My super busy weekend started around 4:45 on Friday afternoon when I left home for the first of the The Fit Foodie 5K Race Weekend events.  I allowed a little extra time because I was expecting to get caught in Friday afternoon commuter traffic, but I was pleasantly surprised that I got to the Mosaic District in Fairfax with little trouble.

My phone was exploding with tweets from my fellow ambassadors as I approached the parking garage.  We were all arriving at about the same time and were more than ready to meet each other and start a weekend of fun!

I wanted to arrive by 5:30 so I wouldn’t be driving during the #FitFoodieTweetUp, but as soon as I got there, I heard that they had canceled it.  Instead they were asking questions and giving out prizes to the people hanging out at packet pick-up.

FitFoodieTweetUp

Celebrity yoga instructor, Kristin McGee

I quickly and easily picked up my race bib and shirt at New Balance, and turned around just as Sue of This Mama Runs For Cupcakes was arriving!  We took our packets back to our cars, found Lauren of Run Salt Run along the way, and rushed off to find Courtney of Eat Pray Run DC.

FitFoodiePacketPickUp

Just after we stopped in Swirl and Sip for a wine tasting, Erika of MCM Mama Runs found us and we gathered for the first of many group pictures of the weekend!

FitFoodieSwirlAndSip

L to R: Lauren, Courtney, Erika, Deb, and Sue

Our little group of five ambassadors headed down the street to the Light Up The Night VIP Cocktail Party.  We arrived a little early and hung out getting to know each other better while waiting for Cynthia of You Signed Up for What?! to join us.

FitFoodieSigns

Once inside, you’ve never seen so much picture taking, tweeting, instagramming, and facebooking.  We had a job to do, and we wanted to do it quickly so we could enjoy the rest of the night!

Each guest got two raffle tickets and could choose which item to try to win.  Items ranged from beauty products, to kitchen items, to fitness equipment…

FitFoodieRaffle

The BOSU, foam roller, yoga mat, and assorted fitness equipment seemed to be a hot item with lots of tickets in the jar as the night went on.

FitFoodieBOSU

Our DJ seemed both surprised and pleased that I wanted to take a picture of him.  Did you notice that his sound system has MARATHON written on the back of it?  How appropriate for a running event!

FitFoodieDJ

We worked up a thirst taking so many pictures, so we all stopped for a drink.  We had a choice of three different cocktails, wine, or beer.  I tried an interesting cocktail, but only took a few sips because I had to drive home and had a race the next day.

FitFoodieCocktailsBeerWineBooth

Of course having Cynthia join the group called for another ambassador photo!

FitFoodieAmbassadorsWithCocktails

L to R: Sue, Deb, Lauren, Courtney, Cynthia, and Erika

 

The food was fancy and delicious.  I made sure to thank these ladies from Sartori Cheese for the delicious package they sent to each of the ambassadors last week.

FitFoodieSartoriCheese

They also hit a home run with the lemon and basil/blueberry waters!  With a race the next morning, I turned to it early and often during the course of the evening.

FitFoodieWater

Chef Katsuya Fukushima Daikaya treated us to a totally new twist on the pimento cheese sandwich.  He placed huge pimentos covered in cheese sauce on buns.  They were very tasty!

FitFoodieChefKatsuya

This chef served a cucumber and watermelon finger foods.

FitFoodieWatermelonBooth

These chefs from Cuisine Solutions served a salad in a jar.  The concept was great, but I wasn’t a fan.  In all fairness, I am not a fan of roast beef, especially served rare.  All of my friends loved it, but a couple mentioned that there was a little more dressing than they would have preferred.

FitFoodieSaladBooth

I think it’s kind of funny that I’m showing a close-up of the only dish I didn’t like, but like I said, I love the concept.  There’s a layer of vinaigrette dressing, then a layer of seasoned roast beef topped with arugula.  When you’re ready to eat it, you simply shake the jar and enjoy!

FitFoodieJarSalad

Here’s my dinner minus the finger foods I noshed on…

FitFoodieMyDinner

The various chefs and celebrity trainers got together for a picture.  Patrick Goudeau, the boot camp instructor, is in the “You Can’t Be Serious” shirt,  and Kristin McGee, the yoga instructor, is in the striped dress in the middle.

FitFoodieCelebrities

Once Amy of Twingles Mom arrived, we were able to take our own celebrity ambassador picture!

FitFoodieAmbassadors

Prior to arriving at the Fit Foodie Friday events, I’d only met Sue and Courtney briefly before a race back in March and had reconnected with Amy at a race expo last summer (we worked together at a gym about 16 years ago).  I left with six new friends that I would love to hang out with again whenever the opportunity arises!

Be sure to come back tomorrow for my race day recap!

 

  • Questions:
  • What would be your favorite food from the ones served?
  • One of the questions during packet pick-up (that replaced the tweet-up was, “How old was the oldest person to complete a marathon?”  What’s your answer?
  • Do you read the blogs of any of the other ambassadors?  If not, check them out!