Today was my last day of training for Lake Stevens. Sunday is the day. Tomorrow will be a day off. We'll sleep in, which means 7 am in our house. Then, we'll load up the car and head up to Seattle. It will be about a three hour drive. Once there, we'll check into our hotel, head to the race briefing, get our packet and go check in our bikes. Then we'll head to dinner and probably hit the sack early. I expect our alarm will go off around 4 am.
I have spent the last 20 weeks thinking about this Sunday. I have spent the last 20 weeks thinking about how it would feel to get to this week. Today, during my last training run, I spent some time thinking about the past 20 weeks. All the things that I have done to get to this point.
I've been keeping my blog, of course, and a notebook journal of my training days. Each day, I write down what I did, how I felt, what I was thinking. I looked back on all these things this week. Some days I felt great, some days I didn't...but every day, I kept pushing forward.
It is still hard to believe that I had weekends where I ran 15 miles on Sat and did a sprint triathlon on Sunday. Or weekends where I did an Olympic distance triathlon on Saturday and ran 12 miles on Sunday. The idea that my body has become this strong is really awesome to me.
I am nervous about Sunday. That's my make-up - I fret. I know I am ready, I know I can do it. I know it will be fun. The last two events we have done were just a blast and I enjoyed every minute of them. I plan to enjoy every minute on Sunday - no matter how many minutes it takes me. I will calm down once I get in the water and the gun sounds...until then I've got an upset stomach and heartburn.
I thought about the people I know who have been through hell - children sick, children dying, brothers passing away, cancer. I think of those people and realize - this is one day. Nothing I experience on Sunday will be even close to what those people have been through. I'll think of them and I'll draw on their strength. Annalee, Mark, Olivia, Krista, Tina, Alaina, Susan. Because when I look around me at the strongest people I know - they aren't the people who can run the furthest or lift the most at the gym. They are the people who can go through a crisis and never stop moving.
I feel blessed to be able to make it to the start line on Sunday. Its just one day - the 20 weeks leading up to it were the hard part. After Sunday, we'll move on to our next challenge. Because really, life is all about seeing what you're made of.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
The clock keeps ticking....
We are in the final week before the 70.3 triathlon. I cannot believe we've been at this for 19 weeks. It seemed so far away and now here it is - right in front of us!
Trevor hurt his back last week. "Got a weak back, a week back" as my friend Todd would say. He's been seeing our chiropractor and physical therapist for that and seems to be almost back to normal.
We didn't do an open water swim last week and went last night to get in the water on last time before Sunday. I am starting to feel anxious about Sunday and so I wanted to swim in the lake for 3 laps, which is about 45 minutes. First of all, it was pouring rain and there was no one at the pond. As we were walking in the rain, Trevor said "we don't need to swim three laps, we are ready for Sunday. This is just a final equipment check". I realized he was right - we swam a fast loop and headed for home.
I keep reminding myself to trust my training. I've done what I needed to do, there isn't much more I could have done. Now its time to just coast to the weekend and enjoy every minute.
I have gotten some great advice and motivation from people. Here is some of the best:
- Fight for your position in the water. If you get hit, laugh it off. This is all part of the experience we brag about.
- Trust your training.
- Relax and enjoy it, you only get to do it for the first time once.
- It's a privilege that we can do things like this, that many can only dream of.
- Don't look at your watch when you cross the finish line - it will ruin your picture (I love that!)
- own it. take hold of it.
- You really have no choice but to do the Olympic (when I was trying to talk myself out of doing the longer triathlon in July)
- "I'm proud of you sister"
I have gotten most of my advice and motivation from our friend Doug. He is a coach at Vancouver Fit and the nicest man I have ever met. He is so kind. Every week since our marathon training began, he has been providing a "tip of the week". These tips have included changing a tire, setting up transition, working our watch efficiently. He's given logistical advice for that day of the event. And he always, always reminds us to have fun. We are so blessed to know him.
The training hasn't always been fun. There were certainly weeks when I was just exhausted. Even so, I never felt like I wanted to stop. I never thought it wasn't worth it and I really did enjoy it all. It felt like I was breaking myself down, only to build myself back up. I have found that I am so much stronger than I ever knew. I have so much more power than I realized.
I get SO nervous before these events. It is almost funny. I have had heartburn for a few days now, my stomach is in constant knots. The morning of the event I'll probably be sick to my stomach and wonder what the hell I am thinking - why I ever thought this was a good idea. Then, I'll get in the water, the horn will sound and I'll have 6 or 7 hours to bask in the glory of it all.
