45 or so degrees and the rain stayed away (as did Myrtle thankfully), so we were set for yet another workout at the “Granddaddy of Them All”, the place where it all started for F3 Raleigh, and the most scenic workout site in Raleigh….PULLEN. Also the workout with no Twitter handle, probably b/c much like our granddaddy, they don’t know how to operate a computer….we gotta work on that! But anyway….18 showed up, not for awards shows or shenanigans, but for hard work. Let’s do it. Note: I believe 3-4 showed up for approx. 4 miles of pre-run prior to Pullen (Au Pair, Costco, Deliverance and maybe one more….sorry if I missed you). Strong work gentlemen!
Prior to warm-up, select teams of 3 (fortunately 18 works well for teams of 3!) and grab one sandbag per team from my truck (thanks to Zero Hour for the loaner bags). Circle up for warm-up:
SSH x 20 (better form today Costco, did you notice?); good mornings x 10; Imperial walkers x 10; Jack Webbs using sandbags 1:4, 2:8, 3:12….10:40. As there was only 1 bag per 3 people, we moved to the left after each set so that every third set per person involved the bag….confusing to read and also in person. We would perfect it later in the workout.
Following warm-up, each team collects their sandbag, which will be with them for the workout, for instructions and a walk-through of the circuit around the lake. Rules are pretty simple. Each team will fill in at a station much like a shotgun start and complete the required exercises at said station (as noted on the note cards taped to the cones the night before – #planning) moving to subsequent stations at their pace. All exercise counts are cumulative as a team with one caveat: teams can never set their sandbag down, thus one member of the team must always be doing curls, presses, extensions, squats, etc. with the bag while the others are doing exercises as the bag stays / moves station to station with you. If possible to do exercises holding the bag, have at it (doable for step-ups, quick feeds, hammers, etc. but not for certain others). Rotate with the person with the bag, as necessary, to complete the number required as a team.
Station 1 (near main circle in park): 120 derkins on benches / team – not in cadence count
Station 2 (bench around tree on bridge): 150 Step-ups / team – using cadence count
Station 3 (across the lake): Using agility ladder, plank walk merkins with merkin required each time your hand touches another square of the ladder. At end of ladder, bear crawl down / around cone (approx. 15 yards down) and bear crawl back to start of ladder. Each teams must do 4 trips.
Station 4 (across the lake): 150 Quick feet / team using cadence count.
Station 5 (goose poop island): 150 American hammers using cadence count – done with sandbags if possible
Station 6 (at bottom of steps leading to tennis courts): 100 Knee up jump ups / team
Station 7 (on flat leading to carousel): Agility ladder, 4 cones, then another agility ladder – each team much run through the ladders using a variety of moves (high knees, ski, icky, hop scotch, etc.), side shuffle the cones, and then go through second ladder using some different than used on first ladder. Each team does 9X through the “course”.
Station 8 (pavilion near carousel): 75 Deliverance Burpee box jumps / team
Station 9 (large steps leading up to upper park): 6 trips to the top / team, bunny hopping the steps – could have been worse, we stairbarrowed them the other day….you’re welcome!
Station 10 (playground): 100 swing pull-ups / team – not in cadence count
Each team made it through the full circuit once and then to approx. 2-3 more stations. Strong work!
Approx. 7:55, all regroup outside the carousel for 20 flutter kicks using sandbags as well as 10 WW2 sit-ups with bags. Final exercise: Jack Webbs using bags. 1:4, 2:8, etc. as above except due to time constraints, we jumped from 5:20 to 8:32 to 10:40. Unfortunately YHC had the bag for the 10:40 set and nearly died, think it was more like 26 or 27 for me.
COT: Mud run Apr 11. My dream team of Fudd, Epoxy, Rogers, and Franzia is taking shape (Team “FERFect”). Start getting your teams together….more details to come later as site Qs get word out, etc. Other “mud run” type opportunities (zombie run) in spring. See Floppy. Howard closed us out in fine fashion as he always does.
Thanks for the opportunity to Q Pullen. I’ll be honest, after attending Pullen in my early days (summer 2013), I switched to Catalyst partly due to distance but also b/c Cup a Joe doesn’t have diet coke (I don’t drink coffee unfortunately). MacGruber pointed out on Tuesday that I could buy a diet coke elsewhere and bring it there…..true, but I seem to remember a sign about outside stuff being brought in, and I’m a rule follower. However, I’ve now discovered the King Berry Dairy Smoothie which probably adds back the calories burned during the workout, but whatever, it’s good. Therefore, I’ll be a more frequent visitor to Pullen in 2015. If you don’t typically attend Pullen, you should. For that matter, I recommend switching up your routine and hitting others you don’t normally hit. Get out, see some new faces, meet some people. Finally, welcome to FNG Rondo.
Epoxy out…..
