Step by Step

  (Bill's gonna put me back on his blacklist for posting this song, but that's probably where I belong anyway.)

My run focus is coming to an end. I have to admit, it was really manageable. I was really concerned about doing a run focus because of personal issues that took place at the end of Dec and in January. When you're dealing with family issues, anything can happen. On top of that, I had work issues that I was dealing with; in other words, if the workout didn't happen early in the morning.....it was going to be tough for me to get in. 

I really wanted to do a bike focus. This way, I could jump on the bike first thing in the morning and be done with it. I thought the run focus was going to be about hammering alot of miles and speed work. When I told my coach about my concerns, she said, "This is going to be unlike any run focus you have done". 

Right there. That's why I like her. She's a she. She knows how to talk to me. She's not intimidated by my strong personality. When I question her on things, she explains. But most of all, she doesn't "teach or lecture" she "shows". She coaches by doing. 

When I handed her my race schedule, she drew big RED X's through many of my races, "Nope. Nope. Nope. These races don't fit with our plan. " 

She hasn't steered me wrong yet. 

So, I went with it. I was nervous. and excited. I knew that I needed/wanted something different. 

She was right. During the crazy cold and snow, I found myself at the indoor soccer field doing drill work and strength workouts. My long runs weren't all that long but had various mixes of speedplay and running hard uphills thrown in the mix. Did I mention strength work? The best strength work I have ever done. All of my weaknesses were put on display in front of everyone at the gym on the ball and bosu....for everyone to see. (Don't even get me started on the myrtls).

But I got stronger....very fast.

And I got faster....very fast.

Now, I'm looking at the end of the run focus. My run focus ends on 3/2 with my final 5k of the race series. If you've been following along, you know that these 5ks....well, they haven't been all out efforts. They've been 5ks tucked into the middle of a long run, pacing, pacing, pacing, BOOM.

BUT on 3/2, my run focus ends with my final 5k of the season. A 5k meant to be run AS a 5k, all out effort, taking everything that I've learned and putting it together for one fast run. 

I have to admit, I'm crazy excited for the 5k, but at the same time. I'm a little sad to see the run focus end. Except for one little fact:

I FINALLY GET TO DO A BIKE FOCUS.

......to be continued

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants

I am a hopeless romantic, not in the sense of flowers on Valentine's Day romantic.

I am a romantic in the sense that I have always felt things very deeply, and I'm not afraid of showing my feelings either about situations or about people. For the people that, emotions like that, scare, they aren't in my life very long.

For the people that love that part of me, they know they will have a friend for life.

Maybe it seems like I've been really self-reflective lately. It's just how I am.  For as strong of a person I am, there are times where I need support.

Sometimes, when it feels like we're all alone. We're not. There are people there willing to be the support you need at just the right time. All it takes, is accepting that support.

Strength isn't about showing how strong you are. Strength is showing that, sometimes, we all need someone to lean on. We need someone else to take care of us for a little while.

This is not a drama filled post.

It's about being a romantic and being appreciative of the little things that people do for me on a daily, weekly monthly basis. It's the little things that say, "I care about you."

Because I've learned that I'm only as strong as I am because I'm standing on the shoulders of giants.

Business Thoughts: Memberships

I'm a thinker.
And an introvert.
I realized very recently how much like me my oldest son is. It hit me when we were on vacation. He would suddenly leave to go read by himself or "just go out" or go for a run. When I was his age, I did the same thing. In fact, sometimes I would drive, for hours and hours.

When they were babies, running was the only time I had by myself. I always made it work. It usually meant getting up at 4am to run, but I wouldn't have made it without my time.

What does this have to do with business?

I come up with a lot of ideas. It's one of my favorite things to do. It doesn't even have to be about my business. I love talking to people about their businesses and brainstorming ideas with them.

Sadly, I don't get to do this very often. I don't know many people who have their own businesses. I *know* of people who do, but they aren't friends. To brainstorm ideas, you have to really trust the person because you are sharing important pieces of something you love. You have to know that the person you are talking to has your best interest in mind.

I'm an idea person, with not anyone to really share my ideas with....so I end up here.

