What do I blog about?
I was asked this question a hundred times over the weekend at the BlogHer conference. I asked it just as many times of other women. For anyone who writes a personal blog about their life, it's a question that's impossible to answer with a quick, catchy one-liner.
Here's one way to answer, courtesy of Wordle.
So yeah, I guess I blog about racing triathlons. And maybe some other stuff too.
BlogHer was a great experience, and I was impressed by the diversity of the bloggers and their subject matter. Sure, it seemed like 90% of the blogs fit into one of three or four categories (motherhood, food, depression, weight-loss), but there was lots of other interesting subject matter covered. Notably underrepresented in my eyes, though, were the endurance-sports bloggers.
I met a few. Clair from Endorphin Addict is right here in my hometown. Jill from GlossyVeneer is training for a marathon with Team in Training. And Lisa at Workout Mommy is a marathon runner who now helps moms work fitness into their lives. The latter two were at a Health and Fitness Bloggers gathering, which was attended by about 30 people, most of whom blog about health or non-endurance sports.
But I know there are thousands of women out there blogging daily about their marathon and triathlon training, their journey to their first 5k or their tenth Ironman. Why weren't any of them at BlogHer? Are long Saturday rides and runs too precious to give up for a day at a conference? (My answer: Not at all, it was totally worth it.) I posted to the women's section of a notable triathlon forum about a month ago to see if any of the women there were attending BlogHer. Many of those women are dedicated bloggers, but the response was silence.
I think that endurance-athlete bloggers take their blogging as seriously as the mom bloggers and the foodies. So I'm puzzled about this absence. I suppose it could be sheer numbers at work here. Even though I could easily put together a list of hundreds of women who blog about running or hiking or bicycle touring, maybe we're a very small percentage of the overall female blogging population.
Any thoughts on this? And if I start now, do you think I can get a good group rounded up for next year's conference?
July 21, 2008 11:49 PM | Comments (3)
SwagHer
I have returned from an exhausting and exhilarating visit to BlogHer '08 and it will take a while to process my thoughts about the whole thing. But it took me just a few seconds to dump all the stuff I picked up onto the dining room table and take a few photos of it.
This is only about half of the stuff I actually got between the official swag bag, several party bags, and the exhibitor giveaways. A company called Zwaggle sponsored a recycling room where we could unload any freebies we didn't want, or pick up things we did want that other people had dumped. I am all about freecycling so I thought this was a fantastic idea. I made use of the recycling room to lighten my load by several pounds and pick up a few items.
The impulse is strong at these events to pick up anything that is not tied down. Seriously, you say the word "free" and people are on your doodad pile like fruit flies on a rotting banana. I didn't pick up even half of the stuff being handed out -- I just couldn't justify schlepping around an inflatable infant CPR doll, even though it seemed like a cool (and perhaps creepy) flickr photo essay in the making -- but obviously I was well helped when it came to freebies. I really don't need any more stuff, and I wish I had come home with even less of it.
The useful stuff is cool. Samples of interesting products? Okay. Discounts? I'm happy to participate in that. But the pens, toys, and gewgaws? Landfill fodder. If I had kids these items might find a second life, but right now they're clutter.
Next time I'll be more judicious about what exactly I take home. Until then, anyone want a DVD of The Closer?
July 19, 2008 11:52 PM | Comments (3)
A bedtime story with a tragic ending
I was in the bathroom just now, trying to summon the energy to remove my eye makeup after 12-plus hours of BlogHer fun, when I heard Dave calling my name from the bedroom.
him: Arielllllll! There's a spider! On the curtainnnn!
me: Oh, but it's so elegant! Look how pretty and leggy it is. You want me to kill it?
him: Whatever, you can just take its elegant ass outside.
me: Sorry, little guy. [Grabs kleenex.]
July 18, 2008 11:44 PM | Comments (1)
Splashing and dashing and dashing
Tonight was the second race in the Splash-n-Dash series that started in June. I was healthy this time, they measured the course a little more accurately, everything was good. I took about nine minutes off my time from last month, including a shorter swim and longer run that were closer to the advertised distances. I also got eaten alive by mosquitoes or biting flies or something out there on the run trails.
As soon as I finished the race I rinsed off in the outdoor beach showers, got dressed and tried to make myself presentable for the BlogHer mixer back in the city. And good God, I cannot do that event justice without sitting down for a long time to process it. The short report: booze, schwag, and shrieking. I was feeling pretty content and serene during my post-race drive back to the city, but now I'm buzzing with overstimulation from my two-hour stopover at BlogHer HQ. And the conference hasn't officially started yet. Must sleep. Now.
July 17, 2008 11:56 PM | Comments (0)
Burrito bomb
Our stomachs were growling after our killer 80-minute spin class this evening, so we picked up burritos on the way home. This is a pretty standard-size San Francisco burrito, but for whatever reason I got the idea in my head to weigh it before peeling away the foil. I've always figured these things were close to a pound of food.
I was off by nearly 50% -- this burro weighed a pound and a half. A very calorie-dense pound and a half! And of course I inhaled the whole thing. Plus a handful of greasy chips.
I'm sure I have consumed twice the calories I burned during the spin class and today's 50-minute swim. And I still find myself wondering: what's for dessert?
