So, YHC had the Q for today’s Rabbit and sure enough, the weather forecast called for severe storms. After some back and forth on Slack yesterday afternoon, including a possible Plan B to meet up at Rambler’s Casa de Pull Up, we ultimately decided to just stick to our standard M.O. unless the weather took a drastic turn for the worse. The evening and overnight did end up bringing in some pretty good rains, so YHC decided to forego the slick, sloppy trails and opt for a bit of a non-traditional Rabbit workout. Given that tonight is Game 1 of the World Series, I figured, yeah, time for a little baseball, yo.

Toad and YHC rolled into the Big House to find 5 PAX ready for action, 2 of whom crushed some EC pull ups. Turned out, the weather was actually perfect for a good run. Batter up.

PRE-GAME

WMH x10, IC; Windmills x10 IC; Plank Stretch 10 count R/L, Reverse Inch Worm x10 SC; Monster Walks 30 yards**; Knee Ups 30 yards; Bounds 30 yards; High Knees 30 yards.

**During the Monster Walk warm up, YHC noticed Nescafe was off to the side stretching out his lower back. Turns out, the reverse inch worm led to back spasms. Nescafe bravely chose to continue on.

GAME ON

Headed out on fellowship run from Big House to Pollard Middle via Briar Chapel Parkway and Granite Mill. At Tobacco Farm, Nescafe wisely opted to head home and tend to his back in order to avoid further strain. We all bid him adieu and soldiered on. At one point on BCP, we ran into Sussudio and exchanged greetings. We eventually made our way to Pollard. After some deft parkour, it was time to hit the diamond.

Distance runners know all about the long, slow run. It is the meat and potatoes workout that is designed to build a solid foundation of aerobic endurance. YHC casually refers to this as dropping LSD (long, slow distance). It is not uncommon for distance runners to spend 80 – 90 % of their workouts on LSD. No doubt, building endurance is absolutely crucial for any distance runner. However, dropping LSD all the time will limit a runner’s ability to fully realize his potential. It is necessary and prudent to incorporate other types of workouts in order to ensure the body is running at its peak. Options include incorporating faster paced, higher intensity runs in order to activate other muscle groups and capabilities. Thus, the recommendation to add tempo runs, hill repeats, strides, and sprints. Today, YHC felt it was a good time to stretch our collective fast twitch muscle fibers with some good, old fashioned sprints.

YHC got the idea of using the baseball diamond for sprint workouts from Jeff Cavaliere, the former Head Physical Therapist and Strength Coach for the New York Mets. He currently has an awesome YouTube channel called AthleanX that I highly recommend. He not only provides excellent workouts, he provides detailed explanations of the science and physiology behind exercises, focusing on proper form and technique. Baseball sprints not only make the workout more fun, but it adds elements of HIIT and agility, both of which are perfect to fine tune the running athlete’s engine.

1) Baseball Sprint Workout:

AYG sprint from Home to 1st Base. Walk/jog back to Home Base. Repeato 4x.

AYG sprint from Home to 2nd Base. AYG sprint from 2nd to Home. Repeat, but in opposite direction.

AYG sprint from Home to 3rd Base. AYG pickle – sprint halfway from 3rd to Home, touch and return to 3rd, reverse and sprint Home. Repeat, but in opposite direction.

AYG sprint around the bases (Inside the Park HR). Repeato 4x, going opposite direction each time.

All PAX crushed this workout! Loved seeing the blaze of headlamps rounding the bases.

2) More deft parkour, then to the stairs for a mini Jacob’s Ladder session. Run up and down stairs. Start with 5 burpees at top, 1 big boy sit up at the bottom, then 4 burpees top, 2 BBSU at bottom, etc, etc. Plank until the 6 is done.

Depart Pollard with fellowship run back to the Big House. YHC ran back with Dueling Banjos and Bright Idea. On the way, Bright Idea shared some stories of his deployment in Iraq as a Marine. One story involved a time when he randomly decided to get up at 4 am and run a marathon…by himself…out in the desert. By the end of his run, the temp got up to 135 degrees. Damn.

By the time all PAX regrouped at the Big House, we all became immersed in more of Bright Idea’s tales. He told us about a time when he was on a recon mission and there was a supply drop which included bottles of Gatorade. Keep in mind, this is the desert, in the Middle East. By the time he and his group came upon the supplies, the Gatorade had been sitting out for quite some time. Completely dehydrated, he gulped down the Gatorade (which had most likely turned into a hot soup by this point) and promptly passed out, waking up some time later with his head half immersed in a sand moat of Gator-vomit. Another story involved being invited to some type of tea party of sorts by a few locals. He was given a drink and a small white cube. He thought the cube was sugar or some kind of treat and promptly put it into his mouth. He said he remembers it tasting like chalk…then he passed out. This time for 3 DAYS. We all speculated on what the white substance was…drugs? Nope. It was fermented goat’s milk. His commanding officer decided to give Bright a little flack, calling him a “little b*tch” for not being to handle the cube. Well, we all know the phrase, karma can be a b*tch. As it turns out, that officer also ingested the white cube, and he was later found in fetal position, pants down around his ankles, covered in excrement, with his hand desperately trying to dig a trench in the sand around his backside to cover up his Augustus Gloop. And in grand karmic fashion, it was all captured on film. Many lessons here, men. Many lessons.

POST GAME

Name-o-Rama

Announcements: Make sure to be at The Big House tomorrow (Wed) for Horny Toad’s VQ!

COT

YHC gave thanks and respect to all the men and women of our Armed Forces for all they do day-in, day-out to preserve and protect our nation, our freedom, and liberty. It is awe inspiring all the work these folks do so that we and our families can enjoy our daily lives in communities like Briar Chapel.

Just finished reading Freed To Lead. Embarrassed to admit that it has taken me so long to finally get to it. It is a quick and awesome read. Really great to get an in depth analysis of the guiding principles of F3, as well as the stories and insight of founders Dredd and OBT. One of many items that I took from FTL is the concept of seeking one’s Dolphin, or one’s gift or strengths, and to identify one’s Daffodil, the target or audience to focus one’s gifts or strengths. I have spent time meditating over this and challenged the PAX to do the same. F3 has not only motivated me to get my body in shape, but it really has lit a fire in me to get my mind, soul, indeed my entire life, in shape.

Really grateful for the opportunity to lead and seeing all you men step up to lead. It is what makes F3 and AOs like the Rabbit awesome and special. Thankful for everyone who comes out every week. I am honored to stand among you all. Be strong and have a great day. Aye!