Looking at Google Trends this week, there has been a steady three month increase in the number of search requests and news references for the words "telecommute" and "telecommuting." Following this thread I flipped over to Google News and saw a stream of articles outlining the benefits of a 4-day work week or employing telecommuting to cut back on the miles driven to work and the dollars spent on fuel.
I am lucky to be a part of a company that has offered most of its employees the opportunity to work from home on a regular basis. I prefer to work from an office most of the time because driving there helps me turn my focus towards the work at hand. Also, working in an office helps when I have an idea to discuss with my coworkers there. I work in a small office that is 30 minutes away from my house. I usually end up working from home one or two days a week to keep my driving at an acceptable level.
I remember a couple years ago I started working from home five days a week. Working from home has its pros and cons as many of the articles penned recently will illustrate, but I'm not about to build upon this list that pops up every time gas prices trend upward. No, you see when I started telecommuting I had lots of coworkers to learn the ins and outs of the home working arrangement. I received some sage advice from one of my coworkers in New York who put it very simply. He said, "Brian, to work from home you have to be disciplined." That's it. I had to ponder this advice for some time and even struggled with it as I transitioned from driving 30 minutes to work to walking a few steps to work. I was lucky to have coworkers with experience working from home or else my transition would not have gone as well as it did.
I regularly read one website that may help newly minted telecommuters, aptly named Web Worker Daily. It's geared more towards people working in the technology and creative industries from home, but there are some useful tips and tools that they list throughout their daily posts. I've also read numerous articles about Sun Microsystems embracing telecommuting arrangements for over 50% of its employees (helps Sun save money on operating costs and facilities maintenance). Whatever your reasons for telecommuting, make sure you don't loose the benefit of face to face contact, whether it is with your coworkers or folks in your business network.
To all of the new telecommuters, how will your organization teach you to telecommute? Are there organizations that can help a company make a smooth telecommuting transition? What lessons have been learned and what technologies or processes work best to maintain the benefits of working in an office?
6.30.2008
6.25.2008
Bicycles
Reading the news this week it's starting to look like the fuel price increases are forcing change in human transportation habits:
Surging petrol prices puts breaks on driving
Taiwan's economics minister, Yiing Chii-ming said, "People will need to adjust their lifestyles"
Peak season driving being curbed...
Keeping on the theme of bicycles, more attention is being paid to bicycling by large corporations. Check out Puma's site that highlights cyclist in New York here. There's a cool movie about Matthew McGuiness and his work refreshing old abandoned bikes. The movie highlights Matthew's work and offers a link to Recycle-A-Bicycle in New York. I enjoy seeing someone take someone's trash and making it into someone else's treasure.
If you're in the Midwest, more specifically Chicago, and you want to donate a bike you're not using or help rebuild donated bicycles check out this site: The Recyclery.
Bottom line here, I really think that we are going to have to part ways with our dependence on automobiles. Long live the bicycle! While I save for a new bicycle I'll opt for running or walking as much as I can. Ring, ring!
Surging petrol prices puts breaks on driving
Taiwan's economics minister, Yiing Chii-ming said, "People will need to adjust their lifestyles"
Peak season driving being curbed...
Keeping on the theme of bicycles, more attention is being paid to bicycling by large corporations. Check out Puma's site that highlights cyclist in New York here. There's a cool movie about Matthew McGuiness and his work refreshing old abandoned bikes. The movie highlights Matthew's work and offers a link to Recycle-A-Bicycle in New York. I enjoy seeing someone take someone's trash and making it into someone else's treasure.
If you're in the Midwest, more specifically Chicago, and you want to donate a bike you're not using or help rebuild donated bicycles check out this site: The Recyclery.
Bottom line here, I really think that we are going to have to part ways with our dependence on automobiles. Long live the bicycle! While I save for a new bicycle I'll opt for running or walking as much as I can. Ring, ring!
6.16.2008
May 2008 Mobile Ad Metrics - AdMob
I stumbled across AdMob's monthly mobile ad serving stats one evening after JupiterResearch's analyst Julie Ask linked to AdMob's May 2008 report. Thank you Julie.
