Daily Mile

The decision to commit to running a marathon can be scary. And yes, I'm talking about just making the go/no go decision about completing a marathon. Once that commitment is made, then comes the overwhelming realization that you actually have to train for this thing. A lot. You can't wing a marathon. Believe me, you don't even want to try.

A marathon is really a long twenty-mile run followed by a 10K from hell. In fact, I've *heard* that your body can only store enough carbohydrates for 20-miles. What's happening after that point? Your body then switches to fat consumption and probably a little muscle. But, even knowing all of that, marathons are more popular than ever. The Boston Marathon sold out in 8 hours this year. 8 hours! That's crazy. That means people on average are not only doing marathons, they're getting faster too.

No matter what level you're at or whether you run 1/2s or fulls, I truly believe in using the right tools to help achieve your goals. One tool that I use every day is Daily Mile (www.dailymile.com). It's a free mileage tracker and community for active individuals. You can track all of your workouts, it doesn't have to be running related, but it kind of favors running.

Similar to most social networks, Daily Mile is dependent on UGC. The level of UGC a particular individual chooses to engage in is dependent on the individual. I can chose to have three friends or five hundred friends. I have goals in terms of my weekly mileage, so I tend to really focus on the "Training" tab. I also appreciate feedback and advice on how to tackle a particular marathon from fellow Daily Milers.

If you haven't tried it yet, check it out. Don't forget to friend me.

Get It Done ASAP or asap

Here for you I have a glimpse into how my brain actually operates - so be prepared.

Ponder this. I've always been hesitant and a little reluctant to use "ASAP" in all caps. Actually, anything that needs to be in all caps scares me a little - but definitely ASAP. I would a lot more comfortable if I could use "asap" versus "ASAP". I was responding to a client question this morning, in which I wanted to use "ASAP" and asked a colleague of mine if I had to capitalize all of the letters. She responded yes, which prompted me to have a sad face. Confused as to why I would have a sad face, she asked "Why does that bother you?" Well, that's a good question Jennifer. The reason it bothers me to use all caps is that just by the use of caps it sounds like one, I'm shouting and two, that it means that I'm going to do it NOW, NOW, NOW and have it ready within the hour. If I use all lower case letters, it's much more civilized and I'll get back to you by the end of the day.

See....when you think about it like that, don't you agree?

Important Alumni Verification Due

I recently received this alumni request from the University of Arizona. They would like me to phone a toll free number immediately to update my alumni information. The up-to-date information is critical in assembling their upcoming alumni directory.

I have several issues with this request.
1. I know I have supplied my contact information in the past, so why don't they save me some time and show me the information they have on file? That way I could at least know immediately whether or not I need to make the call.

2. What is the benefit for me? It says this will allow UofA alumni to be connected to the University and each other....but really? How is that? I seem to remember the University charging some ridiculous fee if you want a hard copy version of the directory. Let me repeat, hard copy. Why couldn't they also offer a soft copy version of the directory? Does anyone really buy the hard copy? It appears I'm supposed to provide my very private contact information for very little return.

3. In collaboration with #1 above, if they are using e-mail as the medium to contact people, why couldn't they also use the same medium to confirm your contact details? How hard would it be to display the person's contact details they have on file and ask whether this information is correct? If yes, great. If no, provide a feedback mechanism.

I can almost guarantee that their response rate to this request is going to be very low. In today's day and age of the Internet, I don't feel like picking up the phone to provide my contact details to be published in a directory I will never see. Plus, honestly if I did buy the directory, I would never remember to use it. If I wanted to contact other UofA alumni for networking purposes, I would definitely start with my Facebook and LinkedIn contacts.