January 27th, 2018 By AstroVan

With a sick Dingo (still deciding if he will need to be put down or not) YHC took the helm at The Mineshaft this morning. Teaser adds about a return to the El Dorado Deck (North Deck) went out on Twitter and Slack last night. Those PAX that must love Maps immediately wondered to themselves and out loud, “How much running will there be?” We now know … over 3 miles and almost 500 feet of elevation gained. The Pre-runners, YHC, Caravan, Buckwheat, Othello, Sousa and Plebe got an additional mile or so. The PAX today had an age range of 44 years (53 the oldest and 9 the youngest) Here is how it went down:

Mosey to parking lot next to tennis courts for:
Arm Circles (The PAX quietly started apologizing to their shoulders for what was about to happen to them)
Side Straddle Hop – 20 IC
Tempo Merkins – 10 IC
Left Arm, Right Arm, Elbow Plank Medley
Mountain Climbers – 10 IC

Mosey to the Phillips Rd. overpass on the greenway. Everyone grab a rock for Block Webbs. 1:2 ratio, Merkins to Shoulder Presses.
Sets 1-5
Sprint to the road and back on the greenway.
Sets 6-8
LBCs with Rock – 20 IC
WW2 situps with Rock – 10 OYO
Put the rocks back

Mosey to Alumni Pavilion for:
Peoples Chair w/10 Air Presses IC
10 Merkins
Peoples Chair w/10 Air Presses IC
10 Merkins

Mosey to Walkway leading to Football Stadium for with a combo of Quadraphelia and Defensive Slides:
Reverse Crunches – 10 IC
Incline Merkins – 10 IC
Dips – 10 IC

Mosey to the start of the Cameron Blvd Hill and announce a modified suicide. Run up 2 light poles and back 1 until you reach the intersection for the North Deck.

Announce a sprint from the intersection to the top of “Stairway to Heaven”! If you are not familiar with Stairway to Heaven, it is a set of stairs, straight up, six stories. Meet back at the bottom when done to announce an AMRAP. I was asked if this was a race to which I replied, “it is always a race!”
Run up 2 flights of Stairs, Back down 1 and go into the deck for 1 burpee. Continue up the stairs until you reach the top, adding 1 burpee at each level. When at the top, run to the other set of stairs (The Mineshaft) and back down to the bottom to start again. YHC called time after about 15 minutes.

Mosey back toward the cars (don’t think the PAX was very happy that we were almost a mile from the shovel flag). On the way back we stopped randomly for Side Straddle Hops, Low Flutter, Dying Cockroach, Quadraphelia up a bridge, Decline Merkins, More Quadraphelia then some fun!

Pair up with someone of similar athletic ability at the start of the Education building courtyard. Starting every few seconds, race your partner down the courtyard. Repeato outside of Halton Arena. Take a final mosey up a big set of stairs and finish in the parking lot at exactly 8am. It was perfect!

BOM
COT
Announcements
– Winter Party Tonight, Cabarrus Brewery 7:30
– UNCC 5K next Saturday. There will still be a bootcamp and a number of F3ers are running including me and my family and Othello and his
– UNCC Mens BBall game, F3 Night, 2/17 Tickets available at https://www.fevo.com/edp/Charlotte-49ers-vs-UTSA–F3-Night-SYTt5vTX
– Feel like there was 1 other, so sound of in the comments if I missed something

Pleasant but Sweaty Moleskin
– Enjoyed leading you guys today. I know that was out of a lot of peoples comfort zones (including mine), but I hope it gives a glimpse into my vision for this workout. There is a lot of opportunity for really tough workouts on this campus. Two quick examples of why I think that is important.

Before I was in any kind of shape, I started a pick up basketball game that included JRR Tolkien and Plebe (who was at today’s workout). The game was at 6:30am. They would meet at 5:15 in the parking lot of the Y and do a bootcamp style workout. I thought they were crazy. It was all I could do to play half court basketball for an hour. Then they convinced me to join them one week. Thought I was going to puke (may have, can’t remember). But the next week, I was better. And the next … and the next … It turned in to every Thursday, workout til utter exhaustion, THEN play basketball … with people faster and stronger … inviting others that you are now faster and stronger than into the group to help them get faster and stronger!

Second is just an example that was displayed to me by JRR Tolkien. He would go to the old Muthership workout in uptown Charlotte, thats base was a mile run, uphill to an 11-story parking deck. Work out in the deck for 40 minutes or so and then run back to the cars. If you ever attended one of these workouts, you know that the guys who do them are absolute beasts. They would run those miles at 6-7 minute paces and never stop when in the deck. When Tolkien started he was the 6. When they retired the workout he was in or close to the lead pack. He found guys better than him and worked to make them his equal. Important for fitness, but more important for Life.

So that is what I am looking for … a test of fitness and strength for the lead pack, so they can set the example and be a guidepost for the rest of the PAX!

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