BLEND Retreat 2015: Part 2
SATURDAY
Saturday morning, we woke up bright and early for a Boot Camp sponsored by Gnarly Nutrition and led by Kindal Boyle of Lifting Revolution. The elevation makes things much harder (I’m used to sea level!), but regardless of that, this workout was TOUGH. We did a partner workout (I partnered with Lindsay the badass) that involved sprints, push-ups, traveling burpees UPHILL, walking lunges UPHILL, one-legged runs, plank jacks, shoulder taps, squats and squat jumps. It was a KILLER workout and I was definitely feeling my workout from Friday throughout the whole thing.
Photo Credit: Lindsay’s List
Upon finishing the boot camp, I chugged a protein shake with Gnarly Nutrition’s Chocolate Protein Powder. I only had water to mix it with and, as always, was nervous it was going to taste like crap. Surprisingly it was delicious! It tasted like a chocolate shake and the ingredient list was an A+ as well! I’ll definitely be trying more of their products in the future!
Loved it so much, I had to take a picture 🙂
Next up was BREAKFAST. Breakfast was so, so good. The spread included FlapJacked pancakes, scrambled eggs, chicken sausage, Love Grown cereal and granola, along with bread and a spread of Justin’s nut butter flavors. I put together a little bit of everything, and ate it ALL. That boot camp made me HANGRY. FlapJacked had their new flavor of pancakes: Carrot Spice on hand. They were SO delicious. Definitely buying this flavor when it comes out.
While we were eating, we had a surprise visitor pop in…it was THE Justin of Justin’s Nut Butter!! He was such a down to earth guy and told us about how he started the company. It was so interesting! Definitely wasn’t expecting that, so it was super cool!
He rode his bike to breakfast, which I thought was super cool.
As if I hadn’t had enough exercise, Detour Bar had planned a hike for us in the gorgeous flat irons! I had only known Detour Bars from their old formula, but get this: they’ve started coming out with a new line called Detour Simple bars that are filled with GOOD ingredients, and they’ve cut out most of the junk! I love companies that aren’t afraid to change. I think it shows that they are listening to their customers. Kudos to you Detour!!!
Back to the hike: This was one of the most gorgeous hikes I’ve ever been on! The views were breathtaking, the weather was PERFECT, and I had some good conversations with the folks from Quest (our main sponsor for the weekend), Arctic Zero, and one of my cabin roomies.
After the hike, I was BEAT and promptly took a 2 hour nap. I felt like I had been hit by a bus after all of the workouts I’d done in the past 24 hours! We didn’t have anything planned for the group Saturday evening, so Tedi and one of our other roommates headed to Pearl Street in Boulder and grabbed some dinner. We went home early and again, I crashed out.
SUNDAY
Sunday morning was our last morning. We were up bright and early for some yoga on the grass, sponsored by Bhakti Chai. I was so sore and didn’t really push myself. Instead, I used it as a means to stretching my body out and it felt glorious. That’s what yoga is all about anyways right? We couldn’t have had better weather and it was nice to just sit under the sun and stretch out with my BLENDS.
We headed to the dining hall once more for some breakfast. This spread included GoodBelly probiotic drinks, Barbara’s Puffins cereal, egg frittatas, bacon, muffins made with baobest, and chia seed greek yogurt made by The Epic Seed. I didn’t eat quite as much as Saturday and ended up with an egg frittata, chia seed greek yogurt, bacon, and some fruit.
By the time we finished, it was time for us to pack up to go home. Tedi and I had an earlier flight, so we had to miss the closing ceremonies (boo!). Denver airport is no joke, so we didn’t want to risk missing our flight.
Overall, this was one of the best weekends I’ve had in a long time. I met SO many cool people, new blogger friends, amazing companies, and enjoyed a weekend in the mountains with great weather, views, and a breath of fresh air.
I’ll definitely be back next year, I just wish it was sooner!
Thanks again to the wonderful sponsors and a SPECIAL thank you to Janetha, Lauren, and Lindsay for putting together such an amazing retreat. You guys are amazing! I’m so glad I met all of you and I’ll see you next year!