Free Fitness Movement. All you need to do is show up!
No one knows what the next few months and years are going to look like, but regardless of when we come back there will always be constants at NPCan.
6am start times, a bounce to start the workout, smiles and encouragement, a place to learn and grow, a workout that will always provide a challenge, and a community of awesome people.
I know. We’re looking at some of our NP sister cities and we’re a bit jelly.
Some NP communities are back! Exciting for them. FOMO for us.
Buuuut… we are taking a bit of a tour this month. We’re visiting, virtually of course, some of our NP peeps around the world!
So far, we’ve been to:
Today we wore orange and over the last week there has been various news coverage, and social media posts. If you were not aware “the remains of 215 innocent children were found in unmarked graves on the former site of the Kamloops Indian Residential School.” There are people alive today who have experienced residential schools in Canada and I encourage you to follow the below links to familiarize yourself with this history. “Lila Bruyere of the NCTR Survivor’s Circle, said, ‘Survivors have always been clear that the road to reconciliation must begin with the truth.'” The values of the NP’s Community Agreements translate to a responsibility of being inclusive in our community. Inclusivity requires understanding and we can further that understanding by continuing to learn about the land and history of the place we live in. This topic deserves learning and deserves dialogue:
I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed…. I’m cold a bunch. I wear my battery operated liner gloves until late April/ early May sometimes and I tend to wear longer tights or long sleeves much longer than most of you.
Not this morning though.
This morning was a warm one. Reminded me a bit about Toronto summer mornings (my favourite… home is like that right?) with it feeling a drop humid and extra warm for 6am.
It was soooooooo nice seeing so many of your faces on the holiday Monday! I missed you.
I don’t know about you but I often wonder what you’ve been up to. How has this past year gone for you? What new activities or routines have you landed on? Are you missing this collective like we hear from so many? Have you had a good covid year? Have you experienced some challenges?
Ah the smell of paint fumes in the morning and the little bit of paint on your fingers clinging for the next few days. Tagging days during covid look different but tagging days still happen. This upcoming Monday May 24th is going to be such a day. Just like last time we would ask that at some point between 7am and 8am come drop off a light coloured article of clothing with your name attached to it (or attached to a bag). At 8:02am we’ll have a zoom link shared on social media for us to jump on together and share what you find in this month’s #SeenOnMyRun
Ok, so this morning was so awesome. The brilliant morning sun. The slightly milder temp. And friends waving at one another from the top and bottom of the river valley- while on our 6:35am zoom call. All epic.
Friends, we’re well into week 2 of this month’s #getoutside challenge!
Here’s how your team is doing:
It’s time to hear from you again. It’s been so long. In today’s guest blog, we’ll get a chance to learn more about someone who has been shining his light on all of us this past pandemic year. Dig in and learn more about Jason…
So the truth is I was first invited to NP, long, long before I actually showed up. My friends
Robin and Caitlyn Padayni were a regular part for quite awhile. They moved to Calgary so they’re dead to me now but we were friends. They invited me a couple times and I didn’t come for three reasons. 1) I thought the name was stupid, they invited me to the November Project in January and I thought am I late or way too early either way, I don’t think I am interested. 2) It was -30 and I did not want to workout outside at 6AM. 3) Most importantly I didn’t think I would fit in, I wasn’t 27, I wasn’t fit, it sounded like a great group for someone just not for a someone like me.
Today is Red dress day, a day of awareness for missing and murdered Indigenous persons. You may have seen Churchill Square and Beaver Hills House Park adorned with red dresses. In a continued effort to keep highlighting other organizations & events in the running/fitness industry, I wanted to draw your attention to a virtual event hosted by Native Women Running: “Native Women Running was ahead of the curve with transitioning in person races to virtual ones, creating a virtual run in honor of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in May 2019. This May marks the 3rd annual MMIW Virtual Event, held May 5-8, 2021. Run, walk, or hike at any time, distance, place, or pace. Participants are asked to wear red in honor of MMIW Day, as the color red has, historically, been associated with violence and anger and many of these women have died by means of violence. Native Women Running wishes to use the color red in remembrance of these women’s lives because they matter. Get more info/Register here. Check out the event Facebook page here.” I encourage you to follow the links and join the global November Project community in participating.
I’ve had a different relationship with MWF mornings since September 2020 (maybe you recall what I was asked to do early that month???). Not completely different but I put more weight into MWF mornings now.
Let’s back up for a minute.
Since June 2014, I set my alarm most MWFs and I got up. For the most part, I was excited to have an epic morning with all of you. Even when I drag my feet to begin, I ALWAYS walked (or ran!) away from an NP workout better than when I arrived. It’s a little bit because I chose to show up but it’s a lot because you were there.