Nerd Alert

A not-so-secret secret about me is that I’m a huge nerd.  From my favorite classes in high school (AP Calculus and Latin), to my college choice, to my ratio of hours spent studying / hours spent drinking in college, to my lifelong tendency to have my nose in a book, this is hardly breaking news to anyone who knows me well.

These days, my nerdiness is manifesting itself in a growing interest in software development – not just the practice itself (I don’t know how to code …. yet), but in the process – how the inputs both from a technical and a business perspective affect the outcome, which in turn affects the success of the product and the business as well as the morale of the team and the company as a whole.  It’s fascinating to me how it’s all tied together, and how difficult it is to get it right.

I currently work at an early stage healthcare technology company and am in the process of transitioning from a hybrid account/product management role (you do whatever’s necessary in the beginning, not just what your job is) to a full time product management role, as we’ve grown and matured enough to actually need a product manager (yay growth!  Sometimes startups are scary …..).  The question of how to manage this cycle properly is squarely in the middle of my thoughts day in and day out, and I’m fascinated by the science and psychology of it.  As a company, we’ve chosen to follow agile development principles and use the (InVivoLink – interpreted) scrum methodology to dictate our development cycle.

So what the heck does all of this software development mumbo-jumbo have to do with running?  About a week ago, I realized that I’ve started applying agile/scrum methodology to my training plans and running philosophy.

It’s a little different, but it’s working for me, and I love a good “tie it all back together” realization.

So, what are agile and scrum?

Agile is an idea that was defined in 2001 in the agile manifesto that describes 4 important values that drive the software development process for an agile team:

“Individuals and interactions over processes and tools

Working software over comprehensive documentation

Customer collaboration over contract negotiation

Responding to change over following a plan

That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.”

Scrum is defined as an iterative agile framework, with the focus on “a flexible, holistic product development strategy where a development team works as a unit to reach a common goal” as opposed to a “traditional, sequential approach.”  (Source – “New New Product Development Game”. Harvard Business Review 86116:137–146, 1986. January 1, 1986. Retrieved March 12, 2013.”  Is sourcing something relevant on a blog?  Don’t want to get points off for incorrect structure 😉  Their philosophy was that the team works toward the broader goal in short, defined bursts (in our case, 2 weeks) and that at the end of each one of those bursts (sprints, ironically) you re-evaluate what’s been accomplished and plan for the next sprint.  You always keep the sprints the same amount of time, and both the time spent reflecting on the last sprint and planning for the next sprint are incredibly important to the process.

I could go into all kinds of crazy detail about the ins and outs of the philosophy, the details of scrum and how we’ve adapted it to fit out team’s needs, but that would bore you to tears.  What’s actually relevant here is how I’ve applied it to my half marathon training – and how that’s really working.

In terms of overall principles, the agile philosophy is remarkably reflective of how I’ve realized I need to train – I have a broad goal (for now – Country Music Half.  Later this year – Chicago Marathon), and while I have a general plan to get there, I know it needs to be flexible (responding to change over following a plan) according to my schedule and how I feel (working software over comprehensive documentation).  I’m using advice from running friends and blogs (individual interactions over processes and tools) and really trying to listen to what my body is telling me is good and bad (customer collaboration over contract negotiation).

Now, that doesn’t mean I’m not following a plan.  That, after all, is why we use scrum – to bring some order and accountability to the process.  Instead of a big, long, 18 week plan though, I’m planning in two-week spurts.  Every other Sunday, I’m planning out the next two weeks.  This works well, because I’m more likely to know what my schedule for two weeks will look like than two months (though honestly two weeks is stretching it, but that’s where the flexibility comes in – it’s not set in stone, it’s just more likely followed).

I write the plan in this cute journal I found on etsy – the plan is on the top line in black, then actual gets written in color below (and the day crossed out when it’s done) – shoe mileage and paces for different types of runs are in empty space at the bottom.  I also log it electronically in mapmyrun so I can upload specific garmin stats and spit out all sorts of nerdy graphs that make me happy.

Cute Journal from Etsy!

If you look closely, you can see how little I ran in January

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In case you’re wondering, we use a tool called Trello to manage a slightly more complicated process at work.  It’s been (and still is) a work in progress, but if any fellow nerds are reading this and interested – here’s a great summary one of our all-star developers put together about the process of building a process at our company http://rileystrong.com/post/43378669576/how-invivolink-simplifies-software-development-using#_=_.

