Backblasts

Date: 2026-08-14
AO: Ground Zero
Q: LeMond ,
PAX: Mr. Bean, Stock boy, Samsonite, Brainfog, LeMond, Crack, Da Vinci, Beaker, Shamwow, Panhandle, Cheap Shot, Endo FNGs: None
COUNT: 12
Conditions: humid, lots of mosquitoes.

We headed north on the Prairie Path and then headed back to ao_ground_zero

– Moleskin: forgiveness
– Not forgiving someone is like consuming poison and expecting the other person to die. – Who are the ones who have hurt you in your life?
– Ask God to forgive them and help you forgive them.

Tags: Ground Zero, Mr. Bean, Stock boy, Samsonite, Brainfog, LeMond, Crack, Da Vinci, Beaker, Shamwow, Panhandle, Cheap Shot, Endo

Date: 2026-08-14
AO: Flat Earth
Q: Tortuga ,
PAX: Jolly, Tortuga, Y2K, Shiplap, Cheese, DQ, Spit Valve, MaiTai, BigBlue, Panda Express, Knuckleball, Bloomer, Boss Baby FNGs: 1 Boss Baby
COUNT: 13
Conditions: amazing

WOR:yes

The Thang: ultimate

Moleskine: Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Ask, listen, remember.

Tags: Flat Earth, Jolly, Tortuga, Y2K, Shiplap, Cheese, DQ, Spit Valve, MaiTai, BigBlue, Panda Express, Knuckleball, Bloomer, Boss Baby

Date: 2026-08-13
AO: Mastodon
Q: Dumpster ,
PAX: Mr Roboto, Big Mac, Audible, Tenderfoot, Dumpster, Stock boy FNGs: None
COUNT: 6
Conditions: Humid- but no rain

WOR:
Arm circles
Michael Phelps
Mountain climbers
Stretch – on your own

The Thang:

-Stay at start
Hungry Like A Wolf
Lunge to bench, do 20 LBCs, lunge back do 20 squats

-Go to PacMan
Hungry Like a Wolf – remix by Reel Big Fish (Ska Cover)
Side shuffle around – do 20 SSH, repeat

-Go to grass near PoopHouse
Mini Dora – teams of 2 (run across bridge & back)
100 Merkins
200 BBSUs
300 Squats

-Move to Hamptons
Do exercise stations with objects in a circle with Tabata timer & music

Moleskine:
Plan ahead, even when you don’t think you have to. Story about almost running out of gas yesterday. I was at our rental property in Miller Beach, IN assessing & fixing things. So many gas stations were closed in Northwest Indiana area (because gas stations and so many other businesses without power). Finally drove 20 mins to Costco in Merrillville on “empty” to get gas there. Should have filled up and gotten gas in Illinois before I left. Plan ahead, even when you don’t think you have to.

Tags: Mastodon, Mr Roboto, Big Mac, Audible, Tenderfoot, Dumpster, Stock boy

Date: 2026-08-12
AO: Tar Pit
Q: Panhandle ,
PAX: Beaker, Jolly, The wet burrito, Nyet (F3 Dallas), Sparrow, Panhandle, LouGee, Mall Cop, Too Big To Fail (TBTF), Tortuga FNGs: None
COUNT: 10
Conditions: warm and humid

WOR: SSHs, arm circles, abe vigodas, picking daisies, shoulder stretches

The Thang:

DORA:
– 100 blockees (with 50 meter run)
– 100 thrusters (with 100 meter run)
– 300 BBSs (with 150 meter run)
– 400 squats (with 400 meter run)
– 300 merkens (with 50 meter run)

Moleskine: remember to take delight in things

Tags: Tar Pit, Beaker, Jolly, The wet burrito, Nyet (F3 Dallas), Sparrow, Panhandle, LouGee, Mall Cop, Too Big To Fail (TBTF), Tortuga

Date: 2026-08-11
AO: Flat Earth
Q: Panda Express ,
PAX: Spielberg, Tortuga, Swish, White Noise, Boomerang, MaiTai, Knuckleball, Pine tar, BigBlue, Cheese, Hypotenuse, Krampus, Homie, Panda Express, Y2K, Lib, Gummi Bear, chopsticks, waffles, bard, bolt, yoyo, geico, awol FNGs: 3 yoyo, geico, awol
COUNT: 24
Conditions:

WOR: ssh, there and back

The Thang:
2 games of 6v6

Moleskine:
have fun

Tags: Flat Earth, Spielberg, Tortuga, Swish, White Noise, Boomerang, MaiTai, Knuckleball, Pine tar, BigBlue, Cheese, Hypotenuse, Krampus, Homie, Panda Express, Y2K, Lib, Gummi Bear, chopsticks, waffles, bard, bolt, yoyo, geico, awol

Date: 2026-08-11
AO: Mastodon
Q: Stock boy ,
PAX: Spit Valve, Endo, Too Big To Fail (TBTF), Stock boy, Tenderfoot, LeMond FNGs: None
COUNT: 6
Conditions:
Overcast, about 70°

WOR:
Toy soldiers, bat wings, stretch on your own

The Thang:
3 rounds of Dora:
1. 100 derkins, 200 goblet squats, 300 2 is 1 flutters
2. 100 curls, 200 lunges, 300 LBCs
3. 100 one arm pulls, 200 deadlifts, 300 American Hammers

Playlist:
1. Dora The Explorer – Dora The Explorer Theme
2. Duran Duran – Hold Back the Rain
3. Blind Melon – No Rain
4. B. J. Thomas – Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head
5. The Beatles – Rain
6. SKÁLD – Riders on the Storm
7. Creedence Clearwater Revival – Have You Ever Seen the Rain? 8. Guns N’ Roses – November Rain
9. Jars of Clay – Flood
10. AC/DC – Thunderstruck
11. Dora The Explorer – We Did It!

