Scaling the Tower and Coming Home

Scaling the Tower and Coming Home

QIC: Greenspan

Date: 7/10/2018

PAX: Manscape (WD), Sac (co-WB), Mr. Hand, Velvet, Suede (co-WB), Van Pelt, Peacemaker, Hitman, Bluto, Valdese, Bam

Day two of the two-part Greenspan screening felt a whole lot like day one.  In other words, it was a very comfortable late-September day in the middle of July.  A perfect twelve gathered at the William White YMCA parking lot for an adventure to Babylon.

In the Twitter pre-blast, YHC made reference to climbing the ziggurat (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ziggurat) as part of the day’s festivities.  Some scholars have suggested that the tower of Babel from Genesis 11 was a ziggurat.  When YHC reflected on the fourth of July Convergence last Wednesday, particularly Cobra’s portion involving a suicide up the Intimidator, YHC identified with the confusion that resulted at the Tower of Babel from everyone speaking a different language from their neighbor—but due to lack of oxygen rather than (YHC thinks) divine judgment.  Knowing the elite class of runners of all ages that frequent Redline, YHC decided that a return to the site was a worthy way to spend forty-five minutes.

The Thang: 

• Warm up lap clockwise around Hanes Park with instructions to assemble at the bottom of Brookstown;
• Scale Brookstown, take a right on 5^th street, and reassemble;
• At the top of the world, i.e. the Intimidator, YHC instructed the pax to find their right hands and run down to the second intersection on their right, turn around and run up to the first intersection on their right, turn around and run down to the second intersection on their right, and so on until they reached the bottom. At that point, the pax were to rescale the Intimidator, take a left on 5^th, and descend back down Brookstown.  Fasties were instructed to lassie for the six.
• The group then moseyed down to the track for the remainder of the workout.
  • 3/4 lap around the track + a mosey up pull-up hill. Pull-ups optional.
  • Two laps + a mosey up pull-up hill. Pull-ups optional.
  • Two more laps + a mosey up pull up hill. Pull-ups optional.
• Head for back to the launch point.

FIN!

COT:

• YHC took us out thanking the Lord for bodies that work and can run & asking for mercy for those who are physically suffering in some way.

Announcements:

• Schmedfest August 25^th. Proceeds benefit Crisis Control.

NMM:

Total mileage ~ 4.7 miles

Elevation gain ~ 240 feet

Pull-ups:  Somewhere between 0 and 25 for the pax.  Despite the pull ups being “optional”, the pax all accepted the challenge.

Velvet ran like a gazelle up the intimidator.  It was, frankly, amazing.  Sac also was a front runner during the ziggurat portion of the festivities.  On the track, Sac, Van Pelt and Velvet set the standard for the group.  YHC very much enjoyed running in the vicinity of Valdese, Bluto, Suede, and Hitman.  Peacemaker’s pace notably increases each week.  Mr. Hand was a bit ahead of me, but YHC observed his always model running form.  Manscape is a giant among boys.  He is the model of consistency.  YHC enjoyed also scaling Brookstown with Bam who, hearing YHC say something to the effect of “this was a bad idea”, responded with “It’s your own fault.”  Touché.  Running with Bam up that hill captured in a flash one of the reasons I love F3:  men doing hard things together and encouraging one another in the midst of it.

As YHC wrote yesterday about the Outhouse, Redline is an awesome AO.  YHC was intimidated for several months by the (false) expectation that everyone who attended Redline needed to be an elite marathoner and thus shied away from the workout.  Peacemaker counseled YHC otherwise and, I have to say, Redline has become a weekly highlight for YHC.  It is an opportunity to run with brothers and challenge oneself.  If you ever dream of running like you did when you were a boy, i.e. free of worries about others watching and critiquing you, this is a workout you should be frequenting.

Thanks for the keys, Manscape.  They are hanging on the pull-up bars.