Just a quick note on three things:

1. I must be crazy. Signed up for the NYC Half Marathon August 30, 2009. I am running for the American Cancer Society and need to raise funds. Will post the link here soon.

2. I am now twittering and feel cool about that. :-) Look me up: Stacia Broderick or scrumstacia.

3. I promise that I'm going to blog more in the future. There is a ton to catch up on!

Take care everyone & stay tuned....

Well, I did it. I managed to finish the Marathon, although I limped in! :( I injured a tendon in my right foot, but let me tell you, it was WORTH IT. This day goes down as one of the top five best days of my life. I ran for a charity - Fred's Team - to which many of you donated with your late fees. :) The seriousness hit me the morning of when I was talking with a fellow Fred's Team runner; she went on to say how she was running for her son who passed away a year and a half ago. I was deeply moved. It really brought home the reason why I did this in the first place. It allowed me to wipe away the tears in the last two miles as I forged through my pain, thinking of others who have endured worse.

The spirit of the day was amazing. I saw all kinds of sights and tried to take a couple of snaps while I was running. I passed Larry the Lighthouse in Brooklyn and I was laughing so hard that I lost my breath. Turns out that he's a serious runner for others, too. I saw Uncle Sam, lots of leftover Halloween costumes from two nights before, and tons of people from all over the world. The crowd was AMAZING. Even though I was one of the 'slower' runners, people lined the streets and cheered on everyone. I have found people in NYC to be among the nicest in the world, contrary to the stereotypes. Folks were handing out tissues, fig newtons, orange slices, bananas, twizzlers, candy bars - all of which I gladly accepted and really appreciated once I got to the Bronx around mile 20. I ran three miles with a banana in tow, saving it (and savoring it) for that perfect opportunity.

I had a chance to phone a friend at mile 20; Michele Sliger was happy as can be to get a phone call from me! She got me through mile 21. The crowd carried me the next three miles, carried me so much in fact that my pace increased unbelievably; it was if the endorphins kicked in and i felt like I had never felt before. "Runner's high" is an understatement. I felt invincible. Then bam! I pulled up lame. Calves tight, foot hurting, couldn't put weight on it. The pain subsided enough as I walked from mile 24 to the 400 meter mark. Then I limped/jogged through the finish line to look like I ran through to the end. I was dying.

A funny story: some genious figured that the best way to get 39,000 runners out of Central Park would be to create a man-made bridge. A BRIDGE. Three flights of stairs up, walk over, then take three flights of stairs down. Have YOU tried to climb stairs after running a long distance?? It was torture, I tell you. Torture. I would have kicked someone's butt, if I could have. Given that just now as of today I can walk pain-free, kicking butt would not have been an option. But I definitely thought of it.

It was a little sad as I crossed the finish line. Nobody was there for me. As I started to get tears in my eyes, I remembered why I ran this in the first place. I ran it partly for others, and partly to prove to myself that anything is possible. I attained both. In these moments, sometimes it's best to savor the victory alone.

Yes, I am a Mac user, and I tried to separate my loyalist feelings while I was watching this video. I am so impressed with how these product owners crafted a vision that inspired so many changes in product and packaging. This is the kind of vision that product owners should be providing teams and inspiring them to build something they can be proud of. I really enjoyed watching this video.

I ran the Harrisburg Half Marathon this past Sunday with well over 1,000 people. I finished in 2:23:31, which was about 13 minutes slower than I had hoped to. While several folks have told me "you should just be happy that you finished
", well, that's true AND I am also my harshest critic. I was hoping for 2:10, which would have put me at a nice 10:00 pace. While I was running I started getting tired around mile 10; actually, it wasn't so much tired, but mentally 'checked out'. I kept thinking, "three more miles, three more miles" and it seemed like everything was moving in slow motion. It probably had something to do with the fact that I woke up late and didn't have breakfast. Oops. So I had to walk a few times. I started thinking about my practice runs; I had made a habit lately of stopping every few miles and I knew that this habit was catching up with me on race day. It is true: you are what you practice. It helped that there were so many supporters lining the race path - people with signs and cheering us on. I never really thought about how much it means to have someone rooting for you, even if it is a complete stranger. It kept me going. It helped me finish. I also noticed that as I was in my last mile, all the fast people who had already finished were walking around with these little medals. All I could think about is how I wanted one! Thankfully they gave them out to everyone, but it just shows how a little reward is always a good thing. Anyway, just thought I'd share my experience. It was fun, I am sore, looking forward to a 15 mile long run Monday.

Michele Sliger and I are putting our efforts together to bring you the very best in Agile Project Management training. I have listed the courses on AgileEvolution's homepage and you can find out more by going to  The Agile Bridge today! Stay tuned as we bring you exciting training opportunities!

I wrote this article for InformIT. I hope that it is useful to you! http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1235168

Thought you all would enjoy this video!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=q1RqhRcPJZ0

A big part of why I love working with agile teams is because over time they find that work becomes fun again. Every sprint is a new journey, another chance for collaboration, another opportunity for leaders to emerge. Watching previously dysfunctional relationships turn into close group work is extremely motivating! Sure, there is discipline, too. But the discipline is just a facet of a group of professionals working together. Professionals can also have fun while they work hard. In fact, for many, it makes for a better, more enjoyable day.

Remember the days when you were a kid playing cops and robbers, or monopoly, or in my case "playing business" (I used to charge rent and write receipts to the kids next door, you know, for fun). But think about how you played: you threw yourself into it. You suspended all disbelief and BECAME the evil villain, the landlord, the t-rex. You ran around the yard dressed up in crazy costumes. You weren't afraid to talk in a different accent to play up your character, or wear a cowboy hat. You would chase your friends around the neighborhood on horses (um, bicycles) and play freeze tag until the last rays of the sun retracted beneath the horizon. Your parents had to water you down with a waterhose because at the end of the day you were too dirty to even come inside the house to get a bath, and this felt like they were washing off the fun. You were sad that the day was over! You slept so well, and woke up early just to do it all over again. When your neighbor friend was sick, you were sad, bored, kicked around the dust, wondered what to do with life. It was no fun not having someone to pretend with.

What happens to us between those long summer days of childhood and now, when we're all grown up? What changes? Bitterness of life, of experience? Disappointment of expectations? We grow older, we get stressed, we break down. We forget how to smile, how to laugh, how to throw ourselves into a situation with unabashed wonder and happiness. We become too self-critical, too self-aware, too self-absorbed, too stiff.  We forget how to poke our friends in the ribs and yell "You're it!" and dash off running. We play hide-and-seek in the business world, not for fun, but for survival.

I challenge each and every one of you to have fun today. Play freeze tag in the office. Step out for ice cream (with gummi worms) with your team. Go bowling. Go to the park for a picnic. Heck, play cops and robbers if you want. Lighten up. Have fun. Bring the enthusiasm of childhood, innocence and play into your daily work life. Stop taking everything so seriously. Make a business card that says "Expert Hide-and-Seeker" or "Terrifying T-rex of Technical Development". Put up yellow caution tape around your cube. Put a picture of your family on your taskboard. Say hello and MEAN IT when you're walking down the hall. Offer a candy bar to someone you've been struggling with lately. Wear a silly hat. Do a silly walk. If you're not having fun building new products, what are you DOING?

TAG: You're IT!