Note: Igor was there…but not in the system yet so isn't listed on the PAX line.
YHC woke up this morning with many questions about the beatdown planned. There are usually nerves when leading a workout, but this morning felt different. On the drive to the AO, something felt off. I wasn’t sure what it was, but something was amiss.
I pulled into Summit for the 0510 standard and Don Ho WAS NOT THERE waiting for me (and everyone else). This was a first and confirmed my feeling that something was amiss. I quickly checked my phone to see if there was a message….there was not. Is DH okay? Did he fall into a giant sinkhole on the way to the AO? Is he going to FS and use his go-to “I have a new puppy” excuse again? At 5:07, he pulled into the parking lot and all seemed to be okay.
Tugs pulled in shortly before (or maybe after) Don Ho so there were three set for the Standard. After a brief discussion with Tugs around his “morning schedule”, he said he was ready to run to see if that helped anything move around.
I looked at my watch…0510, so the three of us set off for the 2 mile standard.
As we finished up and ran past the porta-john in the parking lot, Tugs stayed with me and DH. Event number 2 (or lack thereof…pun intended) that something was amiss. I can’t remember the last time Tugs didn’t complete his double-standard before FKT.
On a side note…3 weeks ago, Tugs ran early at Latta with me and some others. He made it to mile 4.5 before he had to pull off into the woods. The next week, Latta completed a controlled burn. The rumor is, the property manager found Tugs’ "standard" and decided the only course of action was to do an immediate controlled burn across ALL of Latta. And, keep in mind, they don't usually do immediate controlled burns…and they are popular with horses! That puts Tugs in the same class as The Count.
Anyway, back to FKT. The three of us joined up with those ready for their daily beatdown. At this point, Event number 3 that something was amiss. Is that Beckett? HOLY TUGS STANDARD!! Beckett arrived at FKT…and actually did the workout! And, Ghost was there too?!?! (Technically Ghost is part of Beckett but he hasn't been around FKT since he disappeared in the middle of the initial running FKT. Just disappeard like a, well, like a Ghost).
Cherry Bomb was there, too. He clearly learned that skipping my FKT Q never works out well as he is just getting over an injury he sustained from skipping my last Q.
Popcorn introduced us to Igor who was EH’d from Gold’s. Several lost a bet that no one from Gold’s would ever post at FKT. Again…just strange.
Looking around the circle, PopTart was there, too. Always good to see PT and this is becoming a more regular occurrence.
Slingshot was back and looking ready to go. Hoping he returns to his "FKT Regular" status.
Wait…where is Jobe? No Jobe? No LFG chant from him? Will this madness ever stop this morning?
With so many things amiss, YHC was a little rattled prior to launch. I began to explain the workout and got to the second exercise before the PAX looked like deer in headlights. They were completely confused…after 2 exercises. Don Ho took control and launched us at 0530 (start on time, end on time) and then chastised me for complicated directions.
Luckily, Hoodie began to reset normalcy by pulling in at 5:29:57AM…and wearing Boston Marathon gear. Whew! Thank you Hoodie. Maybe there is hope for today.
With my head spinning a little bit less, here was the workout:
- Run to Birkdale Clubhouse and do 5 Burpee Pullups
- Run to Birkdale Clubhouse picnic tables and do 5 decline merkins
- Run to Devonshire bridge and do 5 jump squats and 5 Apollo Ohnos
- Run back to Birkdale Clubhouse picnic tables and do 5 Homer-to-Marge with hip raises
- That’s round 1….repeat each round adding 5 reps each round
Don Ho and Tugs led from the start with Popcorn and Igor close behind. The goal was to finish 4 rounds (which would be 50 reps of each exercise). These four started on their fifth cycle.
Here are a few more observations from this morning:
- Anchovy counts “perceived repetitions” and not “actual repetitions” when doing burpee pullups
- BC didn’t do a single neck roll all morning
- Ducky (fresh off a 1:33 half-marathon this weekend) recovers quickly and almost ran down everyone ahead of him on the way home
- Igor is strong. Not an easy morning and he made it look fairly easy. Is there a chance there could be other Gold’s members to EH?
One final thought, most guys left right after the workout. Only a few got coffee. Needless to say, DH was NOT happy about that. He now has to wait a little longer to retire. But, he felt better getting an autographed race bib from Ducky.
After many strange events, we worked hard, pushed ourselves, joked around and finished with #BOM so maybe normalcy is on the horizon.
This is a great AO and a great beatdown to Q. If you haven’t joined us…we’re here every Tuesday morning.