Those are Some Nice Balls

QIC:  Mr. Clean

Date: 03/30/2022

PAX: Breaststroke, Chicklet, Choo Choo, Face Plant, Second Base

AO: Parliament


Conditions

Wind….


COP

SSH x18 IC
Forward Fold OYO
Willie Mays Hayes x15 IC


The Thang

Mosey. Walk. Meander. Tip Toe. to the practice field.
Title of exercise = Stolen From Dundee
Divided into two teams. 5 Burpees. One Pax threw the slam ball. All Pax Bear Crawled to Slam Ball. Complete 5 Burpees. Rinse and Repeat this until the length of the field was covered.
Winning Team did 5 Burpees and Losing Team did 10 Burpees
Same routine as above but travel method was a lunge and exercise was a squat.
Final routine on the field mirrored the above two; however, Pax ran all the way back to their starting point after each round of 15 BBSUs.

Which Line is It
Bear Crawl to each line of the first two tennis courts. As you reach each line, Bernie back to beginning and then Bear Crawl to the next line in progression


COT

A man’s heart can develop a “Widowmaker” or aortic issue that is hard to find and leads to a heart attack. This “Widowmaker” is easy to understand, and as YHC discussed it, the Pax shook their heads in a “oh yeah I know those and their terrible” gesture. YHC proposed another type of “Widowmaker” that is still often viewed poorly among men, and that is, addressing mental illness. Mental illness truly is a Widowmaker as so often times we really do never see it coming. The challenge: Lock your Shields, and if you’re gut tells you to reach out and check on someone — follow your gut.


Moleskin

Little mumblechatter this morning. It was probably the difficulty of the Forward Folds…


News

P-Funk Intervals

QIC:  Full Moon

Date: 03/29/2022

PAX: Bernie, Blackout, Choo Choo, Face Plant, See Through, Tatonka, Toe Tag

AO: Parliament


Conditions

A chilly 42 with some breeze – nice running weather


COP

Disclaimer, mosey to track

Forward fold, OYO and loud; walk it out to downward dog to stretch the calves – right over left, left over right; Quad stretches (pull your heel up to glute, fell the burn) – henceforth, and forever, to be known as Sheboygans

50m skips down the straight and back; 50m butt-kickers down the straight and back


The Thang


Track Day – Intervals
YHC needed some interval work to improve speed/endurance so we did the following:

PAX were encouraged to team up or just go for it

400m lap as fast as comfortable (modifications allowed/encouraged), followed-up by 400m recovery lap

800m fast, 400m recovery

1200m fast, 400m recovery

1600m fast, 400m recovery

PAX that finished the intervals then picked up the 6 and circled up for cool-down stretching: forward fold, OYO and even louder; walk it out to downward dog to stretch the calves again – right over left, left over right; move to plank for world’s greatest okayest stretch – left, then right; WMH x6

Time


COT

Getting better, or progressing, came to YHC during the 1200m interval. Being happy with where you are is not a bad thing, but why not try to progress? YHC could’ve slowed down/walked during the intervals but pushed myself to get to the cool down lap as I want to get better at running. Sure, be happy with where you are (in life/work/etc.) but also push yourself to progress in any/all of these areas.

Apathy is the glove into which evil slips its hand. This quote has stuck with me from, of all places, the cinematic masterpiece Van Wilder, but is apparently credited to Bodie Thoene – wise words either way.


Moleskin

“Bernie’s here, must be Time”

Additional breeze provided by Tatonka having eaten Mexican food twice yesterday

“Guess I’ll just run the whole time – no difference in my mosey and fast pace.”

“Can you imagine Minnesota mumble-chatter – oooooh yah, dontcha know? ope! you betcha!

“Thanks for a proper track day – running the whole time is the point; glad you didn’t make us bring blocks”


News

Chubby’s; upcoming 2.0 days; Inaugural Battery PokerRunRuck For the Cure Brought to You by Mountain Dew.

