baltimore Archives - Through Heather's Looking Glass

August Flashback to 2013 with Under Armour

August 22, 2014 by Heather

Thank you so much for all of your encouragement, tips and advice on yesterday’s blog post. I am happy to report we went on the hospital tour yesterday, so one more thing out of the way woo hoo!

It’s Friday, my brain is fried and I am sure yours is too, so no crazy in depth post today, I thought I would keep it light with a fun flashback post to last August. These posts have become even more comical to me now that I am pregnant. The thought of doing some of the things NOW I was doing this time last year make me laugh. Let’s take a look.

This time last year, I had ben invited to Baltimore to hang out at Under Armour Headquarters for a couple of days, and I had an ABSOLUTE BLAST. I learned a lot, met a lot of great people, and got to go shopping! I remember being so amazing at how cool it was outside, I’m sure everyone got tired of me saying it!

We worked out, we shopped, we met with lots of different design teams from apparel to shoes, and ate very well!

We even got to do some rooftop yoga and have massages all at the Four Seasons where we were staying.

I had never been to Baltimore, and although it was a quick trip, it is one I will never forget! Under Armour is a great company that gives a good, strong message to women, and I was honored to be a part of the weekend and become an ambassador. Now if I can only get them to make maternity gear…

You can check out all of my Under Armour visit recaps below:

*Photos courtesy of Matt Ryb

WINNER of the virtual race giveaway is Tim Lollar! Please email heatherslookingglass@gmail.com! If you did NOT win, please please consider joining in the virtual race anyway or donating to the cause to help save these sweet pugs!

QOTD: What is one thing you learned when you traveled to a new city for the first time (like how I learned it’s COOL OUTSIDE in Baltimore in August!)

Filed Under: blogging, fitness, running gear, Under armour Tagged: ambasador, baltimore, fitness, four seasons, travel, under armour, workout

Baltimore Half Marathon 2013

October 22, 2013 by Heather

On October 12, I ran the Baltimore half marathon as part of the Baltimore Running Festival, thanks to my friends at Under Armour. I woke up that morning and looked out my window. I could see the marathon start line! Because there were multiple races that were a part of the festival, the half marathon didn’t start until 9:45 and the marathon started at 8.

It was cool to be able to watch the start from my room, and still have time before going down to run my race!

Since it’s still warm down south, I had no idea what to wear. I decided to go with some super soft cold gear courtesy of Under Armour, and while I did end up getting a little warm, everything was so comfortable, even for wearing it the very first time!

My plan for this race was to have fun. I had been out of town for 8 days on my feet all day, and eating restaurant food at every meal, so I wasn’t expecting a lot out of this. Plus, I had just raced the Tower of Terror 10 miler the Saturday before.

I walked downstairs and had no idea where the starting line was and had to ask some cops. So much for being prepared! I was really early, and ended up waiting around for awhile. It started to rain, but thankfully we just had a few showers here and there during the race. The set up for where to start the half was honestly a little confusing.

The path to get to the half start crossed the marathon course and people kept getting in the way. Maybe there is another way they can do this or change the course for next year?

We started at 9:45, and I started half 21 not knowing what to expect!

I felt pretty good at first, but then we just kept climbing…and climbing…and climbing. I grew up below sea level, and don’t train on many hills, so this was a big wake up call for me (and my calves!)

My pace slowed a lot, but I was determined not to walk on any of the hills. I am super proud to say I ran the whole race except for water stops.

At some point, we met up with the full marathon folks and finished the race with them all together, which I thought was really neat.

The first 6.5 miles were literally all uphill, and I kept thinking “we have to go down at SOME point!” My legs were tired, and we finally hit a lake. Ah, flat ground.

We ran all the way around the lake, and I kept texting Jami funny jokes, and then this photo. I get delirious when I run and say crazy things to people. No idea why.

If you look closely on the other side of the lake you can see all the people coming around.

I made it up another hill after going around the lake, and we went into some really pretty neighborhoods.

There was a good amount of crowd support, lots of funny signs, and I enjoyed seeing the city.

About mile 9, spectators started yelling things like “you got this, this is the last big hill!” I would get excited only to run into yet another hill. This kept happening and everyone around me would laugh and groan. Eventually though, we DID hit our last hill and the last couple miles were flat and downhill which was SO NICE at the end of a race.

The crowds got thicker and thicker so I knew we were close.

This race actually went by pretty fast, even though it was a tough one. I was glad to see the finish, but didn’t feel like I was dying.

