It was a great day at The Arena. Not only was an attendance record set with 12 Pax, but YHC was able to get his 2.0 out for the first time, and a client from THP found the courage to step into The Arena as an FNG.
With my 2.0 in tow (and my excuse to avoid the run from Pullen…) we arrived at THP a few minutes early to try to fish for some FNG’s in the THP courtyard. As we were walking in, Justin, a young man from Cary who has been at THP for 4 months, is walking out decked out in some pretty sweet workout duds, so I knew we had an FNG ready to go. Turns out he is a runner and triathlete, so a disclaimer was really not necessary but given nonetheless.
As we walked out to the parking lot a group of 6 Pax arrived from the run from Pullen, but missing were the 3 Pax who took on some extra credit in the form of a missed right turn into Dorothea Dix campus.
Warmups: SSH x 20; Good Mornings x 20, I/W x 20, Mtn Climbers x 15
The Thang:
Jog over to the back of parking lot. An audible was quickly called as an odiferous dump truck pulled in behind us, so off to Goode St by the rock pile. Partner up for partner runs. Part 1 sprints to first street sign (about 50-75 yards) and back while Partner 2 does AMRAP merkins, flapjack. Repeat with precision squats and then Jingle Balls.
Down to the rock pile. Everyone grabs a rock, note that Orwell and my 2.0 both were instructed to grab a small rock. Rock samplers x 10 (curl to shoulder press to tri press), followed by 10 rock squat thrusts OYO.
Off to the field by Lake Wheeler Rd. Interval run up the hill – 5 burpees at each of 3 power poles. Plank hold at top.
Run over to old hospital parking lot within Dorothea Dix. Grab a spot on the ledge / wall. 10 reps of each of the following exercises with a sprint to opposite wall and back in between each: Dips, Balls to the Wall, Derkins, Jump Ups. Here the term R&R was inadvertently coined – after each exercise YHC yelled out Recover and Run, and amidst the mumble chatter from MacGruber and/or Costco the term R&R was born.
Jog back to the THP courtyard for Mary. LBC x 20, PRotractor, American Hammers x 20.
COT
- Continued prayers for Seasoned Salt’s two daughter ages 3 and 5 who are both having open heart surgery next week. Contact Orwell for his contact info.
- Congrats to Costco for completing the Shaggy Challenge today. It was close – one more wrong turn and it would’ve cost him another week.
- Welcome to our two FNG’s today, Torch and Mini-Fridge. Torch plans to be an Arena regular and wants to try out some other Tues / Thurs workouts, so if you see him make sure to welcome and encourage him. Warning to Yo Yo, Enron, TNG and the rest of the elite F3 Raleigh runners – you have new competition in Torch. He led the way today with ease.
- During his first post F3 breakfast, Mini-Fridge said “Man, I really like F3” no less than 10 times – sure made YHC a happy 1.0!
- Below is a passage from a Os Hillman daily devotional on “Faith Experiences” that we read to finish up.
“These have come so that your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” – 1 Peter 1:7
One of the great tragedies of the Christian life is that if we fail to enter into a relationship with God that is born of the Holy Spirit, we are left with a religion, not a relationship. Many a person today lives with an intellectual belief in God, but without a relationship that is based on two-way communication. This is the greatest tragedy of all. It’s like having a brand-new car but never having the gas to run it. It can’t move you anywhere. It only looks pretty, but one cannot enjoy the ride or smell the newness inside.
Peter tells us that until our faith is proved genuine, we will never be able to give praise, glory, and honor to Jesus, because until such testing He will not be revealed in our lives. Peter describes this in the verse before: “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials” (1 Pet. 1:6). Trials are designed to bring us to a level of trust and experience with God that we would never know otherwise. These “faith experiences” with God allow us to know firsthand the faithfulness of God, the love of God, and the personal nature of God. It is easy to fall prey to a relationship to God that never experiences His real presence; rather, it is based on knowledge only. This is a tragic place to be.
We all face trials – whether it’s while growing up, within our families and relationships, at work, or from a battle with addiction. What’s vital is to look at trials as an opportunity to develop a deeper and more genuine relationship with God.
New Mexico took us out with a powerful prayer as always.
Honored and blessed to be part of The Arena today. Thank you men.
