Thursday, September 1, 2011

Some training and a rant




Wow, I am already in week 4 of training.  Honestly, there really isn't a lot to report on weeks 2 and 3.  Except that I am training for a marathon in Hawaii!! And yes, I will mention this every chance I get.  This is a big deal, not only because I am going to Hawaii, and I get to see a great friend who I haven’t seen for years, read her blog here, but I get to do all of this in December!!  And why is going in December a big deal? Well my friends, because for the last 6 years I worked in retail.  Talking about, no, even thinking about leaving to go anywhere away from my store (even the bathroom) in August-January was unthinkable. 
Why August you ask?  Well, that is the start of the Holiday season in retail.  First, there is tax free weekend, which is almost worse than Christmas. 
This isn't even really that bad.

Plus, we were already loading up on fall and holiday shipments. Hiring for the holidays, running get rid of summer crap sales, planning holiday floor sets, having lots of meetings, stressing about numbers, and so much more.  It.was.miserable.
Then before you know it Black Friday arrives.  Oh, do I have some stories about black Friday…………Last year I got to my store at 4am and there was already a line of about 50 people outside of my door, and we didn’t even open until 6:00am.  Or the year I got yelled at because of where a customer had to park in the parking lot.  Believe me lady, I parked a lot further away then you did.  Oh yeah, let’s not forget that during this time period there were plenty of days with extended hours, so we could open early and stay open late for people who treated us oh so nice.  It was the season of joy after all.  My favorite thing about this time of year was people who did last minute shopping, and then yelled at us for being out of sizes.  Yeah, it’s my fault you waited till the 23rd of December to shop.  I’m telling you, I could go on forever about this topic.  I truly believe that everyone should work retail for a short time period of their life, just to see what is like.  But if you aren’t going to do that, then please read this book.


And then, 12/26 arrives.  Worst.Day.Ever.  Returns, returns, and more returns.  All those amazing sales you had the months and week  before Christmas go right down the drain.  And the holiday spirit is long gone by now.  And just when you think it is over along comes inventory.  This is where you get to count every piece of everything that is left in your store.  It is also where you get to see just how ripped off you got by the people you have to give customer service with a smile too.  These events usually take about 3 weeks of prep work, then an overnight shift to complete.  Awesome times I tell you.

Just a portion of what we had to count.

So anyway, yes, I am super excited that I get to go somewhere in December!!!!  And I might even decorate for Christmas this year.  (That stopped about 3-4 years ago at my house).  I can’t freakin wait!!!
So my numbers for weeks 2 and 3 are:
Week 2:
Total Distance: 27.17 Miles
Total Time: 4:34
Total workouts: 5 (Zero treadmill runs!)
Week 3:
Total Distance: 22.17
Total Time: 4:23
Total workouts: 6 (Zero treadmill runs, 1 cross day of spin)

  I didn't have any treadmill runs, but did wear my IPOD a couple of times to get me through the heat.  And weird enough, both weeks the same song pepped me up:








Week 4 is off to a good start so far.  However I am dreading my 11 mile run planned for Sunday.  Not because of the distance, but because of the temps.  But that is another post…..
Happy Training!

5 comments:

  1. I love that song. I really hope your retail PTSD ends soon :-)

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  2. I'm not sure if this counts as retail, but I worked the box office of a 20-screen movie theater for a couple years. Thanksgiving and Christmas were our two busiest days of the year - no holiday's off there. I remember one Christmas day where all 10 or so registers were open and within 2 hours my drawer had over $10K cash in it (no including credit transactions)! As a highschooler seeing $10K in cash was pretty cool.

    Enjoy your time NOT working in retail!

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  3. I am so sorry that you had to work retail. That does not sound fun at all. I will remember to be extra nice to retail salespeople from now on.

    Great job on the marathon training and I am super jealous that you are going to Hawaii!

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  4. Ugh... I can't imagine working a retail job... ever. So glad that you'll be hanging out in Hawaii instead - way better location! :)

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  5. Years ago, I worked Loss Prevention at a retail store, I hate the holidays

    Looks like you will be babysitting me at Rev3 since Colleen is bringing her trainer to have an excuse to not keep track of me

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