LA (Part 1): The Expo and THE Meetup
/Did you all know I went to Los Angeles for a weekend, October 25-27? Oh you didn't. Wow! I should've talked about it a little bit more. ;)
Ahhh I crack myself up. Thank goodness I make someone laugh.
Anywho, I digress...
I headed to LA on Friday, October 25 to run the Rock 'n' Roll Los Angeles Half Marathon with Got Chocolate Milk's Team Refuel and meet some of my favorite west coast bloggers/Weight Watchers/social media friends!!
Excitement is an understatement for how I was feeling! :P
Thankfully I had a nice pre-flight beer (as one does) before heading from Boston to Denver and Denver to Burbank.
Anyone who has to fly through Logan should hit up Boston Beer Works - drink local! :)
I bought these in Denver airport based solely on the name!
Thankfully my flights were pretty uneventful, which is exactly how I like it. I was staying with a Team Refuel running mate, who actually arrived just as I walked out the airport. Hello timing!
Since I was on East Coast time, I hit the couch early so I could get up early and knock out a little 10k in the morning before the trek to the Expo/meet up! :P
Thankfully my running mate gave me great directions to a nearby bike path so I had a great out-and-back planned. It was gorgeous weather. Everyone I passed was in long-sleeved t-shirts and pants, but since again I was coming from East Coast weather (low 40s) I was in a tank top and capris. :P
It was tough with my sickness that was still going strong, but I felt good at the end of the run. I tried to keep a nice pace as I had the Half the next day.
Once I finished I was on the look for chocolate milk and after three stores it was a success! :)
I even spotted some cool cars along the way.
After breakfast and a shower, it was time to take the Metro to the Expo! Woo! I love picking up a race bib. :) Dork I know.
The RnR Expo was held at the LA Convention Center so about a 25-30 minute train ride. It was totally worth it to not have to rent a car. Hello travel on a budget. :)
Thanks to Ray for acting as my paparazzi. :P
Spooky! ;)
The RnR expos tend to be nice and organized, which was also true at RnR LA. It was easy to pick up my number, get my t-shirt and get my swag bag. They switched up the bags this time (made 'em orange), which is nice since I have six of the same one. ;)
I made up to hit up the Got Chocolate Milk booth first and get my chocolate milk mustache on.
Once this picture was snapped, it was time to check out the rest of the Expo ... which was surprisingly tiny. I thought there would've been more vendors there in such a big city, but it was pretty limited.
As I was on my second loop around the Expo (just in case I missed any sales), I ran into three of my favorite West Coast bloggers: Brian from PavementRunner.com, Linzie from SeeSharpRun and Andrea from RenewedMeHealth.com! YAY!! It was my first time meeting all three so of course we chatted then immediately made this awesome photo happen.
Amazing, right?
I bid those fine folks adieu, but not for long. I was only heading to Yard House early to make sure we could get a table big enough for everyone that would be attending my #RNRLA meetup. I had no idea how many folks would actually show up, but I hoped it would be everyone I had hoped to see. :) The folks at Yard House were amazing and hooked us up with a great table with plenty of seating in an easy to spot location from the door.
It was funny how nervous I was feeling to meet some of my favorite social media folks. It was like a first date. I just hoped - and expected - everyone to be as awesome in real life as are online ... and they were!! YAY!!
Thank you Pavement Runner for this great group shot!
Do you want to know the fantastic folks I got to share tweets, instagram photos, laughs, smiles and beers with? Of course you do!!
We had the phenomenal:
@PavementRunner and @RunningHutch - running and fitness gurus
@EpicBeerGirl - a fellow craft beer lover
@ReNewedMe - fellow WW Leader & Shedder of 170 lbs
@ReducedFatGirl - WW Success Story & Shedder of 135 lbs
Unfortunately I didn't get to grab an individual picture with Gillian (@GillianBCN) or Linzie (@SeeSharpRun), but she is still awesome and he will make a big appearance in Part 2 of the LA trip!! :)
The conversation flowed as if I have known these folks IRL (In Real Life) for ages and it felt natural. It was an amazing opportunity that I am so thankful for. We talked about families, running, Weight Watchers, life, etc.
Now when I read these folks blog posts or tweets, I can actually read them in their own voices. Am I the only person that does that? :P
Thank you Yard House and thanks to all these folks for coming out and taking a couple hours away from their time in the Sun to join me for a beer ... Ummm carbo loading? ;)
After lots of hugs and goodbyes, it was time to snap one more fun pic with Brian.
Pretty typical! Thanks for this shot Brian! :)
We wished each other luck in the race tomorrow (for those running) and it was time to get back to the Metro and head back to the house to change for the evening activities (which will be in a blog post of its own)...
... but now before passing this landmark. Oh hey Staples Center!
And Gooooo Celtics! :P
I'll catch you all at the next installment of the LA Adventures ... that impromptu Night Trail 10k with Linzie of SeeSharpRun!
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Do you love race expos? Have you set up a blogger meet-up before?
