Who Am I Online? (Sports Edition)
I moved to Boulder in the summer of 2019 and lived there until the pandemic began in March 2020. While I was there, I developed a love for running. I think it was because it felt like whoever you met was an athlete; skiers, snowboarders, cyclists, climbers, you name it. I started running after joining a friend’s running group on several runs. I also fell in love with snowboarding, but there aren’t any real mountains in Virginia like in Colorado to post about.
I started posting about my runs on several social media platforms. Most of my runs were logged on Strava, a fitness-tracking social media app. I liked to post how my run felt and compare it to others who had run in the same area. It was nice to get comments from others who also liked to run. Even though I only had six followers, I loved using Strava for statistics and its social media side. I liked giving “kudos” to others and seeing them progress through their goals. Unfortunately, I stopped using it when I switched to an Apple watch, and it was annoying to start my workouts on two different apps.
I mostly used Instagram and Facebook to post post-run selfies and attending running events. I think it was a great way to connect with people during the initial quarantine part of COVID-19 when we were all trying to connect, but no one was doing anything. I think they were conversation starters, and I talked to people interested in running or were proud of my accomplishments. I also liked posting because I was proud of how much and far I had run. My posting waxes and wanes depending on how much I’m running. Since beginning my running journey, I’ve run events for 5k, 8k, and 10k. I’ve now set my eyes on a half-marathon, but yet again, I’m recovering from an injury. I’m not too worried just need some time healing, and my runs and posts will be back. In the meantime, I have been inspired to run again and further by Erin Azar (@immrsspacecadet), whose content is very relatable.