Tag: blogging

Reflecting on 7 Years of Blogging

Blogging has changed a lot since I started in August of 2010.  You can read my first post here.  Sure, I could correct several spelling errors in my first post ever, but it wouldn’t be as “authentic”.  So I leave it as my 2010 college self-wrote it.

If anything has remained the same in my blogging, it’s that I don’t have the best grammar or spelling.  I spell check, but there is always something.  If you have ever held a conversation with me in real life, you know I talk a mile and minute, and my blog is pretty much the same.

But Back to Blogging in General… 

I feel like a crabby, old fashioned blogger even saying that blogging has changed so much.  When I first started blogging, it was just that.  Blogging.

There was no Instagrams, twitters and people did not make facebooks for their page.  You just wrote stuff and hoped someone subscribed through email.  After you posted an entry, you moved on with life.

Now blogging is more competitive and social media is far more advance.  You don’t write something and move on.  You write something, link it to all of your social media, multiple times, promote, promote, promote and maybe promote some more.  By the time you finished pushing your master piece of writing, it’s time to promote the next one.  It’s no wonder blogging can get so damn tiresome.  The least time-consuming portion of blogging is writing the post. 

Hey you!!!  Have you subscribed to my internet? 

But here we are.  I often reflect on blogging.  Many bloggers who started much later than I did make a full-time income from blogging.  They do the ten (thousand) step process of blogging, great content, and whatever else it takes.

siteheader1.jpg
The first LOLZ header is 2010.

That is their choice but blogging full time has never been mine.

Is it great to make money from something you work hard at? Of course.  The majority of the money I now make through blogging pays for the 10,000 races I run each year with it…but that is really it. I don’t make a full-time income and I don’t spend hours on content creation and sponsored posts.

An early header

Part of the reason begins with I won’t promote products I don’t personally stand behind. I can truly say I’ve used and enjoyed every product I’ve promoted on this blog.  Throughout the last 7 years, I’ve probably turned down close to 5,000 dollars worth of sponsored posts (whether money or product) because it doesn’t reflect my life or interests.

If you blog full time, you make more money by taking more sponsored posts.  You can’t “love” everything so you cannot like and use every single product you promote.  It’s a fine balance of blogging about product, life, and whatever else.  Too many sponsored posts and you are a fraud.  Too few sponsored posts and you eat ramen for dinner.  That sort of balance doesn’t interest me.

Plus, to be honest I don’t sit still well.  I don’t like sitting at home, I’m usually boring, and I don’t like to people, socialize, and network every moment of my life.  I just like to run, eat at diners and talk about various topics that pop into my mind (like reflecting upon blogging).

So How Has Blogging Changed Since 2010?

First, as I just said I’m not a professional. Many bloggers, social media experts, and internet users know far more about “how blogging has changed”.  I can tell you what I’ve noticed in the last several years.

From about 2010-2014 blogging thrived.  Page views were high.  There were months in 2013 and 2014, I would get 50,000 page views on LOLZ blog.  I wasn’t even a popular, superstar blogger, so I can’t imagine what others got!  But people were visiting blogs!  Blogging was booming!  There wasn’t a lot of excess social media.  Just people and blogs.

I remember when I first started my twitter, I kicked my feet.  Everyone had a twitter, but I didn’t find it appealing or necessary.  I was finishing my junior year of college, barely staying afloat in Spanish class and dreaming of math equations and proofs.  Then I started a twitter, and it’s still probably my favorite platform.  You can follow people and things and not be creepy.  There isn’t anything you really can’t follow on twitter at this point.

In 2014-2015, Instagram was starting to evolve and pop up.  More people had instagrams, but the captions were short.  I would Instagram everything.  My coffee, flowers, dirt, a pineapple sitting on top of a cup.  Then I would filter the $hit out of it pretending I was a professional photographer.

Now you can find Instagram captions that are longer than some blog posts.  As Instagram continued to grow, blogging began to fall.  My blog that once got 50,000 monthly views now gets about 20,000.  

