The Birth of a Blog

I am not a writer—at least not by trade—but I do love to write. After years of writing for academic and professional reasons, I’ve been itching to write about much more fun and interesting things. My mind is constantly racing with new thoughts and ideas. But where to write? And more importantly, what to write? Seriously, is there existing proof that people would be interested in reading about nothing?

Enter the internet. Thanks to the World Wide Web, anyone can write about just about anything. Or about nothing. But is there anyone out there who cares to listen? Like the tree falling in the forest, will I make a sound? I’m not sure if making a sound matters; I just want to get my words out there. But again, what to write about? I’ve toyed around with several ideas over the years, and even started a preliminary blog, but it never seemed very interesting.

Then a few years ago, I had the opportunity (in other words, I was duped) to participate in the Chicago Marathon. With no running experience and with very little training, I did it. And I can’t tell you how many people didn’t believe I did it…even with photographic evidence! The more people I told, the more incredulous it started to sound…even to me. Over time, people became fascinated with the story. Okay, maybe not fascinated…but at least intrigued. How did I do it? Did I really not train? Really, you’ve never run in your life? Were you able to walk afterward???

My first experience running the Chicago Marathon is pretty much the epitome of who I am:  Jump right in. Leap before you look. Go big or go home…take your pick (you can read a little bit more about me here, if you’d like). So when I started to think more seriously about starting this blog, the first question I was asked was, “How far do you want to go with this thing?” My answer came in an instant:  “Listen, I didn’t start with a 5K; I started with a marathon. If I can finish a marathon with no running experience, why can’t I write a blog with no blogging experience?” Makes sense to me!

I have so many stories to tell, many of which were already put to paper (or file, if you will) over the years. Why not take a little trip down Memory Lane to see how I got to this point? You can start at the beginning by clicking here, and then just keep scrolling through each ‘Next Post’ until you catch up. Otherwise, just jump right in and start here.

You can follow my antics on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. You can also subscribe and receive e-mail updates using the link on this page. Oh, and in case you still don’t believe me, I present to you:  Exhibit A!

Tell me about yourself! Are you a runner? A blogger? A blogging runner? Not a runner? Check out my “Let’s Wine” page, and we can chat there! I’d love to hear what you think about the site!