“My favorite way to mix up hill training is to run it as a ‘suicide drill.’  – someone on the Internet

teeter-totter

The Crucible was started in late January and over the first two months, we largely remained within the boundaries of Williams Park.  There was plenty of room and enough variety to mix things up….we have a running trail, mini-track, big fields, fences, sand volleyball court, tennis courts, picnic tables, rocks, some small hills, etc.  I’m proud to say that all of the Crucible Q’s to date have made very effective use these options over the last 6 months.  However, unlike North Hills, we did not have the equivalent of a “Mt. Sysiphus”…that is, until my co-site Q Wilson decided to check out the surrounding neighborhood in late March and boy did he hit upon a gold mine!!.  Once we discovered ALL that our North Raleigh gem of a site had to offer, it’s hard to figure out which direction we should venture with the PAX each week.  Every Q who leads here should have no excuse for bringing as much “downpainment” as they want to offer.

This weeks edition of the Crucible closed out our first 6 months and so we mixed it up a bit.  Similar to our beta test in January, I decided to beta test an exercise I’ll simply call the “Teeter Totter“.  The Tetter Totter MUST involve a hill with inclines on both sides…the steeper the incline, the better.  I’ll explain more in a moment…  7 PAX posted so let’s do this!

The Thang:

Warm-Up:  SSH x25 / Mountain Climbers x 20 / Carolina Dry Docks x 10 / Imperial Walkers x20

Jog out of the parking lot, taking a left onto Lynn Road.  Once past the school, we stopped for some stretching and then Lunge Walked 50-75 yards to the white house driveway across from Woodmere Drive.  Plank Hold for all PAX to arrive.  Stretch calf muscles and then Frogger across Lynn Road.

Indian Run down Woodmere Drive, take a right on Beechgrove Road, left on Fernhill Lane.  Stop halfway down Fernhill.  Bear crawl up hill about 40 yards and then sprint to the Stop sign at the corner of Fernhill and Rangecrest Rd.

TEETER TOTTER:  Rangecrest Road is a perfect hill for this exercise because it has inclines on both sides, one incline being extremely steep.  The Teeter Totter is essentially a suicide drill as follows (variations of this will naturally follow) – this is not a Jacobs Ladder as both sides of the hill must be utilized.

  • From the top of the hill, sprint down to the bottom and do 10 Merkins (or more if desired)
  • Sprint back up and do 10 Merkins
  • Sprint down to the bottom and do 5 Merkins
  • Sprint back up and do 5 Merkins up top – Plank Hold and wait for the PAX to finish
  • Repeat on the other side of the hill – for us, we did this with LBC’s instead of Merkins

At the bottom of the Rangecrest, we jogged to the corner of Oak Ridge Drive and stared at yet another steep incline.  With only 7 PAX, Q’s idea of a partner carry / wheelbarrow combo was nixed in favor of another Indian Run all the way to Lynn Road.

We ran down Lynn Road to the corner of Woodmere and froggered back across Lynn, past the white house and down the steep hill by the school playground.  All PAX lined up at the foot of the steep hill.

3 sets of Bearcrawl up / 10 merkins at top / jog back down

Jog past the school over to main parking lot – switch to reverse jog for the length of the parking lot back towards the pavilion.  Find a picnic table.

  • Alternating Step Ups (left / right) x 20
  • Grab a spot of the wall for People’s Chair – had PAX send a 10 count down the line
  • Balls to Wall – send 10 count back down the line
  • Grab a spot on a nearby bench for “The Dip” – 10 regular + 5 w/ left leg up + 5 w/ right leg up

Mosey to the soccer field for Mary.  With a nod to my days doing P90x, in cadence:

  • In and Outs x 10
  • Freddy Mercury’s x10
  • Crunch Frog x10
  • V-up / Rollup x10
  • Oblique V-up x10 (Right side / Left Side)
  • American Hammer x10
  • 5 Prison Cell Merkin Burpees
  • 5 Knee Tuck Burpees

COT

  • Special schedule for July 4 on Friday – ONLY 2 Workouts in Raleigh – Late Night & Juggernaut – both at 0700
  • SIgn up is live for the Fall Mud Run – Takes place on Saturday, October 4 – This is the ‘Super Bowl of F3’ – expecting 750 Pax from across the F3 Nation this time around – sign up here  – DEADLINE IS 7/15 – Just sign up – #nimblepanda
  • Prayers for M-Dufresne and their family
  • Jim ‘Dufresne’ Young passed away last week after a courageous 5+ year battle with Lyme Disease. During the time he was with us in F3, he could not walk or talk, and still he was able to move and inspire those who came to know him in a way beyond words. Despite his heroic efforts to fight it, the disease slowly and methodically crept in and destroyed our brother’s body, and ultimately ended his Earthly life, but it certainly never touched his Spirit, and through it all he found a way to smile until the very end. Those who went to see him as part of Hopebuilder are forever changed by the opportunity to serve him and his family, and in doing so became a part of something much greater than any of us would have imagined when this started last year. F3 owes a tremendous debt to Dufresne and his family for allowing us to live in service to something greater than ourselves and we are forever grateful. However, this is only a transition to the next chapter in the story, please continue to stay tuned in, you are still needed. Read more here:http://f3nation.com/2014/06/29/hopebuilder-pre-blast-visitation-and-funeral-arrangements-for-dufresne/

Moleskin:  YHC shared a message from Luke 18:1-8 on the persistent widow who did not give up asking the unjust judge for justice against her adversary.  Our heavenly father wants us to trust him and not give up in our prayers.  Sometimes we don’t know why he answers our prayers the way he does but it is always for the good of his children.

Fazio closed us out with a strong prayer

NOTE:  When the PAX returned to the parking lot, we met a guy who saw what we were doing as he’d been working out on his own.  We told him about F3 and he was excited to join us.  He should post next Monday.  Keep an eye out for him.  #IfYouBuildItTheyWillCome

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