8 men got stronger this morning by testing themselves against The Trapp!
@Pancreas @Aladdin @Kwame @Sully @Three’s Company @Foosball @Operation started out with strides for warmup and then charged the hill (those who know the park will know which hill is THE hill). At the top we had some fun and did squats until the 6 came in. No rest for the weary.

Then we moseyd around the loop and on the way back I proposed hill repeats for some more fun… giving the option of the gradual but long gravel hill, or the short and aggressively steep grass hill. @Three’s Company showed his incredible grit by suggesting we string them both together for one super long hill! So we did! We got a good few laps in while we waited for the 6. They. We’re. Brutal.

At that point we had a surprise guest, @Heidi and Dark Knight rounded the corner and we were able to say hi in passing 

We didn’t want to wait around too long, there was still time for some more fun if we finished quickly, so we left @Heidi and ran back to the parking lot.

At this point we were all so thankful that we got there quickly enough to get some sprint intervals in before racing the last 1/4 mile or so to the parking lot. So much fun!

In all seriousness, it was a beautiful morning and it felt so good to get some hard training in. I know that for myself I love to run and it’s easy to get into a comfortable pace and coast. That’s good sometimes, heart rate training and all, but it’s also important to mix in some hard runs. I’m thankful for @Three’s Company pushing us to do both hills, for @Pancreas running so fast I wanted to keep up, for @Aladdin who continues to inspire me with his eagerness to get out there and accelerate, and for good mumble chatter with you all.

Announcements:
@Kwame has Q on Saturday.
@Pancreas is planning to pre-run the Crucible course on Sunday and is looking for some company so he doesn’t get lonely.

Prayers:
Camp director Fred is doing better with his case of COVID so prayers for continued improvement.
@Kwames wife’s grandfather is still not doing well and has tests to see why he can’t eat.
@Aladdin for his real estate tests and CT scan coming up.

Closing thoughts… men someone asked me a few months ago what has changed in my life for the better lately. I thought about it for a moment and my first answer is joining this group. I desperately needed the accountability, but what’s more is how much I’ve come to trust you all and think of you as true friends. Thank you for showing up.

SYITG
Update: forgot to tag @Operation! When I wrote it out earlier I kept thinking I missed someone… guess I should have trusted that