Trevor hurt his back last week. "Got a weak back, a week back" as my friend Todd would say. He's been seeing our chiropractor and physical therapist for that and seems to be almost back to normal.
We didn't do an open water swim last week and went last night to get in the water on last time before Sunday. I am starting to feel anxious about Sunday and so I wanted to swim in the lake for 3 laps, which is about 45 minutes. First of all, it was pouring rain and there was no one at the pond. As we were walking in the rain, Trevor said "we don't need to swim three laps, we are ready for Sunday. This is just a final equipment check". I realized he was right - we swam a fast loop and headed for home.
I keep reminding myself to trust my training. I've done what I needed to do, there isn't much more I could have done. Now its time to just coast to the weekend and enjoy every minute.
I have gotten some great advice and motivation from people. Here is some of the best:
- Fight for your position in the water. If you get hit, laugh it off. This is all part of the experience we brag about.
- Trust your training.
- Relax and enjoy it, you only get to do it for the first time once.
- It's a privilege that we can do things like this, that many can only dream of.
- Don't look at your watch when you cross the finish line - it will ruin your picture (I love that!)
- own it. take hold of it.
- You really have no choice but to do the Olympic (when I was trying to talk myself out of doing the longer triathlon in July)
- "I'm proud of you sister"
I have gotten most of my advice and motivation from our friend Doug. He is a coach at Vancouver Fit and the nicest man I have ever met. He is so kind. Every week since our marathon training began, he has been providing a "tip of the week". These tips have included changing a tire, setting up transition, working our watch efficiently. He's given logistical advice for that day of the event. And he always, always reminds us to have fun. We are so blessed to know him.
The training hasn't always been fun. There were certainly weeks when I was just exhausted. Even so, I never felt like I wanted to stop. I never thought it wasn't worth it and I really did enjoy it all. It felt like I was breaking myself down, only to build myself back up. I have found that I am so much stronger than I ever knew. I have so much more power than I realized.
I get SO nervous before these events. It is almost funny. I have had heartburn for a few days now, my stomach is in constant knots. The morning of the event I'll probably be sick to my stomach and wonder what the hell I am thinking - why I ever thought this was a good idea. Then, I'll get in the water, the horn will sound and I'll have 6 or 7 hours to bask in the glory of it all.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Max Muscle Outstanding Store of the Year
This past weekend was the Annual Franchisee convention for Max Muscle. It was two days of meetings and networking. We had a great time, got to meet a lot of other store owners, learned some new things and got some great motivation.
This last year has been a blur. Trevor and I work really hard to do what we think and feel is right for us and our business. There are many forces working around us and its easy to get caught up in the drama of it all. Trevor doesn't usually let this other stuff get to him, I get all worked up and worried about things.
On Sunday, at lunch, there was an awards ceremony. Our store was awarded "Outstanding Store of the Year". They gave out three of these awards, one for the East, one for the West and one for the Central. We were honored to have recieved this award.
This award was validation of all we've done thus far. It was very satisfying and reminded me what its all about. When you do what you believe, what you think is right, things usually turn out okay! No matter what everyone else thinks or says, you have to do what is right for you. In the end, it just might make you Outstanding.
This last year has been a blur. Trevor and I work really hard to do what we think and feel is right for us and our business. There are many forces working around us and its easy to get caught up in the drama of it all. Trevor doesn't usually let this other stuff get to him, I get all worked up and worried about things.
On Sunday, at lunch, there was an awards ceremony. Our store was awarded "Outstanding Store of the Year". They gave out three of these awards, one for the East, one for the West and one for the Central. We were honored to have recieved this award.
This award was validation of all we've done thus far. It was very satisfying and reminded me what its all about. When you do what you believe, what you think is right, things usually turn out okay! No matter what everyone else thinks or says, you have to do what is right for you. In the end, it just might make you Outstanding.
19 down, 1 to go
I've spent lots of time thinking about being here - one week to go. And now, here we are. I think I say it every week, but I really can't believe how fast the time goes.
This week has been particularly rough - mentally and emotionally, as well as physically. Our second store opened on Monday, there were two big announcements at work that really have caused some mayhem around the office. I'd find myself totally spent by the end of the day.