The *thing* that has been on my mind lately has been "memberships". Have you heard of the new Beats Music membership plan?

It basically sounds like Napster (the paid version). When you think about it, Napster was WAY ahead of the game. I know one of the issues they had was that customers didn't like the fact that they were basically renting music. You don't own the music and couldn't burn it on to a cd.  Because back then, ripping cd's was huge. IPOD didn't even exist yet. SmartPhones didn't exist. We  had these little 512mb mp3 players.

I'm getting off track.

Over the years, I've had various memberships. Think about it. You have a netflix account (membership). You might have a gym membership. You might have a coffee of the month membership. You might have an organic monthly fruit membership. Hell, I don't know. At my company, our membership is that as a club member, you get discounts that no one else gets.

If it wasn't for the exclusivity of membership, Facebook wouldn't even exist.

You can become a member to just about anywhere. As business owners, memberships are a HUGE advantage.
1.) It creates incredible customer loyalty.
2.) Customers feel like they are "part of something" (exclusivity)
3.) It's a win-win for the customer (who feels they are getting something special) and for the company (revenue stream/customer loyalty).

I recently had a situation. I made a purchase from another small business. My order was on back order. I received an email stating that it would be another 30 days. No big deal. I was just happy that I was notified. Then, I received an email from the owner of the company apologizing profusely. (Keep in mind, I wasn't upset at all). The owner said that they were going to ship me an "additional" product for my inconvenience.
Of course, as a customer, I said, "Yes".

As a business owner, I couldn't figure out why they were so willing to give away free product. I think this is a mistake that many companies make: THEY GIVE AWAY TOO MUCH because they don't want to lose a sale or a customer.

When a business gives away too much, that means they lose out on revenue but they've incurred the cost. In the case of product, it's the cost of the goods. In the case of service, the cost is your very valuable knowledge and time.

This is where memberships come in.

This company that I made the purchase from, how many of those $70 items did they give away free? That is NOT a sustainable business practice. When something goes wrong, a business cannot just jump to giving away free stuff.

Customers are savvy. They are intelligent. They understand supply and demand. Triathletes (in the US for example) understand that if you buy a new tri kit in March, that it might be sold out, and you're going to pay a premium in order to have at the start of tri season.

Imagine if that had a membership program, they would already have my loyalty. They wouldn't have to give anything away free because I'm already getting some type of benefit.

As crazy as it sounds, it is very hard to get small businesses to understand this simple concept. There is a point where you give stuff away in order to pull people in. If you sell a product, you offer free shipping once in awhile to get new customers on board and get existing customers to make larger purchases.

If you offer a service (say you are a nutritionist), you offer just enough "free" information on your website to get people interested and to sign up with you. Once they sign up, they have access to all the GOOD STUFF.

How you structure your memberships....well, that's the fun part. You can do just about anything.

Don't believe me? Just ask me for some ideas.

I'll get back to you right after my run.

this is how we do it baby

Damn right I'm writing a race report for a 5K. 5k pr's don't happen every day. In fact, the last time I had a 5k PR was over 2 years ago.

I thought I had PR'd in Dec. I was disappointed to find out that was not the case.

Today was not supposed to a PR attempt. It was a pacing day and a day to work on my mental edge.

On top of that, mileage for today was going to be about 7 miles, as this was a long run with a 5k thrown in the middle then finish up with a couple more miles.

The first 2 (warm up miles) we easy then building to 5k pace, run the 5k as a descend, then run 2 miles however I wanted.

I was armed with mantras and funny quotes from friends...as a reminder to not take myself too seriously.

I timed everything perfectly, finishing my 2 miles with 5 min until race start. I felt great when the race started.

I didn't have pace goals for each segment. Coach and I are still learning pacing, etc. Other than telling me that I had to finish faster than my avg pace from last week, I could do what I wanted.

The race started.

Brain OFF.

Body ON.

The entire race I was focused on the race. Nothing else.

I ran the first mile at 9:32. The pace felt very easy. I knew then that I was going to nail this. The loop starts by passing the finish line. I said to myself, "Self. You are going to run the fastest you have ever run the next time you pass that marker."

