Fit Bottomed Girls Take BlogHer

Gatorade group run. Photo courtesy of Gatorade

If you’re a blogger, you’re likely familiar with the BlogHer conference. This year, more than 3,000 people, mainly women, got together in San Diego for the BlogHer 2011 conference, which was filled with expert speakers, celebrity guests, and lots and lots of parties. And we were there for all of it!

A lot of the women I spoke to mentioned that they hadn’t worked out while there but would get in a great workout upon returning home. And while I understand the need to take a break now and again, to me, this conference was the perfect opportunity to mix it up. I mean, sure, the hotel gym might not be quite like your health club back home, but what about those hotel workouts you’ve been wanting to try? Or, how about asking your roommate how she likes to exercise and joining in with her? My roommate, Heather, had her first long run of the C25k program while we were there, and it was really cool to be there to cheer her on.

I was lucky enough to be involved in a run put on by Gatorade. Not only did I get to try some of their new G Series Fit products (02 Perform in Blueberry Acai? Get in mah fridge!), but I got to take a short run with Gatorade president Sarah Robb O’Hagan, Run Like a Mother authors Dimity McDowell and Sarah Bowen Shea, and my pal Fitz of Fitzness. Good company and gloriously cool San Diego weather? I hardly even noticed that I’d only had three hours of sleep!

We all know how important it is to get some recovery fuel into our bodies after a good workout, so I headed straight from the run to have a Quaker-sponsored breakfast…with Bob Harper. Who spent a good portion of the session standing directly in front of my table. Yeah, I think the oatmeal was fine, whatever. Bob spent the whole hour or so taking questions and giving solid advice, with much of the discussion focusing on setting realistic goals and finding ways to be happy just as you are without thinking about how you’d be truly happy if you could just lose another 5/10/40 pounds.

The lovely Giuliana Rancic! Photo courtesy of Trop50 on Facebook

Bob mentioned that he hoped to still be doing triathlons and marathons as a grandfather, so when it was my turn to ask a question, I asked him what advice he had regarding doing a bigger race: “Is there a way to know when you’ve bitten off more than you can chew?” I hardly heard his answer, though, because the moment I said I was there from Fit Bottomed Girls, he immediately said, “Oh, I looove Fit Bottomed Girls!” (For the record, his answer? “Go for it. If you’re thinking about doing a half-Ironman, you’re ready to train for it. Write about it and get support and training tips from that great Fit Bottomed Girls’ community. I would read that!” Okay, Bob, I’m going to hold you to it!)

From Breakfast with Bob, I stopped by the Trop50 booth to say hello to E! News and Fashion Police host Giuliana Rancic, whom I spoke with back when she launched FabFitFun. She was lovely and gracious (and liked my dress—take that Joan Rivers!), and although she’s put her marathon training on hold, I’m looking forward to catching up with her soon to see what race she’s signing up for.

Of course, the celebrity chats were fun, but I have to say the real highlight was a meet-up we hosted for our readers and fellow fitness bloggers. I love love love that we had women of all ages, all sizes and at every stage of the fitness journey show up. We indulged a bit (okay, maybe more than a bit) in some sangria and margaritas, and enjoyed some incredible discussion about weight—you guys, we talked about actual numbers, which hardly ever happens—what inspires us, what our goals are and more. One of the best parts was the fact that, by the end of the meet-up, everyone was mingling and chatting so easily that I couldn’t tell who had shown up with whom.

Great convo at the FBG meet-up! Credit: Ellis Au / Fit Approach

I’d like to thank Jenn from Girl Heroes, Jess from Jess Runs, the Fit Approach girls, Jenelle from Rellas Bellas, Kelly from Kelocity.com, Terri from Om Crap, Teagan from Teagan Tales, Jessica from The Rose Run, Kristi from Orange Dragonfly, Jessica from Chaos & Love, Debbie from Adventures of This Girl, Erin from Coupon Newbie Blog, and, of course, anybody else who came but whose card didn’t make it into my stack from the evening—we’ll have a more formal sign up for the next one, I promise. All of us at FBG see this as the first of many conference meet-ups—thank you for making this such a success!

Have you ever attended a blogging or fitness conference? Did you find a way to connect with like-minded folks while there? Any chance we’ll see you at BlogHer 2012 in NYC? —Kristen