January 26th, 2017 By Alcatraz

As the first new moon of the year approaches, 22 men gathered in the gloom for the first ever F3 Highlands Iroquois Midwinter Ceremony.  Which basically means Native American Runs the whole workout, but Iroquois Midwinter Ceremony sounds way cooler!  F3 tradition calls for a shovel flag to be planted, PAX welcomed and disclaimer given.  Done.  A traditional Iroquois Midwinter Ceremony opens with a prayer of gratitude and YHC opened the F3 version with a prayer of gratitude for our legs because they would be used exclusively today.

Mosey through the Rabbit Hole to HC PKWY and the ceremony began…

The THANG:

• SSH
• IST
• Cotton Picker
• Muhammed Ali

At Skyline…

• Squat with Stoli Skip up
• Calf Raise Serpentine down
  • welcome @Google after 20 minutes of AO recon running!
• Lunge with Quadraphilia up
• Calf Raise Serpentine down
• Deep Slow Shuffle with regular run
• Calf Raise Serpentine down

Mobile MARY:

• LBC
• Low Flutter
• Pretzel Crunch:
• Full Flutter
• The W
• Reverse Crunch

Some of the PAX seemed concerned when the Rabbit Hole was bypassed and a mosey began to the entrance of the school.  YHC did not want the PAX to feel cheated by finishing too early, so in non-Native American fashion we added…

• Quadraphilia to the rock and mosey back down
• Reverse Skip to the rock
• Google Bun Shapers

Mosey to…

COT and an Iroquois Midwinter Ceremony style multiPAX grateful BOM!

THE IROQUOIS MOLESKIN:

1. Great work by the honorary Iroquois PAX this morning.  The rain was a non factor and the mild temps were definitely something to be grateful for in the gloom.  Should we have told @Frodo this would be a workout that involved no upper body exercises?
2. Thanks to @Google for co-Qing the mobile MARY and YHC may start posting on Twitter the night before heading to Skyline in the gloom since he ran 2 miles before finding the PAX.  Would that help or hurt numbers?
3. The Reverse Skip was humorous cornucopia of styles and lack of coordination.  However, @Hammer discovered he might have more rhythm than he thought and is now considering a career as a Hip Hop dancer.  That aside, @Hammer does make a helpful prop to push off of as YHC began the run portion of Mobile MARY.  Was it easy to breathe as 1/8th of a ton pressed on your abs?
4. @TheNanny won the impromptu game of charades with “Mohawk”.
5. The Mobile MARY created some crop dusting opportunities and @Bootstrap paid the price.  It’s one thing to smell it, but it’s a completely different issue when one is breathing through the mouth as toxic gas drifts downward to someone on his six.  Brush up and gum up son!
6. As YHC was thinking about just naming today’s beatdown Native American Runarama, a random thought caused a quick search for Native American holidays.  The Iroquois Midwinter Ceremony is a real thing that is marked by the first new moon of the year which is this weekend.  Their insistence on only prayers of gratitude being offered is refreshing.  The goal of the ceremony was to purify the tribe and prepare them for the start of new year.  May the PAX continually recognize all they have to be grateful for this year!
7. YHC is grateful for all his F3 Brothers!  Sound off in the comments with your grateful or bitter reflections on the Midwinter Ceremony.

Always an honor to lead the PAX!

Highlands

---