Conference!

Starting on Thursday up until today, I was at a conference called the Health & Fitness Summit, put on by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), which is the leading organization promoting health and fitness in America. Later this summer I'll be taking a big certification exam that they offer: Registered Clinical Exercise Physiologist (RCEP). They also offer certifications for personal trainers and involvement with MDs. It's a pretty neat and good organization to be a part of (I'm a member), and the conference was a great chance to learn what's the latest and get connected, or "network" if you will.

The moment I stepped into my first session, I was at home. People who are wearing workout clothes as their everyday attire! People who love to exercise! People who love to help other people exercise! It was amazing. I learned so much and found so many ways to get involved with national campaigns, I think my head might pop.

(This is the Frost Tower - a downtown landmark with awesome architecture).

I also did a NEW THING. The conference was here in Austin, but downtown, and parking each day was going to be somewhere in the $7-$15 range, plus the cost of me driving down there. So I checked out the local public transportation: the Capitol Metro. I was scared to death, and double-checked my routes like a thousand times, but in the end it was great! Sure, it took twice as long, but lucky Derek was resting quietly in my garage all day and I was using mass transit! Very fun. I'm not sure I could use it everyday, but it's good to break through that barrier and know it's available.

The rest of today I washed Derek & cleaned him out, hiked with Dawn just minutes from our houses, and ate some yummy taco soup. I'm still exhausted from the conference, even after a 3 hour nap this afternoon. I must get to bed.