Tag Archives: reads

Hashtag Blogger Problems

By Posted in Reads Tagged , , , 69 Comments

I hope I still have readers after this post…whoops not really.  I made a list of things that quite frankly, if you have ever chatted with me in real life than you probably already know…but those who haven’t need to get a taste of a LOLZ rant.  I like to blog…I really enjoy it but there are a lot of things I hate and don’t care for.  Sure I could stop reading said blogs (99.9% I have) but the very few are just a nice train wreck waiting to happen.

Why?

  1. You comment on 100 blogs.  Please, you are being fake, do you tell 100 friends they are your best friends?  No, shut up.
  2. Also with commenting, if you read bigger blogs…fine.  Who cares?  Don’t hide it and be the first to comment every single time.  I DO read bigger blogs but when did I say I didn’t…I also shop at Walmart and department stores a lot versus small stores…oh no.
  3. You write to please your readers.  I know for a fact this post will probably get some criticism…oh well.  We can’t be mature and please all the people all the time.  Be true to yourself.
  4. That being said, I read the comments of blogs as equally as I read the actual posts.  An example: Oh my stars LOLZ, you make the best recipes…I love you.  (That is a waste of a comment…stop it now, it’s borderline creepy…I want to hear I love you from hm…5 people in total).
  5. This right here in every situation.  If two people comment on a post:
    1. LOLZ, you make a valid point here…I don’t like peanut butter the texture is weird.  I respond with: yeah peanut butter is gross and I haven’t eaten it in years.
    2. LOLZ, I love peanut butter how could you say such a thing, my heart is shattered into 1000 pieces?  I respond with: It’s not that I don’t like peanut butter, I just don’t purchase it a lot.  It’s still awesomesauce bomb.com material.

Either you like something or you don’t.  Stop changing your mind to please every commenter or blogger.  Stop kissing ass.

  1. You blog for the people and only for the people.  Just to be clear, noone blogs solely for themselves.  Duh.  However, when you start to say…well I stopped writing about my hobby (mine is running) because no one was reading…how do you know?  Because no one commented on my training log?  Oh no…
  2. I’m not saying post everyday about your personal life…but stop with these every day blogger themes.  Of course you don’t have a personal life, you are too busy commenting on 10000 blogs and writing 100000 word themed posts.  How about Wake the Fuck up Wednesday…that can be tomorrow.

That’s all I have to say for now but I’m sure there are more.

Question for you: Most obnoxious blogging problem? 

Running Coaches

By Posted in Reads, Running, Training Tagged , , , , , 45 Comments

I posted a while back (probably about a year ago) about my thoughts on coaching and people having coaches.  Long story short, as a collegiate runner at the time, I thought it was great.  Coming from a cross country team that I was NOT forced to do track workouts and NOT forced to make a certain weight or compete inner team like…I full enjoyed the laid back appeal of my coach.

Hard to believe this was 6 months ago...

Hard to believe this was 6 months ago…and one week into cyst recovery

OH the joys of running D3.  Honestly, though I still keep in pretty good contact with both my college coaches and they inspired me to keep running after college.  This post isn’t about giving them all the credit they deserve though, because that would take a few thousand words.

This post is about why I do not think everyone and their mother needs a coach. To me personally, it seems like everyone talks about their coach and how their coach forces you to run harder…you never would have made it out there without HIM (please comment if you have a female coach because I’m curious to find someone who does).  I often feel when I say I’m at the point where I’m uncoached on my blog, people don’t get it.

Well why don’t you have a coach?

Because I’m improving right now without one…because I don’t need external motivation to go out in run…I run almost every morning with no coach telling me…Hollie go run this morning.

I’m not doing speed workouts and even if I was…there are plenty of sources to tell me what goals I need to hit my dreams.

I’m not saying every person should not have a coach. Caitlin and I are on the same boat with this…I think elites obviously should.  I think high schoolers/collegiate obviously should…their running is much different than those going to road races for a good time (ie: me).

I do not think for the average runner that it is necessary to further your running career by having a coach.  I think running basically boils down too: if you train smart and run more…you will improve.  If you aren’t improving, maybe then it’s time to look for a coach.  (or maybe it’s time to change your training first).

If you have a coach, that’s great and I’m happy for you.  If you have an exact mileage, speed you need to be hitting daily with no room for change and thrive off that…well great.

For me I need the flexibility to start off every run, not knowing exactly how far or fast I’ll go.  I wouldn’t mind having a coach but I am not obsessivly looking for one nor do I feel incomplete without one. 

Questions for you:

Do you have a coach?  Do you want a coach?

Thoughts of Different Training Cycles

By Posted in Reads, Running Tagged , , , , , 22 Comments

I can’t believe tomorrow I’m driving down South for a few days for the Nike Women’s Half Marathon.  It almost seems depressing that I’ll only be a few hours from home yet I won’t be in the VA Beach area.  My post isn’t about VA Beach or traveling though. 

