Breaking Three

About six months ago, I made the decision that I was going to go all in on my efforts to break three hours in the marathon. I tried several times before to achieve this goal but my training and preparation in the matter was poor. I relied too heavily on natural ability. This time however I went all in. I did tempos, hills, pace runs, long run and more easy runs then I’d choose to count. And I did them all alone in the cold Ohio winter. I did this because it made me mentally strong. After four months of continuous training, I toed the line in Louisville, Kentucky to find out what I’m made of. I liked what I found. This is the story of the journey that day as best as I can remember.

Mile 1

It started as all marathons do: too fast. I don’t know what it is but we marathoners can’t help but go out like sprinters. All around me runners who I knew were not as strong as me started passing me. The 3:10 pace group was on my tail most of the way. I let them control my pass and ran the first mile thirty seconds faster than I wanted to.

Mile 2 - 6

Lucky, after mile one I gain my composure and started running my race. I let all those who wanted to pass me. My time started falling back to what they should be for the race but still my legs felt heavy. This was a feeling for the finally six miles not the first six. Still, I pushed on. I had not run 20 miles on a Saturday in the winter to be defeated this easily.

Mile 7 - 11

These were by far the worst miles of the day. We went through Churchill Downs during mile eight but this was a letdown. We were unable to see the track from the in-field and no one was allowed in to cheer us on. You could have ran me through a fair parking lot and I would not have known the difference. At mile 11, my effort to break three only seemed completely doomed. My stomach became upset and wanted to get rid of the gels I had sucked down earlier. Still, I pushed on just so I didn’t have to tell people I dropped out this early in a race.

Mile 12 - 16

After wrestling with my stomach, I began battling the largest climb of the race. Shockingly, this section gave me strength. I stopped focusing on my stomach pains and became consumed with defeating the hills. With this, the heaviness of my legs began disappearing. I was energized from conquering the slopes and was ready to race to the finish. Also, at mile 16, I made a new running friend and we fed off each others enthusiasm to the finish.

Mile 17 - 24

These eight miles are pretty much a blur. I can remember passing dozens of runners that had started out the race too fast and were now suffering the consequences. I also remember climbing another 100 foot hill around mile 22 and the strength being drained from my legs. However, when this happened, I was too close to my goal to let it slip through my fingers.

Mile 25 - 26.2

I really remember very little of these 2.2 miles except no energy was left in my legs. As has been said, this is where I had run all the training and superficial strength out of me and was running on guts. This is also where my running friend (who only planned to break 3:05) left me to finish 6 second and maybe 30 meters in front of me. I started playing games with myself. Could I catch the next guy before the finish? Did I have enough strength to run to the bridge?

Then I saw it. The turn for the final 30 meters. When I made the turn I was at 2:57 so barring a complete collapse of my body I was going to accomplish my goal. I took every ounce of power I had left and sprinted to the finish.

The clock read: 2:57:28.

Everything made sense. The endless hours on roads with nobody cheering me on. The countless hours around a track with no one in the stands. The tedious easy runs. All those miles had given me the strength to accomplish this amazing feat. Looking back the whole experience taught me a few things I hope to never forget.

Lessons Learned

1) Never give up on your dreams - I have been chasing the three hour mark in the marathon for about 5 years now. It took a lot for me to stay focused and keep going after the goal. Even without breaking three, I run an above average marathon time.

2) Glory comes from preparing - More and more it seems we think that glory happens in a single moment. You forget that it took months and years preparing for the glorious moment. Previously to this race, I had always depended on my natural ability to get me through a race and only did the minimal amount of training. I knew recognize that to achieve your best you prepare 100 times more than you actually act.

3) Have a plan and stick to it - As part of your preparation, you need to have a definite. This will keep you focused on your preparation and give you direction. In previous training, I went with what felt comfortable everyday and never pushed myself too hard. This time, I purchased a training plan that was tailored toward breaking 3 hours. Also, I stuck with the plan even when I didn’t want to.

4) But me comfortable in changing it - However, I recognized that my body occasionally told me I couldn’t handle a workout or an injury needed another day of rest. Throughout training, this happened and I did not make things worse by trying to make up the miles. Also, I recognized that life can get in the way. During training, I got married and went on my honeymoon. I was smart enough to recognize that I would miss several workouts during this time.

