Dora 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3

Preamble:

It was odd driving up to Suwanee Town Center Park this morning. The park looked gloomier than usual. There were far fewer cars in the parking spaces, which was odd. Then it hit me. The stage was dark and no one was there. Not the 2-3 guys plus 6-12 ladies. Not the lady in the red puffer jacket. Not anyone holding a clipboard or anyone working out. Ahh, it’s Tuesday!

As YHC got out of the car to plant the shovel flag, I was approached by a familiar face, but not from F3. Sugar and I used to go to church together, until we moved churches over a year ago. I knew he was a PAX as we had exchanged mumble chatter on the Slack. What was strange was that YHC had forgotten his hospital name! F3 tends to do that to you over time.

YouTube graced us with his presence a few moments after planting the flag and YHC decided to go see if there was a light switch for the stage. None could be found, but I did find a huge power switch with a pad lock on it. Oh well, 6MOM will be done in the gloom.

Walking back to the flag, Magnolia could be seen and would complete our group for the morning. Just 4 of us. Making the hard decision to get up and get after it.

Warm-O-Rama:

We took a longer mosey to the usual warm up area behind the stage as Sugar and YHC exchanged some mumble chatter about family. Haven’t seen him since we left Cross Pointe. It was his 2.0’s 16th birthday who I knew as Lizzy and found out she changed her name to Elise.

Circling up, we started with some SSH and Weed Pickers.

We then went into a round of WhackyJacks which YHC was introduced to at the F3Gwinnett Convergence on Saturday. If you are unfamiliar, here it is for your viewing pleasure:

We finished with some Moroccan Night Clubs and moseyed down to the pond for The Thang.

The Thang:

Once safely down the gloomy steps to the Abyss (new name for the pond,) YHC asked if anyone had listened to the F3 COT Podcast with Hello Kitty and Repeato this passed week. The response was a unanimous “NO” which was a bit of a disappointment and encouragement. Disappointment, because I was hoping the PAX were locked into the podcast, but encouraging because the amount of acceleration that is occurring in these HIM is evident and can only be magnified when they start consuming more content put out by F3Studios.

YHC informed the PAX we would be doing a new beatdown developed by F3 COT Podcast Host Hello Kitty called Dora 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3 which consisted of the following:

Dora-style beatdown: Partner up. Partner 1 moseys around the Abyss loop while Partner 2 performs the exercise. When Partner 1 returns, they switch places.

• 100 Merkins
• 100 Coupon Curls
• 200 Coupon Squats
• 200 Tricep Presses
• 300 LBCs
• 300 Coupon Bent-over Rows

YHC partnered with Sugar and I took to the mosey first. YouTube and Magnolia partnered up.

There are moments in my experience as a Q where I have windows of clarity into truth. Once we all had our instructions and our roles. No one moved. It became clear to me that we all have an inner expectation for someone to take the role of Q and tell us to start, to go, to keep going, to finish. As Q, it is my responsibility to tell the PAX to get started and encourage them through the pain. So I did just that. “Let’s go!”

Taking off with Magnolia, we got to a bit of mumble chatter about the convergence. Mainly describing how our glutes were yelling at us. I also took a moment to let Magnolia know that I noticed the strong effort he put in at the Convergence. He argued it was all to work off his Spring Break, but I know deep down, he is doing it for his fellow PAX.

Getting back to Sugar, YHC was surprised to get the Merkins count: 60. Boom! Only 40 left, which I did and started Coupon Curls.

It was somewhere around then when all mumble chatter ceased. It was a quiet beatdown until the end except for the occasional “Good Work” encouragement given.

Sugar’s coupon was much larger than YHC’s. I couldn’t let that be. So YHC decided to try several exercises with the larger coupon, but found myself having to switch back to the smaller one.

Finishing with 11 minutes to spare, we moseyed back to the stage (3 minutes) for 8 minutes of Mary called by all 4 PAX, though Sugar’s Protractor was by far the worst.

COT:

Prayers for Sugar’s 2.0 turning 16 today, YouTube’s dad traveling from LA, Magnolia gearing up for Pine Cove Family Camp, and YHC’s and all other students getting prepared for end of year exams.

Alpha Convergence is May 8.

Naked-Man Moleskin:

Being the Q is more than leading a beatdown. It is leading men to advantage, more than they could on their own. I feel a responsibility to these men to help lead them while I am building the next 43 feet of road ahead. Keep accelerating with your M. If that relationship falls apart, all others collapse on top.