The interesting data point for me that was highlighted by AdMob is the mention that "US requests grew 1% May over April which was slower than network growth." Could this be a data point to add to the recession bag of data points? I do believe we are falling on hard economic times in the US and globally due to a plethora of reasons - global food consumption, natural disasters, fuel demand and lending standards - to name a few.
What could be made of this one single data point from a mobile advertising network provider? Think of the possibilities...maybe everyone with iPhones turned their iPhone 1.0 off and is trying to sell it on eBay so they can afford the 3G iPhone. Maybe US workers are working more hours and spending less time on their mobile browsers due to the economy. Or, is there some other factor impacting the US ad requests served by AdMob?
The interesting data point for me that was highlighted by AdMob is the mention that "US requests grew 1% May over April which was slower than network growth." Could this be a data point to add to the recession bag of data points? I do believe we are falling on hard economic times in the US and globally due to a plethora of reasons - global food consumption, natural disasters, fuel demand and lending standards - to name a few.
What could be made of this one single data point from a mobile advertising network provider? Think of the possibilities...maybe everyone with iPhones turned their iPhone 1.0 off and is trying to sell it on eBay so they can afford the 3G iPhone. Maybe US workers are working more hours and spending less time on their mobile browsers due to the economy. Or, is there some other factor impacting the US ad requests served by AdMob?
Shifts in the Landscape
It's time to pick up the blog again. For those following my blog last year, I apologize for dropping off the face of the earth. To anyone just coming across this blog I am delighted to know you stopped by. I am going to start posting again next week, once a week. Until next week I hope you have a great week -- here in the Midwest we are rejoicing that the weather this week is sunny with a high of 75.
8.09.2007
Hedge Funds Looking Complex Like Microsoft?
Quite a lot of volatility has entered the U.S. capital markets system over the past month and there are many opinions on what is to blame. I have heard a few people point the finger at the mortgage industry, including Bear Stearns and Countrywide Financial. I do believe they over extended themselves and offered loans to people who were not credit worthy, but that's not why I am writing today.
The purpose of this post is to ponder where the hedge fund industry is heading. Will the routing of the markets clean out over half of the hedge funds and at least one major bank like Jeremy Grantham, money manager and chairman at Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo & Co. LLC, hypothesized last week? Will funds caught in the credit squeeze turn over their assets to larger funds like Sowood did last week? Will consolidation of the hedge fund industry compress returns in the industry as the surviving funds turn their attention to increasing assets under management as opposed to exceeding benchmarks? Will hedge funds become less risky, forgo alpha (innovation) and focus on growing assets under management?
I would point your attention to the software industry for some historical perspective on this matter. Why software? I have spent the last ten years studying the industry in graduate school and work.
Software applications started out simple and they drastically improved productivity out of the gates for a select number of companies able to afford the software (1970's and 1980's). After a while though, more people were able to afford software (1990's). Software companies started tailoring their wares for the masses instead of staying focused on their niches that created their wealth. Software applications became larger, more complex and cumbersome to manage (2000), which was highlighted recently by Sadagopan.
Software companies wrapped their customers into an endless cycle of upgrades and long maintenance contracts. The bigger the software company, the safer IT purchasers were buying their wares, but the efficiency return on the software deployment was bogged down by the size and scope of the large software companies' legacies. Smaller, more nimble software companies were able to focus on current business needs and built software that worked. They provided most IT purchasers willing to take a calculated risk an efficiency return that surpassed the legacy deployments.
Microsoft used to make innovative products that helped increase productivity and provided companies with a sizable return on investment. Now, Microsoft makes most of their money off of maintenance fees from legacy products. Microsoft is not turning out market leading innovations in the software industry, because they don't need to anymore. They have a steady stream of cash coming in due to their maintenance agreements for Office and Windows, which is fine. This could be a similar scenario for very large hedge funds that might continue to collect 2% management fees on billions of assets under management. Consolidation in the industry would help increase the management fee pool, decrease competition for assets and draw funds' attention away from innovation. Microsoft makes sure its technology portfolio does not chase the latest and greatest technology by waiting until the market validates a certain technology, such as the iPod.
