November 24, 2015

Coming Soon: Cranky Fitness Heads to Austin!

photo upload via philip kromer

By Crabby McSlacker

As regular readers may recall, Cranky Fitness is a migratory beast, roaming back and forth each year from Provincetown Massachusetts to San Diego California. This is because Crabby McSlacker and her partner-in-crime "The Lobster," are free spirits who love an adventure! Or else it's because the crustacean couple are really just a pair of spoiled brats too wimpy to survive winter in an isolated New England coastal town.  Either works.

But this year, instead of San Diego, we decided to mix it up and go elsewhere during the colder months. And that elsewhere is ... Austin Texas!

The reason I'm talking about Austin now, when we don't leave 'til early January, is that I just got alerted to the fact that Prevention's R3 Summit on women's health is happening in Austin January 15 and 16.

A women's health conference taking place in a cool city the weekend after I arrive there? What excellent timing! So I felt compelled to do some wheedling and pleading and try to beg my way in for free to cover it for the blog. Because I am totally shameless resourceful like that.

But as it happens we've got a promo code for a discount for Cranky Fitness readers if you're in the vicinity and want to attend!

So why Austin? And what's the deal with the conference?



Why We Decided to Spend 4 Months in Austin Texas 

Well it's home of blogbuddy Carla Birnberg, so it's got to be awesome, right?

But there are other reasons too, many of which even have something to do with health and fitness. We are the nutty sort of folks who will actually choose a place to live based on whether it encourages or discourages a healthy lifestyle.

We've only stayed in Austin a few days here and there, but from what we observed:


  • The downtown is fun and walkable, with tons of  intriguing restaurants, bars, music venues, and other enticements to get out and about.
  • There is a Whole Foods the size of 97 football fields a short walk away from our rental.
  • There are bike paths, parks, tennis courts, pools, gyms, etc. all over the place. And unlike Frisco Texas, where we have recently spent a bunch of time, there are actually sidewalks for pedestrians to use! You are not regarded as a some sort of freakish and dangerous alien life form if you attempt to walk or bike somewhere.
  • The city seems young and vibrant and creative. Which you'd think would be a turn-off, right, since we are old and stubborn and fond of going to bed at 9 pm? Yet, for some reason, the youthy thing appeals.
  • Austin is in Texas, but not of Texas.  The vibe is left-leaning, alternative, open-minded, and intellectual.  How not to disparage the rest of Texas by saying Austin is the antithesis of everything we aren't crazy about when it comes to Texas? Um, I guess there isn't a way to do that!  So sorry, Rest of Texas.  I do realize many wonderful people live in the Rest of Texas, but the culture there is just too foreign for me to feel very comfortable in.


More About the Prevention R3 Health Summit

What are the "Three R's" about if not "readin', ritin', and 'rithmitic?" They stand for "Revive, Refresh, and Reinvent. I am hoping they have figured out how to reinvent beets and broccoli into brownies, and if so, you'll hear about it here first!


You can tell it's a health conference; almost no one has crappy posture.

The Master of Ceremonies is Dr. Jennifer Ashton. (Not to be confused with Jennifer Aniston, who is pretty adorable and would be great too. But how would she get to Austin when Emirates doesn't fly there?) Anyway, Dr. Jennifer Ashton is co-host of the show The Doctors! And so is Dr. Travis Stork who will also be there. Plus there are a whole slew of other speakers who are experts at various impressive things as well as being "health and wellness thought-leaders."

I happen to be a health and wellness thought-follower; leading sounds way too hard. So I appreciate the prospect of having a whole bunch of new health and wellness thoughts to follow. You can check out the full R3 speaker line-up to see which thinkers and thoughts might appeal most to you.

Plus the summit provides "small-format wellness workshops, live cooking demonstrations and tastings, integrative health screenings, fitness and body sculpting classes, beauty bar samplings, and film screenings."

Wait... what was that about tastings???  I just hope they define "taste" the way I do, though that might require them swapping our traditional dixie-cup sized samplers with big bovine-sized buckets.

Where are they hiding the tasting buckets?

So anyone up for some refreshing revival and reinvention?

Here's  a promo code for a $20 discount on weekend passes: PVNR3SDCRANKY1 which you can use on the Prevention R3 tickets page.

And hell, if you decide to go please let me know you're there!

Perhaps we can meet for a cup of coffee or some sort of creepy-looking green detoxifying beverage or a big-ass draft beer or something? Any confirmation that Cranky Fitness readers are not entirely imaginary is cause for much celebration in my weird little world.

What would you want to see in a women's health conference? Or, if you were to spend 4 months in a different place this winter/spring, where would that be?

15 comments:

  1. Crabby, go you for getting in on the conference. Meanwhile, I am happy to winter right here in Alberta. The dark and cold help me write.

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  2. Thanks Leah, I think you just helped me figure out why I haven't gotten anything done on the novel, I don't have miserable enough weather. Doh!

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  3. I'm so glad you'll be nearby! Hmmm, thinking, thinking about how I can lure you 90 minutes east...want to visit the Bush Library? HAHAHAHA. Or, how about seeing a cute dog and a big fan???

    Any case, you guys are going to have a great winter in Austin, but be forewarned...it's going to be way colder than San Diego, so bring your winter clothes!

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  4. Well Shelley I'm an equally big fan of yours so we gotta make something work!

    And yeah, sounds like we need to be prepared weather-wise for it being a bit chillier than San Diego, so thanks for the warning!

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  5. As much as i would love to, there's no way i could make it. Austin is a great place, and it's close enough to where some of my Texas friends live that i'd love to come and make a sweeping visit, but it will have to be another time.

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    1. Well if somehow you do find yourself in Texas this winter Messymimi, please give me a holler I'd love to see you!

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  6. Clearly, you and this conference were meant to be. I hope the tasting buckets are plentiful. (Why on earth does autocorrect think that should be "pleb"?)
    If I were to spend a few months away from home this winter (which is not really a pleasant thought) it would be in New Orleans.
    Mary Anne in Kentucky

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    1. Pleb? So weird! My autocorrect is stupid too and often wants me to type "poo," when I have never actually to my knowledge used that word in anything I have typed. Who programs these things, a two year old?

      New Orleans was a close second for us and some winter I believe we'll give it a shot! But love that for you home is where you most want to be.

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  7. My first thought was a health summit in Texas? Hahahaha. Sounds like Austin is different than the only area I have been in which was Amarillo. I can't wait to hear more about it!

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    1. I've been in Amarillo too QD, and yeah, could not be more different than Austin!! It smelled like dead cow, for one. Yikes.

      Will keep you posted!

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  8. Austin sounds great. I hope we will manage to cycle in that direction later this year, but we'll be in New Zealand at conference time. Have a great time - looking forward to hearing all about it!

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    1. New Zealand? DRG, I just love all these places that you are exploring!!! Please keep us posted on your adventures, we can all be vicarious world travelers!

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  9. Austin sounds awesome! And I may have to brag a bit and say I met you in person…still feeling famous because of that! So I can save my money and don't have to go to Austin at all. LOL!

    I would spend four months in the Caribbean of course. Me, the sun, the sand, and the ocean. That sounds about right…a fantasy, but right nevertheless.

    At a women's health conference I would like to see a "Perimenopause…YES, It's Real!", table. No one tells you about this stuff…good thing Google knows all.

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    1. Kimberley, wait, are you saying once was enough? :)

      Ah, the Caribbean does sound like a great winter destination, will have to consider that! Although I get too hot easily, so that may be a bit too far south.

      Love the perimenopause idea, 'cause yeah, hardly ever gets talked about!

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    2. No way was once enough! LOL!

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