Yesterday was the great James Baldwin's birthday, as Cindy and I were discussing last week. So in his honor, I took the liberty to rename the exercises for some of the great freedom fighters in recent history. I thought Cindy would like that, especially in light of our recent discussions. Extra credit was 4 PAX. Ran to Target. Used the long stairwell for 7s - burpees at top, big boy sit ups at bottom. Round of squats, then back up the stairs for supine pull-ups, and back to pick up the 5:30 crowd. We used a 4 x 2 pattern - half mile run (4 min), 2 min exercise. Sort of, as the 6 was moving somewhat slowly.
Run to Berkeley/Greenwood Cliff. 10 diamond John Browns (merkins). 15 Fred Hampton (flutter) (2 rounds all exercises) Run to Covenant Presbyterian amphitheater. 10 decline John Browns. 15 Malcolm X (step up). Run to Duke Endowment. 20 Che Guevara (dips). 10 incline John Brown. Run to Morehead Tavern. Who do we run into on the way? Cindy. This workout was planned especially for him, and he was elsewhere. 15 Nina Simone (rosalita). 15 Nat Turner (lbc). Run to The Green. 15 Fred Hampton. 15 Nat Turner. Run to top of BB&T Deck. 10 John Brown, 10 Cornel West (squat) 15 Nat Turner. Run to Marshall Park. 15 Nina Simone. Something else, probably, I can't remember now. Mile back home. 4.8 miles with EC.
I intended to provoke, of course, and in some ways it worked. Discussions along the way included Urban Renewal history and the destruction of Charlotte's Brooklyn neighborhood, the various and segregated bubbles many of us live in, and why some of the names from the morning were unfamiliar, despite their importance in American history. It was the kind of reflection that seems good and necessary, if incomplete. Will save to repeat for Cindy at a later date, though this may require a sneak attack.