I’ve got big plans for Mother’s Day this year. It starts with a beautiful run through Napa’s vineyards. This is a route I’ve never run before. I’ll be running among the vines, through estates and enjoying beautiful scenery. This is a route that’s never been open to runners before. On May 9th I’ll be running in The Wine Half Marathon, starting at Quintessa Winery. Other participating wineries include Frog’s Leap Winery, Honig Vineyard & Winery, Round Pond Estate, Saddleback Cellars, Silver Oak, B Cellars and Cliff Lede Vineyard & Winery.
Hopefully my family will be cheering me on along the course. To make sure someone is with me, I’ve signed up my son to race with me, but he’ll smoke me. Luckily, I’ll see everyone at the Wine Village. This is the post-race area with food, wine, music and activities planned for the entire family—young and old.
I was intrigued to run this race because it was high time for me to get some kind of fitness activity on the calendar, and companies that I hold in high regard are sponsoring it. Dominus Estate and Legacy Barrel Services are helping to get this inaugural half marathon off the ground. This run is a labor of love by local winery professionals who have run the Marathon du Medoc. This sounded like a great run and I quickly signed up. Now my real work began.
I love to run. I love trail running. I have been running for years and always find it most enjoyable when I have a willing 4-legged companion. We recently mourned the passing of our beautiful labradoodle, Raven. She was a camping, running, snowshoeing, swimming, and ball-fetching champ. She was beloved by my family, and her passing was very hard. Without a dog, there really is no reason to get out of bed in the morning, let alone run. At the end of last year, we welcomed a new large creature into our home, Schatzi. Schatzi is a big guy, not as into playing ball as Raven was, but he is a good runner. With my new loyal companion, it was time to get running. The Wine Half Marathon hit just at the perfect time. I quickly signed up—it sounded like a lot of fun.
I often get myself into situations of my own making. You can’t sign up for a half marathon and not plan to run it. This means I’m currently training, adding a little mileage every week, getting sufficient rest and cross training when possible. Using Google AI, I got a training plan and have been following it daily. Luckily today is a rest day, a good day to write about running, training and how that relates to WineTalent.
What does running in a Wine Half Marathon have to do with career advice? Just like getting ready to run a half marathon, the best way to approach big career challenges is to set a goal, figure out what you need to do to accomplish that goal, and then put in the work to get to your goal.
Career goals can include a promotion, leading a team, handling a large, important project, getting a raise, or landing your dream job. To accomplish these goals, you need to identify them, figure out what you need to reach the goal and then take the steps to realize it.
- Looking for a promotion? Harvard Business School has this career development paper “How to Get Promoted at Work: 10 Effective Strategies”
- Want to become a leader at work? Kerry Siggins at LinkedIn gives you tips in “7 Ways to Become a Better Leader”
- Best way to lead your first work project? The Institute of Leadership has these 6 steps in “How to Lead Projects Effectively”
- How do you get a raise? USC has this on “How and Why You Should Ask for a Raise”
- How do you land your dream job? Forbes charts it out in “The Proven 11-Step Method to Land Your Dream Job”
Come join me on the run. The registration fee goes up on April 1st. Register NOW! https://www.thewinemarathon.com/register-to-race