 Heading into the 2nd mile, I knew I went easy for the first as I ran a 9:13 up the hill.

At that point, I knew I was going to have a lot of gas in the tank for the last mile.

The last mile starts at the bottom of the last hill. I saw the hill and I thought, "come to momma boys." (Bonus points if you can name the movie).  My pace dropped to 9:30. I wasn't worried. I knew once I got to the top, I was going to go balls out.

I ended up averaging 9: 03 for the last mile with the last 1/10 going from 8:40-7:30 as I stepped on the timing mat.

I didn't know at the time, that I pr'd. All I knew was that I nailed the pacing and had a fantastic mental day. All wins! I felt fantastic.

I grabbed some water and head out for my last 2 miles.

I guess I was still high on endorphins because I felt great. I wasn't tired. I wasn't sore. I was just so cold. I really wanted to get back to the car.

I finished my run. I started texting people. It occurred to me that I never even checked my finish time!

The takeaway from this race is that I just popped out a PR without much effort. I am so excited about that.

Sometimes goals take a long time to achieve. I won't tell you that it was easy. Over the past few years, I was about to give up on short distances. That wait made today's PR race so much more satisfying.

I can't even wait for tri season to begin.

Brain Off

Last week, I ran a 5k. It was very cold. The course was a sheet of ice in spots and snow packed in others. I've PR'd in conditions like this.I wasn't too worried about the course itself.

I didn't realize that THIS was going to be the day that I had my emotional purge. Right from the start, I was a mess. I couldn't wait to cross the finish line. A 5k has never felt so long.

I knew it was going to happen, but I thought it was going to happen during a long run. Or some other time that I was able to let my mind go and think.

NOPE. It happened on the day of my 5k. I wasn't disappointed because I knew it had to happen some time. So much so that I was sobbing and heaving like a toddler. I'm not kidding. I couldn't get to my car fast enough.

That's what prompted my Ceremony post.

And the chapter closed.

This week, I have another 5k. Although it will be warmer, conditions will be the same. This week my goal is different. Most importantly, it isn't a race effort so to speak. This week, my goal is to regain my mental balance while running. My assignment, from Coach, this week consisted of coming up with new mantras to use during the race. The race which is a long run with a 5K thrown in the middle.

New mantras, new goals, new objectives for my new chapter.

If it were easy, everyone would do it.

I really need to rant a little bit today.

Today's rant brought to you by Small Business America.

I'm no expert in running a business. I don't even have enough fingers and toes to count the number of mistakes I've made.

There are a few things that make me absolutely CRAZY and from business owners THAT SHOULD KNOW BETTER.

1.) Don't become a business owner if your goal is to be a millionaire (or a billionaire or a gazillionaire). If your focus is on money, you lose focus on what is important: PRIMARILY your customers. You become so focused on getting to that $$ goal, that you lose what is truly important. Instead of focusing on money, your focus should be on trying to build something fantastic or being the best at what you do. Success is not defined by money. Success is defined by being the best.

2.) STOP HAVING MEETINGS. START WORKING. In fact, STOP reading self help books. STOP reading books about HOW to become a millionaire. I've got news for you. The people who have successful businesses aren't having meetings about how cool it is. They aren't reading about how great it is. Set your "entrepreneurial toolbox" aside and get moving. What do you think the successful business owners are doing? Hell, I'd ask, but THEY ARE TOO BUSY WORKING.

3.) Running a business isn't about YOU. I know. Crazy, right? You put your heart and soul into a business, but I'm saying it's not about you? Damn straight. How did you get there? Were you able to do it all by yourself? Nope. You either have employees or vendors or suppliers or contractors or shippers or developers. It's takes a team to build a business. Let go of the ego. The Captain will always go down with the ship, but the crew is celebrated with safe arrival.

4.) STOP, please, STOP comparing yourself to others. Oh, you like that new BMW the Smiths are driving? Or that mansion in the mountains? Or that extravagant vacation? NEWS FLASH....focusing on what everyone else has doesn't help your business. You should eat, sleep and breathe your business. Oh, and take time away from it....turn off that phone NOW.

