If I have to hear "Hi, who just joined?" one more time whilst on a teleconference, I'll straight up lose my mind.
Now, clearly I'm setting myself up for failure as I work at a company that loves to conduct obnoxiously inefficient meetings, but a man can dream, right? It's just a complete lack of focus that drives this type of behavior. It's acceptable to see who is on when starting a call, but if you're already rolling with the discussion, please don't stop to find out who is calling in late - clearly they weren't important enough for you to hold the meeting, and they certainly aren't important enough for you to stop it.
Oh, and let's not forget, "I thought I heard a beep...did anyone hear a beep? No? Ok, guess not"
Ugh.
It all boils down to having clear direction and focus on the task at hand. If every little beep throws you into an obsessive tizzy as to who could be calling, perhaps you need to take a breath.
This is nails on a chalkboard for me, and I don't negotiate with Teleconference Terrorists.
Cousin Jill and I after the race (note the beer instead of water)
The environment that you're in can make a big difference and running is no different. The runs and races that I've done where the scenery was cool or there was a supportive crowd are the ones where I enjoyed myself the most.
In 2009, I did the Chicago Marathon and it was quite a day. In spite of the sub-freezing temperatures early in the morning, the city of Chicago was there in force to cheer on all of the athletes. Some memorable moments include a group of men performing a dance routine while dressed in wedding dresses and accepting a can of Old Style from a friendly Chicagoan at mile 23 (hey, I was in some pain!)
I also had family there cheering me on, and luckily they were in spots where I really could have used a lift. It's funny - I definitely tried to look like I was running strong and feeling good as I passed them, but the post race photos told a different story. Special thanks to the Orland Park crew for all of their encouragement. It definitely pays off to bring your own cheering section if possible. Trust me, you'll need it at some point, but even if you don't have someone to cheer for you you, the crowd will root for you as will other runners, so be sure to write your name on your arm or shirt so people know whose name to shout.
A few shout outs of my own: My cousin Jill (pictured above) has made it a goal of hers to run the Chicago marathon this year and is doing so for a wonderful charity; the American Cancer Society. She has completed a number of races and will be realizing her goal of completing a marathon on October 7th. More information about her and her goal can be found here: Jill's Fundraising Page
Also, my friend Amber (who I ran with in 2009) is organizing a team to run the Chicago Marathon for Mercy Home. Mercy Home for Boys & Girls is a children's charity dedicated to providing a solution for at-risk children in Chicago. If you would like to still get into this sold out race, you can do so by joining Amber's team and helping the kids of Chicago. Join Amber's team! http://www.mercyhome.org/marathon
Lots of people can get distracted at the gym - making tough faces into the mirrors or asking girls, "which way the weight room is?" like Chris Farley in Tommy Boy (clip below). I watch TV when I run inside, but it's just something to keep my eyes busy. If I watch what's going on in Zumba class or another part of the gym, I'm sure to miss the treadmill belt and eat it. If you're going to do a run at the gym, make sure you stay focused on why you're there.
Running inside is way boring. I don't recommend it as a primary training activity, but sometimes you can't avoid it. Yesterday I did my 7 mile run at the gym because it had rained all night and looked like we were in for more. I like to do my long runs on a dirt trail so it could have gotten messy. Turns out the weather held up and I was just a big wimp. That aside, the important thing is getting in the miles and pushing yourself. It's critical to just "get it done" sometimes. Bad weather? Move the day of your run if you can or run inside. Modify your training, but keep moving. Find something or someone that motivates you, and these obstacles become easier to beat.
I'm lucky enough to have friends and family who support and encourage me, but a special group of friends are particularly motivational when it comes to running. As I may or may not have mentioned, I joined Team in Training when I lived in Los Angeles in 2007 to train for my first marathon and raise money for cancer research. These people have become a huge part of each others' lives (I eventually married one of them and not the only one to do so) and they continue to do amazing things. It would be too long of a post for me to talk about all of them, so for today I'll talk just about my friend Carlos Pineda.
Carlos was an experienced marathoner when I met him, but he now trains for IronMan's (Swim 2.4 miles / Bike 112 miles / Run 26.2 miles - good lord). He's one of the most positive guys I know and always has a kind word of encouragement. Having friends who also have big goals and support yours is one of the best ways to stay motivated - so tell people about what you're trying to achieve, and they'll keep you going and also keep you in check. A bunch of these friends are coming to New York this fall to run the NYC marathon with me, so I really have no excuse not to as we'll be keeping up with each other from across the country.
