Hunting for Bambi? Giving Thanks? Splitting firewood for the winter? No, not any of those items but rather it's the time of year when I start to look back over the past year and plan ahead for the next. I do this now rather than the end of the calendar year because November represents the end of my running year and allows me time to thoroughly assess not only my running but the business too.
I enjoyed a great deal of success this past year as both a runner and an architect. In my new role this year as the Director of Architecture at a very well respected engineering and architectural firm I was not able to get out and run as often as I would have liked during a typical work week, but I was able to remain very competitive against other runners in my 60-64 yr.age group. I can say I won two half marathons, two 5Ks, and finished among the top leaders in the other races too. I did not do to well in the Crim this year but I did have one of my best experiences at the Crim. I also did not finish too high in my age group for a 10K either finishing 8th. However this 10K was the USATF National Championship for Master Runners and the fellow who finished 9th was Bill Rogers!
So as I look back at the past and into the future I plan certain changes. Nothing too specific, to start, I plan to run different races and to travel to a different race or two too. In a few weeks I intend to enter a lottery in hopes of being selected to run the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler in Washington DC this April. I also look to run a different half marathon in NC in the year ahead too. Then there are a couple of races where I have not run in recent years and 2013 may be the year to return. Heading this list is the Detroit International Half Marathon. Then there are two races that have become a custom to me too. It would not be a complete race year if I did not run the Crim 10 Miler and The Brooksie Way Half Marathon. Finally, this is the year I also look very much to return to run the Dexter Ann Arbor Half Marathon as this will be the 40th anniversary of the DxAA!
So what does identifying a list of races have to do with my business planning? Plenty! runners understand how to establish goals and more importantly how to attain goals no matter how extreme. Between now and December 5th I will be planning goals for the Architectural group at DiClemente Siegel Design. The goals I intend to present during a presentation to the firm's leadership will be meaningless unless there is process or plan to achieve these goals too. So in the same manner I plan a race schedule, I will plan a business schedule that includes a "game plan" to mark, measure, and ultimately achieve. I do my best thinking while running so, time to think hard during the next 8 -10 miles this morning!
Thanks for reading and Run Happy :)
Lee
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Deadlines and Racing
It's tough to face the duel challenges of preparing to do well in a certain targeted race while also managing the daily challenges that come with meeting a project deadline at work. Both peeking your training to perform your best in a race and aiming to have your project be the best it can be offer similar challenges and opportunities.
I am experiencing these each this week and then again for the entire month of October. I am attempting to sharpen my running performance this week for Sunday's The Brooksie Way half marathon. Following Sunday's race, I will then recoup from the race and immediately begin to focus my training my the final race of the year, the City of Oaks Half Marathon in Raleigh NC in early November.. All during this time I will be leading a team of talented architects towards the completion of a major design project. In order to achieve success in each venture one needs to carefully plan, allocate, re-access, focus, re-group, and similar actions all in a very disciplined manner over and over until the project is completed or until the day of the big race arrives.
During my run tonight, I was thinking of how efficient I needed to be in my running form in order to preserve energy to finish the half marathon (13.1 miles) race strong when it occurred to me that in order to finish a design project the entire team needs to become a bit more efficient each day as the due date inches closer. True you like to think you are always performing as efficiently as possible but we also know that is impossible. It is the fact that the project due date or a fast approaching race date forces us all to sharpen our preparation and begin to focus on achieving the goal ahead that we evolve to become more efficient.
I have a goal for my race this weekend. I also have a goal for the project work this week. In order to achieve each I must become more efficient at everything I do, including this little blog posting. So time to wrap this entry up and get my rest for the evening so I can take on the challenges of the design and running worlds once again early tomorrow morning!
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I would appreciate your comment and thoughts.