Trevor hurt his back last weekend. Between that and the store opening, we didn't get to the pond for an open water swim this week, but that's okay. At this point, we are either ready or we are not and I really feel ready. We'll get there at this once this week.
Here's what this week's totals were:
45 min of swimming
4 hrs and 15 min of cycling
3 hrs and 45 min of running
2 hrs of weights/ab workouts
for a grand total of 10 hours and 45 minutes
I spent some time this weekend, wondering what was up after the triathlon. Then I realized I can worry about that Sunday night - once we are finished with 70.3. One thing at a time!
This week has been particularly rough - mentally and emotionally, as well as physically. Our second store opened on Monday, there were two big announcements at work that really have caused some mayhem around the office. I'd find myself totally spent by the end of the day.
Trevor hurt his back last weekend. Between that and the store opening, we didn't get to the pond for an open water swim this week, but that's okay. At this point, we are either ready or we are not and I really feel ready. We'll get there at this once this week.
Here's what this week's totals were:
45 min of swimming
4 hrs and 15 min of cycling
3 hrs and 45 min of running
2 hrs of weights/ab workouts
for a grand total of 10 hours and 45 minutes
I spent some time this weekend, wondering what was up after the triathlon. Then I realized I can worry about that Sunday night - once we are finished with 70.3. One thing at a time!
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
The definition of Irony
Here's a quote from a story published at OregonLive.com on Wednesday:
"The Oregonian announced Wednesday that a long-standing and unusual job-security pledge for full-time employees against layoffs for economic and technological reasons will end in February of next year. Publisher Fred A. Stickel cited the need for flexibility in the future given the difficult economy and declining revenues the newspaper faces."
Not surprisingly, this was posted to OregonLive.com at 4:35 pm, just about the time that most of the traffic to the site slows down - all the 8 to 5 people are shutting down for the day, wont' be back to the site until they are at work the next day and by then, the story will be buried.
There are a lot of changes going on at The O these days. Usually, there are many rumors for many weeks before a big announcement is made. This past week, there have been a lot of murmurs going on about an upcoming restructuring of our department. Everyone has their theory - no one really knows and we aren't even sure when we'll be told. So, we've been pretty busy focused on figuring that out.
When we got to work Wed morning and saw an email that said we had a meeting at 9:30 for the entire company, we didn't know what to make of it. We were so busy talking about it, we didn't have a chance to get online and do any checking. After the meeting I looked at http://www.editorandpublisher.com/ and saw that posted at 9:10 pst was the announcement that we heard in our 9:30 meeting. The other blogs that I read regarding this stuff were also all abuzz with the same annoucement from other papers. I guess since we are on the west coast, we were the last to get the news.
Either way - it wasn't good. I can't say I was surprised. They made these changes in New Jersey (except for the loyalty pledge) about 6 months ago and we are usually that far behind them. I think the biggest shock with the discontinuation of the employee loyalty pledge.
To people who don't work for Advance, you can't understand this pledge. My family and friends always scoffed at it, but those of us who work there believed in it. It was one of the coolest things about our company - they would take care of us, no matter what. They didn't have to, they chose too - that is why it was cool. When I was hired 10 years ago, I sat through an orientation and the first thing they talked about was this pledge and how important it was. Last year, we got a letter in the mail clarifying the pledge. It is talked about often around the building.
For a while now, people have been saying they thought it would go away. I kept saying that it wouldn't. Because why have a pledge against layoffs due to economic hardships only to cancel it when the economy gets bad? That is the question I'm asking today. I can't say I am surprised by this announcement, but I am disappointed. For better or worse, until things get worse and then I'm out of here. I'll always love you, unless I change my mind. I'll be there when you need me, unless I have something better to do. There's no way I'd miss it, unless I have a better offer. You get my point.
After that was announced, none of the rest really mattered. Pay 25% of our health care - fine. 6 more days off without pay - whatever. We've had it good for a long time. The benefits allotted me have been beyond anything I would have anyplace else and I have always been thankful.
We're a business. That I understand. I just am confused about how it got to this point. I mean, we've had this loyalty pledge that said as long as you were "unrepresented" (non-union), full-time and did your job satisfactorily, you wouldn't be laid off. If you didn't do your job satisfactorily, you weren't protected. Although it would seem like you were. The culture has been such that people were not fired. I can count on one hand how many people I know who were fired over the last 10 years and I suspect they were all paid handsomely to just go away.
I have always wondered how different things would be if the ones who should have been fired, actually were. My bet is that we'd still have a loyalty pledge.
