Nashville and New York

Hello friends! I made my annual summer pilgrimage to New York by way of Nashville. Here's what I've been up to for the past week.

WORKOUTS

I was in Nashville last week for work and got a quick run in one morning. I looked up routes on Map My Run and did this 2.6 mile loop. It was a really pretty run that took me over to Nissan Stadium. I decided not to run with my phone because I am terrified of being mugged. Sadly that means no photos of the beautiful sunrise or the apartment building that's basically in the water next to the bridge. Nashville built some legit pedestrian/cyclist paths on their bridges, which is nice because it encourages commuting by foot or bike.

The red line is the portion I ran before the GPS kicked in.

I went for a run 5.5 mile run on Long Island on Saturday. It was hot. There was a classic car meet-up on my running route and I got to see some sweet Ferraris. I ran out of water after mile 4 and was very thirsty. I tried to hydrate before going to one of my closest friend's birthday pool party. It was super fun and his girlfriend ordered koozies (she's a keeper!) and fun pool floats. It started tame enough, but I inevitably ended up drunkenly food shopping at the Million Dollar Deli like many summers of my youth. I woke up on the couch around 5 AM surrounded by other guests and decided to get in a taxi ASAP so I wouldn't miss church on Father's Day. This is why I am the best child. 

This was my standard route when I lived at home.

This Spiked Seltzer contributed to the party buzz. I screenshotted the website and sent it to my CrossFit ladies group text. I hope it's available in Georgia!

My mom and I have been going to Pure Barre each weekday. She goes to Pure Barre Huntington and Pure Barre Woodbury. The Woodbury location has to follow the shopping center signage standards and everything is black. It looks beautiful. I'm a little sick of Pure Barre though and can't wait to get home to the box.

FOOD

Eating intuitively is more stressful than I thought. I was a hundred times better with my food choices at the conference in Nashville because I let myself eat what I wanted and focused on getting adequate protein. I had one cookie each day instead of 12 just because they were available. #moderation. I did get stuck in the airport for 5 hours and eventually caved and bought some candy, but I bought a single serving of Raisinets and Sweettarts instead of the jumbo packs.

I've been drinking a protein shake before Pure Barre and then trying to listen to my hunger cues for my remaining meals. I've felt full several times this week without feeling stuffed, which is kind of new for me. I feel fluffy and I keep getting worried that I'm way off my macros so sometimes I track a few meals to see where I am. I miss my food scale.

BUNCH OF PHOTOS

Here's me in my hotel room in Nashville before my run.

And here's my calf looking fantastic!

My mother decided I needed to try on all the clothing I have left here. There's stuff from when I was in the 6th grade and I have tried on almost everything by now. Only one closet left to go! These are some pants I bought when I was super thin and teaching. I haven't been able to get into them in years. I tried them on when I came to visit in March and could get them up but not closed. Now they button and zipper but they are too tight to wear. My goal is to wear these delightful teal size 26 inch waist corduroys this fall. Non-scale progress goal right there.

After trying on so many old clothes, it's been nice to see what I can wear again, like a size 0 Banana Republic suit that I got for my teaching interviews. Clearly Banana Republic suffered from extreme vanity sizing because I am between a size 4 and a 6. It's been a bummer to find out I will never be able to wear other clothing again. These are things that fit me in the waist but can't accommodate my thunder thighs or larger shoulders. I used to have very narrow shoulders and scrawny arms. I don't want that body back but I will miss those dresses.

Here's Mr. Mink doing his thing.

And another shot of him looking gorgeous.