The question that lingers in my head is: Will investors continue to accept hedge fund fee structures if funds' focus turns towards assets under management preservation instead of alpha generation? Microsoft was happy to wait a few years after the iPod came out to release the Zune. I hope the hedge fund industry fares better than the Zune.
The purpose of this post is to ponder where the hedge fund industry is heading. Will the routing of the markets clean out over half of the hedge funds and at least one major bank like Jeremy Grantham, money manager and chairman at Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo & Co. LLC, hypothesized last week? Will funds caught in the credit squeeze turn over their assets to larger funds like Sowood did last week? Will consolidation of the hedge fund industry compress returns in the industry as the surviving funds turn their attention to increasing assets under management as opposed to exceeding benchmarks? Will hedge funds become less risky, forgo alpha (innovation) and focus on growing assets under management?
I would point your attention to the software industry for some historical perspective on this matter. Why software? I have spent the last ten years studying the industry in graduate school and work.
Software applications started out simple and they drastically improved productivity out of the gates for a select number of companies able to afford the software (1970's and 1980's). After a while though, more people were able to afford software (1990's). Software companies started tailoring their wares for the masses instead of staying focused on their niches that created their wealth. Software applications became larger, more complex and cumbersome to manage (2000), which was highlighted recently by Sadagopan.
Software companies wrapped their customers into an endless cycle of upgrades and long maintenance contracts. The bigger the software company, the safer IT purchasers were buying their wares, but the efficiency return on the software deployment was bogged down by the size and scope of the large software companies' legacies. Smaller, more nimble software companies were able to focus on current business needs and built software that worked. They provided most IT purchasers willing to take a calculated risk an efficiency return that surpassed the legacy deployments.
Microsoft used to make innovative products that helped increase productivity and provided companies with a sizable return on investment. Now, Microsoft makes most of their money off of maintenance fees from legacy products. Microsoft is not turning out market leading innovations in the software industry, because they don't need to anymore. They have a steady stream of cash coming in due to their maintenance agreements for Office and Windows, which is fine. This could be a similar scenario for very large hedge funds that might continue to collect 2% management fees on billions of assets under management. Consolidation in the industry would help increase the management fee pool, decrease competition for assets and draw funds' attention away from innovation. Microsoft makes sure its technology portfolio does not chase the latest and greatest technology by waiting until the market validates a certain technology, such as the iPod.
The question that lingers in my head is: Will investors continue to accept hedge fund fee structures if funds' focus turns towards assets under management preservation instead of alpha generation? Microsoft was happy to wait a few years after the iPod came out to release the Zune. I hope the hedge fund industry fares better than the Zune.
8.08.2007
Corn Fields for Sale? - Part 2
Thanks to Monica Davey over at the NYTimes for an excellent article today exploring the rising price of farmland in the Midwest. Ms. Davey's article focuses on the costs of farmland and how that is impacting the next generation of farmers, making it costly for them to expand operations. With the consumer real estate market in a funk and commercial looking overvalued, the dollars of investors are turning to the fields of green. Here's one data point from the NYTimes article that illustrates the trend in farmland pricing:
That's a 2400% increase in price for 80 acres of land. Based upon 2006 figures posted by the University of Illinois, corn fields should yield roughly 183 bushels per acre. Corn's per bushel price of $3.095 on 8/7/07 puts the per acre revenue close to $566. That makes the $10,000 per acre auction price seem extremely overvalued, but as I stated before I am not that in the know on farmland prices and operations, just an observer. Here's what the experts are saying in Ms. Davey's article:
All of these figures make it sound like farming is headed for its own bubble. On the bright side, it's still a deal when you consider that east of DeKalb in Naperville an acre of land can cost over $250,000 according to Realestate.com (a truly unfair comparison since that's for residential land). Will changes in ethanol demand cause these racing prices to slow down or will global demand for grain fuel a long term farmland price increase? Maybe, check out David Frum's commentary from today's Marketplace Morning report:
I guess we'll have to wait to see what happens with farmland prices, for now I will keep on counting for-sale signs on my drive to and from work.
