DBC, Saga, Big Mac, Capn’ Crunch, Archive, Panhandle, TBTF and Da Vinci (Q) showed up for morning ruck club. Gummi Bear, after a solemn HC, was no where to be found. He didn’t even ghost us. Do we matter to him? Does he matter to himself? We laid these questions aside and proceeded with the workout with bruised hearts – bruised by neglect. This callout was uncalled for – Gummi Bear withdrew his HC!
Warm up: Danger Zone! (Side straddle hops during Kenny Loggin’s Danger Zone with squats during the words Danger Zone and merkens during the guitar solo). Batwings.
During stretch the Desert Fathers returned (we’re half way through the Apophthegmata Patrum (using this version).
Isaiah 1: “Abbe Isaiah said, “nothing benefits a beginner as much as an insult. A beginner who is insulted like that and tolerates it is like a tree that is watered each day.:
Theodore of Pherme 13: “There is no virtue like not belittling.”
We contemplated the delicate art of landing jovial insults that don’t actually belittle (as attempted toward Gummi Bear above).
The Thang: Inspired by Banks we did went around the park as follows: RUCK for 3 lights, MOZY for 3 lights, SPRINT for 3 lights (repeat until Hoffa).
At the hill we created the Ladder of Divine Ascent icon: Groups of 2. 1 PAX did a 10 count descending Welsh dragon with ruck (see the PAX-consuming creature in the icon). The other PAX did 10 count descending Jacob’s Ladder (run up hill for 10 merkens, run up for 9, etc.). When the dragons are complete the partners switch.
QUOTE from Pilgrim’s Progress: “So I saw in my dream, that just as Christian came up to the cross, his burden loosed from off his shoulders, and fell from off his back, and began to tumble; and so continued to do till it came to the mouth of the sepulchre, where it fell in, and I saw it no more.”
So inspired we removed our rucks, and proceeded with 5 count descending Welsh Dragons and Jacob’s Ladder.
Merken Mountain up the hill (with 5 bear crawls between).
At the top, a reminder than even in the famous icon upon which this workout is based, Jesus Christ Conquers is written on the back, and the ladder itself symbolizes the 30 years of the life of Christ, meaning our effort is paradoxically not our own effort. “Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing and even on the Mountain, nothing.” -St. John of the Cross, Ascent of Mount Carmel
COT: Prayers for Archive’s parents hoping to see their grandchild, Noodle’s father’s funeral, Capn’ for harmony at work.
Chaser: Theodore of Enaton 3: “If God were to lay to account our lack of attention in prayers and our distractions in Psalm singing, we could not be saved.” The desert fathers struggled in prayer, and so will we.
F3 Wheaton 
