To Race or Not to Race?

This summer I got myself hyped to do my first triathlon. To my surprise, I ended up doing two sprint distances. In August, I did the Tri the Worx sprint and then in September I did my first open water swim at the White Lake - Dash for Divas triathlon. August was challenging for it's distance and September was challenging because of the open water swim.

Here we are in October, and now I am wondering where to go with my training next? I worked hard at each other the three sports and I enjoyed the workouts because each day was different. Now triathlon season is coming to an end and I am looking for my next challenge.

I loathe running on the treadmill for long periods of time so my running workouts have not been great as of lately. There are two running races on my horizon that I am currently "working" towards, Old Reliable 10k and the Turkey Trot 8k. I know for sure that I will be doing the Trukey Trot (I have challenged everyone I know to join me), but will I be ready in time to do the 10k at the beginning of November?

Pushing through boring workouts is the hardest thing for me, and not having anyone to motivate me makes it even worse. So here are the epiphanies I have had recently: Running without music (for whatever reason) makes the time go by faster for me, I used to think I could never run without it. If you have to be on a treadmill speed intervals and hills are your best friend. And finally, there is no way I will work out from home, so if I am running I run from work or at the gym, this way I don't even have the option to sit down (even for just one second!) and relax.

My current goal is to get my butt ready for some running races, at least one before it is super cold outside! What is goals are you shooting for this fall/winter?

Steve Jobs: Millennial Motivator

Steve Jobs has passed away, far too early if you ask me. The innovations that he has produced over the years have changed the way we listen to music, communicate and learn. We also have some of our favorite childhood movies to thank him for: Toy Story (1,2 & 3), Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo and Cars.

But he didn’t just leave millennials with great childhood movies, iPods and iPhones, he left us with a piece of mind about our future:

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And, the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.” - Steve Jobs

This quote is what makes our generation unique. This is what we have been told our whole lives. We should strive to do something that we love and make a difference doing what we love. As each of us enters the workforce and gains more and more experience, I think we will see dreamers quickly become doers. We will no longer be saying “I’d love to do this” but we will be saying, “I do this because I love it”. Steve Jobs believed we could find that career that would make us exceptional, now we have to believe it.

Insist on Taking That Position

There is something to be said for finding your place in the workplace. After spending the better part of two years trying to figure where I fit and how I was going to make it to a position I actually wanted, an opportunity finally came around. Over two years with the same company finally paid off, after hounding different players (including the VP) of our marketing department, I think I had finally made it clear what I could bring to their team.

Let me remind you, I have applied for 3 marketing positions with our company and was passed up for each one. After the third, I vowed I was done and would make something happen in my current department or look outside the company. Miraculously, I was not forgotten by those who I had interviewed with (or even just chatted with) on the team. The major players of the marketing team worked out some positions, and a Marketing – Editor position was suddenly available. I had no intentions of applying for this after so many fails, but after some discussion with others decided to go for. And who knew I was who they had in mind for it the whole time?

I can genuinely say I have found a happy niche to get a career started and I am FINALLY utilizing my college degree in Journalism. I have already learned so much about marketing and communications, and I’m sure that won’t stop anytime soon.

But perseverance is key when trying to get into that position of your dreams. You may feel like you are being annoying (I know I did), but look at it as being unforgettable. Show your future boss what you can bring to the table and the experience you have already had (if you are staying with the same company show what you know about the product and operations). If you are really ballsy, pitch a promotion idea to the marketing team or talk about how you think you can better the processes in an operations department. In this day and age, it is so much better to stand out than to go with the flow.