Liebster Award

Thank you, Alphonso for nominating me for the Liebster Award.  I have been reading Alphonso’s blog ever since I started blogging in February.  He is a runner as well, however most of his blog posts are about other topics.  His blog is by far the most creative blog I have come across and I encourage everyone to check it out!  He just started his Flashback Friday series which includes one of his earlier blog posts.  He also has the longest Bucket List I have ever seen.  The Bucket List Updates include how each activity/challenge was completed.  Check it out!

Rule #3 states that I must name my favorite blog to read and explain why it is my favorite.

When I discovered The Runninger, I knew right away that this blog would become one of my favorite blogs to read.  Tony is a fast long distance runner that trains and races in running sandals, specifically Gladsoles Trail 2.0 in Port Macquarie, Australia. 

Noteworthy Websites and Apps

Frequently Used Running Apps

1. Strava – For those of you that know all about Strava, this paragraph is not for you.  This part is for the runners/athletes that don’t know about it or are hesitant to use it.  I didn’t know about Strava until 2016, and honestly, I wasn’t sold on the idea of tracking my miles, paces, elevation, and routes at first let alone sharing it with others.  But I came around, and now I use it daily.  Sync your watch to your phone and link it to your Strava account, or connect your watch to your computer, set up a profile on Strava and link it to your GPS watch account.  I use the App more than the website, but both are useful.  Set goals, join challenges, and support other runners on Strava.  You can also use Strava without a GPS watch.  If you just need somewhere to save your training miles, manually enter your miles, pace, and distance on the app or website.  The down side to this method is that these miles don’t count for the challenges.  You need GPS for that.  Same goes for treadmill running.  Last month, I ran 45 miles on the treadmill and they didn’t count for the distance challenge.  Bummer.  That is the only negative I have found with Strava.  Everything else is great, so check it out!
2. Tom Tom Sports App – My watch syncs with this app.  Then the data is automatically shared with my Strava App.  By itself, this app is also great.  It saves routes, paces, elevation, laps, etc.  If I use the training setting on my watch then I can look back at my splits on this app.  For example, if I do 6x400m, then this app will show me how fast I ran each 400.
3. Relive – After my watch syncs with my phone, I can make an aerial view video of my run with Relive.  Check it out!​

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4. Running in the U.S.A – I use this website to find my next races.
5. Athlinks– I use this website to save my race results.  As long as the results are made public, you can claim them and save them to your profile.  I don’t see the benefit to following people on this website, although that is an option.

Blogging Related Apps

1. VSCO-  This is my favorite photo editing app.  It comes with a variety of presets and others are available for purchase.  New presets become available on a regular basis.  It also has the basic photo editing tools.  Crop.  Tint.  Vignette.  Saturation.  Clarity.  Sharpness. And more.
2. Ripl-  I use this app to make slideshows, collages, and announcements.  They can be animated or still.​
3. Typorama – This app is great for adding text to a photo.  Great for Instagram, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc.  Additionally, you can add overlays, change the filter, and make photo adjustments.
4. Layout-  Simple collages.
5. Canva–  This is my newest app.  There are numerous templates to chose from based on what you want to make.   This app can be used to make a website banner, business cards, a logo, a social media post, a twitter header, a newsletter, a screensaver, a collage and more.  (I am super excited about this app!)

Thanks for reading!

My heart and thoughts are in Las Vegas.  

Training Highlights

8/14 – 8/20

Hardest Workout

18 mile long run @ 8:30 pace

I knew going into this run that it was going to hurt and be hard to complete.  Every day of training last week seemed like a challenge.  Even on the easy days, I felt heaviness in my legs, and my speed was M.I.A.  I told myself that I was pushing through to the next level.

The Unique Blogger Award

I am excited to announce that I have been chosen to receive The Unique Blogger Award, and I want to thank Alphonso for nominating me.  It seems as though we nominated each other for different awards at the same time.  He is one of my nominees listed on the last award that I received!  

A Runner’s Satisfaction

This week’s Daily Post Topic on WordPress…Satisfaction.  Something that satisfies me…Satisfies me as a runner.  As a competitive runner, I constantly work towards my goals.  If I meet a goal, I raise the bar.

A Lack of Blog Posts

5 Reasons I have not kept up with my blog this week….