Author: Megan Hunter

Wisconsin Notes:
– the Halloworkout was epic
– Tomorrow is the PEG City Scramble + After Party III

We did the pass
We did the pumpkin pass
The pumpkin pass
It was a graveyard smash
We did the pass
It caught on in a flash
We did the pass
We did the pumpkin pass

This morning was epic.  Just so much fun.  Thank you to everyone who came out, who wore a costume, or who brought a pumpkin.  Every time we do something a little different, there’s a small part of you that worries if people will participate or if they will have fun.  Well, with November Project that should never be a real concern, y’all showed up with smiles and energy and made it a morning full of laughter and fun. read more

Wisconsin Notes:

• it’s cold, stairs are hard
• Hallo-workout, October 31
• PEG City Scramble III, November 1st
• all the races were raced

Hi my name is Megan. Hi Megan. Clap, clap, squat. This morning was a gooder. There were newbies, traverballers, returnees, dogs, Brian and everyone else.  We climbed stairs, we dipped dips, we rocked those planks, we named the names and we sat on walls.  It was a chilly morning but I felt the burn.  Keep showing up and keep bundling up. read more

Wisconsin Notes:

-Pop up, Friday 6:14am, Garbage Hill #trashstigma

-PR = hard & sweaty

-New tags = fresh & crisp

This morning was awesome! We had huge numbers, and y’all crushed PR. We had a confusing game of ‘What time is it Mr. Wolf’ (sorry- we’ll work on it). We frantically tagged away and got all your shirts done and dusted and ready to be worn in the world with pride. Erin passed off Shabooya to Janet and passed out cookies to everyone! You both make sure everyone has the warmest welcome and is surrounded by positivity.

Friday, 6:14am, Garbage Hill, BE THERE! Junel is running 100miles in 30 hours to raise money for mental health awareness and to #trashstigma. This guy is pillar of Winnipeg run community, he supports us in a big way, so let’s get out and support him. He is starting running at Thursday noon and ending Friday at 6pm.  Come to the workout with AND pop by at some point during his 30 hrs to donate a toonie, give a hi5, run a lap or all of the above. I will be stopping by on my bike on Thursday evening to throw some hype, maybe I’ll see you there?!

Last Thursday evening it was PEG City Scramble II, if you weren’t there you missed a dope night and you need to be at the next one! I won’t give you a recap because it wouldn’t do it justice but I will give you these words to describe it: hot, beer, lost, laughs, confused, sweating, Where’s Waldo, 3 Blonde Men #1, community. Thank you to Connie for helping out and here are some pics to convince you, that you should come join us in the Fall!

Actually, I will tell you this anecdote about prepping for last Thursday- when I was setting the course for the PEG City Scramble Derek said ‘make it impossible, I want to see teams fail’ #ruthless (in my books- we’re all winners here). So when I was planning a surprise BDAY NP workout for Derek I specifically planned it so he would fail (but like- in the most fun way possible). Unfortunately for you all, Derek had a post marathon bonk this morning and couldn’t make it out to the workout and I will have to save his impossible bday game for another surprise day when he is well again. (So keep coming to every workout if you relish the idea of watching Derek struggle at an impossible task- cue evil laughter- mwhahaha)

But real talk, Derek is a remarkable athlete, leader and friend. He is hardworking, determined and loyal. I am happy that he is here. He holds people accountable, and if you spend enough time with him you will be inspired to hold yourself to your highest standards. We are all lucky to have him as a leader in our community. Happy Birthday Derek.

Year book photos drop tomorrow so stay glued to your computer, and share your picture far and wide to spread that NP hype!

Jen has graciously offered to organize ANOTHER NP extra curricular event! It is August 18th, it’s gonna be epic! The description is as follows:

November Project goes Road Trippin to the Whiteshell!

If you like beaches, running or biking trails, and fun, join us Saturday August 18th for a trail run followed by a BBQ potluck!
Destination: The Trans Canada 🇨🇦 Trail in between Westhawk and Falcon Lake .
Distances: There will be a few options to choose from, and the trail is bike friendly so oil up your chain if that’s your thing instead of running.

This is an unmanned course, but in saying that we watch out for one another…y’all good!

There will be more details to come, when we know how many people are attending. Sound Good? F-yeah!