Moleskine:
Very often the right thing or the best thing to do is the hardest; stay disciplined so you can step up and do what is needed even when no one else will.

Tags: Mastodon, Spit Valve, Endo, Too Big To Fail (TBTF), Stock boy, Tenderfoot, LeMond

Date: 2026-08-11
AO: Dark Room
Q: Beaker ,
PAX: Flower Boy, Beaker, Toto, Brainfog, LouGee, Portage, Crack, Lakers, Manhole, Framed FNGs: None
COUNT: 10
Conditions: Beautiful

WOR:
5 min EMOM
35 sshs
8 burpees

The Thang:
PAX did a little maze. After completing it we did some broga.

Moleskine: As men, we find it hard to ask for help. Ask for help.

Tags: Dark Room, Flower Boy, Beaker, Toto, Brainfog, LouGee, Portage, Crack, Lakers, Manhole, Framed

Date: 2026-08-10
AO: Tar Pit
Q: Big Mac ,
PAX: Tortuga, Panhandle, Big Mac, Samsonite, Krampus, Chuck, Jolly, Archive FNGs: None
COUNT: 8
Conditions: Gnatty

WOR: motivators x 7, picking daisies, runners stretch, mountain climbers, run a lap on the track

The Thang: Longest quarter mile
On every corner do two exercises alternating 1-2 ratio, increasing incrementally to 2-4 Corner 1: coupon swings and OHP
Corner 2: merkins and lunges (2 is 1)
Corner 3: burpees and air thrusters
Corner 4: BBSUs and American hammers (4 is 1)

Mary for 3 minutes

Moleskine: AI raises questions about what and how to teach as teachers and what do we do if AI can do it better? What does it mean to live well?
My brother shared two stories and asked which one is wasting their life? (Living to share what you view as most valuable with others even if you die young in the process, in this case two missionaries sharing the gospel? Or earning as much as possible, retiring early and spending the rest of your life on the beach?) (this came from a John Piper talk)
I thought the question was helpful for thinking about living well with AI. I just shared with my M and she said my moleskine was confusing. Maybe I’ll try one more time, what’s the point of working really hard on a research project if AI can do a slightly better job in a fraction of the time? Maybe the things that ultimately matter aren’t the things we earn money doing. Maybe it’s sharing our faith and our lives with others and loving our m and kids and friends well.

CoT: Jolly’s mother in law.

Tags: Tar Pit, Tortuga, Panhandle, Big Mac, Samsonite, Krampus, Chuck, Jolly, Archive

Date: 2026-08-10
AO: Downrange
Q: Lakers ,
PAX: Stock boy, DQ, Too Big To Fail (TBTF), Dumpster, Brainfog, Portage, Crack, Lakers, Manhole FNGs: None
COUNT: 9
Conditions: 76 degrees, WSW 3mph, 88% humidity, cloud cover at 90%, air pressure 29.90 and rising

WOR:
SSH, Abe Vigodas, Good Mornings as we brainstormed names

The Thang:
In between each set, we did a round of voting by various criteria. The criteria are at the end. We continued to alternate between Set A and Set B until time.

Set A — Ground & Pound
10 reps each
1. Sandbag Deadlifts
2. Sandbag Clean to Shoulder — 5 each side
3. Sandbag Front Squats
4. Sandbag Over-the-Shoulder Tosses
5. Sandbag Bear-Hug Carry — 40 yards

Set B — Get Up & Go
10 reps each
1. Sandbag Bent-Over Rows
2. Sandbag Thrusters
3. Sandbag Good Mornings
4. Sandbagbaggie
5. Sandbag Toss – 20 Yards

Honestly, this BD was a lower-back demolisher

Voting Rounds, on the Q kept count of votes
Round 1 — First Impression: Put your point on any name.
Round 2 — Best F3 Name: Vote based specifically on whether it sounds like an AO. Round 3 — Identity: Which best fits this particular location/community?
Round 4 — The Negative Vote: Instead of adding a point, subtract one from a name you don’t want.
Round 5 — Final Four: Eliminate everything except the four highest-scoring names.
Round 6 — Final Two: Everyone puts a point on one of the remaining four. Top two advance.
Round 7 — Last Chance Dance: Each group took their name and walked a loop, coming up with a compelling case for their name. Upon return, PAX were allowed to switch sides. All pax are too stubborn to change their minds.

We decided upon… AO NORTH BEACH

Moleskine: We go fast alone, we go far together. We want to be a cooperative, collaborative AO, where we stick together. Hence voting done by the whole group!

Tags: Downrange, Stock boy, DQ, Too Big To Fail (TBTF), Dumpster, Brainfog, Portage, Crack, Lakers, Manhole

Date: 2026-08-10
AO: Ground Zero
Q: Flower Boy ,
PAX: Mr. Bean, Flower Boy, Tenderfoot, Endo
FNGs:
COUNT: 4
Conditions:
Cool.

WOR:
Yep!

The Thang:
Three ran north. One rucked.

Moleskine:
Baby steps over perfectionism – just start.

Tags: Ground Zero, Mr. Bean, Flower Boy, Tenderfoot, Endo