Turned to Stone

The last few months of job searching have been more fruitful. Not only have I found more potential positions, I have learned a lot about myself, my previous experiences, and where I want to take my career. That leads me to the beginning of this post; I have read a few books on leadership in the last month or so, and in one of the books the author asks “Who is your personal Mount Rushmore?” Who are the people in your life that have inspired you from a leadership perspective? I have put some thought into that question and here is where I have landed (in no particular order):

Okay, so maybe I cheated a little bit by having five instead of four, combining my parents into one.

Coach Setlak

My high school varsity baseball coach

Coach Setlak is now the Athletic Director for another high school, which I think speaks for itself in terms of leadership. He always encouraged us to do our best but got tough when it was necessary. He has a passion for the game that pushed him and, as I found, pushed me too. Sometimes his words were simple, and sometimes they were more. I always felt that he had our best interests at heart and cared about us off the field as well. Plus, he’s a super nice guy.

Mrs. Wagner

My high school English teacher (11th grade and AP English)

Everybody, I am sure, has been asked or has remembered at some point where they were on September 11th, 2001. I was in Spanish class when it happened, but my next hour was spent in Mrs. Wagner’s class. Instead of going through the intended plans for that day’s class, we talked about what was happening and about life. In general, she was very much a teacher who cared about us as individuals and tried to lead us in the right direction. She was often tough on her students, but in a good way. Additionally, I was not involved in student leadership, but she was the advisor for them, which makes a lot of sense in my mind.

Matt Bellace

Founder of CALVIN + HOBBES

I never attended college with Matt, but the student group that he started at Bucknell was a major part of my college experience. I met him while I was in college, heard him speak (he is also a motivational speaker and comedian), and he treated a group of us to dinner on one of his visits. I won’t go into his whole story, but he became a leader in college by starting a group that put on substance-free activities for students. As you might imagine, that is not exactly an easy thing to do on a college campus. CALVIN + HOBBES was what helped me become more social and made my experience at Bucknell so much more than it could have been otherwise. He inspires to reach those natural highs and to have the courage to make a difference.

My Parents

Uh… my parents…

Leadership skills are not only found in the office or speaking to the masses. My parents, of course, are probably the main reason I am who I am today. They were the leaders of our family unit growing up and were there to be goofy with us and to comfort us in times of sadness. They encouraged us, supported us, and taught us. I say this all in past tense, but they are still there for us and as goofy as ever :) In addition to the family unit, I know that my dad was a good leader in the office. He is fair, energetic, and brings a sense of humor that can set his team at ease – or make them groan. As for my mom, I remember going to pick up my tux for prom, when she stepped in and broke up a fight between some of my classmates. When they said “I do” they “became one” and so maybe I didn’t cheat after all.

Who is on your Mount Rushmore?

Poudre Patter

Milestone state (#20) – marathon #23 – was really a dual-purpose trip. The race (2015 Colorado Marathon) was May 3rd, but my wife and I arrived in Colorado on April 29th so that we could spend time with one of her cousins and also check out a few different areas, as we were planning to move to Colorado later in the year. Prior to the race, we visited the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs for some extra motivation!

U.S. Olympic Training Center, Colorado Springs, CO

We drove up into the Poudre Canyon on the 2nd to drive the course back. It was getting a little breezy, and I think a light rain – or was it even snow? – began to fall up in the canyon. Anyhow, it was quite beautiful there, right along the river. My sister and brother-in-law were running the full, my dad was making an attempt at a BQ, and my wife was running her second half marathon. The morning bus ride on race day was…interesting…

After wishing my wife good luck, we boarded the bus to the starting line. Half and full were on different buses, since we were going farther up the canyon. Our bus driver apparently did not know where he was going – we had to help guide him. Did they not give him directions?? We made it to the canyon road, which is good, because once you get there, there’s really only one road from that point. Somewhere along the route they had set up cones for the race on the dividing line in the road. I’m not sure why they put them so far into our lane, since there were several buses that had to make the trip, and it made our lane narrower. Needless to say, some buses had knocked cones over or ran them over. Our driver gingerly avoided the cones and – get this – actually stopped the bus, got out, and righted a fallen cone! It makes for a great story now, but we were all worried that we would get to the starting line late (if we made it at all!).