In the recent few years, several of my favorite bloggers shut down their blogs.  Also, blogs that used to post weekly went to 1-2 times per month. Few people blog but more people used Instagram!  My reader has dwindled for several posts daily to 1-2 per day that consistently update.

Now in 2017,  the Instagram trend is still growing.  With the addition of Instagram stories, which I occasionally use, it’s more fun and more live. As Instagram grows, I do find myself attempting to take more quality posts (all from my trusty phone).  Personally, I like to follow friends and look at pretty photos.  So I’m trying to mirror that.  Will I ever take out a loan and buy some fancy camera.  No…

Just after college graduation header

So where does that leave the mother hen old lady LOLZ blog?

Will I continue to social media in year of blogging?  Probably.

Will I continue to use all of my social media?  Once again, probably.

Will I get a Strava?  No, I can’t even remember to charge my Garmin.

I will continue blogging about life, running or whatever else happens.  I don’t know what will happen tomorrow, next week or next month (LOLZ to think about next year).

I don’t commit to anything.  I don’t know what curves life will throw.  I can’t guarantee, I won’t completely stop blogging for whatever reason but I have zero intentions today…not sorry I love talking too much. 

Questions for you:

What is your favorite social media platform?

If you blog, how long have you been blogging for?

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Workouts: Swimming and Strength Training

Another week of workouts down.  As most readers know by now, I’m currently not running.  Some days, there is a twinge of excitement to run again, but some days I want nothing to do with the sport.  This break has been nothing but good.  I don’t feel jealous of others running and don’t feel the need to “do something.”  Although this week was a high volume of workouts for where I’m currently at.

Right now, I’m getting more into lifting and strength classes than I’ve done in the last few years.

Workouts Last Week:

Monday: Swimming: 1 mile
Tuesday: 45 Minute Strength Class
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: 45 Minute Strength Class
Friday: Swimming 1 mile
Saturday: Body Pump Class
Sunday: Walking Around NYC

As many readers know, before running, I swam.  Then, I burnt out, and in the last few years, I’ve gotten in the pool less than a week of college swimming.  After graduating, I decided I would try and swim a mile every year.  It’s the distance I used to race, and it seems like an achievable/attainable goal.

My strength classes have been going well.  I’m just working on getting stronger as I figure out when I want to run again.  I like to go to a class because I know I’m getting an all body workout, versus me pretending to know what I’m doing in the gym.

Other then that, it’s been a quiet week.  My husband came home from a deployment on Thursday, so workouts weren’t the focus this week.  tim and i

We decided to take a try up to NYC and explore.

Thoughts:

I’m currently trying to figure out what I want to do with running and training right now.  My body has needed this rest period.  I thought I would probably want to run by now, but the truth is, I don’t!  At first, I compared myself to other people.  Why does X only need a day off and they love running again?  Then I realized, I’m the same way with marathons.

I need a lot more time to recover from a marathon (at least a month!), and I need a lot more time to recover from a burnout and find my enjoyment out of running again.  Do you know what?  That’s cool. Rushing back into running will just result in a bigger burnout or injury.

Post from the week: NonRunning Workout Ideas (Apparently I haven’t been blogging much either)

Questions for you:

How long do you typically take off from running?

Have you ever been to NYC? 

A Recap of 2016 LOLZ Blogging

I’ve been blogging since 2011, and it’s changed a lot.  When I first started blogging, I used to pretty much be able to tell you every running blogger out there.  That’s because there weren’t that many.
Thinking out loud, now with the internet explosion, anyone, and everyone blogs.  That’s not a bad thing, but many blogs get lost in the sea.  Plus with so many different social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook, it’s easy to just microblog from those too.

So in 2016 what went on with LOLZ blogging?

Believe it or not, I blogged less in 2016. For the most part, I stopped blogging about my personal life. Maybe I grew up, or maybe I finally realized no one cared what my favorite color was.

