My first half marathon experience

Today was the big the day. I completed 13.1 miles of sweat and pain, as I ran all across Nashville for the Country Music Marathon. I'm not sure if I'll ever do it again, but I am glad that I experienced it and overall had a good time. Here are some of the things I'll remember.

• Out of 30,000 runners and walkers I finished better than half of them finishing overall at 14448. I was able to keep running for the first 6 miles, averaging 00:10:45 miles. After that I transitioned between walking and running and ending the race with an average mile of 00:12:07. I had hoped to finish the course in 02:50:00 but managed to beat that time by finishing in 02:38:00.
  
  
• The day began wet and rainy as we all stood in our assigned corrals waiting for our opportunity to begin the race. We all huddled like penguins helping each other stay warm from the wind and rain. An hour later, my corral (#26) finally made it to the starting gate and away we went. I couldn't believe I was actually doing this. At this point I was already tired, my back was hurting, and I wished I had trained better.
  
  
• Somewhere around mile 2, someone, somewhere ahead of me decided to pass gas. Apparently they decided to carbo-load on pot of beans rather than pasta. I seriously thought I would vomit from the smell. As I was already gasping for air, heading up the hill on Music Row, every breath was a must. Unfortunately every breath was full of stink.
  
  
• Somewhere around mile 7, I was thinking it would be nice to just step to the side and have a seat on the curb. I was starting to get bored and the pain in my legs and feet were yelling "sit down!" Then I came up on the Belmont Church, and I suppose it was there praise band playing out in front. It was as if God himself came up behind me and gave me a big ole' push in the back. The music got me going again and I picked the pace back up and kept going.
  
  
• The Power Gel might be some of the worse tasting stuff I have ever tasted. It was a toss up between whether that stuff or the fart I mentioned above were going to make me vomit.
  
  
• Trying to grab a cup of water, drinking it, or eating an apple while running is a very difficult thing to do. I decided it was easier to walk rather than learn that talent.
  
  
• After I crossed the finish line, I've never wanted to find a grassy spot to pass out on so bad in my life. Also, I appreciate the medal they handed me for completing the race. It was extremely nice, but I would have opted for a cheap plastic one if it meant it weren't so heavy. I'll admit it is much lighter now, but it wasn't when I crossed the line.
  
  
• All the cheerleaders and bands were great. Even those who waited with the drinks and fruits as runners passed by offered smiles and encouragement. I do want to thank those I knew specifically who stood on the side and cheered. Susan, Bill, Tara, Paul, Joe, my mother-in-law and son, Bruce (who already finished), Luke, and maybe a few others I failed to see or hear.

Next year? We'll see.

Reading Requirements

Going all the way back to 2nd grade I can still recall having to read a certain amount of pages of a book each week. There was a cart full of books in the back of the classroom where everyone had to choose books to help them reach the total number of pages that were required. We were then suppose to take it home, read it, and have our parents sign a piece of paper saying we read what we said we read. It went fine the first few weeks.

I managed to pick out all of the short books with lots of pictures. I could typically finish the book on the bus ride home. Then a few weeks later, the only books that were left were ones that were longer and had fewer pictures. Not only did I not feel like reading them on the bus ride home, I certainly didn't want to read them at home with a basketball goal sitting just outside my window. Several times I tried to just hide in my room and play with toys until I thought enough time had passed where I could have finished with my assignment while thinking I might fool my parents. For some reason it never worked. Apparently they read the books before me and could quiz me later.

So, I would find some other kid in the room who had already read that book and quiz them on it before I took the book home. Then when I would get home and mom and dad would quiz me, I would try to string together answers based on my interview with my fellow classmate. I know what you are thinking...again...precious! It wasn't that I didn't know how to read, it's just that I didn't want to.

Reading WAS boring

I haven't always enjoyed reading. It's not at all that I wasn't any good at it or that is was difficult. I just never found much of an interest in it, but to be fair to the subject, I never really gave it a chance. Growing up I was always more interested in toys, video games, and sports. Reading was a formality of life, something school made me do. I always thought if you could listen to it or watch it, then why read it? Reading just took to long and did I mention that it was boring?

I must have wore my mother's ears out as a child. During the summer we would have the same conversation everyday. "Mom, I'm bored! There's nothing on television and I'm bored with these toys. Let's go somewhere."

She knew how to shut me up in hurry by saying "Why don't you read a book?"

That would make me mad. In fact I got so frustrated with that answer I made up a song just to annoy her when she gave me that particular answer. I literally stood on the arm of the couch and sang as loud as I could, over and over. It had the same tune as some song we sung in Sunday school as kids.

