Move MORE!

I am excited to let you all know that I have been chosen as a Move More Fitness Ambassador!

The Move More mission is perfectly in line with my own: to encourage people to, well, move MORE!  Building health, fitness, and wellness is as easy as finding 10 minutes a day for additional activity - which means ANYone can do it!  Hopefully, as a MMF ambassador I can help spread the good news and reach more people who are in need of that little extra push that gets them moving.

In the meanwhile, I know I still owe y'all some race recaps and a couple product reviews...  I appreciate your continued patience as I work through the divorce and possible move, I'm starting to get my feet back under me and anticipate a little more time to start posting again soon.  For now, have a picture of my adorable puppy after our longest run yet - because puppy smiles are the BEST smiles!

Finding some clarity.

The past few weeks have been a veritable roller coaster.  I feel like my whole world changes every day, and I'm never sure whether my decisions are taking me in the right direction or making it all so much worse.  It's been exceedingly difficult to have faith in myself.

Yesterday I ran another trail race with my favorite Chicago race organization, the Muddy Monk.  As usual, it was a fabulous experience (race recap pending) and the trail was gorgeous.  For a long stretch, most of the second half of the race, I found myself alone on the trail with considerable distance between myself and the next runners ahead or behind.  Turns out, when you're in the middle of a beautiful forest, pushing your physical body at maximum exertion, with some of Floyd's most chill tracks blossoming calm into your hears...  It's the perfect setup for a few moments of mental and emotional clarity.

Photo courtesy of the Muddy Monk photographers!

I am a strong person.  I always have been.  When I started running and racing last year, it was to prove to myself how strong I really am, but I shouldn't need to prove that to anyone, much less myself.  My entire life has been built on my own strength.  There are times when I say I don't want to be strong anymore, or that I am getting too weak to keep fighting, but everyone who knows me also knows that I will never give up on my life.  And I realized yesterday that they are right.

The days are tough right now, and the long nights are even worse.  Packing my life into boxes that don't have a destination is painful.  My uncertain future makes it almost impossible to establish relationships as they present themselves, be it job opportunities or new friendships.  I still feel trapped - but it'll all end eventually.

I just need to gut it out a little longer.

The Fit Expo Chicago!

What an exhausting weekend!

I spent six hours each day this weekend at The Fit Expo, which was in Chicago for the first time ever this year - and it was an amazing experience!  Though I'm quite certain that The Fit Expo was pretty small as far as fitness conventions go, I found it perfect for my first foray into a non-nerd convention, and I definitely made every minute worth my time!

This is going to be a largely photo- and video-based post, but I'll try to make some notes in the captions to discuss some of my favorite highlights!  You can also see more photos/videos on my Instagram feed.  I'll admit I spent much less time near the bodybuiling or MMA areas, so you won't see much weight lifting or tricking here, but the little I did see was equally exciting for people who would have more interest in that facet of the industry!

I met The Fit Mom, Maria Kang!  She hosted the Evolution Fitness Conference

workshops stage, which included mini-workouts all day long.  Kang's "No Excuses"

mantra is controversial in the fitness industry, but she was a sweetheart at the Expo!

I sat in on a couple of seminars, including the Naked Chef Jacques Laventure's cooking

demonstrations and Good Boy Fitness' heart rate monitor discussion.  They had other

speakers that focused more on bodybuilding; I listened to some questions in passing

but didn't spend much time in the seats for those sessions.

Of course one of the best things about The Fit Expo was getting to meet

so many like-minded people!  I made some excellent connections and was

involved in some very interesting and informative conversations, which

will help me continue to build my niche in the fitness industry!

Evolution Fitness provided an exciting POUND demo class - which I

attended TWICE.  It was way too much fun to miss!  I think I've found

my next group ex format...

Tae Bo with Billy Blanks!  Wow was he tough, what a great

workout!  And I love when instructors get down and real with

the participants, helping everyone maximize their workout!

Of course no fitness event would be complete without a little

ZUMBA Fitness!  It's always fun to get a taste of other instructors'

styles and playlists; I always learn a new move or song!

Somehow I got pulled into SEVERAL fitness competitions, including

push-ups with the Naked Chef, pull-ups with Muscles Sports, and even

MORE push-ups with Optimum Nutrition!  I surprised myself with some

very solid performances, and learned that I am stronger than I

had previously realized!

So long story short: I'm exhausted (still!) but thrilled with the experience!  Not to mention, I was so loaded up with freebies that I may not have to purchase supplements for the next year!  I connected with quite a few companies offering excellent products, but I'm saving the results of those connections for future product review posts.  For now, suffice to say I worked my butt off, met some amazing people, and found some excellent products for the fitness community!

Did anyone else have a chance to drop into the Fit Expo while it was here?  What were your favorite highlights?  Do you know of any other similar programs in the Chicagoland area that I could hit up and have this much fun again??!?!