bobangus.com » running goal

Angus PieFest 2011 – Holiday Pie Fundraiser

Bob Angus — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 20:31:47 +0000

My big personal endeavor is to help find a cure for cancers. I am a big supporter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and have just kicked off training for my 2nd season with LLS’s Team in Training. Angus PieFest 2011 is my family’s big fundraising event this holiday in conjunction with my next marathon – the Oakland Marathon on March 25, 2012.

The Angus family is baking fresh, homemade pies for our Bay Area friends. Each pie costs just a minimum $20 tax-deductible donation. You get a delicious treat and the great feeling of supporting a wonderful cause.

Visit the Angus PieFest page for all the details on how to order, delivery, and how to donate.

Click here to download the order form

Please order today. The deadline to place an order is Wednesday, December 21st.

Visit my fundraising page and training blog for more info about the race and how Team in Training is making a difference by raising money to fund blood cancer research and patient care.

Happy Holidays!

Go Team!

© Bob Angus for bobangus.com, 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: angus, Bob Angus, fundraising, marathon, running goal, Team in Training

5 Work Tips You Can Learn from Running a Marathon

Bob Angus — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 13:14:06 +0000

I just ran my first marathon – the Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco. I ran to support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and trained with my local Team in Training group. If you have never done an endurance event or set out to do something inconceivably challenging, DO IT. There is nothing more rewarding.

I learned a lot about what it takes to finish a marathon. I experienced firsthand that running a marathon requires you to use your brain as much as your legs. Many of the lessons that I learned can also be applied to business. The following five tips can improve your results at work and make the difference between doing just okay and achieving something great.

1. Know the course – I had a plan before I started. San Francisco is very hilly. Experienced marathoners had told me that this particular race is difficult. So I checked out the course map. I noted that the flattest part was at the beginning and the biggest hills were between mile 6 – 10. I knew that I would burn out later if I started by running fast and tried to conquer the hills like a hero while I had a ton of energy.

Before you start a major project or strive for a big goal, have a plan and stick to it. Don’t just jump in and hope to figure it out along the way. It will be a lot harder to finish. Try to identify the biggest challenges ahead of time. Set milestones and find the early wins that remind you of your amazing progress.

2. Listen to your coaches – 6 miles was the longest run I had ever done before starting my training to run 26.2 miles. I needed to rely on folks who had run a marathon before and who had successfully trained beginners like me. I diligently followed my Team in Training coaches and their training regimen. Track practice, stretches, strengthening drills, long weekend runs, and most importantly what I was going to feel on race day. They promised that they would get me across the finish line. And they did.

In business, you have coaches too. Mentors who have been there and done that can teach and support you personally. Industry experts who know can give you step-by-step guidance and sometimes the real secrets to their success. Your boss (even the worst ones) pretty much spells out what it takes to succeed. Listen to what they say and execute.

3. Run a good line – What’s harder than running 26.2 miles? Running 29 miles! Over the course of a marathon, you can easily run an extra 2 or 3 miles if you are not careful. You take a lot of extra steps that aren’t getting you any closer to the finish line if you blindly follow the center line, take the outside edge on turns, or, worst of all, constantly zigzag to get ahead of slower runners are. Look ahead and find the straightest path to getting there. Then run that line.

At work, you can easily derail your hard work if you are not focused on the task in front of you. You don’t get extra credit for multi-tasking or getting things done that are not part of the bigger goal. Sure you’re working hard and think you’re producing, but you are not getting any closer to completing your bigger, more rewarding objective. Get the immediate task done. Follow your project plan one step at a time. Focus on accomplishing the results you want… the finish line.

4. You have a fuel tank – Two things my Team in Training coaches kept on saying were 1) keep fueled up and hydrated and 2) do not start out fast. I had a limited tank that fueled my engine (my muscles). I could not afford to let my fuel tank near empty or push too hard, too early. Otherwise, my body would shut down later in the race and I wouldn’t finish. So I ate my two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches before the race, swallowed a Gu calorie pack every 4 miles, drank a little water and/or an electrolyte drink at every station, and kept my steady pace throughout the marathon.

We all have fuel tanks at work too. You don’t want to burn out or become inefficient because you’ve had enough. Recharge your creativity and productivity by working all the time or staying up all night. Keep your tasks reasonable throughout a project. Do not wait until you are on deadline to get started. Or visa versa, do not spend all of your energy for a big effort when you are the most enthusiastic at the beginning.

5. It is okay to walk – My goal was to cross the finish line, not to break the world record. Most runners become walkers at some point in the course of a marathon. At mile 21 I had a teeth-clenching pain shooting in my back and right knee with every step. I was hurting bad. I still had five miles to go. Lots of steps to go. I decided to do intervals of walking the rest of the way. I did not get discouraged one bit that I wasn’t running like an Olympian. Guess what? I still came in 11th in my age group. Woo hoo!

This is the hardest thing most everyone faces because we are proud of our work. One of the easiest ways to derail your hard work is if you feel bad when you hit a snag. Or worse give up. Some unplanned problem (maybe a lot of them) will happen. Don’t become discouraged, minimize the value of your objective or quit altogether. Face the issue. Do what you need to do to address it. Keep going until you are done. Be proud.

