2012 April » britta//unfiltered

One Week ‘til My First Half!

Apr 292012

Posted by Britta on April 29, 2012 at 9:59 pm in Life 6 Responses »

Hey! Sooo many things to talk about. So many things. I have been busy with life and not so busy with blogging… leaving me with too many topics I wish I could squeeze into one post.

It’s pretty obvious what is on my mind… 6 days til the Minnetonka Half Marathon! I did my last long training run this morning (10 miles) and it went awesome. Claritin plus Clif Mocha gels are apparently the ticket. I skipped out on my long run last week after being in Wisconsin all weekend and preparing to start my new job, so I was really nervous that I was going to feel weak during my run today. I felt really good the whole time and can’t wait for next weekend! WHOO!

My new job is great. I think I’m really going to like my role and everyone I work with, and my commute isn’t bad at all. I am so excited to be really living in Minneapolis 100% of the time and can’t wait to explore the cities with Brandon during our first full summer here together!

Other things to share…

We went to a Brewer game with friends from back home last weekend. It was super fun and a lot of food was eaten

and many beverages were consumed.

Brandon’s mom gave me some more of her homemade granola. It’s almost half gone already. Soooo delish.

We did so many apartment projects this week/weekend! Behold:

New (much needed) pots & pans, installed by Brandon in the kitchen on a pot rack:

The pans are now in a really convenient position relative to the stove, and getting the pans and the cookbooks out of our (limited) cupboard space has opened up room in the kitchen for other things we store in weird storage closets right now (like our blender). We also replaced our knife set, and it has been really fun using all of the higher-quality tools in the kitchen.

We put our first-ever patio furniture out on the balcony:

We are so excited for a morning warm enough to drink coffee outside in the sun.

AND we finally bought and replanted (well, Brandon the green thumb replanted) plants and herbs for our West Elm wall planters that we’ve had for about a month.

We went to the COOLEST gardening/landscaping store I’ve ever been to (Bachman’s in Minneapolis) and picked up all the necessary supplies. This store had everything – a huge room of indoor plants, a café out near all the plant displays (so cute), tons of outdoor plants, vegetable garden supplies, flowers, and every supply in between.

I am in love with them and have been laying on the couch staring at them since Brandon hung them up:

Beerfest. We watch awesome movies.

We grew our little basil plant there on the left from seeds and didn’t realize it needed to be pruned to encourage it to grow sideways so we had to decapitate him today. Hopefully the herbs grown into the planter a little bit more and stop looking so.. stunted? Brandon does all the watering, I have faith in him Smile

Whew! That was a lot of pictures. Off to prepare for week #2 at the new office. What’s the biggest thing on your calendar this week?

Beginning Again

Apr 202012

Posted by Britta on April 20, 2012 at 9:05 pm in Life 5 Responses »

I almost just wrote a post about how looking at my own Facebook profile makes me feel ugly, fat and friendless but then I remembered that whining is obnoxious and Facebook is pretty much designed to make us feel bad about ourselves. That said, I desperately need a haircut, a wardrobe intervention and a solid week without sugar. God help me.

Anyway, I have something way more important to talk about than my pale skin and pathetic roots (OKAY I’M DONE NOW).

The big news i’ve been hinting at?…

Today was my last day at my consulting job. I don’t think it is probably a surprise to anyone that reads my blog with any regularity that I have decided to pursue a position outside of consulting. If you know me in real life, you probably already knew about my decision, but I have been waiting for the right moment to talk about it in internet-land.

I was not aggressively looking for new jobs, but I came upon a really, really great – almost perfect – opportunity at a company where a former classmate started a job in January. I grilled her on the phone for at least two hours until I had myself feeling really excited and breathless about the prospect of even APPLYING for the job. It is exactly what I went to school for and the position will be similar to the role I had at an internship I loved. The company manufactures medical devices, which is similar to the industry of the company where I did my internship and makes me feel good that I am helping people with the products I will be helping to manufacture. I won’t be working in downtown Minneapolis anymore, but the commute is decent.

After finding this opportunity that got me feeling motivated and inspired about work, I considered a couple truths about what I have been doing in consulting.

I am very much a creature of routine and I value alone time and control over my own schedule and eating choices. It has been really hard for me to be away from home so often, and it has been hard to maintain a sense of routine and normalcy. I have had little visibility to when I might be traveling next, spent the vast majority of my “free” time with my coworkers (driving to/from work and almost all meals), and am generally deciding on a spot to eat with 2-5 other people, if I have a say in the food at all. I don’t feel healthy or well-rested when I’m traveling, and when I’m in the hotel, I’m constantly craving my own bed, my own coffeemaker, dinner in my own kitchen… you get the idea. And you’ve read it a million times before.

I was beginning to feel unfulfilled and less than engaged in my work. I don’t really feel comfortable getting into the details of exactly what I was doing/where I was working/etc., but I can generalize by explaining that my consulting job was not really what I went to school for and I would like to be doing work more along the lines of what I studied and did in my internships. For me, consulting work was a bit.. rigid with not a lot of room in the “implementation methodology” for creativity or variety, and it was frustrating for me to do projects and then walk away from the client without ever really witnessing the end result of our work or having the opportunity to follow up on things that weren’t in scope or were left imperfect due to time constraints.