Run Happy
Lee
I am experiencing these each this week and then again for the entire month of October. I am attempting to sharpen my running performance this week for Sunday's The Brooksie Way half marathon. Following Sunday's race, I will then recoup from the race and immediately begin to focus my training my the final race of the year, the City of Oaks Half Marathon in Raleigh NC in early November.. All during this time I will be leading a team of talented architects towards the completion of a major design project. In order to achieve success in each venture one needs to carefully plan, allocate, re-access, focus, re-group, and similar actions all in a very disciplined manner over and over until the project is completed or until the day of the big race arrives.
During my run tonight, I was thinking of how efficient I needed to be in my running form in order to preserve energy to finish the half marathon (13.1 miles) race strong when it occurred to me that in order to finish a design project the entire team needs to become a bit more efficient each day as the due date inches closer. True you like to think you are always performing as efficiently as possible but we also know that is impossible. It is the fact that the project due date or a fast approaching race date forces us all to sharpen our preparation and begin to focus on achieving the goal ahead that we evolve to become more efficient.
I have a goal for my race this weekend. I also have a goal for the project work this week. In order to achieve each I must become more efficient at everything I do, including this little blog posting. So time to wrap this entry up and get my rest for the evening so I can take on the challenges of the design and running worlds once again early tomorrow morning!
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I would appreciate your comment and thoughts.
Run Happy
Lee
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Old Home Architecture and Running
The purpose of this blog is to express my view of architecture while sharing my running experience. I firmly believe there are very many parallels between architecture and running. As my experiences in each of these fields continues to evolve over the many years of doing both I am now able to see with hindsight certain forces at work that link these two topics that continually weave through my life. Take as an example this past week.
This past week was "Crim Week". The Crim is one of the top road races in the country, a 10 mile venture through the streets and neighborhoods of downtown Flint MI. My family moved from Royal Oak to the Flint area the same weekend the Beatles first appeared on Ed Sullivan, I was 12 and in 6th grade. Even at that young age I had an insatiable fascination about buildings and distance running. Who would have ever thought back in 1964 when I first set my eyes on downtown Flint and the bricks of Saginaw St. that my footprints would be felt on both the architecture of downtown Flint and the quite literally thousands of times racing the final quarter mile of a world renowned road race (over 26 times now) quite literally on the same bricks that comprise the pavement of Saginaw St.
Downtown Flint has changed enormously since 1964, becoming both smaller and larger. Gone are the many landmark buildings such as Smith Bridgeman's, The Palace Theater, along with many other storefronts. New are the many buildings that comprise the Flint U-M Campus, development along the Flint Rive, a good looking 9 story State of Michigan office building and some storefronts that have been re-born.
My first job in architecture was during the summer of 1975 at Sedwick-Sellers Architects on the outskirts of downtown Flint. The office is long gone but one of the projects I was involved with that summer was the new Classroom and Office Building for U-M Flint's new downtown campus. The first of many buildings on the downtown campus. The mechanical electrical engineers that also worked on that building was a young firm (at the time) of DiClemente Siegle. After completing by graduate courses in 1976, I worked for two other firm's in Flint, Nelson Reed McKinley, located in downtown in a historic house along Grand Traverse Ave, and THY, located a bit farther out from the true downtown area. While at THY, I worked on a housing project that was proposed just north of the downtown Flint area, a project known at the time as Doyle Housing Project.
I left the Flint area in 1978 and have lived and worked in the Detroit area ever since. One of the projects that I had significant input on as an architect in those early years was the new 9 story State Office Building, you guessed it, in downtown Flint! I detailed much of the building's construction details and took over the oversight of the final construction phase when the architect previously in charge relocated out of state.
For many years that was my total contribution to the Flint architectural scene, until early this past year. Remember the mechanical electrical firm who were the engineers for that first CROB or Classroom Office Building in Flint, DiClemente Siegle? They had since bought or merged with the internationally recognized architect Gunnar Birkerts Assoc. Gunnar Birkerts was the firm that designed the new library building for the U-M Flint downtown campus.