King of the Hill

This post has been rated E for “everyone”. There are no obscene pictures, words, or acronyms

ESRB Game Ratings - ESRB Ratings

QIC:  Mansiere

Date: 11/9/2021

PAX: Cavity Search, John Doe, Hillshire, MIA, AOL, Burrito, Mandela, Rollback, Blackout, Jaws, Fire Bunny, Face Plant, Bonsai, Toe Tag, Picabo, Pit Bike

AO: Parliament in Ooltewah. Now, some smarta-, uh, um, smartypants among you might say “Don’t you mean Ooltedale, Mansiere?” To which my reply is “Of course not, silly.” “But, but, weren’t you the one who said Ooltewah and Collegedale are the same?”  Yes, but you should already know that much like the capital of Djibouti is Djibouti, not all of Djibouti the country is Djibouti the city. So it is with Ooltewah. All of Collegedale is Ooltewah. Not all of Ooltewah is Collegedale.


Conditions

Right at freezing, with almost no humidity. Chilly by lowland standards, rather balmy for the burly Mountain Men in attendance.


COP

I swung into the parking lot one minute before the start. I jumped out and we were up and going with some heart-rate boosting warmups with stretches interspersed.


The Thang

Back in the mists of time, there was a “Zombie 5K” in downtown Nashville. It looked really appealing at the time, but Spitney Beers was deep in the rec league playoffs, and no excuse would suffice for the absence of their notoriously ill-tempered attacking defender. It was with deep regret that I missed the occasion, even after word on the street told of its complete failure. Apparently they didn’t shut down any streets, almost no one wore costumes, and the race was so poorly planned that everyone was caught within the first mile and no one knew what to do after that.

Nevertheless, the idea stuck with me for years. How fun would it be to do something like that? And so I cooked up a version to do at Convoy run day. It seemed like everyone had fun, and I thought that was the end of it. Not so! It happened at Parliament a few months later. I was flattered; when the invitation came to Q a Run Day at Parliament, I knew it called for something special. Thus, a new game idea was born.

King of the Hill

Named in honor of Signal Mountain’s favorite PAX, this game starts with everyone in an area off the track, but close to it. In this case, I chose what appeared to be the high school’s overflow lot (pink circle in the picture). I put down three sets of cones. Everyone starts at the third set. Each PAX finds a partner with whom to play Paper, Rock, Scissors. The winner moves to the next set, the loser stays behind and finds another partner. If a PAX is alone in a row of cones, they must complete 25 LBCs to proceed to the next set of cones. After passing the final set of cones, the PAX enter the track on Lane 8. Lane 8 is the “safe zone”, denoted by the green line in the picture. At the end of the straightaway, PAX must enter Lane 1, at which point they must stay there until tagged.

The purpose of the game is to pass the cone placed in the final 100 meters of the track (orange dot in the picture) as many times as possible. If a PAX is tagged from behind, they are OUT and have to proceed back to the starting area. A PAX can only tag another PAX from behind, and a PAX must not exit Lane 1 until he is tagged. Tagging another PAX earns a point, as does passing the cone while in Lane 1. The object is to earn as many points as possible.


COT

I passed around my Zimbabwe $100 trillion note, and clumsily explained how no one should believe the media downplaying the forthcoming inflation. It’s important to prepare for it as best as one can, and to understand that at the end of the day it’s effectively a tax, and scarcely different as money disappearing from your bank account. Burrito salvaged my message and saved further spaghetti-spilling embarrassment.


Moleskin

The men of Parliament are strictly business, and very fast to boot. They caught on quick and pretty soon there were shouts of triumph and disappointment from all over the track. The more people this game has, the wilder it gets, and this was a great introductory test of the rules. Burrito, always a faithful assistant to the Q, was there and played his role impeccably from start to finish.


Recent Backblasts

    Back to School

    QIC:  Tatonka

    Date: 01/28/2022

    PAX: [List PAX only] Abercrombie, Blackout, Cavity Search, Free Bird, Pocket Taco, Shawshank, Sniffer, Woodrider, Wuzn’tMe

    AO: Parliament


    Conditions

    Mid 30’s with no wind. The perfect weather for staying put and generating exceptional mumble chatter


    COP

    Mosey 1 lap
    Side Straddle Hop x 10 IC
    Little Baby Arm Circles x 10 IC
    Reverse Little Baby Arm Circles x 10 IC
    Seal Claps x 10 IC
    Cherry Pickers x 10 IC
    Morrccan Night Clubs x 10 IC
    Willie Mays Hayes x 10 IC


    The Thang


    Back to School
    This was inspired by and a variation of the Billy Madison from the F3 Exicon. PAX worked their way through each year of school by completing a Mid Term exercise for 1 minute followed by a Final Exam exercise for 1 mintue.

