I thought it might be interesting to get an idea of just how few people are reading, seeing as blogger doesn't have any good in-built stats and I'm just a bit curious. So, after a short Google and some not-too-difficult work, I got Site Meter attached to the end of my blog pages (you'll see it right at the bottom of the page) and left it to sniff out who's reading and how often.
So, I'm sorry if you feel this is an intrusion, I hope you understand!
Turns out that there are 4 people, not including me, looking at my paltry efforts at the moment. And given a single mention on FDip and a couple of links from at least 2 other blogs, I think that's not bad. But I am easy to please!
You can see the stats for yourself by clicking on the sitemeter logo down there..... and if you'd prefer I turn it off, I'll take a straw poll from any comments and do what pleases the audience!
As for running, well, I did my second 3:1 minute run:walk on Tuesday morning, nice and early (but not if I compare to Phil and his 5:30am starts) which was fine. The main change was my new Brooks running shirt which I picked up from a local running store at a vastly discounted rate through a RunnersWorld advert. Funny thing was, it was a "trade in your old cotton Tshirt and buy a Brooks shirt for £10 (normally £15). However, Brooks had totally failed to put all of the Tshirt recycling services in place, and the shop owner didn't want to just take a Tshirt and stick it in the bin. So, I got the discount and kept the Tshirt. It's these minor little bonuses in life which make shopping bearable.
I'm all set for a 4:1 run this evening, which I'll post an update for assuming my haggard old DSL router doesn't pack up again. It's had some power supply problems, brought on by the family rabbit stripping the power cable (12 volt - after the transformer) of insulation during a particularily destructive unattended tour round the back of my PC.
On the plus side, those batteries for Mr Garmin arrived and are busily charging at this very moment.
Mr Stumble
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1 comment:
Andy,
I've got no problem with you using Site Meter. I use it on my blog.
The stats on Blogger's profile page are worthless. You need something like Site Meter to figure out if there is really anyone out there (besides Ann and me) that really cares. You'll find that you get click throughs from people using the "Next" function on blogger, Occasionally they stick around long eneough to read a few of your posts. However, you'll find that most of your readership will grow through references.
There are two ways to get references. The first is to get your blog linked in another site. This usually occurs when you've gained a loyal reader who want's to spread the wealth within the blogshere.
However, you won't get linked until you get found. And you won't really start to be found until you start posting comments on other sites. I actively read 10 blogs every day and check in on a few others from time to time. Of these, I found all but 3 through comments the authors had left on other blogs. If I like the comment, I use the site reference in the post to find the author's blog and read a bit of it. If I like it and find myself reading it every day and I find that I'm looking forward to reading new posts regularly, I add a link in my blog and we're off to the races. The opposite is also true. If I lose interest in a blog, I remove the reference from my blog (no one is all too threatened by this prospect at the moment).
You are still progressing nicely. You took a huge jump going from 2:1 to 3:1 since this took you from running 66% to running 75%. The jump from 3:1 to 4:1 isn't as big taking you from 75% to 80%, which is only a 5% gain ... this is nice and easy. Once you can do this without huffing and puffing (or worse) and are pain free, push it up to 85% (6:30 to 1:00) and then to 90% (9:00 to 1:00). I suspect that once you get up to 90% you'll be there and you'll find that you simply won't stop at the 9:00 min mark. Then the fun will begin.
Also .. you'll find that running in dry-weave fabrics is really great. Leave the cotton behind (including the cotton socks). Everything your mother taught you about cotton was wrong. It isn't a good fabric for running gear. It doesn't breath well, it retains moisture and causes blisters on your feet and chaffing in places you don't want chaffed. Get yourself a few good shirts (15 pounds is a great price) and use them. You'll not only look cool, but you'll feel better at the end of your run.
Great work.
Phil
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