About 8 months ago my uncle Dale Humphrey asked me to pace him at the Superior Sawtooth 100 in Minnesota. From what he told me, and what I had heard, it was a tough one. He was planning on moving from Illinois to Ely, MN in the months prior to the race, and would get plenty of time to train on the actual racecourse. I was looking forward to paying him back for being my pacer at the Kettle Moraine 100 mi in June. He was the best pacer anyone could have asked for there.
A month or so prior to the race, I started to get antsy and suggested to Dale that I just sign up for the whole thing, and just run with him the entire way. I had not been training for that race in particular, but have been training for the Arkansas Traveller in October. The terrain that I currently train on is suitable training ground for the Traveller, but would not necessarily prepare me for Superior Sawtooth’s Teeth. I live in the heart of Illinois, where hills are very hard to come by. Luckily I live near a state park where there are a few miles of hilly single track. Nothing comparable to the Superior Hiking Trail. Yet I still wanted to join in the madness. Uncle Dale talked some sense back into me and reminded me that he would need me to be fresh for him for the home stretch, and be able to guide him into the finish line. I came down off the ledge and agreed again to be his pacer.
After accepting my fate, I began to get excited to be able to crew along with my Aunt Peggy and Tom. I kept in mind that I would also be able get out on the course after a while too. The plan was to have his running buddy Tom, who has run 95 marathons and maybe 15 Ultras, pace him from mile 40 to mile 70, then I would finish up pacing him for the last 30 miles to the finish. Tom is admittedly a roadrunner, and has trouble running on technical trails, and in the dark. But Tom is also running the Traveller with Dale and I, so he wanted some time on these trails as well. If not for the training, just for the experience. Same as me.
The race kicked off and we did some sight seeing and coffee drinking prior to making it over to the first aid station (Beaver Bay). I was already jacked up, and the coffee just added to that. I couldn’t sit still, or even sit down. But we sat patiently and waited at the first crewed aid station for him to come in. He eventually did, looking great, and we saw him off and made our way to the next aid station (Silver Bay).
He looked great at Silver Bay as well, and we then made our way to CR6. We would end up waiting here for what seemed like years, but I think it was only about 4-5 hours.
He came in after 6:00 PM, so Tom would be able to start pacing here. Dale looked great as he came in. Tom was just as excited to run as I had been all day, so I was happy to see him finally get out and stretch those legs. Dale and Tom took off back onto the trail and my Aunt Peggy and I drove to the next aid station (Finland) to meet up with them. It had become pitch dark out (Overcast with no moon or stars, and in the forest). Eventually Dale came flying into the aid station without Tom. I panicked and asked what happened, thinking that maybe he was injured. Dale said that the terrain was just so tough and technical that Tom just couldn’t keep up, so he had to leave him behind. I immediately said Ok – I’ll go get my running stuff on. He said No – I can’t have 2 pacers on the course at the same time, so pick me up at the next aid station (Crosby Manitou).
Tom eventually came strolling in and said that he had “Fired himself”. But he tried his best and it was just slow going for him. Like I said, he’s a roadrunner, not a trail runner, and certainly not on that rough of a trail. Tom said that there were so many roots, rocks, and plank crossings (Treated 2 x 6 or 4 x 4 laid out over dips or marshy spots in the forest. These were all very slick from the rain.) that he could never get a good running stride going at all. He was frustrated. I felt bad for him because he just wanted to run and help Dale out. I suppose we’ll both get our fix at the Arkansas Traveller.
So Tom and I drove on to meet up with Dale at the next aid station (Crosby Manitou), where I’d start running. This meant that I was going to get to run 40 miles, instead of 30 as planned. I was excited. I asked one of the aid station workers who has run the course before about what was coming up on this leg. She let me know it would be one of the hardest sections, and that this was usually the section where many people bow out. I began to get nervous and hoped that I could keep a good pace for Dale.
He made his way in at about 1:10 AM and we hit it at 1:15 AM. I was surprised at how technical it was. I would characterize it as rock and root hopping-arama, mixed with the up and down of Super Mario Bros. Let me tell you, through the remainder of the 40 miles that we ran I only took my eyes off the trail once and guess what happened – I slammed my toe into a rock and fell on my face. Luckily it was on a relatively flat section. If that had happened on the section just after Crosby Manitou I would have a compound fracture, or something really nasty like that. I twisted my ankle at least 5 times, and once so hard that I fell down. It seriously hurt, but I had to laugh. The trail was humbling me. All I could do is try to keep running. The pain eventually went away and hasn’t bothered me since.
