Bunk
Marathon Training: Week 1/37
Last modified on 2010-02-23 00:28:13 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
Day 6 02/21: Cardio day today! We got to the gym a bit late and only had enough time for a thirty minute workout and I made it count. In thirty minutes, I hit 3.00 miles. It took some fast running in the last 5 minutes, but I hit my goal. I only ended up walking for 5 minutes of that 30 with 3 of those 5 being a brisk warmup.
Day 5 02/19: Chris and I got up early this morning and went to the gym. It was so hard to drag myself out of bed, but I made it. Lifting in the morning wasn’t as bad as I expected to be and we got a good workout. I prefer whole body exercises that tend to focus on balance just as much as lifting. I am the biggest clutz in the world so any help I can get in this realm is a good thing. Also, I hurt.
Day 4 02/17: 30 minutes on the treadmill and got in 2.86 miles. I count warm-ups as part of my time. My usual warm-up is a 2 minute walk at 3.8 mph. I had to walk twice for one minute each after the first 10 minutes and then after 5 more minutes.
Day 3 02/16: Today was a lifting day and I did a short 1.5 mile run at a quick pace (for me) of 6.5 mph. Not a great workout, but I went!
Day 2 02/15: I made it to the gym today. Right at 5:30pm.
Pace: 4 miles in 45 minutes, run-walk
Music Styling of Lily Allen – not the best running music but I just got it over Christmas and wanted to try it out.
Short-term Goals:
- Just go to the gym regularly (it is so snowy, and Chris is so snuggly)
- Run steadily (on treadmill) without walking for 25 minutes
- Achieve a pace of 5 miles in 45 minutes.
Day 1: I am running in the Chicago Marathon this year with the PAWS Chicago team. I am both wholly excited and scared at the same time. Today was supposed to be my first day of training. Instead I slept in, made vanilla roasted pears, and when I finally did don my running shoes, the gym was closed. A classic start to anything for me.
Maybe I should just call this day Marathon Training: Day 0.5. Tomorrow can be day 1. Chris has promised me that we are going to get up and go to the gym tomorrow at 7:30am. Check back as I chronicle my marathon training, hopefully with a better start than today. I’ve got nowhere to go but up!
October 10, 2010. 26.2 miles. Chicago. Puppies.
Watch me run, just like this-
Advice for the novice blogger: Part 2
Last modified on 2010-02-14 21:51:16 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
This post is a continuation of my post “Advice for the novice blogger: Part 1″ wherein I share the advice that I received upon starting this blog. Everything posted here was originally posted on Forumopolis.com.
Today’s installment comes from rikc, a member of the two person blogging team behind Popcraft:
- Why are your ideas different? It sounds awfully generic, but deciding on your personal attitude and making sure you stick to it is important. Starting a blog means you feel like you have something valuable to say about something, and you should be able to figure out for yourself what that thing is so your writing is more focused in the future. For instance, instead of just saying “I want to start a movie blog,” think “I want to start a movie blog that ____________.” When you’re writing a new entry, focus on the second half of that statement. Movie blogs can be read anywhere, but your ideas can not.
- How professional is this? Who’s your target? Decide who your audience is and make sure you are writing for them. With my own writing, I attempt to talk casually about music to an audience that is equally casual with their interest. By contrast, Beeps and Boops takes on a more professional tone, as it is aimed at a more informed audience. Readers should be able to figure this out by reading any given entry. Obviously, the idea is that by striking the right tone for your audience, you have a better chance of securing their readership.
Here are some things I think you should avoid thinking about too much:
- Is your writing good enough? Yes. No. Who cares? Go read other blogs about the same subject you’re interested in writing about. The majority of them will be completely terrible and you will never be able to write anything so awful. At the same time, you are most likely not at your peak powers. You want to produce solid, good writing, but don’t be afraid of writing something that might be bad. You will be writing a lot, and a good amount of that writing will not be your best work, and that’s fine. You will only get better. It’s easy to worry yourself into a corner and just put off something until you feel “ready.” This is the worst thing you can do to yourself. Even the best blogs miss all the time, but you keep reading them because you know they’re going to hit soon.
- Don’t overplan. It’s really easy to sit there and figure out what you want to do with your blog over the next three months and lay out a bunch of short and long-term goals, all the while putting off actually writing. Don’t do this. 90% of ideas you have a month in advance will not end up materializing, so don’t waste your time. It’s important to try to build a routine and think up regular features, but it’s more important to update regularly whether you are on a strict schedule or not.
- Are people reading? No. They will, but be prepared to have your best writing be read by only a handful of people for a long time. Don’t get discouraged when you track your hits and they’re not going up. The good news? The people who are reading probably really like you, and you’re just improving your skills for when you finally do attract a larger reader base.
Here are some more specific, practical suggestions:
- Use media. Include a picture or video clip as often as you can. It sounds a little base, but people like having something to look at. Are you starting a movie blog? Throw up a movie still from the scene you’re talking about. Do you like sports? Show the play you’re analyzing so people know what you’re referring to.