Thanks to Abnormal Returns and Techdirt for the heads up on the NYTimes article.
"While much of the nation worries about a slumping real estate market, people in Midwestern farm country are experiencing exactly the opposite. Take, for instance, the farm here — nearly 80 acres of corn and soybeans off a gravel road in a universe of corn and soybeans — that sold for $10,000 an acre at auction this spring, a price that astonished even the auctioneer.
“If they had seen that day, they would have never believed it,” Penny Layman said of her sister and brother-in-law, who paid $32,000 for the entire spread in 1962 and whose deaths led to the sale."
That's a 2400% increase in price for 80 acres of land. Based upon 2006 figures posted by the University of Illinois, corn fields should yield roughly 183 bushels per acre. Corn's per bushel price of $3.095 on 8/7/07 puts the per acre revenue close to $566. That makes the $10,000 per acre auction price seem extremely overvalued, but as I stated before I am not that in the know on farmland prices and operations, just an observer. Here's what the experts are saying in Ms. Davey's article:
"In central Illinois, prime farmland is selling for about $5,000 an acre on average, up from just over $3,000 an acre five years ago, a study showed. In Nebraska, meanwhile, land values rose 17 percent in the first quarter of this year over the same time last year, the swiftest such gain in more than a quarter century, said Jason R. Henderson, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank in Kansas City.
A federal-government analysis of farm real estate values released Friday showed record average-per-acre values across the country. The analysis said property prices averaged $2,160 an acre at the start of 2007, up 14 percent from a year earlier.
“For everyone who owns an acre of land, we love this,” said Dale E. Aupperle, a professional farm manager and real estate consultant in Decatur, Ill., who said the rising land values were being driven by rising commodity prices (though corn has dropped some since June) and the prospect of increased demand for ethanol."
All of these figures make it sound like farming is headed for its own bubble. On the bright side, it's still a deal when you consider that east of DeKalb in Naperville an acre of land can cost over $250,000 according to Realestate.com (a truly unfair comparison since that's for residential land). Will changes in ethanol demand cause these racing prices to slow down or will global demand for grain fuel a long term farmland price increase? Maybe, check out David Frum's commentary from today's Marketplace Morning report:
"When you hear about the worldwide commodities boom, don't just think oil. Think fertilizer, wood, cocoa — the ingredients for the basic necessities and little luxuries that people start buying when their incomes rise above subsistence.
Asia today is looking like Europe and America in 1900 — and the commodity price charts of 2007 look a lot like those of a century ago."
I guess we'll have to wait to see what happens with farmland prices, for now I will keep on counting for-sale signs on my drive to and from work.
Thanks to Abnormal Returns and Techdirt for the heads up on the NYTimes article.
8.06.2007
Running Log 7/23/07-8/6/07
Total 7/23-8/6/2007
Terrain: Paved roads, concrete sidewalks and crushed limestone
Gear: Brooks Adrenaline GTS, Asics GT-2120 and Nike+ armband with Apple iPod Nano 1st Generation 2GB
Mileage: 34 miles, 7 days of running, 8 days of rest
Time: 270:00
Perceived effort (1=All out; 5=Light): 2.5
Warm up: 5 minutes stretching
Cool down: 15 minutes walking and stretching
Comments: I can't believe how quickly summer is passing by and that the Bix 7 has already come and gone. I had a blast running the course this year after a two year hiatus. There were 15,002 participants in this year's race with over 5/8 of them running the race. The Davenport community does an amazing job supporting the racers. Every bit of the course is filled with spectators, volunteers and musicians helping make sure that we runners have an enjoyable race. My hats of to the community and the race director for this year's Bix was awesome!
Now that the Bix is over, I reached the proverbial fork in the road for the running season for me. Do I keep adding miles to my long run or top out at 7 miles and enjoy the rest of the summer? I have decided to keep upping the miles and go for my first half marathon. I'm really looking forward to getting some longer runs in over the next few weeks, which will be a challenge due to upcoming travels. I'll keep posting the logs and by this time next month, I will be telling stories of weekend long runs of 12-14 miles.
