By the time you are reading this, I will have already bounced my last bounce as a co-leader of November Project Chicago. I’m writing this in advance, because I have a feeling there will be an unseasonably high pollen count on Friday, October 15 and my eyes will be watering more than usual. I’m sure it was an incredible workout, full of familiar faces, maybe some brand new faces, and lots of love. In my last few minutes of leadership until Bojan disables my account access, I’d like to share some of my favorite moments and lessons from my tenure.
June 21, 2019. First Friday workout as a co-leader, first time leading a bounce. Dry Triathlon. We went all in to the theme workout. Take your shoes off in between the swim and bike portion? Sure. Run 26 laps around this tiny track to complete an Ironman? Yep. It was hilarious and fun and hard and my heart was racing so fast after that bounce I thought it was going to explode. But I loved everything about that day. A few weeks prior, a friend of mine had gifted me a bridesmaid jean jacket with a song quote on the back. It’s from a song that has nothing to do with taking chances or leaps of faith, but I love this line from Cake by the Ocean by DNCE, and it inspired me to say yes to this co-leadership adventure: “But you’re moving so carefully, let’s start living dangerously.” The lesson: say yes.
MoM 2019. Running with Des Linden, no big deal. Sharing a megabed and friendship bracelets with 3 other co-leaders. Learning and connecting and laughing with 100 other co-leaders. Getting goosebumps from the lesson in bounces from NP Philly. Competing in shirt tagging–Rich Hortness taught me everything I know. Running Gasworks Park in a swarm of 200+. That weekend was like a 4-day high. I felt plugged in to a community of similarly energized, lovingly weird, fitness enthusiasts in a way I hadn’t quite fit in before in all my years of active endeavors. The lesson: keep doing what you love and you will find your people.
NPSUMMIT 2019. Las Vegas is such a weird city for NP to takeover, but I decided to go. I ran the 5K mostly through a casino parking lot. Wandered the strip at night in a random band of people. Connected with old and new co-leaders, saw a Ke$ha concert, spectated the marathon with Bad Guy on repeat, and took a memorable 40 mile bike ride to the Hoover Dam. Always say yes when Nez asks you to join an epic bicycle adventure. You never know who you will meet and befriend, who will then move to your city who will then propose and who you will marry. The lesson: meet new people.
SnowGlobe 2020. Most people thought I was weird to want to visit Syracuse, NY in January 2020. That is, most people who aren’t weatherproof. Winter is fun if you bundle up and play in it. At the time, no one knew that this would be the last best trip for over a year, we all just went because snowtubing and a Syracuse Crunch hockey game sounded like a blast. And we wanted that limited edition toque. It was like everything outside ceased to exist and the only things that mattered were the group of people we were with for those 2.5 days–just like the sign on the bridge said “now that we are here, nowhere else matters.” What a privilege and gift to feel that way. The lesson: sometimes, other than on flights, go into airplane mode and just be wherever you are.
- Alone Together 24-hour relay and NoSleep2020 48-hour relay. A mix-match group of co-leaders from across the US joined forces to run the 24-hour virtual relay race put on by NPGR’s Matt Swiontek. We set up a Zoom link and jumped on the line every hour on the hour for the handoffs. We stayed up way too late, and got up way too early, and I just truly enjoyed getting to know these people in this special way. And because we had so much fun, Nez and I decided to host our own virtual relay race but doubled the time because who doesn’t want to be on Zoom for a full 48 hours? We opened up the Zoom link to everyone, so we had folks popping in and out every hour for 2 days straight. We tried to stream a movie together (failed), listened to smooth jazz, watched Grady-cam, and just found a way to connect. The lesson: face time builds connections, no matter the physical distance.
May 26, 2021. The last Zoom Wednesday. We didn’t even really acknowledge that it was going to be the last, but Chicago moved to Phase 5 of reopening and the next Wednesday we were back in person. I say the last Zoom Wednesday instead of the following week when we went live because that last Wednesday was still attended by about 30 people. After over a year of Zoom, this community was still showing up to workout together. Fucking incredible. The lesson: keep showing up.
There are hundreds of memories and moments and connections from these last couple years that I won’t get to share here. The time I forgot the bounce in the middle of the bounce. Matching outfits with Nez. Cold weather patches. Bean-henge photobombing. Having co-workers join the Zoom workout. Sledding workouts. Watching members set PRs. Cheering in a pig onesie. Sunrise 6K in the rain. Virtual yearbook photos. Real yearbook photos. 6 minutes of planks. Seeing Buckingham Fountain turn on for the first time in 2 years. Learning Zulu for a Lion King bounce. Chicago Park District partnerships. 13×1 battle royale between Heartbreakers and 3RUN2. Coffee chats after the workout. Panera. I hope you say yes to an adventure that makes you nervous, I hope you find the people that make you feel like you belong, I hope you meet new people, I hope you find gratitude in the present moment, I hope you continue to build connections through screens and in real life, and I hope you continue to show up for yourself, for your community, for your city, for each other. See ya at the back of the bounce.
Love, Kaitlyn
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