Happy Easter! Christ is Risen! He is risen indeed!
Really, compared to that, nothing else matters. Seriously, compared to my faith in God everything else is so minor. Easter is a great day to be reminded of that.
However, I have this little website so that we can learn from examples and our mistakes and experiences so that we do things better the next time around.
Work was good. Work is almost always good. I have been knocking down projects left and right lately. I have at least seven projects waiting on someone else to critique them at the moment. It's always nice to get to the stage where my portion of the work is done.
Coaching went really really well. Our meet planned for Saturday at Oshkosh was canceled due to snow, seriously there is still half a foot in many places up here! However, just about everyone ran over break! So they came back and we had a nice 12x400 workout Tuesday in 15:02 time for the total and a 2x mile, 2x1000 which also went really well. We are going to have a very successful outdoor track campaign. Both in terms of cool weather which is good for racing and in terms of a group of people that have been working hard all year.
My own running went quite well, including 91 miles for the week with the two workouts mentioned above and a 5:03 mile and 3:09 1k added on to the longer workout. Longest run was only 15 miles, but I hit some mid 6s miles very comfortably. I'm fit, no doubt about that. The question is setting a personal record by two seconds or twenty seconds fit?
I am about to head off to my relatives house for a late Easter dinner, so I have to keep it short. My van will pass 295,000 miles this afternoon. I am debating spending days of my off weekends driving 800 miles trying to get it over 300,000. It has trouble starting but runs just fine after about 15 minutes to get warmed up.
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Friday, March 29, 2013
Mental Hurdles
This morning I had several discussions, while on my two runs before 10:30 AM, about mental road blocks and hurdles that we give ourselves. We all do it. We all limit ourselves. We all think, 'I have done X, I can do Y, but Z, that's crazy!' This attitude is holding us back.
So how do we break through these mental hurdles? Good question. Practice, for one, gives us the opportunity to reach new heights. If I want to run a 2:17 marathon that involves 26 consecutive miles at 5:15 pace, thus I need to practice 5:15 pace for hundreds of miles and it has to feel slow. Also, I have to practice running 5:05 miles quite a bit and 4:55 miles. I have to practice running faster than five minutes per mile. I cannot be phased by 4:XY on my watch. I will probably run a sub 5 mile in a marathon at some point. Experience, secondly, gives us the knowledge of the components of the achievement. When Armstrong and Aldrin landed on the moon, every switch had been flipped in space and every maneuver had been done before, they just did the operations in that particular order for the first time to land on the Moon. Third, confidence, sometimes seen as arrogance, ignorance, and even faith, which it might be depending on the circumstance, encourages people to accomplish what has not been done. How does one gain confidence if not through practice or experience? Often words or guidance from others give us confidence in the ability to accomplish a task. Sometimes success in unrelated endeavors creates a feeling of confidence in all aspects of life. Of course ignorance usually plays a factor too whether willful or unimaginative.
Identify the hurdle, the challenge, practice taking it down, get the experience of taking down smaller related hurdles, and with the confidence and support of the right group, know you can take down that hurdle. So take it down already!
So how do we break through these mental hurdles? Good question. Practice, for one, gives us the opportunity to reach new heights. If I want to run a 2:17 marathon that involves 26 consecutive miles at 5:15 pace, thus I need to practice 5:15 pace for hundreds of miles and it has to feel slow. Also, I have to practice running 5:05 miles quite a bit and 4:55 miles. I have to practice running faster than five minutes per mile. I cannot be phased by 4:XY on my watch. I will probably run a sub 5 mile in a marathon at some point. Experience, secondly, gives us the knowledge of the components of the achievement. When Armstrong and Aldrin landed on the moon, every switch had been flipped in space and every maneuver had been done before, they just did the operations in that particular order for the first time to land on the Moon. Third, confidence, sometimes seen as arrogance, ignorance, and even faith, which it might be depending on the circumstance, encourages people to accomplish what has not been done. How does one gain confidence if not through practice or experience? Often words or guidance from others give us confidence in the ability to accomplish a task. Sometimes success in unrelated endeavors creates a feeling of confidence in all aspects of life. Of course ignorance usually plays a factor too whether willful or unimaginative.
Identify the hurdle, the challenge, practice taking it down, get the experience of taking down smaller related hurdles, and with the confidence and support of the right group, know you can take down that hurdle. So take it down already!
