The Starting Line & The Finish Line

Preamble:

FNG Patrick Petty & his M were in town from Tennessee visiting the Janeway Fam.  Among other endeavors, Pat is a car racing enthusiast, having supported his 2.0 in racing and himself having driven one of Richard Petty’s cars on Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Fast approaching age 75 (triple respect), this U.S. Army veteran – who has accompanied other veterans to Washington D.C. through “Honor Flights” so other veterans may be honored & celebrated for their service and sacrifice for those living in the USA – still takes long moseys daily on hilly terrain, busting out 200 mercans along the way (4 sets of 50).  This amazing gent seemed like a perfect candidate to be blessed by and bless the HIM of F3 Starting Line… so YHC designed a BD with these themes in mind.

T-Claps to Sirmixalot for planting the Flag at the AO prior to our arrival despite not being able to stay for the BD due to family health concerns; yet another selfless and sacrificial act by our Site Q.  Once the PPRs returned, YHC welcomed all the PAX to F3 Starting Line, Dawsonville GA, the proverbial birthplace of NASCAR, and shared that we would be taking a lap around the GA Racing Hall of Fame together with some pit stops – I mean pain stations – along the way.  YHC reiterated throughout the BD we should push overselves but not hurt ourselves, modify as necessary, and that YHC was looking for quality of form over quantity of reps.

Warm-O-Rama:

We conducted to Black Snake Indian Run from the Pavilion to the winner’s circle in front of the Racing HoF.  There we circled for warm-up, roughly 10 reps each:

• Abe Vigodas
• Randies (named after the little brother in A Christmas Story)
• Hillbillies
• Tennessee Rocking Chairs
• Willie Mays Hayes

From there were took a quick mosey to the “filling station” on the side of the Racing HoF where a race car from yesteryear is perpetually parked.  YHC pointed out that “this is a gas station, which puts gas in the race car, which emits carbon into the atmosphere and which causes…”.  At this point, Seaman’s FS (for good reason) was especially felt, as the entire line had been a build up for Seaman to belt out “Global Warming!”  Since he was not there, I had to complete the punch line.

The Thang:

Nevertheless, the PAX circled up for a few rounds of Global Warming (Al Gore position, shuffling clockwise, until the Q calls out an exerise… after which completed, Al Gore position shuffling resumes clockwise (because we are running out of time to fix global warming) until the next exercise is called, and so forth.  Our Global Warming exercises were nearly all Abs and we did each until the groans indicated we were feeling the burn:

• Abs Escalator (1 BBSU:4 Reverse Crunches) – up to 4:16
• Rosalita Wips (4 ct Rosalitas including lowering legs to 6″ above ground & back up)
• Zebra Kicks (dog position, draw knee to chest, kick out and high; rinse & repeat 10x each leg)
• Gas Pumps (LBC position, slowly extend legs, keeping 6″ above ground; repeato)
• Monkey Humpers

We then moseyed to the back side of the Racing HoF for Arms… with the primary exercise being Alligator Mercans along the entire length of the exterior wall.

We executed 10 JLos then commenced our Alligator Mercan march, stopping 1/3 the way along the wall for some Mary, which included American Hammers, Controlled Mercans and one other exercise YHC can’t remember since it wasn’t part of the original game plan.  [At this point, Michael Phelps was also peppered throughout the remainder of the BD whenever YHC needed a moment to reposition the music or the PAX needed a quick breather.]

After reaching the 2/3 mark with our Alligator Mercans, Elvis Presley’s “Hound Dog” came on and we completed AMRAP Fire Hydrants in recognition of today being International Dog Day.

We moseyed to near the end of the rear wall where YHC very incorrectly demonstrated Wolverines to the PAX (YHC wasn’t even certain why Wolverines were included in the BD, as not my usual fare, but their inclusion became very critical during the naming of our FNG).  Script Kiddie demonstrated correct Wolverine form, some general confusing ensued, but the PAX did an admirable job of interpreting and applying our instruction and punching out a number of some form of Wolverines.