I kept my blog focused on running, more gear related posts and of course diners.  Occasionally, I blogged about life too, but it was mostly running related.  It’s not that I don’t have a personal life, but due to my husband’s job, there are a lot of things I can’t share on the internet.  My life does not revolve around running but my running blog pretty much does…

Plus many of my friends don’t run and don’t use a lot of social media, it’s not appropriate for me to post about them via the blog and to be honest, half the time my life isn’t terribly thrilling.  I run, work and come home.

So what happened in the world of LOLZ blogging this year?

Since it’s my primary focus, I recapped running here.

In Actual Blogging:

Number of posts: 276

Most Viewed Posts: 
Asics FuzeX
Losing Toenails: A Runners Rite of Passage? (From 2015)
Dropping 9 minutes from my Half Marathon Time

Top Referrers (Where did people come from?)

Random places on the internet
Twitter
Facebook

blogging referers

Looking Back:

Honestly, I love blogging, and I enjoy it.  I put a lot of time and effort into blogging, and I plan to still keep doing it.  It’s not my full-time job, and I doubt it will ever be.  Due to the nature of social media and how much self-promotion you must do now, it’s very hard for anyone to make a full-time income from blogging.

I promote products that I like and have used.  Personally,  I cannot imagine promoting brands and companies I cannot foster relationships with. Would I like to make more money blogging?  Sure but who wouldn’t…There is a lot of balance with that.

I would be lying if I didn’t say several brands lost my respect as a customer based on bloggers they chose to represent them.

Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your mindset, there are hundreds if not thousands of bloggers now.  The internet is saturated with bloggers vying to work with brands.

But that is the nature of blogging!  At the end of the day, I’m fortunate enough to shut my computer down and not worry about followers, blogging or the internet because it’s not my full-time job.  I respect people who want to do that, but that is not the lifestyle or career for me.

In 2016, my blog posts, stats, and views went down, and I’m fine with that. In 2017, I predict as a platform blogging will continue to decrease.
blogging stats

Many bloggers will go the route of microblogging on social media platforms versus lengthy blog posts.  I won’t be excluded and I’ll be both amazed and proud of myself if I reach 276 blog posts next year too.

I always find it fascinating to see where people are from so here are some of the top countries!

blogging info

Questions for you:
How has your blog evolved and changed this year?  
What is your favorite social media platform? 

The Differences of Non-runners and Runners

It may be hard to remember, but there are people in the world that don’t run!  The life of Runners and non-runners is drastically different.  I can remember a time I didn’t run and can relate to all of these.  Thinking out loud, every person, athlete or not, has a routine.

The Differences of Non-runners and Runners

How do runners and non-runners stack up against each other? 

Budget

Non-runners: Non-runners save money for a lot of different things: happy hour, the newest technology or even a great wardrobe.  Whatever if it is, they put away money to do the enjoyable “fun things”.

Runners: We save money for new shoes, new workout clothing and of course races.  Don’t forget the newest GPS watch.  The smaller the watch, the more money it is.  Without these things we can’t do what we love!  Right?

Beauty Routine:

Non-runners: Non-runners know how to make their features look great.  They spend an hour preparing for the day and look flawless every single day. They have time to hit every last detail, all while looking through the best wrinkle cream reviews to boot. Each outfit is perfect.

Runners: Runners have mastered the ability to shower and put on makeup within 10 minutes.  Did they just workout on the treadmill or are those fashionable leggings? The world may never know…Good thing fashion has evolved into a lot more comfort.

Eating on the Go and Snacking:

Non-Runners: Non-runners can go hours without eating.  Forget to pack a snack? That’s fine, they just hit up the vending machine and are ready to go. 
 Life doesn’t revolve around snacking and being rungry all of the time.  If a meeting goes late, oh well!

Runners: Our non-running friends know us as the vending machine to go.  We have more snacks in our bags than a mini-mall.  Are you craving an apple or a chocolate bar?  We have both.  Runners are never without snacks because you never know when the stomach will start talking.  When Runger hits, you have approximately 5 minutes to get us to the nearest supply of food, or you will see rage that you have never seen before.

