I still can’t believe Blend has already come and gone! The weekend went by far too quickly. Friday was a blast, and Saturday only got better.
An early wakeup led us straight to our first Bootcamp class, sponsored and led by Orlando from Onnit. A little bit from Onnit:
Our mission is to inspire peak performance through a combination of unique products and actionable information. Combining bleeding-edge science, earth-grown nutrients, and time-tested strategies from top athletes and medical professionals, we are dedicated to providing our customers with supplements, foods, and fitness equipment aimed at helping people achieve a new level of well-being we call Total Human Optimization.
We received a few Onnit products in our swag bag that I’m excited to try, including Schroom Tech Sport and the Hemp Force Bar, both of which are vegan, gluten-free, and soy-free. They even explain all of their ingredients on their website, which I love!
Anyway, back to the Bootcamp. Orlando kicked our butts. The altitude took its toll on me again, but it would have been a challenging workout nonetheless. We did a series of quick moves, including squats, plyo lunges, curtsey lunges, burpees, and LOTS of pushups. I was nervous about the plyo lunges with my healing calf, but it was a.ok! Woohoo! Seems to be healing up nicely.
doing pushups
At the end of the workout, Orlando issued a plank challenge. The three girls that could hold a plank the longest would win a $100 Onnit gift card. Alright, Nicole, you can do this! One minute passed. No biggie. Thirty seconds later, I was starting to shake a little bit. Two minutes in, I was shaking A LOT! I lasted about two and half minutes before collapsing to the ground. There were still about 15 or 20 girls left when I fell, and the winners lasted almost 6 minutes!! Got some strong abs up in this Blend joint!
Roomie, Jayne, was rockin’ it!
Erika, Jayne, and I were feeling strong (albeit a little shakey) afterwards:
Then we headed to breakfast sponsored by Quest Bars, one of my favs! Quest had cooked up these delicious Chocolate Fudge Cookie Cups (recipe below!). I also had a little tofu scramble (just a tiny bit as I’m trying to avoid too much soy) and an apple with honey. Yum!
We headed back up to our room for a quick shower and discovered another room drop! This time, the swag came from Camelbak, Organic Valley, & Fairlife.
I was super pumped about the hiking bag and Camelbak water bottle and immediately put them to use for the morning hike. I put all my gear in the backpack and filled up my Camelbak bottle with Cocogo, an all-natural coconut water and real fruit sports drink that Brittany shared with us.
The roomies and I stopped to get some smoothies from the weekend’s main sponsor, Silk!
Tori, Me, Jayne, and Erika
And then off to the gondolas we went! I rode up with Orlando from Onnit, Erika, Jayne, Nicole, and Laura. Laura is going to be in NYC this week for work and is hoping to make her way into dinner at Per Se, one of the many ridiculously swanky restaurants in the city that I could only dream of affording. Laura, if you go, I expect a taste-by-taste recap!
Some views of the mountain:
The gondolas dropped us off on the mountain and we headed out for our hike, sponsored by the awesome folks from Organic Valley and Joel Harper, celebrity trainer and our hike leader! Joel took us through some stretches and hi-ho, hi-ho, it’s off to hike we go! A few snaps from the trek:
Roomies at the top of the mountain!
At the top, we snagged an awesome group shot! Aren’t we just the best looking bunch of hikers you’ve ever seen?
Then it was time to head down. Joel directed us that there was a short route where we could hike a bit and take the gondolas down or a long route that would take us about an hour to walk back to the resort. I chose the long route with a few others.
How’d it go?
Well….. without Joel to lead us, we got a little off track, and by off track I mean there was no trail at all! Instead, we clamored down the super steep mountain, doing the best we could not to slip on the jagged terrain and slippery grass. But, we got some good pics, and I was able to chat with the lovely Laura from 50by25.
Eventually, we found a trail and made it to the bottom in one piece. Then it was time for another shower and to head to a snack break sponsored by Kidz Shake, a nutritional shake aimed at providing kids with the delicious nutrition they need. All of their shakes are sugar free, all natural, gluten free, lactose free, nut free, and are free of artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives. So what is in it, you ask? Digestive enzymes, probiotics, omega 3s, trace minerals, and yumminess!
I had a Strawberry Cream smoothie and couldn’t get enough of the little energy bites (made with Kidz Shake, honey, gluten-free oats, and dates).
Afterwards, we had free time, so a bunch of us headed into downtown Park City to explore Main Street. It was adorable!
After a bit of shopping, we met up with a big group at High West, Park City’s very own whiskey and vodka distillery! I got the High West Lemonade (double rye whiskey with housemade spiced lemonade and mint). It was delicious! Much better than my rum drink from the day before.
Look, I’m sitting next to Heather from Better With Veggies! I was so excited to meet her since we link up all the time for MMAZ!
Blends in this picture, starting at the front head of the table and going clockwise:
Ari, me, Heather, Stephanie, Amanda, Alex, Kait, Madelyn, Kaitlin, Meighan, Julie, Laura.
By then we were hungry for a meal, so a few of us headed to Wasatch Brew Pub & Brewery (guess we were in the mood for local drinks). I got Mexican Po’ Boy on a gluten-free roll with sweet potato fried. Yum! I also had a taste of Nicole’s Jalepeño Cream Ale and had to get one for myself. I’m trying to stay away from wheat, but it was just too tasty!
Then it was back to the resort for a scone party. Apparently Utah scones are not your typical scones. Instead of a triangular shaped pastry cookie, these were rectangular pieces of deep fried dough! I couldn’t eat them, but they smelled delicious!
I met Candice from Hungry Mother Runner, who told me not to be scared about the GPP workout we’d have the next morning (more on that tomorrow) and then headed off to bed to rest up before the last day of blend (say it ain’t so!).
More on that tomorrow!
Have you ever done a bootcamp workout?
What was the best hike you ever went on?
What do you think of Jalepeño beer?
Regular scones vs. Utah scones?
And GO!
Blend Blogs Mentioned in this Post (check them out!):
Erika – For the Love of Peanut Butter
Jayne – Busy Barista
Brittany – Delights and Delectables
Tori – Life of the Landos
Nicole – Foodie Misadventures
Laura – Sprint 2 the Table
Laura – 50 by 25
Heather – Better With Veggies
Ari – Ari’s Menu
Stephanie – Wholesome By Design
Amanda – Diary of a Semi-Health Nut
Alex – Alex Tries It Out
Kait – Chickadee Says
Madeyln – Moon Fitness
Kaitlin – California Endless Summer
Julie – Julie Goes Healthy
Candice – Hungry Mother Runner
