Celebrating One Month with the Liebster Blog Award

August 8, 2012

Today, runladylike.com turns 1-month old! And we have something to celebrate! Two awesome ladies who I’ve recently met through the blogosphere – Sun (pronounced “Soon”) from Eat. Host. Run. Style. and Abby from Back at Square Zero – nominated me for a Liebster Blog Award. The award is designed to honor up-and-coming blogs with smaller followings that you really like. This is such a great way to spread the love for writers and Web sites that inspire and motivate us. Thank you so much for thinking of me, Sun and Abby! And thank you to everyone who has supported me during the last month since runladylike.com launched!

As part of getting the Liebster Blog Award, recipients must do the following 4 things:

  1. Answer 11 questions posed by the person who nominated you. In my case, I’ve combined the questions from both Sun and Abby for a total of 19 questions (eliminating a few duplicates).
  2. Include 11 random facts about yourself.
  3. Nominate 11 blogs.
  4. Create 11 new questions for the bloggers you nominate.

How fun is this? Here goes nothing!

 

Questions for me from Sun and Abby

1. Why did you start blogging?
I LOVE running – talking about it, doing it, shopping for it, learning about it from others. It’s something that makes me really happy. It’s what I think about, read about and write about in my free time. After being inspired by so many incredible runners and bloggers I follow, I decided to join the ranks of this incredible community. I started runladylike.com because I wanted to document my running (and sometimes triathlon) journeys through the good (ladylike), bad and ugly (unladylike) – sharing my uncensored thoughts about what my own running journey teaches me about life and what life teaches me about running. At its core, my blog is about empowering us all to be better tomorrow than we are today.

2. How did you decide on your blog’s name?
One Friday evening, my husband and I were at a restaurant enjoying a date night. I began sharing some of my blog name ideas with him. I’d been playing around with the idea of finding a compelling word that started with “un” and putting an “r” in front of it to create a clever name with the word “run.” He pulled up the dictionary on his phone and we began scrolling through every word that started with “un.” He’ll tell you he came up with the name. I’ll tell you it was a team effort. When we hit the word “unladylike,” I knew we’d found it. In developing my blog, I wanted to write about my running adventures in a raw, real and honest way. And, given that so much about running could be classified as traditionally unladylike (being covered in sweat, often dumping water on my head and ice down my sports bra, frequenting porta potties and talking to fellow training pals about pooping), I knew “rUnladylike” was perfect. It hopefully demonstrates to my readers that I’ll be writing about running with a somewhat rebellious edge. Telling it like it is. Rejecting the status quo. Not making excuses. Pushing to find my extraordinary. Making my own rules. And of course, hopefully inspiring others to do the same.

3. What has been your favorite part of the experience so far?
Meeting new runners and learning from them has been the best part of blogging so far. Hands-down. One of the coolest things that has happened has been meeting one of my readers who lives in my city in person. She and I have trained together several times, and we’ve been keeping each other motivated as we both train for the ESi Ironman 70.3 Augusta. The support, friendships and motivation I’ve found as a result of blogging and being on Twitter is truly incredible.

4. If you could gain one thing from blogging, what would you hope it brings to you?
I am going to cheat and share 3 things. First, I hope that I become a better runner and person by learning from others. Having a blog creates new opportunities to connect with people – to read their stories, to learn from their experiences and to try their tips. I believe that being active in the blogosphere and Twitterverse is the one way to become a better runner without actually running. It provides accountability, motivation and education.

Secondly, I want to motivate and inspire others. If I can help just 1 person feel inspired and motivated to get active and to believe they’re capable of things they never thought possible, my blog will be a success. When people read my blog, I want them to believe they can achieve any goal they set their mind to if they’re willing to work for it. That they’ll figure out that it doesn’t matter what anyone else is doing or how fast anyone else is going. That they’ll only compete against themselves, and find their extraordinary.

Finally, I would really love to eventually be considered an influencer in the running community. I’d like to get to know all the key players and join them in the conversation, including some of the bloggers who inspired me to get started, as well as some of my favorite running brands and races.

5. What are you most looking forward to right now?
I’m looking forward to spending the next 5 days at the beach. Mr. rUnladylike and I are headed to Florida for a long weekend, and we’ll get to see both our families which is a double treat.

6. What do you do when you are stressed?
I bite my nails. I know, I know. It’s a horrible habit. I’ve been fighting it since I was a little girl.

7. What are your top five favorite foods you wouldn’t want to live without?
This is a tough one! I’d say Mellow Mushroom cheese pizza, dried fruit (dried cherries and mango strips are my favorite!), banana ice cream/fro-yo, macaroni and cheese and Chobani.

8. If you could only watch one TV show a week what would it be?
One thing you should know about me is that I love TV. Although I juggle what feels like a million different things, I always find a way to fit in some TV time … and I think I’m the only person left who doesn’t have a DVR! If I could only choose 1 show, right now I would probably say HBO’s The Newsroom. I also love Parenthood on NBC, Game of Thrones on HBO and every city of the Real Housewives on Bravo.

9. Where would you like to travel next/what’s your dream vacation?
I have been very fortunate to travel to some amazing destinations. Topping my list for where I want to go soon is Tahiti/Bora Bora. It looks like paradise.

10. What is one goal you are currently working toward?
I’m currently training to finish my first half ironman in September and to run my fifth marathon with a time of 3:48 in October. You can read more about my 2012 race goals here.

11. Do you have any children or fur babies?
Nope.

12. Favorite ice cream or fro-yo flavor?
Banana!!!

13. If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
I would love to magically be able to teleport myself wherever I need to go. For instance, instead of having to drive 7 hours to the beach this weekend, I could just be there in a blink of an eye. Imagine how much time that would save and how much more I could get done!