5) Things will get better - This is a common thread through all marathons but seemed especially true for me during this race. I honestly did not believe at mile 11 that I would break three hours. Fortunately, I believed in myself (and my preparation) and kept putting one foot in front of the other.  

Does anyone else have an event that gave the great insight like this?

Any Recommendations from Readers

Hello All,

I am running out of topics to discuss in this blog. Is there anything anyone wants to read as far as running, personal branding, or other subjects? I am open to new topics that will require me to learn something and do research.

Also, I may spin off a second blog so that this one can be used for professional topics and the other blog can be used for writing about running. Any opinions?

Thanks,
Greg

Who Are You On the Internet (Part 3)

So (finally) this will be my last post on creating a good internet personal brand. Enjoy.

Who Are You On The Internet (Part 3)

After you have updated the already the existing you on the internet, it is then a good idea to start spreading your wings and use different types of media. Personally, I recommend running a blog or website and also beginning to use +Google+. Each serves their own purpose and can be used to reach out to different markets. Once, you feel comfortable with your old and new internet personal brand it is time to develop a plan to make periodic updates. As Murphy’s Law suggest everything decays with time.

Step 5

In the first weeks after losing my job, I searched around to find information about how to improve my writing. The major takeaway as the title of my blog suggest was to begin blogging or start a website. I have to say the help has been immeasurable. While somewhat worried about how rusty my analytical skill will be when I return to full-time work, I am not at all concerned about my writing skills. In fact, I believe they have gotten better since I stopped working. This a huge advantage as most engineer are considered to have horrible writing skills.

Additionally by having a blog, I am able to tell people about who I am and how I think. This can be a big help to recruiters and hiring managers when they are looking for someone to fit their culture. This information can also include common ground to bound over. One or two post have included my passion for running and why I enjoy it. This can make it easy from early on to develop a good working relationship.

However, there are many pitfalls when writing your own blog. First, don’t use a blog like twitter. It is very easy to spout off when your angry and come across as unprofessional. That’s not to say you have to write about boring topics. I have written about running, Dr. Seuss and Facebook. I just make sure my all my post can not offend people. It also helps to plan your post in advice. I will usually write an outline of actually type up a post. After, I put another barrier to posting by writing it down in a Google Doc. This gives me two opportunities to determine if a post is a bad idea. Another pitfall is how much personal information to include in post and the about section. This is difficult because it should be somewhere between +Linkedin and Facebook. You don’t want a future employer to know you got drunk over the weekend but you want people to know what make you smile. A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself if you wouldn’t hire someone over the information. It is a tough line to walk but it’s doable.

Another growing social media to use is Google+. I have been using it for about a year and have enjoyed the experience. Love it or hate it, +Google probably already gave you one. As part of their plan to get you migrate from Facebook, every +Gmail user now has a Google+ account. While this may be frustrating it is quite a nice social network. The feature I like most about Google+ is that you easily control who sees what information you post through circles. Don’t want your boss to see your drunk pictures from the weekend? Then simple don’t let your Work circle see the picture. Have a great article you want to share with the world? Then simply make it public. These circles make easy to avoid posting the wrong info for the wrong people. Google+ is different from Facebook because it brings people together around ideas. If you don’t know anyone on the network, then just join a Community and start +1’ing people. This is also nice because normally your stream will only show information from people/things you care about. Google+ is really easy and once you get going it becomes very intuitive. Learning more about Google+ can become part of the continuing updates you make to your internet personal brand which is key to any good brand.

Step 6

As you move forward with your career and personal life, it will become very easy to forget about your personal brand and let it rust. This is even worse than having no brand presence. Everyone has heard the stories about an internet date where the person across the table looks nothing like the picture. This is how the employers will feel if you are not updating your internet profile.

If you are career motivated with your personal brand, then I recommend you start by having a schedule for Linkedin updates. It is very simple to add new projects to your employment history. Also, a weekly basis check for new connections and recommend people you have worked with in the past. If you did start a blog and it’s oriented toward your job field, then be sure to post on at least a weekly basis. No employer wants to see a blog on your website and then see you haven’t updated it for two months. They will think you have no follow through. Even if you have a less professional blog, you need to at least update it on bi-weekly basis.

