Updates on My Sporting Condition & Boston Marathon 2012

I have decided to run in the Berlin Marathon on 30 September. This is a world-class full marathon, where the world-record was set before. This course is pancake-flat, punctuated with key landmarks of this city with a rich history. Many attempt their Boston Qualifying (BQ) timings to qualify for the oldest marathon in the world. Expect a wide and deep field of marathoners who edge around 3 hours and less.

I am healing well from my stress fracture of my left metatarsal. There is no tenderness to the touch. I can put my weight on one foot when I go on tip-toe. Because of my heavy work travel in recent weeks, I can only get my sports-doctor’s review after the race.

My strategy for the race is: COMPLETE THE RACE COMFORTABLY, AND EARN MY MEDAL AND T-SHIRT. I will endeavour to enjoy the race with my friends, a team comprising military-officers (in the reserves). Chances for a PB is bleak, although if I pace well enough, I might hover around a decent 4 hours. I crossed the line in 2010 in the rainy and cold conditions in 3:37 (a far cry from my sub-3:30 race in 2011). If I can run well with minimal running (but with a strong base of core strengthening, swimming and cycling), I should be quite pleased with myself. Focus and resolve will be my values I will engage on my quest for 42.195K excellence. Toes crossed for mild weather. It should be an engaging and entertaining run.

Nine Ways To Update Your Profile

Profiles that are left idle, may affect your personal branding. By updating your online profile, you are keeping yourself fresh and contemporary. Otherwise, your presence is, at best, temporary. Remember the platinum rule in online marketing: Content is king. When face-to-face, your personality and character makes you royal and regal. Your profile is your summary of your comprehensive file (i.e. resume, CV, or biography). However, never attempt to over-inflate your resume even for the Head Honcho's position (especially in Yahoo!).

It is not difficult to update your profile:

1)    Keep in constant touch with your online community. Announce interesting developments. Only if INTERESTING or USEFUL.

2)    If your social media campaign is not useful, remove it. Having less is useful. You need not be on all popular platforms.

3)    Post regularly on your blog, especially when you have an established readership.

4)    Seek recommendations and testimonials, especially when clients are pleased with your work. Indicate awards and commendations, when you receive them.

5)    Housekeeping is vital. Which new developments are occurring in your profession or life now? Edit or delete.

6)    If it is too good to be true, it is probably too good to be true. Report factually. Avoid exaggeration.

Special mention of our blog by Dr Mok Ying Ren, Singapore's top marathoner & weekly columnist.

7)    Remove controversial or demeaning material, including photographs or remarks that may be deemed insensitive or inappropriate.

8)    If you are not comfortable with the details, tweak it.

9)    Sharing useful content to those that it matters to is a powerful approach.

Photo-credit & design: Dr Leow Jo Lene

Leadership Lessons: Which three things will you update to your online profile? When signing off on your e-mails, what would you distinguish yourself by? When was the last time you were recommended for your services?

Keeping Up With Appearances

When you update your blog, Facebook, Twitter account, website, and the whole array of Social Media tools what is your intention? Many will cite their reasons as updating, informing, sharing and disseminating others. As you enthusiastically plant new content on these platforms, are there other reasons for bringing your audience up to speed?

Besides the mundane activities that we post about on Facebook or Twitter (which few close friends may read and disavow your idiosyncracies), or if you have a legion of Followers/fans (as a celebrity) which will hang onto your every word – not much fascinates us. At best, it is called ‘keeping in touch’; at its worst, it is self-indulgent and self-gratifying.

Several of my loyal readers have suggested that I update my profile picture as well as cover photograph. One professional photographer has offered to take some action shots for me, so that I can replace the existing ones. Thus, I changed the covering photograph, which was taken during last weekend’s endurance jaunt at the Half-Ironman race. I have been tagged for a large album of photographs; fortunately, this time I look more photogenic instead of fatigue and disenchantment. It’s all about the smiles and enjoying the moment – I learnt. Suffer in silence but express your deepest joys. I also removed the sponges and zipped up my tri-top as I dashed through the finishing-chute.

