We've All Got Crap- Fitbloggin Recap #1

Where does someone even begin to start recapping such an amazing weekend. I got in last night from a 4-day Fitbloggin conference and my mind is spinning.
There is so much to tell you about....my roommates, vodoo donuts, meeting some of my blog heros (while acting like a star stuck idiot!), amazing presentations, meeting new friends (some that I am pretty sure will be forever friends), facing some pretty ugly demons in my own mind, running for the first time ever with people (did you see the forever friends part?), some super fun/challenging workouts, traveling via train for the first time, missing my family, the fancy hotel..... I think you get the picture. 

Serveral people have asked, "How was Fitbloggin". CAN NOT START to answer that question. My brain is full with answers. Hubby told me last night that each time he asks I keep saying, "I meet cool people and had so much fun". That's a pretty great summary! I want to share all of it with you, but am not ready to get it out. 

Arriving in Portland was rough. Thankfully my roommate was on the same train as me so we were able to walk to the hotel together. We stayed at the Nines. It was beautiful and FAN-cy. I am a Motel 6 kind of gal, so this was really impressive to me. I'm talking fancy like thick doors on the bathroom stalls and people at every door to open doors and push buttons for you. We checked in and then my roommates (I had 2) left for a tour. I was alone in Portland. Alone.  I'm not an alone kind of gal. I'm the fat, fun friend (stick with me on this one...). I was brave (the first of many this weekend) and asked on the Fitbloggin Facebook page if anyone else was at the hotel and wanted to eat. Thankfully someone was and we went to grab a bite. The conversation and food were excellent and then we headed back to the hotel. At 3:00 I went to Pyrolates. Must tell you about Pyraolates, but not today. At Pyrolates I met some other Fitbloggin' ladies who allowed me to walk back with them to the hotel. We stopped on the way back to grab dinner. 

After dinner we split up and once again I was alone. Alone (really alone, not home by myself sort of alone) scares me. I spent the next 30-45 minutes alone in my hotel room crying and trying to convince myself to go downstairs. I called hubby. I played candy crush. I cried. I watched TV. The conference was starting. People were mingling and I was alone. I mentioned to Tara (if you don't know Tara you MUST go check her out!) on Facebook that I was sitting upstairs alone and she convinced me to get my butt downstairs. I went. I didn't want to, but I went. 

I was immediately greeted with smiling, happy faces. These Fitbloggin chicks mean business when it comes to the  "welcoming" social. I grabbed my swag (THE SWAG!) and found a table to sit at. Alone. I was getting ready to leave when the icebreakers started. Normally I hate, hate, hate icebreakers, but these were different. As I started to mingle with people I realized these are MY people. They speak Kari. They struggle. They have had major successes. They get me. 

Over the course of this weekend, I talked with some of the most amazing people. People that I might look at and think they've got it all together. Here's what I realized- We've all got crap. Every single one of us have obstacles to overcome. The stories were inspiring. People that I may have looked at and thought, "What do they have to blog about? They are so together." Some have more crap than others, but we've all got it. We've all got a story to tell. A success to share. A struggle to overcome (and maybe struggle with again). It was when I realized that I was not alone in my struggles that I no longer felt alone at Fitbloggin.

More to come, I promise!

~Kari