I crossed at 2:19, and got this little guy.

I was happy with my time for a fun run with tons of hills right after a vacation and another race. Works for me!

I met up with Jami after who rocked the first leg of the marathon relay. We got some grub, hung out for a bit, then it was time for me to head back to the hotel before I caught my car to go back to the airport.

The race shirts from Under Armour are so soft, I love wearing mine! I of course had to match with my speedforms going to the airport.

Why yes, I did wear my medal to the airport and on the plane!

This was a great race with good crowd support and a fun although challenging course. Under Armour is a great sponsor, and the city was a great host. If you have a chance to run this one be sure to do it!

QOTD: Do you like hilly races? Do you run them?

Disclosure: My friends at Under Armour sent me to Baltimore to run this half marathon (flights, food, hotel, race entry) however, thoughts and opinions are my own.

*Don’t forget, you can order Under Armour Product straight through my website! This is the shirt I raced in and these are the tights. The green speedforms I wore to the airport, and the headband as well.

Filed Under: fitness, Race Recaps, running, Uncategorized, Under armour Tagged: baltimore, half marathon, running, under armour

Back to Baltimore

October 11, 2013 by Heather

Guess what? I am headed back to Baltimore today! Yup, hopping a plane from Orlando and headed up there for one day to run a half marathon with Under Armour as part of the Baltimore running festival.

Under Armour is one of the sponsors of the race, and they invited me up to run. So, poor Bobby will be driving home from Disney alone while I take Magical express to the airport this morning! I am so excited and can’t wait to share the experience with you.

As always I will be posting on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and will do a full race recap after. It’s just a quick trip, but I am stoked none the less.

Let me give you some fun facts about this race:

-VIP section for Under Armour employees

-Post race yoga

– A set up at the event so people can get more familiar with Under Armour

-Held in Under Armour’s backyard in Baltimore

-over 30,000 runners come to Baltimore for the festival

-Tough, hilly, (but fun!) course.

Be sure to follow the Baltimore running festival on Facebook for more information! There are a FEW half and full entries available at the expo if you still want to run!

QOTD: What is your favorite thing about race expos?

Filed Under: running, Under armour Tagged: baltimore, racing, run, running, under armour

Under Armour Visit Part 4: My Yoga Attempt

August 28, 2013 by Heather

Hey guys! Be sure to catch up on parts one, two, and three of my trip before reading today’s post!

We left off with our amazing dinner out in Baltimore before heading to bed. We woke up bright and early for another jam packed day of fun, starting with some rooftop yoga.

Now, if you know anything about me, you know just how inflexible I am. it amazes people that I can’t touch my toes. Thanks to scoliosis, I can’t bend certain ways, and much to the disappointment of my chiropractor, my hips are all out of whack and super tight. This makes yoga very difficult for Heather. Heather was a little scared going into yoga with all of these awesome ladies who do yoga regularly. Oh boy.

First, let me back up. When we got out to the pool area, we saw this gorgeous view.

There was a pool attendant who told us to go up the outdoor flight of stairs for yoga, and we saw more breath taking views.

There were yoga mats and towels (which are awesome by the way) laying out for us.

We met the lovely Camille who would be teaching our class that day. She was so cute and sweet and wasn’t too hard on me for being a total noob. Smile

Ah, yes Camille, it IS funny that I am that inflexible.

It was a great class in the most gorgeous location, and I was sore for DAYS after! The class was really hard for me, but I stuck it out, and am #BetterThanYesterday because of it. Super proud of myself!

We were in a time crunch, so we hurried down to breakfast at the restaurant in the Four Seasons. It was heavenly. I had an omelet, bacon, and some fruit. So delicious. However, we had to eat fast because we were running behind for our spa appointments! That’s right, we were all getting massages!

I had the most amazing massage, and since I was already sore from our insane workout the day before, it felt wonderful and was such an amazing treat! I wish we had more time to explore the spa area, but we had to shower and pack up our things and get back to UA Headquarters. Maybe next time!

We headed back to Headquarters where lunch was waiting.

We had the privilege of meeting with some other teams and departments, and it was so much fun when they asked for our input on products and ideas. I love how willing they were to listen to us and ask for our advice. Before I knew it, it was 3:00 and time for my car to take me back to the airport, and I had to say goodbye to these lovely ladies.

