Three

It was three years ago today that I made my first post here.  At that time I had just registered for Ironman Canada and was preparing (at least mentally) for the road ahead to my first Ironman race the following August.  Since then a lot’s happened around here.  Mostly in the form of far too many cupcakes eaten.  And cookies.  Lots of cookies.

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(Cupcake courtesy The Girl)

It’s been interesting to watch the blog world move by over the past few years.  Some blogs that used to be the staple of my daily reading…now gone.  In their place new and unique blogs have sprouted up.  The only challenge here for me is that I’ve gotten busier and busier – so much so that it’s hard to stop by and comment on all the blogs I used to.  Which makes me sad. But I still read them daily.  Especially the folks that have been around since the beginning.  I’m talking about folks that were there from just about the very first post.  People like Don, Audrey, Curly Su, Al, Lesser, and Quadrathon to name a couple.  All of which have great, interesting and fun to read blogs.  These were blogs that I looked up to when I first started out blogging.  If you want to see a small snippet of the folks I enjoy following, see my sidebar for ‘Blogs I follow’.

Just last month I passed one million page views.  And thanks to all of you, I’ll likely hit the second million before the end of the year.  You guys and gals are awesome!  So, just for fun, here’s some random statistics over the past three years:

– Total posts: 598
– Total times the word ‘cupcake’ has been mentioned: 99 (100 including today)
– Total times the word ‘The Girl’ has been mentioned: 279 times
– Total bears spotted on Skyline Drive: 17
– Longest period without a post: 7 Days (otherwise only four days)
– Number of blog-related photos taken: Tens of thousands… 
– Most popular post: Garmin FR305 Review (my first review!)
– Number of times I had to stop on a run and #2 in the woods: No comment
– Most popular non-review post: How to Swim with your Garmin Forerunner
– Movie I’m watching right now: Sahara on TNT

Thanks for reading, I’m looking forward to another three years!  Have a great weekend, especially all of you that are lucky enough to have this be a three-day weekend!

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26 Comments

  1. I like that movie!! Sounds like your blog has had a good life so far! 😀 I’m just starting out with my running blog so its all pretty new for me still 🙂

  2. zkaizen12s

    Well done, I discovered your blog a few weeks ago when I was researching the 310XT, now I look forward to reading it each week.

    I am doing my first tri at the end of the year (Australia) and your blog has been a treasure trove of advice.

    Keep up the great work…

  3. Congrats – thanks for the in-depth reviews (not sure if it saves or costs me money….

  4. Congrats! Thanks for all the info over the years and keep up the fun and informative posts!

  5. Shawn

    Wow that cupcake is perfectly frosted!

  6. Dude, I totally admire how your blog has evolved over the past three years. It’s definitely added to the sport and your content is truly top notch and helpful. And fun. And suspense-building. I cannot believe you kept the girl’s identity a secret for years!! And you’re now competing in elite waves! Alright, I am off to recheck out your first post!

  7. Happy Third B-day !!!

  8. Happy Blog Birthday! I love reading your blog!

  9. Congratulations Ray!

    I wish you many more birthdays (As long as blogging remains a joy). Its nice to see your hard work and efforts rewarded with a growing number of followers/readers! Enjoy a cupcake for me!

  10. Number of people I know who were watching Sahara last night (me included): 5. Great movie!

    Happy blogiversary!

  11. Happy, Happy Blog Day!

    Thank you for such a great blog. Congratulations, as well.

    Of all the blogs I read, I look forward to yours most! Thanks for the advice, reviews and fun reading. I’ll second, ibing’s post – you have cost me more money, but made my buys much more informed! 🙂

  12. Happpy Blog Birthday Ray you have come a long way in your writing style. Keep up the good work and please pull my name out for the 310XT Garmin. I hope family members can play.
    Dad

  13. really good to know i’m not the only one using cookies as fuel.

    very cool journey that you have been on!

  14. I just started following your blog this summer and am loving it. Happy birthday.

  15. It’s only been three years? Seems like I’ve been reading you forever. I’m right there with you lately as far as connecting and commenting on everyone else’s websites.

    It’s great to know that your traffic has blown up so much recently, because you have to be one of the hardest working and most dedicated bloggers I know. Keep up the great work. Happy Blog Birthday!

  16. Ray!! happy blog birthday!!! wow, what a time to stop by and check in on you. yes, i’m definitely one of the bloggers that’s gone by the wayside. incidentally, i’m going for the award for the longest time to finish a race report..so far 2 years, 3 months. what can i say, life definitely got in the way after that first ironman, and lord knows what possessed me to do that second one the following year. anyhow, i’m slowly creeping outta blog retirement and wanting to stop by and say hi to one of my favs. stay tuned….

  17. awesome blog and awesome contest. thanks for investing so much time and energy into this. publishing a link on facebook momentarily.

    thanks!

  18. mo

    hope to be reading this blog for many more years! congrats!

  19. Congratulations! And thank you for such entertaining and informative content. I have learned so much from your reviews, race reports, and I love the stories…

  20. That is one PERFECT looking cupcake, wow! And three years blogging, wow! You’re truly an inspiration brother, in more ways than one.

  21. Happy 3rd Birthday to your Blog!!! I love the cooking posts.

    Monica! Girl, where have you been??? I miss you and YES, you need to finish your race report.

  22. Hey thanks for the love and you can call me Stuart!

    Seriously 1,000,000 hits! Amazing but totally worth it!