    Elementary School Years
    1st grade
    Mid Term: LBC
    Final Exam: Merkins

    2nd grade
    Mid Term: Side Crunch
    Final Exam: Hand Release Merkins

    3rd grade
    Mid Term: Pretzel Crunch
    Final Exam: Spider Pushups

    4th grade
    Mid Term: BBSU
    Final Exam: Alligator Pushups

    5th grade
    Mid Term: American Hammers
    Final Exam: Close Merkins

    Indigenous People Run x 400m

    Middle School Years
    6th grade
    Mid Term: Flutter Kicks
    Final Exam: Diamond Merkins

    7th grade
    Mid Term: Freddie Mercuries
    Final Exam: Wide Merkins

    8th grade
    Mid Term: Box Cutters
    Final Exam: Archer Merkins

    Indigenous People Run x 400m

    High School Years
    9th grade
    Mid Term: Crunchy Frogs
    Final Exam: Burpees

    10th grade
    Mid Term: V-Ups
    Final Exam: 8 Count Body Builders

    11th grade
    Mid Term: Plan
    Final Exam: Kraken Burpees

    12th grade
    Mid Term: Iron Cross
    Final Exam: Navy Seal Burpees Sadly, PAX ran out of time to complete the 12th grade final exam and had to drop out of school with the finish line in sight


    COT

    I shared the passages below from a devotional book I was gifted recently.

    “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing o fyour faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” – James 1:2-4

    ”Kids need to see faith on display. If they see doubt, fear, and negativity in our lives, they will model that – and likely suffer some unhapy days as a result. But if we hold our heads high during adversity, we teach our children how to respond rightly when adversity comes their way – as it surely will.”

    The above passage applies to us as fathers but also still holds true to us as husbands, friends, and coworkers. If we act negatively, whether consciously or subconsciosly, we will feed others with negativity. If we approach life and all its trials and tribulations with a positive mindset, others will feed off of that and be more inclined to respond with a similar attitude. Our children are sponges and soak up every ounce of what we present to them. They will be representations of how we act and hold ourselves. So too are those we hang around and choose to associate with. If we choose to hang around those that approach life with a doubtful and fearful mindset, we will most likely find ourselves emulating these feelings. I challenged the PAX to surround themselves with those that promote a healthy, happy, positive approach to life (such as that which can be found at any F3 beatdown) and continue to spread that throughout their days.


    Moleskin

    Sniffer needs to replace just about every part of his body. ”It’s supposed to click and pop everytime, right?”

    Square pizza, chicken nuggets, corn, and apple sauce is the meal of champions

    Wuzn’tMe’s PE teach in elementary school, Ms. Baker, constantly yelled and never enjoyed the touch of a man.

    Strategically placed trapper keepers, flip up buckle tucks, braid belts. Middle school is awkward. If you know, you know.

    We fell slightly short of completing our senior year. Wuzn’tMe reminded us that G.E.D. translates to Just As Good.

    Shawshank is launching an AO in Ringgold.

    News

    Tuff Muff is Feb 19th. 3 AO’s, 3 beatdowns, 2 runs/ruck/bike rides in between AOs.

    4th F Weekend in May. Please talk to Wuzn’tMe if you’d like to sign up. He’d like to have a final headcount and close off sign ups by the end of February so he can get everything in place for the event in May.

    Cavity Search is rally the troops to go to the TN-AR basketball game in Knoxville.

    There is an event at Silverdale Baptist Church coming up that involves cooking wild game and gun raffles. Talk to Sniffer for more details.

    Gretel has put together a signup for super bowl squares. $5/square, $125 payout each quarter to the winner.


    Recent Backblasts

      Track Days are supposed to be Tuesdays

      QIC:  Full Moon

      Date: 01/26/2022

      PAX: Cavity Search, Face Plant, iLean, Toe Tag, WEBLOW

      AO: Parliament


      Conditions

      Awful. 27 degrees and windy


      COP

      YHC was quite excited to bring some unoriginality to the White Wigs, and was explaining this as Face Plant came in hot on two wheels, forcing the PAX to dive for cover casually move out of the way.