For the social aspect of your personal brand, you need to be sure to check what photos people have tagged you in. This can be done on monthly basis and catch most poor-taste photos. For Google+, be sure to constantly check for new communities, people and companies. The network is growing and companies/people will see you as cutting edge if you are using it.

Also, be thinking about how you can use other forms of media to improve your brand. I don’t use sites like Pinterest, flickr, yelp and a host of other social networks. These can all be use to improve your internet personal brand. Be sure to share if you have any ideas about the sites I have mentioned or sites not discussed in these post.

Who Are You On the Internet (Part 2)

I stated in my last post that this would be the last post on this topic, but I have written so much I will be adding a third post. Enjoy the information on updating the current internet you.

Who Are You On The Internet (Part 2)

Step 4

As was stated above most of us would not hire the us we find on the internet. This may be less true for people above a certain age, but definitely true for people who went to college after the introduction of Facebook. When social media sites first  launched you posted just about any photo or comment in your profile with few if any understanding of the repercussions. As older adults began using these sites the full magnitude became clear. People lost jobs or did not get them, arrests were made and relationships ended. Even with all these stories people still did not take the time to clean up their social media sites. I am here to tell you it is a great idea and the following will give you some ideas.

Facebook

The best place to start your social media clean-up is with Facebook. We all have put stuff up that shouldn’t be on the internet. I had a recent hiring manager look at my profile. He didn’t look into my profile to deeply. He checked and made sure that my profile photo was appropriate. Fortunately, it was just of me finishing a marathon. I actually agree with his premise of this checking. If you at least have a good profile picture, then you are somewhat concise that people are looking for you: personal or professional. For that pick a fun appropriate photo. It can be with your family, doing volunteer work, or at a sporting event. My rule of thumb is to ask yourself if you would show it to the cops.

Moving forward with Facebook, I recommended removing the drunk photos of yourself. They’re just as good on a flash drive as they are on the internet. They look great back in the day but now they just look trashy. Also, begin limiting the number of “friends” you have. I went from 600+ friends to less than 200 and honestly I find myself enjoying Facebook again. I longer hear what people from freshman year of college are doing and am starting to hear from people I actually enjoy. A final note on Facebook is to watch what you post and comment on. While your views on politics and religion may be correct some people won’t see it your way and you don’t want to start off on the wrong foot with people.

Linkedin

You next need to get going on Linkedin. I am assuming if you have a professional career, then you are on Linkedin. If not, then I highly recommended doing so. It is a great for anyone from a long-term professional to a college freshman. The features that are available can help anybody.

Since losing my job, I have learned the importance of this site. In engineering and many other fields, you only give Human Resource departments a one-page resume. If you have spent anytime as a professional, then this is hardly enough space to tell all of the work you have done along with the skills you have acquired. When used properly, Linkedin can fill in the gap. After losing my job, I discovered how little of the site I was using. If you look on the right-hand side of Linkedin, then you will see there is a tool that determines your “Profile Strength”. Linkedin provides step-by-step instructions for improving your profile. For the most part I agree with these and the order that is followed.

You start by filling in your experience. You will be asked your title, the company name, how long you worked there and a description of the position. The most important of these section is the position description. This is your opportunity to give in-depth details about your accomplishments that do not fit in your resume. You can, also, use keywords that recruiters will use to find people. This description should show that value you have added to each of the companies you worked at. Below is an example:

Validation Engineer

PharmaForce, Inc.

August 2010 - October 2012 (2 years 3 months) l Columbus, Ohio Area

My main responsibility was to ensure that equipment continued to meet FDA requirements. These projects were done on a yearly basis and required coordination with manufacturing. Often the best time for testing was during 2nd and 3rd shifts. Also, this required an update to the Standard Operation Procedures so that the documents reflected changes from previous testing. When equipment did not meet requirements I conducted investigation into the cause of critical errors including operator error and system failures.

After learning about company procedures, I lead the process validation for various types of drug products that would require FDA approval before release. For this task, I needed to coordinate with multiple departments and schedule the responsibility for each. After the products were manufactured, I compiled the information to show that we can consistently make the product.