BONUS TIP: You did it! Celebrate your great accomplishment. You just did something that was hard or maybe something others said was impossible. Make sure to reward yourself and feel great about what you have done. Sure the Tiffany’s silver medal at the finish line was awesome. But I could hardly wait to order a huge steak, extra fries, and a chocolate sundae from my hotel’s room service and kickback with an afternoon of football on the TV.

I was successful in accomplishing something that seemed inconceivable just six months ago by diligently following these tips. Just imagine how successful you can be if you apply these tips to your next big project or to your everyday work routine.

If you have ever run a marathon or plan to tackle an endurance event for a great cause, let me know I’d love to hear about it and support you.

© Bob Angus for bobangus.com, 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: best practices, Bob Angus, charity, how-to guide, marathon, productivity, results, running goal, Team in Training, tips

Contemplating my 2008 New Yearâ€™s Resolutions

Bob Angus — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 16:07:22 +0000

I love to build action plans. I have my Commission Junction work objectives and my Angus personal/home to-do list always within in reach. Setting clear, measurable objectives truly excites me. And there is no better time of year than late Decemberâ€¦ It is time for me to define my 2008 New Yearâ€™s Resolutions!

However, this year is going to be different. I want to break out of my normal mold. No, I do not have a problem with achieving the resolutions I set. No, the fundamental structure of my resolutions is not going to stray away from the classic SMART formula (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-based). No, I am not going to dramatically mess with the critical thinking framework that was imprinted into my brain while getting my MBA at Babson. What will change isâ€¦

I AM GOING BIG IN 2008

I have been reading a lot of great discourse on goals, dreams, and taking a leap into the unknown. I have been visualizing some lofty dreams. They are keeping me up at night. Today, I read Christine OKelleyâ€™s How to Achieve Ridiculous Goals. That article pushed me over the edge. I have to go big.

My recent goals have pushed me. They were not easy to achieve and they made me stretch into doing things I have never done before. For example, my 2006 and 2007 running goals have been incredible at transforming my daily life (and my health). However, I knew that I could meet my goal with conventional methods and perseverance from the outset.

In 2008, my resolution or resolutions will be out of bounds, even ridiculous. My objectives will be incredibly meaningful, yet I do not know how to get there today. Stay tuned. My 2008 New Yearâ€™s resolutions post is coming soon.

USC to Rout UCLA – My Running Goal Gets a Boost

Bob Angus — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 18:25:49 +0000

I am heading into the last month of my 2007 Running Goal. I am on track to hit 200k by Christmas day. What I need is a little incentive for my finishing kick… the USC Trojans crushing the UCLA Bruins on December 1st!

I have joined a USC vs. UCLA team running challenge on the Nike+ online community for an extra push in the last month of my personal 2007 running goal. I am supporting the highly favored USC Trojans. The challenge is the team with the most total miles by the big game wins. It kicks off Saturday, November 24th and ends on gameday Saturday, December 1st. Fight on!

I also joined another challenge to help me work off all the great holiday food and festivities. I signed up to run at least 30 miles by Christmas. That is exactly a 1 mile per day average for the next 30 days. Ho! Ho! Ho!

Updated: I removed the Nike+ widget that showed the updated status of the USC vs. UCLA challenge. For some reason, it was messing up the formatting of this post. Also, the UCLA team was kicking the USC’s butt. Going into Saturday, UCLA had run 103.8 miles this week versus USC running 46.3 miles. Fortunately, the results on the gridiron will be very different!

The Health Kick in Affiliate Marketing

Bob Angus — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 18:14:50 +0000

The health kick is spreading like a wildfire through out the world of affiliate marketing. First, Scott Jangro started running like a madman. Now, the latest entry is the Affiliate Fit Club. Six high profile affiliates have thrown down the gauntlet with a team based weight loss challenge. The finish line is in February at Affiliate Summit 2008 West in Las Vegas. Until then, I highly recommend supporting both teams as they strive to crush their goals.

For my part, I have a unique motivational challenge for Team Blue member Lisa Riolo. Since we went to college together at Claremont McKenna College, I have access to rare photos of her as a star Division III basketball player… 20 years ago. If she hits her personal goal, I won’t have to make those pictures public. Yes, that’s evil.

Also, please check out my own personal 2007 Running Goal. I ran my fastest 5k time this morning, clocking a speedy 24 min, 14 sec time. Now I am just 3k off the pace for my ultimate goal of running 200km by the end of the year.

© Bob Angus for bobangus.com, 2007. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: affiliate marketing, angus, Nike+, running goal

Setting a new running goal

Bob Angus — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 04:27:53 +0000

I’ve been lagging badly in keeping fit. Sure, I hit my goal of running a 10k race by my 40th birthday… a year ago. I haven’t had that monster goal to really get me running and working out. Then I read and was inspired by Scott Jangro’s running resurgence.

I’ve set my new running goal: Run a combined 200k by the end of the year. I’ll track it using my Nike+ pedometer and my iPod. As an added incentive, I will use Nike’s cool widget to post data from my runs and the status on my new goal here in the blog. Check out my progress on my Running Goal 2007 page.