Dear Internet,
It is Friday night and I am sitting here on my couch with Bailey. While that is actually my preferred way to spend Friday night winding down from the week, today it is because I have a freaking sinus infection and feel like death. Sick twice in one month? Screw this healthy living stuff, it’s not doing anything for me. In all seriousness, it’s a sign for me to slow. the. eff. down.
Last week we had a LOT going on at work, I had a lot going on personally, and then I hopped on a plane to switch climates and run a half I was underprepared for before hopping back on a plane, spending 7 hours in the layover from hell in Miami and coming back to freezing temperatures. NO WONDER I’M SICK.
I have not worked out since a DB Yoga video on Monday, and I am getting antsy. I’m planning on taking one more full rest day tomorrow and hoping to feel up to skiing on Sunday…
Here’s a gratuitous puppy picture.
So let’s share some fun links, eh?
Are We Happier When We Stay in the Moment? This is from a TED talk that was on NPR that my therapist recommended to me. My sinus pressure made me want to close my eyes and not open them until it went away, but I couldn’t sleep, so I listened to this TED talk last night. Did you know we spend 47% of the time thinking about something other than what we’re doing? The talk also mentioned a site called Track Your Happiness that sends you a survey three times a day (it takes like a minute to respond to it) asking you how happy you are, what you’re doing, etc. The data is part of a research project at Harvard (I don’t mind being a data point), but the act of thinking about it also makes you consider if what you’re doing is what you really want to be doing. So far I’ve been sick, so my answers have generally been unhappy at home but happier at work because I’m around people I enjoy and doing what I like to do.
How Wellness Became the New Luxury Status Symbol: SUPER interesting. With NYC boutique fitness classes at $30+ a pop, yup. It’s an area where conspicuous consumption is a little less obvious than some flashy bag, but there all the same. Since I started working out seriously six years ago, I’ve seen the fitness industry explode, and I’m glad there’s also gyms like Blink to balance out the bottom of the market.
Track Your Blog Stats Worksheet I live and die by tracking social media stats and traffic at work (I have an unhealthy addiction to GA realtime), so for my personal stuff, I generally click into Google Analytics every few days to see if I’ve gotten some awesomely weird bump in traffic or if something I wrote totally bombed and nobody’s reading my blog any more. Well, this awesome guide helps you track all your stats and if you’re Excel-dumb like me, includes plenty of helpful formulas to calculate growth.
Inside the Strangely Profitable World of Discontinued Beauty: There is an eyeliner I have been wearing for nearly seven years that is no longer carried in stores but is available on line. You best believe I hoard this baby and will be disappointed when it vanishes. Paying more than retail for it though? Probably not.
Feel Like It’s All Been Done Before? Watch This. Loved this video from Marie Forleo. I’ll admit to having a little green-eyed monster over some blogging stuff lately combined with a what-do-I-really-have-to-contribute-to-the-conversation? Maybe my blog will never be The Biggest but I’m proud that I generally write about what matters to me, and I don’t write just to write.
I have some big plans in store for this site this year, but I’d love to hear what you like and, yup, even what you don’t, so I can make it better though. Lay it on me. What good have you read lately?
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I hope you feel better soon! I think it's best to write about what matters to you. I have watched some blogs switch to mostly writing about what the sponsors want to throw at them and I have slowly lost interest because the bloggers lost the voice that I liked. It's hard, they offer us money but we need to stay true to who we are and what we like to blog about...I hate when brands discontinue products I use!
I'm really trying to horde all available supply of that Nars eye pencil.
Being sick is the worst. I hope you're feeling better soon.
I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with your blog this year, it sounds exciting.
I've been struggling the last couple weeks with content. I have my chance chat post, and then usually one great post that I do tuesday or wednesday. I'd like another post thursday or friday, but I just haven't gotten the right post up. Hopefully its just a phase.
Can you post more pictures of dogs with bedhead? That should boost your readership?
I like your blog a lot - for one, I can relate to your story. I have a similar past - was legitimately overweight (many blogs talk about losing 10 pounds of college weight and act like they understand the struggle that comes with being overweight). I appreciate that you are relatable - I read some other healthy living blogs and I feel bad that I don't want to run 10 miles every day and that sometimes I just want to eat nachos and drink 6 beers.
I think you should keep being honest and relatable and never just post for the sake of posting. I am not always interested in recaps of boutique classes in a city that I don't live in, but hey, that's your life. I think the best blogs are just the ones that are the most honest.
