Moving Forward

This blog post will not be about running, since I've been doing none of that lately (unless you count miles of the aquatic variety). Instead, it will be about some significant life changes that are about to begin unfolding in rapid succession. (And no, before you get all excited, Jordan and I are not engaged and I am not even remotely pregnant. Just thought I would clarify that up front so as not to cruelly tease you the way Jordan did when he text messaged both of his parents with the deliberately misleading "Big news in the Kinley/Nedlo household!" So mean.)

No, the lifestyle change in question does not involve altering my relationship status on Facebook. (Although, now that I think about it, Jordan still to this day refuses to be "in a relationship" with me on Facebook at all. So now we have established that he is both mean and rude.) Rather, it involves a change of employment. As of next Monday, September 20th, I will henceforth be referred to as the North American Field Marketing Manager for Craft and Karhu. Sounds impressive, right? Basically it means that I will be Jordan's boss. (Not really, but I will at the very least parlay the title into some badass business cards.) What it really means is that I will be traveling far and wide and high and low and over hill and dale to spread the word about Craft and Karhu to the masses. One weekend I might be in Atlanta, the next weekend in Los Angeles. I might work an event in Boulder on a Saturday and then visit a store in DC the following Tuesday. Oh, and let's not forget Canada. Craft is huge time up there, which means j'ai besoin de recommencer etudier la francais maintenant. (The mere fact that I don't even know how to begin conjugating the previous sentence only reinforces my point.)

To say I'm excited is a gross understatement. I've worked in similar roles before with Brooks and Mizuno, but to have the opportunity to build a program from the ground up is a unique challenge. I will be meeting a ton of new faces, reconnecting with old ones, racking up the frequent flier miles and (soon, hopefully) running in diverse and unfamiliar locations, all while promoting a product line that I believe in 100%. And hey, if nothing else, it means you won't have to read 30 blogs in a row about me running a medium loop in Freedom Park. We all win here.

Needless to say, this recent development has distracted me a bit from the woes of my injured foot. (Although, as a side note, if you ever have the opportunity to navigate through an airport and travel by plane while wearing a walking boot, I can't stress enough how much I would discourage you from doing so. Even if it means limping around at your job interview and making everyone in the office question whether you are solely an affirmative action hire.) To be honest, though I'm still bummed about missing the US 10 Mile Champs and Caitlin's marathon debut at Twin Cities, I would've probably had to back out anyway on account of working the 13.1 race expo in Atlanta. Once again, life has shown me that things have a funny way of working out for the best even when that thought seems inconceivable in the throes of the moment.

It's time to move forward.