Despite having known for awhile that consulting with my firm is not what I want to do long-term, I am bummed to be leaving. I really, really like my coworkers and bosses and I am going to miss the people so much. I laughed a lot at work, and always knew there would be someone who had my back and was supporting me when I felt overwhelmed and frustrated by the feeling that I was in the “wrong” job. Many of my coworkers knew how I was feeling before they learned of my decision, too. Nonetheless, I was a nervous wreck to put in my official notice because I didn’t want them to think I was ungrateful for my experience over the last 9 months. It was also really bad timing since I just started on a new project that has a major milestone coming up in just 2 weeks.

My fears were completely unfounded and everyone at work has been, as usual, totally supportive. The nice emails and well wishes I have received the last few weeks have made me even more sad to be leaving, but I know I have made the right choice and am so excited to start at my new job.

I have had the feeling of being disappointed in myself many times over the past 9 months. Every time I was hating my hotel room and feeling stifled, I felt like I was being a quitter, a wuss, and like I had made a stupid mistake in choosing my job. I gave myself a lot of pep talks to stick it out, give it another chance, and think positive. I also worried that I was “wasting” the time I spent on the job because I knew it wasn’t right for me. I have felt like a huge jerk for complaining so much about a job when a lot of people aren’t employed at all or are MUCH further away from their area of interest/expertise relative to what my job was compared to my area of interest.

My negative thoughts were wrong. I have grown a lot and learned so much from this experience. I have built some great relationships with hardworking and intelligent people that I hope to keep in touch with for many more years of my career. I have grown up a lot. I have learned business acumen and project management and critical thinking, but I have also learned about what I want out of life and what my priorities are. (I have definitely learned how to pack a carry on and navigate an airport like a pro, and how much it can change your day to just have the choice of packing your own lunch.)

In some ways, I feel like I am back at square one. It is scary to be starting a new job, especially one that is very different from what I have been doing since I graduated. After taking 5 years to graduate and now working for almost a full year, starting over makes me feel like I’m a little “behind”. But life is not a race, and a new opportunity is a clean slate. I am excited to take on my new job as an exciting adventure. I can’t wait to meet my new coworkers, start learning, and make an impact. I’m starting on Monday! I am officially trading my frequent flyer miles for a daily commute.

The last year has felt like a long period of figuring things out, and I have often felt like I am running a million miles an hour with no clue what direction I’m going in. I am hopeful that transitioning into my new job is going to be a catalyst for feeling settled and more productive in this post-college phase of my life, gaining confidence in the direction I have chosen in life, and finding more happiness in my days.

I have read Katie’s post from when she left her job over and over again in the course of making this decision, because I have had similar feelings of guilt about letting people down with my choice. I have felt consumed by anxiety about what people would think of me for leaving my job after 9 months (am I quitting too early? do people wonder why I’ve stayed this long?). I have worried about sharing the decision with my bosses, my family, my friends. I felt terrible during the period between knowing that I was taking the job while waiting for the final paperwork to come through and finally giving my notice. I suck at keeping secrets. I am still feeling bad about leaving in the middle of a project. But to quote Sweet Tater herself,

I am not sorry.

If you’re thinking about trying something new but feel like the world is holding you back, consider the possibility that you may be the one in charge for once. Do it now. Do it now. Do it now.

Wish me luck!

Goldy’s Run Race Recap!

Apr 172012

Posted by Britta on April 17, 2012 at 10:02 pm in Sweat 2 Responses »

Soo.. since you are probably tired of reading about the amazing individuals who ran Boston this year in high-80′s heat… (ha.)

I’ll give a little recap of my first ever “official” race, the 10 mile Goldy’s Run on Saturday!

Friday was kind of cray cray. I worked at the client in the morning, headed to the airport for my 12:30 flight which landed in Minneapolis around 2:00 Central time. I drove straight to the office in time for a 3:00 meeting – I NEVER drive to the office because I work so close to downtown so finding parking was an adventure, but I made it. Then after work, I took off through rush hour traffic to pick up my race packet on the University of Minnesota campus.

In the rain.

The lines for pickup on Friday weren’t too bad, and everything was clearly marked. I was nervous I was going to be totally lost and look like a total newbie, but getting those jitters out was the whole purpose of doing this race before my half in May. The only snags – I forgot to grab pins, forgot to stop by the pacers table (I didn’t see it), and… I was registered as a male. Whoops. Good thing I wasn’t planning on placing or anything

Brandon and I kept it pretty low-key on Friday night to allow plenty of time for me to chug water and have a minor nervous breakdown over whether or not I would die on my first foray into double-digit miles.