For now, I wanted to congratulate Marshal for his PR at this year's Bix; thank you for plotting and challenging me on weekend runs. And congratulations to Nick Hird who had an amazing run at the Bix, which was highlighted in the QC Times. Nick works at the Naperville Running Company and helped me pick out my new Asics that will take me on my next couple hundred miles of running. Go! Go! Go!
Here's the stats:
Thursday 8/2 33 minutes 4 miles
Wednesday 8/1 day of rest
Tuesday 7/31 34 minutes 4 miles
Monday 7/30 early round of golf
Sunday 7/29 day of rest, relaxed at home and caught up on some reading
Saturday 7/28 ran the Bix 7 miles at a time of 59:21, which is a PR for my three runs there so far
Friday 7/27 traveled back to the Quad Cities
Thursday 7/26 21 minutes 3.0 miles
Wednesday 7/25 day of rest
Tuesday 7/24 23 minutes 3.0 miles
Monday 7/23 day of rest
Terrain: Paved roads, concrete sidewalks and crushed limestone
Gear: Brooks Adrenaline GTS, Asics GT-2120 and Nike+ armband with Apple iPod Nano 1st Generation 2GB
Mileage: 34 miles, 7 days of running, 8 days of rest
Time: 270:00
Perceived effort (1=All out; 5=Light): 2.5
Warm up: 5 minutes stretching
Cool down: 15 minutes walking and stretching
Comments: I can't believe how quickly summer is passing by and that the Bix 7 has already come and gone. I had a blast running the course this year after a two year hiatus. There were 15,002 participants in this year's race with over 5/8 of them running the race. The Davenport community does an amazing job supporting the racers. Every bit of the course is filled with spectators, volunteers and musicians helping make sure that we runners have an enjoyable race. My hats of to the community and the race director for this year's Bix was awesome!
Now that the Bix is over, I reached the proverbial fork in the road for the running season for me. Do I keep adding miles to my long run or top out at 7 miles and enjoy the rest of the summer? I have decided to keep upping the miles and go for my first half marathon. I'm really looking forward to getting some longer runs in over the next few weeks, which will be a challenge due to upcoming travels. I'll keep posting the logs and by this time next month, I will be telling stories of weekend long runs of 12-14 miles.
For now, I wanted to congratulate Marshal for his PR at this year's Bix; thank you for plotting and challenging me on weekend runs. And congratulations to Nick Hird who had an amazing run at the Bix, which was highlighted in the QC Times. Nick works at the Naperville Running Company and helped me pick out my new Asics that will take me on my next couple hundred miles of running. Go! Go! Go!
Here's the stats:
Monday 8/6 day of rest
Sunday 8/5 85:00, 9 miles - this was a hot and muggy run, but extremely fun run up and down the Fox River in Illinois. I can't wait for longer runs to explore more areas along the river.
Saturday 8/4 32:40, 4 miles
Friday 8/3 day of restSunday 8/5 85:00, 9 miles - this was a hot and muggy run, but extremely fun run up and down the Fox River in Illinois. I can't wait for longer runs to explore more areas along the river.
Saturday 8/4 32:40, 4 miles
Thursday 8/2 33 minutes 4 miles
Wednesday 8/1 day of rest
Tuesday 7/31 34 minutes 4 miles
Monday 7/30 early round of golf
Sunday 7/29 day of rest, relaxed at home and caught up on some reading
Saturday 7/28 ran the Bix 7 miles at a time of 59:21, which is a PR for my three runs there so far
Friday 7/27 traveled back to the Quad Cities
Thursday 7/26 21 minutes 3.0 miles
Wednesday 7/25 day of rest
Tuesday 7/24 23 minutes 3.0 miles
Monday 7/23 day of rest
8.01.2007
Corn Fields for Sale?
