#picsoritdidnthappen
Fair warning: there may not be many photos from the workout this morning, so it’s possible that zero working out happened. But maybe just mayyyybe we had one of those workouts that you question, “how did we get so dumb…but have so much fun?”
Here’s the recap of the morning, minute-by-minute:
5:20am: Newbie Aaron arrives for his very first NP stadium and waits. Alone. In the cold.
5:24am: A light rain barely falls in the Allston sky. CPayne and EmSauce check out the degree of sketchiness of the ice on the big seats, the small crimson stairs, and the tricky bits around the stair-wells. Survey says: we’re gonna give this a go.
(meanwhile) 5:24am: Capozzi is biking to the workout and eats shit on his bike while crossing the BU bridge, effectively creating a yard sale for BU students to scavenge from when they emerge from their warm beds. Survey says: Capozzi is fine. His camera…not so fine.
5:30am: Capozzi arrives and leads the bounce sung to the tune of Jackson 5’s “ABC” and the mighty 5:30 group gets fired up.
5:33am: EmSauce provides sufficient #safetythird warning to the group — anyone who is scared can go run elsewhere — anyone running stairs with us should be aware of the ice herehereherehereherehereherehereherehereherehereherehere and here. It’s mostly on a stair-by-stair basis, so stay upright and watch out for the reallllll death traps.
5:37am: CPayne calls “go” to the very first #RussianRoulette workout in NP history. (This is how we get really international and achieve #worldtakeover, right?!?) The name pretty much speaks for itself
5:38 – 5:42am: only a couple people slip-n-slide-sit down while descending the stairs
5:43am: the light rain falling becomes actual “freezing rain” and creates a solid layer of ice on absolutely everything.
5:43am: The three geniuses called “co-leaders” take cues from the 5:30 crew…who are now almost constantly calling out from somewhere “ICE HERE!” or “This one is SUPER slippery.”
5:44am: “530 REGROUP” echoes through the stadium and all the 530 skaters slide their way to section 37 and carefully exit the stadium for a #fieldtrip. Some even scoot out on their butts.
5:46 – 6:16am: The 5:30 group transitions from a #RussianRoulette workout to a suicide workout (running back and forth down the infield of the Harvard track), intermixed with hugging freeze tag, and partner suicides with burpees, squats, and jumping jacks.
6:17am: The FINISHER: A “three-legged” race with partners. Winners for the all-male, all-female, and co-ed groups are named. Weird, totally unsanctioned, and begging for Olympic recognition.
6:20am: the 5:30 group comes to a close, still in the mostly dark morning, with barely a silhouette visible of the group in front of the colossal stadium.
6:30am: The group that is even smaller than the 5:30 group shows up and does a name circle like in the wayyy old days of NP, all while bouncing. Hugs, and more hugs.
6:35 – 7:17am: With no need for testing the stadium, the 6:30 group does the same workout that the 5:30 group did, with one extra set of suicides.
(meanwhile) 6:35 – 7:17am: Diana Hunt works harder than everyone else in the entire workout*, earning her the MVP of the workout. Too bad she doesn’t earn a car like the superbowl MVP. She just gets a dirty “schwing” from the tribe at the end. Nice reward for working your ass off, huh Diana? Bet you’ll do it again anyway!
7:20am: Group photo for the tribe. 3-Legged race winners are all “schwinged!” and everyone leaves happy and filled with hugs.
7:22am: everyone you know falls down while walking, running, or biking, or gets into car accidents because of the icy weather. precisely 42 NP cell phone screens were cracked and everyone is late to wherever they are going because the weather in New England is weird AF.
10:30am: you check the NP_BOS facebook page wondering where the photos are and maybe wonder about the blog.
12:17pm: you check again thinking that it’s lunchtime and hopefully there are some photos or something fun to read to remember that ridiculous, stupid morning we had. Survey says: nope!
Now: you get to relax and remember that NP is always here. We find a way, through rain and snow, through ice and cold, through large groups and small groups, stadiums, field workouts, hills, and destination decks, to get all the #freefitness. That shit is ours and that shit is good. (And sometimes a little dumb and dangerous, but not too dangerous.) We are #weatherproof. And yes, this morning DID happen!
Friday 6:29am: The tribe bounces at the top of Summit Ave. (see you there)
*While we used no quantifiable way of measuring whether Diana worked harder than everyone else or not, it’s important to point out that when you work hard, it shows. You probably feel it when it’s you working hard, but it affects other people around you. Today Diana had a determination in her eyes and a fierceness on her face that was incredible. She found those little moments on the turn around at each line for the suicides and she dug in, instead of backing off. She set a rhythm for burpees and squats and channeled everything she had into the flow of those movements…almost daring everyone around her to meet her pace and try to keep up. She got every single penny’s worth out of showing up today. Diana’s not better than any of the rest of us, but she reminded me today how good this shit is when you really take everything it has to offer. She didn’t have to think about what comes next, she just put her head down and went to work. She didn’t have to be supportive of the people around her, but she fought for them as well as for herself with each elevation of effort she put in. Everything about today could have been 100% NOT ideal for getting fitter, faster, healthier, and better as athletes. But by bundling up, lacing up, showing up, and then SHOWING THE FUCK UP, Diana reminds us that this is absolutely ideal. Every day, #nomatterwhat.
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