I was, also, in charge of the certifying products on the automatic inspections system. The inspection portion of the production line was the biggest bottleneck. To lower this bottleneck, it was necessary that products go from being inspected manually to being inspected with an automated system. For this to be done, it needed to be proven that the automated inspection system can outperform the human system. This is accomplished by comparing the two systems using various statistics. Not every product can be certified on the automated system due to viscosity of the liquid. Also, it needs to be determined if it is cost effective to certify a product. Before leaving the company, I helped implement a Return-On-Investment tool to ensure which products were cost effective to qualify. With this tool, it was determined that several products have a low batch size and it could take upwards of three years to see a return on investment.

If I had included all of this detail in my resume, then this is the only information that would be on the page. Also, these descriptions give you the opportunity to show companies your writing skills. After you fill in your experience, you will fill in your educational background. This is not the most crucial section and provides very little detail, but it will again make it easier for recruiters to find you. The next step is again simple however it is one of the most important: selecting a photo for your profile.

This is so crucial, because it can be the first impression that potential employers get of you. Think about that for a second. If you have a picture up of you that is anything less than professional, then you will spend the rest of the recruiting process trying to convince a company that you will be professional on the first day. I recommend getting this done by a professional photographer. I was a fortunate and a former employer provided this service to all employees. Below is the photo that is on my profile. Also, do not think that no photo puts you somewhere in between. No photo makes you faceless and easily forgettable.

After selecting an appropriate photo, it is a good idea to fill in the summary section of your profile. This will give employers a brief overview of your experience. Personally this is not as important as the position descriptions but several HR professional I have told me that they read this before moving onto the rest of someones profile. Another way to impress recruiters is to add projects to each of your positions. These project section allow you to give detailed information about projects that added significant value to an employer. I recommend describing projects where you can give concrete savings which recruiters always love to hear about. Finally with Linkedin, I suggest you recommend others and endorse their skills.

Linkedin provides a unique process by where you can recommend people you have worked with in the past or endorse them for various skills. This service allows you to improve your professional network by showing people how much you appreciate your work and that you respect what they have done. Not only is this general good will toward other people, those you recommend or endorse will often do the same for you. This is very valuable as it will give recruiters and hiring managers third party verification. I like to help people start their weeks off on the right foot and write 3 recommendations on Monday morning. No better feeling that getting positive reinforcement on the longest day of the week.  

After you have cleaned up the you already on the internet it is a good idea to start using other medias to give people an idea of who you are professional and personally. In my next post, I hopefully will be able to describe effective ways to use a blog and Google+. Additional, if that information does not get too lengthy, I will help provide a plan to keep your personal brand up-to-date.

Who Are You On the Internet (Part 1)

I originally had this being one post but it quickly became too long. I have the intention of this being the first of two/three posts.

Who Are You On The Internet (Part 1)

With the internet, we are now able to access an infinite amount of information. Any question we ever had about the world can easily be answered with a quick +Google search. Including in this information is us. People can find out our interest, past job history, or who we hang out with this weekend. This has created a world where we can easily be ruined by what people find on the internet. Some of this can be posted by others or ourselves. An angry customers may post an untrue comment about a small business and ruin their reputation with future customers. A hiring manager may see a recent grads drunk photos on Facebook and not hire them for a job. This means that people now need to watch their personal brand.

What is a personal brand? Your personal brand is how the world sees you. Hopefully, this is who your really are and not what other people create. It can be influenced by three important factors. First, it is affected by what you show the world. Second, what others say about influences your brand. Finally, what others don't say about you can affect your brand. You can take actions to move these in a positive direction.

Below are some concepts, I have used to improve my own personal brands. I am not a expert in this subject so these are just ideas that have worked for me.

Step 1

Before you can begin improving your personal brand, you have to believe that is important. This is the reputation that 99.9% of the world will see first. Even people that know you may be affected by what you post on the internet. Your grandma isn't going to look at you the same way if she sees the drunk Friday night pictures of you. Also, if you are not taking charge of your personal brand then it is probably going to tumble. I don't know too many people going on the internet to compliment people/businesses. Most of the time, we want to use the internet to bash people. So make this an investment and you will be rewarded.

Step 2

The first action you need take with your personal brand is to decide what it says about you. This is often called a personal branding statement. When people create a professional personal brand, they use it for resumes and Linkedin profiles. I like to use it as a guiding light for who I want to be. From Jessica Holbrook Hernandez and J.T O'Donell I snagged a few ways to creating a powerful Branding Statement.

