Las Vegas Marathon - 2011

The big news surrounding this year's Las Vegas Marathon was the new start time.  Competitor Group, the race production company that organizes and produces all of the Rock 'N Roll series races changed things up!  The news should have been about running the strip at night, the new start time for the half and full marathon.  Instead, we're left wondering about what went wrong with such a "standard" race for Competitor Group?  Unfortunately, there were multiple problems running the gamut from packed finish shoots to disorganized bag check areas to "metallic" and "stale" water.  Check out horrifying accounts here from the Las Vegas Review-Journal!

Producing a major half or full marathon is extremely difficult.  It's hard to believe that Competitor Group had so many problems given their experience and number of races they produce each year but it goes to show that anything can happen on Race Day!  

Winter Wonderland @ Raley Field

Genevieve Diegnan & I with Santa aka Tony Asaro

 

 

Earlier today the Sacramento River Cats hosted its 8th annual Winter Wonderland at Raley Field.  I didn't know what to expect going into the event but feel so fortunate to have been a part of it and be there to see so many families and kids having an amazing time!  The River Cats gave presents to the kids, Super Cuts was there giving hair cuts, kids could decorate cookies and ornaments, each child could pick out a few books and of course take pictures with Santa!  It was a great, heart warming way to get geared up for the holiday season!

Another great part of Winter Wonderland was catching up with a friend from High School!  Small world that she's now the Programs Director for the Sacramento County Food Bank & Family Services which we partner with on this event, and others throughout the year. 

Raley Field doesn't often get utilized during the off-season and this was one great way to open the concourse and bring people to the Stadium who may have never been.  It's such a great community space that should be re-purposed all year long.  But how...

Running Happy in 2012!

I was super super excited to receive word today that I will once again have the opportunity to represent Brooks Running!  2012 is going to be a great year for running with the Olympic Trials, the Olympics and some personal goals I have for myself.  I'm super excited that once again I'll be sporting my Brooks gear and checking off some running "to-do's". 

The past few months I've been fortunate to see, first hand, the influence of I've had as a handful of people close to me are now Running Happy!

• Inspired by Chris McDougall's Born To Run, I recently purchased my younger brother's first "real" pair of running shoes!  We had an amazing experience at Fleet Feet, Chicago where he tried on a couple of Mizunos, Adidas and the Brooks PureProject Pure Cadence.  Not only is he now wearing shoes when he runs (he was going barefoot on a treadmill in his Girlfriend's apartment complex - that is the fastest way to get kicked to the curb!) but he helped pace a buddy in the Chicago Marathon and completed his first race - a 15k!  
• A friend of mine's daughter recently broke up with her long-term running shoe partner and switched over to the Brooks Adrenaline.  She cruised to her first marathon finish at the NYC Marathon in November!  Running for charity, the shoe switch that took place helped her achieve her goal.  
• A friend and co-worker who's gone through a complete transformation, dropping over 100 pounds and completely changing his diet, recently changed over to Brooks shoes as his long walks increased to over 15+ miles and he needed a wider, more supportive shoe than what he had previously been wearing.  The new Brooks now power him on his 3+ hour walks and is what he plans to use for his first half-marathon coming up in March!
• The aforementioned GF did not kick my brother to the curb for running barefoot!  Previously loyal to another shoe company, by brother and I have some affect on her!  She switched over to the Brooks Ghosts and we're super excited to have her be part of our Brooks family!

The Brooks ID program has been nothing but amazing and I'm super excited to continue representing, inspiring and being inspired by the brand and the other runners.  When I can think of more than enough excuses not to go for a run I'm inspired by so many of my Brooks friends who I know have already laced 'em up and had a great run! 

RUN HAPPY!

Sports Ticket Sales & Running a Marathon: A perfect analogy

I heard a great analogy today that I had never once considered.  I often tell people that running helps me in every facet of my life (my job, my health, my relationships…).  Without running I do not think I would be as motivated, driven, hard-working or dedicated as I am.  To be honest, I feel lost when I don’t run.  Working in sport ticket sales I have found that running is a lot like ticket sales and I use that analogy frequently.  They are both individual, you’re competing against yourself, you’re only as good as you push yourself, you mentally have to motivate yourself each day to stay on track and to keep going regardless of how discouraged you are or what happened yesterday.  You’ll face rejection and have bad runs, sometimes you experience a string of them but it’s that one great work-out or key sale that helps you turn things around.  You get the point. 

