Wednesday, January 13, 2010

2010 off to a great start!

A quick note as the new year rolls on now. It is January 13th (one day since the major earthquake in Haiti). What a horrible situation there.

My preparation for the upcoming racing season is going very well. Snake Bite Racing signed me to their 2010 sponsored racing team, and I've started with a new coach for 2010 - Gregg Brekke. He is already challenging me both physically, and in terms of nutrition (i'm on a much more strict diet for the next few months). I run the Boston Marathon on April 19th - that's just a bit over 3 months from now! The challenge has been the snow. There has been some amount of new snow almost every day since Christmas. Sometimes this makes running a little more challenging! But it builds toughness (physically and mentally).

At work, the first two weeks of the year have been hectic with the Global year-end closing. Interesting experience for me (my first). Best part is that my areas of responsibility (US and Europe distribution centers) were dead on for our year-end physical inventory. $25 on about $3,000,000 in the US and 310Euro on about 2,000,000EUR in Europe. This is extrordinarly good performance anywhere... and last year before I arrived, they had write-offs of about $300,000! Needless to say, the executive team is quite happy with the progress I've been able to accomplish with my teams, in addition to the huge savings we've generated on the Purchasing side.

Amy is still active with Love A Stray - even though the "farm" where the outdoor shelter has been is likely closing since the owner passed away. There is still much work to be done to help these animals, and she puts her heart into it. I'm proud of watching her in action - quite impressed with her knowledge, creativity and resourcefulness. Andy continues to do well in school and has really stepped up this year (with Amy's excellent guidance). He has to be the most liked kid at the school, walk the halls with him, you'd think he's a rock star! Everyone just tells us how "nice" and "friendly" he is. Must be the parents! :) Tommy is doing great too, and is still super-obsessed with "army men" and "transformers". He is a fun, amazing and intense child! Makes it tough to leave them to travel, of course, but I'm so lucky to get to see the world!

I'm preparing to return to China as early as next week. Might take a side trip either to Japan or to Malaysia. In March - back to Germany for a week. April, after the Boston Marathon, I may finally schedule my trip to India. I keep pushing India back, I'm not in a hurry to get sick or depressed (everyone has to deal with that the first time there, I'm told).

Friday, January 1, 2010

2009 Highlights

Big Changes in 2009:

For me the biggest highlight was the change in my career - joining Fosbel as the Global Director of Logistics and Purchasing after 3 years with PCC as Operations Manager. This was such a radical change for me. Going from a big Fortune 500 company as the plant manager with a rather narrow focus (Ops in one plant) - to a smaller company in a role with a very broad scope (direct reports on 3 continents, Logistics and import/export to 70+ countries, global purchasing, etc). As a result, my quality of life has greatly improved (working 8-5 M-F instead of 6a-6p M-F + 7-12 S), I can ride my bike to work (24 miles round trip vs 86 miles to my old job), and a much better corporate culture.

Because I have offices and direct reports overseas, that means I get to travel! I simply love traveling overseas! I've had 4 wonderful trips to Europe and one to Asia this year. I'm very lucky to get to travel to these lands and stay in some amazing and beautiful locations! I even took a trip in December where I literally circled the globe - from Spain and Germany to China and Korea - then back home. Amazing! I do all I can to experience the local cultures when I travel... I believe in "when in Rome"... so I've eaten some weird stuff along the way, as well as seen some great sights in the 8 countries I visited this year. I have plenty of pictures on my Facebook page.


Family
The boys (Andy 8, Tommy 4) are thriving at home and in school. They are such awesome little dudes already! I have fun with each of them! We went to HS football games together, to Caribou coffee to hang out, and the beach, of course! Andy is totally into art (never happier then when he started "Art School" this fall) and Tommy is totally into sports (hockey, baseball, football, you name it!!).

Amy has had a good year as well! She is such an awesome mom and wife! So supportive of my triathlon passion, and my international travel. The kids have a great time with her, but are totally in control - she's tough! Did I mention that she has cooked some of her best stuff EVER this year!?! How am I supposed to cut weight for the racing season when she cooks such incredible foods??!!?? She had an up and down year with Love-A-Stray, the owner of the land where the dog shelter is passed away, and the future of the "Farm" is in serious question.

We adopted two cats this year from Love-A-Stray, when we had to put down Maggie (of 18 years). "Bumble" and "Bee" have made themselves quite at home here! They get along so well with each other and with Murphy (2yr old we adopted from LAS last year). The pet situation is just perfect here! Onlly once in a while is it like "there are a lot of animals here" - usually in the am when you are trying to have your morning coffee and you get two cats crawling on you, and Murph falls asleep on your feet again. :)

We were able to take some very nice vacations. The big one was a trip to the Adirondaks - two weeks in Lake Placid. We rented and incredible house on the lake, had our own beach, boats, dock, deck, etc. It was once in a lifetime!! We did so many fun things there - climbed the peak of Whiteface Mountain, went ice skating at the olypmic center where the "Miracle on Ice" happened, and had lots of fun on the beach and in town. We also had a great trip up to Traverse City, Michigan to see family there. Weather was great so we could climb the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes, canoe the Crystal River and enjoy the beach.


Triathlon / Racing
My passion and release!! I had a GREAT season - that is the best way to say it!! Many Personal Records... in the Marathon (3h13m - where I qualified for Boston for the first time), 5k, 10k and 15k running races and the Ironman triathlon (even after a bad crash). I ran my first international marathon in Europe as well - it started in Germany, went through Austria, into Switzerland, before returning to Austria for the finish. My training was better, and race-day focus and execution were good, too). At the end of the season, I was invited to be a member of the Snake Bite Racing team for 2010!

I've signed on with a new coach for 2010 - Gregg Brekke. I anticipate greater focus on my triathlon performances and nutrition discipline, as I tackle the 2010 Boston Marathon in April and the inagural Rev3 Ironman distance Triathlon at Cedar Point in September.

I could tell so many little stories and examples of what made the year the year it was, but I'll save your eyeballs for now!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE! I hope a look back, and a drive forward brings you a great 2010!!