TIaRT: Rugging...Blunning...Running & Blogging!

Well, in response to today's Runner's Lounge Take It and Run Thursday, I will attempt to share my tips for how I use my blog to help my running, how/why I started, what keeps me blogging and how I use it to keep me running.

As I said in my blogland-deflowering first post, I have been a runner for quite a long time: 15 years or so. At times, I ran more, at times less...sometimes faster, sometimes slower...sometimes I raced, sometimes I simply ran to get the stressballs out of my shoulders and minimize the liklihood that I would maim a coworker or wind up on the evening news after a fit of road rage. I ran to make it through pregnancy intact; I ran to get back to being "me" post-pregnancy. I ran to go on non-date dates with my not-yet husband. I ran to explore places I traveled. I ran to get some time by myself. I ran to think. I ran to escape. I ran to eat chocolate and pizza and drink wine whenever I liked, without physical repurcussion and cellulite.

So, when I decided this year (pushed over the edge by the very funny and inspiring bloggers I followed) to finally commit to running my first-ever half marathon and marathon, I knew I would need something more than just my own self and my spotty self-shame and derivation to keep me accountable. I'd been enjoying (lurking) others' running-and-life-related blogs for a while...and I knew that it was just the medium I needed to spew all the stuff that the hubs and non-running friends were tired of hearing me pontificate about (what do you mean when you say that you have no idea what the best training plan for a marathon is and you don't care to ever find out? When you say "running and talking about running makes you want to kill yourself" exactly what context do you mean that in?). I needed people that could actually provide guidance and resources and occasionally answers to questions...I needed an audience (real or imagined) of my own peeps. No, not that kind of peeps.

I use my blog to track my runs (easier than my old log notebook, which I seem to forget, lose quite often, and hey I sit in front of a computer all day anyway and I don't even know how to make plans without an electronic calendar appointment so blogging seems pretty ideal for me) and keep myself motivated. Imagining others are following my progress keeps me accountable and reading others stories keeps me excited. It is also nice to have a "free" space to spew any other garbage that comes into my head, running related or not. Plus, if you really know me, you'll see that I have quite an affection for running, and blogging about it justifies the whole relationship.

My advice to anyone considering starting a blog? Go for it. Blogging is easy and free, and if you have self-control and common sense, you'll only spend about 15 minutes a day on it. Of course if you have neither of those, you'll become like the rest of us (see blogs I follow, at right)....but you'll be in good company!