What have I been up to? Well, that's easy - a lot! Since I last wrote, I have been to Montreal with Mark. We spent Inauguration Weekend in Canada, where we felt free and happy. We went to Igloofest, which is an EDM festival in the middle of winter. It was chilly, but we had such a wonderful time in Montreal. I wish I could have used my limited French more, but people kept speaking English to us. D'oh!
My next adventure was Austin, TX. Under Armour was bringing people from Fleet Feet into town to show us their latest shoes, which are Record Equipped. In their shoes, there is a chip, which once activated, and synched can track your running, via the Map My Run app. I remember when Under Armour first introduced shoes. Gotta say back then I wasn't impressed. Boy what do a few years of development do for a company. While I have too wide a foot for the shoes, I liked them, and I found the app/chip combo easy to use. I highly recommend giving them a try.Austin is a great town, but what the heck is it doing in Texas??? It's like someone took Portland, OR, gave it a bit of a twang, and moved it to Texas. Plenty of Tex/Mex food(for those who like it), some great beer(which I really enjoyed), and a great attitude in the town.
Of course, I am working and running. People ask me many things about what I am doing. First of all, it's difficult to call it a job, as I don't think of it as such. I wear many hats. First and foremost, I am a student. I am learning the business from the ground up. Now, I know you are saying, "Charlie you have been in run specialty for 10 years, what do you need to learn?" PLENTY! Everyone has a way of doing business, and I am learning this way, as it will be my future.
I have been working in the stores, fitting customers. I've learned visual merchandising. I work on digital media, I've learned how to order footwear. Mostly, I've learned how to think like an owner, which is very different from thinking like a manager. You view business differently from the lens of an owner. Your decisions take on more importance, and you have to learn to train people to know what you know, and then delegate, so you can focus on the success of your people, and the growth of the business.While there is a lot of work, I do have fun. There isn't a day I don't enjoy something I am doing. I also get to work alongside some amazing people. The guy to the left is Ben. Ben and I are both in the Leadership Development Program, and I could not ask for a better partner in crime. We joke that maybe they should let us co-own a store, but then we would have to promise to use our powers for good.
While I have the work side going well, the running side of life gets better for me. Mark and I are training for the Tobacco Road Half Marathon in mid-March. We have been working with a trainer at the gym, who has really focused our training on an interval system, which is heart rate based. The goal is to get to a point where we run long as we can before walking, and do that at a sustained pace. I have been able to hit a 8min run/ 1min walk interval, and I feel good doing it. Am I fast? No. Will I finish the race? Yes! This is the best I have felt about running in a while.
Mark is enjoying it, and now gets that we don't have to run together. We can go at our own paces, and it's fine. Typically he is just ahead of me, listening to his music. I focus on my form, pace and breathing. So it all works. The picture to the right is after a 4 mile run. At this writing, we will go for 8 miles today. The race is in 3 weeks, so I feel we are on a good pace to accomplish the race.At this point in life, I am in a great place. I love where I live, which I know is temporary. I love the business. Running life is good. Mark and I are in a great place, so it is all working.
So now it's time to lace up the shoes....and head out on a run.
Charlie
