Free Fitness Movement. All you need to do is show up!
This week we honored Memorial Day and all the armed forces who have lost their lives fighting in wars for the United States. We also got reminded of all the many Memorial Day Mondays we’ve shared with our NP_BOS community–given that it’s a holiday and it’s often afforded us extra time on a Monday that we usually don’t have the luxury of sharing when people have to rush home and get to work.
During this time of virtual workouts and distanced life, we’ve found that doing things a little differently at NP_BOS workouts is not only necessary, it’s also important in continuing to create the kind of feeling that NP has always been about. Fun, a little weird, close, connected, united, challenging, surprisingly hard but worth it… those old familiar things that somehow feel easier to create and experience in person… but that aren’t lost over our screens if we keep them alive.
Even though it’s Monday and it’s a brand new week, we have to take a minute to reflect back on last Wednesday–the final Wed. of April–and the epic, global event that was the November Project Sunrise 6k.
Capozzi and I shared the idea about making a worldwide Sunrise 6k something we do as a whole big NP movement with BG, Bojan, and Laura, who keep this whole NP ship afloat, and they were like, “yeah, let’s do it…” And everyone did their part to connect with Strava and Brooks, and to hype the heck out of it, and to rally their NP-city communities to participate. Big thanks from us to BG, Bojan, and Laura for jumping in and really making it what it became. Initially we all thought there would be some excitement and we might get 1000 humans to rise with the sun and try out this “solo” Sunrise 6k thing. But weren’t we all surprised and amazed and positively freaking thrilled that about 18000 people signed up to participate in the event?!? You bet your butt we were. By the end of last Wed, just about 8000 people actually did a 6k and posted it on Strava. And the team of volunteers to read STORIES from all those who submitted them, have been busy at work reading.
As the writer of a blog, there are times when you wonder if anyone is really reading this. You wonder, “does it make a difference… or am I just sitting here typing for myself?”
I believe the answer is yes, to both of those questions. Yes this blog makes a difference, because some of the November Project world has come to know and count on the blog from Boston coming out every Mon/Wed/Fri–either spouting some report of the badass workout or some thoughtful reflections about what that workout in this community might mean. Sometimes is short and humorous, other times lengthy and deep. And after taking some time away from writing the blog 3x/week while we adjust to virtual NP and personal lives that are far from normal, I can confidently say that yes, this blog is for me too. As a now long-time co-leader of NP_BOS, this blog has become a reliable place to share my feelings about November Project and the vast community of people who attend and are connected. It’s become a place where I reflect on my own experience of the morning, and the experiences of others, and offer a perspective that might just give an extra bit of staying power to the in-person morning workouts. Another moment of meaning, or excitement, or ah-ha that can be inspired by the brief time together, and that continues with you in thought or feeling throughout the day.
It’s been, shall we say, a hot minute since we’ve all seen each other…in person. We’ve now officially had 8 virtual workouts in Boston, and the last time we gathered in person was March 11th. That was 19 days ago.
When I started attending November Project Boston workouts back in the fall of 2013, I didn’t know how it would impact me, or change me, or influence the forward direction of my life. What I knew was that I went to a Monday workout, during which I tried so hard, I almost threw up, and then I decided I needed to see what Wednesday was like…and then Friday…and I just kept coming. The sequence continued and the rhythm that my life began to have simply included the consistent beat of NP. I became a little more intentional about getting to bed on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday. I enjoyed beautiful weekend opportunities when I could climb the stadium stairs in the sunshine. Sometimes that was with other people and other times in blissful solitude.
This is the 10th installment of the regular feature on NP_BOS blog called November Project People (NPP). NP members interview other NP members, and we all get to know each other a bit better. #community
Interview of Casey Revman, done in a group interview by Natasha Walth, Alan Scherer, and Elizabeth Carr.
Not only did we have a great workout this morning, our second week this month in Boston Landing, but there’s a ton of other things we want you to have in mind. Both for this week and the near future. Please read all the NEWS below!
Our workout next week will be the only different Monday this whole month. On March 16th, we’ll be meeting in a very Boston location, right underneath the Zakim Bridge (map right HERE). We’ll meet at 6:29am. And dress up. DRESS UP for St. Patrick’s Day…wear green, become a leprechaun, cover yourself in green clover. Or don’t. But we’ll be working out and having a great time (dancing) with our good friend Erin Duffy Lacy, who is a professional Irish dancer. Okay, she has a job that isn’t dancing, but she’s a true professional competitive dancer and just use your imagination to figure out if that workout will be worth attending. #JustShowUp #DressUp #StPatricksDay
You are awesome.
You are amazing.
You are wonderful.
You are powerful.
You are inspiring.
You are cool.
Today’s destination deck workout included teams that, together, completed lots of reps of 6 different exercises. Reps were determined by giant dice that got rolled down a hill. It was a little bit of “you had to be there,” but generally speaking, the air was cold, the sunrise was fire, the fitness was fierce, and the community was strong. I guess it’s what you could call a “normal” Monday workout, but it might also have been a little special, or different.
It’s been a weird winter in New England. We had some snow way back in November, I think, but 2020 hasn’t had any real snowfall or accumulation. But the overnight temps are still dropping below that freezing point enough to make the Friday morning hill workouts brisk. This morning it was cold.
This is the 9th installment of the regular feature on NP_BOS blog called November Project People (NPP). NP members interview other NP members, and we all get to know each other a bit better. #community
Interview of long-time NP_BOS member Danielle DeSiato Kuhn, by Jordanna L’Esperance.
The first time I really noticed Danielle DeSiato Kuhn at NP was the day that her husband, Brian, proposed to her at a workout. I’ve watched her from afar- it’s not creepy, I swear!- as I saw wedding photos on Facebook and waved to her as she worked out while pregnant with her first son. We had some conversations in passing and over Messenger, so I knew she had something to do with cooking and writing, but I didn’t know much more about her except that she seemed nice and smart and was an NP OG.