I have often wondered if cross training when you don’t feel like running is beneficial.  I’ll preface this by saying that I have absolutely no idea the correct answer to that.  I’m not going to sit here and throw around facts that I made up. I’m also not going to say, I blog therefore have the credentials to give you unwanted training (or life) advice. I will, however, tell you what has worked for me in this training cycle.  (I consider everything past my cyst injury this training cycle really).

Since roughly January, I’ve taken a day off weekly to either cross train or not work out at all depending on my mood.  Often times, it’s because of some weird problem I’m having of the day…sick…eye problems…sleeping…but other times it’s because I am focusing to taper (like tomorrow).

I’ve found that I’m still able to run the next day and didn’t lose all my endurance…go figure…not all of us hate days off…  I am the first to tell you that all while preparing for an overzealous cross country season last year I didn’t take a lot of rest days.  It wasn’t because I felt “compelled” to hit a certain mileage (because I’m hitting roughly the same mileage now with an off day).  It was because I was training differently.

Everyday I’d run roughly 5-8 miles before it got to be 100000 degrees.  Then maybe I’d run a few more in the form of a speed workout in the afternoon.  Heatbox speed…only made me stronger.  I don’t know, I hit my fastest 5k in 90 degree heat back in July.

I’d cross train on top of an 8 mile run sometimes…other times I’d just take PM off.  I took a few rest days sometimes.  What I’m telling you is that I basically cross trained and ran the same amount just layed out differently.  Instead of an entire day dedicated to just cross training, I’d run lower mileage throughout the week and just cross train…or take pm’s off.

Now I run higher mileage 6 out of 7 days of the week and then take a day away from running.  Not purposely but that is just how the cookie has started to crumble.

I think in this self guided thought processed blog.  (ie: my thinking about my training out loud),  I think I somewhat like having a day to just cross train as well.  It makes me crave running the next day.  (not in the same way I crave cookies though…).

Everyone’s body works differently and to think that you can umbrella yourself into one particular style or training method.  Sure there is a general method to improving, but how I choose to run may or may not work for you…just as you choose to train and run may or may not work for me. 

Questions for you:  Does your training change?

The Scale

By Posted in Reads, Weight Tagged , , 78 Comments

A while ago (probably my first week of blogging), I wrote a post about the scale and my relationship with it.  Three years ago, I decided that weighing myself was not really jive.  I decided I didn’t need justification from a big piece of plastic (or metal if you are fancy) to define my mood or decide how I would feel for the day.  So I threw my scale away…that isn’t too say I haven’t weighed myself a few times in the last few years (doctors’ visits, just plain curiosity…but I don’t weigh myself very often…probably about 5 times since then).

 Though I’ve never had an eating disorder, I can relate with both males and females everywhere that constantly see adds for being “healthy”, that you can never lose enough weight and that being skinny is the key. 

It’s no secret that America (not to exclude other countries) is facing problems with weight.  We are an overweight country…but this post doesn’t go out to people for health reasons that need to lose weight.  This post goes out to people who want to lose weight because it will cure their life and they believe they will be 100% happy.

Let’s take this step by step in a typical day of weighing yourself with no particular goal or need to lose.  Perhaps you weigh yourself every day to make sure that one pound steak you had or delicious ice cream didn’t do any “harm”.

You wake up for the morning…go to the restroom…brush your teeth and weigh yourself.  You stand on a piece of plastic and allow it to tell you a magic three digit number. Now a days, most scales go to the decimal place so you have a few extra digits.  Before you weigh yourself, ask what are you are you hoping by this process?  Are you hoping that you’ll weigh the exact same to the fraction of the decimal?  Are you hoping that you’ll be down .01?  Whatever it is…if you are up anything, the scale has betrayed you.

So then you weigh yourself and let’s think of the two options.

You weigh in less than yesterday.  Instantly your day is good.  You weighed .01 less than yesterday.  It’s a great day, people will be complementing you because they can notice the .01 difference.  I mean, I personally can’t tell even tell whether someone has gained or lost 10 pounds let alone .01…think about that.  .01…incase you wondered, that is 1/100 of a paper clip.  Cut a paper clip into 100 pieces and that is how much weight you have lost since yesterday.

Or you weigh in .01 more.  Everyone will notice and your day is automatically ruined.  It’s currently 6:30 in the morning and you just weighed .01 more, so nevermind the rest of the day…your day is officially ruined and you have been up all of 5 minutes…maybe.

My point is this.  You are letting a giant piece of plastic control your everyday life.  No one can tell if today you weighed in 5 pounds more than yesterday.  No one can tell if today you weighed in 5 pounds less.  Your attitude is how they perceive you…I can tell someone having a rough day.  Someone who weighed themselves at 6:30 am, decided it was a bad weight and is now going to let it ruin their day and mood.