We passed up quite a few folks over that final 40 miles, maybe 10-13. He and I have this thing where if we see someone ahead of us, we have to catch up and eventually pass them. This keeps us going, and keeps us hungry (As if running for 29 hours doesn’t make one hungry - hahaha). Always looking for the next one to pass. It certainly worked for me at Kettle Moraine where I passed maybe 7 people with about 15 miles to go. I thought we should employ the same tactics here. We did and it worked. We kept pushing for the next runner. Slowly making progress on the field.
Through one section at night we had bats or something comparable (Maybe extremely large moths) dive-bombing and eventually slamming into our faces. We heard wolves in the distance and I was wondering if we were getting closer to them, or if they were way off in the distance. Dale reassured me that they were way off in the distance and that their howl carries easily through the wilderness. He said if they were closer, we’d know it because the hair on our arms and neck would be standing up. HELLO!!
Again, the terrain was tough. The night sky was overcast, so we had no help from the starts or moon, just our headlights and handheld lights. Trying to run through that terrain in the forest at night required all of the concentration I could muster. Always keeping one eye on the ground under foot, and one eye on the next step. We could have run past 100 Bears for all I know. The night sky eventually gave way to the morning sun and we were revived (As much as we could be). What a beautiful day it was for running.
We methodically made our way through the final few sections. No section was “easy”. Each one had it’s own difficult element. Tom kept our spirits up by meeting us at each aid station, along with the wonderful volunteers at each location. They were all awesome. Can’t thank them enough for all of their hard work.
He finished 7th overall and 3rd in his age group in 29 hrs 15 min. Very awesome! What an accomplishment. I would have to say that his results are a clear indication of how hard he trained and prepared for this race. Many people exclaim “WOW – you ran 100 miles!?” and my first thought is always – “Well… yes I did. But I also got up at 4 AM every day to train for the last 6 months and logged 80 miles/week preparing for this race too.” As amazing as the feat of finishing a 100 is, I think the required preparation is just as awe-inspiring, if not more. That’s some major, major dedication.
As far as my pacer skills go (Not to be confused with my Nunchuck skills), I think I need some work. I didn’t talk much, mostly because I was concentrating on the terrain and trying to make sure we didn’t get lost. Dale had to correct me a few times to keep us on the correct trail. I wasn’t doing my job!! Crap…. All I could do is keep running and try to keep up a good pace for him and hope to help him that way. I had hoped to return the favor of his help at Kettle Moraine, where he was a huge help to me for the final 38 miles. I don’t think I quite hit the mark. I didn’t crack jokes and sing songs, or make them up in my head and sing them as we ran like he did, but I hope I helped in some way.
Well, I am certainly glad that Dale asked me to pace him anyways, and that I was able to experience the whole thing. I am also very thankful to Larry, his wife, all of the volunteers, and all of the runners. Without them it would have never happened. Great job everyone!!!
So…. I hope to join in the fun next year, but plan to run the full 102.6. Holy crap, my report might be twice as long!! Haha… I look forward to seeing you all again next year, if not before!
Arkansas Traveller, here I come! http://www.runarkansas.com/AT100.htm
I would also encourage you to read Christian's Race Report. It's awesome.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Superior Sawtooth 100 mile 2008
What a great race this weekend, and what a tough course! I paced my uncle Dale for the final 40 miles and he finished in 29 hrs 15 minutes. Good for 7th place overall. Great job Dale!! I hope to join in the fun for the full distance next year. Great job to EVERYONE involved! I will write more after I get some sleep.... More pics over there >>>>>
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Plan for the remainder of 2008
After completing the Kettle Moraine 100, and the Bike MS Century 2 weeks later, I have taken some time off. From the end of June up to the beginning of August I had only been putting in about 20 mi/week, and had let my weight training slide as well. Rarely lifting more than our 9 month old Ella (By the way, this is so much more rewarding than lifting weights).
So, a few weeks a go I kicked it back into high gear. I’ve had a few “long” runs of 17, and 25 miles, along with quite a few runs of 10 miles on the trails. I had been running on the roads mostly to get back into the swing of things. I quickly remembered how much I dislike road running compared to trail running. There’s just something about the trails. I feel like I can really fly on the trails and have fun, but the road is just so monotonous. But I plan on trying to get up to 70-100 miles/week over the next few weeks.