Cheers,
~Jen

Erin has shared with us and written a heart felt guest blog. Hear her story here:

Hi, I’m Erin and for the past 21 days, my husband and I have been playing host to extra life-force in our house – the Shabooyah Award. When Kristjana called my name three weeks ago, I felt as if time suddenly stood still. I was not expecting it in any way, shape or form and frankly, I didn’t feel like I deserved it. I’m not fit, I’m almost always one of the last to finish and as of last week, I’ve been #showing up for a grand total of 6 months. Shabooyah was not in my game plan, then suddenly it was. #HappyTears

Six months ago, November Project changed my life. Even though I am somewhat ashamed to admit this, prior to that first early Friday morning hot yoga session, I had not worked out in over 2 years. That first morning brought so much of my anxiety to the forefront of my brain – would I embarrass myself? Would I finally be able to break my hate of working out? There, I said it – I HATED working out.

My terribly unhealthy relationship with exercise stems back from my days as performance athlete. My childhood was spent trying to find some sort of acceptance from my peers doing the only thing I really knew how to do – be an athlete. I played competitive Softball, Ringette, I ran cross country, track and field and joined the high-school hockey team. I’m not telling you all of this to brag about my former life. What I want you to understand is that my relationship with exercise did not exist beyond the confines of performance athletics. As a kid, I’d be up well past midnight running laps around my neighbourhood, not because I wanted to, but because I had to be “the best”. This unhealthy relationship continued until my University Softball career came to a sudden and unexpected halt. Everything that I had worked for, suddenly no longer existed in my life. I started to binge eat to numb my anxiety and mourn the loss of my sense of identity. If I wasn’t an athlete – who and what was I? I had no clue what a healthy relationship with exercise looked like – until you came along.

When I say that I used to run, I mean it. I was running 3-5k everyday throughout high school. It is also through running thatI met one of our fearless leaders – Derek. He was the team captain of our high school cross-country and track teams, and one of the most dedicated athletes I had ever met. He was the target, the person everyone would attempt to catch up to. While incredibly driven to succeed, he was also one of the most encouraging teammates you could ever hope to have.

So imagine my surprise, when I saw a segment done on Global News this past November showcasing this amazing group called November Project – I was excited! Maybe this could be my way of reclaiming my fitness. It checked almost all the boxes!

Early mornings – check

Won’t interfere with work – check

Tons of fun energy – check

Then it hit me, Derek was one of the leaders, and if I wanted to join, I’d have to face my former team captain after gaining 60+ pounds – Dammit!!

So I didn’t show up, at least not until the 12 Days of Fitmas. I had gotten fed up with looking myself in the mirror and calling myself fat and lazy. I was always tired at work and hated the way my clothes fit. I needed to change my lifestyle – fast. So instead of wasting another day, I faced my fear. I #ShowedUp, and in doing so – found the sense of belonging that I never found in team athletics. People – Friends like Leaslie, Dawn, Kristjana, and Dave(who texted me every Tuesday night for 4 months straight to help keep me accountable to showing up).

NP also put the right person in front of me at the right time: Janet. Without giving too much detail, one of the very first times I met Janet, she opened up to me about the struggles she was facing on her journey. She was honest and real – something that I desperately needed, to feel like this could be the right fit. At a time when all I could think about was the shame I felt regarding my weight and health, Janet was a boon, pulling me closer to the lifestyle I needed. I was able to open up to her about my struggles too and fears, having only just recently seen my father through a major cardiac event. I was scared for my life, and didn’t know how to change. Janet was the catalyst in my NP quest, and for that – I can never thank her enough.  I would give her a thousand Shabooyah’s if I could. She’s worth every single one. #Shabooyah

November Project has given me more than I ever bargained for – a sense of community, a sense of belonging and it’s helped me dramatically reduced my anxiety levels. I’m sharing these things with you, my tribe, because I’m now in a position where I feel comfortable to open up. I hope that by sharing my journey, maybe someone out there that is on the cusp of joining us, will take the leap.

Don’t get me wrong – running up and down the Cement Castle throughout the winter on PR days sucked – but it always seemed to get better when I’d hear a familiar voice urging me on “keep it up Erin”.

This Father’s Day, Derek did something AMAZING: he beat his Manitoba Marathon PR by 12 minutes and was 2 minutes and 30 seconds shy of qualifying for the Boston Marathon. He’s a BEAST, a running MACHINE and one of the BEST people I Know. He inspires me to set my own goals, inspires me to push myself and to dream BIG: including running the 10k at the 2019 Manitoba Marathon. Happy Birthday Derek! Thank you for showing me that I had nothing to fear. #WeMissedYou

November Project – I am SO glad you are here. Winnipeg is GOOD. November Project is GREAT.

