1/17 Bridge Backblast – Craps it’s Cold #getbetter #morethanaworkout cc @ptthorne @SammyBoilermakr @darkhelmetF3

QIC: Captain Insane-o (YHC and Croupier)

Pax (14):  Zartan, Methane (out of Site Q obligation only?), Dodododo (perhaps now to be called Feet, as in, “Nice hands, Feet.”), Boozer, Red Roof, Star Child, Bob Ross, OJ, Wham!, Vincent (respect), Nugget, Double Down (respect), Little Jerry (respect), Captain Insane-o

No one ever forgets the first time they saw a craps table covered in blow.  Am I right?  What, never seen that?  Not even in a movie?  What about that one with Johnny Depp; pretty sure they did it in that movie.

Okay.  I’ve never seen such a thing either.  I actually never thought about it until I thought, “how do I start this Backblast.”  Hopefully you’re not thinking, “Start it? I just wish he’d end it.” Soon enough kind reader.  Soon enough.

What I did think about this morning as I pulled into the Bridge at the Poshlands was the large patch of grass that — with a certain squint — has the Romanesque shape of a craps table covered in what we would soon learn to be 6 inches of snow.  Before I tell this legendary tale, let me back up.

As I tried to doze off last night, the weather guesser tuned on the TV said, “It’s cold out there folks.  Single digit temperatures, with below freezing windchills.  And tomorrow, it’s going to be downright dangerous.”  Well, my middle name is William, so I smiled to myself as I thought, “what a great middle name.”  Then, bam, my alarm went off.

I gave myself an extra 10 minutes to dress (gear for Zoo later) and to gather my gifts I planned to bring to the Bridge: (1) a foam 8-sided dice (yes, Callahan, this is correct; die is not) with various exercises and counts; and (2) a 60 lb GORUCK sandbag, filled with 60 lbs of sand.  These weren’t so much gifts for the Bridge to keep but, instead, gifts I bought for myself that I would share with the Pax.  Gifts that I will never let DoDoDoDoDo touch again.  Read on.

Conditions:  5*, with windchill of -9*.  Questionably plowed roads in the nicest park in Louisville (with the most pedicured AOs, as well).  6 inches of undisturbed snow in the Egg Lawn, er, craps table.  Serious packed ice on most parking lots and sidewalks.

Gear (for Zoo):  Storm Trooper toboggan, Nike pro thermal shirt under Marmot F3 half zip, Patagonia vest (blue), skull doorag around neck for face coverage, merino wool neckerchief, Nike pro shorts (blue) over Nike pro running tights, men’s socks, Newbie trail runners, waterproof gloves (one orange, one yellow), headlamp so I could see the dice.  Pope was not there.  Zartan wore pants for the first time.  Pro.

COP (after a short mosey where YHC yolked the sandbag):  All in cadence.  All 20 count.  SSHs, Grass Grabbers (with clap), Imperial Hillbillys, Copperhead Squats, SSHs.

According to my sources (Red Roof), Red Roof almost took a spill due to poor plowing and ice build up.

Tsk, tsk Parklands crew.  You invite us out and you don’t even clean up.

The Thang:

Sandbag does not touch the ground (unless the exercise you do with it requires it to touch the ground; in that case, your hands don’t come off of it).  Pretty sure I explained this with clarity.  Twice.  Feet did not hear me, or he did and did not care?

Count off, 1-14.  As we move through the Park, you will have the chance to pass the bag to the number above you.  So if you’re 1, call to 2 when you’re ready to pass.  If you have the bag when we stop to exercise, you can perform a thruster, a Rocky, or a weighted squat AMRAP during the exercise, then you pass to your next number.

Part 1:

Pax Craps:  Pax member throws/rolls the dice (if it gets lost, we do 100 Burpees or Burpees until end of the workout, so be careful).  Pax jogs after it.  Q identifies the exercise and counts/coordinates.  Water Break = Roller/Throwers Choice.  Jump Rope = Bobby Hurleys.

