36:08 was my @Nov_Project_SF PR Wednesday time this morning. What made the difference was what happened on my finishing lap.

Background: the November Project is a weekly free fitness workout. Movement. It's life-changing and deserves its own post. Several. In SF we meet every Wednesday morning, 6:30am in the middle of Alamo Square.

Every last Wednesday of the month is "PR Wednesday" where instead of the regular novel partner/team exercises, we all do the set "PR" (Personal Record) routine. As fast as possible.

1. Start in the middle of Alamo Square.
2. Run out to Hayes, turn left and do a lap around the park, and run back to the middle
3. Run to the SW corner and back
4. 50 pushups
5. Run to the NW corner and back
6. 50 sit-ups
7. Run to the NE corner and back
8. 50 sergeant lunges (25 each side)
9. Run to the SE corner and back
10. 5025 burpees
11. Run out to Hayes, turn right and do a lap around the park, and run back to the middle.

I did a 10km+ training run yesterday (for the Rock'N'Roll half on 2014-04-06) and so I admit I felt like I was dragging today. No excuse, I pushed on and did all counts of all exercises (and then some, apparently).

By the end of the burpees I was done. Or at least it looked like everyone else was done and I was the last one remaining. I didn't care, I was going to finish even if I had to walk the final lap.

I took off running towards the Hayes side of the park and what happened next was completely unexpected and I'm still having trouble not getting emotional about it.

What happened: about a half dozen of those that had already finished spontaneously left their spots in the finisher tunnel and paced me. People that I've met informally several times and yet here they were, running an extra lap just to show support.

When I sped up they sped up. When I slowed down they slowed down. They kept encouraging me the whole way. Did I mention I could barely see through rain and sweat fogged glasses? I pushed on as fast as I could go without tripping and falling, without losing my breath, and finished.

I cannot express in words how this has made me feel the rest of the day. I can't remember the last time I felt that kind of support and camaraderie.

The founders of November Project (@Nov_Project) and November Project San Francisco (@Nov_Project_SF) have created something incredibly special and I feel lucky to have found it and be a part of it.

It's free and open to the public. As they say: #justshowup

And look out, next month I plan on beating that PR time.

Update: Connor asked in a comment isn't it 25 burpees and I just confirmed with fellow NPSF members (and co-lead Clayton) at this morning's #hillsforbreakfast. The NPSF PR routine has 25 burpees, not 50 (I did 2x apparently).

Next month I'm going to crush my PR.