F3 Greenwood

Every month as Fury’s Revenge approaches there seems to be a conversation about why we do this workout every month. Surely it needs to be changed, modified, tweaked to provide more of a measurable challenge. And every month when it is over we are reminded just how evil revenge can be.

YHC and Flossy spent at least 10 minutes trying to talk each other out of completing Fury’s Revenge on this particular Tuesday, Flossy because he is doing the Kiawah full and YHC because, well, because YH is just dang lazy and didn’t feel like doing it. Even more reason to roll the sleeves up and get it done.

As YHC and Flossy made our way to the starting point, in came Barcode on two shoes looking for some fun on a Tuesday morning. Three present. Let’s roll.

TheThang

  • Run down Fury Road to Chick-fil-A and do 30 box jumps
  • Run to bottom of Fury Road for 30 JungleBoi Squats
  • Run to last entrance of Merrywood for 30 Merkins
  • Run to crest of hill in the curve for 30 LBCs
  • Run to pull-up bars and dip station for 30 pull-ups and 30 dips
  • Head back down Fury Road for more fun, reducing reps by 5 each lap

Flossy and Barcode each completed three laps. YHC was the six getting in the box jumps and squats on lap three.

Has anyone ever completed four full laps? #ThingsThatMakeYouGoHmmm

Despite only having three pax present, we still struggled with count-o-rama and name-o-rama after a soul-crushing run at the Revenge. Barcode may still believe he is going to #SpillMerlot as YHC types away at the BB.

One interesting note. As YHC would pass a particular place along Fury Road, I was POSITIVE I could smell the semi-aromatic fragrance of someone smoking some low-grade pot. #BrownFrown YHC wrote it off as some weird brain association between feeling like I would puke at any moment and my college days.

But, alas, as YHC was ascending the hill for the penultimate time, I heard the unmistakable sound of a cough as the result of a big hit and then a dog barking in the same exact spot as the fragrance. Apparently, the new dog park is a great place to get your mind right at 0545.

Because YHC was fully into fatigue brain at this point, I began pondering how so many things from days gone by seem like they would be great again, especially as they get romanticized in our heads and we only remember the good things. This is an evil trap that typically forces bad decisions if we don’t play the tape all the way through.

Having battled a severe drug addiction for over a decade, smoking a little pot can seem pretty harmless. I often joke that when SC legalizes pot that I will be one of the first folks at the store. It draws a good laugh (especially from UncleJesse who really knew me back in those drug-hazed days), but I silently recall all the times I would lie, cheat and steal just to get another 20. If you don’t know what a 20 is, stop and ask someone walking along the road while you are on your way to a workout. They are looking for it, too, and you might be able to help each other find it. You’ll unwittingly provide the cash and the other fella will discover that one more 20.

What I have realized in the past 16 years of being clean is that this applies to EVERYTHING in life. We remember how fun it was before we have kids and we could do whatever, whenever at the drop of the hat. We remember how good we had it back then or we long for a change in our circumstances because we are feeling empty.

In F3, we call this #SadClownSyndrome. This morning was a very poignant reminder that it is never really gone, just like addiction. We can only fight it off by taking the #DailyRedPill. There is no top of the mountain, no place for us to rest. The #Jester would have us believe that we can rest up ahead and, when we get there, give us a mighty comfy seat.

But we must press on, forgetting all things behind, including the success we had yesterday.

We must press on because, as far as we have come, there is much more work to do. We only have today and we must embrace it and live it.

We must press on because we have others – Ms, 2.0s, brothers, our very community – who desperately need us to operate at our very highest levels, casting ourselves aside to selflessly and tirelessly serve others.

We press on because we now understand #TheSolution means the joy is in the journey.

In all honesty, I was pretty pissed last night when I got the text from Alpo asking me to handle Fury’s Revenge this morning. My back was hurting a little bit and I thought I might venture over to Shipyard and check out Bean’s Q. Turns out, I didn’t get what I wanted, but I got exactly what I needed.

Aye.