      SSH x20 IC; Toe Merkins x25 OYO; WMH x10 IC; Toes-in/Inverted Toe Merkins x25 OYO; Forward Fold x10 IC; Toes-out/Duck Toe Merkins 25x OYO; Tea Time OYO; Toe Merkins x25 OYO; 21*

      *5 penalty burpees because Q lost count, ha

      Mosey to track


      The Thang

      We began with an exercise pilfered from Burrito – PAX were advised any complaints should be forwarded, with haste, to his attention. The exercise, “Custer’s Last Stand”, is a modified Indigenous Peoples’ Run wherein the 6 executes a burpee before running the opposite direction of the line. Remaining PAX run, per usual** – whoever is at the back of the line upon opposite-direction-runner’s return performs a burpee before taking off in opposite direction. We did this for 3 or 4 (maybe?) laps and so that every PAX was able to enjoy some alone time in the opposite direction.

      Upon completion, the next round of exercises was a (drumroll, please…)


      Completely Original Dora

      PAX paired up and performed the below:

      200 Merkins

      200 Squats (for jelly-legs when running)

      200 Imperial Walkers, hard count (for even jellier-legs whilst running)

      Some combination of 200 Shoulder Taps (hard count) and/or 200 Heel Touches (hc). It was too cold to de-glove and unlock phone to know which was next, so PAX did what they wanted – freedom! (Not sure these were finished as no one could math today – must’ve been the cold)

      Couple (2) minutes of Mary:

      American Hammers 20x IC (“thanks”, Cavity Search)

      Flutter Kicks until time (iLean)***


      COT

      Attitude. Specifically that it is one of the few things we can control in this hectic world of ours. Similar to YHC’s word back at Legacy, we can chose how we react to just about anything we encounter. Try to begin each day with a positive attitude and keep it, best you can, throughout the day. Also be mindful of it around others, particularly your 2.0’s (thanks for the assist, iLean), as you mold them into the strong men & women you hope they will become.


      Moleskin

      **”Oh, we’re supposed to do a normal Indigenous run while the other guy is running the other way? Makes more sense now”

      “Are you cold, Full Moon? You look like a hobo when the temp’s below 30.”

      “Oh, the reps are CUMULATIVE – gotcha, will try to count better next time.”

      “It’s not so much your workouts we don’t like, Full Moon, it’s you… BA-DUM-TSS!”

      ***”We’ve only got a few seconds left, iLean, what you got?”

      “59 seconds of Flutter Kicks, apparently”


      News

      Tuff Muff – 2/19 – see/watch #convergence-csaup channel

      4th Weekend – 5/19-5/21 – see #4th-f-weekend channel and/or WuzntMe

      Chubby’s – sign up in #3rd-f, drop off donations to any AO/AOQ


      Recent Backblasts

        Doracides – Spooky Halloween Edition

        QIC:  Tatonka

        Date: 10/29/2021

        PAX: Cavity Search, Face Plant, Jaws, Peetuhson, Second Base

        AO: Parliament


        Conditions

        Low 50’s and some dampness in the air from recent rains. Additional rain was kind enough to hold off until after the beatdown concluded.


        COP

        SSH x 20
        Little Baby Arm circles x 11 (because Q can’t count)
        Reverse Little Baby Arm Circles x 9 (because Q wanted total arm circles to be 20)
        Seal Claps x 10
        Raise the roofs x 10
        Moroccan Night Clubs x10
        Fat Joes / La-Z-Boys OYO
        Forward Fold OYO


        The Thang

        Q set up 3 cones on straightaway of track.
        Cone 1: 50 meters out
        Cone 2: 75 meters out
        Cone 3: 100 meters out

        Doracides
        Partner 1: Begin performing exercise and continue until Partner 2 finishes circuit below
        Partner 2: Run to cone 1, perform 1 burpee
        Run back to Partner 1
        Partner 2: Run to cone 2, perform 2 burpees
        Run back to Partner 1
        Partner 2: Run to cone 3, perform 3 burpees
        Run back to Partner 1
        Partners switch places. Partner 2 picks up running total exercise count where Partner 1 left off. Example: Partner 1 completed 25 merkins, Partner 2’s merkin count would begin at rep number 26.

