07/29/2020 - The Citadel - Black Diamond – Spartan 450
AO: The Citadel
When: 07/29/2020
PAX:
Number of Pax: 6
Pax Names: afib, Baby Hands, Ball Boy, FIB, Nala, RoachCoach,
DR Names:
Number of FNGS: 0
FNG Names:
QIC: Ball Boy
Introduction
I was pumped up to lead my first Black Diamond Q. The ones I’ve been to have been absolute smokefest’s so I wanted to make sure I delivered something similar for those who showed up. I texted FIB Monday and asked if he had any thoughts or advice on a Spartan “400 or 500” beyond the usual 300 and his response of “sounds awful” confirmed that I was on the right track.
Want to thank the five other guys who bravely showed up and put in the work on a beautiful morning.
Warm-O-Rama
At 5am sharp we did a quick warm up of motivators (from 7) and some arm circles to loosen up.
The Thang
At 5:02 we were on our way with 58 minutes of work ahead of us.
We started in an Indian run, pushing the pace as we hit the path towards the playground by the Oakhurst swimming pool. We made a quick pit stop for two rounds of burpee pull-ups and dips on the bench.
When finished, we quickly jumped back in the line for an Indian run on the path, along the north side of Waubonsee creek to the second bridge that led us into the large practice football field at Waubonsie High School. Total distance from start point to here was about .75 miles.
Spartan 400 (or 500) depending on time
Sprint 70 ish yards – 10 merkins. Rinse and repeat 45 times. Distance was increased every 10 rounds.
Indian run back to flags
Circle of Trust
Prayers for Mr Miyagi and Roach Coach’s mother in law Paula who suffered a fall in her home recently.
Naked Man Moleskin
I felt honored to lead a BD this morning. HC’s were a bit light yesterday so despite the weather being literally perfect, I knew it would be a small group.
I jogged over arriving at about 4:53am to find Baby Hands standing in front of his open trunk which was perfectly organized with his two coupons, some free weights, gloves, etc. Note to self, clean out trunk.
Nala had arrived too and was crouching down in the parking lot all Jack Hanna-esque looking at a fox in the adjacent church lot. He was clearly ready to go beastmode in 7 minutes.
Next to arrive was RC, a surprise because he hadn’t HC’d, This was shaping up to be a strong group for what I had planned.
At about 4:58, FIB pulls in, flying over the speedbump at about 40 mph. Nice effort and he’s in the circle at 5am sharp as we start motivators.
Half way through, our 6th and final attendee Afib and his short shorts comes in hot. Given he made the effort to drive over to the Citadel for the first time ever, we let his tardiness slide and he joined in.
Sidebar, if you haven’t been to the Citadel before, as Afib can attest to before this morning, it is a GREAT AO. We have a great path for running that goes around a lake, a great hill you can incorporate into your beatdowns, regular sightings of wildlife, big open fields to use, tennis courts for suicides. The options are endless.
At this point, we were only missing one person who had HC’d, our brother Appletini. Not only did he formally HC in slack but he also had over text earlier in the week so this no call – no show has to be called out here. We asked FIB if he had any insight and he thought Appletini would probably blame him for not waking him up.
With that, we got after it and the six of us had a great morning. We moved for almost the entire hour with minimal rest, getting in about 4.25 miles of running (all Indian run at a 730/8 clip and sprints during the Spartan) and 450 merkins – regular, diamond and wide arm.
Great job putting in the work and hopefully next time we have double the amount of guys!