Don’t let that person be you.  Don’t let a piece of plastic and the first 2 minutes of your morning control your life.  

Question for you: What is your relationship with the scale? 

Looking at Boston through a Crystal Ball

By Posted in Running Tagged , , , 52 Comments

I have close to 100 friends (both internet wide and not) that ran Boston yesterday.  This Monday is always different in a runners heart.  Watching dreams happen, goals achieved, hard work and mental toughness tested.  For the morning I did just that, I watched and listened (ask my coworkers) as the majority of my friends ran PR’s, achieved their dreams and ran their hearts out.  Even if you are a non-runner or don’t follow running closely, chances are you have heard of the Boston Marathon.

The Boston Marathon is the Gold Standard of distance running…one does not simply by fluke get there.   Many people have tried to qualify for years, spent countless years, time, patience and ran other marathons…simply in hopes of running the Boston Marathon.

Imagine the gold standard race as a prestigious college, for ease we’ll say Harvard.  You are a high school student who has dreamed of going to Harvard your entire life.  You work hard at school, you maintain a near perfect GPA, spending countless hours studying and missing countless high school social events because of tests the next day.  That isn’t good enough though and all while doing that you maintain a job and are in a couple of extracurricular clubs.  You have a few friends, but most of them are your study partners and classmates with the same motives as yourself.  You gave up prom because the SAT was the next morning and you wanted to get a full nights rest.

But come your senior year, you did it.  Your hard work payed off.  Four years of intense studying, missing social events and working has payed off.  You have been accepted to Harvard.  (in our case four years and you have qualified for the Boston).

You spend the summer preparing, laying out your schedule of how you’ll make time but still have fun in college.  You have a perfect schedule layed out, enjoy the summer off from schooling but come September you dive right into the next phase of your life.

College (or in our case the actual training portion for Boston).  College is rough, you are plagued with a hard first semester…you nearly give up and wonder if I can’t pass an entry level college course, how will I pass sophomore, junior and senior year?  It’s a mental battle and you periodically question yourself. You continue to maintain your grades though now you are with other students who are competitive with you.  As you train, you see that you will not be at the top of this race and you could graduate closer to the middle or the bottom.  But.  You will still graduate and cross that finish line.

Four years again go by and you are sitting at graduation.  About half your class is with you…the other half didn’t make it this far.  Injuries, poor GPA, mental struggle…it was not for them.

You are sitting alphabetical order at graduation and listening to the valedictorian, salutation, guest of honor and speeches.  Waiting for your time to walk the line, receive your diploma and officially graduate.  You’ve made it this far.  Nothing can stop you.

Finally they say it.  We will now start announcing the candidates to graduate.

And the race you have now trained 8 years for is off.  You have begun a 26.2 mile journey that will test you physically, mentally and emotionally.  Your eight years of training leads up to this.

Boston Marathon

Your last name starts with “M” so you listen as others are announced.  The valedictorian is announced first and you see him receive his diploma and sit back down.  All while you sit with anticipation.

Finally they are on graduating “I”s, now “J”s…K…L…It’s your turn now.  You stand up and are walking towards the stage.  You see the finish line and are smiling bigger than 1000 suns.  It seems like you have been here for hours waiting…It’s all caught on video and your parents, friends and family are watching.  You are finishing one of America’s most prestigious road races and your parents, friends, family could not be anymore proud.

NBC still image taken from video shows an explosion at the Boston Marathon

You walk on stage and that is when it happens.  Out of nowhere and without warning.  An explosion.  An explosion rocking our entire community.  Your community.  Your friends.  Your family.  Our crystal ball world.

Explosion at the 117th Boston Marathon, Boston, America - 15 Apr

In the coming minutes, the area is surrounded.  Who would have done this?  Why? How?  Graduation has been cancelled and without warning, those who didn’t graduate don’t.  They don’t get a second shot to graduate…even though (as yourself) spent the last 8 years preparing for this graduation…they don’t get the honor they deserve.

boston5

Those are the people that were stopped at mile 21, the ones that worked every bit as hard but never stepped on stage.

Then those who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.  Alphabetical order and your last name started with an L?  You were walking off stage when the explosion occurred.

Your friends and family stationed near the stage.

boston4

Your friends and family who could not attend the graduation, wondering if you were okay but have no way of reaching or knowing for an hour or two…

My point is this, as a running community, a community in general, what happened yesterday is no short of a tragedy.  An event so powerful to us, hit so hard.  We have risen together.  Though running brings us closer, this event has also brought us even closer.  We have come together.   Those training for a marathon, those training for a 5k..those training to lose weight.  We stand strong together as runners and non…we are a community.   Nothing will break us down and while this was a powerful reminder, Boston 2013, along with every single other Boston will never be forgotten.