        Rinse and repeat for time making way through the following exercises:

        100 Cobras – John McCains but since this is a spooky themed Q we changed the name. The PAX hands behind the back of their heads mimic a cobra’s hood

        150 Spider Merkins – A merkin where you bring the knee to the outside of the elbow on the way down (basically a Merkin + Peter Parker)

        200 Wolf Mans – Air Squats with both hands up imitating a wear wolf

        250 BBSU – Big Boy Boo Sit Ups

        300 Frankensteins – Straight Leg Alternating Toe Touches


        With 5 minutes left, Q called for Pax to gather round and perform some Mary Scary


        COT

        Q spoke on recent idea that was shared via a friend from church life group. The 10-10-10 rule in life can help us be better leaders, better friends, and better community members in generally. Most of our excuses from why we can’t/don’t/won’t do something fall into similar categories: we don’t have time, we don’t have money, we don’t know what to say

        The 10-10-10 rules aims to challenge those excuses and break bad habits.

        Rule 1: Leave 10 minutes earlier
        If you leave 10 minutes earlier you likely won’t have an excuse for not having time to do things. If you end up getting held up (in traffic, getting out the door, etc.) you might still arrive on time and not be further stressed.

        Rule 2: Carve out $10 extra dollars in your wallet/pocket
        When you see an opportunity to help someone who could truly use the money more than you, you won’t have an excuse that you don’t have any money on you to help them.

        Rule 3: Say at least 10 words to everyone you converse with throughout the day
        The following dialogue probably sounds familiar:

        Me: Hi, how are you?
        Them: I’m good, how are you doing?
        Me: I’m fine. Thanks for asking!

        It’s almost as autonomous a response as breathing it. Little thought or effort goes into the above conversation and I’m just as guilty of it as the next person. Those 9 words above add absolutely zero impact to your day or anyone else’s. Furthermore, they are generally a big lie. I’ll often tell someone I’m fine when I have a million things on my mind that are stressing me out. If you challenge yourself to say 10 words to every person you speak to, you just might uncover a way to minister, support, or help yourself or someone you come across during you day.

        Q challenged PAX to try to incorporate the 10-10-10 rule into their lives and see what kind of positive impact it could have on them throughout their day.


        Moleskin

        Q thought he was going to have his first ever merlot splashing from a PAX, but alas it did not occur. Beatdown could have been tougher I suppose.

        Second Base may or may not have been practicing his one armed Merkins on his own time just waiting to bust out impeccable and impressive form during his turn on Mary.


        News

        Chubbies on Mondays (except the first of the month, for now). Reach out to Mayhem to get on the serve schedule.

        Thanksgiving day convergence at Hill City. Beatdown in the morning followed by Grateful Gobbler 5k / Mega EH event. Please sign up for the Grateful Gobbler if you plan to participate in that portion.


        Recent Backblasts

          From Dad Bods to Father Figures

          QIC:  Tatonka

          Date: 06/18/2021

          PAX: Gretel, Wuzn’t Me, Wrecked’Em, iLean, Cavity Search, Mayhem, Happy Ending, Choo Choo, Sousa, Ramrod, 9 Volt, John Doe

          AO: Parliament


          Conditions

          Mid 60’s and low humidity – a pleasant modification position change for this time of year.


          COP

          Mosey 1 lap around the track

          SSH x 10 IC

          WMH x 10 IC

          LBAC x 9 IC (“Sorry I finished too early” – jokes were made)

          Reverse LBAC x 10 IC (“The second time is always longer”)

          Seal claps x 10 IC

          Overhead claps x 10 IC

          Chinooks x 10 IC


          The Thang
          In honor of Father’s Day weekend, we are trying to transform our dad bods into father figures

          1 min AMRAP Merkins.

          2 min. Plank

          1 min AMRAP Squats

          2 min Plank

          1 min AMRAP Mountain Climbers

          2 min Plank

          1 min AMRAP Little Baby Crunches

          Mosey 1 lap around the track

          At this point there was much complaining dialogue about the length of the plank. So, YHC being the great all around guy that he is, called an audible and provided PAX with the following position change:

          The same format as above was repeated 2 more times except we reversed the timing on the exercises and planks. We started with 1 min plank and then moved to 2 min. of the exercise. Mountain climbers were removed from the rotation.

