1st Annual Kraken Back Blast 12.7.19

NOTE:  This will be the back blast for the boot campers only. I will leave it up to Wilson, Duck and Nipple to decide who has to write their back blast. I am looking forward to it, so get on it, one of you.

Did you die?  No.  Of course it was 13 miles, not 11, but I knew everyone could do it.  How many would have pulled a Dipper and backed out if I had said 13?  Just remember that next year tell anyone who is thinking about joining us that it is 11 miles.

Before recapping the event, I would like to provide a little history about how The Kraken got started. Gilligan and MyT actually ordered me to begin planning it in the fall of 2016 for the spring of 2017. Gill’s instructions were clear, that it must start at the original AO, Rotary, and that it must finish at Ft. Macon. Then one morning at the Hole-In-None my orders changed. OBT had called MyT. Growruck 02 was coming to Ft. Macon in March 2017 and I was going to have to organize it. The Kraken would have to wait.

Then 2018 rolled around and Duck Butter ordered me to prioritize and focus on the Palmetto and BRR, and move The Kraken from the spring to the late fall.  The plan was for me to start working on it right after we got back from Asheville. Then there was Florence. She put an end to The Kraken 2018.

With apologies to Gilligan, we abandoned his idea of Rotary to Ft. Macon. I realized that the original plan would have involved contacting government officials, permits and paying for traffic control. That is not the F3 Carterico way, so I re-designed the workout in order to avoid all government interference. So we gathered at the Dunes Club yesterday, and after a short introduction, and no disclaimer (they don’t really help anyway), we and the ruckers moseyed to the grass in front of the DC for . . .

WARMARAMA – Q: Boss Tweed

SSHs, CPs, Burpees (someone made Boss mad), DDs, Cobras and probably a couple of other exercises I cannot recall. Navy then took charge of the pax and led us on a fellowship mosey to the Atlantic Beach Circle for . . .

AO 1 – Q: Navy

It was the most well-planned AO of the day, of course. There were signs and everything we did involved the number 8 for the 8 tentacles of the Kraken.  Around the Tackle Box parking lot we crab walked (some did anyway) and made 8 stops at 8 trash cans for 8 exercise of 8 reps each.  I can’t remember all the exercises, so I am not going to try to list them here. Navy, if you have the list, send it and I will edit.  From there Shroom took the lead on a mosey to his skate park for . . .

AO 2 – Q: Shroom

Shroom stood on one of his two skate park tits (why were they different sizes?) and told a story about some sort of sea creature. I recall some burpees, I think, and then we were ordered to find a section of vertical or nearly vertical wall for some balls to those walls. There were some other exercises, maybe including merkins, and then a people’s chair before time was called. It was then Pasqually’s turn to lead us on a 2.1 mile mosey west down the sidewalk and turning back east on Ocean Ridge to the AB Circle for . . .

AO 3 – Q:  Pasqually

Awaiting us in the dirt parking lot across the street from the Tackle Box were a row of cinder blocks. I think I can remember all of this one. There was a water break, and then we did curls, overhead presses, curls, arm extensions and curls.  Griswold then took over and led us east towards the Oceanana for . . .

AO 4 – Q:  Griswold

The plan called for staying on pavement and sidewalks, but someone up ahead apparently talked Griswold into hanging a right through a beach access and onto the beach. We moseyed to the pier and circled up in the sand for a ladder of LBCs IC & hand-release merkins IC from 1 to 8 each. Winnie-the-Pooh then took charge of the pax for a 1.7 mile run to the septic field in front of Southwinds for . . .

AO 5 – Q:  Winnie-the-Pooh

I was pretty tired at this point, so the only thing I can remember is getting water, circling up and maybe some downward dog stretching. But there were other exercises I am sure. From there Jang led the way into the park on the new section of trail and then over to the sound side trail to the Ft. Macon parking lot for . . .

AO 6 – Q:  Jang-A-Lang

Well, it was supposed to be in the parking lot, but Jang called the second Omaha of the day and ordered us into the middle of the fort itself. There we did eight minutes of stretches before time was called and YHC led us to the starting line a short ways down the beach side trail for . . .

THE RACE – 3.3 MILES (yes, it was more than a 5K)

The course was the beach side trail to the new trail to the sidewalk in front of Tar Landing to the Dunes Club. Per reports, as myself, Plunger, Jang and Wolverine were at least a minute or so behind the leaders and did not see them finish, the top three were:

1. Misty
2. Steamer (pending drug test results)
3. Deebo

MARY – Q: Hillary

In a brilliant move, Hillary ordered everyone to eat a breakfast sandwich and drink a beverage. It was the best Mary ever.

MOLESKIN

I hope the consensus is that we keep doing this event every year in December. I really enjoyed it, despite the pain. If so, let me know your thoughts on opening it up to the rest of F3 nation, and also whether everyone would like t-shirts again, or if patches would be better.  If you participated and want a second Kraken t-shirt we have a few left.  They will be at the Table Setter tomorrow.

Again, a big thanks to Qs and the volunteers (Costanza, Lemongello, Puddles’ M, Blart’s M, Flutter’s M, MyTSharp, Shaft and Shaft’s M). As always, it was an honor to lead.

Also, we raised $501.00 for the WCHS food bank. Thank you all.