Passion, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is “intense, driving, or overmastering feeling or conviction.”  If you know me, then you know how passionate I am.  My difficulty, however, is finding the balance in my many passions.

#1: Running

I’ve been passionate about running ever since I observed my first marathon.  Afterstanding on the sidelines of the 2011 Lala Marathon in March 2011, I thought, “Why not me?” and the rest is history.  (Read more about my journey from couch potato to marathoner here.)

My involvement in the online world of running really took off in January 2016.  I had been blogging on and off  at runstrongrun.blogspot.com since 2008, but it was my discovery of the Instagram running community that really launched me into wanting to blog, Tweet, and post more about running.

I researched ways to become an ambassador, filled out applications, and started developing relationships with some pretty amazing runners and brands!  If you’re interested in becoming an ambassador, or influencer, I recommend checking out these brands / groups (I’m not currently involved in all of these, but was at some point.):

• BibRave Pros
• Sweat Pink Ambassador
• Move More Fitness
• FitFluential
• ProCompression
• SPIbelt
• CIM (many marathons now have ambassador programs)
• Momentum Jewelry
• and more!

Being an ambassador does come at a certain cost.  There is expectation to frequently post on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and blog.  You also have to have engagment with the online community.  This engagement means “liking”, commenting, retweeting, replying, and repining other runners’ posts.  All of this takes time.

My husband will often say to me, “You’re always on your phone.”  What he doesn’t understand is that when I’m “on my phone”, I’m engaging with my running community, participating in Twitter chats, composing a blog post, etc.  Unlike my 12 and 15 year old children, I do not watch mind numbing YouTube videos nor play any pointless games on my phone.

So, how do I find balance between spending time with my family and my life as a running ambassador?  I’m still trying to figure this out.  Some things I’ve tried are I go on walks with my children and leave my phone at home, I go on dates with my husband and leave my phone in the car, we sit down and have dinner as a family most nights and the rule is no phones at the table.

How do YOU find balance between the “online world” and your friends/family?  Comment below, I’d love to hear from you!

Until next time,

Find me on all the socials:

Instagram    Twitter    Facebook     Youtube