Carlos is currently training for a Half IronMan in June, and is still fundraising for Team in Training. Check out his page here: Carlos' Fundraising Page.
Even better than motivation though, is inspiration, but we're getting to that part.
I said give me two pairs
(cause) I need two pairs
So I can get to stomping in my air force ones
When Nelly and Murphy Lee crooned about the joys of wearing a new pair of sneakers (I'm paraphrasing), they really hit the nail on the head. When you're training for a race, or just working out in general - you need to be aware of when shoes are ready to be replaced.
For running shoes, this number depends on the type of shoe you're getting. What I've found is that the lighter the shoe, the quicker they wear out. As a rule of thumb, ~500 miles of running is about all shoes are good for. If you're too lazy to track how many miles you've run in a pair of shoes (like me) then I just go with changing my shoes roughly every 6 months or so.
Now, for the practical (cheapskate) person out there who says their shoes are fine for longer, I would just say you're risking injury and limited performance. When my shoes start to wear out - I can tell. My knees start to hurt, I find myself susceptible to shin splints and I feel "beat up" after a run. I recently changed into a fresh pair of shoes and the difference was felt immediately. It only takes a run or two for my Mizuno's to feel broken in and then I'm golden for a few months.
Don't cheap out - think about changing into a fresh pair if you've been rocking the same kicks for a while. Just think, WWND - What Would Nelly Do? (He'd get two purrrrs)
I'm on LinkedIn - a professional social networking site. Basically it's an online resume that people can check out and possibly reach out to you for any number of reasons. The lion's share of contact for me comes from recruiters aka Head Hunters.
Granted, this isn't a bad thing. I'm not that much of a jerk to whine about people wanting to talk to me about job opportunities. It's certainly a good problem to have, but that's not at all my point.
My issue comes with how these interactions go down, and 95% of the time it's almost comical.
work phone rings Matt (brave protagonist): Hello, this is Matt. Recruiter: Hi, Matt? Yes, hi - this is so and so with (insert Wasp-y last names or dramatic words) Group. I have an unbelievable growth opportunity that I'd love to speak with you about. Is this a good time to talk? Matt: Um, no. I'm at work. You called me at my place of employment, I'd rather not discuss quitting my job while I'm at my job. Recruiter: I only need a few minutes, when can I call you back? Matt: How about you don't. Just send me an email.
20 minutes later, email arrives with a painfully boring job description for a role at my current level, in my industry.
Now, If I could talk at work about a job that is similar to mine, in my industry but not at my company, do you really think I'd be a good person to hire? I would think that there is a serious case of adverse selection going on for companies who recruit their employees this way. The person who can talk about leaving their job while at their desk is probably not the person you want to recruit. Stop hunting like a dope and you may find more than wounded antelopes. This thinking can go for anything though. If you want something great, make sure you think it through and take a logical approach.
Too often, we find ourselves skipping ahead on our iPod or computer to get to the next song, or to another hit. It's part of the reason I really enjoy listen to vinyl - you're forced to enjoy an album in its entirety.
I initially thought I was going to write a post about an Irish song for St Patrick's day, but when I started thinking, I came to the U2 song, "Running to Stand Still" from their classic album The Joshua Tree. Granted, this is a great song by a great Irish band - but not really a fun St Patty's day tune (unless you're into drinking to ballads about heroin addiction).
It's just a good song that you may have missed if you only listened to the "hits" from this album. Sure, "Where the Streets Have No Name" is a great song too, but too often we miss the real gems by following what the radio wants to play.
So this weekend, enjoy St. Patrick's day, but also make a point to be not too busy to listen to a real album from start to finish. And I don't mean Jason Deruuuuuuuulo.
A few (very random) Suggestions: Feel free to add your own
There was a time when Eddie was the definition of funny. He was the lone bright spot on Saturday Night Live for a period in the 80's, he gave us Beverly Hills Cop, Trading Places, Coming to America and his classic stand up special, Raw. Eddie Murphy was on top of the world, and widely considered one of the most creative and funny young comedians in Hollywood.
Then, the last quarter century or so happened.
