10,225 – Marathon not a sprint

Preamble:

After a Slack pre-blast saying the magic number today is 10,225, the PAX were curious what it meant.  Was it the number of burpees we would do?  The calories to be burned?  The number of grunts uttered?

14 guys rolled in before 5:30 then another at 5:30 and finally one more at 5;35 to round us out at 16 total PAX.  As long as I’m not alone out there I’m good but 16 was awesome.

After a questionably complete disclaimer, we were off.

Warm-O-Rama:

Mosey to the pavilion parking lot closest to Fouts for a quick warmup:

• Weed pickers x10
• Hillbillies x10
• SSH x10

The Thang:

Mosey toward Fouts for a morning call at the pull-up bars.  Two at a time on the bars for 5 pull-ups while the rest of the PAX did 5 merkins.  Shiner rolled in while we were doing this so his warm-up was pull-ups and merkins.

Mosey back to the pavilion where we partnered up for some Dora:

• Step-ups x100
• Squats x100
• Lunges x100

Runners did the short circle in the parking lot.

Next, we moseyed to the pavilion next to the water park.  Partnered up for some more Dora:

• Merkins x100
• Plank Jacks x100
• Shoulder Taps x100

Runners went to the rec center and back.

Moseyed to the bottom of the hill and partnered up.  Each duo grabbed a two-handed coupon.  From the cross-walk, P1 held the coupon straight out in front of them while P2 ran up the hill to a designated spot then flapjack.  Round two was Cusack/run and round three was skull crushers/run.

Returned the coupons and headed to the pitch.  We partnered up again (which was not necessary…more like confusing) as YHC instructed P1 to run to the red line and back while P2 ran to the red line and back.  Repeat to middle line, far red line, and far end line.  Once we are all back huffing and puffing on the far end line we had one last all-out sprint to the middle line then back to the flag for a round of J-Lo’s and Dying Cockroaches before time was called.

COT:

Prayers offered up for co-workers dealing with Covid, Dreamer’s imminent 2.0 arrival, and for all the unspoken prayers on our hearts.

Naked-Man Moleskin:

So 10,225 is the number of days I’ve been married.  We are celebrating our 28th wedding anniversary on Saturday.  This was not to draw attention to that fact (although I’m very proud to be married to Pamela for 28 years) but to remind us all that a fruitful life is a sort of marathon.  No one sprints through a marathon.  And no normal person gets through a marathon without some pain in the process.

Throughout those 10,225 days, I’ve experienced a lot of low points and a lot of high points but most days were somewhere in the middle.  Some might call them routine, boring even.  In my experience, most of life happens in those routine days and we can easily miss that if we don’t cherish what we have in the moment.

If you are wondering (or have wondered) “is this it? is this all there is to life?” please know this is a normal thought.  What’ll make you guys extraordinary (and you all are extraordinary in my book) is how you respond to these questions.  And if you’re not sure how to respond, DO NOT go it alone.  Bbring it to this group of men (or a group of men you trust in your life) and I can virtually guarantee you’ll get some useful, maybe life-changing wisdom.  Whatever you do, don’t give up, keep fighting.  It’s worth it for so many reasons.

–Speedo out