#FitBlogNYC Meet & Tweet Recap

#FitBlogNYC meet & tweet a.k.a. probably one of the best days of my life.

I have yet to come down from my fitness high.  Fitness magazine knows how to host an event!  I first of all want to thank Fitness for organizing such an awesome event, and for having me!

Before the event, a group of other fitness bloggers and I met for coffee at Cafe Ole, a small coffee shop near the venue.  It was nice to make other blogger friends before even going into the event.

After swapping business cards, socializing, and taking group pictures, it was time to head over to the Mercedes Club, where the event was being held.After checking in, and getting our name tags, we continued on to find breakfast!Berry muffins, hard-boiled eggs, blueberry yogurt parfaits, and Elixir juices were available.  I decided on a muffin and this green juice.  It was my first time having a green juice like this, so I was pretty excited to try it.  Although the taste of the greens was still slightly present, the apple flavor overpowered it by far.  And for once, I didn’t feel so weird for taking pictures of everything! One of the many reasons I like hanging with other bloggers 🙂After grabbing breakfast, we went outside to the terrace of the building, where music was playing, photographers were snapping pictures left and right, and other bloggers were already deep in chit-chat with one another or tweeting away about the event.While I was in line waiting to check-in, I started chatting with Jen, a law-student in the city, who is actually graduating next week!  (Congratulations, Jen!)  Jen then introduced me to Kara.  The three of us got our picture taken by the big Fitness magazine cover.The event kicked-off with introductory remarks from Fitness magazine’s editor-in-chief, Betty Wong.Following Betty Wong, several guest speakers offered valuable information on blogging, health, fitness, food and beauty.  More to come on the speakers in a separate post!

After the seminars, it was time for lunch, socializing, and meeting brand reps from the sponsors! With all of the excitement to mingle and check out the sponsors, I put lunch on hold, and first went to the Saucony set-up.

They were giving out the Kinvara 4 shoe.  I actually wore them for a short run today, and love them already!

Then I visited the Athleta stand, where they had a variety of activewear on display.  I wanted everything!The Reebok stand had some super cute apparel out, as well as a whole shoe setup!  

Another sponsor, Smart Balance, had such a great idea!  They had a bosu ball set up for bloggers to take pictures on, in their best balance pose, sporting this sweat band they were giving out that said “#BalancedBlogger” How cute is that?! I also got to meet Madeline, who is a Smart Balance rep. Madeline had tweeted me the night before, complimenting me on my blog name.  (She’s a fellow blonde.) Madeline took my picture on the bosu ball, and as soon as I got on there, we realized that just standing still for my picture was going to be the best balanced pose I could do!  They also gave us free peanut butter, and what kind of health and fitness blogger would I be if I didn’t love peanut butter, right?After getting to all of the sponsor’s stands, I headed back out to the terrace for lunch with Diana.  The great thing about fitness events is that you know they’re going to have healthy food options! I chose a kale salad with chicken, and some kind of asian dressing. It was so delicious!They also had green smoothies, and a strawberry smoothie – I went with strawberry, which ended up being perfect fuel for my workout to follow! Diana and I had great conversation over lunch about how fortunate it is to be able to do what you love as a career, and she told me all about how she started her online personal training business!  Check out our pics from the photo booth here!

Also during lunch, I got the chance to meet Christie Griffin in person!  She joined some of us in our Twitter chat about a week before the event.  She is just as sweet in person!  Love her!

After lunch, it was workout time!  We were able to choose between three different workouts: a Saucony Power Run, Mad Cool Fitness by Athleta, or Yoga with Tara Stiles from Reebok.  I’ve been resting from running lately due to leg pain, which was hopefully just caused by  overuse.  Therefore, I had to turn down the Saucony Power Run, and I went with the Mad Cool Fitness cardio dance party with Jennifer Turner!  She did not disappoint…this class was so much fun!  Jennifer’s energy brought the whole room to life and she certainly pumped everyone up!  She is such an awesome instructor, and she’s such a fit little thing!  This is her and I after the class, both sweaty messes!

After the workout it was time to go.  On our way out we received our swag bag FULL of goodies, along with a tank and ANOTHER pair of sneakers, from Reebok!

More swag:

blisslabs hair and nail boosting bites, and a 2-day detox system.

KIND Blueberry Vanilla granola – first time I’m trying this.  It is way too good…so addicting! KIND Granola bar, Unreal skittles, and a Knoshbox!

Vichy product, Celludestock

A few water bottles!

Stila Eyeliner, a couple of Votivo candles that smell delightful, S.W. Basics lip balms, a blow drying spray, a Sparkly Soul headband, and a few other beauty products.  There’s also some dark chocolate covered goji berries there from Sugarfina’s antioxidant collection.  I’m eating them right now as I write this post, and it’s looking like they’re going to be gone in one sitting…not gonna lie. But it’s dark chocolate, so it’s okay, right? 🙂 From now until May 31st, Sugarfina is giving Blondes Have More Run reader’s 20% off of their Antioxidant Collection!  Use the code FITNESS at checkout.

Athleta gave those who did the Mad Cool Fitness workout a little gift bag that had a visor, headband, and a water bottle in it.  We also got a DVD of Jennifer’s Mad Cool Fitness workout.

I had such a blast, and I really can’t thank Fitness magazine enough for all of the work they put into this event. I’m already looking forward to next year’s meet & tweet!  Everyone was so friendly, and it was nice to put a face to many names.  More to come on activities after the event also!