We've been treated to films like Pluto Nash, Metro, Holy Man, Daddy Day Care, Norbit, and most recently, A Thousand Words. This movie is so craptastic that Rotton Tomatoes gave it a 0% in its freshness scale. If you thought "Meet Dave" was rock bottom, you would have been wrong. 43 out of 43 critics thought it was garbage. Ouch.
You may ask yourself, how could this possibly have happened? To you, fair reader, I offer the greatest example of foreshadowing in modern history. Eddie's attempt at a music career with "Party All the Time"
I won't get into a full breakdown of the video, because I honestly couldn't do it justice. Talking about how bad the song is would not be interesting. What is interesting is everyone else in the video. Rick James is the obvious person to discuss first.
Throughout the video, Rick is heavily involved with the sound engineering as well as giving cues to Eddie. The man is doing everything he can to polish this turd. By the end of the song, he leaves the sound booth to go out and help sing the outro. He oddly also grabs his bass, yet there is no bass track. He was a known narcotics user, so we'll chalk this whole sequence up to a little too much of the "booger sugar". Props for actually trying to help his friend though. He knew the song was crap but tried to help Eddie make it at least marginally better.
The people to blame for this fiasco and every piece of crap movie Eddie Murphy has put out over the last 20 or so years are the group of roughly 10 people/enablers in the studio who are there to basically dance along and give Eddie the occasional thumbs-up signal. They could have helped Eddie by giving some constructive feedback but because they were either too afraid to say something or too dumb, they effectively dropped a brick on the gas pedal of Eddie's out of control career.
Moral of the story is that surrounding yourself with people like this is simply a bad idea. Hopefully someone, somewhere can have an honest adult conversation with Mr Murphy telling him it's not a good idea to take every movie they pitch to you. Perhaps they just need to sit him down and make him watch Beverly Hills Cop to see if he can even remember a time when he was funny. I truly hope he figures it out.
Yesterday I finally got back on the road after 2 weeks of nursing various leg injuries. Let me tell you, it is no fun to sit around wondering when you'll feel "normal" again. I had hip pain, knee pain and finally heel pain. Ouch.
I started out by icing and resting for a few days. I knew I didn't feel right and made the decision to sideline myself.
After about a week, I was feeling ok, but still had some lingering pain. At this point, I started to get really frustrated and began wondering if I could participate in the NJ half marathon. Luckily, I stumbled upon a Twitter chat that was being run by the Pittsburgh Marathon (@PGHMarathon) featuring Dr. Vonda Wright (@DrVondaWright). (Side note: I did the Pittsburgh Half Marathon in 2009 and really enjoyed my hometown race - highly recommend it and hoping to participate again next spring)
Dr Wright was providing training tips, and of particular note for me, some injury prevention tips. Dr Wright also has a YouTube series (http://www.youtube.com/user/vondawright?feature=watch) that I have found to be particularly good at addressing many of the injury issues that come up when training. For me, her video on preventing IT Band injuries (that pain on the outside of your knee) was extremely helpful as I had never used a foam roller before. I felt like a big goofball the first time I tried it at the gym, but after a few tries I think I have the technique down.Watch the video below and imagine me doing that move, rolling around on a foam noodle. Trust me though, it works.
I'm back on the road again, feeling good and ready to carefully increase that mileage as the NJ Half Marathon approaches. Take care of those injuries before they become serious, and remember to seek professional help if they do become a serious problem.
Sounds like you need some better music. It's Friday and I feel like talking about Motley Crue.
The Crue can provide some great workout tunes - I don't want to jump the gun here as some other gems may provide for a post in the future, but today I'd recommend adding "Same Ol' Situation" to your workout playlist. Great 80's rock song, good beat, fun vibe - what else could you ask for? How about a ridiculous 80's music video. You've come to the right place!
The video opens up with the band getting off a helicopter in a field, clearly coming from an important engagement - signaling to their adoring fans that they've "arrived". Interestingly, at the bottom of the screen they indicate that this video is for their fans. Awwww. The guys are zaney though, and make faces at the camera as they walk by.
Except for Mick Mars. He couldn't be bothered.
The music part of the video opens with a number of shots running through the crowd at a concert. I definitely saw a guy with a fanny pack at 0:43. This dude is NOT a Motley Crue fan. Probably some Narc looking to wreck everyone's good time!
Guy at 0:53 looking possessed - definitely means business.