As usual, I need to have a goal to shoot for in order to stick to my training plan. The goals that I have set for myself for this fall are as follows –
- Sept 5-6 is the Superior Sawtooth 100 mile in Lutsen, MN – http://uppermidwesttrailrunners.com/superior/index.html - I will try to pace my uncle to a great finish. This is my chance to give back for all of his help when he paced me at Kettle Moraine. I couldn’t have done as well without him. Not to mention, he has been my mentor ever since he talked me into pacing him at the 2007 Arkansas Traveller 100. It’s time for me to give back.
- Oct 4-5 is the Arkansas Traveller 100 mile in Perryville, AR – http://www.runarkansas.com/AT100.htm - Finish at or under 20 hours and place in the top 5. This could be tough, since this race has replaced Western States as the final race of the 2008 Grand Slam. There will likely be some tough competition in attendance, but I’m going to set the bar there, and just go out and do the best I can. I will be training harder than I have in the past as well, so in order to keep that up, I need to keep this lofty goal.
- Oct 25 is the North Face Endurance Challenge 50 mile at Kettle Moraine State Forest in WI (Same area where the KM 100 was held). - http://www2.thenorthface.com/endurancechallenge/races/2008/mdw_course.html - My goal for this race will depend on how things go in Arkansas, but right now I’m shooting to place in the top 3 (Top 3 get $$).
So between now and October 4th, I’ll be hitting the trails pretty hard, getting ready to meet my goals for the balance of 2008.
With any luck, maybe I’ll see you along the way. If not, I’ll let you know how it’s coming along with regular updates here. Happy trails.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Birthday trek and subsequent reflections
Summer will soon come to an end and soon the leaves will start changing colors. Along with the vibrant fall color comes great running weather (usually). This past summer flew by faster than any in recent memory for me. They say time flies when you’re having fun. This summer has been very busy, but has also been very fun.
I just turned 33 on Sunday, so to celebrate we headed over to Silver Springs State Park in Plano, IL, which is about 2 miles from our house. As we drove over to the park I told Anna, our 7 year old middle daughter who has down syndrome, that we were going to go where I run. She said in her delayed speech “100 miles? Daddy? Run? Anna too!? Yea!!!!” I thought that was great!
I led the girls along the path. It’s a three-mile loop of mainly single track with lots of fun twists and turns, and hills. We all had a great time. It was fun to be able to just let them go and not be restrained by having something scheduled to go to, which is usually the case for us. Ella, our youngest who is 9 mos, giggled as we walked along the trail. I had her in the Baby Bjorn baby carrier thing so she was basically strapped to my chest seeing everything we saw as we walked. She kept peeking back at me, presumably to make sure things were ok.
Towards the end, the girls started to get hot and itchy from the weeds, and the skeeters had started to come out. Liv, Ella (Strapped to me) and I walked ahead to the opening from the woods to the trailhead where we had started. We made a finish line with our arms and cheered Anna on to make it to the finish. As soon as she saw us she sprinted through our arms finishing her first “100 miler”. It may sound goofy, but we were all VERY proud of her. She had never done so well on such a long walk. But most importantly, she was proud of herself too. If you know Anna, that was a BIG accomplishment. It was a great day.
It made me think – Everything I do, from what I drink, to what I eat, to what I read, to how I speak to others, to my religious beliefs, to my training habits --- EVERYTHING has so much influence on our kids. Weather it’s good or bad, they catch on and it affects them. To all of the fellow parents out there - I speak from experience when I say - Be the best role model that you can for your children. They learn from everything you do, weather you think they are listening or watching or not. My experience consists of both good and bad things that I have done in the past that I have seen reflected in my kids. The hike on my birthday just kind of reminded me of the importance of providing positive leadership for your family and kids.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Lake Geneva, WI
Two weeks ago I had an off-site meeting for work at The Abbey Resort on Geneva Lake, WI. This was only 19 miles south from the start/finish line of the Kettle Moraine race that I did a month ago. Our goal was to officially welcome our new president to the company, announce a restructuring of the management team, and make sure that we are moving forward with a new found team unity. We accomplished our goals over the two-day summit. (Pics over there on the right--------->)
In the days leading up to the meeting, I scoped out possible routes to run in my free time, as usual. I just can’t resist running somewhere that I haven’t been to before. It’s a great way to see, smell, and sometimes even taste what the new surroundings have to offer. The best route that I could find was – The Shore Trail. It’s a trail that follows the lakeshore around the entire lake. Total distance is roughly 18 miles. One unique feature of this trail, is that there are houses that back up to the lake nearly the entire way around. Therefore, this path goes through everyone’s backyard. Each property owner is therefore responsible for maintaining their portion of the trail, and each can provide their own type of pavement. It varied from crushed rock, to blacktop, to flagstone, to grass (No visable trail), to dirt single-track.
