Five on Friday – the FitBloggin edition

Hi there!

Happy Independence Day!

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Hope you’re having a spectacular day! If you happened to be in the path of Hurricane Arthur, I certainly hope you and yours and safe and sound. Arthur showed up here about 3:30(isn) this morning but just brought some heavy rain and wind. Thankfully, we live far enough inland that we weren’t affected too badly by the storm.

Okay, I promise this will be my last FitBloggin’ post!

(Maybe – I reserve the right to change my mind. I AM a woman, after all!)  😉

I met so many awesome people at FitBloggin’ and was introduced to so many awesome blogs.

I want to share a few with you that I think are definitely worth checking out.

1. born2lbfat.com

Friday night at FitBloggin’ was Ignite Fitness night and there were 10 (I think) speakers who volunteered to stand up and chat for 5 minutes – to tell their story or just tell A story. Sarah was one of those people. Unfortunately, I never actually introduced myself to her (two reasons – introverted and slightly ADD. no excuse, really.) but her story touched me. A lot more than I would have expected. I’d never heard of Lipedema or Lymphedema before and I can’t imagine how I would deal with it if it was me. Sarah amazes me. She’s had a positive attitude since she was small and it has continued into her adulthood. I look forward to learning from her amazing self-awareness and self-appreciation and I hope to have another opportunity in the future to stop being such a dumbass and go say hi.

2. www.sweatinguntilhappy.com

Alan is one of the most positive and happy people I have ever met. I think he might even be happier than Erin who taught our bootcamp class and was probably amped up on at least a liter of caffeine. 😉 Alan also spoke at Ignite Fitness. His blog is the tale of a man who decided to take back his life, regain his happiness, and document his successes (and struggles). His drive to keep going amazes me. He decides he’s going to do something (that somebody else probably told him he couldn’t do) and he goes and does it. Like running a 5k or even doing a triathlon! His ability to focus and self-motivate forced me to reflect on my OWN ability to do those things and I left FitBloggin’ with a renewed vigor and sense of excitement towards my training. Thanks, Alan. I needed that! 🙂

3. racingtozen.com

Jessica led “The Introvert’s Guide to Blogging” session. How does an introverted blogger get in front of a bunch of other people and give insight about what it takes to be a successful blogger who would often rather hide from all the people?! I don’t know but she did it amazingly. I really felt comfortable with her because she actually understands what it’s like to be an introvert.  If you’re an extrovert, it probably boggles you why that person in the corner is so quiet, or that person in your work group never speaks up. Maybe you think she’s “reserved,” “snobby,” “unfriendly,” or any other negative adjective you can think of. Perhaps, instead, she’s “shy,” “uncomfortable in large groups,” “doesn’t like to have attention drawn to her,”  or something else. I appreciated how honest she was with us – probably helped to have a bunch of like-minded people to share your feelings with! – and how accepting we ALL were of each other. For a bunch of introverts, it really wasn’t a quiet session. Okay, so we weren’t having a dance party or anything but I don’t think a single one of us felt uncomfortable about speaking up.

4. www.crankyfitness.com

I don’t even know where to begin. I mean, her alter ego is “Crabby McSlacker.”

You know that part of you that whines, moans, and bitches about being too sweaty, losing toenails, getting blisters, ripped hands, sore knees, bad bruises, and all the other things that are the “not fun” parts of running/biking/crossfit/fitness in general? Yeah, that’s the voice of Jan in your head. And yet, she’s positive, friendly, and extremely intelligent and insightful so it’s almost as if Mary Poppins is following her around with that spoonful of sugar at the ready. 🙂

5. vitatrain4life.com

You want motivation? You want to be inspired? You want to hear about dedication and cross your fingers that it rubs off on you? Check out Allie’s blog. 🙂

HOLY. SMOKES. You should have seen her arms! #ripped

There are so many more blogs that are definitely worth checking out. We’re all checking in and posting our FitBloggin’ recaps here – you should check them out. Who knows who (and what) you’ll discover?!

Talk to me: Who motivates or inspires you? How do you respond when you meet someone who inspires you?

– jennifer

A few things I learned at FitBloggin’

Hello!