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Customer Loyalty
This morning I received a "free" white coffee dream latte from Java Dreams. They keep track of how many drinks I buy and every so often I get a free one. Plus, I don't have to carry a card around that I would probably lose. They make good drinks. Most of the best lattes I have ever had. In fact, they sell the only white espresso drinks in Dubuque as far as I know.
On top of all that, they care about each person that comes up to the window. I mean we've had discussions about a number of things from job satisfaction to baseball to the weather to kidnapped and missing kids. They recognize the regulars and are always cordial. I mean, at McDonalds, coffee is on an assembly line, at Java Dreams it's a little piece of art.
They did not make any money from me this morning, but they sure earned a little more customer loyalty.
On top of all that, they care about each person that comes up to the window. I mean we've had discussions about a number of things from job satisfaction to baseball to the weather to kidnapped and missing kids. They recognize the regulars and are always cordial. I mean, at McDonalds, coffee is on an assembly line, at Java Dreams it's a little piece of art.
They did not make any money from me this morning, but they sure earned a little more customer loyalty.
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Less Condescending
con·de·scend·ing
The reaction that I get from people after I patronize
them, however minor, is unpleasant. I need to change. I need to communicate
better. People will probably tell me things I already know for the rest of my
life. Perhaps since they are telling me something, it is a clue that a bigger
discussion needs to be had. Instead of an undeserved authoritative tone or mild
sneer (it felt that way twice in one afternoon recently) perhaps I can just
say, "yes, I did hear that. What do you think about that?" That way I
get the other person to open up and be more descriptive about the situation we
are discussing. Plus, I don't impose my own previous thoughts and conclusions
on the other person.
Hopefully I can open up a dialogue about whatever the discussion is about, so that even if it takes a painful few minutes to discuss something I am already familiar, we will strengthen our relationship. Both of us will likely end up more educated. It is a win-win, as long as I don't get in the way of us discussing it.
/ˌkändəˈsendiNG/
Adjective
|
|
Synonyms
|
People
often tell me things I already know. I feel like I know so little that
rehashing the same information, after I have already thought about it seems
like a poor use of time. That is probably inappropriate on my part. Well, I
know for a fact that at least on one occasion my condescending response to another recently was uncaring and inappropriate.
Hopefully I can open up a dialogue about whatever the discussion is about, so that even if it takes a painful few minutes to discuss something I am already familiar, we will strengthen our relationship. Both of us will likely end up more educated. It is a win-win, as long as I don't get in the way of us discussing it.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
A Week Without Coffee
Tonight finishes up a week without coffee for me. Every several months I find myself wanting some coffee in the afternoon, and I don't like that feeling of dependency. The solution is to take a short hiatus from coffee.
Friday and Saturday I had decent headaches from caffeine withdraw. They were not too bad because I have been through this before and knew how to mitigate the damage. I drank tea and ate some chocolate which amounted to maybe a half or a third of the caffeine that I received from coffee. Enough to keep away the worst headaches but not enough to feel the caffeine rush from coffee or espresso.
I will go back to drinking coffee in the next few days. As long as it is only a cup, maybe two, per day I enjoy it. Once it devolves into a 16 ounce latte in the morning and a 17 ounce Starbucks Frappuccino in the afternoon, then my body settles into a caffeine high to low crash rhythm. The high feels good but craving caffeine at 1:30 PM or 7 PM because I feel lethargic is not fun.
Coffee is a blessing. However, with great power comes great responsibility.
Friday and Saturday I had decent headaches from caffeine withdraw. They were not too bad because I have been through this before and knew how to mitigate the damage. I drank tea and ate some chocolate which amounted to maybe a half or a third of the caffeine that I received from coffee. Enough to keep away the worst headaches but not enough to feel the caffeine rush from coffee or espresso.
I will go back to drinking coffee in the next few days. As long as it is only a cup, maybe two, per day I enjoy it. Once it devolves into a 16 ounce latte in the morning and a 17 ounce Starbucks Frappuccino in the afternoon, then my body settles into a caffeine high to low crash rhythm. The high feels good but craving caffeine at 1:30 PM or 7 PM because I feel lethargic is not fun.
Coffee is a blessing. However, with great power comes great responsibility.
Monday, March 25, 2013
Okay, Spring... Where Are You?