The link? while there is no longer any remaining personnel from the Birkerts side of what is now known as DiClementi Siegle Design, I have, as of February this year, become the person responsible to lead the architectural group within DSD.
So as I ran my 26th Crim race this year, I stood within several steps of the actual start line, looked over my right shoulder at the 9 story State Office Building, I thought that in less than 4 minutes I would run past the old Doyle Housing Project, circle around the Flint U-M campus, literally take a stroll down the remaining 8+ mile memory lane before I made my final turn along the race path to hit the bricks once again on the final down slope to finish my running of the 2012 Crim Road Race!
This is not the end of this year's story, be sure to check back soon for the pre and post race reports too!.
Thanks for taking the time to read.
Run Happy
Lee, aka "The Running Architect"
This past week was "Crim Week". The Crim is one of the top road races in the country, a 10 mile venture through the streets and neighborhoods of downtown Flint MI. My family moved from Royal Oak to the Flint area the same weekend the Beatles first appeared on Ed Sullivan, I was 12 and in 6th grade. Even at that young age I had an insatiable fascination about buildings and distance running. Who would have ever thought back in 1964 when I first set my eyes on downtown Flint and the bricks of Saginaw St. that my footprints would be felt on both the architecture of downtown Flint and the quite literally thousands of times racing the final quarter mile of a world renowned road race (over 26 times now) quite literally on the same bricks that comprise the pavement of Saginaw St.
Downtown Flint has changed enormously since 1964, becoming both smaller and larger. Gone are the many landmark buildings such as Smith Bridgeman's, The Palace Theater, along with many other storefronts. New are the many buildings that comprise the Flint U-M Campus, development along the Flint Rive, a good looking 9 story State of Michigan office building and some storefronts that have been re-born.
My first job in architecture was during the summer of 1975 at Sedwick-Sellers Architects on the outskirts of downtown Flint. The office is long gone but one of the projects I was involved with that summer was the new Classroom and Office Building for U-M Flint's new downtown campus. The first of many buildings on the downtown campus. The mechanical electrical engineers that also worked on that building was a young firm (at the time) of DiClemente Siegle. After completing by graduate courses in 1976, I worked for two other firm's in Flint, Nelson Reed McKinley, located in downtown in a historic house along Grand Traverse Ave, and THY, located a bit farther out from the true downtown area. While at THY, I worked on a housing project that was proposed just north of the downtown Flint area, a project known at the time as Doyle Housing Project.
I left the Flint area in 1978 and have lived and worked in the Detroit area ever since. One of the projects that I had significant input on as an architect in those early years was the new 9 story State Office Building, you guessed it, in downtown Flint! I detailed much of the building's construction details and took over the oversight of the final construction phase when the architect previously in charge relocated out of state.
For many years that was my total contribution to the Flint architectural scene, until early this past year. Remember the mechanical electrical firm who were the engineers for that first CROB or Classroom Office Building in Flint, DiClemente Siegle? They had since bought or merged with the internationally recognized architect Gunnar Birkerts Assoc. Gunnar Birkerts was the firm that designed the new library building for the U-M Flint downtown campus.
The link? while there is no longer any remaining personnel from the Birkerts side of what is now known as DiClementi Siegle Design, I have, as of February this year, become the person responsible to lead the architectural group within DSD.
So as I ran my 26th Crim race this year, I stood within several steps of the actual start line, looked over my right shoulder at the 9 story State Office Building, I thought that in less than 4 minutes I would run past the old Doyle Housing Project, circle around the Flint U-M campus, literally take a stroll down the remaining 8+ mile memory lane before I made my final turn along the race path to hit the bricks once again on the final down slope to finish my running of the 2012 Crim Road Race!
This is not the end of this year's story, be sure to check back soon for the pre and post race reports too!.
Thanks for taking the time to read.
