Happy Wednesday and happy day after Election Day!! I’m buzzing. Sorry we’re a few days late this week. I ran the NYC Marathon this past weekend and have been taking a few days to rest and absorb everything before writing the newsletter this week. (And beyond Medal Monday festivities, it seems like much of the NYC fitness scene as a whole is taking a few days off, too.)
First of all, I had an absolute blast. I was undertrained and recovering from a cold, so I was a lot a bit nervous going into marathon day but I saw a pal’s IG post that said: “Marathon day is a celebration” so I took that as my sign to ditch any time goals I had and have as much fun out there as possible.
As annoying as it probably is if you’ve never participated: Everyone is 100% right about the magic of the NYC Marathon. There’s something so inspiring about seeing that many New Yorkers come out to cheer, dance, hand out snacks, and scream encouragement at complete strangers. I spent every moment of the 26.2 miles smiling.
This week: A breathwork walk, a longevity-focused fitness competition, and ice rink season starts soon.
on the radar: this week’s fitness and wellness events
Wednesday November 4: The Routine Recharge Panel (SoHo), 6PM, free
In case you’re itching for something to do tonight, there’s a panel at Shopify: Women wellness brand founders on how they take care of themselves and keep their businesses thriving. Hosted by Cacti Wellness.
Thursday November 5: Extra Butter Lowdown Photo Walk (Lower East Side), 6PM, free
Extra Butter is celebrating the drop of their Crocs collab by hosting a photo walk with some cool NYC photographers—a chance to get a bit of movement to your day and get creative at the same time.
Saturday November 7: SGRC x Medicube 5K Run (West Village), 830AM, free
Waitlisted but worth your radar because I love Medicube: This 5k from all-women Slow Girl Run Club comes with a goodie bag of Korean beauty brand favs.
Sunday November 8: Breathwork Recovery Walk (Battery Park), 8AM, free
A lot of walk/run clubs are social, but we like that this one focuses on breathwork. There’s a 10-minute breathwork intro, then during the 30 minute walk, you’ll focus on nasal breathing (a very valuable skill, speaking as someone who used to be horrendous at it.) Then a cool down with recovery breathwork, followed by a social hang out. No experience needed, they say.
Sunday November 8: Hike and Heal Fall Field Trip (8AM), $79
There was just one ticket left when I checked for this trip to Hudson Valley/Sleepy Hollow with Philly-based women’s hiking group Hike and Heal. The bus will pickup in New York and take you upstate, stopping at Rockefeller State Park for a leisurely hike, then hitting Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown for some cute fall vibes. It’ll be a full day outing!
the gear that got me through the marathon
I’m still recovering from Sunday, but a few things deserve a shoutout for getting me to the finish line and helping me feel like a functioning human again afterward.
Rally massage gun: My shins were giving me a lot of trouble in the weeks leading up to the marathon, and this has been a lifesaver for working on my tight calves and sore lower legs because the flat head attachment is more gentle than most.
New Balance SuperComp Elite 6: I’ve said it before I’ll say it again. I don’t think everyone needs special race-day shoes, but if you decide to go for it, these are the best I’ve found for slower runners (most are way too intense and won’t do much at paces under 10 minutes.) My calves are currently killing me (in a sore way) because of the carbon plate in these, but I have no shin pain, which is quite amazing and my feet feel FRESH! I would gladly take sore muscles over injury.
New Balance RC Elite Storage Shorts: Ok I struggle to find any shorts I like ever. Bike shorts too short ride up, but too long and they look bad. I can’t wear baggy shorts unless I want my entire body exposed. I didn’t try these shorts until the day before race day (and I never ran in them) and they were absolutely perfect the entire time. No riding up or chafing, and the compression was gentle enough that it didn’t dig into my belly (I did cut the strap inside, though.)
GU energy gels: I did not bonk at all, even at mile 20, and I attribute that to the fact that I downed one of these gels approx. every 20 minutes. My favorite flavors were Salted Lime and Sour Peach. No stomach issues either, weeeeeee!!
Sonny eyewear: I don’t love wearing sunglasses with too much of a tint, and these cuties are perfect and were lightweight on my head (even though they obscured the cute braids I got from the New Balance tent.) An all-time fav.
Stanley 1913 (the drinkware company) so graciously hooked me up with an IV drip from Remedy Place to hydration pre-marathon because they knew I was down sick and stressed about feeling good in time. While I know IVs aren’t magic (and do little more than drinking a shit ton of water could), I am very bad at drinking water so I feel like this made a big difference come race-day.
Flaire & Co waterproof jewelry: I’ve had my jewelry from this company for years and wear it to sweat in all the time. 10/10 on affordability and longevity.
happenings around town
Every night in for the rest of the month, a soccer field in each borough is open for late night soccer play from 10 PM to 2 AM. (Thanks Mayor & NYC Footy.) You can sign up as an individual to join a pickup game, or make a reservation for a team you assemble.
For the longevity or hybrid fitness obsessed: The Super Age Games is happening this weekend for its inaugural event: 8 different trials (like a tight rope, hang to test your grip strength, computer cognitive test) designed to test how long you’ll live. I’ll be there seeing what it’s all about to cover it for GQ.
I’m not going to name any names here, but I’m getting sick of seeing fitness studios that have made so much money by creating cardio bunnies that attend endless classes a week suddenly shift to investing in “strength training expertise”—something they should’ve done long ago for all those claims that they’ll “tone” you. Just remember that the same brands were comfortable letting you plateau so you’d start going to two classes a day to see results.
Interesting to see fitness intersecting with nearly every aspect of life now: The New York Philosophical Society has an upcoming event in partnership with fitness-boxing gym The Pack.
This isn’t wellness-adjacent, but a free opportunity to go check out Mercer Labs this Saturday night? Ok!!
Domino Park skate rink returns November 9th. Prices aren’t actually bad for NYC residents ($13/weekdays, $17/weekends.)
See you next Monday.
Thank you for featuring Cacti!! xx
Congrats on finishing the NYC marathon! It's great to hear you had such a good experience. Enjoy your win and the post race R&R!