Lord have mercy, if anyone is still here – thanks for reading.  Sincerely.  This is mostly a gut check of how I’m thinking about things, and a personal commitment to stick to this “planning plan” that seems to be working for me.  After all, though, gotta respond to change, so I’ll keep my loyal readers (all 5 of you …) posted on any changes to the methodology.

Running Cheering Faux Pas

I think most runners agree that this sign, or someone yelling “you’re almost there” is pretty much never actually very helpful unless they’re about 10 feet away from the finish line:

 

(Though props for the That’s What She Said – never gets old)

Not what I want to see at mile 12.5 of a half (and I’m sure whenever I run a full if someone says this at mile 25 I’ll want to murder them).  What I didn’t think about until it was too late yesterday is that the same applies no matter how long the race.  Last night we did a 2 mile time trial at Speed Sessions.  I’m proud of how I did, not proud of the fact that I proceeded to cheer for those finishing after me with a hearty “great job, you’re almost there!!” from about 200 yards before the end.  200 yards left in a 2 mile run still feels like a lot.  Sorry guys.  Meant to encourage, not annoy.   (Not that anyone affected would be reading this, except maybe Tess (so good to meet you in person!) – who ran a speedy 2 miles and was finished before being subjected to my cheering.)

What was great about last night was seeing the progress everyone is making.  It’s amazing what just a few weeks of focused speed work can do!  It was so inspiring to see some friends run faster than they thought possible.  Looking forward to seeing how far we can come with 4 more weeks!

 

Runner Etiquette / Strategy / When Competitive Spirit Interrupts a Slow Run

In the last year, I’ve learned lots about rules of the road, runner etiquette (and safety), and various pet peeves – both my own and those of the broader runner community.  Little did I know last January when I started running consistently that there were so many unwritten rules, and so many particular preferences.

A new rule, that’s really more of a strategy or personal preference, occurred to me this morning.  T’s grandmother turned 80 this weekend, so the extended family congregated in south Florida to celebrate.  I managed to find some time early this morning to slip out for a long-ish run between a number of fun family activities, and as I was enjoying the amazingly perfect conditions of a Florida March morning, realized that it was the first time in awhile I’d gone out for a significant number of miles by myself.  Between running groups for weekend long run company, friends who I’ve joined for mid-week runs, speed sessions with a group, or the treadmill with fellow road warriors seeking sanity in the Hampton Inn, what used to be a several times a week occurrence has become more rare.  While I really love company during a run, it was nice to have some time to alternately think and zone out, and to contemplate everything going on around me – from the hundreds (literally – well, I think, there were several very large groups) of cyclists I passed throughout 7+ miles, to a few fellow runners, lots of walkers, plenty of dogs, and the mansions of Palm Beach.

Not the sunrise I saw (no phone with me) but close enough

The aloneness also forced me to confront a running etiquette situation that’s happened before but not recently, and that quite frankly I probably over-analyzed, but it did occupy my mind for a good 2.5 miles.  I was running along a path wide enough for maybe 3 people and there was typical 2-way traffic.  It wasn’t too crowded, but I had to weave around some walkers and one quite slow older gentleman admirably plodding along.  I sure hope I’m still pounding the pavement at his age.  The question came when a girl probably around my age jogged on to the path about 100 yards ahead of me and was moving roughly my speed, but it eventually became clear I was gaining on her.  Not quickly, but very gradually and I had to decide what to do.  Now, honestly, many (probably most) times, I wouldn’t think twice and I’d just take it as a bit of a challenge and speed up past her and be on my merry way.  This morning, though, it was all about slow and easy.  I’m still recovering from last weekend (and the birthday dinner this night before – don’t underestimate the fun and wine involved in a celebration of 80 years), and while I didn’t feel bad, my legs were sluggish.  I was just cruising along and didn’t want to push or think.  Get in some miles and enjoy the day.  So I began to contemplate what to do – slow down a bit and stay (probably annoyingly) slightly behind her?  Speed up and blow past year (and consequently feel like I had to maintain a faster speed?) Pull up next to her and see if she was interested in a running friend for the day?  (Sometimes I’m too outgoing for my own good, sometimes I’m crazy shy.  When running, I talk too much, which has surprised even me.)  For some reason all of these were options this morning.  Ultimately, it seems like she slowed down and I cruised by her, but it was a difficult decision for awhile.  Because of where/when I run these days, I don’t encounter this too often, but it made me think about the different scenarios that would warrant different reactions.

I’m guessing most people blow by the person (if possible) in these circumstances, but curious whether there’s ever another strategy, and if so, what warrants doing something other than giving into the competitive drive to run past the slower-but-just-barely runner along the way?

