The Last Waltz
So, when the news came out that they were closing the Estate AO and forming a new AO, YHC was a little disappointed. YHC can certainly be blamed for not attending The Estate or The Outhouse in a long time and has to applaud the Pax who post for deciding to rework the current offerings. Still, YHC wanted one last time at the AO to pay his respects to the place and the people who gave him his start in F3.
The Estate, the AO that YHC started the F3 journey 5 years ago. It was a rainy day 11/2/2015 when YHC posted for the first time thanks to Land Shark. MiB was the Q and YHC struggled the whole time. Like what the heck is a Freddy Mercury? Why are they making up names for these exercises and what is it with all of the funny nick names that they were calling each other. We had to run to various points and do a prescribed number of exercises and then run back to start point and go back out to the next destination. YHC couldn’t run even halfway to the house without being profoundly out of breath and feeling like last night’s dinner would make an appearance. Even though YHC was super slow and barely able to do any of the exercises, many of the Pax were super encouraging and made me feel welcome in the group despite the obivous lack of fitness. There was something about the workout that struck a cord with YHC and the next thing you know Toe Tag was born. Pretty sure the name came about because they thought that YHC was dead given the speed of movement on display that day.
There have been so many memorable workouts at The Estate. Some of the ones that stand out include: Cherry Pie trying to kill us with his typical insane workout and then giving us a very inspirational book about the life of Navy Seal Adam Brown. Two guys named Cobra and Lysol circling back for YHC and running extra laps and doing extra reps with YHC who was (and still is often) the perpetual 6. Starfish taking us to school – by that meaning we ran to the quad and then did a burpee mile. There are many more great memories of getting crushed in the gloom with people that started as strangers and became brothers.
This F3 thing has been great for YHC (despite the trouble it has caused for YHC at work). So, to pay respects to the place that started it all YHC reached out to HOG to volunteer to Q. Unfortunately for the Pax, HOG agreed and the plan was set in motion. YHC wanted to tour the AO yet keep the group together. YHC figured that there would maybe be 4 or 5 Pax show up had designs of running to front gate as well as the quad with various stops on the way there and back. As they say, no plan survives first contact. Or, Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.
Warmarama:
A little Mosey around the parking lot then the ubiquitious SSH and Walker Texas Ranger Imperal Storm Troopers then off we went for the workout.
The Thang:
Mosey to the front gate with a few stops on the way to plank and regroup (YHC had originally thought of doing a Reverse Peloton run but didn’t want to put the Pax that close together). Q Fail (not the first one of the day mind you) of not doing a better job keeping the group together.
The idea was to do this workout with constant activity (ala Flatline), and since YHC is not capable of pushing the Pax with any cadence led exercise it was felt that some timed events would be better opportunties for the Pax to get a good workout in regardless of how weak the Q was and also to keep the group together yet socially distant.
At the Gate we did a minute of each exercise with an emphasis on form and full range of motion instead of just trying to bang out X number of reps.
Plank Jacks
Seal Claps
Squats
Alternating Lunges
Low Flutter
On the way back from the gate we stopped a couple of times to do
5 Squats, 10 Plank Jacks, 15 Jack Reachers
Mosey to the Courtyard for some more timed work in 1 minute increments
Step Ups R
Dips
Step Ups L
Decline Plank
Box Jumps
BTTW
Then Mosey down the hill to the lot near the Rugby Field for some 11s
Start with 10 WWIIs at the bottom of the hill and then run up to the Dumpling house for 1 Squat Jump and adjust the amount of exercise to equal 11 for each circuit.
We didn’t quite make it all the way through this and we re grouped at the starting point for COT
NMM:
This was the first Q for YHC in at least 18 months if not longer, after injuries, rehab and limited posting as the quarantine hit right as YHC was cleared to come back. There were lots of Q Fails and miscalculations. Like, how many times can a guy get out of breath counting to ten.
Despite the unimaginative exercises and lack of clear plan or communication from the Q about the plan no one asked for a refund.
It was great to see so many folks out for the workout. YHC knows that it was the place not the Q but it was awesome to be out with so many of the Pax incuding some new to YHC faces.
COT:
YHC took the group out giving thanks for the opportunity and ability to be out here supporting each other this morning and asking for us to remember all of those struggling this time of year. Also, we asked for prayers for Spam’s dad Jim.
It is always an honor and a pleasure to be out with the Pax in the morning and this was no exception. My shift started at 0700 so there was no time for the best part of the workout – the hanging out for a few minutes after the workout chatting with your brothers. YHC had stayed away from most of the group for a long time after finally getting cleared to return after rehab, to try and limit potentially exposing someone to Covid (and had to stop talking about F3 at work after complaints). Finally as the case numbers were declining, YHC made it back out. It almost certainly had nothing to do with the fact that they moved the location of Bells n Whistles to my living room. YHC likely had the virus or a very similar variant early on (Feb-March) and have been super cautious and had no symptoms since then. Plus, YHC now has one of the vaccines in the books and just counting down the days for the next one. The once a week posts in the last couple of months have really been a game changer for YHC, and certainly hope to continue as the New Year arrives. Hope that everyone has a safe, healthy and happy new year.
