People watching is my favorite pastime.

Part of what I love about running (when I actually get myself out of my apartment and out on the pavement) is the element of people watching. The East River Running Path and Central Park are a hotbed for good looking people, weirdos, tourists and my personal favorite-- different running styles. I find it really interesting to watch people run. Some people look unbelievably graceful and make it seem so easy, others look like they are about to die; and there are an abundance of people who run like they are back in 2nd grade and playing outside during recess.

Which brings me to the point of this post: how different social media outlets can be used as a useful tool for runners and complement my blog. Some days I have trouble motivating and others I wonder if I'm running "right". This is the perfect opportunity to use YouTube to find both great inspirational videos and well as videos that provide visual aids on how to improve my running gait- the below clip probably won't improve your style but will make you smile.

Another great tool is Twitter and Foursquare- this is a fantastic opportunity to reach out to my readership and let them know quickly when and where I'm running should they want to join me. There's nothing more motivating than having a running buddy and no better opportunity when running to guilt my partner into guest blogging on my site. It's always nice to get an alternative point of view.

When running solo, great music is key, linking highly rated iMixes from iTunes on my blog is a way to keep my readers engaged and running! I often do a quick search on iTunes for running mixes so I don't get bored on my runs- I think this is something my readers would appreciate, but iTunes also allows for comments, ratings and reviews which helps keep the conversation going.

iTunes is also valuable to download videos which demonstrate useful stretches and cool down routines onto your iPod, so you have them ready to go.

Social media can have a huge impact on my blog, it takes it from being a fairly one sided conversation to a fully integrated and engaged experience for my followers.