Explore Nashville Run With Elizabeth

Nashville, what a great city. This morning’s run was about seeing various areas of the city and ending up at a local coffee place for beverages and a little food. Part two of the adventure was walking back to the hotel.

I researched a few coffee places and I saw Vanderbilt University was in the area so that gave me my two points of interest I was looking for.

Vanderbilt did not disappoint. The school is 150 years old and very pretty. We had a great time running through exploring and ended up using more milage than expected in the campus.

From there we set off to find Honest Coffee Roasters on Lea Ave. The City is fairly easy to navigate so it wasn’t hard to find. A coffee, a juice, and an avocado toast hit the spot. The people were great there.

We took a different street back on the walk back to the hotel and saw a whole bunch of other cool stuff.

I’m going to call this Nashville exploration mission a success.

Here are our Strava maps

Map 1 The Run Part
Map 2 The Walk Back

#explore @nashville

Exercising with friends is in my DNA

By Elizabeth

I have been exercising consistently my entire adult life. I like the way it makes me feel, it helps me maintain my weight and it keeps me strong. But the real secret to staying engaged all these years has been figuring out how to make exercise fun. For me, that means turning it into a social activity, too.

And a recent DNA test proved that need is actually coded in my genes! Among the findings compiled in my personalized Vitagene Vitality Guide was this: I have “low interest” in exercise routines — it actually said that! The report suggested exercising outdoors, with friends or in competition as ways to spark my interest in physical activity. Check, check and check!

 

I am absolutely blessed with a core group of girlfriends who also enjoy running, biking and lifting weights. Over the years, we have kept each other honest by setting up early morning runs and bike rides, and signing up for weight-lifting classes together. Not showing up is not an option!

It’s not just physical activity that brings us together. We genuinely like each other and have fostered a deep level of trust. We all abide by the absolute rule that our confidential conversations during our workouts stay in “the vault!”

We share our joys, our heartaches, and all the ups and downs that are a natural part of life. When I was going through a tough time at work, my running partners got an earful — and a faster-than-usual pace as I picked it up while recounting my workplace issues. We know when to just listen and when to offer advice.

I was sidelined the first half of this year recovering from a broken ankle, and I really missed my run therapy! Seeing my friends was a real motivator to rehabbing that ankle and getting back out there.

So while the social strategy may not appeal to everyone, it’s my secret to exercise consistency. And I have a 30-year track record that shows it really does work for me!