DONE. Re:dogs. He's a little camera-shy but we will work on it.
Thanks :) Some days I really want to run 10 miles, and sometimes I want to drink 6 beers. Sometimes they are the same day, sometimes one has nothing to do with the other :)
And thanks again - I try to strike a balance of writing a blog I want to write (and would want to read) instead of writing what people want to read or writing Pinterest bait, but also want to keep in mind what my readers want to read, too.
I love the realness of your blog. I can totally relate you in so many ways and it makes me feel better about myself. Sometimes when I read some other running blogs, I'm like, really?! That's awesome that you run 20 miles everyday and your blog is your JOB, but if we were all getting paid to blog and run, we'd be the same way. Is there anything else?! Sometimes I get caught up in trying to change my writing or whatever so that I can like, "make it big" or something, but then I'm like, "do I REALLY want that?!" I wanna be relatable and real and allow others to feel like they don't have to be superwomen ALL THE TIME. And, I wanna be ME. The end. So keep doing what your doing. :)
I totally think about other things when i'm doing one thing. ESPECIALLY at work since my job is boring and I hate it. lol
Run, eat, Sleep"reply"
See my weight loss story : http://deitsweightloss.blogspot.com/2015/01/my-weight-loss-story.html
I enjoy your posts of honesty. Life is hard, it has ups and downs. I appreciate your sharing because it's real. I would think readers relate to that because that's their life too. What's more important is how you share your strategies to battle the tough days. You're inspirational because you get out of bed and facethe world.
I like sponsored posts because I'm alway looking for new gear and ideas for fitness. I feel your blog has a great balance.
I like living vicariously through you...who gets to meet Jillian and Bob in the same week?!?!?
I was constantly getting colds and run down. Teaching in a middle school will do that to a girl. My doctor suggested 1000mg of vitamin C. I've been doing it faithfully for 3 months and not a sniffle.
I usually like your blog but I don't live in New York city so I don't really care about most of your boutique classes recaps. The chances that I'll experiment one of thoses classes is small to non existant and anyway I would never pay 30$ per workout. I also don't like some of your sponsored posts, like the propels ones. You usually sound so genuine and in some sponsored posts your writing tone really clashes because it sounds so forced and unatural. I understand that many running organisations offer to pay for your travel/registration fees so it must be really tempting to accept everything but I don't really care for the ''oh I didn't trained for it, it's just for fun'' races recap. In the end it either sounds fake, like you didn't enjoyed the experience but you coundn't say anything negative, or you sound miserable the whole race, like the half that you did in the bahamas. I would rather just read about races that you train for because for most people this is how it is.
On the plus side, I love the fact that you have an actual job! It's really cool seeing you balancing it all and you do such a good job. And you're so honest about your lifestyle. You like to drink and go out to eat and you don't seem to be the overly restrictive kind which is really refreshing. You're also very relatable. You go throught struggles and you're not effraid to admit it. I feel like we could be friend in real life. I also would like to hear more about your personal life. I know it's a profesional blog rather then personal but I would love to hear about your dating life and that king of stuff. Unless a lot a blogger I feel like you have many interesting things to say about a lot of differents subjects. And I really respect the fact that you trained so hard for your sub-4 marathon, that you didn't reach your goal on the first try but that you kept trying. I can't wait for your training for the NY city marathon to beging. I'm praying that I have luck in the lottery so I can run it too but I'm an international runner so chances are slim.
Thank you for such honest, constructive feedback! Especially because I do work full-time, I definitely don't accept all freebie trips that come my way, though, because I want to use my vacation days for actual vacations, too. And good luck with the lottery! I think international runners actually have a pretty good shot. And I think that if you go through a travel company with a package, they've taken care of the registration sometimes > http://www.tcsnycmarathon.org/plan-your-race/getting-in/international-travel-partners
The reason I enjoy reading your blog and keep reading is because it's so honest and, as a result, relatable. It's refreshing, quite honestly! I have a blog myself, and I also work full-time... I appreciate that you do too, and that your blog isn't your whole job. It's tough to balance it all, and it's a nice reality check that some people are blogging just because they love to write and make an effort to fit it into their spare time just because they want to, not because it's a $$$ maker, you know? Personally, I'd love to know how to get more comments on my own blog! I know a number of people are reading (per analytics each day), but getting a comment is like pulling teeth usually haha.