< 3 > Nope, not a broken HTML code.

21 miles! For the week! Less than my weekly Saturday runs for the past 2 years. BUT 7 straight days of getting out the door and getting in a 3 mile run. Tomorrow I start building mileage toward my goal of 90-100 miles per week. The best part of it has been the opportunity to think again. For the entire training season leading up to Boston I was so preoccupied with my new venture that it crowded out all other thoughts even on my runs. This week, I have once again discovered how to let my mind wander into other areas and it is amazing how calm my brain feels now compared to just a few weeks ago. So, the brain may be feeling good but that is about it. I weighed myself today and I have put on 15 pounds since Portland. My stride is affected by the extra weight and my hip continues to complain at times. I'm confident that as the mileage builds the weight will drop so I am not going to "diet".

One thing that I realized on today's run is how much starting up my real estate business mirrored my decision to train for the marathon. You sign up for real estate classes like you might sign up for a training group. Then you complete the training/classes. Now you find yourself on the marathon/career starting line for the first time. When the horn sounds you forget everything your coach ever told you about pacing yourself at the beginning and off you go. You soon find out that pacing your self early might have been the better decision!

So I have made the decision to put in place a long range business plan that fits with my marathon training plan and fits with a quality of life plan. Soon after I received my license, the local Board of Realtors announced the Rookie of the Year award for 2009 and bragged how she had closed $990,000 in her first year. That is actually quite above the average for a first year realtor. Thursday I closed 2 transactions that put me at $1,217,000 in 4 months with another $790,000 in working deals. This does NOT include the HUD transactions that I get credit for even though I am an unpaid contractor.

So, in addition to setting a marathon goal of breaking 3 hours I am setting a business goal for 2010: Top $3,000,000 in my first calendar year as an agent. I have chosen to represent my goals graphically as < 3 > . Since success is rarely the result of hard work alone, I have to recognize the role that my coaches and teammates play in my running success and recognize the role that my wife, my broker and my clients will play in any business success I may achieve. I have now fully joined the race and am ready for the long haul! Whoo Hooo!

The Beginnings of a new plan

Today was the day. I woke up, had a cup of coffee and felt like I had to go for a run. First run since Boston. Nothing big but I went for 3 miles just to see if anything hurt. All good. I got back and pulled up the California International Marathon site. December 5. I pulled out the Lydiard Progression that I used for Portland and laid out a plan to go from 0-90 miles per week. It calls for 21 miles this week building to 45 miles in 3 weeks. Then adding 5 miles per week to 90. I have 3 goals at this point. First is to get consistency back by running 6-7 days per week. Second is to log 2,200+/- miles by CALI. Final goal is to make a serious attempt at breaking 3 hours at CALI.

Eileen has asked to be home schooled next year and we are excited at the possibilities that opens up for travel. We are looking at incorporating a visit to Ruth Anne's sister in Yuba City and a trip to Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks after the marathon.

For all of this to work, I am going to have to get the real estate business on a more stable consistent schedule. I am extremely proud of the business that I have built in such a short time with just about $1M closed and another $1M under contract BUT it was built at the expense of my running. To maintain a balance in life, I need to get the running back on track while building on the momentum I have in real estate. I don't know if I will be able to post daily or if a weekly update will have to do. BUT I do plan to keep this blog updated regularly throughout this training session.

I'm glad to be back!