When developing a statement, start by considering who you are. What are you passions? Why did you pick your friends? What did you go into your professional field? What are the positive impacts you want to make on the world? All of these should influence your statement. Next, look at how your past will lead to your future. Show the world that you have always been the person you are showing online at that you intend to be that person while improving yourself. Finally, consider the three words that the closest people to you would say about you. Use the answers to these questions to create a short personal branding statement.

Once you have written your statement, review it and make sure that it has WOMP. I borrowed the idea of WOMP from J.T. If your statement has WOMP, then it has World of Mouth Potential. I have read this to mean that when people find you, they can not stop talking about you. If a recruiter finds you on Linkedin, then they go straight to the hiring manager and talk about you. When someone friends you on Facebook, they see your profile and want to set you up with all their friends. Be someone that others want to talk about.  When your personal branding statement is fine-tuned, then you can use it as a guiding light to how you create the rest of your brand.

Step 3

After creating your personal branding statement, you then need to determine who you already our on the internet. This can easily be done by doing a +Google Search of your name. When I did this for myself, I figured out two things. First, that it is not easy to find bad pages of me. That’s good. Most of the pictures I’d prefer employers and certain family member not to see are hide to find. Second, it is not easy to find good pages about me. This is bad for basically the same reason. I have not made it easy for people to see all the great work and activities I have done. During my professional career, I have worked on a lot of difficult projects and succeeded. These projects allowed me to gain new skills I will use at future jobs. In my personal life, I have had several accomplishments that show the type of person I am.

After you have determined your place on the internet, you need to develop a plan to improve your place on the internet. I admit that did not originally do this so I am giving you my recommended ideas with 20/20 hindsight. I will briefly state each step in this step and then go into each in upcoming steps.

First, clean up the current internet you. Most of us wouldn’t hire or become friends with the person we find.

Second, start using new media. Many forms of media let you be the leading source on who you are.

Third, develop a plan for updating. You are not the same person you were six months ago so don’t let the internet say you are.

Finally, recruit others to improve your brand. No one will believe all the great things you say about yourself if others are not verifying the information.

In the next post I will get into how you effectively complete these four activities. Expect this in a day or two.

Tragedy to Close to Home

Today, I planned on finishing my post on developing a personal brand on the internet. Obviously, that is no longer a priority for me. I'm not even sure I will come back to it. Right now it seems so insignificant.

Thank God, I was not running Boston this but I have run it twice before. When I ran, I was like so many runners yesterday, celebrating all the work I had put into getting there. Most non-runners don't realize that running the Boston Marathon course is not the achievement. Running from Hopkinton to Boylston Street is the reward. It shows all the hours on lonely streets you put into qualifying for the invite. The race is the opportunity to celebrate. As I watched the explosion on television, I returned to my two finishes. Both times, I was fortunate to stop and hug my family before finishing. I then realized how lucky I was to have not qualified for the event. Something no marathoner has said previous to yesterday. My family had cheered for me from across the street from where the two explosions had occurred. This idea hit me hard. I have never been to New York. Or to Oklahoma City. Or to any other city that has been affected by a terrorist attack. But I have been to Boston and run this race. I wondered what might have been.

Fortunately, I was in my hometown and was able to see my family shortly after I found out. It was comforting in the immediate aftermath to hug my dad and see my brothers. My 14-year old brother was even willing to hug me in front of his friends. Then, I began taking the two hour drive home to Columbus. As I drove home and began getting what little news I could, the sinking feeling started coming back. I tried listening to music but it seemed inconsequential. I wanted news. I wanted the injured list to stop or maybe to go down to false reporting. That was not the case. Shockingly, the best news reporting came from ESPN. Even though, I had just seen my family and knew they would never go without me, I was terrified that they were hurt. When I reached Columbus, I needed to call and here their voices. I talk shortly to my dad and my brother. I still was afraid but felt somewhat better. I spent the rest of the evening thinking what might have been. I had wanted to run Boston this year. I, also, felt comfort in text from family and friends. Several, texted and messaged to make sure I was safe. When I finally saw my wife, I felt safe in her arms. I ran my last Boston before I met her and did not have the same feeling of dread. She was safe away from my memories and far from my nightmares. I had a headache before bed and that gave myself the excuse to take a Tylenol PM. It helped and I'm glad I did.

