AO: The Grove
When: 04/04/2024
Number of Pax: 8
DR Names:
Number of FNGS: 0
FNG Names:
QIC: John Denver
Introduction
I’ve been looking forward to this Q for a while and was glad that the weather cleared up from the past few days of rain/snow/wind. Sparkler and I ran over to the AO at 4:45am, about 1/2 mile from our houses, and aligned on last minute details. Temp was in the upper 30’s, perfect running conditions to push the pace. Let’s F’ing GO!
Warm-O-Rama
Hot start was announced in Pre-Blast; minimal WoR
Stretch OYO
Tappy Taps x 10
Arm Circles x 10 (fwd/bck)
The Thang
5+ mile route departing from The Grove which forms four corners. There were also 5 PT stops along the way where we completed 10 burpees, 20 merkins, and 30 BBSUs.
Departing the AO to the first PT stop we completed an Indian Run with just over 1 mile in distance at 7:15 pace. After the first PT stop it was OYO and the PAX began to thin out with Foreclosure setting the pace.
6MoM
We arrived back at the AO with a few minutes to spare with some LBC’s and active stretching/balance exercises.
Circle of Trust
First, I love black diamonds because it is a great opportunity to see how you, and others, respond to challenging situations. It’s uncomfortable, but that’s where gains are made.
Second, people don’t care how you perform when things are going well, they judge you on how you perform when things are NOT going well…..ie my drive home from FL.
We were driving home from spring break and planned to stay in Louisville for the night. After about 10 hours on the road the check engine light came on as we were getting near our hotel. My M and I immediately started thinking about how we were going to get the family home as it was about 9pm on Saturday evening before Easter. We had support from other family members who were also driving, however they could not take everyone, and also what would we do with the car. We informed the other family members that we were not sure if we should continue. My F-I-L recommended seeing if there was an autozone or other quick stop where they could run diagnostics on the engine…there was. Went over there and diagnosed the problem, oil pump sensor, this was either something big or nothing. Spoke to my M again and she reminded me that my sisters boyfriend is a mechanic, great, called him and he did not seem concerned and recommended continuing on. As men and leaders it is very humbling to accept car advice from your F-I-L and wife, but it was time to swallow my pride and focus on what I could control. Ultimately we proceeded and the light went off the next day, WTF, but that night was fairly stressful. We say it all the time, but focus on what you can control and not the “potential” outcomes when in a bad situation. I had all the tools and information around me, I just needed to slow down and use it. Lesson learned. Kids remained blissfully unaware of any of this btw and slept great that night….my M and I, not so much.
Naked Man Moleskin
This is my third year Q’ing this beat down so there was a heavy emphasis on preparation and safety in the pre-blast so that the PAX could adequately prepare. It is not every day that we leave the AO, let alone running on open roads while trying to navigate PT at various waypoints. It is also usual and customary for the PAX to get spread out along the route, so last minute instructions prior to WoR were also provided.
Couldn’t be more proud of this group for pushing the pace and finishing the route by 0600. Everyone was smoked.