07/29/2020 - Dark Tower - Run Far, Run Fast, Just Run
AO: Dark Tower
When: 07/29/2020
PAX:
Number of Pax: 12
Pax Names: Aflac, Aladdin, atat, Blow Dry, Cousin Eddie, Cupcake, Hope Solo, One Bar, Radio Flyer, Rudy, Sweeney Todd, The Wedding Planner,
DR Names:
Number of FNGS: 0
FNG Names:
QIC: Cousin Eddie
Introduction
PRE-BLAST
Tomorrow, we will run. We will run as far as we can. A 5K is child’s play. Four miles is more your style. Lace up, strap in and let’s run. Make sure you have a watch or other timing device. HC in the thread.
The Scene: Forecasted partly sunny and high 60’s Beautiful morning for a run.
Welcome & Disclaimer
F3 is:
- Free
- Open to ALL men,
- Peer led in a rotating fashion
- Held outdoors rain or shine, heat or cold.
- Ends in a Circle of Trust
I am not a professional. You are here of your own free will. I have no knowledge of any injuries or fitness considerations. It is your responsibility to be safe and modify exercises as needed. Maintain 15 feet between you and the next guy at all times. In cadence (IC) is the rhythm in between each rep or the body movement between each rep.
Warm-O-Rama
It was time to get the blood pumping and the muscles stretched.
Motivators from 8 IC
Abe Vigodas IC (4 count) x 16
Tappy Taps IC (4 count) x 15
The Thang
We RUN
We finished our warmup at 5:20 which meant the PAX had 35 minutes to run as far as they could. But we weren’t running north. Oh no. I needed a change of scenery so I pointed them south. The route: Take Aurora Ave. to West St. Head south to Rickert on your way to 75th St. and then turnaround. It’s about 2 miles from DT parking lot to 75th St. via West St. so a 4 mile round trip was on tap. I gave them the goal. Run 17 minutes or to 75th St. and turn around, whichever came first. If they made it back to the parking lot before 5:55 then they were to take the ¼ mile lap around Rotary Hill.
Strava’s and timepieces were calibrated and we were off. Aladdin took an early lead as I situated my phone in my fanny pack. The other 11 PAX started off together and then began to spread out.
I started to pass the PAX one by one finally getting into a groove in between Aladdin and Hope Solo. I could tell Aladdin was nursing his ankle as he would slow down from time to time to encourage those behind him.
What surprised me was that I was in front of Aflac and At At. That normally doesn’t happen. Aladdin, Hope Solo and myself made it to 75th street with about 30 seconds to spare before we would have to turn around anyways.
On the return trip, Aflac turned it on. After a few minutes on the return, I could hear the dulcet tones of Aflac’s feet hitting the pavement behind me. Within another minute, he was passing me and I shouted, “there he is!”
Made it back to the parking lot before 5:55. Total distance was 3.9 miles on the Strava. Couldn’t have that so I literally ran around the roundabouts until I hit 4 miles on the nose.
The rest of the PAX started to roll in as I started Mary.
5 MoM
The best and most important time to stretch is after a run. Your muscles have the most blood flow and are the most malleable to release the toxins built up during the run.
Calf stretches on the curb (20-40 seconds each leg)
El Capitan stretch (deep groin stretch where one knee is all the way forward and your other leg is all the way back and your hands are right next to the forward foot) 20-40 seconds each leg
Side to side lunge stretch – 20-40 seconds each leg
wh(Y) plank – low plank, elbows together, feet apart so you look like a “Y” – held until 6am
Circle of Trust
Announcements
See the info only no chatter channel in Slack
Get on the Q sheet! Lots of openings. Do it!
F3 Concierge service – this is an ongoing initiative
Ruck Wars postponed until September
Naked Man Moleskin
This past Saturday, I was driving from early Outpost over to Dark Tower for a double tap and I took West street. As I was driving down there, I thought, “this route would make a good run club.” And so an idea was born. Fast Forward to Monday, as I was performing my site Q duties for Iron Lion, I popped over the Q sheet. As fate would have it, Wednesday RC at Dark Tower was open. Time to test the route.
Later that day, Aladdin had DM’d me about RC and offered to Q to “give me a break” (I had Q’d 3 times the previous week). I thought, “here’s an easy out. I’m tired but then I thought, nope I want to do this.” I thanked him for the offer but continued with the plan.
I posted the pre-blast and the stage was set.
Radio Flyer DM’d me in the afternoon to get a preview of what I had planned. He was worried he would slow us down but he also said the only way to improve is to run with runners. I replied, “Exactly. You won’t bring the group down.” I was happy to see him come out and push his comfort zone.
I used to run a lot. In 2014, I finished my last marathon in 5 hours and 30 minutes. From 2014 to 2016 I ran some half marathons but nothing longer. After I injured myself in January 2016, I did nothing except physical therapy for 2 years. In October 2018 when I started F3, I realized just how far I had fallen. For the first 6 months of F3, I struggled a lot. My right shoulder was not strong. Bootcamps really kicked my butt. Then I started to run again. I started to lose weight. Combined with the bootcamps, I gained speed with my endurance running. This past March, I ran a virtual half marathon to see where I was at. I finished 13.1 miles in just over 2 hours. This was the fastest half marathon I had ever run by over 30 minutes!
So if you want to be better at running, run more.
We ended with an Our Father.
Peace,
Cousin Eddie
Great BB cousin Eddie. Missed you guys this morning, I woulda loved that run. Thanks for putting time into the BB!!
Painted the picture very well Cousin Eddie. Thanks for Leading us today 💪🏽