Weekends

Non-Runners:  After the work week is over, non-runners often catch up with friends by going out for happy hour or dinner. They have a few drinks, dance and let loose.  Most of Saturday and Sunday is spent relaxing and catching up on other hobbies.

Runners: Runners look forward to the weekend too! It’s either race weekend or long run weekend!  Either way, we are waking up earlier than a weekday.  We spend Friday night cuddled up in PJs, watching a movie and in bed sleeping before 9.

Weekend Brunches:

Non-Runners: Non-runners wake up anywhere between 8 and noon.  After a well-rested sleep, they meet friends at a neighborhood breakfast spot. It doesn’t matter if it’s crowded because nonrunners are just waking up and going out to eat.  They aren’t starving yet.  Of course, our non-running friends look gorgeous and spent a few extra minutes getting ready for brunch. Heck, they might even fill up on mimosas beforehand! No wonder they are so happy waiting hours for a table!

Runners: On the weekend, runners wake up well before the weekday. We get our long runs in and before we know it, it’s time to eat, and we are just trying to make it there on time.  There is nothing more cringeworthy than waiting for brunch after a long run.  A messy bun, somewhat fashionable workout clothing and an old pair of sneakers are our signature brunch look.

Question for you: What is something you do that your “non-running” friends might not understand? 

 

Peters Diner

Last month, Angela and I met at the Peters Diner in Williamstown, NJ. (This is not to be confused with “Two Peters Diner” up north ha), Angela and I have been friends for a long time and hadn’t been able to grab lunch for a while, so it was nice to catch up before she left for the summer.

Old Photo of Angela and I
Old Photo of Angela and I

Atmosphere: A
The outside of the diner is a picture perfect metallic diner.  It’s everything you imagine from a stereotypical diner.

peters diner

Image via here

The inside is just a stereotypical diner. It’s one of the biggest diners I’ve been too, and there were dozens of tables.

Service: B 
The service at Peter’s Diner was decent.  It wasn’t terribly busy, and the food came out quickly, but we could have used more water and beverages.

Coffee: A
Peters diner serves Lacas brewed coffee.  For those not in the northeast region, Lacas is brewed Pennsauken, NJ.  It’s a great local brew and the coffee at Peters was perfect.  The waitress also added lots of whipped cream too.  Diners with Lacas coffee typically can’t go wrong.

Peters Diner Coffee

Food: B
Peters Diner has one of the biggest menus of any diners I’ve been too.  There weren’t a lot of healthy options, but there were plenty of different options.

I ordered the Greek Gyro.  It came with soup too.  I ordered chicken and orzo which was good.  There was definitely more orzo than chicken, but it was good soup.

Peters Diner Soup

When the Gyro came out, it was oozing tzatziki sauce, and it might have been the messiest meal I’ve ever had.  I think half of my gyro ended up on Angela’s plate as I attempted to eat it.  I don’t mind, though. To be honest, I like a lot of dressing on my foods.  Even though it was difficult to eat, my gyro was good, and I was glad I ordered it.

Peters Diner Gryo

I enjoyed the meal, but I wish it were a little easier to eat.  I guess there is no easy way to eat a gyro.

Price: $
For the coffee and gyro, the price was $11 which was a pretty good price.

Overall thoughts/Would I come back? 
Out of the few diners in the area, Peters Diner is my favorite and I would come back.  It was a good gyro for a diner.  There are hundreds of different menu items so you would never get bored eating.

Summary:
Atmosphere: A
Coffee: A
Service: B
Food: B 
Price: $5-15
Overall: B 

Questions for you:
What’s the messiest meal you’ve ever eaten?
What’s your favorite lunch item? 

Random Thoughts…

I had a different post for today and then I got sick and didn’t write it. Oh well, I guess…

So it’s a completely random, thinking out loud post.