Today someone told me they see the Ticket Sales industry in sport as being similar to a marathon.  He was absolutely right.  You have to compartmentalize the various stages, or miles, breaking them down into smaller portions and working through each individually before you can cross the finish line.  You have to put your head down and push through those tough stages knowing you can you can breathe a little easier when you reach those easier, downhill stretches.  He understood the mental strength required to complete the marathon, most likely because a sporting season is very similar. During the off season there aren’t many sales being made and things are quite, similar to a maintenance phase when you’re just logging miles and making deposits, slowly putting miles in the bank.  You wonder what you’re doing and whether or not the work you’re putting in will come to fruition, in ticket sales as well as training.  Will this client come through and be that big sale you’re working towards?  Will all of the early morning hours, little sleep and sacrifices made to complete your training pay off on race day?  How do you know?  You don’t.  You have to put in the work, for months at a time and trust that you’ve done your best.  When other sales people are slacking or simply going through the motions you have to make sure that you’re still pushing hard because at the end of the season it will payoff in your sales numbers versus theirs.  Those that press the snooze button one more time or slow down on their tempo training runs won’t have the tools they need to succeed on race day, or achieve that PR.  If you slow down in the middle/late miles of the marathon often there’s no coming back.  You can’t make up that lost time, those seconds that will make the difference as to whether you reach a new PR or qualify for the Boston Marathon.  It’s all about mental determination.  Ironically, Josh Cox posted a column today identifying something similar.   His take is a little different than what I heard but with the same objective:  “Marathon running is a great metaphor for life because in order to succeed you have to make daily deposits over a long period of time.”

I don’t know why I hadn’t thought about it that way but it’s the perfect analogy: sales in sports is like running a marathon. 

If I want to break 3:00 in the marathon what does that translates into ticket sales?!

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

As I finished the article and was about to discard this section, I caught this article by Roger Rosenblatt.  Opening Day is just 4 days away and the S.F. Giants are en route from AZ to S.F.  The months of waiting are finally over and I am super excited about the 2011 season.  This article describes the pure love of the game that is impossible to deny and the emotions that every fan shares.  There's only 4 more days until the first pitch!

I took advantage of today being the last day of Spring Break and indulged in reading the S.F. Chronicle's Sunday edition, in its entirety, including sections I do not normally read such as the Parade Magazine.  I was drawn to the Parade insert because it featured a story on Phil Mickelson.  Phil played golf for ASU and to the dismal of my two UofA alumni brothers, I am a Lefty fan!  

Take Me Out to the Ball Game, Roger Rosenblatt

Back to the Blog!

I was testing out a different blog hosting site for a while but am back to Blogger. I may move those posts over to this Blog when I have time but for now I'm excited about getting back to this blog!

My amazing birthday weekend is coming to an end :( I had a wonderful weekend and am looking forward to some big changes and big things this year. I have accepted the fact that I may not be able to focus too much on improving my marathon time this year with the changes I'm about to embark upon (the major announcement will come in the next week!) and the final quarters of my master's program but I think that acceptance is important for my sanity and will help me keep things in perspective. Over the last year I have become frustrated at my inability to train as hard, or as much, as I would like but I know once I complete my M.S. Sport Management I will be able to quickly regain my speed and crush my marathon PR!

Bill Simmons - Giants - Dodgers Rivalry!

Here's what Bill Simmons said today on Sport Nation about the best under the radar rivalry:

"The best under-the-radar rivalry is Dodgers-Giants. I had no idea how deep that one was until I moved to California... that one goes waaaaaaaaay back and both sides absolutely detest each other. Fights in the stands, fights in the parking lot, the whole thing. It's every bit as bitter as Yankees-Red Sox without nearly the same hype." (Bill Simmons)


It's about time this crazy rivalry gets some attention! Too many Giants have gone to the Dodgers (including Juan Uribe this season after winning a ring with the Giants) with little national attention about the significance. Roger Clemens and Johnny Damon made national headlines moving from Boston to NY. We may have been happy to see some go (there was some mistrust with Jeff Kent after he lied about an injury, claiming he fell off his truck while washing it, but he's since regained favor in S.F.) but I think it's safe to say we're still bitter when players choose L.A. over any other team in the league - including players like Schmidt and Uribe. Schmidt never came back to hurt us and I hope Uribe doesn't this season. The chant we use to yell when he came to the plate, the chant that people always thought sounds like a boo ("UUUU-RIBE"), will most definitely resemble more of a boo this season.

I just can't believe Simmons recognized our rivalry! The first Giants - Dodgers rivalry game I can remember attending was at Candlestick park with my older brother and his friend. We were sitting next to a group of Dodger fans, 4 guys, quite a few years older than us (I think I was a freshman in high school - it's hard to believe that was the first rivalry game I can remember). We were yelled at the entire game! The fighting and yelling began when we sat down and didn't end until we were in our car after the game. I think I paid more attention to the action in the stands than I did on the field.

The only game I remember going to in L.A. at Dodger Stadium was a few years later while I was a freshman in college. My Dad came down to UCSB to visit my sister and I for the weekend. On Sunday, my sister's boyfriend, my sister, my Dad and I all went to a Dodgers v. Pittsburg game since I hadn't been to Dodger Stadium since I was a tiny tot. My Dad, a short, scrawny guy with coke bottle lens glasses and a life long Giants fan wore his Giants hat to the game. We had awful seats up in the second deck and didn't experience too much heckling during the game. It was after the game while we were walking to our car in the parking lot that some random Dodger fan came up to my Dad, yelled in his face and shoved him. It completely took my Dad by surprise and scared the daylights out of me because my Dad did not stand a chance against this guy. Being the geeky stat guy he was, my Dad listed off some stats about how much better the Giants were than the Dodgers. This guy yelled obscenities at my Dad as we walked away to our car. It was the scariest baseball experience of my life!

Bill Simmons is right - we detest each other! BEAT LA!