Oh how I wish I would have gotten to spend more time with this one, the amazingly hard worked who made all of this possible for us FitFluential gals. Jami is such a pleasure to be around, and is so sweet and accommodating. She wanted everything to be so perfect for us, and it was just that! UA is so lucky to have her!

Look out for a post coming late next week about my thoughts and takeaways from this experience. I still have so much to share!

QOTD: Do you ever try a class you don’t do often and step out of your comfort zone? Are you as inflexible as I am?

Again, huge thanks to Matt Ryb for the awesome pictures from our yoga sesh, they are beautiful, even if I look super awkward in them!

Filed Under: fitness, health, motivation, Under armour Tagged: baltimore, fitness, four seasons, Health, spa, under armour, yoga

Under Armour Visit Part 3: Let’s Go Shopping!

August 27, 2013 by Heather

If you missed part one and part two, be sure to read them first then come back for this installment!

We were already checked in at the four seasons, so we left our stuff with bell services and walked over to the UA Brand House. I had NO idea what this was, so Jami told us about this amazing one of a kind store. It is right on the harbor, and sells a ton of amazing Under Armour gear. You can find UA gear at outlets, and other sporting goods stores…but they don’t have stand alones, but the brand house…ah…it’s amazing.

When we arrived, the employees were waiting for us and did a little cheer for us, it was so kind of them, I loved them right away.

Not sure what I was saying here, but it was obviously pretty funny.

We were then handed gift cards and told to go shopping! Um…..don’t have to tell this girl twice! Under Armour had already been So generous I was not expecting this at all. I will admit, I was slightly overwhelmed because there was SO much to look at in this store.

The super sweet employees had already pulled some items for each of us in our size based on what they thought we would like after reading about all of us. How COOL is that, they went above and beyond, so, so sweet.

After we knew what they had already pulled for us, we did a little browsing around with the help of the employees.

Bought those shorts too. I look slightly overwhelmed here…

Did I mention the dressing rooms? AMAZING. Looks like I am in a gym right? Nope! dressing room. Of COURSE I want to see what I will look like in my new gear at the gym…makes perfect sense. Why didn’t I think of this?

Ended up buying these stretch woven capris. Love.

Loooovveee this outfit. It’s my favorite.

I had to “fake run” in it to test it out….please tell me you do this, too?

Reversed colors? yes please! (I ended up getting a white top instead of black)

Got this outfit too. LOVE these capris and the top can be adjusted at the waistband.

GIRL POWER! #IWILL

We had loads of fun, but eventually we did have to check out and go get ready for dinner. Apparently I stand like this all the time.

Before we left, we took a group photos with the awesome staff, and then us gals took some shots.

Tasha, me, Kasey, Electra

We headed back to the hotel and brought our bags up to our rooms. Tasha and I shared a room, and were greeted with super cute UA/Baltimore baskets on our beds. So thoughtful!

We had an amazing room which I will tell you more about in another post.

We quickly got ready for dinner and walked to a Greek restaurant down the block where we were greeted with a lovely table open to the outside. This southern girl is NOT used to being able to eat outside in August and not die of a heat stroke or be swarmed by bugs in the process of said heat stroke.

We shared some appetizers, and I ordered grilled chicken that was delicious.

We laughed, we talked, we had a great time, and didn’t get back to the hotel until about 11:00!

We headed straight to bed, another big day was to be had, with yoga in the morning. Trust me, you WON’T won’t to miss those photos from this non-yogi.

QOTD: Have you ever stayed a the Four Seasons? What would you buy at the UA Brand House?

Photo credit to the talented Matt Ryb! He followed us around the Brand House and got some great shots!

Filed Under: fitness, running, Under armour Tagged: baltimore, fitness, four seasons, Running skirt, shopping, UA brand house, under armour, Workout Gear

Under Armour Visit Part 1: Welcome to Baltimore

August 24, 2013 by Heather

What a whirlwind of a week it has been! But, it has been an AMAZING one! I did something this week I have never done. I flew somewhere and then back the very next day. That “somewhere” wasn’t just anywhere, it was Under Armour headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland. I was a part of the What’s Beautiful competition through Fitfluential, and was chosen to go up for a visit. To say I was excited would be the understatement of the century.

My day started off VERY early. I had a 6:00 flight because I wanted to maximize my time in Baltimore. This meant a 3:40 wake up call, and a 45 minute drive to the New Orleans airport, and a long walk from the parking garage with no coffee.

My “why am I up so dadgum early” face.

