It aint about the ass

As I was scrolling through Instagram (far less annoying to me than Facebook lately) last night, Tracy Anderson referenced Lena Dunham. I went to look and found this:
Promised myself I would not let exercise be the first thing to go by the wayside when I got busy with Girls Season 5 and here is why: it has helped with my anxiety in ways I never dreamed possible. To those struggling with anxiety, OCD, depression: I know it's mad annoying when people tell you to exercise, and it took me about 16 medicated years to listen. I'm glad I did. It ain't about the ass; it's about the brain. Thank you @tracyandersonmethod for showing me the light (and @bandierfit is where I bought my Florida mom inspired workout look.) #notsponsored  #stillmedicated    
Exercise has been a regular part of my life since I was a teenager. I would be lying if I said it has always been a stress release. It was probably much more “about the ass” (not really ass for me as I come from pretty ass-less/ square ass lineage) but either physique driven or just fun driven for years. Sure, there’s the sense of accomplishment after a tough workout but my sense of movement for mood came much later.
So it’s difficult for me to admit I can probably count my real workouts since the New Year on my fingers, my fingers OF ONE HAND.  I’ve been under a lot of stress. And we all have stress whether it’s work, financial, relationship-related, health-related, child-related or parent-related. And when life is really dishing it out it can be a stress combo platter.
 I’m typically the brush myself off and trudge on type of person. I'm also pretty programmed to eat well and exercise. But I get that sometimes every to do item is daunting and difficult. I also know when you do get yourself to a class or for a run or even a walk outside it’s worth it. And don’t get me wrong; I get the exercise for aesthetics thing. However, I think if we all pay attention to our mood and our stressors and acknowledge them it does as much for our asses, thighs and stomachs as any workout. I’m putting it out there that I will run today. Thanks Lena.What do you think of Lena’s comments? What do you do for mood? What’s your biggest source of stress?
And BTW I am OK (no emails or concern). I am in the business of reducing your stress but thought I'd put it out there that I get it.

To count or not to count?

If life can be divided into those who count and those who do not, I am a dedicated counter. I love my Fitbit, jump on the scale every morning (not more than that, promise) and prefer Flywheel, the spin studio that gives you stats, versus Soul. So, it only makes sense given my inclination to count that running would involve a state of the art GPS watch providing me with pace, distance and everything else one would like to know about a workout.

However, you may recall I was burned by my Garmin GPS watch. In a marathon in a semi-remote location, my Garmin didn’t get signal. It wasn’t a great race for a number of reasons but any normal person would go to plan B and run based on perceived exertion but I was lost. I had relinquished any sense of what a certain pace felt like as I relied on my ex-friend Garmin to tell me if I needed to speed up or slow down. I also lost a lot of the pleasure that comes from running. I always wanted to be one of those people who ran a race and yet stopped to take photos but thought, “how are they sacrificing those precious minutes?” As if I were an Olympian and minutes made any difference.

This summer I look a different approach. Marc and I are signed up for a race that basically involves running up and down a mountain; one doesn’t do this type of terrain for time. And in a major departure, I’ve been running without a watch. I’ll go out for an hour or two hours without concerning myself about pace or exact distance.

When you’re not fixated on your watch you start to look around

In the course of my training I happened to  receive a Timex watch in the mail as a thank you or a project we participated in. I use it just as a simple stopwatch. I don’t stop it when I break for water or any of the other silly games I used to play. Just start and stop.

I am by no means defecting into the no-count camp. I’m wearing my Fitbit as I type this and will get on the scale this morning. I tell clients to take a break from weighing themselves when they are scale prisoners. When numbers cause you to be in a bad mood or zap pleasure from an activity or day, it’s time to make a change. Now, I need to get over carrying my phone to take pictures as I run…

Are you a counter or a non-counter? What do you count? Has your counting ever crossed the line? Do you run with a watch?

Healthy Scavenger Hunt: Austin Edition

Lauren is off enjoying warm weather (she reports back that she found a Jamaican hotel with green juice and has a new favorite green callaloo), so we are dreaming of other destinations too.... We've hit up Chicago and New Orleans in the past, and Carolyn recently did Austin, TX, Foodtrainers style.

I am not one to truly veg and do nothing on vacation, but recently took that to the next level and grabbed 8+ of my friends to run a destination half marathon in Austin, TX. I’d only ever experienced Austin on what we called “hurrication” (pre – Katrina) from Tulane. Years later both my style of eating and my “activities”  were a little different, but the margaritas were a constant. Here's what I found...

Whole Foods Austin: The original Whole Foods is in Austin, so I barely dropped my bags at the hotel before beelining for the Foodtrainers mecca. I had a whole week (and a kitchen) so I stocked our hotel room up with the essentials, from Mary’s Gone Crackers to avocados, fresh fruit and green juices. The juice bar was funky too, with drinks made with bell peppers and sweet potatoes.

Daily Juice:  The Daily Juice was my daily go to spot, from spicy after-flight immune boosting shots to pre and post run fueling smoothies and greens. They also had our office favorite Hail Merry Snacks on hand so I was in heaven. My top pick, and the spiciest thing I’ve ever had, was the MR. RESISTOR: Lemon Juice, Cayenne Pepper, Ginger, Oregano Oil.

Uchiko: Uchi and Uchiko are restaurants by chef Tyson Cole (James Beard award winner). The “Japanese farmhouse” style food was my favorite meal of the trip – the Brussels sprouts were out of this world and the Hamachi with pickled green apple and jalapeño also hit the spot.

Blenders and Bowls: Right next to our hotel was Blenders and Bowls, part of Wanderlust Yoga studio. They make the most insanely beautiful “smoothie bowls” that are a dream come true for post yoga breakfast.

La Condesa: Our post run meal was at La Condesa, a swanky little Mexican restaurant on 2nd street. My favorite part was what our friend Damien called the “poshy guacs”, one made with pomegranate and queso fresco and the other with jumbo lump crab, apple and coconut vinegar.

Milk and Honey Day Spa: I treated myself to a 90 minute deep tissue massage post-run and it was a game changer…. And will now be a built in for future runs.

Workouts: in addition to the long run (a fantastic way to learn a city), we did a few short runs and walked (15k + steps, thank you fitbit!) all over the city. I also hit up several yoga studios. Wanderlust and Core Power Yoga are both heated studios that play great music. Friends went paddle boarding but truth be told, I went margarita-ing instead...

Rainy street is a block of old bungalows and formerly rundown houses that has morphed into bars and cocktail lounges with huge porches and yards. We went to Clive Bar but I don’t doubt you could have fun at any or all of them on a given night. 

There is so much to see in Austin, so we weren’t too disappointed when our flights got cancelled back to snowy NYC. I still didn’t get to hit all the juice bars I wanted but there’s always next year...

 

(My friend Liz taking an LBT-break and quoting it for the entire trip)

So have you been to Austin? Done any destination runs?