If a PR happens on a race course, but there’s no chip to record it, is it still a PR?

Preface: When the following items are included in your race packet, it’s good to remember to use both of them as intended:

Timing Chip – Standard

Race Bib – Standard

I knew this morning wouldn’t be the most ideal race morning.  However, my flight got in a little early last night, the parking lot bus pulled up right as I walked out the door, and I remembered where my car was parked.  Win win win at the airport.  Never happens.  I was thrilled to see T and the pups when I got home, and caught up over some nuun and Jelly Belly Sours (obviously the ideal pre-race food) before heading to bed while T made me a playlist for the race.  He’s the best!

This morning the weather was about as perfect as weather.com had promised it would be.  About 40 when I got in the car, a couple degrees warmer by the time I got to the race start as it was headed toward 60, and slightly sunny.  Shorts and a light long sleeve shirt.  Perfect running weather!

Packet pickup was super quick – this is a relatively small local race and I loved everything about that – and I sat in my car for a few minutes to stay warm while pinning my bib on and getting ready.  Eventually I got out of the car, jogged around a bit to wake up the legs, and headed toward the starting line.  I ran into a few friends along the way, which was great – it’s so nice to chat with familiar people who are nervous and excited, talk about goals, and wish everyone luck.  And not just wander around by myself.

I ran into a very good friend at the actual start who had forgotten his watch.  He had his iPod on him but was trying to figure out how to sync up his planned paces written on his hand and its clock he couldn’t see it well.  I thought about offering to stick with him and keep time for us both, but he was gunning for 1:50:00 and I just didn’t think it was a good idea to go for that time.  Something also bothered me a bit as we laughed about his forgetfulness but I chalked it up as some jitters.

With little warning, the gun sounded and we were off.  I was maybe a minute back of the line since there were only about 1500 people, and had to weave a little bit, but the start was relatively easy to navigate.  I’m realizing I love small races – this was all so low stress! About a mile in, I was starting to get in a groove and realized I was feeling pretty good.  A spectator at that point was holding a sign that made me giggle at first: “Pain is Temporary, Online Race Results Are Forever.”  And then I stopped giggling and looked down.  I had forgotten my timing chip.  I knew something had to go wrong this morning.

Honestly, I was upset with myself for a second and then got over it.  An online record of races completed is nice, but not necessary.  I had my watch on and had started it right at the beginning, so I’d know what my time was.  I had my bib, so I’d be allowed on the field of Titans Stadium to actually finish the race (an AWESOME way to end the race, by the way – would have been super annoyed if I didn’t get to do that).  I felt good, but didn’t think anything monumental would happen today.  And monumental for me certainly wouldn’t mean placing anywhere near the top, so all it really meant was one less online race result for me.  Over it, moving on, no big deal.  Let’s be honest though, had I thought I’d seriously PR, I probably would have dwelled on it further.  I’m admittedly competitive, and literal.  I like indisputable proof that things happened the way I said they did.

The race was ….. lovely.  Weird race description, yes, and the last couple of miles weren’t necessarily lovely, but I settled into a groove, felt good, and watched miles tick by between 8:35 – 8:40.  It was a flat course, kind of boring but just enough change to keep it interesting enough  I kept thinking that I was banking time for when I had to slow down since I hadn’t run anything long at this pace since last fall, but that I’d definitely make it in under 2 hours, so I just stopped worrying about anything.  I chatted with a few people along the way, enjoyed T’s playlist (he now has a new responsibility before races – it was excellent!) and just reveled in the gorgeous day.  After a lot of cold and wind the last few weeks, this was amazing.

Around mile 8, I told myself that if I still felt good at 10 I’d pick it up for the last 3 miles and see what I could do.  I caught up with the watchless friend from the start at mile 10 and we agreed we were ready to finish this thing up.  Even lovely races start to feel rough when you’re just a couple miles from the end.  By the time I caught him, I was running just over an 8 minute pace.  Nervous but feeling good, I mentally committed to trying to stay under 8:15 for the rest of the race.  The last three miles were a huge mental hurdle, but I kept pushing and kept trying to pick it up slightly at each mile marker: 8:11, 8:10, 7:56.   It wasn’t easy, it hurt, but it felt good too.  I also realized what I’ve been training my tired legs to do during speed work – keep going when you’re tired!

As I rounded the corner into the stadium I thanked and high fived a security guard.  Awesome.  We ran out of the tunnel on one 50 yard line, ran around the edge of the field, and ended up at the other 50 yard line.  I looked up when I was running around the end zone and saw everyone crossing the finish line on the big screen, which was awesome!  Highly recommend a race that ends in a professional sports stadium if you ever get the chance.  You feel like a rockstar, if only briefly!

