Fitblooggin' 2015: The Tribe!

This is the last of my Fitbloggin' posts for this year. Cue the sad faces.

Yes, I realize it's been a month since the conference, but that silly little thing called real life got in the way, and I haven't been able to sit down and blog as much as I would like. 

I decided to save this post for last, and am dedicating it to the tribe!

Basically, it's going to be a lot of pics...haha.

  

First, and foremost, I would like to thank the awesome Roni Noone for making this conference a reality!

Next, Steve, Jen, and Libby. You three rock and we made for the best scavenger hunt team ever! Thank you guys for helping me to push out of my comfort zone a bit and have a blast! The Goonies forever! 

Seriously, I could write a whole post on these three alone! They are that awesome!

Here are some more of the awesome tribe:


Erin, who is super adorable when she's not kicking asses at the crack of dawn. ;-)

Ty, who is as hilarious and witty in person as he is on the socials and his blog. One of my favorite people and partly why I was so eager to get to Denver! (P.S.-If you weren't there for his Ignite speed round, you missed probably the most hilarious moment of the conference.)

Nicole, a newbie to the scene, loves adventure, and is just full of awesome! We shared a car to the hotel, and have been pals since.

Alyssa and Kelly, two totally different, but both incredible girls. So happy I get to call them friends!  

Dre, one of the first people I met at my first Fitbloggin' back in 2012. He is a sweetheart and I can say  I got several hugs from him during the weekend.                                                                                                                                                      

                                                                     

The amazing Brooke, who tells us all how to live life not on a diet! ;-) In fact, it was one of her challenges that helped give me the final push to get to goal almost two years ago!

Heather, one of my roomies! Thank you for letting me room with you! It was awesome meeting you and getting to know you better!

Tara, who is incredible in her own right. I met her back in 2012, and am amazed with her. So happy I got to see her again in Denver! 

And the rest, old friends and new ones too, everyone I met that weekend is awesome and made me happy to be part of this incredible tribe! =)

 Pauly and Dani

Heather, Jen, Laura (who rocked the 5K with me), and Sarah

 Alan, Robby, and Brooke

 Lena

Dacia

Christie, who is cool despite being a Lightning fan. ;-)

As Dani said in her Ignite, "Fitbloggin is more than a weekend, it's a family!"

On that note, is it Fitbloggin' 2016 yet? 

Fitbloggin' 2015: The Workouts

How has it been two weeks since Fitbloggin' ended? I still feel like it just happened! 

This is my second recap, and in this one I'll be writing about the workouts!

I actually got to participate in several this year, as I wasn't injured, and while they were different from what I normally do, I had a blast!

Friday

• Early Morning Bootcamp with Erin! Originally, I wasn't planning on the early workouts, but then realized that this is Fitbloggin', and nobody sleeps much. So off to bootcamp I went. It was awesome! It was all indoors, since it rained early in the morning, but it was still a great workout! We did warm-up moves as we introduced ourselves, then moved into resistance band moves that used the band in pretty much any way possible, from bicep curls to presses to partner moves holding the band while wall sitting. Of course, there was running too. What bootcamp doesn't have that? I ended the workout feeling amazing! Not a bad way to start the conference, right? 

Erin and me! Of course you know I had to sparkle my way through bootcamp! 

;-)

• Zumba! Okay, you know I am NOT a dancer of any kind. But I know Zumba is a tradition at Fitbloggin', and it was in Baltimore where I did my first class. Nellie and Co. were awesome, and while I wouldn't call myself the best at it, it was an enjoyable class. I wouldn't say that Fitbloggin' has made me a Zumba addict, but I think that I will do the class every year at the conference. 

Saturday

• Glider Yoga with Sweat Pink. Definitely not your traditional yoga class. Half of the class was done high intensity interval style (HIIT) on the glider plates. Push-ups on the plates are no joke, and I think I did some on my knees as a result. The mountain climbers were also tough. After the HIIT part was over, it was time for the traditional yoga flow. Now we're talking! I am more than familiar with this kind of stuff as I do a class called Centergy (basically a mix of yoga and Pilates). Again, I did what I could, but wasn't afraid to modify either (low lunges on my knees, for example), and was more than happy to lay in corpse pose at the end. It was different than what I'm used to with the Centergy, but not unfamiliar. I enjoyed the class, although it will be awhile before I do anything on plates again.