On several occasions driving home from work this summer I have marveled at the number of acres of farm land for sale in DeKalb and Kane counties in Illinois. I believe the number of acres of farm land for sale this year has increased significantly yy. I don't have the statistics to back up this observation yet, just my own frame of reference. The same roads have led me from home to work for the last six years. I admit to being out of touch with the farm land real estate market, but it's obvious to me based upon the increased number of signs that something is afoot.
Does this mean land owners are selling high? Or, are we on the verge of farm land price boom, similar to the housing price boom experienced over the last 10 years or so?
Does this mean land owners are selling high? Or, are we on the verge of farm land price boom, similar to the housing price boom experienced over the last 10 years or so?
7.25.2007
Hate your iPhone? Give it away, to me.
The one month later reviews of the iPhone hit the Internet last week (here's a positive iPhone review by Scoble) and I am sure there are some unhappy iPhone owners out there. I welcome all the negative reviews of the iPhone because this creates an opportunity. For all of you famous bloggers, amateur bloggers and journalists out there panning the iPhone, how about giving yours to me?
Really, I am serious. I don't have the funds available to buy one now, but I was happy as a kid in a candy store when I got a chance to play with an iPhone at the Apple store. Fellow iPhone haters, you said you were not impressed with the interface and felt the device was not worthy of your enterprise needs, so why not purge yourself of an inferior piece of technology by giving it to me.
Here's my official offer: I will happily take anyone's iPhone that still works and that they are unhappy with but unwilling or unable to return it. On top of that I am willing to pay for the shipping of the iPhone to my house. Post a comment if you are interested in my offer with your name and email address. Please no crazy hoop jumping, this is a simple request for a real iPhone, I am not looking for any scams.
Really, I am serious. I don't have the funds available to buy one now, but I was happy as a kid in a candy store when I got a chance to play with an iPhone at the Apple store. Fellow iPhone haters, you said you were not impressed with the interface and felt the device was not worthy of your enterprise needs, so why not purge yourself of an inferior piece of technology by giving it to me.
Here's my official offer: I will happily take anyone's iPhone that still works and that they are unhappy with but unwilling or unable to return it. On top of that I am willing to pay for the shipping of the iPhone to my house. Post a comment if you are interested in my offer with your name and email address. Please no crazy hoop jumping, this is a simple request for a real iPhone, I am not looking for any scams.
7.23.2007
Spotty Running
Total 7/8-7/22/2007
Terrain: Paved roads and concrete sidewalks
Gear: Brooks Adrenaline GTS and Nike+ armband with Apple iPod Nano 1st Generation 2GB
Frequency: 2x week
Mileage: 30.3 miles
Time: 270:00
Perceived effort (1=All out; 5=Light): 3.5
Warm up: 5 minutes stretching
Cool down: 15 minutes walking and stretching
Comments: Lots of changes took place recently, which threw off my schedule and my running regiment. I am happily back on schedule and running again. This coming weekend is the Bix 7, which I am fully ready to run. I can't wait to feel the rush of lining up with thousands of people facing the long beginning hill climb. I am feeling a bit nervous for the race since its been a while since I have run it, but that's a good thing. All-in-all, I am going to finish the race, enjoy my Twinkie at the end and then start gearing up for the Chicago Half Marathon in September.
I bought some new shoes, which I will comment on next time around after I break them in and can give a more thorough review here. I picked them up over the weekend at the Naperville Running Company, which is my favorite place to pick up shoes. They staff the store with knowledgeable and friendly runners who live and race in the area. The staff will consult with you on how much you are running per week, whether you are training for any specific distance race, what shoes you have worn in the past and watch how your foot moves as you walk to allow them to suggest a few shoes to try on. They bring the shoes out and tell you to pay attention to the fit of the shoe, not how the shoe looks. I am a huge fan of their consultative approach they take. I feel completely at ease in the store and always learn about a new shoe technology or race in the area. The young man that helped me grew up in Rock Island and was now living in Naperville. He will be back in the Quad Cities for the Bix 7 running this weekend. Have a great race and enjoy the after party! Go! Go! Go!
