I Quit

I quit. (My job, not the marathon thing.) Last day was today, Valentines Day. For those of you not familiar with the backstory, I joined a startup in 1999 with some friends from college, under the assumption that I would work there for a few years (or less, if there was some kind of crazy bubble or something) and then move on to the next thing. 14 years, 7 office moves, 2 (3?) bubbles, and 1 acquisition later, it's finally time to get around to that next thing.

What is the next thing? I'll save the details for another day, but it's a new idea / startup, from scratch. I've gotten a couple of responses along the lines of "Really!? You're going through that again?" Maybe 14 years made me overly nostalgic. Or worse, maybe I can't remember anything I learned 14 years ago. Maybe startups should be left to the kids and their energy drinks. But whatever. It's a convergence of ideas + people + timing + experience that I wasn't going to pass up. And it's going to be awesome.

The timing relative to this whole marathon endeavor, however, was not intentional. My work routine was, well, routine, and that made training that much easier. Locker room at the office, run during lunch three days a week, done and done. It wasn't a lack of work, or even a lack of interesting work. If given a chance I will still talk your ear off about the opportunities and challenges we faced. There just weren't many surprises left. You could make, and then stick to, a plan. It was comfortable.

Another thing that was comfortable? Not running a marathon.

My dad is a CrossFit guy, which means I get indirect yet steady exposure to that scene via social media. Plus I go to a session or two with him whenever I visit, and promptly have my leg muscles deatomized. (Shout out to CrossFit Ocean City.) That was where I first heard the phrase "getting comfortable with being uncomfortable." (Not surprisingly, a large number of entrepreneurs latched onto it as well. And everyone else. It's catchy like that. Well, except for maybe programmers. I've worked with more than a few people who would probably rail on this as livelock or something.) Anyways, while the timing might not have been intentional, the startup and the marathon are pretty clearly related. Time to get uncomfortable. (Er, comfortable? Wait, I'm confused.)

On a final note: A tip-of-the-cap to all those who I've worked alongside for the last decade+. That was a lot of fun. "Whatever you do in life, surround yourself with smart people who'll argue with you." - John Wooden