Today’s blog is educational.
And starts with a history lesson.
Once upon a time, the dudes who founded this thing called November Project decided that they’d declare one workout a month to throw down and see if all their effort from the month had allowed them to achieve any sort of progress. Measurable improvement in how quickly they could complete a particular workout. Originally, it was the stadium, and it still holds that we race a Full Tour on the last wednesday of the month, every month, to test ourselves. Are we getting better? Are we progressing? Is all this effort going toward something? Now, let’s remember that we won’t always set a PR every single month. Not setting a PR it doesn’t necessarily indicate that we’re getting “worse” or less fit. Progress is not linear. But committing to race yourself is what really matters. Just showing up, willing to race is the only way to find out if that PR is coming out this month.
And way back at the beginning, when people set personal records, the dudes gave them frozen pizzas. Appropriately called “#PRpizzas.”
And then the tribe got so large, it was hard (and expensive) to buy pizzas for every single person who set new PRs every month. So they got honored in new ways. For a while, if you PRd, you got to take your photo with Phoebe the pig. Seriously. She was the tiny pet pig of now-coleader of NP London, Jake Otto and his wife Martica. But when they moved away and Phoebe couldn’t show up for one million PR photos each month, we found ourselves taking PR photos with the giant bling chain that once belonged to BG himself.
But then, NP_BOS established a PR goal for the hills. No longer did we only strive to improve and measure progress in the stadium, but also on the hills. Three full hills became the distance to accomplish (like a full tour in the stadium), or to work up to. When the second-friday-of-the-month #PRhills came to life, people who completed 3-full hills also earned a hat that says #NPSummit Ave…look around, you’ll see people wearing them.
And anyone who PRs gets a PR dot sprayed onto their hat. Who needs a big ol’ bling chain when you can keep your PR dot forever?! You know, like a colorful badge of honor that you wear around, or maybe that you write your time on as a living record of your speed and accomplishment. If you were around back when we gave out hats, you have one. If you weren’t, then you can declare a hat to be your PRhat–or a shirt that you always wear on PRhills day, and that you collect PR dots on. Make it an important thing because racing IS important. It’s how we continually challenge ourselves. And challenge only makes us better athletes and human beings when we see, feel, acknowledge, and celebrate the progress that we make as a result of overcoming the challenge.
So when we stand up on the second Friday of each month on Summit Ave and ask “who PRd today?” and “who tried to set a PR?” it’s a big deal. It’s both about setting PRs and it’s maybe even more importantly about attempting to set them. I know how motivating it is to see people fiercely attacking the hills like they did this morning–even if the final time isn’t your fastest ever, when I see you running so hard I want to run harder too. We’re showing up to run hills, so let’s also show up to making ourselves–and each other– better. Even when it’s really hard.
This tribe is so strong and it’s getting stronger every day. Every month. Every PR day.
Other announcements & stuff:
BUFFS: final day to order yours. Do it here. Next week, if you ask if you can still order them the answer will be NO, so do. not. delay. any. longer.
MONDAY DESTINATION DECK: will be at the eastern-most tip of Charlestown, at Thomas Menino Park. #sunrise #BestWayToStartTheWeek. Exact location can be found HERE.
