The next installment of our 10 part guest blog series is all about an OG of NPCan and her journey over the years. Sorry to spoil the ending but she found love and I am forever thankful to not only see that love blossom over the years but also see them tie the knot last week! Haha yes we even had the proclamation and took photos with it because why not – everyone should enjoy it. I hope you enjoy this blog as much as I did and make sure to say hi to the entire family when you see them at a workout next 🙂
Leap of faith
8 years ago I showed up to Emily Murphy Park to run hills with this crazy little group. Little did I know how much it would change my life forever, and in all the best possible ways.
It was exactly 2 days after the NP second birthday party (because showing up to a birthday party for the first time seemed very intimidating) and as I walked up from the parking lot it was clear that the only person who I knew there, and the one who asked me to join had not showed up that morning. I decided to make a B line back to the parking lot and pretend like I was never there, when I was greeted by Andrew Ference who started up a conversation about me and my life. It was then that I decided to take a leap of faith, and just run the silly hills.
I tucked myself in with a group of gals that I thought I could keep up with.. I did in fact, NOT keep up. Not even close. When time was called, I remember sitting in the group as we listened to announcements, and we finished it all off with a picture of a group “boop” and it was right then and there, I knew I would be coming back for as long as I possibly could.
I am a competitive person by nature, and I could have left that first morning feeling defeated being unable to keep up (I eventually learned that nobody could keep up with Cathleen Bell) but there was so much more about this group that left you wanting more; the people, the laughter, the community, the support, the encouragement. It was about so much more than just the fitness, and as I continued to show up every Monday Wednesday and Friday, I would learn that this group would continue to push me out of my comfort zone.
It started with races (5km, 10km, 15km, Half Marathons) and then it grew into community support events (POPYEG, Ihuman, RCR 24 hour treadmill challenge, Bust a Move and many more) and then grew even more into NP travels and adventures (NP does Honolulu, Seawheeze, camping trips, hiking trips, yoga retreats, running man challenges) but it always circled back to the family that was being created the minute you stepped out of your car into the parking lot.
I could fill these next few lines with all of those obnoxious clichés, but instead I will say that there are so many reasons that I will forever be thankful for November Project, but my favorite by far is meeting the love of my life, building my family, and growing a circle of friends that I will cherish for the rest of my life. I took a leap of faith believing in something bigger than me, and I will always be so thankful for that. 8 years of laughter, high fives, hips and hugs, Positivity awards, cheering, support and more love that I could have ever imagined.
If you have been sitting on the sidelines, or thinking about coming to a workout but just wasn’t sure if it would be right for you. If you were afraid that you weren’t fit enough, afraid that you are “not” a runner, or worried about the weather conditions…. Just show up. I promise you will not regret it, because nobody gets left behind or forgotten.
Its hard to narrow down 8 years and thousands of pictures to just a select few, but here are my most special pictures from over the years.
I was a single mother living in Leduc, with two young boys – and anyone with young boys knows that getting them out of bed is already a challenge, let alone before 6am! When the alarm rang at 4:30am, I would work to get the kiddos ready and out the door so we could get to the workouts on time, bringing them with me to stairs, hills and the Monday adventures, they loved it. They always worked hard and loved that they got to say “FUCK” yeah those mornings without consequence. It was the pride they felt when they got their first tagged shirts, and how they got to tell their classmates why they had a spraypainted shirt. There were mornings where I carried them up and down a hill, or piggybacked them across bridges, and sometimes, if the location allowed it, I even let them sleep in the back of the SUV instead.
My life was so much fuller, and so much richer because I showed up in the mornings. And while not many people knew, it was also during this time that my personal home life was becoming a very toxic and dangerous place for me, and my children to be. My NP family would check in on me, and ask about my safety, and then eventually, moved me out of there. November Project was my safe haven and my happy place. And ultimately it helped me rebuild who I was, when I didn’t recognize who she was anymore.
A few years later, I never could have expected what would happen next.
November Project had created outlets for secondary workout/run groups (Run collective, Need for Speed, Croissant Club, Leduc Runners) and they are all intertwined through social media. And it was through cheeky social media, I was called out for turning down a 6am Sunday run with Croissant Club stating, “If you can get up for November project 3 days a week, you can get up for a Sunday run too.”
My competitive edge had been triggered, and well, I wasn’t about to be embarrassed by this sweater wearing accountant. After that run, as the croissant club usually does, we collected at little brick for breakfast. I of course had the eggs benedict, because I will always have that everywhere I go, and wouldn’t you know it, accountant guy loved it too.
And that was the beginning of Lucas and Deirdre. We continued to talk every day since that day, and that grew into other secondary workouts too, until eventually we were going to workouts together 5 days a week.
I had always said that I would never date anyone from inside the November Project bubble, because it was my safe place, and well sometimes relationships don’t always work out. But it turns out the people who I had grown to know and love, had saw something for me, before I even saw it for myself (Thanks SB,SF,SK) I took another leap of faith. I trusted my people, and I trusted what I felt myself in my heart. He was my one in a million.
Four and a half years later (Depending who you ask lol) we have grown our little family to include two more littles (you have probably seen me carrying them both at commonwealth) Benjamin and Arya and in a week (from the time of writing this) we are getting married!
Thank you to every single one of you who have been a part of my journey in November Project. Thank you for showing up and enriching the lives of others, and ultimately yourselves. This group is a better place with each one of you in it.
All my love,
Dee
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