5.) Mistakes aren't the end of the world. They're just mistakes. Plain and simple. We all make them. Sometimes we make the same ones over and over. But eventually, we learn from them. Mistakes are nothing to be embarrassed about. In fact, you should laugh at them! Stories about your mistakes are GREAT ways to bond with employees and build a history. Nothing does it better. Besides how do you expect to LEARN without making mistakes? If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you always got.

6.) "NO" is NOT a reason to stop what you are doing. You're going to be told "NO". You're going to be told "It's impossible". Let those people worry about what THEY can and can't do. YOU just keep go on being your awesome self.

7.) Take advantage of social media. Find the one that best fits with your customer and grow your customer base that way. This one just kills me! Social media is a "captive audience". Post often! YOU HAVE to stay in the forefront of your customer's mind or they WILL forget about you. People see your posts. INTERACT with your customers. Get to know them. People share your pictures. Their friends see the pictures, they like your page. Remember that old shampoo commercial: I'll tell two friends. They'll tell two friends and so on and so on and so on. It's like magic. Yes, there *can* be cost, if you go that route of boosting posts or placing ads, etc, but trust me...as for advertising, it's cheaper than Adwords. I think the minimum amount is $5?  I think you can skip the mochachino with extra whip and put $5 into your social media budget.

8.) Being a business owner sometimes means eating pasta and ragu for a year or two or even three. It means not buying new clothes for years. It means driving a +10 year old car. It means LIVING out of that car. It means living a lifestyle now that few would accept to live a life later that few can imagine.

9.) Think you know everything because you've been at this a long time? YOU'RE WRONG. Change is the only constant. Open your mind. Be a student....for the rest of your life. Stay up on trends. Stay up on technology. Stay up on research. You don't like it? It's too much work? Oh, I'm sorry (see numbers 1-8 above).

It's not easy. It's not for the feint of heart, but it is worth every hour, every dollar that you put into it.

Ceremony

I have always believed in closure and more than just being visceral imagery. I need real closure. For me, this has always come in the form of a physical act. A REAL act of closure.

Over the years, at the end of a tough time, when it is truly over, I have taken to either writing letters or writing thoughts on index cards. I take those letters or index cards and burn them. Allow the ashes to fly off, disappear, just gone.

I've done this ceremony even with the boys, if they had a hard school year, we'd go outside. They'd write their thoughts on index cards. I'd tell them that they are passing their feelings off to the universe. They no longer have to worry about whatever it was. And we'd burn the cards. We'd let the ashes blow off into the world.

A new chapter would start.

For several weeks, I've been trying to write a letter. No matter how many times I started, I couldn't get out my thoughts. One attempt was too warm fuzzy. One was too apologetic. One didn't encompass everything I wanted to say.

Finally, last night I sat down and wrote the letter the way it was meant to be written, no filters, no holding back. I was able to be me without worrying about anyone passing judgement or hurting someone's feelings.

Because THIS letter was about MY freedom.

and I wrote and I wrote and I wrote.
then I wrote more and more.

Before I knew it, I had pages and pages of monologue.

I left spelling errors and grammatical errors because the letter was supposed to be imperfect. It wasn't supposed to make sense to anyone but me. It was supposed to hold and show any anger that I had. It was beautiful in the run-on sentences and lack of punctuation. If I'm going to release it, it has to be perfectly imperfect.

I left the letter overnight. I wanted to re-read it in the morning when I was by myself. I wanted to make sure that I said everything.

The great thing happened. I read the letter, and I felt nothing. No more anger. No more hurt. No more pain.

I took the letter outside to set it on fire.

It was really cold. I had a hard time getting the fire going, and I thought, "Wow. This is sort of anti-climatic".

Then it really got started.

And all was left

which I appropriately smothered.

I thought about what to do with the ashes. Do I hold them up and let them blow off into the universe?

No. I decided those words didn't deserve to be released by me. I had already released them when I felt "nothing" reading the letter this morning.

Instead, over time, those cold, fragile ashes will blow off and slowly disappear on their own. I don't owe them ceremony.

The ceremony was already mine.