Run Happy
Lee, aka "The Running Architect"
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Time Flies
Yikes! Has it really been nearly two months since my last post here? I guess so. I have not disappeared in fact I am happy to report that I appear every work day at a new place of employment! I am proud to report that I am the Director of Architecture at the very well respected engineering and architectural firm of DiClemente Siegel Design. My duties include the mentoring of staff and certain management items. Yet I will also be able to actively participate on the many varied projects of the firm.
It's taken this long to become accustom to the new schedule and routine but I believe I now have a good grasp for my new duties and I look forward to returning to this blog posting on a more regular basis.
Thanks for your patience.
Lee
It's taken this long to become accustom to the new schedule and routine but I believe I now have a good grasp for my new duties and I look forward to returning to this blog posting on a more regular basis.
Thanks for your patience.
Lee
Friday, February 10, 2012
Moon Travels and Marathoning?
What does a trip to the moon and training for a marathon have in common? No, I am not thinking of a marathon on the moon or any sort of funky anti gravity training techniques but a trip to the moon and a preparing for a marathon actually do have something in common if both are to be deemed successful journeys!
Earlier this week our marathon training group had the pleasure of learning from a local running legend and a world record holder in the number of marathons ran in less than 2hrs 20 mins, and the winner of 40 marathons in his running career, Doug Kurtis. He graciously shared many of his secrets to his long term success of running hundreds of marathons. Many of these tips were specific to an individual selection, determination, and performance. However there was one tip that I believe is the most crucial and no distance runner can do without and expect to perform at their personal best. That tip was to do certain training such as the long run and speed or hill workouts with a training partner or group. Golfers understand that if they want to improve their game they need to golf with golfers that are better skilled at the game then themselves. The same is true of running.
This past fall as I was training for my marathon in November I ran a total of 4 separate 20 milers. The first was my toughest and was also one where I ran most of it alone. For my second 20 miler I ran 10 miles on my own as a "warm-up" to a 15k (nearly 10 mile) race. I finished that 20 miler among other racers. For my third 20 miler I ran with Chad, a young and very fast runner from our training group (well for at least the first 15 miles). But this training run was a part of a larger organized 20 miler that included many runners in a local park and thus there was always somebody running nearby me.
But my lat 20 miler of that season promised to be the toughest as most of my running friends were either competing in the Detroit Marathon that same weekend or had already finished their long runs. Except for one :) One of my regular running partners, Jessica was training for the New York Marathon which was scheduled for the same day as my marathon, The City of Oaks in Raleigh NC, so our training schedules coincided. The other challenge to this particular training run was the fact that the best training weather was past us for the season and the park where we run would likely be void of other runners.
Nevertheless, Jessica and I met in the early morning darkness, a bit overdressed for the cool, drizzly rain conditions and started our 20 mile journey along the paths and over the many huge hills in Kensington. Our pace was a bit slow at first but as we chatted away comparing notes about the conditions, racing, expectations for each of our marathons, her young kids, my young grandson, running shoes, and similar running related topics, we forgot about the conditions and pace. We did not notice the fact that we challenged the toughest long and steep hills at a pace of nearly a whole minute faster than our marathon pace, we only seemed to notice that before we knew it we were done with our last 20 mile training run of the season! My how time literally did fly by for each of us! That was not hard at all, OK, we were each a bit tired but we each had just completed an excellent 20 mile training run that only took 2 hrs and 44mins in what otherwise were not the best weather conditions over a challenging route too! I know I would never have been able to complete that run on my own that day!
So what does this have to do with a trip to the moon? Plenty! Earlier this week I heard a report that this week marked the 41st anniversary of the Apollo 14 moon trip. The first picture to enter my mind was not of the moon, astronauts, or rockets, but rather the picture of a very large control room circa 1970's with scores of rocket scientists at their workstations. Remember, the computers and technology available to these engineers was roughly the same as the first computer many of us might have had at our work desks or home!
To get a manned spaceship to and from the moon and any other successful trip to space for that matter involved a tremendous and supportive team effort of collaborative skill and intelligence. America's success in space would never have ever occurred if not for the successful collaboration of those who planned, calculated, and engineered the tasks here on planet earth.