• High Intensity Interval Training with Jacklyn Ho. I missed the sign-up for the Yoga on the Roof (as I was ironically in the gym that night), so I decided to check out the HIIT class. I normally don't do these kind of workouts, so it was an interesting experience for sure. There were cardio moves (high knees) mixed with body weight strength moves (squats, push-ups, etc) done circuit-style. I liked this one, and plan on doing some HIIT work once my racing is done for the season in October.

I am so happy that I got to do the "fit" part of Fitbloggin' this time more than I did three years ago! I tried things that I normally wouldn't, and actually enjoyed them! I wouldn't say that I'm a total bootcamp or Zumba fanatic, but it gave me a different perspective on working out, and made me realize that I can do almost anything I put my mind to! 

Fitbloggin 2015: The Sessions

I've been back from Fitbloggin' for two weeks and I am now just getting around to writing recaps. Fail. 

I decided to break down my recaps a little differently than I did in 2012, where I broke down the weekend day by day. I will be breaking them down by category. This one is about the sessions I went to throughout the weekend. I know, boring stuff. However, I took more away from this conference than I did in 2012, probably because I actually went to FEWER sessions.

This year, my goal was to scale back the sessions so I got more out of them, but at the same time not be overwhelmed trying to get to EVERYTHING. I wound up going to five total for the weekend, most of which were health/body-image related. I felt that perspective was more of what I needed this time, so that's what I stuck with.

Here's the breakdown of the sessions I went to. For more detailed posts, check out the live blogs on Fitbloggin's official page.

Friday

• How to Build Readership Through Social Media. This was hosted by my friend Ty of Seeking Boston Marathon. I admit Ty was pretty much the reason I went to this session, but I did get a bit out of it. For example, I realize that for my blog, I am definitely more of a Twitter and Instagram person. Facebook has pretty much become a "pay-to-play" atmosphere for "like" pages, and something that I really don't want to get caught up in. Plus, I post links to my blog on my personal page anyway. I also realized that I need to work on not auto-posting from Instagram to Facebook and Twitter.  Overall, a great session and one that helped me focus on two platforms in the social world.
• Body Love: Becoming Comfortable Showing Your Skin. See my earlier post on this one here.
• Fitfluential with Kelly Olexa! I am a Fitfluential ambassador, and decided to check out Kelly's presentation. In a nutshell, I learned that I need to step out of my comfort zone a little more, and I actually did throughout the weekend, and have a bit since the conference ended. Baby steps, but I'm getting there!

Saturday

• "Nice Job Maintaining This Week!" Why Being an After is SO Hard, hosted by Sarah Quina. This was another much needed session for me. As someone who has been at goal (or thereabouts) for almost two years, I know that maintaining is harder than losing. The "maintenance" phase of weight loss is rarely talked about, so that's why so many struggle. We're not wanting to see change on the scale, but we're looking for new things to achieve instead. Being an after IS hard, but honestly, so was being heavy and so was losing. Life is about choosing your hard, and I would rather choose the part where I'm not 246 pounds. Like other sessions I went to, I realized that I am more than a number on the scale, and I'm rocking it.
• Eat, Move, Love: Finding Yourself Without Losing Your Mind. This one was hosted by Dacia, Thea, and Heather. The path to health and wellness is not set in stone, and can get tiring. Basically, it can become a game of keeping up with the Joneses. Not fun. One thing I got out of this session is to keep doing what I'm doing for ME, not for anyone else. I also am trying to apply the principle of "What's the worst that can happen?" more. Unless it's death, then go for it! However, one thing that really hit home is that the "old" me is still part of me, that it was that person that changed my life and led me to who I am today. Basically, I need to keep going for myself and do what I want because it's what I want. 

So, there you have it. The five sessions of Fitbloggin' that I attended this year and what I got out of them. I realized that I need to stop trying to please everybody else and love myself for who I am and what I do. I also realized that I need to step out of my comfort zone and take more chances in life. Overall, I walked away from this weekend with a much needed new perspective on myself and am loving myself a lot more than I did before!