Happy Tuesday!

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So, I’ve had a little bit of time to decompress from FitBloggin’ and reflect on some of the things I learned.

Don’t get me wrong – my brain is still a little like Speed Racer on crack but I’ve slowed down a little and am managing to absorb some stuff.

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1. I learned a really awesome and easy way to cut an avocado.

Michelle Dudash from the California Avocado Commission was there to teach us how to use avocados as a fat-replacer and nutritional booster in recipes.

Did you know that you can substitute avocado for the butter in your favorite baked goods?

I know, right?! I’ll give you a minute to pick your jaw up from the floor and wrap your head around that one.

We sampled some California Avocado-Blueberry Muffins that were To. Die. For.

photo credit: Carrie D Photography

I may or may not have sneaked back to the table for more than my fair share.

(and for those of you that are wondering – yes, sneaked really IS the right word. #grammarnerd)

Then, we learned the new nick and peel method for avocado preparation.

I got to be a volunteer to demonstrate how easy it was!

One of the perks was getting to eat the avocado I peeled! #winning

photo credit: Carrie D Photography

They also gave away some avocados and I happily partook of THAT giveaway. 🙂

Got home on Sunday and we grilled burgers for dinner and I promptly demonstrated my new avocado skills for my sailor and Thing 2. Because, a burger + avocado = <3!

2. I learned some very interesting facts about chocolate milk and how to maximize post-exercise recovery.

Dr. Wendy Bazilian was there as part of the Got Chocolate Milk? team and she was really awesome!

Did you know that you sweat out calcium and that rigorous exercise could cause substantial losses of calcium?

I had no idea!!

And that’s why making sure you get enough calcium in your diet is SO important – especially if you’re working out a lot!

Substantial calcium loss can cause bone damage like stress fractures, etc and that’s no bueno. 😦

Did you know that milk, in addition to containing calcium, also contains electrolytes?

Yeah. I learned something new AGAIN!

Basically, after you workout, you should consume carbohydrates, protein, fluids, and electrolytes and chocolate milk has all of the above which makes it the perfect recovery drink!

Have lactose issues? Have no fear! Many recovery drinks on the market today are formulated with the same 3 grams carb : 1 gram protein ratio so you won’t miss out.

Best time to replenish? 30 – 90 minutes after sweat session is the best time for your body to absorb the nutrients.

3. I learned that it’s probably not the best idea to wear black capris for boot camp when said boot camp class is held outside.

My fellow Girls Gone Sporty ambassadors!

photo credit: Erin Kreitz Shirley

Holy muggy south even at 6am!

4. I learned a SH*T TON from Shannyn of frugalbeautiful.com in the DIY Success: The Tech Tools session.

I was seriously too busy taking notes to take any pictures.

She told us about free plugins that were “MUST HAVES,” ways to make money from blogging (not sure how much in that direction I’m going to go but it’s interesting to consider!), how to manage analytics, free tools to help us grow our blogs, etc.

I also managed to scribble an entire page of ideas for my blog during that session.

Seriously, I was writing so fast, I’m surprised I didn’t set my notebook on fire.

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5. I learned that, even though I can generally fake it, I’m definitely an introvert. Okay, wait, I already KNEW I was an introvert but most of the time, I can force myself out of my comfort zone and assimilate into the group of people I’m around.

Except for the first night of FitBloggin’.

Yeah.

Lena had flight delays so she was checking out all the vendors (which I had already scoped) while I was in the room for the mixer, badge decorating party, etc.  I grabbed some chips and salsa – um, hello, avocado and blueberry! – and went off to a table. By myself. Where I promptly got avocado on my white t-shirt and dropped a blueberry on the floor.

Sheesh. Can’t take myself anywhere.

Luckily, Emily from Fit and Free with Emily and someone else (darned my nervous brain for forgetting who it was!) came over and rescued me. And, since I had read Emily’s post on What to Pack for FitBloggin, I had something I could really talk about. Otherwise, I had dug myself in such an “introvert hole” that I’m not sure I would have been able to climb out. I was pretty much ready to go up to the room and hide when they came over.

I need to work on not allowing that to happen.