So perhaps the lesson learned here is that whether it be running a marathon or travels to the moon and back or beyond, before any of us can expect to achieve personal victories we need to collaborate with those next to us to help them reach our common goal too.
This has been a bit longer of a read today, so an extra special thank you goes out to those who took the time today to read the entire posting today.
Thanks again and be sure to Run Happy today :)
Lee
Earlier this week our marathon training group had the pleasure of learning from a local running legend and a world record holder in the number of marathons ran in less than 2hrs 20 mins, and the winner of 40 marathons in his running career, Doug Kurtis. He graciously shared many of his secrets to his long term success of running hundreds of marathons. Many of these tips were specific to an individual selection, determination, and performance. However there was one tip that I believe is the most crucial and no distance runner can do without and expect to perform at their personal best. That tip was to do certain training such as the long run and speed or hill workouts with a training partner or group. Golfers understand that if they want to improve their game they need to golf with golfers that are better skilled at the game then themselves. The same is true of running.
This past fall as I was training for my marathon in November I ran a total of 4 separate 20 milers. The first was my toughest and was also one where I ran most of it alone. For my second 20 miler I ran 10 miles on my own as a "warm-up" to a 15k (nearly 10 mile) race. I finished that 20 miler among other racers. For my third 20 miler I ran with Chad, a young and very fast runner from our training group (well for at least the first 15 miles). But this training run was a part of a larger organized 20 miler that included many runners in a local park and thus there was always somebody running nearby me.
But my lat 20 miler of that season promised to be the toughest as most of my running friends were either competing in the Detroit Marathon that same weekend or had already finished their long runs. Except for one :) One of my regular running partners, Jessica was training for the New York Marathon which was scheduled for the same day as my marathon, The City of Oaks in Raleigh NC, so our training schedules coincided. The other challenge to this particular training run was the fact that the best training weather was past us for the season and the park where we run would likely be void of other runners.
Nevertheless, Jessica and I met in the early morning darkness, a bit overdressed for the cool, drizzly rain conditions and started our 20 mile journey along the paths and over the many huge hills in Kensington. Our pace was a bit slow at first but as we chatted away comparing notes about the conditions, racing, expectations for each of our marathons, her young kids, my young grandson, running shoes, and similar running related topics, we forgot about the conditions and pace. We did not notice the fact that we challenged the toughest long and steep hills at a pace of nearly a whole minute faster than our marathon pace, we only seemed to notice that before we knew it we were done with our last 20 mile training run of the season! My how time literally did fly by for each of us! That was not hard at all, OK, we were each a bit tired but we each had just completed an excellent 20 mile training run that only took 2 hrs and 44mins in what otherwise were not the best weather conditions over a challenging route too! I know I would never have been able to complete that run on my own that day!
So what does this have to do with a trip to the moon? Plenty! Earlier this week I heard a report that this week marked the 41st anniversary of the Apollo 14 moon trip. The first picture to enter my mind was not of the moon, astronauts, or rockets, but rather the picture of a very large control room circa 1970's with scores of rocket scientists at their workstations. Remember, the computers and technology available to these engineers was roughly the same as the first computer many of us might have had at our work desks or home!
To get a manned spaceship to and from the moon and any other successful trip to space for that matter involved a tremendous and supportive team effort of collaborative skill and intelligence. America's success in space would never have ever occurred if not for the successful collaboration of those who planned, calculated, and engineered the tasks here on planet earth.
So perhaps the lesson learned here is that whether it be running a marathon or travels to the moon and back or beyond, before any of us can expect to achieve personal victories we need to collaborate with those next to us to help them reach our common goal too.
This has been a bit longer of a read today, so an extra special thank you goes out to those who took the time today to read the entire posting today.
