A year of wonders. Little did I know what I was getting into in early September a year ago when I followed Cotton out of our cul de sac and down to NHP. It was dark, I saw a few familiar faces, and a lot of unfamiliar ones. Some dude named Orwell rushed up, introduced himself, and welcomed me. Being somewhat of an introvert, I didn’t quite know what to make of all the chatter going on so I smiled politely to those I knew(and could see in the dimly lit street). Before long another dude named Watson was whipping my ass up one side of the park and down the other. I was sore for 5 days, but my mind was energized. “I want that experience again”, I thought to myself. So I showed up again. And again. And again. And again. Push push push. Learn learn learn. Push push push. Learn learn learn. Strong body, strong heart, strong mind. STRONG FAITH. No judgement. Men who wanted to hang out with no agenda other than to push one another to become better men. It was like being in a fraternity, except it wasn’t. Instead of paying money to be exclusive, we were hanging out for free and being totally inclusive. I had a void. A large void. Like I was wearing Cindy’s weight vest on my mind and heart. However, the more I showed up and pushed myself out of my comfort zone(which really wasn’t that comfortable looking back with hindsight), that large void started to fill with strength, friendship, fun, laughter, optimism, community, family. That translucent sheen was now a clear vision of what I wanted my life to be. I can say without a doubt that I have enjoyed the past 365 days more because I followed Cotton into the gloom. I cannot find words to express the gratitude that I feel to the men of F3. It has been an awesome experience. That being said, we did have a workout this morning. It was rainy & humid, but comfortable. And we all busted our tails for the betterment of ourselves and those that were with us. This is what we did:
The Thang
Warmup COT
SSH x 30
Mountain Climber x 30
Imperial Walker x 20
Slow Merkin x 15
Burpee x 10 OYO
Jog out of the park to Davidson, regroup
AYG to Hyde Hill, plankarama
Bear crawl up, 10 hand release merkins, jog down other side, plank.
Repeat
Burpee broad jump up half, jog to top, 20 merkins, jog down other side, 20 squats, squat hold.
Repeat
Jog to top, 15 star jumps, bear crawl down the other side, plank.
Repeat
Sprint up and down the hill, plank.
Repeat
Jog back to the park to the picnic shelter – it’s staying dark later now guys. Remember your headlamps. Had planned on box jumps but it was too wet and dark to stay safe. So…
L/R step up x 30
Incline markin x 20
Decline Peter Parker x 10
Repeat
Jog to the bath house and find a spot on the wall
People’s chair x 20
Balls to the wall x 20
People’s chair x 30
Balls to the wall x 30
Mary
Dying Cucaracha x 20
LBC x 20
9/11 stairclimb. Post, Carpool, Hard start at 5:30.
10/4 Mud Run. Signup til 9/12, the Gnard puts the hammer down.
10/25 Mule. Sign up.
As always, an absolute honor and privilege to lead.