          After 3 total sets we finished with mountain climbers for time


          COT

          Q shared the following passages from a few books he has been reading:

          “If you look at a window, you see fly-specks, dust, the crack where Junior’s frisbee hit it. If you look through a window, you see the world beyond.”

          “I believe That we all have a God-given purpose, and we won’t be fulfilled unless we’re living that purpose in a meaningful way.”

          The context of the first quote was a metaphor for how to approach reading the Bible. The second quote comes from a leadership development book I’m reading. I think they go together and shared with the PAX trying to look “through the window” of your life instead of just “at the window” of our exterior to discover your purpose. I encouraged the PAX to try to drill down to a purpose that leads to true transformation and focuses on the contents within ourselves rather than a simple “achievement” style purpose that might just focus on a label we are given.


          Moleskin

          9 volt was quick to point out that Happy Ending had red marks on his knees (from the track) after the workout

          Jokes about Sousa’s mustache never get old, especially when there is a funky bass intro to the workout music.

          Gretel has a great measurement system for determining the appropriate length of workout shorts. You should ask him sometime.

          2 mins of planks multiple times was not a crowd favorite.


          News

          Missionary Ridge ruck tomorrow. Gretel has details if you are interested.

          Fallen Five Memorial Ruck on 7/17

          Charity Dinner on 7/16 in conjunction with Fallen Five weekend. Marcus Luttrell is guest speaker.


          Recent Backblasts

            Spread Eagle

            QIC:  Sidekick

            Date: 05/07/2021

            PAX: Woodrider, Blackout, Oui Oui, Seagull, Toe Jelly, WreckedEm, Meow Mix, El Chapo, Tatonka

            AO: Parliament


            Conditions

            47 with a light sprinkle towards the end


            COP

            5 Burpees; Willie Mays Hays ICX10; 3rd Grade Exercises ICX10; Seal Claps ICX10; Shoulder PRess ICX10; Slow Squats ICX15


            The Thang


            Spread Eagle

            All PAX spread out along the straightaway of the practice field; Walk to the middle of the football field and place your block; walk back to the straightaway on the field.

            All rounds will follow the same general sequence: travel to block, exercise with block, jail break to opposite side track; 10 Mercans; repeat back across the football field to your starting point; run a lap

            Round 1

            Bear crawl — 20 Block Squats — Jail break — 10 Mercans — Bear Crawl — 20 Block squats — Jail Break — 10 Mercans — Lap

            Round 2

            Lunge — 20 Block press — Jail break — 10 Mercans — Lunge — 20 Block Press —Jail Break — 10 Mercans — Lap

            Round 3

            Crawl Bear — 110 Blockees — Jail break — 10 Mercans — Crawl Bear — 10 Blockees —Jail Break — 10 Mercans — Lap

            Round 4

            Reverse French Lunges — 20 Block Curls — Jail Break — 10 Mercans — Reverse French lunges — 20 Block Curls — Jail Break — 10 Mercans — Lap

            Round 5

            Traveling Burpees — 20 Kettle Bell Swings — Jail Break — 10 Mercans — Traveling Burpees — 20 Kettle bell Swings — jail Break — 10 Mercans — Lap


            COT


            Active listening is a skill that we should utilize more frequently. At home, at work, etc. Sometimes not responding but just being an ear is all you need.


            Moleskin


            News


            Recent Backblasts

              PAX Relays

              QIC:  Tatonka

              Date: 05/18/2021

              PAX: AOL, M.I.A., Picabo, Shawshank, Noid, Toe Tag, FNG-Violet, Meow Mix, Cavity Search, Blackout

              AO: Parliament


              Conditions

              Mid 60’s. Perfect running weather.


              COP

              Mosey 1 lap of track
              SSH x 15
              WMH OYO
              Quad Stretch OYO x each leg
              Fat Joes OYO x each leg
              Calve Stretch OYO x each leg


              The Thang

              The track was locked due to graduation set up at the high school. Q and Blackout were able to speak to the security guard on duty and get permission to use the track. Blackout also EH’d the security guard who began looking into F3 and should show up at Legacy soon.


              PAX Relays

              Pax divided up into teams. There were 11 of us, so to make this thang work logistically, we had one group of five and two groups of three.

