For the first time since F3 Chapel Hill was seeded in late 2013 and then exploded in 2014-15, the Christmas and New Year’s holidays fell on a Monday. So it was YHC’s honor to DO THIS THING at 0545 no matter what the conflicts.

Sorry but my dog ate my backblast from the Christmas Day Kenan beatdown, so we’ll double-down on backblasts today and hit the two big holiday workouts in one fell swoop.

Venerable Kenan Stadium was the venue for both workouts, and with the UNC campus on holiday break, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse at 0545 on Christmas morn and then seven days later on New Year’s.

The Thang on Christmas:

Very simple: We ran up and then down each of the 24 aisles on the north and then south sides of the stadium. Then we knocked out some merkins, ran a 300-yard dash around the perimeter of the field, did some Mary and then wrapped it up with a jog around the concourse.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

The Thang on a frostbit New Year’s Day (temperature 17 degrees):

After a warm-up of SSH x 20, IW x 10, Squats x 10, Arm Circles x 10 front and back, Merkins x 10 and Carolina Dry Docks x 10, we ventured into the stadium and then down to the field.

First came a version of Usain Bolts, but instead of one PAX running a sprint and the others doing a pre-designated exercise, the sprint was up one row of the stands and then down. We did two rounds, and among the exercises were burpees, merkins, LBCs, jump lunges, WWIIs and bow-to-toes planks.

We did two sets of Four Corners around the playing field. The first one was punctuated at each corner by merkins (10, 12, 15 and 20). Slug led the second and YHC was so damn cold he cannot remember the exercises.

We also walk-lunged the width of the field and then returned, bear-crawling half the way and crab-walking the other half.

We moved up to the concourse outside the Blue Zone and did two sets of dips, two of erkins and one of step-ups, the count either 17 to commemorate the cold or 18 to salute the New Year. And we did a 60-count People’s Chair.

Finally, a quick round of Mary that included slow-merkins, Heels to Heavens, box-cutters and WWIIs wrapped the show up.

T-Claps to everyone who ventured out. One workout down for 2018 … just 364 to go.