April 11th, 2018 By Man Down

After Monday’s ridiculous Velocity run (in which YHC humbly followed the Q’s lead despite the questionable intelligence of his route plan), the Valley MQ highlighted the need for someone to sign up and Q on Wednesday. Having not Q’d a Cruise in awhile, I figured it was time I stepped up.

So, last night YHC posted what I thought would be a different and challenging route for our Wednesday Cruise. We’re F3 men, so we like “different” and “challenging,” right? Right! I also thought it would be a nice twist to throw in a few simple Merkins every mile after we gathered the six to keep us all together. Back in the day, this was a staple element of F3 Cruises. Besides, we’re F3 men, so we like Merkins, right? Right? Riiiiiight?

Weeeell, apparently several F3 “men” (if they can be called that) were unable to bear the thought of using their soccer arms by mixing a very basic strengthening exercise in with their “sacred” Cruise this morning. Actually, YHC thinks only a few “truly” felt this way. The rest just gave into their herd mentality and joined the mutiny. I actually came across this definition in Wikipedia today: “Herd mentality and mob mentality, also lesser known as gang mentality describes how people are influenced by their peers to adopt certain behaviors. Examples of the herd mentality include nationalism, globalism, stock market trends, superstition, and even occasional F3 workouts.”  Hmm.

YHC also learned a new definition from the F3 Lexicon: KNOX ROLL: “Any act or omission by a Presbyterian (or anyone with a Justifier) so weak and kittenish that it would cause John Knox to roll over in his grave and moan in despair.”

So, while a dozen kittens took the Blue Pill and went with the herd mutiny and refuseniked the Q’s masterfully creative plan, a few stalwart men took the Red Pill and combined a solid 4.5 Miles in with 100+ Merkins while we took a tour through the streets of The Precinct AO. All got a great workout in – even the kittens! Strava crowns were both won and lost. A Kotter was welcomed back. And I believe we had at least one newcomer to The Valley today!

Naked Moleskin and Announcements:

1. In all seriousness, great to see so many Pax out at The Valley today! Welcome back Gentle Grizzly and welcome to The Valley Liger! Landlord and Softwood flat out smoked The Farmlands this morning!
2. Lots of races coming up to jump in on! Harrisburg 5K this Saturday. Christina Latini (F3 SweetTooth) Memorial 8K next Saturday. New River Half sometime in the future. There’s a spreadsheet online with all the races local F3ers are participating in. Check it out and add your name if you’re not on it already.
3. F3 Whetstone is off to a strong start! For more info and to sign up, check out the original Backblast.
4. John Knox (referenced above) once said, “A man with God is always in the majority.” Walk with God, men. No matter what (even if your Justifier has temporarily vanished). 😉

The Valley Cruise