Megan here, signing off. I’ll see you all at Garbage Hill on Friday.

ps. Far too many nice words were spoken about Derek so I will leave you with these pictures.

 

 

Wow, that was a magic morning.  You all showed up hard and made the hype so real.  Thank you to each and every one of you who came out this morning.  Thank you for recruiting and hyping, thank you for working hard and bringing the fire.

Thank you to everyone who has come out over the past four years; whether you’re an occasional attendant or you show up relentlessly week after week; thank you for making this community a part of your life.  Whether this was your 1st, 5th or 200th workout, we are glad that you are here.  It is all of you showing up who continue to make this crazy thing possible.

Just think of it, FOUR YEARS OF 6AM WORKOUTS, that’s well over 200 mornings of November Project magic here in Winnipeg.  Four years of building community, making connections, ass-crack of dawn alarm clocks, sweaty hugs, belly laughs and just good ol’ fashioned hard work.

When the steady steam of smiling faces started coming through the gates at 5:50am and didn’t stop until 6:05, I knew that it was going to be a fire morning.  After having NP birthday nightmares all week, I was able to take a deep breath out and soak the morning in.  After we’d gotten you all decked out in your birthday party hats, we took to the field for bop-it (with the new addition of rolling on the ground and burpees), a ladder drill (the explanation of which demonstrated that I don’t know how the numbers on a football field work) and a good ol’ football sprint.

Then we headed to the stairs for 30 minutes of #stairsforbreakfast, it was wicked killer! We capped ‘er all off with a glorious round of Rock Paper Scissor World Championships which was won by Chloe. As we gathered for our group picture, Kristjana passed the Shabooya award off to Erin, who cried and yelled joyfully and just finished the morning in the best way possible.

Special thanks to the following folks who helped us make this morning happen. They volunteered their time and their talents and we are grateful:

Colin Jensen -photography
Mathew Carvalho- videography
Casey Lanox- beats
Steven Dreger- Investors Group hook-up
Lululemon and the Sweat Collective- for their support
Tom and Rick- for starting this whole thing 4 years ago, and making today possible

Okay that’s all for the thank-you’s, or Derek’s going to come after me looking like this:

Now onto the future! Keep showing up, keep recruiting, keep flooding the social medias.  We have so many things cooking for you this summer, we are going to make this thing bigger and better than ever.  Let’s keep this momentum train rolling on down the tracks.  In June alone we have:

Global Running Day: tonight at the Forks, 6pm, make it a double and get out and support Lululemon’s Winnipeg Run Club, your legs will thank you (or hate you )

Wednesday, June 13th- Year Photos. Theme: tropical/ Hawaiian. Show up to the workout, leave with a dope head shot

Sunday, June 17th: The MANITOBA MARATHON. Sign up for a race if you haven’t yet, or show up to the biggest, most badass cheer station yet!

Thursday, June 21st: PEG City Scramble.  This will be an evening event, time and location TBD.  It’s a scavenger hunt, team race, party extravaganza.  The last one was wild, this one will be better.

Friday, June 22nd: the first race in the Summer Sunrise 6K Series, 6:14am at the Ledge.

Friday, June 29th: Trash Stigma Pop up at Garbage Hill.  In support of mental health awareness Junel will run 100miles.

August 17th: Bombers game! We’ve been hooked up with a discounted group rate.  Let’s get a big squad out! Get your tickets here:
http://www.bluebombers.com/novemberproject

use promo code: NP2018

Also coming at you this summer: dragonboating, the Goldeyes Ball Park, and any other mayhem we can think of between now and then! And of course, your regular, weekly double dose of November Project, Wednesdays at the Forks and Fridays at the Ledge.  Keep showing up in big numbers and we promise we’ll plan a whole pile of fun, hard, kick ass workouts and events, all you have to do is show up and bringing the fire.  If today was your first workout, WELCOME we can’t wait to see you again!

I hope you enjoyed the teaser of photos from this morning, stay tuned for more to come today. Trust me they’re amazing, you won’t be disappointed.  Be ready for the video in the next day or two, if the preview of the bounce was any indication it’s going to be insane.

One last time; thank you for showing up this morning Winnipeg, you made it our biggest birthday yet and we are glad you are here. See you all summer long.

-Grateful Meg