Check Your Nose

It just keeps getting better and better. I wish my job was to go to conferences full time. Free schwag, lots of coffee, drinks with lunch, like minded individuals, non stop blogging, and lots to learn about how resources, writing posts, etc. Pure heaven. Then these crazy random subjects arise from the group like “Leaky Gut Syndrome,” something I have never heard of before. I like to think I have “Leaky Butt Syndrome,” so that is what is most relevant to me.

Yesterday rocked the house. Lots of stellar blogging info and great company. We headed to the Med in Boulder for lunch. One of the things that sucks is sitting outside in the fresh Colorado air with a view of the mountains and a plate of delicious food. Very depressing. I think I should have been a food blogger:

The picture below was a very serious conversation about carrying toilet paper while running and how you dispose of it. I am not sure if Jason is  a runner or not because his shirt is very subtle.

However, our very serious panel could not figure out why this woman was wearing a helmet throughout her lunch or why the woman behind her was holding her nose.

Someone spilled a salad on Clair’s pizza:

After our afternoon sessions about Search Engine Optimization (I’ve become very technical), we hit the hotel banquet sponsored by Refuel With Chocolate Milk. The meal was not quite along the lines of the night before at Whole Foods. In fact, I was scared off by the mystery brown sauce (trying not to think about Leaky Butt at this point).

Got to meet Heather, Michigan Runner Girl. She is hysterical, so go to her blog if you haven’t already. I was so tired and bleary eyed by this point so don’t be jealous of how gorgeous I appear.

I also got to hang out with Erin from Just Run with It who is extremely fun and cool, but can’t find my damn picture.

Overall one of the most fun days I’ve had in a long time. The perfect mix of good company, helpful information, good wine and so much laughing I almost pissed myself five times.

SUAR boot camp was back in action this morning as I strapped 20 lb weights to Clair’s ankles and made her run hill intervals . We showered and I actually put on a dress and strappy shoes. I was feeling kind of sassy when we got into the car. Clair said, “You need to check your nose.”  There is nothing like a girlfriend who tells you like it is.

Yeah, booger city. What can I say?

Today it all comes to an end, but not before a few more blogger sessions and a guided 19 mile mountain bike ride outside of Boulder. We had to say goodbye to Misszippy this morning. I’m so glad I had some time to get to know how smart, grounded and goodhearted she is in “real” life.

Big thanks to Alan Wright and the Zephyr Adventures for making it all possible. This conference has gotten me really excited for the Urban Bloggers Summit in Vegas in December when I actually will be a speaker! Check it out and join me. It’s over the Rock ‘n Roll Vegas weekend.

Going to clean out my nostrils,

SUAR

Thunder in the Rockies

Fitness and Health Bloggers Conference Update:

Just FYI: later on I will be doing a “live blogging” event where I will be reviewing sponsor products live on the blog. It is like speed dating but hopefully with no unintended pregnancies.

7:00 a.m. yoga class started out peaceful enough. The cool Rocky Mountain air flowed through the Bugaboo room at the Marriot. The Flatiron mountains looked amazing through the huge picture windows. We moved easily and quietly through Warriors and down dogs and triangles. Clair was to my left, Jason behind me (he’s brave). We were about 50 minutes into a one hour class when the calm in the room was disrupted as Clair came out of three-legged dog pose and released a thunderous fart. Yes, she did. Let me tell you something about Clair. She is a proper Southern girl. It took about 18 years of being her friend before she passed gas in front of me.

I crumbled onto my mat and looked back at Jason. All I could see was his back shaking while he tried to maintain a downward dog. Quickly, the instructor took us into happy baby pose, which only made matters worse. In this special pose, you are on your back with your legs drawn up and spread open. You grab your big toes with your peace fingers, further opening your legs. “Crap,” I thought. “Is she going to let a few more fly?” No, she didn’t. We regained composure, and I told Clair later, “Thank you. My weekend is complete.”

Now, I’m sitting here in the Marriott conference room listening to A-list, influential, very successful bloggers talk about how they got to where they got to. It’s make me feel overwhelmed. I started blogging because I love to write and wanted an outlet. I love the connection blogging allows, and I love the exchange with you all. You make me laugh and inspire me everyday.