When all was said and done, I obviously don’t have an official time, but Garmin is official enough for me.  3.5 minute PR.  1:51:29.  I’ll take it, and take the incentive to make it happen again so that it’s “official.”

PSA: They make it pretty clear.  Follow these directions.

Yep, No Chip = No Time.

Thoughts on whether this “counts” as a new PR?  I’m totally ok with declaring it a PR but curious whether there’s something wrong with that …. Either way, pretty proud of myself, and what’s even better ….. I know I have more in me!  Sub – 1:50 by the end of the year here I come!

Well That Was Fast

Monday Morning:

7:30 AM, on my way to work, conversation with my mom:

B: Morning Mom!  Guess what, I’m on my way to the office IN NASHVILLE rather than already being half way to Chattanooga on a Monday AM!

Mom: Great!  That’s got to be nice to not be on the road – do you have to travel this week at all?

B: Nope – well, maybe a day  trip to Chattanooga, but that won’t be bad.

20 minutes later, I’m walking into the office and my CEO asks if I have 5 minutes.  10 minutes later, I’m booking a flight to a location halfway across the country leaving Wednesday AM, returning Friday at 10:30 PM.  Some sudden shakeup at the company has all of us scrambling to cover and rearrange our weeks.  So no travel has turned into extensive travel.  Oh well.

Assuming my flight is relatively on time Friday night I still plan to run Saturday.  Though my goals have changed – pretty much sticking with just C: have fun!  It’ll be good to shake my legs out after a long flight, two days of many hours on my feet and (hopefully) several productive meetings.

Life happens?

 

Getting Down to Business

Next weekend marks my first half marathon of 2013.  This race is relatively small and very flat – a bit of an anomaly in surprisingly hilly Nashville.  Back in October or November, I’d planned to really blow the wheels off of a quality training cycle for this one and hit my first big goal of 2013 – a sub 2 hour half.  That hasn’t really happened, and I attribute it to a couple things that happened between late October and January – mostly good, definitely not bad, just not planned:

1 – I shocked myself and ran a sub-2 hour half in November.  At the time, I couldn’t quite believe it.  That number was something I hadn’t even considered at the beginning of 2012, and only in the early fall began believing it was a threshold I could eventually cross.  But the goal for that next big step was 2013.  Looking back through my training log, though, I shouldn’t have been surprised.  I worked really hard throughout the late summer and early fall, and saw continuous improvement along with that hard work.  I should’ve believed in myself earlier and more often.  But maybe just the combo of hard work and little to no pressure on myself resulted in races that were both fun and PR-setting?  Without this big (in my mind) landmark goal still out there, though, it was easier to be lackadaisical when it came to starting to train for this half in March.  Another PR was hard to conceptualize, so the motivation to train hard was easier to let slip through my fingers.

2 – Work got nuts.  I’ve been pretty consistent in my training throughout January and February, it just wasn’t the super-high-quality-like-never-before training cycle I’d originally planned on.  And that’s ok, because it’s an important time to really make sure I’m giving work my all (within reason – I’ve got to stay sane and I have a history of letting it take over).  I’m proud of myself for being consistent and letting myself off the hook for not sticking with the original plan.  You see, despite the whole “literal” thing, I’ve never stuck exactly to a training plan.  Yet, I tend to give myself a hard time for it.  I know I’m not the only one who deals with this – why is it so hard?!  So sticking fairly close and logging decent (for me) mileage every week without worrying about it too much?  Pretty dang good in the history of Betsy running.  The reason in and of itself feels like an excuse I should work on managing better, but I think it’s good for me to acknowledge it and know crazy work times need adjusting for, and that I can cut back but also still keep moving forward.

All of that being said, I’m pumped to see what I can do next weekend.  I’ve yet to decide on a specific race plan, but as I feel decent come Saturday I’m going to put it all out there and see what I can do.  Why not go for a new PR?  Worst case it doesn’t work out and I know what I’m shooting for at Country Music in April, and the fire will be lit to do what it takes to get there.  Then set out the plan and stick to it a little more closely so that I’ve made a strong effort at the half before committing myself to the full distance in October.

Race Goals:

A – PR (Currently 1:54:53)

B – Sub-2 hours (still almost unbelievable to me that I can feel pretty confient that I can hit this one barring something crazy)

C – Enjoy the dang thing, and enjoy a fantastic rest of the weekend with my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew who will be in town (i.e. have fun and don’t get hurt)

Game On!