I had a smooth and uneventful flight, and met my driver at baggage claim. I felt like a total dork, but I was super excited to have someone waiting for me with one of those little signs with my name on it. It’s the little things folks. My kind driver promptly took my bag and I thought I could certainly get used to this!

As we stepped outside I immediately noticed the awesome weather. Low humidity and breezy. I could DEFINITELY get used to this! We took a quick drive to headquarters where I was dropped off at the front desk and immediately saw this on the giant TV above the reception area.

I squealed and said “HEY THAT’S ME! Before snapping a photo. Poor girl at the front desk must have thought I was a loon. I then finally got to meet the fabulous Jami. I love this girl. She is so passionate about Under Armour and marrying real women/bloggers with fitness and health. Her enthusiasm is contagious! We walked through a gorgeous building with huge photos of athletes on the walls. I may have secretly wished one day it would be me up there!

Electra had already arrived, so the first of many photos happened.

We chatted and waited for the other girls Kasey and Tasha before heading over to the gym for a workout.

We walked into the gym and each had an open locker with an outfit for our workout and an outfit to put on after our shower, plus some fun other things like a bag, water bottle, etc (AMAZING bag by the way, you all need one!) I instantly felt like a famous athlete with my own locker. Of course, we took pictures.

We quickly changed and headed out to the lobby to learn all about Armour 39. Let me tell you folks, this thing is a beast, and so awesome. It is a performance monitoring system for athletes that does SO much and I can’t wait to tell you more about it very soon, but for now just know it’s pretty epic.

Making sure I had the strap adjusted correctly before I put it on under my shirt.

After getting all set up, it was time for our assessment to get the most accuracy out of Armour 39, so we did a quick treadmill run after meeting our trainer, Chris. After our assessment, we headed out to a gorgeous turf/field right on the water for our circuit training.

I am going to stop here for the day because I have SO many more photos to share and amazing experiences, and don’t want to make this post too long. Stay tuned! Here is a sneak peek of our workout. (Photos taken by the awesome Matt Ryb!)

After I do my posts about the actual experience, I will be sure to recap what I learned and what this whole experience meant to me. I can’t wait to share!

QOTD: Do you own any UA gear? What is your favorite?

Filed Under: fitness, health, running Tagged: armour 39, baltimore, FitFluential, fitness, running, under armour, workout

Baltimore Bound

August 20, 2013 by Heather

It’s today! It’s today! I have a VERY early 6:00 am flight from New Orleans to Baltimore today, where I will be visiting Under Armour’s Headquarters with three other lovely Fitfluential Ambassadors.

We have a jam packed schedule for two days, and I can’t wait to share it with you. I will not have my laptop with me since I am just gone one night, but I will definitely be blogging about it when I get back. However, rest assured I will be talking about my experiences as they happen on my social media platforms. Now would be a great time to make sure you are following me!

Instagram: http://instagram.com/heatherslg

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeathersLG

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heatherslookingglass

I arrive at Under Armour headquarters around 10:15 or so EST, so be on the lookout for the fun to start! I will be hashtagging #whatsbeautiful and #IWILL if you want to search for that as well.

QOTD: What is your favorite social media platform?

Filed Under: blogging, fitness, running Tagged: baltimore, blogging, fitness, under armour, what's beautiful

An Under Armour Visit

August 8, 2013 by Heather

I was given quite the surprise last night ….

I’m going to BALTIMORE! In TWO WEEKS! The amazing folks at Under Armour have invited me and three other lovely ladies that were a part of the #WhatsBeautiful campaign up to their headquarters for two days of fun. That’s pretty much all I know, just know I am SUPER stoked, honored, and humbled.

I did a lot of this when I found out.

If you will remember, Under Armour’s What’s Beautiful is a competition to redefine the female athlete. It’s a great initiative to make women feel strong and self confident. My goal was to reach other women and help them to become better versions of themselves. In the process, I truly hope I touch some of you, even if just a few, then my hard work was totally WORTH IT!

Never fear, you all know I won’t let you miss out on the fun. I will be live tweeting, instagraming, facebook posting, blogging, you name it. It’s going to be epic. Be sure you follow me on all my social media sites (see the icons on the right sidebar up towards the top)

Now to go pinch myself. Is this really happening? Thanks Under Armour and Fitfluential!

QOTD: Have you ever been to the headquarters of a brand like this before? Did you enjoy the What’s Beautiful competition?

Filed Under: blogging, fitness, health Tagged: baltimore, travel, under armour, what's beautiful