- Yes, link all the time, everywhere. Even setting up a short RSS feed on social networking sites will start bringing people to your blog. If you wrote something you particularly like, post it on your Facebook wall. I got a message on another web site yesterday from a complete stranger who came across Popcraft from a feed I set up on my page. Everything helps. Don’t just link, tell people about it in person. No one is going to promote your blog for you, so don’t be afraid to talk about it.
- Get a partner. This is pretty circumstantial and really tricky, but having someone else to work with is a great way to keep each other motivated and make the effort easier to manage. In my case, Popcraft would have even happened without Michael’s involvement, and the writing has pretty noticeably improved since we both started updating regularly at the same time. If you have somebody who shares your ideas and you think can contribute, bounce the idea off of them.
- Design it well. I love Tumblr for personal blogging, but I couldn’t imagine it for anything “professional” where I want archives that are easy to navigate. Have a friend help you design something slick. Buy a domain name. Invest in your work, but at the same time don’t get so caught up in designing a site that you put off your writing.
Oh also, setting up a Twitter for your blog is a good idea, as well. Even your regular readers probably won’t check your site daily, but they do check Twitter. It’s a good way to announce new updates, and also talk with your reader base a bit. In popcraft’s case, we get as many hits from Twitter links as anything else.
Advice for the novice blogger: Part 1
Last modified on 2010-02-14 21:49:36 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
About the time that I was starting this blog, a thread about blogging was started on Forumopolis.com, a general purpose forum that I have belonged to for 6+ years. This thread focused on the basics of blogging with advice from experienced and talented bloggers. I found the advice to be exceedingly helpful in the first few days of this blog and I anticipate that it will come in handy down the road. So for a handy reference for myself (and any other aspiring bloggers), I am going to share bits of the advice here.
Part 1 comes from Turtle Tomorrow (one member of the illustrious duo behind Beeps and Boops):
First, link your site whenever possible. http://www.beepsandboops.com
As far as the ad revenue question, I have very limited knowledge of that (we have google ads on our site, but fairly unobtrusive ones and no real desire to generate ad revenue, not that we have anywhere near enough hits to generate revenue) but it basically comes down to a) getting a lot of hits and b) putting ads everywhere on your page. More and bigger ads = more money. The content of the ads matters too, so the subject of your site may generate more/less money. But realistically, you do not start a blog to start money. You simply don’t. That is a long, hard road. A lot of those popular blogs you read? Those are actually staffed by writers or freelancers. Those other blogs you read? Those people probably aren’t making a living off of that.
Beyond that, the question is really want you want to achieve with your blog. I’ve been told by professional editors that blogs are a great way to build a reputation for yourself and build your portfolio. I mean, quite directly the editors of the AV Club told me that if I want to write for a living, start a blog. It’s an easy way to a) develop your writing skills, b) stay sharp, and c) demonstrate to a prospective employer that you are actually a dedicated and reliable writer. If your blog is actually popular, then that’s even better. I think a) and b) are the important ones there, since it’s very very easy to overestimate your writing skills. I don’t say that to be discouraging. I say that because writing is a craft like anything else. Those muscles atrophy over time, and writing forum posts and livejournal entries doesn’t really keep them strong – if they were ever that strong to begin with.
Even if you don’t want to be a writer, I imagine blogging about some subject you’re passionate about can only help.
If your blog is an end goal in and of itself, then you have to build an audience, and that’s hard. My limited (emphasis: limited) success has mostly been due to networking. I already read a lot of similar blogs, and I just started commenting on them, linking my site (when relevant), etc. Honestly I’d love to hear from anyone who has possibly had decent success with advertising a website, since right now it seems my main option is just to slowly accumulate readers via networking and associated benefits (getting linked on another blog, etc.). I understand that I’m not going to magically generate a thousand readers a day, but there have got to be smarter and more focused advertising strategies.
That New Tattoo Itch
Last modified on 2010-02-14 22:22:31 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
A conversation from today:
Chris: I just had the itch to another tattoo.
Me: Yeah, I had that a week ago too.
Chris: I guess it is just that time of year again…
And here are both of my back tattoos, the shoulder one only minutes old, completed a little less than a year ago.
Here is Chris with his wrist tattoo. Guess the reference!
Anyways, at this time of year, for the past two years, we have gotten tattoos. Mine on my back and shoulder, Chris on his wrist and leg. I have wanted a tattoo since I can remember. My first real exposure to them were with my grandfather’s Navy tattoo. It was so old and faded and fascinating. I learned then that your skin changes as you age and that a tattoo was an almost-map of what your skin once was. I honestly can’t wait till mine are wrinkly and bluegreen-faded-from-black and over-there-and-no-longer-here.
I also semi-secretly want to cover my arms and legs with tattoos, but that’s neither here nor there.
For now though, we will probably buck the trend this year simply because cash flow is an issue. (Much to the relief of my parents, I’m sure.)
More of our tattoos.
Because I don’t need an excuse to show off more ink.
Now if you happen to be in Chicago and get that New Tattoo Itch, check out Deluxe Tattoo. Thanks for listening.
