I'm back!

Ahh! It's been such a whirlwind week! I thought I'd have time to check in throughout but clearly that didn't happen, ha.

I'm not even quite sure where to start but I'll say this--I feel refreshed, have more motivation than ever before, and got the confirmation I needed that health/wellness is what I'm meant to do. It's such an incredible feeling!

My boss & I arrived in Orlando around 11am on Tuesday (love early flights!) and immediately started figuring out our bearings--our first stop was Whole Foods, of course. After Whole Foods, we went shopping for a bit and then made our way to the hotel. We stayed at a Double Tree so.. warm cookies anyone?! So. Good.

After getting everything put away and getting settled, it was time for a run. There's no better way to see a town than by running, am I right?! We did an easy 4 miler and picked out our dinner while we were at it. :) And since dinner was relatively close, we decided to go ahead and walk back as well. Needless to say, when we got to bed later that night, I had 35,000 steps+. Not bad for a "travel" day, right?

Wednesday was a classroom day so not much movement at all--but on the bright side, when I take my test in the next few days (after LOTS of studying), I'll be a certified personal trainer.... FINALLY! I learned so much so.. having practically 0 steps made it totally worth it.

Thursday was another classroom day so we got up early and hit the gym for a quick hour workout--30 minutes on the treadmill, 30 minute lifting session. Our group exercise cert class started at 8am and was so much fun. Our instructor was absolutely incredible and made it easy to follow, gave great tips, was so knowledgable, and made us all feel comfortable, no matter our skill level. And better yet-- we did LOTS of moving, which I appreciated.

The conference officially started on Friday and it was a whirlwind from here on out. But such a good one. I took so much away from those 3 days that there's absolutely no way I could go through every little detail. But I'll say this--my perception of fitness has definitely shifted. I came away with the desire to teach women that we are all ATHLETES, even if you've never stepped out on a court, shot a basketball, swung a golf club.. it doesn't matter. My goal as a fitness professional from this point forward is to make women know they are capable of absolutely ANYTHING. Our bodies can do amazing, AMAZING things. I don't want women to think they can't run, can't lift weights, can't do my weekly Insanity classes--I want them to know that if they just push themselves a bit and get out of their comfort zone, they can totally do it.. and not just do it but ROCK it. If I had never taken a chance and put my running shoes on one day 10+ years ago, who knows where I'd be now?

I took some incredible classes over the course of 3 days but my favorites by FAR were by a lady named Chris Freytag out of Minneapolis. She's officially my group ex idol! Chris was the one who really got me in the athlete mindset. Her classes were challenging and I loved it. And better yet, we worked with equipment that every gym has access to! (or well, at least our gym!) She got me sweating, working hard, and I left every single one of her classes with a smile on my face and pumped up for the next--exactly how group exercise classes should make you feel.

Needless to say, after 9 (HARD!) classes over the course of 3 days, we were ready for a beach day on Sunday after the conference was over. We drove an hour over to Cocoa Beach and even though we both got roasted, it was so worth it. It felt so good to relax for a few hours and not move, ha. 

Not to mention, after leaving the beach, we headed for cupcakes. ;) 

We spent the rest of the evening on Sunday getting dinner (another Whole Foods salad bar!) and getting our things ready to leave on Monday. :( We got in one more quick run yesterday morning (a 5 miler) and then made our way to the airport. 

I ended up getting home last night around 10pm with more desire than ever to take my career to the next level. I can't wait to put some of the principles and practices that I've learned into play. I've known for a while that fitness is my calling but now I feel like I have a clear direction of where I want to take it. What an awesome feeling. 

It's been a heck of a week, friends. 

Sarah