As a side note to my Naperville Running Company experience. I found out that they sponsor some of their workers. The sponsorship covers their living expenses and then some. In return they work at the store, run in area races wearing Naperville Running Company gear and help out at any store sponsored races. This is a great opportunity for someone who loves running and wants to stay involved in the community while helping others enjoy running. Keep up the great work there, I would be lost in a sea of shoes if it were not for you.
Here's the data:
Sunday 7/22 22 minutes 3.0 miles
Saturday 7/21 76 minutes 8.4 miles
Friday 7/20 no running
Thursday 7/19 no running
Wednesday 7/18 no running
Tuesday 7/17 no running
Monday 7/16 day of rest
Sunday 7/15 76 minutes 8.4 miles
Saturday 7/14 OK, excuses are getting bad
Friday 7/13 I thought I was stronger than I was yesterday
Thursday 7/12 moving day at the office
Wednesday 7/11 38 minutes 4.5 miles
Tuesday 7/10 day of rest
Monday 7/9 day of rest
Sunday 7/8 58 minutes 6 miles smoking hot out on the trail and windy...tried to go 7, but temps topping out around 90 and high humidity caused me to check out early to avoid over doing it
Terrain: Paved roads and concrete sidewalks
Gear: Brooks Adrenaline GTS and Nike+ armband with Apple iPod Nano 1st Generation 2GB
Frequency: 2x week
Mileage: 30.3 miles
Time: 270:00
Perceived effort (1=All out; 5=Light): 3.5
Warm up: 5 minutes stretching
Cool down: 15 minutes walking and stretching
Comments: Lots of changes took place recently, which threw off my schedule and my running regiment. I am happily back on schedule and running again. This coming weekend is the Bix 7, which I am fully ready to run. I can't wait to feel the rush of lining up with thousands of people facing the long beginning hill climb. I am feeling a bit nervous for the race since its been a while since I have run it, but that's a good thing. All-in-all, I am going to finish the race, enjoy my Twinkie at the end and then start gearing up for the Chicago Half Marathon in September.
I bought some new shoes, which I will comment on next time around after I break them in and can give a more thorough review here. I picked them up over the weekend at the Naperville Running Company, which is my favorite place to pick up shoes. They staff the store with knowledgeable and friendly runners who live and race in the area. The staff will consult with you on how much you are running per week, whether you are training for any specific distance race, what shoes you have worn in the past and watch how your foot moves as you walk to allow them to suggest a few shoes to try on. They bring the shoes out and tell you to pay attention to the fit of the shoe, not how the shoe looks. I am a huge fan of their consultative approach they take. I feel completely at ease in the store and always learn about a new shoe technology or race in the area. The young man that helped me grew up in Rock Island and was now living in Naperville. He will be back in the Quad Cities for the Bix 7 running this weekend. Have a great race and enjoy the after party! Go! Go! Go!
As a side note to my Naperville Running Company experience. I found out that they sponsor some of their workers. The sponsorship covers their living expenses and then some. In return they work at the store, run in area races wearing Naperville Running Company gear and help out at any store sponsored races. This is a great opportunity for someone who loves running and wants to stay involved in the community while helping others enjoy running. Keep up the great work there, I would be lost in a sea of shoes if it were not for you.
Here's the data:
Sunday 7/22 22 minutes 3.0 miles
Saturday 7/21 76 minutes 8.4 miles
Friday 7/20 no running
Thursday 7/19 no running
Wednesday 7/18 no running
Tuesday 7/17 no running
Monday 7/16 day of rest
Sunday 7/15 76 minutes 8.4 miles
Saturday 7/14 OK, excuses are getting bad
Friday 7/13 I thought I was stronger than I was yesterday
Thursday 7/12 moving day at the office
Wednesday 7/11 38 minutes 4.5 miles
Tuesday 7/10 day of rest
Monday 7/9 day of rest
Sunday 7/8 58 minutes 6 miles smoking hot out on the trail and windy...tried to go 7, but temps topping out around 90 and high humidity caused me to check out early to avoid over doing it
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