A perfect 68 degrees and sunshine welcomed YHC to Pullen Park, as it did exactly one year ago on this day. Technically, it was May 31 last year, but you get the point. A few PAX were milling around, recovering from their WanderRuck around Dorothea Dix and Pullen. I looked at my watch and realized there were 14 minutes to kill before we got started. Feeling a little anxious about my first hour-long Q, I decided to mentally run through the workout one last time and came up with a few contingency plans in case we needed to kill time. It was in that moment that my ADHD kicked in and I found myself reflecting on the memories from a year ago. How would I fare this time around? Would I be able to make it through the entire thing (unlike last year)? Would I spill Merlot again (today, it would have been a 2011 Reserve Cabernet, actually. Quite delicious.)? You see, the game plan for today’s workout was to repeat YHC’s first ever post. So, in essence, this workout was brought to you by (read: if you don’t like it, blame…) Flatline. The nerves started fraying a little so I decided to refocus on the workout ahead and on the guys steadily pouring into the parking lot. All in all, 18 PAX had trickled into Pullen’s parking lot and the start time was upon us. YHC gave a quick disclaimer, and as soon as we crossed under the Pullen Park sign the frayed nerves vanished completely. It was time to man up and do this thang. So, that’s what we did.
The Thang
Jog to the stone circle for:
- SSH x 25 – Seemingly out of thin air, Rio and Terminator showed up, the usual 3 minutes late. Brings the number to an even 20 PAX
- Mountain Climbers x 20
- Merkins (in cadence) x 15
- Windmills x 15
Mosey to the steps by the Carousel and partner up. Wheelbarrow up the steps, flapjack halfway up. At the top, form two lines on the path until all are in line.
Lunge walk up the path all the way to the pavilion. This slog was broken up into sections as follow:
Lunge walk x15 (in cadence)
Carolina Dry Docks x15 (also in cadence)
Lunge walk x15
Wide grip merkin x15
Lunge walk x15
Carolina Dry Dock x15
Lunge walk x15 right up into the pavilion
Next came the fun. Lots of #mumblechatter from F3 Raleigh’s mumble chatter NanTan – Burt – up to this point, but that was about to come to a screeching halt.
Find a spot on a bench for a couple rounds of 11s:
1. Box Jumps/Derkins OYO
2. Alternating step ups/Dips in cadence
Somewhere in the middle of the 11s, YHC heard the first cries of “You Suck”…music to the ears, gentlemen.
We exited the other side of the pavilion and found ourselves in a field with three landmarks out #yonder that were almost so perfectly proportioned, it seemed like fate had brought us there. In reality, it was Flatline.
Partner 1 runs wind sprints out/back/out/back to the tree while partner 2 flutter kicks.
Flapjack.
Partner 1 runs out/back/out/back to the light post while partner 2 does flutter kicks. Flapjack.
Partner 1 runs out/back/out/back to the telephone pole while partner 2 does flutter kicks.
Flapjack.
Mosey down the field, then crab walk to the steps, bear crawl down the step to the entrance of the carousel. Then mosey to the amphitheater for Mary part 1
WWII situps x30
Freddy Mercury x25
Rosalita x20
Dolly x15
6 inch leg hold, 5 count around the circle
Partner carry. YHC did not give a final destination point, just called out “go” and “switch” occasionally. We went about 1/2 way to the bridge. We then did bear crawl/crab walk/lunge walk (for the…um…senior members [respect]) the remainder of the way to the island. Maybe worse than the partner carry.
Pull-up work:
5 pull-ups OYO while partner does AMRAP squats. Flapjack.
10 partner-assisted pull-ups. Flapjack.
Repeat two previous sets.
YHC realized we were ahead of schedule. With the brain in overdrive trying to come up with a way to kill time, a memory from a few weeks ago flashed into YHC’s noggin. At one of the new workouts in Cary (Bond Park – Shaken, Not Stirred), Burt told a tale of his journey to Wilmington where he attended a beatdown. Evidently they did an exercise where each guy would take turns doing pull-ups while everyone else…I don’t know…watched, I guess? Long story medium, Burt did NOT represent F3 Raleigh well. So hey, how about a little chance at redemption?
Mary part 2:
LBC x25
Russian Hammers x20
6 inch leg hold, while 3 PAX at a time perform 5 pull-ups until all PAX are done. Burt got a C-, but hey, he passed.
Plank-o-rama – Left Arm up, left leg up, Regular, Right arm up, Right leg up, Regular, Chilkut, recover
90 seconds left, lets do another 6” leg hold, 5-count around the circle to finish it off.
COT
Announcements: check the website. Workout at Cary United Methodist Church on June 13 from 7am to 7:45 followed by breakfast where Howard will be speaking about F3 and his mission. Leap to Wil(t)son June 6. Workouts starting in Knightdale area, some of the Wake Forest PAX have committed to get that started strong.
Prayer requests: Floppy’s daughter out in Asheville, Moonshine’s friend’s 10-year-old 2.0 suffered a series of strokes and has a long recovery ahead of him. Prayers out to him and his family. Finally, Tiger Beat shared a little about what’s going on in his life. Please pray for peace for he and his family as they deal with the heartache they face. And thank the good God above for the support system and brotherly love found in F3 Nation. It’s a life changer.
I’m almost at the 1000 work mark for this backblast, so I’ll keep this short. 1 year ago I was in a pretty dark place, not unlike many guys posting for their first time. Over the last 52 weeks, I’ve seen God do some amazing things in my life, in my personal life, with my wife, in my career, in my friendships. My friends think I’m nutty for getting up at 5:45am on the weekdays to work out, and they get so sick of hearing me talk about it. My reasoning is that when you have something awesome, you want to share it with the whole world, right? Now, if I could only do that with my faith…
I’ll work on that this next year and report back after Callahanniversary II.
