2 PAX showed up for chilly EC, alternating between merkins and KB swings, while 3 PAX rucked. Actually 3 PAX may have shown up for EC. I”ll give Sweatervest the pass since we are transitioning to Slack still and getting info is a little confusing.
It was cold this AM. There were likely more reasons not to post than to post. YHC has been reading the Stoics, and one principle that is espoused is turning obstacles on their heads. Setbacks and adversity are common but impermanent. I am particularly inspired by one quote from Marcus Aurelius:

Objective judgment, now at this very moment
Unselfish action, now at this very moment
Willing acceptance, now at this very moment, of all external events
That”s all you need.

I often have to remind myself that the obstacle is the way. I cannot think of one day that has gone completely as planned, though I still hope that day will come! The challenge is to turn that obstacle into an opportunity to get better, not to play the victim and let it defeat us and serve as the foundation for future excuses for why we cannot do something. Part of it is the idea that you have to rename it to reclaim it. In other words, you are not tired, you are just feeding oxygen to your growing muscles. See what I did there?
It would seem that this is often key for successful people, the ability to proceed undeterred by adversity. And I think it is applicable to a lot of the things Churham PAX are working on: Spartans, Heavies, long runs. To me, it is all about getting out of your head when you start to feel pain or lose your breath. It is about getting to action, and sometimes the Stoics leave me a little wanting for action. I then think of the Shakespeare line, “Then imitate the action of the tiger, stiffen up the sinews, summon up the blood.” This is what the psychologists call “flow,” otherwise known as the zone, the place where you are fully enveloped the act itself, thinking of nothing else, existing nowhere else. This is the place where champions reside. It”s hard to get there, and even harder to stay there. It takes practice. After all, you have to get in shape before you can stay in shape, and getting in shape requires methodical and deliberate action for which there is no immediate payoff or gratification. I applaud all the PAX building the future, brick-by-brick. Today, we did it merkin by merkin for a total of 350 in the main event alone.
Main Event:
To the tennis courts. Merkin March calls for 50 merkins in the warm up. We did them proudly along with a potpourri of other standard issue warm up exercises, and then into the breach.
To kick it off, PAX started off with 25 merkins and then a 6 tennis court sprint suicide, with 25 merkins at the end of each round (for a total of 175 merkins). Lots of guys pushed the pace here. Assisi (shocker!) led the charge. Those who finished moved quickly into wall sits.
Then, we partner wheelbarrowed to the end of the 6 tennis courts. The challenge was getting to through all 6, each PAX on his own. We went down with one PAX, back with the other, hit 25 more merkins, and wall sat. This was tough as hell, and YHC thinks he found his “flow” here, because there was no energy to think about anything else. And I always appreciate with any PAX refers to the workout as soulcrushing. I think that is the best compliment I could receive. I would also name my sword “Soulcrusher” if I had one and had use for one, but that”s a story for another time.
Next, we kept our partners and partner carried around the first tennis court, stopping at each corner and in the middle for 5 partner squats each. Switcharoo. After this, we executed 50 single-leg squats with each leg.
Then we moseyed to the main parking lot for a snake. The first leg was crawl-bears with 5 merkins after traveling two parking spaces. The second leg was a 2 round-trip-sprint. The final was traveling burpees. Lots of guys picked up the SIX, and even more pushed the pace (Avalanche, Boucher). Those who finished first planked it out, and then we added 50 merkins for good measure.
Mary:

• 50 flutter kicks
• Voluntary Floyd planks for a few pax

CoT:

• T-Claps to Happy Gilmore for his crusading around Durham, EHL”ing dudes like crazy. Also to Screech, who posted for his second workout this AM. Kudos to you guys!
• Prayers for The Donald, who is scheduled to undergo a vasectomy this afternoon. Yowsers! All the best for a quick and easy procedure and recovery.
• Bull on April 1, 6-10am! Sign up and get others to come!
• F3 Dad”s Day tomorrow at TBL, 7am to 8am. Bring the family.!