Self Workout in the Park 2012 | The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans LLC

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June 2 was the day before my stepdad had his medical emergency. That explains why I forgot about writing this post sooner. It was also the day that I jumped on the train to Chicago with my friend for the Self Workout in the Park event. It was only the second day of June, but it was a hot one and Butler Field at Grant Park was so crowded.

After standing in line for what seemed like forever, we were finally allowed in the gate. The first thing we did was head over to sign up for some classes. We signed up for the second class they had and they wouldn’t let us sign up for any others until we finished our first class. Last year, we were allowed to sign up for more than one at a time. By the time we took our first class and came out to sign up for another, the table was gone. They had filled all the classes. That was disappointment #1.

Knowing that we couldn’t go to anymore of the limited space classes, we tried to do some of the main stage classes. That was nearly impossible. It was so hot and so crowded, you could hardly find a place to squeeze in to workout. That was disappointment #2.

We decided to walk around and see the vendors. They weren’t as good as the ones they had the year before. One of the best things about last year was the swag and there wasn’t much of it this year. There were also some odd things. We can save that for a later time though. Anyway, that was disappointment #3.

Remember last year when I got to meet Alison Sweeney? I got to talk to her and get my picture taken with her. She even worked out with us. I mean really worked out with us in the crowd. This years celebrity was Dolvett Quince. He is one of the trainers on Biggest Loser. I tried to get an interview with him, but that wasn’t going to happen I was told. I was okay with that. I hadn’t really thought I could, but I was told that I could probably get pictures with him in the VIP area. I did have my press wristband. Well, let’s just say that Dolvett was nothing like Alison Sweeney. I have a very different opinion of him now than I did before. It’s a good thing I had my telephoto lense to take this picture. Disappointment #4
We had just decided that we were going to leave. It was too hot and too crowded and there was no reason to go back through the vendors. As we were heading for the gate, we saw Daphne and Adrian Dortch. They were the brother/sister aqua team from season 13 of The Biggest Loser. These two just made my day. They were friendly and totally genuine people. They were only too happy to have their picture taken with me. Actually, Adrian suggested it. We talked to them for quite awhile and I learned some things about fitness from them. There was no disappointment in meeting these two.

The bottom line is that my first Self Workout in the Park experience was for better than my second. I’m not sorry I went this year, but I was expecting more. I guess it’s my own fault for going with an expectation of it being the same as the year before. It wasn’t a terrible day, just not the day I was expecting. I have some time to think about if I want to give next year another try. What do you think? Would you go back if you were me?