My Fitbloggin 14 Recap – Fun, Fitness, Friends & Bacon!

Another Fitbloggin under my belt. This one was #3 and it was held in Savannah, GA. We were quite lucky to have reasonably good weather. I did not feel like I was going to melt every time I stepped outside (which is what I expected). Here are my highlights:

Ice breakers

This event was hosted by Alan Sweating Until Happy. He did a great job! The game where we had to match a shoe to a person was entertaining. As an introvert, I live for ice breakers. I am shy to just walk up to people, even if I sort of know them online.

Sponsors

We had some great sponsors hosting informative tables with lots of yummy samples and swag. I LOVED the daily smoothies made by the folks from Nutribullet. The avocado folks taught me that I can make blueberries muffins with avocados. Who knew? They were amazing! The folks from California Almonds had some great treats to share including a make-your-own trail mix bar. The folks from Chia Bar had some great samples as well. My dog is thrilled to receive the great treats I brought home from the Rachel Ray Nutrish booth. I also learned some great new tips from the folks at Shareasale. I am mad at Walgreens for not giving me a Fitbit. Just kidding! They provided some great information throughout the conference.

Thanks also to Caty and Marjani from Our Skinny for joining a few of us for a lovely lunch. It was great to have some locals walk us around the city a bit. 

Run Disney and Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports

These folks sponsored our first lunch and brought Coach Mickey along as a special guest. The toddlers went wild! Although it’s been around for a while, I was not aware of the Disney ESPN sports complex. Check it out for great events for adults as well as kids. I’ve always wanted to try a Run Disney event. The registration for the Princess Run is coming up so I’ll keep an eye on that. I know my daughter would love to join me.

Favorite Sessions

There were a lot of great sessions, but these were my favorites. I’ve linked to the Live Blogging notes (where available) in the title of each session.

Small Group Discussion: The Introvert’s Guide to Blogging, led by Jessica Humphrey – What a great way for a bunch of introverts to be in a room together and actually talk. We learned more about all of the positive things that introverts have to offer.

Small Group Discussion: How Very Pinteresting!, led by Steph Calvert – With Pinterest the top referral site to my blog, I wanted to learn even more about making Pinterest work for me.

Small Group Discussion: Taking your Smartphone Video to the Next Level, led By Andre Smith – Andre did a great job. I already downloaded iMovie on my iPhone and I’m playing around with creating my next video. Hope you approve Dre!

Small Group Discussion: How To Pitch Brands for Ambassadorships & Sponsorships, led by Margo Donohue – Margo once again provided her genius insights about working with brands. This was a very informative discussion.

Presentation: Media Kits and More: The Art of Being Booked, led byKaty Widrick – I am a HUGE fan of Katy and her presentations. She provided great information and inspiration. I’m working on my new press kit this week.

Favorite Workouts:

PiYo + Insanity with Kat & Katy – sorry Kia, I was not up for a 6am workout. For Zumba I had another session on my list. No scheduling a Zumba conflict next year Roni! I had not worked out in a while, but PiYo and Insanity (modified) was a great way for me to get back into more intense movement. Both Kat and Katy have such great enthusiasm. It was contagious.

Fitbloggin fun run 5K – Alan and I served as accountability partners to make sure we got out of bed and ran. We did a 30-30 interval through the streets of Savannah. It was just lovely and a perfect pace for me. Thanks Alan!

Other Favorites:

Ignite Keynote – The “how to screw a sneaker” was priceless. Andre also needs to send us all a recording of his Fitbloggin song. All of the presentations were funny or touching  as well.

Beignets are little pillows of Heaven!

Savannah eats – Holy cow, I think you can gain 10 pounds in a week in Savannah. I wanted to try local food so my diet sort of went out the window. Fitbloggin did not help with the final night of ridiculously amazing local sweets for dessert. I tried southern crab cakes, beignets, fried green tomatoes and more! Thanks also to Roni for making sure the hotel had some great bacon. I don’t think any bacon will measure up to what we had in Portland, but it was still good.

Thanks for being a great roomie Shalama!

Meeting great people – Fitbloggin never fails to allow me to meet terrific people from all over the country. Shout out to some of my new blogging friends:

Shalama (Views From Here), Stephanie (Food and Fitness 4 Real), Markita (SweshFit), Kristi (Becoming Supersonic), Jennifer & Kathrine (It Sux to be Fat)

Final tip if you are coming to Fitbloggin 15 – In Denver. Woop!

Bring layers. The a/c is freezing! Great for workouts, not so great for everyday summer clothes. Too many people were not prepared. Be prepared people! 😉

Layers Peeps!

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