When the conversation leads to brands and sponsorships and advertising and book deals, I am not sure what to do. In all honestly, blogging has become more than a hobby for me because of the amount of time I put into it. I feel driven to write everyday. The fact is, it’s taken over a lot of my time. It feels like next steps might be in order, and that’s why I’m here – to learn about all the stuff I’m missing. Twatting and ambassadorships, book deals. It’s a different world.

Woven into all of this are the important questions: Why do you blog? What is your purpose? Where are you going? Do you care about your traffic, your numbers, your analytics?  What is the strategy for your blog, or do you have one?

I am a fly by the seat of your pants (underwear) kind of girl. I love being spontaneous. My only “rules” for my blogging is that I write authentically and I don’t force my writing. If I don’t feel inspired, I don’t write. I don’t have much structure, but there are themes that have surfaced over the course of this blog: not making excuses, doing what you said you would do, potty humor, honesty, recovery/rest, being real.

What’s your goal with your blog?

SUAR

Alcohol Is a Health Food

I’ll tell you what sucks. You finally get the chance to go to a conference and “network” (i.e., shoot the shit) with like minded individuals and you have such bad laryngitis you can’t talk any body. 

Really, the only thing left to do is dance around, pass gas and take pictures.

Amanda, Jill, moi, Jason, Clair eating some beignets at Lucilles in Boulder:

I take this conference thing very seriously. No Harry Beaver comments please:

Cozying up to the bar because we are fitness and health bloggers and it’s better than smoking pot or doing meth:

I hate it that Jason frowns all the time:

They both look so shiny:

Kyle, the bartender. Because everyone wants to be friends with the bartender. Plus, he carded us all, which is weird because I’m like 25, but my friends are all pushing 60.

The whole  conference walked to dinner at Whole Foods. 80 of us. As Jason said, it was like a field trip.

Dinner outside at Whole Foods. An incredibly healthy, vegetarian and fart inducing plate of goodness. The food bloggers were losing their minds:

Overall, a great day learning about this crazy world of blogging and all the opportunities it can lead to. Loving every minute. Glad we have two more days.

Tomorrow 7am is yoga. Hope the Whole Foods meal doesn’t come back to haunt me on the mat.

SUAR

Dude, Where’s My Car?

I’m not surprised I lost a couple followers on that last post.  Can’t please the masses. I guess not everyone likes to read about Harry Beavers. He’s a doctor for God’s sake. Get your head out of the gutter.

Today I tried something new. I’m not feeling 100%, but well enough to get a workout in.

I drove to the pool at 6:30 a.m. sipping some coffee and stuffing my face with a waffle sandwich on the way. I swam 1,900 yards in 42 minutes and only saw one band aid on the bottom of the pool. I then changed into my running stuff, put my crap in the car and ran home for 6 miles in 53 minutes (8:49 average). No water, no nothing. I am trying to train my body to run in summer heat without much hydration. Did I tell you that the half marathon portion of the HIM will be done in August at about noon with no shade? I’m getting a hot flash just thinking about it.

Here I am doing a post run snot rocket:

Here I am showing you my favorite running shirt from the Boulder Striders. I love it because it makes me look like I have boobs. That’s why I rarely take it off:

So, today is such a fun day because some of my favorite bloggers are descending on Boulder for the Fitness and Health Bloggers Conference. We’ve got Miss Zippy, Jason from Cook, Train, Eat, Race, Clair from Own Your Backbone, Paul from Family Fan Club, and Jill from Run with Jill. Just to name a few. Zippy and Clair are staying with me, so lots of estrogen funneling through my house this weekend!

I have been waiting months for this conference and cannot wait!! I know for a fact that Jason, Clair and I will be going to a yoga class together. I never do yoga with people I know because it makes me laugh. I don’t know why. This should be interesting. If I get kicked out for uncontrollable farting or laughing, I’ll blame them.

Any chance you will be here this weekend? Let me know so I can be sure to meet you!

Do you like to switch up your workouts/training routes or are you a creature of habit? For me, the more variety the better. I try new routes and workouts all the time.

Ever been to a conference geared towards health fitness and/or blogging? Not me. I am a virgin.

Are you offended by Harry Beaver posts? I’m sorry if you are, but there is more to life than running, biking, swimming and recovering from running, biking, swimming.

Oh crap. I forgot I have to figure out how to get my car. It’s still in the pool parking lot.

SUAR