I am ready for temperatures in the 40s and 50s, dare I even say 60s. It snowed another inch or two around here yesterday. I'm getting a little cabin fever. I want to run outside wearing shorts. I want to wear a t-shirt outside. It's been 14 weeks since the first snow. I enjoy the winter, and I hope that climate change doesn't make it disappear, but at the moment it is almost April, I am ready for warmer weather. Plus, I don't think I am alone on this one.
Sunday, March 24, 2013
I Live in Iowa: Week 100
100 weeks in Dubuque, Iowa! Wow! I'm practically a local. In one sense it seems like I just moved here not long ago. In another sense it seems like I have been here for a long long time. Of course it is always a mixture of the two. This is a good week to focus on how I have developed over the last 100 week.
At work I finished a couple of projects. In the world of finite element analysis, I have come so far compared to where I was when I arrived here. Part of that is due to the finite element team we have that I have been able to learn from. Part of it has come from simply starting projects that others worked on in the past. Seeing what others did in those situations is a great way to learn. A significant part of my FEA development has come from 4000 hours of staring at a computer screen working on finite element analysis. I would hope that after 4000 hours of something I would learn how to do it more accurately and faster.
Aside from the technical engineering, I have learned how big companies do business, how decisions get made, how designs are agreed upon, and in part how to be persuasive when I want to be. I guess you could say I have learned about business. Let me tell you business is in large part just talking. Oh, it is talking with a purpose and rights and wrongs, but talking none the less.
Coaching was very limited, the university was on spring break. That being said, the next seven weeks are the finish to what I hope is a great year. I just hope the athletes ran over spring break!
My running went rather well. The first two days of the week I was exhausted and only ran a total of seven miles, but then things picked up and I did a hilly 5 mile tempo in the low 29 minute range on Wednesday. After a couple more moderate to easy days I stepped up the intensity and ran the best 3x2 miles workout of my life. When I say best of my life I mean 10:01 (downhill in 5:01, 5:00), 10:34 (uphill in 5:04, 5:30), and 10:26 (downhill in 5:18, 5:08). That's six miles at 5:10 pace on the roads. That is the kind of workout that I need. Total of 81 miles for the week and seventh consecutive week above 80 miles.
Something new to announce: I have a new job! I am the newest employee out at Park Farm Winery! I knew the manager, one of the first people I met in town in fact, and well, this leads to that and the next thing you know I am working at a winery. I will talk about this new relationship more in the future, but it is a good opportunity for me to work on sales, customer service, people skills, and most especially meet new people.
There you have it, after two years here, I am better professionally, coaching is going well I am cranking out better workouts than I ever have, and I am starting new endeavors. I am so blessed!
At work I finished a couple of projects. In the world of finite element analysis, I have come so far compared to where I was when I arrived here. Part of that is due to the finite element team we have that I have been able to learn from. Part of it has come from simply starting projects that others worked on in the past. Seeing what others did in those situations is a great way to learn. A significant part of my FEA development has come from 4000 hours of staring at a computer screen working on finite element analysis. I would hope that after 4000 hours of something I would learn how to do it more accurately and faster.
Aside from the technical engineering, I have learned how big companies do business, how decisions get made, how designs are agreed upon, and in part how to be persuasive when I want to be. I guess you could say I have learned about business. Let me tell you business is in large part just talking. Oh, it is talking with a purpose and rights and wrongs, but talking none the less.
Coaching was very limited, the university was on spring break. That being said, the next seven weeks are the finish to what I hope is a great year. I just hope the athletes ran over spring break!
My running went rather well. The first two days of the week I was exhausted and only ran a total of seven miles, but then things picked up and I did a hilly 5 mile tempo in the low 29 minute range on Wednesday. After a couple more moderate to easy days I stepped up the intensity and ran the best 3x2 miles workout of my life. When I say best of my life I mean 10:01 (downhill in 5:01, 5:00), 10:34 (uphill in 5:04, 5:30), and 10:26 (downhill in 5:18, 5:08). That's six miles at 5:10 pace on the roads. That is the kind of workout that I need. Total of 81 miles for the week and seventh consecutive week above 80 miles.
Something new to announce: I have a new job! I am the newest employee out at Park Farm Winery! I knew the manager, one of the first people I met in town in fact, and well, this leads to that and the next thing you know I am working at a winery. I will talk about this new relationship more in the future, but it is a good opportunity for me to work on sales, customer service, people skills, and most especially meet new people.
There you have it, after two years here, I am better professionally, coaching is going well I am cranking out better workouts than I ever have, and I am starting new endeavors. I am so blessed!
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