I wrote that endurance athletes seem to have unhealthy looks – not intentionally – and having low body-fat levels just makes us look haggard. The physical appearance of an endurance athlete is about being skinny, light-footed and, perceived as eating-all-we-want-of-what-we-love (which is not true, well, not all the time). Perception is reality to many, and perhaps, we should wear clothes one size larger? Allow the bodybuilders and narcissists the room to manoeuvre in their compression-tight clothes.

When was the last time you updated your website, blog, LinkedIn and Twitter accounts? How often do you answer e-mails in detail? Is your website static or dynamic? Do you need bells and whistles on your website to progress, or is content still king? How have you expressed yourself as a leader to your team? Did you initiate changes to your leadership style after you attended that leadership program?

*****

This will be a busy weekend, as I will be teaching in the Middle East - I am looking forward to it. Eight weeks to Ironman Lanzarote, so enough of mucking around! Time to get more active in my physical preparation.

I am still sore after last weekend’s 113K-triathlon challenge; I suspect it is because I have been doing less mileage with harder intensity. My running week did not exceed 40K, which was what I achieved before the Hong Kong Marathon. A day after Ironman 70.3 in Singapore, I attended Pete Jacob’s running techniques workshop with Hui Koon (who will do the Cairns Challenge); there we ran barefoot for most of the session. Yesterday, I rode for 90 minutes to flush out residual waste products in my muscles. Now, I am still stiff and sore, and I wonder if it was caused by the muscle cramps I experienced. Hopefully, my deep tissue massage will sort that out.

Kevin Siah (who missed narrowly going under-5:00) blogs about his racing weekend.

This article is about Lance’s quest for a 2:50-2:55 marathon time in an Ironman race. Alberto Salazar assists the Yellow Strong founder. Hui Koon writes about his running clinic with Pete Jacobs.

The Future Will Set You Free

Here is a challenge on your creativity. What do you think of the following idioms?

The best things in life are free. It is better to give than to receive.

Chris Anderson’s book, FREE may have caused a stir for its radical thesis on a new price index: free. He proposes a fairly strong argument for giving things away, literally, for free.

Here is recent evidence of a free-orientated approach to business and branding: Irish pop band, U2 ‘live streaming’ concert on 26 October 2009 was watched by nearly 7,000,000 fans. The concert at California’ Pasadena Rose Bowl was posted on the Internet via YouTube. U2 was one of the first major bands to stream a concert live for free of their 360 Degrees Tour. When the concert concluded, thousands of fans left messages of support on the video-sharing website. The entire show will be repeated on YouTube at a later date.

Free webinars (web seminars) by software companies. For example, Mind Manager 8 for designing mind maps.

Sports drink company, Infinit, offers an online design of your preferred sports drink profile. You design the composition of nutrients that goes to your ‘one custom’ drink, flavour, and taste. You then have an option to buy a sample of this at an affordable cost.

Traditional, yet effective are the provision of free samples. Who doesn’t love a freebie, now and then? As long as there is no catch. Filling a short form may be the price you pay. A few minutes of your time, and a little information about yourself and your buying preferences: that is what is involved for you – the freebie receiver. We may have participated, as freeware users, in the beta testing of new and emerging software. Subsequently, you may be approached for an upgrade to a better version, should you intend to pay a small fee.

Is nothing for free? Microsoft Windows Vista, automatically, downloads ‘patches’ for its end-users at no charge. Likewise, anti-virus software from Norton and McAfee also notify us of updates for innoculating our PCs from a virulent and infectious world of spam, Trojans, viruses and worms.

Anderson provides many examples, from small businesses to mega-corporations. He also describes how larger corporations took the lead from small businesses and online businesses, to review how free can free up their businesses from the encumbrances of more discerning consumers.

In a nutshell, free can enhance your brand with the release of values called generosity, reciprocation, appreciation, care and loyalty. Some may actually pay for a better version for your product, while others may be satisfied with your free version, and others will pay premium for your best. So, free may not be absolutely free. There are terms and conditions to consider. The small print, however lengthy and thorough, is still binding.

So, is free silly? You can still receive a copy of my e-book THE SUCCESS STRATEGIES OF WORLD-CHAMPIONS. It is free.