Nashville Tennessee Living

The Music City Marathon is on April 25, 2009. Today that is exactly 10 weeks away.  Now I'm only doing the Half Marathon, 13.1 miles instead of 26.2. But I still have to train for it. Last year I trained but I wasn't as focused. I do a walk/run and my goal was to be under 3 hours. I got in at 3:01:40. Close, but not quite there.

This year I hope to beat my time by at least 1.5 minutes per mile. That would be a 12:40 minute mile. Doable, but only if I can either run a little faster, when I run, or run more than I walk.

Week One of Training for the Music City Marathon I talked about not being prepared for our first Group Run. I compared it to not being prepared for a listing presentation.

Thankfully, that hasn't happened again. I am focused and following directions. We have a predetermined training schedule that includes a Saturday Group Run, midweek runs and either weight training or cross training.

Notice that the word TRAINING keeps appearing.  The Webster dictionary defines training as:

1.a: to form by instruction, discipline, or drill b: to teach so as to make fit, qualified, or proficient 2: to make prepared (as by exercise) for a test of skill

Tomorrow on our Group Run, we will go 5 miles. Each week, we add a little distance so when the time comes, we're prepared. In my weight training, Traci, my trainer, has me working on my core. It's directly related to my running and should help me physically reach my running goals.

At work I'm doing a different type of training. I am developing my skills in the area of Social Networking. It requires a lot of time and dedication, but the goal is huge and it is real.I want to expand my Real Estate presence on line. I want to start getting business from this activity. To do this, I have to learn to the point that I understand SEO, RSS feeds and many other subjects that are all but Greek to me now. I have to enlist the help of others, I have to read, and I have to practice what I've learned.

None of these things happen by themselves.

Home Buyers and Sellers are getting younger as we (me anyway) get older. To be relevant to them we need to keep up with what they are doing. We need to constantly educate ourselves on current trends and other aspects of the Real Estate Industry.

Training for the Marathon Part 1

Country Music Marathon April 25, 2009

Part One of a 12 week series leading up to the Music City Half Marathon on April 25, 2009 here in Nashville Tennessee.

It all started in 2008. I decided that I needed to prove to someone, myself maybe?, that turning 50 was a good thing. I work out with a trainer and she was once again preparing to run the Music City Half Marathon. I listened to her talk about it week after week during our workouts. Finally, it just got to me.

She's not much younger than me, I said to myself. What's to keep me from doing this??

So, without telling her anything, I decided to do it. I didn't have anyone to train with, wasn't exactly sure what was involved so I did a little investigating and asking around. Then I saw the ad to Train with Team Rio and I signed up.

Let me stop here. There is a band called Diamond Rio, you probably know them by their hit One More Day. They happen to live locally and a couple of them run the marathon every year. They teamed up with the local chapter of Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee to help them raise money.

So, I type in the website and follow the links to sign up. Then I downloaded the training schedule and went to meet them on Saturday. The rest is history.

Through the next few weeks I'll be telling you more about the program, but for now this is what's involved.

A Half Marathon is 13.1 Miles.

To run 13.1 miles one needs to build up to it. Each week we run a little farther on the weekend "long run". My friend Jennifer decided to train with me this year.

Because we weren't totally organized, we met at Concord Park in Brentwood and did a  5 mile walk/run. I had my dog, Sweet Pea, with me. You know how dogs "just like to go". Well that created a little too much chaos. She will not be training with us in the future.

Next weekend, we're serious. We'll be signed up with Team Rio and will head out on their schedule. Watch for it.

Now, you're probably wondering, What does this have to do with Real Estate??

The truth is Everything. I am rambling about a Marathon that we were not ready to start trainging for. We've talked about it for 3 or 4 months now and when the time came we had not prepared. Running a marathon is no different that doing a listing presentation. It takes Knowledge and Preparation!

When you're called to do a Listing Presentation, you don't just throw your clothes on, grab your briefcase and run! You get on the computer and find out everything you need to know about the property. Then you do a market analysis. And if you've been selling Real Estate for any time at all, you have a listing presentation that you can now tailor to the prospect.

Trust me. I did this Half Marathon last year. I want to be better prepared this year. We're going to beat my time of 3:01:40!

More next week!

Training for the Country Music Marathon Part 2

Country Music Marathon April 25, 2009

If you would like information about the Music City Marathon you can read all about it here.

To seach for homes in Nashville Tennessee click here. Or just visit my website www.ConnieHarvey.com