Stuff I Like - October Edition
rest + repeat.
We’re less than two weeks out from opening I am Tired. Mentally I’m spent; physically I feel like I’m running in ankle weights. Everything at the store is 25% away from completion in a way that has me questioning if it’ll actually get finished on a timeline that includes the 26th as an end date.
I mentioned in my last newsletter I’ve been running out my stress and unfortunately it’s made my moody achilles pretty angry. She’s stiff, cranky and for the first five minutes of every run screams at me until she’s properly warmed up. The old me would have just continued to run through it while the current, older me is running through it while also worried if I don’t take care of it I might really fuck something up. See how much I’ve learned in my elder (millennial) years?
Apparently not much as I struggled to navigate anything tech related (shopify, instagram, shopify) while icing my ankle last Wednesday after an accidental 10 miler.
But, I’m trying and this month’s SIL list is dedicated to the products I’ve found that I’ve been leveraging as an aid in my journey towards rest, relaxation and all the other ‘r’ things I’m not great at holding space for.
Some Great Smelling Incense
I stopped burning incense a few years ago in favor of fancy over priced candles and lately I’ve been missing it. There’s something sacred and ritualistic about lighting a stick of incense and watching the smoke waft as the smell envelops a room. Candles are nice but incense is divine.
My goal for the store is to sell a variety of products that support a like-minded lifestyle, so alongside the typical range of running shoes (+ not so typical range of running apparel), I also plan to carry a variety of lifestyle + personal care products. While candles might’ve been an obvious choice, I think fancy incense might actually be the new designer candle. A friend with impeccable taste sent me this brand so I immediately ordered four different scents and they’re all lovely.
During the pandemic when I began practicing yoga at home, I used to love lighting an incense stick at the beginning of my practice. Running is a ritual, a practice much like yoga and I think that’s why I’ve always loved them both. Yoga the yin to my running yang. There’s something meditative and grounding about adding these symbolic gestures to a practice to mark a beginning and end; a shift in energy. My running ritual begins with caffeine, ends with some soothing incense and foam rolling emails.
Some Bougie Bath Salts
Years ago when I was still training for things like half marathons, I used to end my long runs at the vegan bakery down the block from our old apartment, pick up a muffin the size of my head and then hobble home and straight into an epsom salt bath.
An epsom salt bath is my cure all for everything. Overdo it on a run? epsom salt bath. Still sore from that strength training class you attended last Tuesday? epsom salt bath. Need a quiet moment where no one will bother you? You get the point.
Because I’m superficial, I like nice things to also be in nice packaging and selling giant plastic bags of Dr. Teal’s felt a little too CVS so i started looking for something pretty, yet still effective. The same friend who told me about Looshi sent me this brand and they’re fantastic. I love that they’re local and the glass jars will look beautiful on a shelf - whether it be in my store or in your bathroom.
Fancy Arnica Cream
I’ve been burned in the past by the effects of icy hot (TL;DR the icy felt good, the hot did not) and since discovering the magic of arnica cream years ago haven’t looked back.
The stuff I typically use is stuff I purchased at Whole Foods and while great, doesn’t look awesome merched somewhere that isn’t a natural foods store. I stumbled across this stuff while down a rabbit hole looking for something else (probably bath salts or incense). It’s a mix of arnica, wintergreen and tumeric in a handy little tube or tub. Initial reaction is it comes out thick but melts quickly and feels amazing. It also can double as a fancy vapor rub as we head into this season we call ‘cold and flu’.
Sidekick Tool
I’d been getting hit hard by instagram ads for this and while intriguing, hadn’t been injured enough to spend $125 on what looks like a medieval torture device. Until now. All the 5 star reviews made this thing seem like a miracle cure and once I added to cart I was very excited to try.
I don’t know if it’s the achilles cure I’ve been looking for (that probably comes with more practical unfun things like avoiding hills and reducing mileage) but I will say it’s been helpful. It also comes with a two week physical therapy plan to supplement the tool, which I find super helpful, especially since I’ve been procrastinating making an appointment with my actual IRL physical therapist.
It’s not nearly as painful as I imagined it would be and actually feels quite restorative, like a nice little massage for my calf and ankle. The tool itself is pretty weighty so very little additional pressure is needed. I’ve also been foam rolling…a lot. Peloton has some great 10-20 minute videos if you too like shutting off your brain while someone else tells you what to do.
Fancy NA Cocktails That Don’t Taste Like Dougie’s Juice Box
J/K my son doesn’t drink juice. Not because I’m *that mom* but because like all the other fun foods I tempt him with (cookies, cake, chocolate) he’s very much not into it. Fair enough, if he prefers his one vice in life to be a buttery pastry who am I to deny his joy.
I’m admittedly late to the Ghia party, but I’ve avoided trying it only because I’ve found most NA drinks to be not worth the calories. No matter how much they say they offer ‘sophisticated adult flavors’ they still always taste like a little too much like dressed up grape juice for my liking. I’ve heard good things about Ghia from people I know in real life and so I picked up a couple cans over the weekend to try.
Good news Ghia passed the taste test! The flavor profile runs bitter and the sumac chili option even provided a nice kick (nearly) reminiscent of it’s boozy counterparts. Sure they’re a little grape juicy as expected since the first ingredient is grape juice, but I cut mine with a little soda water and found it delightful at 5pm Sunday. If you live in the bay area, swing by the store on the 26th between 3-6pm. We’ll have a dj and Ghia on ice. #shamelessplug
Speaking of opening weekend, it’ll be a low key affair because I am a low key person and also terrified literally no one will show up. I’ve got two dozen croissants on order for our inaugural ‘slow jam Sunday’ group run and I might be the only one there to eat them.
A little substack update : at some point I’ll probably rebrand the ‘stack. We’re still working through website design so until that’s finished + live I’ll keep everything as is so when people google ‘running wylder’ something pops up that isn’t a random mom in Tennessee. I originally started this newsletter last year as a way to stay connected with my end goal and thought maybe I’d eventually integrate it with the store, but selfishly I really enjoy having them separate. We’re building a blog as part of the website because it’s better for SEO which is apparently something I’m concerned with these days. We do have a temporary landing page set up; visit www.runningwylder.co and submit your email for our newsletter! Spoiler alert : nothing happens because I have no idea how to set it up.
*k
I'm just in the process of spending $[redacted],000 on my bathroom, so I feel you on the Dr. Teal's.