14. What’s the best gift you ever received?
Probably my engagement ring from my husband. The love and commitment it symbolizes is the most important thing in my life.

15. Are there any current style trends that make you cringe?
I’m not a fan of the plastic 80’s sunglasses with the colored frames.

16. Why do you work out and what’s your current routine?
I exercise not only to be healthy and fit, but also because of the incredible sense of empowerment it gives me. There are a lot of things we can’t control in life, but running and achieving training goals gives you a feeling of control that is truly unmatched. My current routine consists of 4 days of running (speed day, easy day, tempo day, long day), 3 days of biking and 2 days of swimming. I’m also trying to incorporate more strength work and yoga into each week too.

17. Who is your role model?
My role model is my mom. She is the best person I know and is my example of what it means to sacrifice, love unconditionally and give the benefit of the doubt. She also just ran her first half-marathon this year and she did great!

My mom and I at the St. Pete Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon expo in February 2012.

18. What accomplishment are you most proud of?
From a running perspective, I am most proud of my current marathon PR, which I achieved at the Mardi Gras Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon in February 2011. I ran 3:52:37 and felt great the entire race. The way I felt after I crossed that finish line was priceless. I try to bottle that up and hope that every race day can feel that good.

19. If you could participate in any Olympic sport, which would you pick?
I would absolutely want to represent Team USA as a track and field athlete in the 400-meters and on the 4×400 relay.

11 random facts about me

  1. My name (Jesica) is only spelled with one “s.” I promise it’s not a typo. When I was 4-years-old my mom offered me the chance to legally change my name so it was spelled “correctly” with an additional “s.” I responded emphatically that I would never be changing my name because that is what made me unique. Ha!
  2. When I was little, I twirled the baton for 1 year and was a cheerleader for 1 year. I hated doing both but my dad wouldn’t let me quit because “we’re not quitters.” It wasn’t until later in life that I understood that important lesson.
  3. I was just named by PRWeek as one of 40 rising stars under 40 in the United States to watch in the public relations field. I’m so honored!
  4. I am semi-obsessed with reality TV, and I actually live across the street from one of the Real Housewives of Atlanta.
  5. I love all banana-flavored foods.
  6. I do my best work under pressure.
  7. One of my nostrils is way smaller than the other. I wonder if I could run faster if I could breathe equally out of both?
  8. I hate cigarettes and tobacco products quite possibly more than anything else in the world.
  9. I’m deathly afraid of sharks.
  10. Given #9 above, you might find it slightly ironic that I worked as a server on a lunch and dinner cruise ship for two summers in high school and college, where the day’s special was always the same: grilled salmon in a white wine dill sauce anyone???
  11. I go to Disney World at least once a year. Not because I run the marathon as one might think. Because my husband is obsessed with Disney. We go to the Christmas Processional at Epcot every year. Our tickets are already booked for November!

The 11 bloggers I’m nominating for the Liebster Blog Award

A few of these bloggers are more established, but I wanted to include them anyway because they rock!

  1. Cherie Runs This
  2. The Faux Runner
  3. Just Keep Running
  4. Live from La Quinta
  5. Runners Anonymous
  6. Run Bang Run
  7. Run Far Girl
  8. Running is My Addiction
  9. Run Wiki
  10. Run with Kate
  11. Schnoodles of Fun

Here are my questions for these awesome bloggers

You’ll notice many of these questions are the same ones I ask in my Friday FITspiration blog series.

  1. How long have you been running, and what inspired you to start?
  2. Finish this sentence: I run because _____________.
  3. What is your favorite race distance? Feel free to brag about your race PRs.
  4. What running/racing accomplishment are you most proud of?
  5. What is the hardest challenge you have had to overcome? How did you do it?
  6. What advice would you give to someone who wants to start running or who thinks they can’t do it?
  7. What is your running mantra(s)?
  8. What running gear do you never run without?
  9. What keeps you hydrated and fueled the best on long runs?
  10. What’s on your iPod right now?
  11. What is one thing most people would be surprised to know about you?

Here are the guidelines should you choose to accept:

  • Link back to the person who nominated you for the Liebster Blog Award in your post.
  • Post the award on your blog for all to see, answering your 11 questions, sharing your 11 random facts, nominating 11 new bloggers and asking them 11 new questions!
  • Let your nominees know you’ve given them the award. Ideally they should be up-and-coming bloggers who are still trying to build a following.

I look forward to seeing all the new posts! Thanks for sharing, celebrating and inspiring!

 

Did any of my answers or random facts surprise you? What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?

Comments

Lisa @ RunWiki

I cracked up about your nostril.

rUnladylike

LOL! My husband makes fun of it on a daily basis 🙂 Hee Hee!

Abby @ BackAtSquareZero

I absolutely love mac & cheese,, but only allow myself to make it 2x a year because I demolish it, Game of Thrones is fabulous, I am terrified of sharks and run out of the ocean any time something touches me (but love shark week). It was so awesome learning so much about you.

rUnladylike

Sounds like we have tons in common, Abby! Can’t wait to meet you at MCM! xoxo

Sun

I love this post, Jesica! Running blogs are the best and I’m so glad you decided to start rUnladylike. Congrats on a great first month and I’m looking forward to reading more about your journey!

rUnladylike

Running blogs are the best! Such an incredible community of people! Thank you again for nominating me for the Liebster award! I very much look forward to watching your journey to your first 26.2! Yay!

Boston Mamas

Congrats on one month!!!!

rUnladylike

Thank you, thank you, thank you! 🙂

Avitable

Congratulations on one month blogging!

rUnladylike

Thank you so much! It has been great fun so far! Glad to have met you at BlogHer!