Fitbloggin' - The People

If you've attended Fitbloggin' before then you know that the #1 draw is THE PEOPLE. If you haven't been, but have read any recap, then you have read about THE PEOPLE. No matter what way you slice it, the Fitbloggin' community is a special one and one I'm so grateful to have discovered it.

There are a few people who made my experience at Fitbloggin' just so very awesome and it wouldn't be fair if I didn't introduce you to them and their respective space on the interweb!

Erin - Living Made Healthy - Erin was my Fitbloggin' roomie and we shared a hotel room Thursday night without even meeting until Friday morning. Now, in normal life this would be completely awkward, but in Fitbloggin' life this is NORMAL. Sharing rooms with complete strangers - or those you only know from the interwebz...totally socially acceptable. I couldn't have been luckier with my roommate choice and gained a new friend from it. And big news - Erin and her husband are expecting their first little one in January!

Kari - My Weighting Place - There are so many great things to say about Kari, but to sum it up, Kari is my long lost soul sister. Case in point: we both ran the Seattle Rock n Roll half marathon a year and 5 days before we met at Fitbloggin'! And we actually met in the bathroom, but didn't officially introduce ourselves until later when a group of us were setting out to dinner. She has lost 165 pounds and is a huge inspiration and cheerleader for me. She encouraged me to run the 5K and stayed with me (along with Erin) at my pace. There is just so much awesomeness that can't be fit into these few sentences, but know she is bursting with amazing!

Kari and I with the *THE* Laughing Cow

Sarah - Losing Weight and Having Fun - Sarah and I have been "Twitter friends" for ages. I didn't do a very good job of surveying my followers for Fitbloggin' attendees, but we managed to meet up on Friday in the Clean Eating session. She was my main gal to pal around with - from a lovely walk around downtown Portland, to dinner both nights, and lounging on the hotel's rooftop bar.

Alan - Sweating until Happy - I can't even tell you how long I've been following Alan and interacting on Twitter. Always a positive light, he reminds me daily to persevere and be optimistic about life. Fittingly, Alan was the first person I ran into at the registration table Friday morning when I finally got down there. Big hugs were had and the weekend wouldn't have been the same without his company hanging out in the hotel lounge with friends until the wee hours of the night.

Emmie - Skinny Emmie - Which brings me to Alan's Fitbloggin' partner in crime...I've known Emmie for about 2 years. Emmie's blog was one of the first ones I stumbled on when I was getting ready to set up mine (same first name + google, bless you universe). It's not really necessary to tell you her accolades because you already know and love her,  but I will tell you anyway because she is awesome: lost over 100 pounds, finished a half-marathon in 2011, has persevered through an injury for 2 years and has not given up. She was my wino partner in crime at the good-bye reception and my night owl friend to boot. I owe a lot of this weekend to her.

Me and Erin; Me and Alan: Me and Renee; Me and Alyssa

Alyssa - Double Chin Diary - Another person I met for the first time in Portland that just "got" me. The most hilarious you will ever meet nd just all around fun to be around. Plus, we have the SAME EXACT PANTS! You can't even get them anymore, I have literally been on the hunt for pants like these for YEARS - and Alyssa has a pair and understands my plight. My goal is to get to the West Coast before the end of 2013 to work out with Richard Simmons, frolick on the beach and put my toes in the Pacific Ocean (all probably while Alyssa tells an inappropriate joke and I choke on laughter).

Mel - The Daily Mel - Another veteran "followee" I have been interacting with on Twitter for ages. A Tennessee gal at heart, she now lives in Southern California. We literally went all day Friday without meeting up and I made it my mission to track her down and give her the biggest hug. She is witty, is an awesome Twitter conversationalist, and all-around solid person to call a friend.

Renee - Run, Laugh, Eat Pie - Renee is an expat who has lived in the Netherlands for the past 19 years where she traveled from to attend Fitbloggin'.  Renee and I had a pop-up coffee date when we both headed out of the hotel lobby at the same time. She entertained my obsession with Stumptown Coffee - a Portland favorite. I may have gushed a little too much about my love for coffee and Sbux in general, but that's ok. I'm a coffee fiend and not afraid to admit it. Just by talking to Renee you know that doesn't live her life through excuses and that is totally kick ass.

Stephanie - Athlete at Heart - A Midwestern girl like me, Stephanie is my active living inspiration. From triathlons to half-marathons she is kicking butt in it all! She was kind enough to hang out with me for dinner both nights and join Sarah and I on the rooftop bar Saturday afternoon.

Me and Stephanie at the Goodbye Reception

Kari, me and Erin post-5K

Martinus, Alyssa, and Dre having fun post goodbye reception

The people I've talked about here doesn't even BEGIN to include everyone I met, connected with, was inspired by, or intend on keeping in touch with. It is just a VERY SMALL group of the people I hung out with over the 3 days I was there.

Every session had a Live Blog written about it, so if you are interested in reading more about Fitbloggin' and the content head over to the website.