Luckily, we did make it on time. Barely. We ended up being the last bus to arrive, even though we were not the last to leave. One or two had actually passed us on the way up… We had a few minutes to hit the port-a-potties, and then the gun went off. I think my dad was still in one, but he was determined not to rush his BQ attempt preparations. The four of us (me, dad, sister, and brother-in-law) took a picture and crossed the start line together… a few minutes after the rest of the field, who was now out of sight.

Where did everyone go?

I ran with my dad – or more accurately – closely behind him for the first half of the race. It was a beautiful, winding road down the canyon. Great scenery and gradual downhill most of the way. I let him go ahead and slowed shortly after we exited the canyon into the Colorado sunshine. Sadly, we had used up all of our shade for the course while in the canyon. The second half was a bit warm from the sun beating down on us uninterrupted and rather uninspiring from a scenery standpoint since we were running away from the mountains. I started struggling around Mile 18, which is a pretty common place for my struggles to start, and had to walk a fair amount the last 5 miles. So, that was a pain, but I made it to the finish in 4:25:06 (fifth slowest marathon to date).

The course was beautiful in the canyon – and downhill – and the last 10 miles or so were less interesting. It had a nice finish near Old Town Fort Collins, and we had some great burgers after the race at Stuft. My wife bested her previous half marathon time by 2 minutes with a 2:42. My dad missed his BQ, but the happy news is that a few months later in Idaho, he smashed through that BQ barrier and is running Boston this coming April! My brother and mom were also in attendance, so it was really nice to have the whole family together (in our future, now current, town).

20 down, 30 to go…
Next Stop: Boise, ID

Phoenix Feet

Do I get a prize for posting my race review in less than a year (barely)? Hmm… well, Marathon #22 and State #19 is in the books! I completed the 2015 Phoenix Marathon last February 28th.

After some rest and some more PT for the IT band following the Indianapolis Marathon the previous Fall, training for the Phoenix Marathon went well for the most part. A little bit of shin/ankle tightness towards the end, but certainly nothing that stopped me in my tracks. I arrived in Phoenix with high hopes for a good run. My parents, sister, and brother-in-law all made the trip as well (with all but my mom running). Unfortunately my wife couldn’t make it for this one.

It was a cool morning, and we started up in hills by Usery Mountain at dawn. The gun sounded, which was appropriate since we started at a gun range, and we were off. It was a shame that it was still a little dark in the beginning because I think the first couple miles were the prettiest. They were also slightly downhill, which was nice. Things started off well, and I was holding about an 8:00/mi pace through the halfway point and was feeling pretty good.

Rio Salado Sportsman's Club - Marathon Starting Location (Day Before)

The second half was, well, kind of boring. Lots of straight neighborhood/city roads as we made our way to Mesa. That’s right, Mesa. In fact, the whole trip, I don’t think I actually set foot in the city of Phoenix. Mesa’s fine, but it wasn’t exactly the most scenic running (and we finished at a mall). Anyway, not only was it a bit chilly, which surprised me for the Phoenix area even in February, it got pretty windy the last ten miles or so. I was able to continue holding my pace until about Mile 18. Something around my left ankle started to get tight, and the combination of that with the wind meant that I slowed considerably in the last 8 miles of the race.

I finished strong, though, with an 8:35 last mile to finish in 3:40:13 – my best time since the 2011 Marine Corps Marathon (about 3.5 years prior). I was pretty happy overall and felt like I was on my way back – at least a little bit! The course was fast and mostly flat, though not very scenic except for those first couple miles in the “dawn’s early light,” if you will. The organization seemed fine; it just wasn’t that exciting of a race…

2015 Phoenix Marathon Finisher's Medal

I took it easy for the next week or two before starting to get ready for the Colorado Marathon, which was only a few days more than two months after Phoenix. 

19 down, 31 to go…
Next stop: Fort Collins, CO