1/19 @F3VilleBlackOps Backblast – CSAUP Ruck #getbetter

Pax (9):  Red Roof, OJ, Mad Cow, Wham!, Amelia, Mayberry, Captain Insane-o (YHC), Zartan, Face. A 7ft log and a 60lb sandbag (yes, both have names. No, I won’t print them in this Backblast.  Or will I?). Woof.

Q: Rotated throughout depending on who was under the log/bag.

I’m still waiting for someone to say, “Nah. That’s a terrible idea.  Hard pass.”

We planned a simple Black Ops Ruck for today, and there was genuine excitement.  Rucks are a great shift from our standard beatdowns and the 2dnF is strong.  Plus, it was 22*, so we were looking forward to the heatwave. Downtown Louisville; bright lights, big city.

But simple has lost meaning lately.

YHC bought that 60lb sandbag that has no name, but has been called many during its short stint with F3 Louisville.  Black Ops settled on Killmer this morning.  There’s a I’m Your Huckleberry patch on it that taunts you as you yolk that bad boy onto your shoulders. And yesterday, as YHC walked into the gym to pick up my 2.2, I noticed that someone had sawed down a pine utility pole.  Into sections.  One of which was about 7 feet long.

What’s great about F3 (and Louisville in general) is the almost guaranteed lock that someone you know – Pax, M, 2.0, or potential EH — is just about everywhere you go.  Well, @michaelbovine (Mad Cow) happens to coach his 2.2 at the same place and time that my 2.2 plays basketball.  (Mad Cow is not only stronger and better looking that YHC, he is clearly a better dad).  Knowing this, knowing that a backstop was in the gym, I didn’t grab the log immediately.  I thought, “I’m going to see if Mad Cow thinks this is a bad idea.”

I’m really glad Mad Cow is part of F3 Louisville.  I still remember standing under a tree watching our 2.0s practice soccer this summer when he asked me, “What is this F3 thing I keep hearing about?”  He came once and was hooked.  He’s an awesome Site Q.  Great mumblechatter guy.  Funny as hell.  Incredible beard.  Can’t say how glad I am to have gotten to know him better over the past 6 months.  No longer just soccer dad buddies, but real friends.  You’d think, though, having that newfound knowledge, I’d have known his reaction to my pending question:

Me:  “Hey man, there’s a 6 or 7 foot section of pine telephone pole outside by my truck.  Do you think we should take it, or should I ask these people?”

Mad Cow:  “Help me put it in my truck.”

So, yep, we ganked a 7ft pine utility pole for today’s Ruck.  He asked if I wanted a picture; I told him I wanted it to be a surprise.  But I was so jacked, I tweeted about it later that day.  Luckily, no one saw it (except @zhanley Zartan and @brockramser Red Roof and maybe a few others).  Surprisingly, though, they still came.  No “Nahs” yet.

So 8 of us showed up at 0530, despite the fact that the simple Ruck was now a potential CSAUP.  OJ put the sandbag on his shoulders while we waited; waited for Mad Cow to come.  Zartan teased he’d let the air out of his tires.  Mayberry stood confidently with a rainbow unicorn toboggan on (stud).  YHC thought, how can I ensure he’s coming.  Then, I remembered my talking pocket computer.  Sure enough, Mad Cow was on his way.

Conditions:  24* (heatwave).  Clear.  Slight breeze (gusting) off the river at the Big 4 Bridge parking lot.

Gear:  Morale patch cap (gift from Zartan) with Commonwealth of Kentucky Flag patch (gift from Diablo), F3Louisville Hoorag in neckerchief position (gift from YHC), same clothes as yesterday except GORUCK challenge pants and heavy duty gloves.  Amelia had — for at least the 2dn time I know of — a ruck weighted with 40lbs of live ammo.  This is not a joke.

Red Roof – our Nant’an — and YHC went under the log to start and OJ yolked the bag.  Knowing the weight of the bag was easy; I filled it myself.  The pole requires math.  Here’s the math according to the Google machine:

Let’s say it’s a pine pole, 30 ft tall and 1 ft in diameter (0.5 ft radius). The volume of that pole is 30 * pi * 0.5^2, so 24 cubic feet. The density of pine is ~30 lbs per cubic foot, so this hypothetical pole weighs 30 * 24 = 720 pounds.

I believe that would mean a 7ft section of that pole is 168lbs.  Well, this wasn’t a true telephone pole.  It was a utility pole, so we’ll knock off a few lbs and settle on 100lbs.

At first it wasn’t too bad; then (as stated by the ever astute, Face) it wasn’t.  Anyway, everyone took a few turns with the same feelings.  And everyone yolked the bag.  The log was named.  Not sure I can print them.  Maybe come to a workout and we’ll tell you.  They’re funny names.  Mad Cow had some real good ones.  He must save all of his bad language for us.

Here’s where we went and some pictures.  Needless to say, the pace was slow, but we got stronger today, as a result.

COT followed after COR and NOR.  We hustled home to get the kids to this new thing in Louisville called SCHOOL.