So what happens now? And really, does anyone care but us?
"The Oregonian announced Wednesday that a long-standing and unusual job-security pledge for full-time employees against layoffs for economic and technological reasons will end in February of next year. Publisher Fred A. Stickel cited the need for flexibility in the future given the difficult economy and declining revenues the newspaper faces."
Not surprisingly, this was posted to OregonLive.com at 4:35 pm, just about the time that most of the traffic to the site slows down - all the 8 to 5 people are shutting down for the day, wont' be back to the site until they are at work the next day and by then, the story will be buried.
There are a lot of changes going on at The O these days. Usually, there are many rumors for many weeks before a big announcement is made. This past week, there have been a lot of murmurs going on about an upcoming restructuring of our department. Everyone has their theory - no one really knows and we aren't even sure when we'll be told. So, we've been pretty busy focused on figuring that out.
When we got to work Wed morning and saw an email that said we had a meeting at 9:30 for the entire company, we didn't know what to make of it. We were so busy talking about it, we didn't have a chance to get online and do any checking. After the meeting I looked at http://www.editorandpublisher.com/ and saw that posted at 9:10 pst was the announcement that we heard in our 9:30 meeting. The other blogs that I read regarding this stuff were also all abuzz with the same annoucement from other papers. I guess since we are on the west coast, we were the last to get the news.
Either way - it wasn't good. I can't say I was surprised. They made these changes in New Jersey (except for the loyalty pledge) about 6 months ago and we are usually that far behind them. I think the biggest shock with the discontinuation of the employee loyalty pledge.
To people who don't work for Advance, you can't understand this pledge. My family and friends always scoffed at it, but those of us who work there believed in it. It was one of the coolest things about our company - they would take care of us, no matter what. They didn't have to, they chose too - that is why it was cool. When I was hired 10 years ago, I sat through an orientation and the first thing they talked about was this pledge and how important it was. Last year, we got a letter in the mail clarifying the pledge. It is talked about often around the building.
For a while now, people have been saying they thought it would go away. I kept saying that it wouldn't. Because why have a pledge against layoffs due to economic hardships only to cancel it when the economy gets bad? That is the question I'm asking today. I can't say I am surprised by this announcement, but I am disappointed. For better or worse, until things get worse and then I'm out of here. I'll always love you, unless I change my mind. I'll be there when you need me, unless I have something better to do. There's no way I'd miss it, unless I have a better offer. You get my point.
After that was announced, none of the rest really mattered. Pay 25% of our health care - fine. 6 more days off without pay - whatever. We've had it good for a long time. The benefits allotted me have been beyond anything I would have anyplace else and I have always been thankful.
We're a business. That I understand. I just am confused about how it got to this point. I mean, we've had this loyalty pledge that said as long as you were "unrepresented" (non-union), full-time and did your job satisfactorily, you wouldn't be laid off. If you didn't do your job satisfactorily, you weren't protected. Although it would seem like you were. The culture has been such that people were not fired. I can count on one hand how many people I know who were fired over the last 10 years and I suspect they were all paid handsomely to just go away.
I have always wondered how different things would be if the ones who should have been fired, actually were. My bet is that we'd still have a loyalty pledge.
So what happens now? And really, does anyone care but us?
Monday, August 3, 2009
And so it begins again.
Last year at this time we were about 3 weeks away from opening our first Max Muscle store. Here it is, 12 months later, and we are opening our second location. What a difference a year makes.
The process this time around has been smoother. Of course, there have been bumps and issues, but the majority of things have just been easier. I have not been so scared or apprehensive about this store. We kind of already knew what we were getting into - we knew we could make a run at this. It isn't just hopes and dreams anymore, its been sweat and tears for the last year and we believe we know what it takes to make it.
I was looking back at my blog posts from this time last year. Here is the link to the post I wrote on our opening day. I think back to how we felt that day and think about how I feel today and it is very different. Today was kind of just business as usual.
Trevor went to the store and opened up. We advertised that we would be opening tomorrow. This gave us a day to work out the kinks and that was good planning because there were certainly some kinks. Trevor spent the entire day getting the computer up and running.
We spent the weekend getting things ready, stocking the shelves, pricing all the products, cleaning. Tomorrow will be our actual opening day. We hired Jason to run this store and are so excited to have him as a part of our team. He's been working at our Hazel Dell location for about a month now and is set to make the move to East Vancouver.
