Grouch’s Birthday & Flatley MHQ’s Birthday “Respect” Q
For the fourth or fifth year, Grouch and Flatley unleashed their March 1 birthday Q, this time on March 2. For the first time, however, they did not run the PAX all over the Davidson campus, through the muddy golf and soccer fields, ruining PAX members’ (OK, Stalker’s) new shoes before taking on an unfair number of stadium stairs. Virus gonna virus and all. . .
22 attendees, and FNG's above refer to Remmy, STP, Rogue, Goat and Gruff
Warm-Ups
YHC arrived just before the bell failed to ring, having spent the afternoon at Main St. Vet Hospital with “best dog ever,” his M’s golden retriever, Maylee, before she passed beyond. All dogs go to heaven so we’ll see you again someday, Maylee – but man we miss your mug nuzzling my arm to get me out of the fartsack, your ice cube – catching skills, and the way you took care of my M for so long before I met her. You were “the best.”
YHC accordingly promptly botched the disclaimer and a couple of the warm-up counts, coincidentally after he and Grouch had been discussing that they need to reemphasize for PAX members the mechanics of the opening, the disclaimer, and the counts & cadence. Standards, ya’ll. We pulled it together after the stretching.
One burpee for Late Early
SSH x50 IC (a bit of 50-rep foreshadowing)
CP’s x15 IC
IW’s x15 IC
Stretching
Count off – 22 members, 2 groups of roughly 11
The Thang
YHC and Grouch agreed to do pretty-much the same thing with each group, just flipping the groups at the half-way mark. Of course we diverged a bit when in motion. YHC dished blue sandbags on three in his group, pavers to three more, two bricks to three more, leaving the last few empty-handed as we departed for “The Equalizer.” Mosey to top of Goodrum. The Equalizer worked pretty well – 10 burpees at top of Goodrum OYO, then each PAX member upon burpee completion had to pick up the heaviest, most awkward item he could and mosey it down Goodrum. 20 squats at bottom with said item. Mosey to top with weight or if empty-handed, mosey faster. Repeato Repeato Repeato Repeato for a total of 50 burpees and 100 squats. The idea was that if you had a sandbag or paver you were slower, and would get “equalized” or passed by an empty-handed PAX, who would pick up the heavier items on the next rotation. Worked well except that YHC went too fast on his empty-handed 3rd hill, and ended up with a sufficient lead that left him with sandbags on the 4th and 5th trips. Hipster passed YHC on the fifth trip up the hill – dang youngster.
Left the weights on the sidewalk for Grouch’s group, moseyed to DUMC steps.
YHC’s achilles tendon has been shaky since Magic Eight Ball’s VQ put him on the IR for over three weeks, so he inflicted Big Mean’s calf-strengthening exercise on the PAX on the steps – 10 straight-leg slow cadence raises, each leg. 10 bent-leg slow cadence raises, each leg. Stalker vocally admiring Hipster’s calves – duly noted.
Mosey to pavers where it got real. All of the following exercises with pavers except for the WWII situps:
Overhead Presses x50 IC. Yikes.
Dumpster run.
Curls x50 IC. Stalker commenting on biceps separating from arms.
Dumpster run.
WWII situps x50.
Dumpster run.
Chest presses x50 IC. Stalker squealing like little girl towards the end though he was about the only PAX keeping count for the Q, or maybe the Q could not hear other counters over the squeals.
Dumpster run.
Skullcrushers x25 IC, which broke YHC’s streak of 50s. Pause while holding the paver, then finish x25 IC more. These were tough, arms were shot.
Dumpster run.
Grouch’s group has returned now, and we still had one set to go, so they (mostly Tiny) stood around empty-handed heckling us while we did –
Bent-over rows x50 IC.
Put ‘em up.
Mosey to green.
Grouch took over at the green with far too much time remaining.
Grouch calls 6 burpees. Why 6? No idea, because it made no sense after him saying he was older than YHC because he is only three years older. Maybe three burpees per each of two groups? 2 burpees for each year, per each of his ears? One burpee for each of the years Grouch has attended F3? Grouch still hasn’t accounted for himself on this.
10 merkins IC. YHC made it to 6 IC, thinking Grouch’s logic of six reps would prevail, but was fooled again. All of the paver work caught up when we passed the magical six-mark and some alternating little-baby-merkins with plank-like merkins were displayed ‘til the end.
YHC, having had enough of Grouch’s late-inning upper-body work, took back over and finished with 50 LBC’s IC.
Recover recover.
Takeaways
One of my cousin’s kids said on a birthday Zoom call that the best way to not act like I’m 50 is to not make noises when sitting down in a chair. Words to live by.
More importantly, the best way not to act or look 50 is to throttle and be throttled by my brothers three times per week at Sweatshop. We are keeping each other young and having a lot of fun doing it. And our 2nd F is the best in the business. Thanks, men!
Also thanks to The Duke for the “Respect” F3 shirt, and to Remmy for the 2nd-F six-pack of German beer. And to whoever brought the other post-workout fluids for the PAX.
From the post-Respect Q mumblechatter on Strava, however, YHC has some concern that the “number of paver reps times your birthday in cadence” will become a Thang. There are a lot of PAX with more Respect than YHC in this group and we are not particularly excited about any more aging among the AARP-eligible crowd.
R.I.P. Maylee, best dog ever.