Mickey Tints

BACKBLAST 12/21/24 –The Mick’s Shot’s Fired Beatdown At The HUB

Weather – 19 deg F windy and cold, wet and semi-snow covered

Pre-Ruckers – The Mick, Mickey Tints.  At 630 HHH joined in and Trader Joe showed up and did some running

Pax – (13) The Mick (Q), HHH, Dr. Freud, Scarecrow, Heisenberg, Lights Out, Class Act, Boo-boo, Peyton, Trader Joe, Atticus, Rusty, (Mickey Tints rucking only)

Warm-up

Light Pole Lap

10 Bean Picker

10 Abe Vigoda

10 Hillbillie

10 IST

10 Toy Soldier

Get 2 Blocks and move the sandbags and blocks under the portico

First Thang – Sandbag Training 

Partner-up Pax 1 does 5 reps with the sandbag, Pax 2 does exercises with the 2 blocks.  Each round is executed 3 times.  We took a parking lot lap after completing each set of exercises.

Second Thang – The Shots Fired Relay

We moved to the east parking lot behind the cars.  See Moleskin for details about the Shots Fired relay

• Line up at curb with blocks.  

• Farmers Carry 1 block halfway across parking lot – go back to start and get other block

• Farmers Carry second block to the end of the parking lot

• Go get first block from middle of the parking lot and carry it to end of parking lot

• Carry both blocks home to the start

Third Thang – Killer Bees (modified version)

• Standard Killer B – Block Complex, Broad Jump, Burpees, Bonnie Blair, Big Boy Sit-ups, Bear Crawl (three sets)

• We did a modified version – Bunny hopped instead of broad jump – parking lot was to icey, mosey back instead of Bear Crawl in the interest of time and dry gloves and warm hands

• 10 Block Complex at starting line (the curb)

• Bunny Hop to the second parking stripe (about 10 yards)

• 10 Burpees

• Bunny Hop to the second parking stripe (about 10 yards)

• 10 Bonnie Blairs (Jumping lunges)

• Bunny Hop to the second parking stripe (about 10 yards)

• 10 IST’s (we did IST’s (standing crunch) instead of sit-ups to stay off the wet parking lot)

• Mosey back to the start 

Repeatto two times (total of 3 sets)

Go back to Portico

Forth Thang – Mary – A rare The Mick Mary

Legs up and keep them up

15 Low Flutters

15 Low Dolly’s

15 Roselleta’s

Moleskin

Prior to the beatdown I shared a lot about a fellow F3 Pax in south Houston who is an acquaintance of mine. Shots Fired is one of those one-of-a-kind, special, highly personable and influential people who just have a charm and a way that makes you want to be around them from the first time you meet them.  He has been active in south Houston for at least as long as I have been in F3, over 8 years.  When I did my first Tough, it was actually Grow Ruck, Shots Fired, and I were partnered on several things including the relay that we did this morning as Thang 2.  Only in the relay after moving the blocks (rucks) you had to go to the start line and get the person.  Then you firemen carried or heal-drug your partner to the far end of the parking lot.  Then in the relay you put both rucks on and carried them back to the start.  It was a brutal 5-minute event.  I had to drag Shots Fired and he had to drag me because he threw his back out.  This made the race tougher for us both (it was timed … punishment for not finished by the time hack).

I had the idea to do Thang 2, this ruck or block movement, before I knew Shots fired was diagnosed with a brain tumor in late December.  I needed to do it at the Hub with blocks and planned on it for this Saturday.  As it turns out, Shots Fired was in scheduled for surgery that same morning.  While we were doing this evolution in his honor he was being prepped for a day long surgery. I am happy to report the surgery was a success.  I have shared a number of posts on band about him and his condition, but 52 hours post op and 55 stiches later he was home.  The next day he was playing a little ping pong to show what he could do.  He still has a lot of recovery and therapy, he will have some losses on his left side, especially in his peripheral vision.  

I paused several times during the beatdown to share some details about Shots Fired, our Grow Ruck tough together and how helpful he was when my brother-in-law was in the hospital for 3 months this time last year.  He has a real servant’s heart.  Shots Fired whole story moved me.  I do not know him that well, but I feel like he has been a longtime friend.  He is a person I would emulate, his faith, his was of expressing his intellect, his strong and wise ways of speaking and again that servant’s heart that comforts the souls around him even when he is the one with life and death struggles.  

The points of all this … you all can guess the points.  Its all the trite sayings we say like every day is a gift, listen to your body (Shots Fired kept running into people on his left because of a loss of peripheral vision that he did not realize at first) and many others.  In a video post op Shots Fired summed it up best saying he had been given a gift and he promises he will not waste it.  We have all been given the same gift.  Don’t waste it. 

And for just a wee more see the wisdom from a West Point freshman below.  Wisdom sent to Shots before his surgery.  Great Stuff if you care to read on. 

Finally, great work today.  Thanks for listening to my story.  It was great to do this Beatdown with you all.  

The Mick

Post-Script – A freshman at West Point: “Hey Shots Fired, this is Stick it!! I’m reaching out to let you know that you are in my thoughts and prayers! An ambiguous and questionable adversity that God has challenged you with but take pride in knowing that God gives his toughest challenges to his toughest warriors. Most often than not, people resort to the “why me?” mindset when dealt with misfortune and entitle themselves to a life of ease, comfort, and pleasure. If anything, it engenders value in the small things that are commonly taken for granted. The “why me” mindset presents a choice between the path of self-pity and catastrophe, or the path of faithful redemption. It’s bold, nonetheless, for me to say these things speaking from the sidelines. But your family, friends, myself and God are rooting for you! I am a firm believer in the God of impossibility, the God of creation, the God whom transforms misfortune into glorious redemption and renewal. You will overcome this challenge, persevere through this adversity, and rise as a testament to God’s strength. He will strengthen you and use you as an instrument of his peace. Your bravery and will to persevere inspires those around you, especially myself. This is one of my favorite verses: Isaiah 41:10 “So do not fear for I am with you do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”