March Favorites

This March I’ve been.... 

Enjoying: 

• Music: 

  • Wifey by Qveen Herby (pictured)

  • Lost Track by HAIM

  • King by Florence + The Machine 

  • And a few playlists: This Cool Mom’s Playlist, Michelle Obama’s Workout Playlist, and Tend Athletics Workout Songs 

• Novels: I’m in the middle of Where The Crawdads Sing, and I recently finished The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. and The Echo Wife 

• Laughing at (with): Matt Taylor aka Matt The Person - proof of laughs here, here, and here. 

• Podcasts: Twin Flames (about an online dating guru group - that still exists! - that is essentially a cult...) and Classified and The Edge of Sleep (both fiction podcasts) 

• Macrame: This is a quarantine hobby I started and have kept going. I just finished this piece and I’m working on a table centerpiece next. My favorite place for supplies, kits, guides and more is Modern Macrame.     

Eating: 

• Sticky Honey Garlic Meatballs

• Coconut Sweet Potato Lentil Soup 

• Blueberry Muffin Tops (Gluten Free)  

Moving:

• My long runs have been a looottt more enjoyable recently and I credit that to:

  • Planning new routes through parks and neighborhoods I don’t normally go to, or have never been to. The Strava Heatmap feature is great for seeing where people run and planning out your route. Some new places I’ve run in Portland are Scouters Mountain, Mt. Talbert, and Happy Valley Nature Park. 

  • I’ve been calling friends while I run! It keeps me running at an easy pace and I get to have a playdate while I run :) 

  • I take walk breaks whenever I need to - to refuel, check directions, just for a quick break.. It’s no big deal! 

• Struggle to actually do your PT exercises? Me too! Until I started doing them as the warm up before my run. I consider myself a genius for this revelation that PT exercises are perfect warm up moves, and this is the most consistent I’ve ever been! I worked with a pelvic floor PT during pregnancy and in the first few months postpartum, and now I’m following a generic plan by Recore Fitness to maintain my core and pelvic floor strength. 

What’s New at Tend Athletics:

• The Runner’s Mastermind! I’m really excited about this group mental training program that will be starting in June. The mental side of running is where all the interesting stuff happens!  

• Mental Training Plans for sale on Final Surge 

• Mind Over Miles Podcast: 

  • Erin Azar: Tiktok Comedian or the Running Buddha? 

  • Neely Gracey: Less Time = Less Doubt, Running by Effort, and Phases of Life 

  • Gwen Jorgensen: Being the Best and the Worst, Bold Desires, and Loving Feedback 

  • Ali Feller: Business, Choices, and The Love Camel 

  • Quanera Hayes: Forgiveness, Faith, and Motherhood