What is a a fitcation? It’s a fitness vacation! What is a fitness vacation? I will say this could be confusing as every trip and vacation involves activities in some capacity for me. But a fitcation is a vacation centered around an activity. Surfing in Costa Rica, skiing in Colorado, tango in Buenos Aires, and now yoga in Sonoma!
So what’s so awesome about a fitcation?
Adventure!
It’s a great opportunity to play outside of your normal sweat routine, outside of your normal places. It’s a good thing to try new things in new places, to put yourself outside of your comfort zone.
I remember walking to my first surf lesson while spending a month in Costa Rica and nearly talking myself out of going surfing. How ridiculous would that have been to be in Costa Rica for a month without even trying surfing?! And all because it made me uncomfortable being out of my element.
It’s also a great way to explore a new place in an unusual way! Taking tango lessons and spending my evenings in milongas was the absolute highlight of my trip to Buenos Aires.
While living in Spain, I trained for my first half marathon. Not only did it keep me in shape while eating any and all Spanish cuisine, it was a really fun and unique way to explore my temporary home. Plus, as the race took place in Lisbon, it was a great reason to get to Portugal.
Guilt-free vegging!
I was asked yesterday, “Do you ever stop moving?!” (To which my dad responded when I told him this, “That’s my girl!) I definitely do my fair share of lounging. I’m a big fan of binge watching shows, curling up with a book and a glass of wine, scrolling through Instagram, window shopping online for jewelry and bags. However, what enables me to guilt-free veg is being active beforehand.
My vacations are no different. After skiing all day, I’m absolutely content watching Friends reruns after dinner all evening. My happy place at the beach is in the sand with a book after a morning of running and surfing. [I’m never so lazy or so active as I am at the beach!]
Bonding!
Bonding over a fun activity, especially a new one in a new place, really brings people together. Whether you’re traveling with friends or making new ones, it’s amazing to experience it together. To chat over the day’s events over a post-sweat beer, commiserate over sore muscles, and encourage each other out on the trail. It’s one of my favorite ways to make memories…
Getting healthy!
A fitcation is a perfect way to decompress! It takes my natural destress technique of sweating and moving, and combines it with the fun and relaxation of a vacation.
Stress melts away, I’m constantly moving and sweating, I’m sleeping and eating well…
In my month in Costa Rica, I’ve never been so healthy or relaxed. My daily schedule would have allowed nothing less:
- 6:30am: run for 45 minutes on the beach
- 8am: an hour and a half – 2 hours of surfing
- breakfast of yogurt and a fresh, local, organic mango
- a few hours at the beach reading and doing yoga
- lunch and siesta
- 4:30pm: pre-sunset meditation and yoga on the beach
- 5:30pm: sunset at the beach watching surfers and babies playing in the sand
- 7pm: dinner of sautéed veggies or fish tacos
- 8:30pm: crawl in bed with a book
- 9:30: lights out
How could a person not be relaxed and stress-free with 30 days like that?
I’m getting ready to set off on what is sure to be an amazing fitcation! Jamie, Nicci, Abbie, and I are piling into the car to set off for Sonoma in the morning. We’re taking a little pre-retreat retreat by stopping in Ashland and Rocklin on the way down to spend time together, run, and do some yoga.
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday will be spent at the Westerbeke Ranch in Sonoma with an amazing group of people running, yoga-ing, and sipping on local wines. Sounds like perfection, doesn’t it?
I’m in the middle of the not-so-fun part: packing. So what am I bringing along?
- Sweat Pink trucker
- FFY HIIT Yoga Gliders
- Patagonia’s Nano Air
- Sosie’s Stacks – I always have a selection of bracelets with me at all times.
- a few warm layers for the evening (including prAna’s Liana Sweater) and long sleeve run tops for those chilly morning runs
- one pair of jeans (like prAna’s London Jean)
- two pairs of casual trousers / sweats (like prAna’s Annexi Pant) – perfect for travel days and lounging with the girls with our frank body facial masks
- a few yoga tanks (including my Sweat Pink tanks, duh!) – I chose versatile ones that can be paired with the jeans!
- yoga pants, run tights, and (she writes hopefully) a pair of running shorts
- Sweat Cosmetics – gotta stay fresh even while sweating!
- Pataonia’s Torrentshell – gotta always have a rain jacket!
- a running rain jacket
- a bikini
- handheld water bottle
- a lacrosse ball – I know I’m going to be sore. I already can’t wait to roll away all the soreness with this! So easy to travel with this!
- sports bras – Can’t wait to rock mine from Handful! All the attendees are getting one in their goodie bag. They’re SO comfortable!
- Sorel’s Lea Wedges
- two pairs of running shoes – One is for trail running. The other is super lightweight and perfect for traveling or wearing around. It’s important to not be in the same shoes all day.
- ankle brace – Though my ankle injury is over a year old, it’s still susceptible while out on the trails. I’ve rolled it again quite a few times, but not badly. So I still wear it as prevention.
- a yoga mat
All stuffed into my Patagonia Black Hole Duffel, which is mostly waterproof and has backpack straps.
Not pictured but will be coming along: my big camera, my laptop, AfterShokz, all the chargers, Goddess Garden sunscreen.
I also made sure to get all the snacks for our road trip! Think I got everything?
That’s got to be everything, right? Let’s hope so. I’m double checking my bag right now with our packing list Nicci and I talked about on Facebook Live last week!
Next stop, wine country!
I totally used this to pack for this weekend! Thank you for writing it! Although, I still forgot my swimsuit… every time. Can’t wait to see you!