APRIL 26, 2021
Fourteen men came out to celebrate YHC’s 7-year anniversary in F3 — or was it just to avoid the Murph? I had planned to run to the church for some DORA but with so many in attendance banking on me not liking to run, I thought it best to give in to their unspoken expectations.
Following a brief disclaimer and a shout out to Callahan for Qing my first workout (despite him choosing the Murph over me), we moseyed toward Talbot’s, away from the residential area. We would have proceeded straight there, but Crocs tried to take the lead which was disrespectful so I opted to turn right when he went left … to exert my leadership. That put us in front of Victoria’s Secret which seemed like a great stopping point to stretch it out a bit.
We did a few Tennessee style Dwight Schrute’s despite The Force — who introduced these to LKN — snubbing my Q, and we followed them up with a forward fold / squat combination which might have gotten a compliment or two. From there it was onward to the Talbot’s parking lot for the main event.
YHC brought out the F3 card deck with a new idea for their use. Now new things at a workout is like trying a new recipe for a party; it never goes as well as you think it will. And this morning was no exception. The plan was to divide the cards into two decks, have each pax take turns drawing a card from each pile, adding the numbers together (face cards are 25 and aces are 100), and then choosing which of the two exercises on the pair of cards to do. If a 7 was drawn, we would do both exercises in honor of my anniversary.
I started things off easy with a combined total of 7 reps and opted for the WoJo squat which I assumed was a squat jump with a free throw shooting gesture. But then Omega went and drew two cards with a total of 19 and opted for a front leaning rest. The rumor was that we would have 19 minutes of planking but then Omega switched to some arbitrary length followed by a handful of merkins.
We managed to keep things respectable until Riverboat drew a joker and I suggested that allowed him to call an exercise on his own. Riverboat called burpees in a bold move with Outlaw just a few yards away. But we soldiered on and managed to get in two full rounds before time was called. Highlights include Slingshot considering 100+ derkins before giving in and going with calf raises, Jimmy O calling cadence on 108 flutter kicks, Goat managing to draw 2 merkin cards to keep with his stereotype, and Ultraman making up his own exercise for the Luge.
With time running out, YHC called a return to Starbucks only to realize we had one pair of cards left. As I picked up the deck I saw it was lunges so several men respectfully lunged several spaces before starting their mosey back to the start. Once back, we circled up for nameorama and then went around the circle with each man offering up either an intention or a praise to the Sky Q. Coffee and camraderie were the reward for those who opted for 2nd F following the 1st. Many thanks to those who opted to hang out with me this morning, even if it was just to avoid the pull-up bars!
APRIL 26, 2014
I remember that fateful Easter weekend camping trip like it was yesterday. I made the mistake of asking Gnarly Goat about the F3 sticker on his truck while stuffiing my face with Cool Ranch Doritos. I expected an answer about a Fraternal order of Fire Fighters or some such group. Instead, he proceeeded to tell me all about fitness, fellowship and faith,all while doing Carolina Dry Docks in the gravel. He encouraged me to post when we got back and made plans to meet me at some workout called “Sharknado” — he seemed to think that would be a good introduction for my severely out of shape, 290-pound frame.
The good Lord must have been looking out for me as I somehow managed to miss that workout and instead show up for my first workout at the Mighty Jungle a few days later. Callahan had the Q as I recall and I was pretty much winded after the first 25 jumping jacks in front of the fountain. I managed to get down the hill alongside the school on Stumptown before relegating myself to a slow walk the rest of the workout. At one point, in front of the school, someone suggested some stretches, but it was all I could do to stand, doubled over, sucking wind. I recall the congrats that I got following the workout despite the fact that I could only manage about 10 minutes of effort.
And yet for some reason I came back again. My 2nd post was at Mad Scientist and the Saturday/Wednesday cycle continued for awhile until I was fit enough to post 3X a week. I was always amazed by the comraderie and the willingness of fit guys to hang out at the back with those of us who were clearly dead weight. I created friendships with guys like Red Cedar and encouraged new guys like Jockstrap and Silver Bullet to join so we could clown car to workouts. Soon after I was spending money on branded t-shirts. Within 6 months I was fit enough to Q and within a year I was spending a day in Statesville doing something stupid called “rucking”.
Unfortunately, this isn’t a great #ThenNow entry as my “then” came 3 years ago when I dropped 65 pounds so that I could ride a horse in CO for my 25th anniversary. Afterwards I slowly regained much of what I had lost and I am just now getting back on track. After 7 years, I am net -30 with another 40+ to go. But while weight has yo-yoed, fitness and fellowship have soared. While I miss many of the faces that used to be regulars at bootcamps, there have been many more to replace them. I look forward to at least another 7+ years — there’s a Double Respect patch to be earned which seems about as CSAUP as it gets!