F3 makes coffee now?

F3 makes coffee now?

QIC: Wobegon

Date: 9-9-2024

PAX: Woodpecker, FrankandBeans, The Big Short, BooBoo, Ziggy Stardust, Zinsky, Tarheel, Five Dollar Footlong, Tonka, Green Acres, Wobegon

YHC was up at 4:50, right as the first batch of that sweet, sweet bean finished brewing. One cup for me, the rest in the airport, the second batch started. I almost lost track of time (cat, book, comfy chair, a recipe for disaster…), but I made it just in time for the 4-minute warning, some introductions of our visiting pax and FNG, and it was time to hit the introduction and get started.

After a short bit of Warm-O-Rama, we headed back to the locked-up blocks. Do I know the code? Of course not, though I’m sure THE DUCK gave it to me at some point. It was totally my bad. Okay, we’ll adjust the cardboard embossed plan and remove the blocks. Easy enough.

Time for a cup of B.L.A.C.K. C.O.F.F.E.E. You versus you. Finish, pour another cup.

• B burpees x20
• L t Dan (lunge steps, Squat, repeat-o between the cones…you ain’t got no legs)
• A lternating shoulder taps x20
• C arolina Dry Docks x20
• K ick-flutters x20

• C ooper, The (lap around lot, 5 burpess, 5 squats, 5 merkins. Repeat-o declining by 1 till you get to 1)
• O verhead claps x10
• F oxholes x10 (I think YHC is the only one trying to make this one catch on. It’s a big-boy situp, rollover to a merkin)
• F ast feet x10
• E xploding merkins X10 (one hand up by your head, other down by waist, up-down, reverse hands….sort of like a Spider-Man merkin?)
• E lbow pank for 10 count

Most of us got through a cup and half or so. Back to start for Mary, including requested Low Flutters and not-requested-but-we-effing-did-them Huckleberry Merkins, thanks to Green Acres.

Announcements: 

• 9/11 Climb to Remember Wednesday
• Lunch Bunch Friday
• Iron Pax is going on; did you know that?

Prayer Requests: aging parents need the assistance and dignity we can give them.

NMM:

• Woodpecker probably ran about 40 miles yesterday, and he still dominated it and made our FNG welcome as can be.
• Frank and Beans always hits it hard and offers good words to everyone who needs them. It was a pleasure to have a little one-on-one conversation after everyone cleared out.
• The Big Short is from Austin, and he said, “You know you are in NC when Superchunk is on the playlist,” so needless to say, he’s my new favorite.
• Boo-Boo, who YHC had the pleasure of running with at Flatline last week, however, asked if the Superchunk 1991 classic “Seed Toss,” which has one line about “…and this coffee is a little too strong…” so it made the playlist, asked if this was death metal, which was hilarious. Solid dude.
• Ziggy Stardust ground it out and helped with the naming of our FNG in an amazing way. More on that below.
• Zinsky. Former FNG Jack. Just moved here. Googled “men’s running group,” and he found us. Thanks, algorithm! We can already tell he will be a solid addition, and we hope he keeps coming back. He’s looking for carpentry-related construction work for those who might have a lead. We asked what he liked to do with his free time and he mentioned reading, someone asked what he was reading. It wasn’t John Grisham. His current read? The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy And Its Geostrategic Imperatives by Zbigniew Brzezinski. Impressive in title alone, but Ziggy (who we all know is among our most well-read and intelligent pax; I mean, the dude teaches at WFU) immediately said, “Oh yeah, we’re using that in my class this semester!” while the rest of us were just trying to pronounce the author’s name. We knew we had to lean in. That last name was too hard, so the short version of Zinsky stuck. It could be worse, Zinny. Welcome.
• Tarheel was way out front with Tonka, making this beatdown look easy.
• Five Dollar Footlong also ran some impressive distance yesterday, did a RIRO today, and was in the thick of the pace. Maybe we should keep up with inflation and go with Eight-Fifty Footlong. Can I get a re-naming ruling from the Nantan?
• Green Acres, the war daddy, the legend. What do you think he did? Yeah, he did that and more. Respect respect.

This workout sucked more than I thought it would, even without the blocks (again, my bad). If Superchunk, Black Flag, The Descendents, Jawbreaker and Lagwagon were new to you, you’re welcome. I bet Schliz’s old band played with at least one of them at one point.

So what about the F3 Coffee?

The website says:

Roasted by Valor for F3, this Brazil Minas Gerais is roasted darker to bring out satisfying smokey, malty flavors. We intentionally chose this Brazil Peaberry for its intense and distinguished notes of chocolate and peanut butter, qualities that hold up extremely well, even when roasted long. F3 Coffee is excellent as a traditional cup of drip or a bold espresso that’ll hold up extremely well to milk.

I  made a French Press pot this weekend and found it good but a little on the dark and strong side (Insert Star Wars joke here), but really good. I do enjoy a dark roast, so I think it’s just a matter of getting the balance right. I dialed back the ratio today on the fresh ground beans and would increase it JUST a bit next time to let some of the smoke flavor come back out. It’s a good cup, and I’ll probably keep it in the rotation. But, you may get another varietal next Monday, we’ll see how long the two bags I bought last.

Thanks for being there; it was a pleasure to lead. The keys are locked under the blocks.