I started at 4:30 AM. It was already very humid, and the sweat immediately started pouring. I started from the far west side of the lake, so I watched the sun rise as I made my way along the lakeshore. As previously mentioned, the trail changed every time I crossed another property line, and it was quite hilly throughout. I was surprised to see quite a few boaters and swimmers out on the lake that early in the morning. This along with the stunning views of the lake, and the many mansions along the route, made for a very interesting run.
As the sun came up the humidity began to rise and I was soaked with sweat by the halfway point. I slowly made my way around, and finished the run shortly after 7:30 AM. We were supposed to meet up for a team-building event at 8:30. I quickly showered, ate, and made my way to meet up with my co-workers. The team-building event was a GPS based scavenger hunt. There were 10 GPS points on and around the resort property. Each team had to make their way to each point, take their picture in front of the landmark. We had 90 minutes. The team that made it back in time, and with the most pictures would be the winner.
I didn’t know that I’d be running again, so I had a t-shirt, cargo shorts, and sandals on. I also had a Venti Starbucks coffee, banana, and Clif Bar. I wasn’t prepared. Curiously, the owner was prepared. He had running shoes and shorts on, although he’s not a runner, nor is anyone else among the group. So after I had downed my banana I stuck my Clif bar in my shorts pocket and started running with my coffee. They would tell me where to go, and I would run ahead with the camera and take pictures. It got very hot and humid, and we ended up running through some woods, people’s yards, and up some very steep grades under construction to get all of the items on the scavenger hunt list. It was a great team building experience for us, and we WON! By roughly 1 minute. It was an overall great trip for us as a management team. We learned quite a bit about each other and how to work as a team, and once again, my running experience came in handy!
Happy trails! Until next time >>>>>>>>
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Bike MS 2008
So two weekends ago was the Bike MS ride at Northern Illinois University in Dekalb, IL. We had assembled a group of riders from our office to raise funds for MS and ride a certain distance. My father in-law would also join us. The distances were 35, 50, 75, or 100 the first day and 40 or 80 the next day. So of course I said I’d do the 100 and 80. Even though I had not ridden a bike further than 13 miles in the last 10 years, let alone a road bike. I had to borrow my neighbor’s road bike since all I have is my GT mountain bike and Robinson BMX bike. I figured that if I can run 100 miles, I can certainly bike 100 miles.
So I packed the same fuel that I would if I were running an ultra. All of the Hammer goodies such as Perpetuem, Gel, Endurolytes, and Anti-Fatigue. I would also wear my hydration pack. My “padded” bike shorts arrived the day before and barely got them washed in time for the ride.
