Author: Lauren Carter

Wisconsin notes for January 24, 2018- Bridge month continues

• Bridge month continued, NP entered a new location, Patterson’s creek
• Skate workout required some modifications due to the temporary closure of the rideau canal. The tribe still showed up, ready for whatever, as always.

• Weather was a -20 degrees with the windchill and some could argue the bridge makes that morning a couple of degrees cooler
• Conditions were slick, prompted some to wear spikes, some to slide, some to find modified routes
• Liz tossed sand around in attempts to rectify this situation
• We hugged regulars and newbies alike
• We yelled a bit and bounced (maybe a little loud for some neighbourhood passers-by walking their dogs). We learned the importance of continuing to be kind to those locals and wish them a good morning and hope they have a wonderful day
• Workout was a deck and starting out with 14, 9, 7 burpees helped to warm us up nice and quick
• We learned about the great ideas tribe members can share when a joker shows up
• The old lamp posts made for a beautiful morning
• We burpeed a lot
• Have people learned you need to bring gloves to the workout? Sometimes we sign waivers, but we still don’t want anyone getting frostbite. Luckily when Australian newbies show up and they don’t understand this crazy weather yet, tribe members are happy to hand out extra gloves for to protect those hands during push up
• We took a photo
• We asked if anyone knows talented photographers who can take photos in the dark… still waiting for a response.
• We wore gray and sent positive thoughts and love to our NP family in LA for Sean, for brain cancer awareness
• Keep showing up, because there will always be someone to work out with
• Bring a friend

If you don’t know what Wisconsin notes are, read up ont the brief history here: https://november-project.com/wisconsin-notes-revival-by-brogan-graham/. It’s suppose to be “brief summary” so obviously we are still learning too ^ (there’s always too much good to share!) read more

Fifty-two Wednesdays ago, a new movement started in Ottawa. Happy Anniversary to Work it YOW. This was the first day of something wonderful for our city. This time last year we started pledging to be a November Project city and started gathering a community of wonderful people. The only reason it continues on week after week is because of you. Those of you who just keep showing up. Maybe it’s once a month, maybe it’s every Wednesday, but this thing wouldn’t work unless we had you. It’s because of you that you can say for certain to anyone you talk to, that you will never work out alone, that you can guarantee that people will show up, you will always have someone to run beside, to push you, to encourage you. There’s never any doubt in your mind that no matter what the weather, the location, the time, the things going on in life, that no matter what, you will have people ready to welcome you with open arms. On days when you have lots of energy, you pass that along to others. On days when you wake up a little low, you can pretty much guarantee to bit a little bit more lifted when you leave. Whether it’s the movement, the endorphins, the fresh outdoor air, the early morning rise, or the people, it does something to you. This shit is good and it’s why 44 other cities around the world are doing the same thing and using free fitness to build community. read more

Resolutions. That word is thrown around like glitter and glue in a kindergarten classroom during that last week of December leading into January.   Most of us are riding a wave of love, food comas and family time overdose as we begin to think about what this past year has amounted to. Then as the swell continues to grow, we reach the height of it all, and New Years hits us.  Discussions, declarations and resolutions are announced. Maybe these resolutions had once been an objective of the previous year. Maybe some of your new declared resolutions look familiar to those of 2017, or maybe they far exceed them and you are reaching for the most extreme, wild things to be completed in the next 365 days.  The word resolution is defined as, “a firm decision to do or not do something”.  Most of my own resolutions live a short, action packed life until January 31st and then begin to dissipate.  But maybe if I continued to pursue some of them, they would not be the recurring ones year to year,  or maybe I just scratch them right off the list and never think about them again.   read more

This has been a year. A year of firsts, seconds and tenths.  A year that has brought November Project into your life. If you a regular member or hit up a workout when the weather suits you chances are November Project has affected you one way or another. When the end of the year begins to approach and New Years is on everyone’s mind, it also gives us the time to reflect. To take a moment, pause and remember all that you have accomplished, conquered and faced over the past year.   read more

Today was a good day. Today we bounced, we yelled, we smiled, we hugged. We met a new person, we remembered a person’s name from last week. We worked out in some badass conditions and got to be what felt like the only ones in the world to be up at that time in the snowy darkness. But NO! It sometimes only briefly feels like that when your alarm goes off in the dark. We are not the only ones- we saw some runners getting up for a snowy jog, we saw some working people getting an early start to their day- maybe they already did their morning workout. We tried to ask them to join us next time because we think it’s more fun to have people with us when we workout than to workout alone. We also worked out with 43 other cities around the world somewhere in and around that time (or 12 hours later in Malaysia). We looked at the people next to us, and thought “this is so badass”. It may be what we will remember later this year when we recall how cold we were, how we fought the elements, how we played in the snow, how we so much more quickly than anticipated, had to remove layers of clothing. We worked hard and we left feeling better than when we came. read more

If you have been to an NP workout- in the summer heat, winter, snow, -30, or whatever condition, you’ve probably met Rebecca. Rebecca embodies an attitude of making the most of her experiences, taking on new challenges, a “yes” mentality and she is usually wearing a great costume of sorts. She has been racing her way across the world, but always comes back to the tribe with her stories.  She brings a smile wherever she goes and is also the most recent recipient of the #positivityaward. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us, Rebecca. read more

So there was this  insightful blog written a while back when NP Canada had their first snowfall, or sometime when it was -20 there in Edmonton and +14 here in Ottawa. So our friends from the North are pretty trained for the harsh temperatures, and they have some credibility. I do hear that it’s a “dry cold” though- does that make it not cold? Maybe they’re just big talkers. Although I’m pretty sure -30 is really cold no matter how dry it is. Either way, you can’t deny that biting wind chill and dampness that gets you to the bone in the deep winter here in the Nation’s capital. Anyways, the whole point is that these friends from the North are vets at running NP workouts for the last 4 years, all year round, handing out -30 badges left right and centre. We got some ideas from them on ideas about how to battle those temperatures and still have a good time read more

Today is November 22nd.  Today is a Wednesday and alongside you and your fellow Ottawa tribe members, there were members rising to the east, west, north and south of you.  It’s here again, that day we all wait for, those 31 minutes we crave at 7:01 on Wednesdays and it has come and gone.  Now, it’s all memories. Memories of heavy breathing, memories of faint figures that turned into familiar faces as the sun began to rise.  Maybe you are trying to forget about how many skater lunges you had to complete or push ups, or maybe just maybe you’re in total bliss and awe that you and that stranger showed up for the first time ever after the first snowfall of Ottawa. Maybe we should take into account the temperature yesterday and how it went from feeling like -16 to +9 and then right back to below zero for us on Wednesday.  Maybe this morning you were thankful for the brisk air and the sensation of your first couple of breaths in the cold air outside.  Maybe you were thankful you brought mittens for the movements on the ground, or thankful you now know to bring them next.  Maybe you were thankful that you got to do a badass football cheer this morning during the bounce #cleareyesfullheartscantlose. You may be thankful for your amazing body that let’s you move the way it does and today you celebrated that. Or maybe you were thankful for your sprawling partner to relieve you for a rest. read more