I did fairly well throughout the whole weekend (I think) but there were definitely times when I was glad to have a few minutes to myself, even if that time was in the shower. I was even totally okay with my Saturday morning run alone even though I had attempted a running meet-up that ultimately didn’t pan out.

I was really glad to have Lena there, even if we had really just met, too. She’s an introvert too so we understood each other.

I really enjoyed meeting all of the bloggers that were there. I learned about so many different people and what they’re working towards and what motivates them and what hills they’re trying to climb.

In learning about them, I also learned some new things about myself.  Some things I like, some things I want to change.

That’s how life is supposed to be, right? We’re supposed to be open and sharing and caring and learning from each other.

FitBloggin’ 2015? Yeah, I’m in! 🙂

Talk to me: Are you an introvert or extrovert? How do you handle being in new situations with large groups of people you don’t know? Are you planning on attending FitBloggin’ 2015?

Savannah: a brief recap and I met Arian Foster!!!

Hello, hello!

Holy cow, what a weekend!

I’m got back from FitBloggin’ yesterday afternoon and, even though I had stopped driving, my brain still wanted to go 70 mph.

I learned so much stuff! I have so many ideas!

Honestly, I’m a little overwhelmed by it all!

It’ll probably take me a full week to sort out all my thoughts and review all the notes I took before I can really recap it.

The drive to Savannah took me about 7 hours and was actually pretty decent.

Except for South Carolina. What’s up with that, anyway?

I’m sure South Carolina is a lovely state. I mean, people go there for beaches and stuff, right? No one would go to an ugly beach, right?

They even have really fancy “hey, you’re entering South Carolina” signs.

But, honestly, that 200 mile stretch of I-95 was just plain old ugly and boring.

I thought maybe it was just the fact that I first drove through it after lunch and it was warm and I was just tired.

Nope, sucked equally on the way back and I was driving through it in the morning.

The best part of South Carolina? (besides leaving it…..)

This sign:

Coosawhat?!

Bahhahahahahahahahaha!

Anyway, at FitBloggin, I finally met up with Lena!!!!

She’s totally awesome and I love that we’ve become friends through blogging! 🙂

We had a great time, both inside at the sessions and outside checking out Savannah. We had some time built in to the day where we could get out and explore and eat, etc.

It was a nice break and Savannah didn’t disappoint.

view from the hotel. Uh-May-Zing.

Savannah is FULL of squares and parks. Just gorgeous!

Could have spent HOURS checking out all the beautiful buildings.

Most definitely had to stop and get some pralines. It’s a MUST when you’re in the south. 🙂

Pralines! I couldn’t decide which one to get so I got both. Duh.

These riverboats were pretty much right outside our hotel. They had restaurants on board and did dinner cruises.

Yeah, I get seasick so I just enjoyed looking at them from solid ground. 🙂

Riverboats

Apparently, Savannah is a HUGE shipping port. I had no idea! These container ships went by quite regularly and, as you can tell, they are stacked super high! These things are massive!

container ship

There were many different brands there and brand ambassadors giving away free samples. Pretty sure I’m set for a while. 🙂

 

Oh, and I totally got to meet Arian Foster.

lemme take a selfie

He was really awesome and I had a nice talk with him about his diet and health choices (he went vegan for a while) and how it affected him and his training. Of course, the whole time I’m totally freaking out in my head because, yeah, I’m just standing there chatting with ARIAN FOSTER!!!!!

Thanks for snapping the photo, Lena!!! 🙂

So, after all that excitement and a 7 hour drive, I was pretty wiped out when I got home yesterday.

I had track work on my calendar for this morning but I decided I needed to sleep in instead.

I mean, FitBloggin’ is no joke – early rise, late to bed, and go, go, go all day long.

I needed the break!

Except, my brain didn’t agree.

So, I did what runners do when their brain won’t turn off – I squeezed in a few miles before work. 🙂

Now comes the fun part – making sense of it all and deciding what I want to do with everything I learned.

FUN!

Talk to me: Have you ever been to Savannah? Have you ever been to South Carolina? Why is it so blah (at least on I95)??

– jennifer