Four years ago I found myself clinging to the fence surrounding Goose Poop Island at Pullen Park quietly vomiting into the pond. The 58 minutes leading up to that point had been brutal. Double 11’s with Dips, Dirkens, L/R Step-ups, and Box jumps. A bevy of sprints. Bear crawls for two miles. Partner carries. Pull-ups. It all culminated at the Island, where all the other PAX were doing Mary and I was doing my best to not die.
Fast forward a year and I’m getting to know my brothers in Cary and Apex a little better. We’ve got three AOs and maybe 20 regulars, but we were still under the Raleigh umbrella.
The following year was a dandy. Lots of growth, both in PAX and AOs, led to the advent of Carpex. Eventually, we would split off into our very own region, where we’d take pride in needling our big brother Raleigh. It was very much an NC State/UNC type of relationship.
Year three was insanity. Carpex exploded and there were bodies everywhere. No sad clown was safe. PAX were EH’ing so many people, we were forced to start new AOs every month.
And finally, year four. A year of great growth in all three F’s. All three aspects of F3 came together. The 1st F has been lit - AOs all over the place and the beatdowns have been top-notch. The 2nd F has been dangerous. I’ll just mention the Christmas party and leave it at that. And the 3rd F has been a super solid foundation for many of the guys each Wednesday (and now Monday!) morning.
It’s been incredible to see how F3 has changed in such a short amount of time. But just as much as F3 has grown and developed, so have I. I shared in COT this morning that 2014 was a very, very difficult year for my wife and I. I was struggling with depression and anxiety, and I coped with that by giving into addiction. My wife was trying her hardest to hang on to our relationship, but something had to change. I had to grow up. I had to learn to be a better man. A better husband. I had to learn to deal with my issues at the core, which involved cutting deep into my soul and finding things I didn’t want to deal with.
Four years later, after semi-voluntarily joining my buddy at Pullen Park on a Saturday morning, I found myself surrounded this morning by men who have taken part in helping me be a better man. It’s not been easy. In fact, I’ve faced some of the toughest things I’ve ever faced in my life in these past four years. But damnit, I pushed through. Because four or five days a week, there has been a man next to me going through his own struggles, and he was pushing through.
It’s difficult to overstate how important this sort of community is in society. My pastors say all that time that the church is the people, not the building. In a way, F3 is a church. A group of men who all want to be better, who will hold each other accountable, who will tell the truth in love, and will always, always, be there to pick their brothers up.
So, all that brings us to this morning. YHC has been semi-sidelined with a stress fracture in my right Tibia. It’s been a very slow-healing injury and I’ve been dying to get back to running. I’ve been following a training plan and just this week I’ve been allowed to do some very light running. So while we didn’t cover a ton of ground this morning, we still put in quite a bit of work. Here’s how it went down.
WARM UP
Jog over to the soccer field and circle up for:
Good mornings x 10 Arm Circles x 10, forward and reverse Imperial Walkers x 15
THE THANG
Jog to the end line for a little Typewriter action. What’s the typewriter? Well, it’s something I made up the other day to allow for lower impact movement and lots of sweat. The idea is to slowly work our way across the field, and once at the other side, jog back to the starting point to reset, a la the typewriter.
Round 1: Bear crawl, when tired, stand and do 10 squats, then resume bear crawl Jog back to start, 10 Burpees for cheating Round 2: Lunge walk and merkins Jog back, 10 Burpees for cheating Round 3: Bear crawl 10 “steps”, then 15 LBCs, repeat until you get to the other end Jog back, 10 Burpees to celebrate not cheating Round 4: Lunge 10 steps, then 15 American Hammers (2-count), repeat Jog back, No Burpees because YHC is soft, but Plank’o’rama 5-count per PAX Round 5: Bear crawl 10 steps, Freddy Murcs, Lunge 10 steps, Freddy Murcs, and repeat Jog to midfield, 10 burpees cuz PAX don’t listen
Jog back to the basketball court for:
MARY
Hello Dolly x 20 (because, well, you know) Box Cutter x 15 (courtesy of Katniss)
Das it.
COT
Count-o-rama: 17 stacked stallions Name-o-rama: Still 17 - 1 RESPECT, no hates, 16 meh Announcements: Carpex Crazy Train 6/9- meet at BO @ 0730 and bring $7, Breaking Bread after SNS on 6/20 Prayers/Praises: Beaker’s calf, Praise for good ultrasound for YHCs 2.1
NMS
Like I said before, I shared a little bit about where I was 4 years ago and what F3 has meant to me. At the Refinery on Wednesday mornings, Flacco has been leading us through 1 Samuel chapter 3 the last two weeks, and we’ve discussed at length the importance of listening to God (with counsel from our brothers at times) and then acting on what you hear, being faithful to God’s plan (not the Drake song, though). Man, F3 can be really tough sometimes, but it’s only making us stronger.
- For those of you new to my backblasts, well, buckle up.
- Before today, I hadn’t Q’d since March 6. In fact, since September 2017, I’ve only Q’d 3 times. I attribute this to all the newer PAX being freed to lead. That’s just awesome!
- (it might also be because I’ve grown lazy…)
- Not a ton of Tank Tops out at Flying Circus.
- I just hit the 1,000 word mark, so, OCTOTHREAT!!!!
- Don’t ask.
- I’ll just tell you.
- A long time ago, in a remote village in the middle of the Amazon rainforest, a young lad balanced a 3-edged stone on his head. When asked what he was doing, he spoke of a prophet, one with rose-gold hair and eyes like emeralds…
- Actually, you know what? I think I’ll just write a post about this on TheMuggo.com
- #ABB
- I’m rambling at this point. You can tell I haven’t Q’d in a while when:
- I have a plan for the workout
- Newer PAX actually follow directions
- My backblasts suck
- I make silly lists
- Hmm, I guess that also happens when I Q regularly. At least I’m consistent.
- Kisses.
Callahan