              The group of five would be running a continuous 100m relay. Pax 1 started at the common start/finish line on the track and would sprint 100m to handoff a baton to PAX 2 waiting at the relay exchange zone. PAX 2 would do the same thing and handoff to PAX 3 at the next exchange zone. PAX 3 handed off to PAX 4 who then sprinted the final 100m of the track and handed off to PAX 5 who was waiting at the start/finish line. This process continued until Q called time. While waiting for the baton, non-running PAX performed SSH or squats.

              The groups of 3 followed the same method except each PAX sprinted 200m between exchange zones.

              After several laps, Q circled everyone up for Indian runs with batons.

              FNG had to leave right at 6:15, so at the top of the hour we went ahead and named him to ensure he would leave the beatdown with an F3 name (modify May, right?)

              After naming the FNG (welcome FNG-Violet), PAX performed a continuous 100m relay exchange. Pax split into two groups and faced each other 100m apart on the home stretch of the track. One baton was used. The runner would sprint 100m and handoff baton to first PAX in line, then make his way to the back of that line. The PAX that now had the baton would run 100m the other direction to the other line of waiting PAX and handoff to the PAX at the front of that line before making his way to the back of the line. Non running PAX in line would perform various exercises as they saw fit until it was their turn with the baton. This process continued for several minutes.

              Finished with 5 minutes of Mary which included:
              Flutter kicks
              American hammers
              LBCs
              Straight leg crunches
              Pickle pounders
              Freddie Mercuries


              COT

              I played the audio from the Jocko “Good” video on YouTube. In it, Jocko recounts stories of his time in the military when a direct subordinate would approach him with a problem. Regardless of the issue, Jocko’s response would be, “Good.” He goes on to state several examples of how to use this mentality in life. “Didn’t get promoted? Good, more time to get better. Mission got canceled? Good, now we can focus on the other one. Got tapped out? Good, you learned something.” While YHC can’t do the video itself justice (hence why I played the audio) I encourage everyone to watch it. The gist at the end is that you can use this mentality to realign your thinking when things are seemingly going wrong. Use it to your advantage to refocus on how you are going to continue moving forward instead of dwelling on things that have already happened that you can’t control. I reminded PAX that you can’t change the past and you can’t predict the future with certainty. All you can do is control how you act in the present moment. I encouraged the PAX to try to use this approach to everyday life to keep making progress on life goals.


              Moleskin

              The original plan was to run the continuous relay for the entire beatdown. It was agreed that this would have been deemed a “bad idea.”

              Woodrider must have one solid EH as his FNG showed up knowing Woodrider himself wouldn’t be at the beatdown.

              In the discussion of Bernie being the voice of F3 Chattanooga at the Collegedale City Council meeting last night, we learned he also has a key to the church at the top of the not-hill at Hacksaw. Picabo may or may not have tried to use this knowledge in an attempt to take the Browns to the Super Bowl.

              Noid brought up the fact that a local Pizza Hut recently had a fire. This would seem like an innocent comment until you remember that Pizza Hut is a direct competitor of Noid’s.


              News

              Lots of convergences coming up.

              5/31 – Memorial Day Convergence at the Dame – BURPH

              6/12 – Convergence at the Lookouts Stadium – Oil Can has more details regarding the beatdown and follow up family friendly event.

              7/17 – Fallen Five Memorial Ruck and Convergence – Morning beat down, followed by rucking with more beatdowns sprinkled in. If you can’t commit to the ruck, consider showing up for the morning beatdown. Reach out to Mr. Clean for more details.

              Habitat for Humanity – July 10th – Still a spot or two available. Reach out to John Doe for more details.


              Recent Backblasts

                Barometer Day of Remembrance

                QIC:  Tatonka

                Date: 04/06/2021

                PAX: Coypu, Cavity Search, Flemish, M.I.A., AOL, Mothballs, Toe Tag, Bonsai

                AO: Parliament


                Conditions

                46 degrees – cool but not too cool. Excellent weather for setting and breaking benchmarks


                COP

                Mosey 1 lap around the track

                SSH x 21 in cadence

                WMH x 21 in cadence

                Quad Stretches x 21 seconds each leg OYO

                Fat Joes x 21 seconds each leg OYO

                Little Baby Arm Circles x 21 in cadence

                Reverse Little Baby Arm Circles x 21 in cadence

                Mosey 1 lap around the track


                The Thang

                The first Tuesday of every month at Parliament is barometer day where we try to beat previous benchmarks set in prior months.
                Barometer Day