So I was off. I left before anyone else because nobody else was doing the 100 mile distance. The first 20 miles were easy. The wind was at my back and I felt great. I passed up the first two aid stations. I stopped at the third one at about mile 35 or so. Then I was off again. Made my way from Hinckley down south just north of Sandwich. There was another aid station in Sandwich, but I didn’t stop here either. I was feeling good enough and had enough fuel on me to just keep going. So I made my way from Sandwich to Paw Paw. Paw Paw was mile 49, so about half way. I ate lunch here and was back on the saddle. It was at this point that I started to notice my butt was starting to hurt, as I had expected. As I made my way southwest towards Earlville, the wind had picked up considerably. This point of the course was a point where the 100 milers broke off on their own to do a 25 mile loop and then make it back to the lunch stop for another stop at 75 miles. It was on this loop that I started to hurt and feel the toll that the wind was taking on me. The entire ride was in open farm fields with nothing to block the wind, rain, or sun. The wind had picked up to a steady 30 mph while out on the 100 mile loop. I had gone from a steady 25 mph pace to about 13 mph. The wind was so hard and constant that if I stopped pedaling I would have stopped going downhill and started going back uphill. So I was pedaling for the entire time pretty much. I made my way back to the lunch stop where I ran into a co-worker who was ahead of the rest of my coworkers on the 75 mile route. We exchanged war stories about the wind, rain, and sun, and I was on my way to complete the final 25 miles. This sounded simple, but if I only knew… My butt was hurting real bad, but the tendon just to the inside of my kneecaps was starting to hurt extremely bad. Once again, the wind was a constant 30 mph in our face, and it seemed as if it was all uphill. I was really struggling to keep the bike moving at 9 MPH now in the wind. I rolled into the last aid station with about 13 miles to go and fueled up on whatever I could find to eat. I didn’t care what I put in my mouth at this point. I needed something to get me jacked up enough to where I could forget about the now excruciating pain in my knees. Nothing helped. As I slowly made my way back into DeKalb, I was cursing the wind out loud. How could it blow NON STOP for the entire last 50 miles, with the majority of that time being against us. I made my way across the finish in 6 hrs 14 min. I wondered how it would be possible for me to ride another 80 the next day as I got off the bike and did an a** check to see if I still had one…. It was there but wow did it hurt. I could walk and even run just fine, but the motion of pedaling hurt my knees so bad that I nearly had tears in my eyes. I decided I’d ice the knees, drink lots if Recoverite and just come back and see what I could do the next day. The rest of my coworkers finished a few hours later and we all went to my house, which was relatively close compared to their houses which are in Chicago area. We all passed out very early after lubing up with aloe and icing our sore areas.
My wife and I made breakfast for them all the next morning. Our youngest daughter (7 mos) was up and she sat at the table and ate with the new strangers that had invaded her space. She gave just about every one of them a dirty look (She is great at this for some reason and it’s funny). We all enjoyed a good laugh and hobbled out to our vehicles to make our way back to Dekalb for the last leg of the ride. I said “I’m not sure about this” as we left. We arrived and I got saddled up and took off with the group. I made it ½ mile and said forget it. I had tears running down my face because my knees hurt so bad. It was just a tiny area around my kneecap, but it hurt BAD. To go any further than ½ mile would be torture. So I rode back to the finish/start area and volunteered. I picked up and stacked up folding tables and chairs, emptied garbage, and did whatever they needed to be done while I waited for my co-workers to get back.
They pulled in a few hours later. After it was all said and done, we had raised $1,166,222.99. The goal is $2,000,000.00. If you would like to donate, please visit http://www.msillinois.org/goto/nolanming. I have a few more months to hit my personal goal of $2,000.
For pictures you can visit this link http://picasaweb.google.com/nming1/BikeMS2008.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Father's Day and New York City
Last week I had the opportunity to travel to New York City to attend a convention for work called Buildings New York, and to visit our New York City office. The office is located just a few blocks north east of the World Trade Center location. Per usual, when I’m out of town on business, if I’m not working I’m running. Here’s a link to some pictures from the trip and from Father's Day. http://picasaweb.google.com/nming1/FatherSDayAndNewYorkCity
The first morning I ran south past the World Trade Center site, through and around Wall Street, and all the way south to Battery Park, where I caught my first in-person glimpse of the State of Liberty. I was in awe of the size of the World Trade Center site. It’s a massive hole in the ground that is slowly being built back, but is still below street level at this point. I stood in awe as I imagined everything that happened on that day. Everything from things that I saw on TV, to things that I heard about came to mind as I stood there. It was an overwhelming experience to say the least. I stood there at the location where it all happened, and witnessed first hand how real it all was.
After running I made my way to the Amish Market, where I ate breakfast each day. This place was great. It had a large selection of organic food, fresh seafood, a deli, an organic buffet, and a little restaurant area all within one space. I loved it. After eating breakfast I made my way back to the hotel, got cleaned up and headed over to the Javits Center for the show.
That night we attended a Yankees game. I had never been to Yankee Stadium, and this year is the last year that they will play in the original Yankee Stadium before they move into the new one, just adjacent to the north of the old one. As we arrived and got off the subway train, it reminded me very much of Wrigley Field. The stadium was off to the west of the subway tracks, and the subway is actually elevated as it is at Wrigley Field. As we made our way down the subway stairs to ground level, we came upon a row of bars that lined the street underneath the subway tracks. One of them was a bowling alley. We stopped in so my co-workers could have a few beers before going into the stadium. This was a very cool place. There was a bar, a diner, and a bowling alley all in one space, along with a bag check area for people to check their stuff prior to entering the stadium. There were Yankees colors filling every space as far as the eye could see, and I didn’t dare disclose my allegiance to the mighty Cubs. I knew Yankees fans could be a tough lot.