This store is a little smaller than our other location and we really love how it turned out. Here are some pictures of the inside and the outside.
Last year, we were taking in our last few moments of peace and quiet. It has been a blur. I can't only imagine what this next year will bring for us with our business. I cannot wait to see.
The process this time around has been smoother. Of course, there have been bumps and issues, but the majority of things have just been easier. I have not been so scared or apprehensive about this store. We kind of already knew what we were getting into - we knew we could make a run at this. It isn't just hopes and dreams anymore, its been sweat and tears for the last year and we believe we know what it takes to make it.
I was looking back at my blog posts from this time last year. Here is the link to the post I wrote on our opening day. I think back to how we felt that day and think about how I feel today and it is very different. Today was kind of just business as usual.
Trevor went to the store and opened up. We advertised that we would be opening tomorrow. This gave us a day to work out the kinks and that was good planning because there were certainly some kinks. Trevor spent the entire day getting the computer up and running.
We spent the weekend getting things ready, stocking the shelves, pricing all the products, cleaning. Tomorrow will be our actual opening day. We hired Jason to run this store and are so excited to have him as a part of our team. He's been working at our Hazel Dell location for about a month now and is set to make the move to East Vancouver.
This store is a little smaller than our other location and we really love how it turned out. Here are some pictures of the inside and the outside.
Last year, we were taking in our last few moments of peace and quiet. It has been a blur. I can't only imagine what this next year will bring for us with our business. I cannot wait to see.
18 down, 2 to go
I cannot believe there are only two weeks until our 70.3. The last 18 weeks have really flown by - these last two will be easier than the last 6 or so. It should be a nice lead in to the big day.
It has been hotter than hell this past week. To make matters worse, our air conditioning is out of comission, so while its been 107 outside, its been 95 inside. Miserable. Not cooling down at night. That kind of heat wears on you and depletes your body of all its energy! Yet, I had to bust out the workouts anyway. Most mornings I was laying in bed sweating, so getting up didn't seem so bad.
Tuesday night we swam in the pond without our wetsuits and the water was so warm, it wasn't really even that refreshing. By the end of the week, the mornings were cooler and that helped.
Saturday morning we went for an ill-fated biker ride, after a nice 40 min swim in the pond. On our bike ride - I almost got hit by a car, Trevor's spoke broke on his bike and Trevor pulled his bck muscles. Ugh. I am okay, Trevor's bike is okay and hopefully after four appts with the chiropractor this week, Trevor will be okay too. He didn't run on Sunday morning, so I know he is hurting - he usually can power through things. If you've ever hurt your back, you know how badly it sucks. I feel so bad for him!
In addition to all of this, we have been doing the final prep for opening our 2nd store on Monday - that means a week of unloading freight, moving things around, stocking shelves. So things have been a little crazy!
Here are the totals for this week:
2 hrs of swimming
4 hrs and 50 min of cycling
4 hrs and 45 min of running
2 hrs of weights/ab workouts
for a grand total of 13 hours and 35 minutes
Two weeks left. Woohoo!
It has been hotter than hell this past week. To make matters worse, our air conditioning is out of comission, so while its been 107 outside, its been 95 inside. Miserable. Not cooling down at night. That kind of heat wears on you and depletes your body of all its energy! Yet, I had to bust out the workouts anyway. Most mornings I was laying in bed sweating, so getting up didn't seem so bad.
Tuesday night we swam in the pond without our wetsuits and the water was so warm, it wasn't really even that refreshing. By the end of the week, the mornings were cooler and that helped.
Saturday morning we went for an ill-fated biker ride, after a nice 40 min swim in the pond. On our bike ride - I almost got hit by a car, Trevor's spoke broke on his bike and Trevor pulled his bck muscles. Ugh. I am okay, Trevor's bike is okay and hopefully after four appts with the chiropractor this week, Trevor will be okay too. He didn't run on Sunday morning, so I know he is hurting - he usually can power through things. If you've ever hurt your back, you know how badly it sucks. I feel so bad for him!
In addition to all of this, we have been doing the final prep for opening our 2nd store on Monday - that means a week of unloading freight, moving things around, stocking shelves. So things have been a little crazy!
Here are the totals for this week:
2 hrs of swimming
4 hrs and 50 min of cycling
4 hrs and 45 min of running
2 hrs of weights/ab workouts
for a grand total of 13 hours and 35 minutes
Two weeks left. Woohoo!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)