"I'm b-o-r-e-d.
Yes, that's the word for me.
I'll stand on the couch and shout it out.
I'm B-O-R-E-D!"

I know what you are thinking...I was precious! Yeah right. Ironically, it did satisfy my boredom momentarily and eventually I would find something else to do. Still, I never could get into reading.

Boom! 7 Choices for...

I just completed Boom! 7 Choices for Blowing the Doors Off Business-As-Usual by Kevin and Jackie Frieberg. The Friebergs co-authored the international best seller NUTS! Southwest Airlines' Crazy Recipe for Business and Personal Success. In the last 2 years, I can't count the number of references in books that I've seen about Southwest Airlines' way of doing business. The stories you hear really are remarkable. Anyway, back to Boom!. I had reservations at first because I wasn't sure I really wanted to read another business book right now, but with authors like Seth Godin and Marcus Buckingham giving it praise I decided to go ahead forge through. I'm glad I did.

I like it when a book slaps me in the face and that's what this one did. You see, working for Dave Ramsey is something special because the atmosphere is absolutely incredible. There's nothing "usual" about business here. It's nothing like a corporate environment. Having said that I didn't expect to get a whole lot out of this book but there were so many incredible take aways that can make my work experience go from great to greater. So, if I can say this about a book, working in a place that I love, then I imagine Boom! can do for you even more if you are somewhere you loathe.

Whether you are in a leadership position or at the bottom of the totem pole, the Friebergs have some great stuff to offer. This is one of the best reads so far this year.

If you want to learn more about the book and the authors, check out http://www.boombook.com/. In fact, while you are there, take the survey and see what kind of impact the Friebergs might have on you.

Put this one on your reading list!

Who's gonna kick your butt?

I'm not sure who originally said it but I feel like I have heard the quote below from someone before. No matter, I'll just credit the people who shared it with me. I read it in the book Boom! 7 Choices for Blowing the Doors Off Business-As-Usual by Kevin and Jackie Frieberg (p.209).

"Right now someone somewhere
is training to kick your butt."

Complacency can be a very bad thing, but when I read this quote I thought about a few things the Friebergs mentioned in earlier chapters of their book. They discussed the difference in forward focus and backward focus. I think this quote can be seen in either direction. Looking back, you can always try to stay one up on your competition and play to keep from losing. You can make sure you are doing enough to stay ahead. However, wouldn't this quote have more impact if you focus forward on it? In other words, whose butt are you going to kick one day?

I'll give more of a review of Boom! 7 Choices for Blowing the Doors Off Business-As-Usual in tomorrow's post.

Pandora - a new kind of radio

From what I understand, bloggers have a lot of impact these days on marketing and advertising. There rests a whole lot of power in a tiny little blog like mine. Whether you believe that or not it makes no difference to me. Still, in the event that it's true, I thought I would harness the power of Pet Peeving for good today.


Let me tell you about a site that I have been using for more than a year now, called Pandora. I love using this site more than my iTunes or traditional radio. Pandora allows you to create your own radio station based on a musician, group, or song. You choose one and Pandora will only play songs that are similar to the style you chose.

Here are a few of the advantages.

• No wasting time looking for songs.
• Pandora stores your stations so you can access them later.
• It's web based, so you can use it at work or home.
• You hear music you might like but normally wouldn't have ever heard of.
• No commercials - just advertising on the site.
• No DJs
• It's Free.

Try it out and please let me know what some of your stations are that you enjoy. Oh, that reminds me. The site is social too. Which means you can find friends and share your music with others. Enjoy!

Hopeless Conditions

I see and hear a lot of stories of people who are living in what seems to them as a hopeless situation. People from all over the country tune in to listen to Dave Ramsey because they are looking for hope when it comes to their money situation. They want a way out of the mess they are in.

Whether the financial situation they are in is self imposed or a result of some awful catastrophe, there is nothing easy about their despair. I say all of this because I found a quote from Christopher Reeve (Superman) in his book Still Me. The book was written after his horse riding accident that severed his spine and left him paralyzed from his shoulders to his toes. Despite his situation, he and his wife Dana were still able to find hope and offer it to others. Here is what he had to say.

"When a catastrophe happens it's easy to feel so sorry for yourself that you can't even see anybody around you. But the way out is through your relationships. The way out of that misery or obsession is to focus more on what your little boy needs or what your teenagers need or what other people around you need. It's very hard to do, and often you have to force yourself. But that is the answer to the dilemma of being frozen - at least it's the answer I found."

How would life be different for us all if we decided to focus on the well being of others, rather than throwing a pity party for ourselves?