Rounding the corner of the Racing HoF, we then focused on legs.  Suarez assisted by expertly calling 1:4 Lt. Dan Taylors to 4:16, which brought us to the HoF’s exterior zigzag stairs.  There we completed two Donatellos (running up and down the stairs single file), followed by Marios up the stairs until all were on board, at which point in time we did Calf Raises until we felt the burn.  Back off the stairs, Suarez called Lt. Dans from 5:20 to 7:28, at which point our thighs began to melt.  So we did Bernie Sanders back down the side of the Racing HoF, spun out 180 degrees and did a slow mosey back to the Pavilion for some Cool Down consisting of:

• Good Mornings
• Torso Twists
• Ham Hangers
• Sun Gods
• Deep Breathing

We ended our time with the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by the count off, nameorama, naming of our FNG, Acceleration Point and Ball of Man (elaborated upon below).

COT:

Our FNG shared a number of things about his life and no names were jumping off the page until he mentioned that he didn’t particularly care for doing Wolverines since he is an Ohio State fan (arch nemesis of the ichigan Wolverines).  At that point, Aunt May (I believe) wondered aloud who was the arch nemesis of Wolverine from the Marvel Universe, and the PAX quickly stated it was Sabretooth, and the name Sabretooth was donned upon our FNG.

YHC shared this Acceleration Point (admittedly using a few more words than below):

Each of us has been called to run a race unique to our lives.  Just like your race has a Starting Line, your race has a Finish Line.  Run your race in such a way as to WIN.  How?

First, guided by God, set your goals.  I can think of no finer example of this than Script Kiddie, who is a goal setting machine; he sets fitness goals for our entire region, goals for his family, goals for himself, every aspect of life.

Second, surround yourself with others who are running or who have run a similar race and are finishing well in order to gain their wisdom and support.  I can think of no better example than this than Sabretooth, who through the barber’s chair has made connections across an entire community through which he is able to serve and influence others into becoming better men.

Third, get rid of anything and everything which hinders your ability to run your race well.  I can think of no better example than Jolt, who in the past few months has taken radical steps to eliminate things from his life which were holding him back from running his race well.

Take the steps required to clarify your goals, eliminate obstacles to fulfilling your calling, and build a solid network who supports you in finishing well.

We finished with prayers of healing for the families of Sirmixalot, Suarez & Script Kiddie… as well as comfort and guidance for all those impacted by significant and unexpected downsizing at Toadstool’s employer.  After the photo, all PAX present signed their F3 names on a plaque presented to Sabretooth; the plaque was the F3 Starting Line logo along with a verse which captured in one sentence the Acceleration Point of the day (Heb. 12:1).

Afterwards, good convo over coffeeteria was enjoyed, followed by a 2nd F breakfast at Big D’s with Jolt, Suarez, Sabretooth & the Janeway Fam.

The soundtrack for today’s BD consisted of many of Sabretooth’s favorite tunes over the years, including many car-themed and patriotic songs (T-claps to Sabretooth’s M for surrepticiously providing insight prior to Sabretooth’s posting at Starting Line):

• Life is a Highway (Rascal Flatts)
• Take it on the Run (REO Speedwagon)
• 409 (Beach Boys)
• Fun, Fun, Fun (Beach Boys)
• At the Hop (Danny & The Juniors)
• Da Doo Ron Ron (The Carpenters remake from The Crystals)
• Dead Man’s Curve (The Carpenters remake from Jan & Dean)
• On the Road Again (Willie Nelson)
• Mama Told Me Not to Come (Three Dog Night)
• Satisfaction (The Rolling Stones)
• Burnin’ Love (Elvis Presley)
• Hound Dog (Elvis Presley)
• Heartache Tonight (The Eagles)
• Take It Easy (The Eagles)
• We Didn’t Start the Fire (Billy Joel)
• All I Wanted was a Car (Brad Paisley)
• Where the Stars & the Stripes & the Eagles Fly (Aaron Tippin)
• God Bless the USA (Lee Greenwood, the US Air Force Band, Singing Sergeants & Home Free)

Naked-Man Moleskin:

Sometimes those who have honored others need to be themselves honored; today was one of those days.  Sabretooth’s parting words to YHC in the moments before he departed for Tennessee (shortly after the BD) included: “At the end of your ‘speech’ at F3, I wanted to tell the men present that the most important thing in life is finishing well and glorifying God; nothing else really matters, and you never know when your finish line will arrive.”

We have been told.