Blogfest 2018 in Photos. Snapshots from San Diego

It’s Monday, the day after the final day of the IDEA  World Fitness Convention. It was a whirlwind experience, with Blogfest 2018 on Thursday and Friday, followed by the last two days of the convention.  My mind is spinning, my body is tired, and I’m just starting to put the words together to describe the amazing event that I experienced.

So, instead of going radio silence while I plan what I will write, I want to get the ball rolling by sharing my experience in photos. While I was at Blogfest 2018 I didn’t even turn on my computer or write a word (except notes during my sessions), but I did take lots of pictures. So here, in some kind of order, with just a little explanation, they are.

Blogfest 2018 was...Amazing. Awesome. Fun. Informational. Exciting. Fabulous. All of the adjectives combined! I haven't processed it all yet so I'm sharing the photos. #Blogfest 2018 in Photos. #IDEAWorld @fitapproach #sweatpinkClick To Tweet

Blogfest 2018 in Photos

Yes, I’m tired but I will always take the time to thank and give all the credit to the amazing women of Fit Approach. They do a fabulous job every year, and every year they take what we say and make it better for the next year. Putting on this great event is no easy task. They work hard through the year so that we have great sponsors that enable them to keep the event free for those who apply and qualify. They coordinate with IDEA, they find great presenters and keynote speakers, and they do it all with a smile on their faces so you know that they are all enjoying it as much as we do. Thanks to Jamie, Alyse, Nic, and Liz for all of your efforts. I hope you know how much I love and appreciate you.

prAna

Prana was kind enough to outfit me for Blogfest 2018 and the IDEA Convention. I was so excited to wear all these beautiful outfits (especially the first two days, after that I wore some of my own favorite prAna gear). As a prAna Fit Pro, I am honored to have the opportunity to learn about new products and the measures that prAna takes to maintain a healthy balance of sustainability, functionality, and beauty.

I got to hang out with some of the other prAna Fit Pros and Influencers!

The People

As I’ve written in the past, it is the people that make Blogfest so special. It’s like old home week at the convention center, seeing old friends I haven’t seen in a year and meeting new people that will quickly become friends.

First of all, Christiana and I became like Blogfest 2018 buddies this year. We sat together and hung out together (and weirdly, didn’t get a normal picture together!). She’s a new vegan, so we also hung out at some of the vegan food booths at the expo together!

The Speakers

I almost feel like I should include the speakers in the previous section because they felt like friends, but I saved a special spot for them. I will elaborate on their topics in a later post, but I will say that I enjoyed each and every speaker that was at Blogfest 2018 (as well as the sessions I went to at the IDEA Convention). I didn’t fangirl each speaker, though, so I don’t have photographs of all of them.

I’ll fill you in on all of the speakers in an upcoming post.

The Workouts

Okay, I admit it. I only did one of the workouts. But I did watch and take photos of another one.

The Pad (as my husband would stay)

I loved the VRBO house where I stayed with Tiffany! It was only about a mile and a half from the convention center (and it was purple!!!).

The Food

Traveling while vegan is always interesting. Either their are a plethora of available choices or they are few and far between. I’d like to thank one of our sponsors, the Almond Board of California, for keeping me going through morning one. Almonds really are such a great snack.  Other than that, it was a combination of the snacks that I brought with me, numerous stops at the Daiya and Qrunch booths, along with a few great meals thrown in.

The Daiya Booth is frequently my food salvation (vegan quesadillas!), and now I’ve found Qrunch, a plant-based quinoa patty (so good). Fortunately, they were right next to each other. I went out today and bought a few boxes of Qrunch (easy to find at Sprouts).

On Friday evening, I was invited to a party sponsored by Perform Better and Functional Movement Systems. Dinner was appetizers and more wine!

I think my best meal of the weekend was at a new (to me) vegan restaurant near downtown called Donna Jean. It’s right next door to one of my favorites, Evolution Fast Food, but Donna Jean is more elegant (and serves wine, of course!). I had this amazing Fungazi Pizza and Peach Cobbler.

The Expo

I didn’t get a lot of time at the expo, but I tried to make it count (aside from spending way too much time at the Daiya and Qrunch Booths).

I had a chance to reconnect with Dr. K at the Intelliroll booth. I took a class from him at last year’s IDEA Convention, then he helped me with my shoulder injury at the Malibu Half Marathon by giving me advice on how to strengthen and care for it. Christiana and I happened to be at a table right next to Dr. K and his wife Tyaga when we had our drink on Thursday night. I really enjoyed the opportunity to get to know both of them better. On Saturday I had the opportunity to interview Dr. K about foam rolling for runners (which I will hopefully get posted tomorrow).

While I chatted with many folks, the rest of the photos are random shots just to give an idea of the size and scope of the expo.

The Sponsors

It is because of the great sponsors that we have such a great Blogfest every year! We couldn’t do it without them. This year our sponsors were :

Almond Board of California
Being Better Matters
Fit Bodies, Inc.
Frog Fitness
General Mills (Bell Institute)
Great Lakes Gelatin
Haiku Bags
JiMMYBAR
Kettle Gryp
LaCroix
National Dairy Council
REDSYNC
TriggerPoint

The IDEA Convention

As you may know, Blogfest 2018 includes admittance into the last two days of the IDEA Convention. I will write a separate post about what I learned there, and I didn’t take many photos, so just know that I learned a lot that I can’t wait to share with you! Stay tuned over the next week or so as I get around to writing my recaps.

So, have I convinced you to go to Blogfest next year?

 

 

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Weekly Linkups

My weekly linkups! Please stop by and check out all of the great recipes, workouts, and information that all these awesome bloggers share every week!

Meatless Monday with Sarah and Deborah
Meatless Monday with Annmarie  and Dixya
Tuesdays on the Run with Marcia, Erika, and Patty
Inspire Me Monday with Janice
Wild Workout Wednesday with Annmarie, Jen, and Nicole
The Plant-Based Potluck Party with Deborah
The Running Coaches’ Corner with Rachel, Lora Marie, and Me!
Friday 5 2.0 with Rachel and Lacey and Meranda
Weekly Wrap with Wendy and Holly