Kettle Bell Race

It had been a long time since the PAX had engaged in an F3 Carterico competition and knowing that I would be on the Q at the Dreadnought this week, I felt like this would be the perfect venue for some red-blooded American sport. All that we needed were type A personalities, guys who like to move quickly, plenty of ground to cover, and of course, kettle bells.
The last time we used kettle bells in a competition was at a HIN, at the golf course, with My-T-Sharp and Dipstick (prior to his self-styled name change to the Dipper) as co-Q’s.
This would be the perfect opportunity, so I dreamed up a little contest, tracked down a couple of bells and the 14 of us who were there met the challenge.
At 5:24 am on 2/13/18, some quick instructions on how the game would work were given, the requisite disclaimers were provided, and we were off to…

Warmarama
SSH IC X 20
Sun Gods IC x 10
Sun Gods in Reverse IC x 10
Cotton Pickers IC x 15
Windmills IC x 10
Standing Forward Bend – 10 count
Right and Left Quad Stretch – 10 count

The Thang
As we were concluding our warmarama, the PAX was getting antsy. We had divided into two teams, with Misty leading team 1 and Frosty leading team 2. Last instructions were given and we were off.

From the parking lot in front of West, we ran to the track at a 6:00 minute mile pace (no joke, we were flying). Once we hit the track, everyone slowed down as we realized we had a long way to go and a kettle bell to carry.
Race from Warm Up AROUND THE SCHOOL to Lightpole at Curve on Bridges Street Trail. PICKUP BELL
Challenge – Merkins until everyone completes 5 Curls/arm with the bell
Race from Lightpole at Curve to Water Fountain (park road) — this was our longest leg at 0.61 of a mile and each team passed the bell around multiple times. We were all glad to get to the challenge.
Challenge – 50 LBC’s SINGLE COUNT OYO
Race from Water Fountain (park road) to Park — This was our shortest leg, so the pace was pretty fast.
Challenge – 20 STEP UPS IC (EACH TEAM RESPONSIBLE FOR CALLING OWN CADENCE)
Race from Park to Water Fountain — again, shortest leg, fast pace.
Challenge– 10 BURPEES (you knew there would be some burpees)
Race from Water Fountain to Lightpole at Curve — this is where it got really difficult. We were back to the 0.61 distance and everyone was getting tired. It wasn’t the distance. It wasn’t the challenges. It wasn’t even the bell. Okay. It was a little bit about the bell. But, what really was getting to everyone was the pace.
Challenge – 20 DOUBLE WIDE MERKINS SC OYO
Race from Lightpole at Curve to Shovel Flag — at this point, the group was together thinking that we were close to being finished. It was a bit of a tease, because we were heading to the track for the remaining portion of the competition.
Challenge – LOW SLOW FLUTTER IN CADENCE OYO
Race from Shovel Flag one lap around track back to home bleachers
Challenge – 25 AIR SQUATS SC OYO
Race One lap around track back to home bleachers– LEAVE KETTLE BELL — Finally, we were able to put the kettle bell down for a few minutes.
Challenge – BEAR CRAWL from gate to gate on home side — there was a modification opportunity here, as well, with Lt. Dan’s substituting for the bear crawl for a portion of the distance.
Race the rest of the way around track back to home bleachers (running)
Challenge – 20 MERKINS SC OYO
1st last man across the line, wins.
At this point, everyone was tired, but we had 10 minutes left, so YHC called for a mosey.
We ran to the pull up bars where, Team 2 did 10 pull ups while Team 1 did dips on the benches. The groups switched exercises and ran a palate cleansing lap around the building. We did this three times and began moseying back to the flag. Once the flag was in sight, a jailbreak was called, and everyone sprinted back for the…

Announcements/ Moleskin/ COT
There were no major announcements, but there were a number of prayer concerns. There seem to be more prayer concerns than usual, lately. I think this is indicative of how comfortable our PAX is becoming with each other. We know that the men of F3 Carterico are actively listening and willing to help. Even more, we are all becoming more comfortable taking things to God in prayer.
Oh, who won the race? Technically, Team 2 won. Team 1 led most of the way, but in the end Team 1 was down to 6 team members from the original 7, so the victory went to Team 2. In reality, everybody won. Misty and Frosty are tremendous athletes and competitors. That is why I picked them to lead. We would not have gone as fast if it weren’t for Misty and we would not have been as strong were it not for Frosty. Everyone got better on this day. There were two teams competing, but we are all clearly one unit. When we get tired, there is always someone there to pick us up. When we are slow, there is always someone there to run with us. And when we are weak, there is always someone who is strong.
We ran 4.10 total miles. I think our pace during the competition portion (about 3.5 miles) was a little over 8 minutes per mile (including the challenges).
Thanks for the opportunity to lead.