Early Run for the first time in a while; 4 miles.

Start Time: 6:32AM Dark, Temp around 60 degrees and 75% Humidity.
Duration: 42′12″
Distance: 4:01 Miles
Avg pace: 10′32″
AHR: 149

Mile 1 12′o4″
Mile 2 10′11″
Mile 3 9′56″
Mile 4 9′57″

First mile was torture! I tried to leave at 6:00 but just couldn’t get going. First mile took me forever. It is mostly up hill as we live in a valley and I had to stop twice to keep my HR down. I was mentally not there and stiff as could be. Couldn’t get shoulders and hips to move - ran tight.
Second mile was still hard - felt stiff and my left knee acted up. Felt my quads pulling on my cap or something.
By third mile I turned around and was feeling better. That’s a long warmup. Was able to stride a bit and as the sun was finally up I wasn’t mentally irritated anymore.
Fourth I actually felt a bit tired. Need to get sleep back on track so I can go to bed earlier. I had gas in the tank after though and this qualifies as an easy run after all.

someothersoul - not what you say.. CD

Not What You Say – A new album from my friend Joe. Go have a listen.

An independent release, Not What You Say is a collection of 5 original songs performed by Joe Spatarella and produced by Richard Walton, featuring a band of incredible musicians: Richard Walton, Drew Davidsen, Tom Alonso, Joey D’Amico and Jacob Yoffee.

I miss Grandma

This is a picture taken about 8 or so years ago of my Grandma and my daughter Maia. I miss her.

Not running….hmm

I’m not running, gotta get running again. I got used to not running when I injured my heels on the hike. They are healed its just my new schedule at D.I. I hate to run in the AM and I don’t want to give up my family dinners. I’ll try lunch maybe - but that takes time. Any ideas world?

Sunny’s running, injured so I better get my legs in action, thanks for the inspiration.

Charanis AT Hike - 2005 Pictures

That’s me with my pack:

Click this link for Charanis AT Hike - 2005 Pictures

Just Back From Louisiana

CoverStory

Here is the full story on Stephanie’s Dad

Sales Training

A friend asked me what books I would recommend for sales as in "How To Sell."
I would say my top two books are Spin Selling by Neil Rackham and Selling to the Very Important Top Officer (VITO) by Anthony Parinello.

I went to my library and pulled out the ones I still have and have the following list:

1. Spin Selling, Neil Rackham: This is a great outline of the complex selling process. It has been refined over the years and other processes may be better but I like its simplicity, its focus on asking questions and above all listening to your prospects.

2. Selling to VITO, Anthony Parinello: This is a terrific tactical book for getting you in the door. Cold calling is the biggest challenge for most salespeople and this is a good way to get to the top, ie "C" level targets.

3. The One Minute Salesperson, Spencer Johnson (also try One Minute Manager - a longtime favorite as well) - organization is key to selling; don’t waste time.

4. Solution Selling, Michael Bosworth: This one has been used by more sales managers to create process then most.

5. How to Master the Art of Selling, Tom Hopkins: My first sales book from my first training class. This is bare tactics selling - designed for those in competitive, small sale selling situations (Copiers and Office Supplies).

6. How to Win Friend and Influence People , Dale Carnegie: Another perennial favorite, relationships man, its all about relationship.

7. The 5 Great Rules of Selling, Percy Whiting: A text book approach to selling.

8. Changing The Game: The New Way To Sell, Larry Wilson: Pretty much another complex sales book focused on leadership and creativity

9. The End of Marketing As We Know It, Sergio Zyman: Its a marketing book but really shows that its all about selling. I worked for this guy for a while - its worth the read for the stories alone.

10. Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In, Roger Fisher and William Ury: The second hardest part - of big deals; not dropping your
pants to get the sale.

Motivation is also critical. Here are a few books to also consider - but better on tape, it sinks in more.

1. Being the Best, Dennis Waitley: The first book I read just out of college, got me to quit a dead-end job and get in the game! Other great Waitley books
are Seeds of Greatness and Psychology of Winning. Again - on tape, get one of his live performances if you can.

2. The Magic of Thinking Big, David Schwartz: Refocus your head, pick a good target, don’t fear success, stay positive - its all in there.

3. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey: Everyone knows this one - it works.

4. See You at the Top, Zig Ziglar: A motivator focused on sales success.

AT Hike - quick update

I crossed a distance of 25 miles S to N but with my initial loop, the side hikes and hikes to water and AT Shelters it was more like 32 (when you are up high you often have to go down a bit to get to a stream to pump/filter water).
I carried a pack weighing approx. 40 lbs fully loaded. But that was with food and water (I carried between 2-4 liters of water @ 2.2lbs per liter). Without food and water it was just under 30lbs.

Here is the breakdown.
Day 1: 11.5 miles - I was dropped at Blue Ridge gap and I walked the three miles to the NC border & Bly Gap and back starting again South from Blue Ridge. I stopped at Plumorchard Gap Shelter and hiked to water there as well. I camped at Little Bald Knob (there is a joke there somewhere). Only three “up’s” for a total of maybe 1200 feet.
Day 2: 11.5 miles - Hiked to Steeltrap Gap - did a side hike to Deep Gap Shelter and a small trail on Addis Gap. I killed a lot of time at Deep Gap talking to some other hikers and ended up arriving at Steeltrap in the dark (that’s when I met the snake). About 2000 feet of up’s
Day 3: 9 miles - Hiked from SteelTrap back to a spot on the Blue Ridge Swag I had wanted to see from the day before but couldn’t in the dark. Finished at Unicoi Gap where I was happy to see my truck still there. About 2000 feet of up’s - pretty steep.

My Journal and pictures to follow. Now I need to rest.

UPDATE Pictures

Tomorrow’s Backpacking

Plan is to start at Blue Ridge Gap in GA, hike north to the NC border and hike back south to Unicoi Gap. This will complete the GA AT for me.
In the official Appalachian Trail Guide to North Carolina-Georgia (Eleventh Edition) it is:
Bly Gap to Dicks Creek Gap (Section 11) 8.8 Miles
Dicks Creek Gap to Unicoi Gap(Section 12) 16.1 Miles
Its a pretty good hike, despite it only being 24 Miles. For example, Dicks Creek Gap is at just over 2500 feet but Tray Mtn is almost 4500. So there will be some good ups and downs.

I have made my reservation with Trail Shuttle operator Wess Wisson to get me there. I’ll be hiking Tuesday starting at 8:00AM and finishing Thursday afternoon or evening. If I need an extra day i’ll stay in the woods Thursday night.

60 minute jog - felt fantastic

I went for an easy run today, and I feel great. Quality LSD
Start Time 8:30AM
Duration 60Minutes
Distance 5.76Miles
Avg Pace 10′25″/mile
AHR 135BMP

My HR dropped back to 65 pretty quickly, today should be a nice relaxing day.