We at November Project try to remain positive all the time (which usually isn’t possible). But Will Bott described PR Day best, when he said “I positively hate PR Day.” PR Day is the bane of our existence. The whole tribe and the earth below them groans when the last week of the month rolls around. Stairs and running. That’s it. Maybe mix in a few tears. But the beauty of PR Day is not in the running of it – it doesn’t really look beautiful, more painful than anything – the beauty lies in the last moments of the workout, when you’re blazing into a tunnel made by the sweaty biceps and forearms of all of your friends. A rogue butt tap makes the 30 minutes of effort worth it; so does adding your new personal record to the tracker, and finding out that you were 8th overall. PR Day is that annoying friend that you’ve known since third grade, and even though they call you out for your sh!t, you love them because they’re always there for you.
[Some of] the tribe has spoken. Here’s what they thought:
Susan Scott: November Project PR Day combines two of my favorite things, exercise and music. It’s my current excuse to make a monthly playlist. Finding dance music that includes sport and exercise references is a bonus. One example is ‘Hype’ by Dizzee Rascal and Calvin Harris, PR 2.22.17, with the line, ‘Ready for action, I’ve gotta be physically fit, Sit-ups and burpees and dips.’ One more thing, I no longer track my time since I am not training for anything, but I did PR on a PR Day once with 8 laps. And, I didn’t throw up though I totally could have.
Steph Bolin: PR day was my introduction to this crazy fun and fascinating bunch of humans called NP! Ashley made me come to my first NP workout in February 2015 but didn’t mention it was PR day. I never was a fast runner and PR day just about killed me. I was the last finisher and had something in my eye so everyone watched me cross the finish line “crying”. I didn’t go back for a year. Now going to PR day makes me realize how far I’ve come, and I have the tribe to thank for that. I never would’ve come back if it weren’t for the unwavering positivity, good energy, and badass-ery I find here. Now PR day ain’t no thing and I only cry when I finish sometimes. I think this is over 100 words.
Mike Olive: I look forward to PR day. Why? Anticipating the simplicity, the no surprises aspect of running your ass off for 30 minutes carries a weird quietude beforehand. It’s as if the day comes preloaded with an initial inertia, like a compressed spring day just waiting for the sun to pop up. I enjoy going back thru the NP Tracking tool history, looking up my previous times, analyzing them like it’s supposed to make any sense at all. A certain difference lies within each PR Day. The difference is either I’m kicking ass or after 3-4 laps I’m realizing I got nothing, just hanging on, afraid of losing count on the final laps. However, even on those off days, as the bell nears, I’m usually overtaken by a never anticipated second wind, not to mention friends half my age. Not seeing, but hearing those same friends cheering around the turn, makes that final push freeing, making me feel ageless.
Alex Francis: PR day is more meaningful than a personal feat. Whether you are a professional athlete or as old and out of shape as Gandalf the Grey, on PR day we are all cheetahs. We bound down stairs, sprint over the bridge, and maybe even throw up in our mouth. The physical strain brings our tribe closer together. We cheer for each other when we don’t have energy to move our own legs. When our body tells us to sit down and rest, we support our tribe by forming a scream tunnel that rivals the Wellesley Girls, waking up anyone who fell asleep in their downtown office. PR day is about our tribe coming together.
Tyler Kranjac: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” These were the words used to describe PR Day, until some Dick(ens) perverted them and attempted to describe the French Revolution instead. I like beignets as much as the next guy, but to claim that this time of guillotines and Bastilles can evoke as much emotion as the last Wednesday of the month is not just wrong, it is plain stupid.
Christine Smith: My first workout was a PR Day, and I was excited about it because as described, it was a day of straight running, which, as a runner, I felt that I could crush. I could not have been more wrong. PR Day crushed me. But despite the pain, it was a great first workout because it took something I was comfortable doing, and added a little bit of whimsy (i.e. stairs), just like NP does to my life. I now hate PR Day, but it’s kind of a love-hate because while I hate the during of PR Day, I love the afterfeelings.
Dan Graham: In searching for metaphors and similes to relate how I feel about PR Day, I have drawn a powerful blank. This tells me that PR day is unlike any other experience in my life. It is a physical and mental test that comes up once a month and always catches me a week earlier than I’d been expecting. Running loops through Milwaukee on the last Wednesday of every month for 3+ years, trying to race against Sophia, Hans, Bens (of multiple types) and the scariest of opponents: DG, has been what has kept me honest and true to my own fitness. At the 30 minute bell, no one feels fresh, the struggle is real and shared.
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PR day. The culmination of a month of workouts with the NP crew. NP day is chance to do better, to try to do what has not been done before. Better than that a chance to enourage others with a slap or shout out on their PR quest as one has not done so all month.