Signed up, paid...SKIPPED IT!
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Hello Reader, Heya Fit Travel Tribe, 👀 DON'T BE SHORT-SIGHTED 👀 Sometimes the smartest choice is to say "no." I didn't run my half marathon in Sofia last month. And I was SUPER BUMMED about it 😭. But it was the right call. Back in early spring I signed up, but immediately struggled with ankle flare-ups. It hindered my training and, by August I had only run about 6.5 miles (out of the 13.1 I'd soon do). My recent doctor appointment showed I do have a minor issue that can get worse unless I PT it. But 5 days prior to race day, I did a 6.5 mile run and I felt great! WAHOO! (Granted my hip flexors were sore, even at half the distance), but at least my ankle didn't hurt and I'd expect much more hip flexor soreness the day after the race. I could power through. Then, the day before the race, my ankle was giving me lots of issues. I did a full day trip to Plovdiv, walked a lot, and it was bothering me almost to the point I'd probably adjust my gait to compensate. Walking back home late from the train station, I told myself: "Don't be stupid - it's not worth it." I collapsed into my partner's arms into a "welcome home hug" and started crying saying "I need to skip tomorrow's race." I've never skipped a race day. Ever. Not because it's raining, not because I'm tired or slightly sick, and not because I was a bit under-trained. Literally never. 💔 I know I shouldn't "wake up and see how it feels." My body already told me. And I needed to listen. Perhaps it was just bad luck because I think it could have been fine, but I realized some good news: I'm the wisest I've ever been when it comes to listening to my body. Years ago, I'm sure my ego would have gotten the best of me. But now I realized the long-term effects of pushing too hard (making an injury worse and needing to recover longer later) weren't worth the short-sighted victory of powering through today. Just like running a long-distance race, life....is a marathon, not a sprint 🏃 So, you tell ME: Email me back and let me know :) 🇺🇸 Hello from New Jersey! I’m visiting family, but I’ll be flying back to Sofia in just a couple of days, and I’m very ready to be home. The big news before I left was that I finally submitted my Bulgarian residency application! 🥳🥳🥳 When I get back, I’m expecting one of the final steps to be heading back to the office, hopefully hearing “Congrats, you’re approved,” and then paying for my ID card. Fingers crossed. After that, I get to start all the fun adult stuff that comes with actually settling in: opening a Bulgarian bank account and getting my part-time work contract set up so I can teach fitness classes. The latter I've been waiting for since the very beginning, over 2.5 years ago. I haven't had my name on a gym schedule since May 2023 and it brings tears to my eyes feeling like it's coming soon. As for my US tip: I had 3 long flights to San Diego, totaling being awake for more than 25 hours. I had such fun catching up with friends at the wedding 💒 , but immediately after I started feeling sick. Then I had a long coast-to-coast flight back to NJ to visit family. I ended up being sick for almost a week with my first day almost fully in bed. Thankfully, I’m feeling much more normal now and even got in a real workout this morning! I’ve also been continuing to pack up things to bring back to Bulgaria. The remaining stuff is increasingly made up of awkward, fragile, decorative things, which is stressful, but also really exciting. A year ago, we didn’t even have our property yet. Now I can look at a painting or piece of furniture and think, I know exactly where this is going to go. Two more months left in 2026! Don't forget to vote tomorrow!!!
🇺🇸 Walk Historical New Brunswick My Rutgers New Brunswick audio walking tour is officially out! This one is special because it feels like my hometown. I grew up 30 minutes away and then spent 15 years living, studying, and working in New Brunswick. Founded in 1766....Rutgers is 10 years older than the founding of the nation! If you’re visiting the area, exploring the university, or just curious about the history of one of the oldest universities in the country, this is also a fun way for alumni to connect back with the Banks of the ol' Raritan. Fun publisher fact: I actually thought to reach out to Rutgers University Trademark to ask if I can use the name "Rutgers," and other identifiers. Since I worked there, I know they are very strict with trademark. And ya girl doesn't wanna get sued, of course. (They said they had never been asked a question about audio tours like this before, haha which makes sense!)
🌴Walk Through Balboa ParkI will never tire of appreciating how accessible walking is and, when I was in San Diego, I was reminding myself how some cities have regular parks, and others have the ultimate parks (ya know, the ones that top the "best things to do" lists). Balboa Park is a perfect example because it is expansive and beautiful. You can spend hours walking through the park, admiring the architecture, gardens and museums, taking photos, and generally exploring without ever feeling like you're “exercising.” I never get tired of all the palm trees!! 🌴🌴🌴 Whether you've been to Balboa, or have heard of it...any chance you know it's history? It was originally developed for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition, and the exposition helped transform the area into the incredible collection of architecture and public spaces that exists today. During the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition, the park was expanded again, with some truly bizarre attractions, including a “living” exhibit where visitors could pay to watch people living in a simulated nudist colony. Apparently, people have always been willing to pay money to watch other people do weird things. 😂 These "expositions" helped stimulate the economy like during the Great Depression. It became so iconic and well-loved that it is now an unequivocal landmark in the whole city. There are currently tons of museums and my personal favorite is the Museum of Us. They still have two exhibitions I remember visiting: Post-Secret (post-its written by thousands of personal secrets on display) and the Cannibalism Myth & Reality (spanning culture and circumstances that might make you question what you'd do if your life depended on it). I’m also working on some audio walking tour routes for San Diego, including Balboa Park, so stay tuned for those! 🧳Stop Buying Travel-Size EverythingOne of my favorite simple travel habits is refilling small containers instead of constantly buying travel-size products. If you have a favorite toothpaste, shampoo, lotion, or other liquid, buy the regular-size version at home and refill a small travel container when you need it. You save money, create less waste, and don't have to keep buying tiny versions of things you already own. Also...get creative! You don't need an "official" refillable travel container sold in a store in the travel section. Collect small jars or other containers you can use as a vessel for these products. I also love that if you give an item a second life, it's easier to throw away when it might be convenient. For example, I kept a small pasta sauce jar to carry my open bag of chia seeds (because putting those in a plastic bag is a disaster waiting to happen). I also stuffed a small, opened bag of sunflower seeds. Once I used it up on this trip, I decided I didn't want to pack and bring the jar home (just to keep the jar), so it just got recycled. It's one less thing to buy every time you travel, and those little savings add up. Always on my mind: More money for more travel! It's often worth a little homework for those savings 💸 Feel free to always respond back to this email with any thoughts and questions you might have or content you'd love to see in the future. Happy travels & healthy living, Heidi Note: Some images and GIFs sourced from Unsplash and Giphy. |