A blog and podcast dedicated to the gift, spa, home, outdoor and travel industry. I might touch on my life as a road warrior, a Mom of a 3.5 yr old and my love of coffee.
"When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves." ~Victor Frankl This I AM 30! represents my commitment to the 30-Day Challenge I created almost 6 months ago. I have had such a wonderful experience with those that have been participating. Some have gotten off of insulin, while others have lost weight, gained energy and have participated in their first 5k, 10k, and half marathon. What an honor it is to be apart of their journey. Being that this is 11/30 and December 1st is only 2 days away - I felt this is fitting.
I AM 30! represents the challenge of moving for 30 minutes a day for 30 days - or in this case 31 days... but, you get the idea.
You can challenge yourself in other ways too for 30 days. Like no sugar, no fast food, no smoking, no beer (though that's no life), limiting your deserts. 30 days is a great amount of time to make a change. Whatever you do - make it a positive one for you and your family.
If you are on Facebook, join our movement there and share your recipes, work out ideas, anything that can help someone else.The 30-Day Challenge movement
Finally, the last flight has been flown. My work year on the road is over and I've got the miles to prove that it was a long, happy year. Sales are good and it seems as if the holiday season is underway. My reps are working hard on and off the road. The gift shows are a distant memory and fall is here. This year has been a challenging one; growing our rep groups while keeping them motivated, learning how to eat well and run all over the country, and creating new avenues to sell too. The recession is almost over and while we thought our retailers would bounce back earlier - we are now almost to 2011 and there seems to finally be a parting of the seas. Orders are being written and bills are being paid. Some have closed their doors while others expand. It's that yin and yang of business that keeps it exciting for me.
This year on the road has also had some great stuff go on too; like our journey to move to Portland, OR, the company continues to create cool, new products, and we've brought in some exciting new people to work with us in creating a synergy across the country. In my personal pursuits; I continue to educate myself in the outdoor and social media industry while marrying up both passions to speak at trade shows and regional events. I look forward to more of that in the upcoming year.
Taking time to read, reflect and run are what I'm looking forward to in the coming months while winding down the year. I continue to enjoy meshing all that I love in this wonderful journey that is my life. Lucky me.
Hey there!I've been quite busy and now that I'm off the road a bit and my training is in the taper phase - I'm realizing that balancing being successful on and off the trails is all about time management, rest, and completing your to-do list. I find that running when I'm tired does me no good. But, when I am rested and get out first thing...I find that I am way more productive the rest of the day. If I don't get out in the am than I am less likely to run or get in my work out the rest of the day. I absolutely love running when I am out there - but I think coming to the end of a full business year and the end of this particular training cycle, I am tired. So, my next challenges will be a few shorter races to keep me excited and motivated. Next week is my second 50K and I am a firm believer that it needs to stay fun to keep me goal oriented and keep that desire to continue to push me to that next level.
I will never be a sub 7:00 runner, so my long runs are almost double the time than faster runners. I have to work on speed work through the end of the year to get me running 4 hr marathons and 5 hour 50k's before moving to the 100k - 100m level. That's my first challenge to elevating me to the next phase.
My business continues to thrive and I love where my professional side is going. Teaching seminars at trade shows across the country, managing my reps and working with the coolest products in the gift and outdoor industry is both rewarding and challenging. Keeping these companies at the forefront of my reps and retailers minds takes persistence.
Challenging myself continues to be a daily dose of fun week after week. I hope you are working towards your next goal whether professionally or personally. There is nothing more wonderful than crossing the finish line or closing a sale! They both rock!
On my run this morning - I find there really is a difference running in sneakers and running in my VFF's. There is something so primal - and while feeling raw with the pitter - patter of wet pavement below me my thoughts begin to travel into a world of their own. One of those thoughts goes to a power point presentation that I am creating for an upcoming seminar that I'm teaching Wednesday at the upcoming Las Vegas Souvenir & Resorts show for NARB. (The National Assoc. of Retail Buyers) Social media doesn't mean you have to be social. It's the intentions behind what you post that is most important.
It's funny, when I ask people to look at their Twitter feed or Facebook statuses as if it were the first time they were seeing them, I ask "do you think it represents who you really are?" Some people see that they aren't actually representing themselves in a good light - or it's all about specific hobbies. This is all fine if it is purely to speak your voice and that's all. If you are using social media for your business - then that's a different story. I always suggest to people that they create a business page for the sole purpose of sharing information about your specific niche while maintaining a personal page for friends and family. Finding balance between fun and informative will make you successful and popular.
(muddy pic from left to right is Me, Jerri and Jo)
One of my best friends, Tanya came up to Portland for the weekend. We have been planning this trip for a while and no one could prepare us for the amazing time that it was!
Saturday kicked it all off with The Warrior Dash. If you have never done this type of race or event before then you should absolutely put it on your calendar for 2011. They do these events all over the US. Grab some friends, make a costume and then insert laughter and mud. It's pretty awesome and I'm looking forward to doing the next one.
The evening was filled with good food and some beer - great for recovery by the way! :-)
Sunday we were sore and bruised from Warrior Dash but our spirits were good! The Pints2Pasta 10K was right downstairs from our home and the excitement was building. You can see the Spaghetti Factory from our balcony and the buses were lined up to shuttle all of us up to the start of the race which was at ADIDAS HQ. Today was a challenge for Tanya as it was her first road 10K and for me it was the first time I've ran 6.2 miles in my Vibram Five Fingers. My feet felt great while running and today on a recovery day - my feet, shins and calves feel awesome!
We ended Sunday with a short hike up to Multnomah Falls and enjoyed dim-sum for brunch. It was a great weekend that were filled with "golden moments." It was a weekend to remember always.
So today I ran 3 miles in my VFF's. The differences that I am noticing within these first two-weeks while on my long runs - my arch pain has decreased to almost none. Even after my 20-miler this past Sunday - I was tired, but still ready to rock 'n' roll!
Some of the other differences are that my calves recover better - though they are sore from stairs, hill repeats and increasing mileage - they also feel more rested faster. I'm looking forward to increasing my mileage and will continue to let you guys know.
I really enjoyed my first run today in my new Vibram FiveFingers! Running barefoot takes a little getting used to - but it gives me a new freedom and I'll enjoy logging on some additional miles.
I did a little video today to keep track of how I'm feeling while testing these new shoes out.
"When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves." ~Victor Frankl