Thanks again and be sure to Run Happy today :)
Lee
Monday, February 6, 2012
Flip Side
This winter's running season has been one of the better winters to run outdoors in many years throughout the country and especially in my area of Michigan. We have had minimal snow accumulations, well above average temps, and no ice to speak off.
While I layered up as usual for my early morning run today, it was more out of habit than necessity. At yesterday's Super Bowl 5K race in my hometown of Novi it felt and looked much more like a mid to late spring day than the first weekend in February! No surprise that many of the 2,000 racers had an excellent race experience.
But beware runners! There is a downside to this great winter weather we are enjoying. No, nothing to do with scare tactics from the wacky "enviro-nazis" who claim the world is overheating, but rather something more dreadful and realistic to fear! That is your spring race results! Especially those who are targeting a major marathon or significant race event. Runners will not have the usual excuses involving assessing a certain amount of blame to Mother Nature for delivering a harsh winter.
We do still live in Michigan and there could very easily be a huge snow or winter emergency event or two in the coming weeks. But clearly, runners in Michigan believe the worse part of the calendar is over and our running life can only get better!
Enjoy these conditions while you can for you may be snowed-in some day soon!
Run Happy.
Thanks for your visit here and taking the time to read.
Lee
While I layered up as usual for my early morning run today, it was more out of habit than necessity. At yesterday's Super Bowl 5K race in my hometown of Novi it felt and looked much more like a mid to late spring day than the first weekend in February! No surprise that many of the 2,000 racers had an excellent race experience.
But beware runners! There is a downside to this great winter weather we are enjoying. No, nothing to do with scare tactics from the wacky "enviro-nazis" who claim the world is overheating, but rather something more dreadful and realistic to fear! That is your spring race results! Especially those who are targeting a major marathon or significant race event. Runners will not have the usual excuses involving assessing a certain amount of blame to Mother Nature for delivering a harsh winter.
We do still live in Michigan and there could very easily be a huge snow or winter emergency event or two in the coming weeks. But clearly, runners in Michigan believe the worse part of the calendar is over and our running life can only get better!
Enjoy these conditions while you can for you may be snowed-in some day soon!
Run Happy.
Thanks for your visit here and taking the time to read.
Lee
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Winter Winds
A few days ago I posted a note to our local training group about winter running tips. One of my tips was to always try to finish your run with the wind at your back. Even non runners can imagine what it might feel like to run a few miles dressed to accommodate below freezing temps. It will not be long until you begin to build a sweat and your body's heat clings to you because you are running with the wind.
Now imagine what happens when you stop and turn around to return to where to started. The cold wind is not only in your face it is also working to remove that comforting and perhaps over heated layer of warmth away from your body too! To make matters worse you can add 5-7 mph (your running pace) to the effective wind velocity too! In no time at all what started as a feel good winter run will end as a nasty chilling winter run regardless of how to dressed to prepare!
There is a similar comparison in architecture. Obviously buildings do not run down any road, but they are exposed to winds and elements of nature everyday. Careful attention to the placement, siting, or orientation of how a building is located on a piece of property will have a huge and permanent affect on the energy performance of that structure.
Imagine a house designed to take into consideration year around of the evening sunsets over a special view such as a lake. It would likely include a considerable extent of windows or openings to capture the view. The problem is that these same well intended openings will become easy targets for the prevailing winter winds (in Michigan) and without special attention to detail will become cold spaces or at best spaces that are costly to heat and thus waste precious energy.
Beyond winds, sun angles, micro climates, shading devices, material selection, and similar items all need to be carefully considered if a building or house is to take the best advantage of nature and have any hope of becoming an energy efficient structure.
On your next run through the neighborhood take a mental inventory of how many prototypical (or "builder" homes) there are in your neighborhood that fail to take into account basic strategies of design to positively influence the energy performance for the life of that house. Then zip up or your outermost layer and enjoy the balance of your run. :)
Thanks for taking the time to read this today.
