Weekend in Chicago Part 2 (Verizon Health and Fitness Voices)

Just tuning in? Check out our first day in Chicago

I woke up bright and early Monday morning and got ready while Neil enjoyed some extra sleep. I met the other girls downstairs and our guide Brenda took across the street to Marketing Werks for orientation. Being from a little midwest town, being on the 24th floor was definitely a “woo” moment.

We were brought into a conference room where we settled into and partook of the lovely breakfast spread they had set up for us. Believe it or not, this was my first time having Nutella! I feel so silly, but apparently it was only Emily’s second time, so at least I don’t feel like I’ve been under a rock. Now to sneak a jar home without Neil noticing…

After a brief introduction through the program specifics, it was the moment we’d all been waiting for, device time! Many of us had correctly guessed that we’d be receiving the Motorola Droid Razr HD, but were totally surprised when we were also given a Fitbit!

I’d done a little snooping on these products while trying to guess what we were going to be given, so I was really excited. While I already have a Droid (a six-month old Samsung Galaxy S III), the latest Droid devices have even more comfort features and longer battery lives, which has been my biggest complaint about my Galaxy.

The reps from Verizon and Motorola were super helpful in getting us all set up and suggested a lot of great apps to try. I’m pretty minimalist as far as apps go, but I definitely want to review a few for you all, and maybe try some new workouts as a result. I’ll definitely share more of an initial report next week once I’ve had a little more time to play with the phone.

Our guides Brenda and Kristen were absolutely fantastic. The second part of the meeting was an overview of the program. As I mentioned in my last post, I was stunned to be chosen, so it was cool to hear more about the selection process and why we were chosen. It was also great getting to know the blogs and niches of my fellow bloggers — all from the Midwest. Represent!

As the sole CrossFitter of the group, I’m excited to give my own unique perspective on not only these devices, but the state of tech for CrossFitters in general. Well, to the best of my ability that is. While I think we typically espouse a more minimalist approach to fitness (ie no machines), I think it often goes unsaid the many ways we use tech to enhance, track and document our fitness. And as I’m more than a little tech crazy, you’ll definitely see plenty of other thoughts on these devices for daily living as well. Above all, as I’m pretty new to this ambassadorship stuff, know that you’re getting 100% of mine (and Neil’s) honest opinions. We deal with a wide range of technology every day, and we have few loyalties and many opinions.

We closed the session out with lunch from Hannah’s Pretzel! Loved my pretzel roll and salad! Neil and I definitely lamented having to leave without getting to visit more restaurants. A return trip is definitely necessary.

I met up with Neil back at the hotel and filled him in on the program and devices. I think he was even more excited than I was. We used the new phone right away to find a restaurant on the way out-of-town. We’ve been wanting to try dim sum forever (we don’t have it here in Columbia) so we used the Voice Search and were able to find The Phoenix, which was only a few miles away in Chinatown and rated really well.

The dim sum was fabulous. We had pot stickers, spring rolls, chicken feet, tripe and chiu chow dumplings. The hot tea served with our meal was amazing.

Then it was back on the road and bound for home! Many thanks to Verizon for the awesome trip and the great devices to play with for the next six months!

Now for an informal poll. What phone do you currently use, and what led you to choose it?

Disclosure: I am participating in the Verizon Health and Fitness Voices program and have been provided with two wireless devices and six months of service in exchange for my honest opinions about the product.