Hi guys! I’m back with part 2 of my recap from the weekend I just spent out in Seattle for the annual Brooks running blogger ambassador trip. If you missed part 1, check that out first. 🙂
On Friday, I met up with the blogger gang around lunchtime at the Brooks headquarters in Seattle! So great to see everyone there – this is always one of my favorite blog trips of the year because it’s such a great group of people, both on the Brooks side and on the blogger side. This year was no exception! Great to see old friends and to make some new ones, too. (Obviously this photo is not from Brooks HQ – it’s from Saturday night’s adventure! More on that in a minute…)
The bloggers in attendance this weekend were: Kristen, Jen, Sara, Noelle, Brian, Jesica, Janae, Lora, Monica, Tina, Gina, Alex, Carlee, Tiffany, Jen, Natalie, Meghann, Ashley, Emily, and me 🙂
Over lunch and through the afternoon on Friday we were treated to a sneak preview of some of the Brooks gear coming down the pipeline in fall 2018 and spring 2019 via some presentations from their apparel and design teams. So much functional but really cute stuff – I can’t wait to test some of it out and report back! The fan favorite purely in terms of style was the new Bedlam shoe, which will be out in September. They are a new support version of the (neutral) Levitate shoe. Cool pattern, right?!
I also really liked the look of a few items that were just released on the Brooks website on July 1: the Array Long Sleeve and Array Short Sleeve (love the trendy open back), and the Fly By 1/2 Zip (always love Brooks 1/2 zip shirts). I will report back as I try out more of their new gear in the months to come. 🙂
Dinner on Friday evening was at a really cool place on the water called Westward. Gorgeous views of the city! Delicious food, too – apparently it’s really popular so if you want to go, get a reservation. You even need to reserve your spot at the casual chairs outside.
Dinner was buffet-style and started with (unpictured) oysters and bubbly – my kind of meal! 🙂
Saturday morning kicked off with a run! It had been a week since I’d gotten in a solid workout, so I was excited to get out there and get some endorphins going.
We ran from the Magnuson Athletic Club, going along the water briefly before heading on a nice trail.
I was proud of myself for making it all 5 miles. That’s about as far as I’ve run postpartum, and I’ve only run that far a couple times. It felt hard, especially the last mile or two, but I was smiling and chatting and so happy to be out there.
Also, how cute is the tank I’m wearing?! It’s one of my favorite styles – a really lightweight and airy tank I have in a bunch of colors from previous seasons, but in a really cool new bright print. Here is it on the website – it’s on sale right now! Love! The shoes I’m wearing are the Ghost 10 (also on sale right now!), which I really love too – I hadn’t tried the Ghost before until recently, and now I know why they are one of Brooks’ most popular styles. The tights are the Go-To Capri, which will definitely be my new go to – perfect fit. They are also on sale for $35 right now in one of the colors! My sports bra is the Juno, which is a new-to-me sports bra that I now love, especially because it has velcro straps which make it a) adjustable, and b) inadvertently breastfeeding or pumping-friendly. 🙂 It was really comfortable and supportive and I liked that it didn’t have removable pads to fall out in the wash. 🙂
After our run, we did a strength and mobility workout with a few of the Brooks Beasts professional runners. I had to miss part of the routine because I snuck back onto the bus to pump before brunch, but what I was there for was good – some familiar moves and some new ones!
We had brunch with the Beasts afterward at a spot called Cactus. We enjoyed an awesome buffet sampling of their offerings – the chorizo eggs and huevos rancheros were my favorite, but the french toast was amazing too!
After brunch we had some free time; I wandered around and did some sightseeing with Janae, Meghann, and Ashley. Great to see them and catch up – I have known them since my very early days of blogging back in 2009/10!
Dinner was a special treat: a dinner cruise!
The views of the city were gorgeous, the company was fabulous, and the food was really good, too. I could have stayed out there all night!
On Sunday morning, I got up early to get the blood flowing a bit at the hotel gym with Janae, Meghann, and Ashley. I did about 10 minutes of the elliptical, 5 minutes of rowing, and then we did a little strength circuit routine together. Fun to have company! Despite this photo, I ended up modifying this core move since my abs still aren’t ready for anything super hard, FYI. 🙂
Our final adventure as a group was a very special opportunity: cheering on the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games athletes as they made their way into the opening ceremonies!
Thousands of athletes from all 50 states are in Seattle this week for the Games; we cheered and gave high fives to the athletes from each state as they passed by our Brooks cheer squad. We had quite the crew between all of us and a ton of Brooks employees, and it was an honor to be there to cheer and support the athletes. So, so inspiring!
Great way to end a wonderful weekend. I was sad to say goodbye to everyone and head to the airport, but of course also excited to get back to my little one and Matt waiting at home. I missed them so much this weekend! Apparently Riese did great while I was gone, though – I think it will be harder to leave when she actually realizes I’m gone!
Also, I’m happy to report that I had no problems getting my pumped breastmilk through TSA at the airport – I had it in an insulated lunch bag with two ziplock bags full of ice and they opened the lunch bag and swabbed that as well as my hands, but didn’t open the actual milk bags or have any issues with the bags of (partially melted) ice. It was all fast and easy. Whew!
I got home around 11 last night and this morning Matt, Riese, and I hopped in the car to head to the beach for the week for our annual trip with his family! We’re going to the Outer Banks in NC as usual and are so excited. We’re doing the trip a little earlier in July than usual and will be there for July 4th for the first time – fun! I love fireworks over the water. 🙂 I’m probably going to take the rest of the week off from blogging – I have a feeling that this vacation will have a little less down time than in previous years, and I want to take advantage of that down time without my computer. So, I’ll probably see you guys next week with some beach recaps. But in the meantime, I’ll be sharing our adventures on Instagram and Instagram stories, so come see what I’m up to over there!
Have a fabulous week, and I’ll see you back here soon! If you need some holiday recipe ideas, check out this blog post featuring some faves from my blog and fellow bloggers: Healthy 4th of July Recipes. In particular, be sure to check out my Healthier Patriotic Cookie Cake recipe and my Vegan No Bake Blueberry Custard Pie – both are quite festive!
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A huge thank you to Brooks for sponsoring me throughout the year as one of their Run Happy Blogger Ambassadors, and for covering our expenses for this trip! Also, please note that all Brooks gear links in this post are affiliate links.