Run Happy
Lee
Now imagine what happens when you stop and turn around to return to where to started. The cold wind is not only in your face it is also working to remove that comforting and perhaps over heated layer of warmth away from your body too! To make matters worse you can add 5-7 mph (your running pace) to the effective wind velocity too! In no time at all what started as a feel good winter run will end as a nasty chilling winter run regardless of how to dressed to prepare!
There is a similar comparison in architecture. Obviously buildings do not run down any road, but they are exposed to winds and elements of nature everyday. Careful attention to the placement, siting, or orientation of how a building is located on a piece of property will have a huge and permanent affect on the energy performance of that structure.
Imagine a house designed to take into consideration year around of the evening sunsets over a special view such as a lake. It would likely include a considerable extent of windows or openings to capture the view. The problem is that these same well intended openings will become easy targets for the prevailing winter winds (in Michigan) and without special attention to detail will become cold spaces or at best spaces that are costly to heat and thus waste precious energy.
Beyond winds, sun angles, micro climates, shading devices, material selection, and similar items all need to be carefully considered if a building or house is to take the best advantage of nature and have any hope of becoming an energy efficient structure.
On your next run through the neighborhood take a mental inventory of how many prototypical (or "builder" homes) there are in your neighborhood that fail to take into account basic strategies of design to positively influence the energy performance for the life of that house. Then zip up or your outermost layer and enjoy the balance of your run. :)
Thanks for taking the time to read this today.
Run Happy
Lee
Friday, January 6, 2012
Top 10 Things They Don't Teach You in Architecture School
(This a re-post from The Running Architect blog from January 2011)
These apply to me as a business owner, and the landlord to my own office location.
In no particular order but all surely should at least be near the top:
1. If you own your own firm, there may be days you need to plow the snow from your parking area. (Part two, you will also need to know how to fix the dang tractor blade too)
.
2. You will be very embarassed if you forget to keep the toilet room stocked with TP.
3. The "orderly habits" you learned in Studio will stay with you throughout your career.
4. Six years of study, intensive intership, tough licensing exam, and you still get to clean toilets and mop the floors.
5. How to build a fire in a wood burning stove, and keep it going all day.
6. How to accurately predict the future.
7. Knowing when to quit and when to press on.
8. Knowing the difference between a potentially great client and the client from Hell within the first 10 minutes of meeting that potential client.
9. How to read minds.
10. Knowing how to get out the door at the right time and enough times to enable you to properly train for a marathon or major race.
I welcome other suggestions to this list.
Thanks
Lee
These apply to me as a business owner, and the landlord to my own office location.
In no particular order but all surely should at least be near the top:
1. If you own your own firm, there may be days you need to plow the snow from your parking area. (Part two, you will also need to know how to fix the dang tractor blade too)
.
2. You will be very embarassed if you forget to keep the toilet room stocked with TP.
3. The "orderly habits" you learned in Studio will stay with you throughout your career.
4. Six years of study, intensive intership, tough licensing exam, and you still get to clean toilets and mop the floors.
5. How to build a fire in a wood burning stove, and keep it going all day.
6. How to accurately predict the future.
7. Knowing when to quit and when to press on.
8. Knowing the difference between a potentially great client and the client from Hell within the first 10 minutes of meeting that potential client.
9. How to read minds.
10. Knowing how to get out the door at the right time and enough times to enable you to properly train for a marathon or major race.
I welcome other suggestions to this list.
Thanks
Lee
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Cold Michigan Mornings
Congrats to the runners who rise early from their warm bed, gather their running gear, and head into the cold darkness of a January morning to run. I would wager a set of warm mittens that each of you who do so always start with the attitude that you really would rather not have to do any of this. Yet once you get past the act of awakening, dressing, running, and return to the warmth of a completed run, you feel great and glad you took on the challenge!
January is such a critical month to train. It sets up the entire running year. If you do not get out to run you not only loose miles of training but you are much more likely to gain weight too, thus compounding the inevitable return to a training routine.