We did this for about 26 minutes.  At first, the Pax did not want to move to the middle of the table.  Afraid of those sucker bets (the six inches of snow), I guess?  Well, someone wasn’t afraid, and eventually we made it to the middle.  I don’t recall all of the exercises, but as I recall we did a 1 minute plank twice, 15 Jump squats IC, 15 IC merkins twice, 15 Bobby Hurleys, 15 Star Child X jumps (twice), 15 IC calf raises twice, 15 Burpees (twice).

Oh, and courtesy of DoDoDoDoDo — now Feet to me — we did 20 extra Burpees (after having just finished 15).  Well, some of us did 20 extra.  The guy who dropped the bag (tossed it down on purpose?  And for anyone scoring, I did not coordinate this.  Perhaps my reaction tipped the Pax off) {cough} {Feet} {cough} didn’t appear to do any until YHC used his hospital name to remind him what the ENTIRE PAX does if the bag hit the ground.  Pretty sure he still owes me a few Burpees….

Anyway, imagine the picture below covered in white and this is what F3 Craps looks like.

Mosey back to a clearish area near the shovel flags (note:  the O took the Ghost Flag back today) for…

Part 2:

Dark Circle of Merk-Sane-o: Having just acquired this sandbag, I wasn’t sure what all I could do with it for a large group.  So, I contacted my buddy, Dark Helmet.  He’s full of useless knowledge and semi-helpful suggestions.  That said, he came up with this very quickly.

Circle up in plank.  Bag is in front of a Pax member.  Entire Pax does a merkin, then grab it with your hand and pull it/push it through under your plank to where the guy next to you can grab it and do likewise. Go around the circle one way (clockwise) and then the other (counterclockwise).  This crushed the mumblechatter.

Part 3:

Have I mentioned I love Burpees?  I have and I do.  So we did a Circle Burp with the sandbag.    First Pax does Rocky with sandbag, while rest of Pax does Burpee.  Pax then passes bag, Rocky, rest of Pax does Burpees, etc.  We did this twice.  Pretty sure everyone was silent, other than grunts.  Feet did all his Burpees for this set.

Part 4:

Plank-o-Rama.  2 minute plank til you can’t plank no more.  Once you’re out, start doing Rockies, Thrusters or Weighted Squats, passing the bag to others as they drop out.  Those without the bag do unweighted versions of the exercise.  Tclaps to the finishers.  There were 3?

End.  45 minutes on the dot.

COR, NOR.  Announcements and intentions were given.  I took us out with some words, thanking the Pax for coming (despite the bad weather) and commending them on pushing themselves to get better.  I know today wasn’t a soul crusher, but I think it was fun.  It was so cold none of the snow melted so no one was too wet, we tossed a ball around and we got a little stronger, courtesy of my new friend, Huckleberry, or Doc, or Val.  Maybe Killmer.  Actually, I shouldn’t name an inanimate object.  Neither should you.  That said, expect to see a lot of this in the future.

Naked Moleskin (first one):  Yesterday I read a Backblast about apathy after 4 years of F3, written by Catfish in Rock Hill.  Here’s a link to a link:  https://twitter.com/F3RockHill/status/953447667266355201

I read this and thought to myself, man I hope this doesn’t happen to me or the F3Louisville Pax.  But then I realized it will.  It’s inevitable.  Something will get in the way and apathy/distraction will creep in somewhere, with someone, with me.  THE HUGE DIFFERENCE, though, is that our Pax is strong and will see this and pick each other up.  This is the difference between F3 and other groups.  It’s Accountability.  I know it may seem silly that I write a 1000 words per Backblast, or that I’m trying to push guys who are part of a free workout group, but I’m only doing it because I believe in it.  One day I won’t have that energy, and I’ll need you to pick me up, dust me off, call me a name I’ve called you and tell me to get in gear.  That’s what we’re doing.  That’s why this is happening.  Read what Catfish wrote.  Use it as fuel to get better and make each other better.  Or don’t.  You get out of this what you put in.

CI out.