Uprising — 7.13.2021

PAX: @ToeJam@Peewee@Kwame@Lone Star@Paperboy@Mulligan@Pancreas@Tijuana@Three’s Company@Chowdah@Heidi@Jalisco@2Buck@Dizzy Gillespie@Soul Glo@Joey Freshwater@Fertile Myrtle@Dead Leg@Timeshare@Billy Madison, @Opie, @Oscar Meyer, and @MapQuest (YHC)23 courageous HIM showed up for 100% humid conditions contributing to what was a true balmy nasty sweaty summer morning.  But as we say, rain or shine…and in this case, rain, these 23 PAX are better because they showed up. After VQ introduced himself to his fellow HIM, we all moseyed together to the Track of Champions.
Warm-a-rama
  • STH
  • Good mornings
  • Walk out to a high plank and stretch to the right and left
  • 10 merkins
  • Willie Mays Hayes
Off to the pavement we go…
  • Today marks the halfway point of our speed work training in July
  • The technique used today to get faster and stronger is the same that @2Buck introduced us to, which is fartlek, a Swedish term for “speed training”.  This technique incorporates intermittent bursts of intense speed.
  • To attack our mission, VQ MapQuest divided the track into 4 equal quadrants using chalk lines to define the beginning and end of each section.
  • The PAX were instructed to run the first lap in a normal run pace.
  • For the remaining laps, the PAX were instructed to run at the same normal pace, but to then select 1 of the 4 quadrants where they’d always burst into 85-90% max speed, before coming back to their steady run pace…only to keep repeating this burst every time they hit that particular quadrant.
  • Today’s steady run with frequent short bursts of sprints were quite a challenge, but several cheesy (yet effective) encouraging notes chalked on the path kept us going.  The inspiration for the notes came from VQ MapQuest 2.0’s.  They even donated their sidewalk.
  • When each PAX completed their own 5k run, they were instructed to walk and recover going in the opposite direction of the runners, purely to encourage and motivate the remaining runners to keep going.
  • Time was called at 6:15am and many of the PAX achieved some new PR’s and notable gains.  Well done to all!
Announcements
  • Several csaup events have been organized.  Look to slack for details.
  • With the recent growth of F3SH also comes new VQ opportunities.  Many have stepped into the VQ and subsequent Q role.  Encouragement all around to keep this going.  If you haven’t VQ’d and you are ready, sign up on the Q calendar and we’ll gladly take your beating.
  • @Kwame announced the new AO Prime Time (evening run), which launches next Wednesday night, July 21st from 7-7:45pm at Longview.  Let’s show up in stupid ridiculous and big numbers the Meal Train for @Baby Gap is still live.  Some additional sign ups are needed.  Meal or gift cards are great.
  • Reminder to reach out to any FNG’s who have recently showed up at any of the AO’s, and encourage them to keep coming back.
Prayer Requests
  • @Offsides family as they walk through this season of grief over the sudden loss of his M’s father.  We’ll post more details as we learn more.  But please keep them in your prayers
  • @Ginsu‘s M’s Mom recovering from surgery and found out she has cancer. Prayers for complete healing.
  • @Chowdah‘s M as she battles the still new diagnosis with autoimmune disorders.  Prayers for continued strength in their marriage, for Chowdah’s leadership over his family, and ultimately for complete healing of his M.
  • @Yaris and his M, for the Lord to touch and heal this situation in their marriage.
  • @Baby Gap, for continued strength while on duty and for his M and 2.0’s as they miss his presence while away.
Moleskin
YHC (MapQuest) shared a little bit about his journey the last couple of years and how F3 has truly brought significant answers to prayer. When I turned 40 back in December, I specifically prayed for new on ramps to improve my health, ways to engage in deeper relationships with other godly men, and for additional new ways to strengthen my relationship with God.  Hello all 3 F’s!   The amazing men of F3 came right when I needed it most.  God heard my prayers!  And there’s more to that story…Throughout my 20s and 30s, I would consider myself pretty active and physically fit.  I worked out at the downtown Nashville YMCA 4 to 5 days a week, sometimes even twice a day with cardio in the morning and strength training at lunch.  But in January 2019, all of that came to a crashing stop while doing some honey-do’s around the house.  While changing lightbulbs in the foyer of my home, I fell 20 feet from a ladder and got tangled up in the rungs.  I instantly knew that I broke both legs.  Which is exactly what happened.  6 week in a wheel chair and a year to fully recover, I was just starting to get active again…when Covid hit. New work stress and a complete change of my daily structure sidelined me for an additional year. Then on May 4, 2021, I accepted an invitation from @Pancreas and I showed up to this crazy thing called Uprising.  I was out of shape and carried a lot of that shame.  But then I met Big Bertha, I saw a road pig, and for that reason, I was hooked!   The truth is, what sold me wasn’t the workout or that freaking hill, it was instead the overwhelming amount of encouragement and support that each of the PAX were throwing to one another, and to me.  That kind of true genuine encouragement hit me in the gut. I’m big on encouragement.  I thrive on it, and I love to give it.   I think a lot people do.  In fact, 1 Thessalonians 5:11 is one of my favorite verses, which says, “Encourage one another and build each other up, just as you are doing.”   When Paul wrote this statement to the early church, he wrote it in Hebrew.   Now why is that significant?   Well, the word “encouragement” in Hebrew is literally translated “to put courage in someone”.  Ponder on that for a hot minute. We all have a supernatural superpower.  Yes, even you!  No, we can’t fly, we can’t teleport, nor can we time travel.  But we all have the superpower of literally being able to put courage in someone every time we simply encourage them.   Don’t believe me?  Well think about how you feel when you are running that track and want to give up?  Or when you are doing Bear-crawls, Merkins, Burpees, or whatever, and want to cave.  But then comes along a HIM, right by your side, and out of no where he tells you that “you got this,” “you have what it takes” or “you are almost there”.  That little bit of encouragement sends courage through your spine and you end up pushing yourself further, faster, and stronger than you thought you could. Now apply this to any life situation.  Encouraging your M, your 2.0’s, your colleagues, neighbors, extended family, church small group, or anyone in your sphere of influence.  Think of how your words can be used to put courage in them. My encouragement for all HIM today, is to keep encouraging those that you are with and to try to do it often.  This is a powerful tool in your satchel of life that can literally transform the world around you.  Yes, go and put courage in someone today.  You just might change their entire trajectory and path they are on.  Don’t put it past God to use you in this mighty way. MapQuest out

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.