0:57 "She's got a Filipino girl she claims is her friend..." cut shot to marginally ethnic looking girl
Throughout - the dancers on stage couldn't be more 80's. Sweet perms.
1:55 - guy is rocking out with his crutches. Dedication.
3:20 The drum kit is up above the crowd now! Also, Tommy Lee is wearing a speedo and suspenders. Awesome or Creepy? Both.
3:30 This girl was expecting a much different concert from the looks of it. Cool Turtle neck! Her pal still has her Suncoast Video name tag on (gotta look close!)
3:36 Tommy totally just pointed at me!
4:10 Vince throws a ball with a camera in it into the crowd! Lots of excitement in the front rows.
All in all, a great jam, fun video and a solid addition to any workout playlist.
I was just introduced to the Dollar Shave Club by a friend last night and by the end of their 94 second video (which can be found below), I was reconsidering my razor purchasing habits. A few minutes later I was on their website reading about what they have to offer. Now I'm almost certain I'll become a customer by the end of the day.
Why? This company gets it.
Funny videos alone are great. They get sent around, posted on Facebook (as I've seen this one already on my timeline) and everyone has a good laugh. But how often does this funny video make you want to buy something? Dollar Shave Club is backing up their video with not only a fun website, but an easy to use and understand website. Score.
They have great descriptions of their products and include analogies like "Reliable; this is the ’82 Wagon that starts when the temp’s below zero" for their basic twin razor.
When you go through the steps of signing up, they have encouraging and fun lines like "follow through is everything" on the billing information page. They also offer final words like"“Live the life you’re supposed to". Who doesn't want that? Below the check out button, they have a note that says "Real Men Click". Awesome.
In short, Dollar Shave Club just won a customer. They did it by being funny and honest during the prepurchase experience as well as the purchase experience. If their post purchase experience is at all above average, I may just lose my mind. That being said, I'm not sure if the product will stack up, but I'm willing to give them a shot.
Injuries are something that all runners will encounter at some point. You can think you won't, but you're wrong. I've had my share, ranging from minor nuisances to being laid up on a couch with ice packs all over me. It's really not a lot of fun. The key is to really take these things seriously. If something isn't feeling right, and it's more than a dull sort of pain (like the kind you get when you've been working hard), stop. There's a difference between feeling "sore" and feeling "pain". Sore is ok. You can run through that and, in fact, you should to a point. Running a marathon isn't going to be comfortable and you'll need to know what it feels like to push through some soreness. Sharp pains should be carefully looked after, and if they persist, a doctor's visit may be in order.
Homer isn't feeling too hot either
Right now I'm dealing with some pain at the top of my knee along with some heel and hip pain on the same leg.
Awesome.
For the past few days, I've been icing, resting and trying to take it easy. It's really tough when you're trying to train, and your body won't let you. The thing is though - if I were to push it too hard, I'd end up putting myself on the sidelines for a much longer period of time and I most likely got here by pushing too hard to begin with. So in the meantime, some light exercise and careful monitoring.
Hoping to get back out there in a few days, but need to feel a little better first.
I have been in Indiana (The Crossroads of America for those of you keeping score at home) for the past 2 days. It's quite a departure from my typical week hustling between New Jersey and New York City. Let's just say when I bought a beer last night - I got a lot more change than I expected.
This may be abundantly clear, but I went to Notre Dame for four wonderful years 2002-2006. It's a great place full of great people, and I have a very deep attachment to it, like I'm sure many others do with their schools, towns, churches, etc.
Point being, it's a place where I can go and my body feels like it has just exhaled after holding its breath.
Where I truly feel refreshed though, is at the grotto at Notre Dame.
Those of you who may have only been to campus for a football game probably can recall a scene with hundreds of fans lining up to light candles and say prayers for family, friends, and the Fighting Irish (no judgement here...)
The real magic of the place is when no one is around. Go here in the middle of the night or early in the morning and it feels alive. The silent sincerity is pretty overwhelming. I visited yesterday morning at 7am. It was cold, kinda dark, and I was the only one there as you can see by my picture. The thing is, you don't feel like you're the only one there. You're there with everyone who has ever been there and lit a candle.
It's probably the most peaceful place I know, and it simply sucks the concerns out of me. I don't even have to try. Find a place like this that you can go to. It doesn't have to be far away, famous or even religious. It just needs to be special for you. Where do you go to hit your reset button?
