Octopus Catch & Release

Preamble:

A backblast, like many things, is better late than never. Will attempt to recollect the beatdown YHC led a week after the actual event.

YHC’s 2.0’s Aftershave and Fridge missed YHC’s Octopus Catch & Release pool routine from an earlier Bushwood beatdown and begged Dad for a repeat, given that some of their favorite pool toys played a central role. Which F3 dad could say no?

Warm-O-Rama:

Two pre-runners pushed themselves on the hills of the Medlock Bridge 5k.

The PAX gathered. The disclaimer was given.

Moseyed up the clubhouse steps, out to the parking lot on the other side, around on the street, and back to the first parking lot.

Warmed up with a diet of SSH, Weed Picker, Windmill, Michael Phelps and Overhead Claps.

The Thang:

AMRAP Landlubber Reps

On land, four PAX did an exercise AMRAP while the fifth ran the loop described in the warmup. Each time the runner returns, rotate who’s the runner and move to the next exercise AMRAP:

• Plank Destroyers
• Prison Cell Merkin Burpees
• Kraken Burpees
• Head-tap Merkins
• Pulse Squats
• Shuffle Squats
• Lunges
• Three more rounds, each with an AMRAP ab exercise YHC can’t remember. Maybe BBS, LBC, Freddie Mercury?

Octopus Catch & Release

The PAX moved to the pool. YHC threw five colorful, light-up plastic/rubber octopus toys in the deep end, and explained Octopus Catch & Release to the PAX:

• PAX start on the far side of the pool
• Swim across the pool, any stroke
• Get out of the near side of the pool and walk to the deep end
• Dive in, swim to the bottom, grab an octopus (insert off-color Donald Trump joke here), swim it back to the surface.
• Get out of the deep end and walk to the near side of the pool
• Swim with octopus in-hand back to the far side of the pool, any stroke
• Mary for the 6

That was “catch”. For “release”, repeat the above steps, and swim the octopus all the way back down to the bottom of the deep end. Don’t just toss it in from the side of the pool. These are delicate creatures and deserve some special treatment.

Pool-isthenics

PAX lined up with calves on the ground outside the pool, feet sticking upwards, and bodies laying back in pool. 20 pool-side BBS. Aftershave and Fridge, being height-challenged, could not achieve the standard movement. So they practiced falling backwards into the pool, getting out of the pool, and repeating.

Swim across to the other side.

With one arm, grab hold of the diving block. Perform 20 of what Angus named “Pool Burpees”: Feet to the wall, then feet kicked outwards towards the other side of the pool, then repeat 20x.

Octopus Tread-and-Dive

Move to the deep end, where our our octopi dwelled at the bottom.

• All PAX tread water with hands held above the water’s surface.
• One at a time, one PAX dives to the bottom, picks up an octopus, and brings it back to the surface.
• Once all PAX has an octopus in hand, one at a time, one PAX dives to the bottom, places their octopus back, and returns to the surface.

Rinse and repeat a few times until YHC called time. 8-year-old Fridge took about 3 tries each time it was his turn to swim all the way to the bottom, given his shorter arms and legs providing less propulsive force. Much rejoicing by all the other PAX when he returned successfully to the surface, not least of which from YHC, who was loath to return a drowned son to Mama Octopus this fateful morn.

COT:

Count-o-rama, Name-or-rama. We shared, we prayed, you know the drill.

Naked-Man Moleskin:

Bushwood is a summer seasonal craft AO that offers a multitude of opportunity to get creative. Adults and kids alike enjoyed having pool toys in the beatdown. Happy to oblige and to offer the PAX a good challenge to get stronger, whether on a pre-run, by land, or by sea. And as always, thankful to lead and be led by these HIMs in the gloom.