Then… SATURDAY WAS THE DAYYY! This is the first larger, organized race I have ever run, with the only race I’ve previously participated in being a hometown race with my little sister. I (mostly) followed the rules and didn’t try anything new – dri-fit tee and running shorts I’ve worn a million times, same old running shoes, boring toast and honey for breakfast with one cup of coffee. I had everything else laid out the night before – Honey Stingers chews for energy (this was new, but this was also the first run I considered to be long enough to need any fuel), my bib, a long sleeved tee for warmth in the morning, headphones/armband, and my new water bottle.

Brandon got up early with me and took me to the race (<3). I got there with plenty of time to find a bathroom with a short line, grab some pins, and add some last minute tunes to my playlist. I wandered over to the start area when I noticed people starting to migrate, and I situated myself between the 9:30 and 10:00 minute mile pace groups. I love running with lots of people around because it is so inspiring to see all the different sizes/ages/types of people all moving their bods! There was a teeny cute old lady (at least 70 years old I’d bet) in the 10 minute mile group that looked like this definitely wasn’t her first rodeo. So impressive.

And then… it started! The first 5 miles flew by. I picked a speedier lady in the 10 minute group to try to keep up with, and was her shadow for quite awhile until losing her somewhere after mile 5. I think I kept a pretty steady pace, but I’m dumb and forgot to stop my Run Training app at the end of the race so I don’t know my average pace. The last half of the race started getting tough. I ended up wearing my long sleeved shirt up until mile 6 because I was a little cold at the start, but looking back I would have ditched it before the race as it turned out to be a GORGEOUS day with perfect running weather. I was way too warm by the time I took it off, but I didn’t want to stop and readjust my whole setup so I waited until it was probably a little too late. Miles 6 and 7 seemed a lot better because I was so much cooler without a heavy cotton shirt on, but by mile 8 I was ready to be done. This race was my first encounter with the twin evils of blisters and chafing from running shorts… I was not a happy camper finishing up the race with that business going down. The seemingly neverrr endingggg hill (I think between miles 7 and 8?) didn’t help, but it felt so good to finally be over it and crossing the bridge back to campus.

Apologies for blinding your eyes with my bright white legs. And my bouffant hair.

The finish of the race was in the TCF stadium, but I was so focused on getting my body across the finish line as soon as possible that I didn’t hear my name or see myself cross the line on the big screen. It was so exciting to cross the finish line with the crowd cheering! Unfortunately, Brandon missed my finish by about a minute and a half… my bad, because I underestimated my abilities and told him to come too late so he wouldn’t have to wait around. The silver lining there is that I finished more quickly than I had anticipated, and didn’t walk ONCE!

Lessons learned:

- The water bottle was totally unnecessary with all the water stations, but it was also kind of nice just to run through them and avoid the slowdown and potential for spilling all over myself. I had just received the bottle in the mail and wanted to test it out on a long run, plus it had a little zipper pocket for the chews, so ultimately I was glad to have brought it.

- The Honey Stingers were necessary, but I didn’t need a whole bag. I only ate two or three right before that big hill, but I definitely felt that the little boost helped push me through those last few miles.

- Running socks are a must from here on out, and I might be needing to try out some new shorts or some type of glide stick.

- I still had a little oomph left in me for the finish – I think I can run faster than I give myself credit for

- I reallyyyyyyyyy need some running sunglasses. Squint city up in these pics.

I finished in 1:39:17 – just under 10 minutes a mile. My goal for this race was to finish and hopefully not have to walk, which I definitely accomplished. I loved the race experience and am 100% pumped for my half marathon which is less than 3 weeks away!

The shwag was sweet too. I got a long sleeved tech shirt (which I would have loved more if it had Bucky the Badger instead of Goldy the Gopher, but I’ll take it!) and a finisher’s medal:

It’s all about the bling.

The race also had photographers on-site (…I stole the pic of me running above. Sorry peeps.) and they put together these cool little videos which I’m assuming they compiled based on your timer chip:

I’m still trying to figure out if the guy behind me was making fun of me for picking up the pace or was just really that excited to be done running…

After the race, we had a luxuriously lazy Saturday soaking in the beautiful weather. We ate breakfast and had bottomless mimosas at the restaurant below our apartment with my best friend Inga, then headed out a bit later to sit outside at Brit’s pub and have a drink with one of my roomies from last year and some of her friends that she brought to visit.

I know, my photography skills are beyond words. The lawn isn’t at a 45* angle in real life.

We topped off the night with some LobsterFest at Red Lobster… how Brandon swung it that we ate at his favorite restaurant the day of my race is a mystery to me. And yes, he is aware that he is overenthusiastic about a chain restaurant. I’ve got that angle covered. My lobster was good, though.

Sunday was a getting-life-back-on-track kind of day. We had seriously 3+ hours of laundry to take care of, we cleaned the rest of the apartment, and Brandon put together our new patio table (an Easter gift from my grandma pics soon!) and hung up some new wall decor. I also packed my bag for work, whomp whomp, and cooked a little dinner with the last of our groceries. All in all, I finished the weekend feeling more satisfied than usual on a Sunday and content to be living in Minneapolis.

How was your weekend? What accomplishment made you feel the most relieved/content? Are you already ready for next weekend like I am?

P.S. Check out this delicious treat I discovered in Ohio this week

You’re welcome.

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