On Monday around 6:30 pm, I felt extremely fatigued and tired.  The fatigue came on within 30 minutes and by 7:30, I found myself laying in bed.  I slept through the night until 5:30 am on Tuesday.  I thought I would sleep away my migraine. However, that wasn’t the case, and I felt worse on Tuesday.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, I slept for a total of 30 hours.  Today, Thursday, I am feeling better but not great.  No I haven’t run, and I’m okay with that…I’ve pretty much sat on my bed or slept for the last two days.

For obvious reasons, this week I haven’t been running at all, and I’m okay with it.  I planned to take a short break this summer, and it happened to be sooner versus later.  There is no shame in that.

Speaking of running, what are my plans this Summer and Fall?

I’m currently tossing around different ideas of half marathons in the Fall.  I had thought about committing to a full marathon this fall, but I’m not entirely sure I want too.  I’m happy where I currently am and don’t have any complaints.  Half marathons seem to be my “sweet spot” right now. I have plenty of years to try a marathon again…if I even want too…

This summer, I’ll be running local races.  The only major race I’ll be doing is the Boilermaker 15k in Utica on July 10th.  Knock on wood of course, because everytime I sign up for the Boilermaker I get injured.  There are a lot of local 5-10ks around here this summer so I’ll be running those.  Do I think the hot and humid summer will bring PRs?  No, probably not but I’ll enjoy getting out there and racing.

So what else have I been up too in the last two weeks?

As most people have figured out, my Instagram and Twitter have been more of my daily life updates.  Blogging about life is pretty boring for the most part…go for a run…go to work…go to a diner…something along the lines.  One line social media posts are a bit easier for that.

lauren and I

I went to a wedding last weekend down in Maryland.  Despite the rain, the Bride and Groom had a beautiful day. I didn’t let the rain affect my attitude either.

me umbrella rainy day

Finally here are A Few Recent Posts incase you missed them:

Quick Core Ideas for Runners

Track Meet Mile (5:40)

Bloggers Guilt

As bloggers, we often find guilt of not creating content daily.  Or when we have an off day, it shows through the blog.  Tone can often be misjudged through text and sometimes posts don’t come out as anticipated.

Bloggers Guilt

For running blogs like myself, my blog is a chronicle of my own running, training, and personal life.  It’s filled with the highs of PRs and the lows of bad races or injuries.

But it’s not a full picture of my life.  A blog is not the complete picture of anyone’s life, and it shouldn’t be.

This past month I’ve been in a funk.  It’s included a lot of things such as my personal life, running and blogging.  Thinking out loud, it started around the time of my hamstring injury and continued into a downward spiral from there.  

I found myself asking:

What will I blog about when I’m injured?

What if I skip blogging for weeks?

What if my blog becomes boring and whiny because I’m injured yet again?

Why does it even matter?  No one wakes up thinking: “the first thing I want to do is read blogs.”  If you do, that’s a whole different topic of unhealthy behavior.

Unlike elite athletes, celebrities or professional bloggers, I’m not making a living from LOLZ blog.  My life and means to survive do not come from blogging.  Like any blogger I find myself fearing the lack of content, being “too boring” or criticism for how I’ve chosen to live life.  Just like the comparison trap, it’s something self-inflicted.

My times aren’t going to win the US anything.

My reviews of shoes or diners won’t make or break a company.

And my blog probably isn’t going to provide you any medical advice.

My blog is just a chronicle of my life, the good, the bad and the ugly (like when I thought bangs were a good idea or dyed my hair blonde).

I chose to put my blog and life online, at the end of the day I’m just an ordinary, average person.  Putting anything online opens you up for feedback both positive and negative.

So what’s the point of this post?

It’s a reminder to myself, to anyone that at the end of the day, blogging is blogging.  Your life does not revolve around a single hobby, whether it’s blogging, running or something else.  It’s important not put all of your eggs in one basket.  Comparing yourself to anyone (including yourself) isn’t going to get you anywhere.

Questions for you:
Bloggers: Do you ever feel bloggers guilt?
What is the last thing you felt guilty about?