After a while we made our way into the stadium. Our seats were in the right field upper deck, one row up from the edge of the balcony. Let me tell you, the upper deck is steep. It reminded me of the first version of U.S. Cellular Field’s upper deck, which was also very steep. After I got used to the height and was able to relax, I was able to enjoy the game and take in the whole experience.
There was a guy sitting in front of us in the front row of the upper deck who was a Padres fan. He was dressed in full Padres and Chargers gear, and also held a Caution sign that said “Caution – You are now entering Padres Country” or something to that effect. This guy was given the business all night long. He earned the name Padre from the surrounding fans, and played along with all of their good-natured poking and prodding. At one point he lost control of his Padres sign and it flew listlessly over the edge, floating and then careening down to the seats 40 feet below. I didn’t see if it hit anyone, but I thought it was hilarious. Just the thought of a Padres Stop Sign crashing into a Yankee fan’s head when the score was 7-0 Yankees in the 5th inning was hilarious to me.
Then the Padre started telling jokes. The best one was “Did you hear about the fire at the circus!?” He asked. I said “Actually, no I hadn’t heard about it!” Padre said with extreme concern in his eyes and facial expressions “It was intense!” Everyone loved that one, and we all actually used it repeatedly the following day at the show to keep things lively.
At several points throughout the game, Red Sox fans were pointed out to everyone in the surrounding areas and they were fiercely boo’d, harassed, and taunted. I don’t know why anyone would purposely subject themselves to that abuse. Although good natured, I know that if that were me I would have been uncomfortable after a certain point.
The Yankees went on to beat the Padres. Giambi hit 2 homers that nearly made it to our seats in the right field upper deck. As we made our way out of the stadium and back to the subway, I noticed that there were LOTS of people waiting for the same train we were waiting for. As it pulled up everyone packed into the subway cars. The crowd pushed me into the car like a heard of cattle, and I was smashed up against 2 older ladies in their 70’s for the next 30 minutes. It was unreal. It was packed TIGHT. There was barely room to even move my arms if I wanted to. We got to know each other very well, and the train cars eventually cleared out, and I got off at the City Hall stop. I made my way back to the hotel and called it a day. The next day, I would head out to Central Park to experience that scene. I was looking forward to it.
The morning came and I caught a cab to Central Park. I planned to make my way around the park once to scope it out and soak it all in, and a second time to take pictures and investigate a bit more. The fist thing I noticed was how busy it was. It looked like many of the races that I have attended. The trail was packed and there was a constant stream of runners, bikers, and walkers (Many had dogs). I jumped into the stream and the first thing I heard was a woman asking me “Hammer Nutrition? Like M.C. Hammer? Hahaha…” I said, “Good one, but no. Hahaha”
I continued around the park path, surprised by the amount of people there at 6 AM, the amount of dogs out and about, and the way the park contrasted with the city that surrounds it. When someone says Central Park, one may thing of a small city park one block by one block. Central Park is more like a state park. It’s 6 miles around the entire rectangular shaped park if you follow the outside sidewalk, which would mean missing the entire experience of the inner trails of the park. This would be a mistake. To get the full experience, it’s best to follow as many trails in as many different directions as possible. In every location there’s a different view, a different perspective of the city that you couldn’t have experienced from any other location. It was great people watching. There were all kinds of things going on other than running or biking. There were people doing yoga, playing chess, training their dogs, walking to work through the park with their kids in tow, people sleeping. It was a great experience and I’m glad to be able to have been there. If you get a chance you should go. It’s well worth it.
I was once trying to convince a valued employee of mine not to transfer to New York City. My selling point was “Sure NYC is “sexy”, but after being there for a while that will surely wear off and it will become overwhelming and that “sexiness” would fade.” Having been there once prior to that conversation, I was certainly talking out of my rear end, because after being there for 3 days I fell in love with the city. The diversity of the people, the neighborhoods, and the architecture were never ending and were simply beautiful. The opportunities seem endless. There’s an extremely “sexy” air about the entire city that I’m not sure I would ever grow weary of.
The trip home that afternoon was not so great. I was stuck on the plane for 4 hours before it took off. Oh well. I made it home tired but safe. Happy trails….
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)