When I woke up this morning, my gut still sank. I had hoped it was all the worst dream of my life and the people of Boston were actually shaking off another wonderful Patriots Day. No such luck. The news became even worse when I got online. The attacks had killed an 8-year boy: Martin Richard.  He had been there to watch his father finish. Looking just as young as my brothers were when I finished my races. Then I heard that his mother had brain surgery and his sister had lost a leg. My heart was torn up for the father. Working so long and so hard for this day and then have it ruined for no reason. I think of all the ways I can celebrate the life of this boy. Wear his name at my next race, raise money for his family and anything else to not let the terrorist win.

As I read his name over and over again. I became oddly relieved the coward of this attack had not taken responsibility. I had been given the opportunity to learn Martin's name and not a rat. After the Sandy Hook killings the only name I heard was that of the shooter. The children's names weren't mentioned, the heroic teachers name were not mentioned. Just the shooter. And that was not a name I wanted to hear. I now have a name to remember. A name to keep running for. A name to show the weasel that we will run on and that they will not scare us away from something we love.

I had also spent the last day taking comfort in not knowing anyone running the race. I did not need to be afraid for anyone. That to could not be left sacred in my mind. My dad let me know that moments before the explosion my 1st grade teacher had crossed the finish line. Then, I went on Facebook and saw that a childhood friend had also run the race. Fortunately, they are both safe. But what might have been.

As I look through the online running groups am a part of, I am reminded that while running is a lone sport, we are connected in a common bond. All realize the mental fortitude it takes to participate. It is often not the body that is honed but the mind. It was said by the first women to complete the Boston Marathon that "If you are losing faith in humanity, then go watch a marathon." This statement was ruined for yesterday's race. We saw the worst humanity, but if we looked closely we saw the best. The first responders running toward danger and not away. The citizens of Boston who opened their homes to displaced visitors.

These attacks took the humanity out of the 2013 +The Boston Marathon but it did not take the humanity out of marathon. In the coming weeks, months and years runners will show the true humanity of the event. We will line up for the peak of marathon season and run to remember the victims. Then in a year, people will return to Hopkinton and start the 26.2 mile memorial run. They will look to left as they are about to finish and salute those who were lost. I hope that I have the privilege of being one.

Reapply for Your Job

This idea I am about to suggest is going to seem crazy and a lot of people may disagree with me but my current experience has made me believe it to be true. I think that we should have to reapply for our jobs/apply for new jobs every six months.

Think of this like a new level of performance review. I feel as though this would be good for both employers and employees for several different reasons. First, you would have to update your resume to show your employer what you have accomplished over the last six months. Wouldn't you work a little bit harder on projects if you knew that your employer would see you listing it. Also, it would force people to have constantly updated resumes. It was a real pain updating my resume last year when I hadn't done so for almost two years. Remembering all the projects I had worked on was surprisingly difficult.

The second reason for people to apply for their job is that it could be a confidence...or a reality check. I don't know about other people but getting a call back from a company is a real confidence booster. And getting that rejection email is really depressing. If you turned in a new resume, interviewed again, and then your company hired you back wouldn't that be a real make your day and motivate you to keep working hard moving forward. Also, if your company told you that they wouldn't hire you back (there would have to be rules so they couldn't just fire you), then you hopefully would work hard to improve your short comings.

I, also, think that if you had to reapply for your job every six months, then you might actually take the time to determine if you still enjoyed your job. It takes a lot of energy to apply for a job. So when you don't enjoy it then you probably would just apply for a job you may actually be happy at. I sure would have at one of my previous companies.

Finally, wouldn't it be good for company's if they knew that their employees did not want to continue work for them. This is where the process would cut both ways. Hopefully, a company will see that there are constantly losing employees during this process and fix some of their issues. Most won't I know but some may actually see the pattern. Also, it may show companies positions that people hate and again they can improve that area.

I know this is an out there idea and would need serious refining. For example, how do you keep employers from just firing people after six months. Obviously there would have to be a rule where a company didn't hire you back after three reapplications (1.5 years). But my experiences has shown mean that something needs to change in the performance review process. Either companies don't do them or they are so infrequent that employees don't know until things are to late.

Let me know what you think of this idea.