I suppose I can count myself as among a select group of fortunate runners who are able to be a bit more selective about scheduling a daily run. While I prefer to run in the early morning I will often wait until noontime or an evening run with a training group. Regardless of the time of day you run simply getting out the door to run in Michigan during the month of January is a tough challenge. The reward of conquering the elements during each completed run however are well worth the obstacles we face before we get out the door.
Run Happy :)
Thanks
Lee
January is such a critical month to train. It sets up the entire running year. If you do not get out to run you not only loose miles of training but you are much more likely to gain weight too, thus compounding the inevitable return to a training routine.
I suppose I can count myself as among a select group of fortunate runners who are able to be a bit more selective about scheduling a daily run. While I prefer to run in the early morning I will often wait until noontime or an evening run with a training group. Regardless of the time of day you run simply getting out the door to run in Michigan during the month of January is a tough challenge. The reward of conquering the elements during each completed run however are well worth the obstacles we face before we get out the door.
Run Happy :)
Thanks
Lee
Monday, January 2, 2012
Welcome 2012 !
If you have been busy with thoughts of new ideas, projects, goals, and the future recently then it must be another new year! Welcome 2012, so glad you have finally arrived and I look forward to many new experiences with you during your tenure this year.
This year begins with more than the usual number of unknowns there is much to be revealed and experienced in the coming months. My sense is that much of my 2012 will be defined by events that will occur from now to mid-March. While I have certain goals a game plans to meet those goals I am dependent upon others to attain those goals. This dependency which is beyond my direct control is what is frustrating at this early point of the year. Thus all I can do is attempt to do my best each day and attempt to gain as much control as possible.
This includes the running part of my life too. I don't plan on racing until the mid spring, so what I can do until then is to do my best to arrive at spring in shape and ready to compete. I have a training plan in place to help assure success with my race. Determining the is easy, the execution of the plan is not so easy. Especially as a runner who needs to overcome the Michigan winter conditions. I do NOT run on a treadmill at all indoors, at any time of the year. I simply believe a short run outdoors in nasty weather conditions is better than a long run indoors on a treadmill. The exception is my speed or intensive training. For these workouts I do make use of the indoor track the University of Michigan via the Ann Arbor Track Club. One night a week during January through February helps to maintain my fitness while building for the new racing season.
The toughest part of any winter time run is the dressing! Gathering the required undergarments, outer layers, and perhaps reflective gear is more of a challenge than the actual run in the snow. But once dressed and out the door I never look back and am so glad I completed another run.
OK, enough delaying, time to gather my winter gear and get my tail out the door for a run!
Thanks for reading.
Lee
This year begins with more than the usual number of unknowns there is much to be revealed and experienced in the coming months. My sense is that much of my 2012 will be defined by events that will occur from now to mid-March. While I have certain goals a game plans to meet those goals I am dependent upon others to attain those goals. This dependency which is beyond my direct control is what is frustrating at this early point of the year. Thus all I can do is attempt to do my best each day and attempt to gain as much control as possible.
This includes the running part of my life too. I don't plan on racing until the mid spring, so what I can do until then is to do my best to arrive at spring in shape and ready to compete. I have a training plan in place to help assure success with my race. Determining the is easy, the execution of the plan is not so easy. Especially as a runner who needs to overcome the Michigan winter conditions. I do NOT run on a treadmill at all indoors, at any time of the year. I simply believe a short run outdoors in nasty weather conditions is better than a long run indoors on a treadmill. The exception is my speed or intensive training. For these workouts I do make use of the indoor track the University of Michigan via the Ann Arbor Track Club. One night a week during January through February helps to maintain my fitness while building for the new racing season.
The toughest part of any winter time run is the dressing! Gathering the required undergarments, outer layers, and perhaps reflective gear is more of a challenge than the actual run in the snow. But once dressed and out the door I never look back and am so glad I completed another run.
OK, enough delaying, time to gather my winter gear and get my tail out the door for a run!
Thanks for reading.
Lee
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