                1 mile run

                2 min AMRAP Merkins

                2 min AMRAP Big Boy Situps

                ————-

                After the conclusion of the barometer day exercises, we performed the following:

                25 x Flutter Kicks in cadence

                25 x Air Squats OYO

                25 x Imperial Walkers OYO

                Repeat 3x

                Time allowed for the workout die to be rolled several times. PAX completed various exercises based on what came up on the die including: 30 second plank, squat jumps, lunges


                COT

                Today is a meaningful day to me. I knew from my first post in September that I wanted to Q this day. I asked the AOQs weeks in advance to let me have this day. Today marked five years to the day since my father suddenly and unexpectedly passed away. I wanted to take this day to honor and remember his as I believe he embodied all the tenants that F3 encourages.

                F1 – Fitness: My father’s first career spanned 20 years as a Navy SEAL. He began his career with Underwater Demolition Team 21 and eventually SEAL Team 2. He was no stranger to being in the best shape of his life and even after his retirement he continued to push himself to become better each day. The 21 reps/seconds during the COP represented his time with UDT-21 and the 2 laps around the track represented his time with SEAL Team 2.

                F2 – Fellowship: Being a member of an elite group of warriors brings with it a type of fellowship that few others truly get to experience or understand. I shared that at my father’s funeral, numerous members of my father’s BUD/S class (075- hence the 3×25 reps of exercise after the barometer exercises) were present. Most of these individuals had not interacted with my father for well over 40 years, but you wouldn’t have known it that day. Their presence, attitudes, and conversations about my father made it seem like they had all been side by side from the time they first met on the beaches of Coronado. I also shared the story of my fathers wishes to have his ashes spread by sea, air and land, representing the three environments where a SEAL is expected to operate (this was also represented in the workout by the flutter kicks (sea), air squats (air), and imperial walkers (land). He had some ashes spread over his alma mater by his roommate who was a Navy pilot. He had some buried at a memorial wall at the church he was a long time member of. His spreading culminated at the Navy SEAL museum in Fort Pierce, FL where the modern day SEAL was born during WWII. Annually, around Veteran’s day, there is a SEAL muster there that includes demonstrations, key note speakers, a beach 5k, and a beach front memorial service for SEALs that have passed away that year. Part of the service involved active duty seals swimming out the ashes of the deceased for one final swim at sea. My father’s ashes were also swum out and spread by two members from his BUD/S class. SEALS always have a swim buddy during training and his classmates wanted to make sure he had one until the very end. I will never truly be able to understand the bonds forged by these men during their time serving, but the sensation of this moment can be described as nothing less than powerful. Quite the fellowship indeed.

                F3 – Faith: My father was an elder of Signal Mountain Presbyterian Church until the time he passed away. He was one of the most Godly and faithful men I have ever known and he continued to grow and cultivate his faith each and every year. He put his blood, sweat, and tears into serving his church in any way possible including serving as an Elder, teaching Sunday school, leading men’s groups, and serving on mission trips. He was a true HIM through and through.

                I concluded by encouraging the PAX to think of someone impactful in their lives – whether it be a family member, spouse, friend, or mentor – and reach out to them to let them know the difference they have made in the PAX’s life. It’s easy to get distracted and to say you will do something tomorrow, but sometimes the opportunity slips by and we don’t ever get another chance to do so. I challenged the PAX to reach out to someone this week and just let them know how much they have meant to the PAX’s life.

                As a final note, this just happened to be my 75th post. Seeing as how my father’s BUD/S class was 075, I couldn’t help but smile at this serendipitous moment.


                Moleskin

                Further discussion needs to be had as to whether or not warm up laps count towards the barometer day mile

                Barometer day occurs on the first Tuesday of the month – some PAX may have made a mental note to avoid showing up on the first Tuesday going forward

                Cavity Search’s VQ is this Friday at Parliament. If it rains, we aren’t sure who is going to be on Q.


                News

                Legacy clean up day is this Saturday immediately following the morning beatdown. Check Slack for waivers and information

                2nd F opportunity this Friday. Check 2nd F Slack channel for details


                Recent Backblasts