Knox). I arrived thinking I had plenty of time, but taxiing was almost 30 min which left me 5 min to go 0.7 miles from gate B8-B58. In my skill set, ok I got this…but with wearing all the winter clothes, jacket, and backpack, it was not easy…I felt my chest pounding and eventually was out of breath. I even had to stop once to take a breather. Made it to the gate, the attendant cheered me on as she was about to close the door. Last one on the plane…I coughed for over an hour. But I made it home 4 hrs. early and grateful to be there. As many of you know, I went through a lot last year, but each day I wake up now I’ve thought about the term, “Best Day Ever.” Stay positive, even through the rut. It’s infectious. Make each day better than the one before it. It’s a state of mind in many ways, but who and what you surround yourself with makes the opportunity for an even better day possible. God has given us all this gift of life, use it wisely.