Liebster Award: Blog Love

It's awards season in Hollywood and apparently award season in the blogosphere (is that a word?)  I lost out on the funniest blog of the year with #runchat (missed it by "that" much") but I just got my first Liebster award nomination...and I'm not even Jewish.  Kidding aside, huge thanks to one of my favorite blog friends, Grateful Mama for the nod.  A Liebster award is for upcoming bloggers with less than 200 followers to help raise interest in their blog and help them connnect with other like-minded bloggers.  It feels like a chain letter, but a lot more fun and gives you a chance to interact with your blog buddies.

The Rules:

Each nominated person must post 11 things about themselves
Answer the questions that the nominator set for you, plus create 11 questions for the people that you've nominated to answer
Nominate 11 people and link them to your post
Go to their page and tell them
No tag backs!

Eleven random facts about me:

1)  I am a salesperson by day in technology. #nerd
2)  I was an art major my freshman year in college, but switched to go into business.  Some days I question that decision.
3)  I was a co-editor on my high school newsmagazine.  That explains my passion for blogging. #nerd
4)  I started running when I went through a divorce.
5)  I didn't run in high school, but a couple of my best friends did.  I made fun of them as I didn't understand running.
6)  My second wife bought me a book about running.  She jokes that she's a marathon widow, and I'm lucky it hasn't caused a second divorce.
7)  I combined my love of art and writing and wrote a Christmas book for my daughter that I hope to publish some day. "Anna-Nicole's Christmas List."
8)  I suffered from arthritis as a child.  It's some kind of wacky miracle that I can run and I count my blessings that I can.
9)  I have three kids in high school.  Family is very important to me.
10) I'm "part" Native American. "Hi how are ya, hi how are ya."
11)  I sing a "mean" version of "Stray Cat Strut" at the local pub on Karaoke night.

Questions That Grateful Mama asked me:

Are you a dog person or a cat person?
Totally a dog person and not a cat person at all.  In fact, I am sad to admit I think I shamed a girlfriend into ditching her cat for me.  I married her.
What is the first thing you check when you log online in the morning?
That's a toss-up, but usually Instagram or Facebook.
Why did you start blogging?
I started blogging after coming two minutes short of a BQ in my third ever marathon on a leg stress fracture.  I started "Seeking Boston Marathon" as a way to hold myself accountable to hitting my goal.  I am still seeking even though I'm running my third qualified Boston Marathon this April.
It's your last night on earth. What do you order for dinner?
An amazing steak and the most expensive bottle of wine on the menu.
If you won $50 million in the lottery, what would you do with the money?
Build my "Dream House," make sure my parents are taken care of, throw a big party, and become a starving artist.
Name 3 places in the world you would love to visit but haven't yet.
France, Czechloslovokia, and Kara Goucher's dinner table.
What got you into running (or biking, swimming, etc)?
As I mentioned above, "When Jenny left Forrest," I started to run, and run, and run.
What race is on your bucket list?
The rest of the "Big Five" starting with New York, but I'd settle for Paris.
 What is your favorite movie?
I'm a huge movie buff and it often influences my blog writings.  Tough to name one, but it might be Napoleon Dynamite.  Unfortunately, no one read my Napoleon Dynamite running tips blog with my Napoleon Dynamite illustrations and impersonations.
If you could meet any 3 famous people, living or dead, who would you choose?
John F. Kennedy (perhaps partying with Marilyn,) Abraham Lincoln, and aforementioned Kara Goucher.
Do you have a bad habit you want to break?
I have a sweet tooth that messes with my marathon diet, and I'm too critical of myself.  I rarely feel satisfied after a race.

And, the 11 bloggers I'd like to nominate are:

Predawn Runner
Joe Still Runs for Dom
Caution: Redhead Running
Discombobulated Running
Voices in my Head
From Ice Cream to Marathon
Melissa Running It
Medal Slut
One Tough Mother Runner
Blisters and Black Toe Nails
Auto Pilot Legs

And the eleven questions I have for the above bloggers;

1)  What's the one thing that people would be most surprised to learn about you that has nothing to do with running (riding, or biking?)
2)  What's the best race you ever ran and why?
3)  What's the furthest you've travelled to participate in a race?
4)  Who were you most happy to see as a spectator in a race?
5)  Do you think you've had your best race yet?
6)  What's your favorite indulgence after a race or long run?
7)  What song would you be most embarrassed about if others found it's on your ipod?
8)  What's your favorite shoe or shoe brand?
9)  What's your most embarrassing run moment?
10) When did you start running?
11) What's your perfect Saturday night?

Thanks again to Sugar Magnolia (aka Grateful Mama) and her dog "Padfoot" for the Liebster.  Pass the gift along.

Author's footnote:  I tried to stick to "up and coming blogs, but Sugar stole some of my list so there's a couple in there that are established, but I still consider them worthy of a "Liebster."