PR Intern Diaries: Jenna

Happy Monday! It's quite gross out here in NYC which works out well for me since my legs are still tight from Saturday. No running for this girl today. 

For this weeks PR Diaries, Jenna talks Wellness Wednesday, work/life balance and our client going viral. 

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This week Lynette and I grabbed teas on Wednesday and I got to talk to her about her experience in public relations. From our conversation I learned how important it is to follow your dreams and do what you love. In public relations there are so many different areas you can work in. From working at a boutique agency or a firm to working in corporate PR or consumer PR, there are endless options. I learned how important it is to try and get as much experience as possible so I can figure out where I want to end up working in the future. I loved hearing how Lynette gets to work with clients she’s truly passionate about, such as fitness companies and start ups. I hope that I can be as fortunate to be able to work in fields within PR that I’m passionate about and that excite me.

This week I learned how important it is to soak up nature and the good weather. On Wednesday when Lynette and I got teas at Gossip Coffee and got to sit on their outdoor patio. Although it was very hot, sitting outside refreshed me and gave me a new burst of energy for the rest of the work day.

This week one of Lynette Nicole PR’s clients, XO Marshmallow, got a lot of media attention! It was really exciting and really cool to see a client I’ve helped with have articles all over websites I’m familiar with and read regularly. One of the coolest things that happened was that XO Marshmallow made the front page of Guest of a Guest. I was in charge of counting all the likes, comments, and shares XO Marshmallow was getting on social media and it was so exciting to see how popular Lynette Nicole PR’s client is becoming!

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Now, back to that rainy day hustle before our Leukemia and Lymphoma Fundraiser in the Hamptons on Friday night! 

Xo,

Lynette 

Brooklyn Half Marathon Recap

What a weekend! The past two days flew by. I've had the best time hanging out with my amazing teammates and some of my fabulous friends. On Saturday morning, I woke up at 3:30 AM while my friends were probably out closing down some bars to get ready to venture to Brooklyn for the Brooklyn Half Marathon. 

The last time I ran this race it was a massive disaster and I wanted redemption this year. 

This training cycle wasn't the best or strongest, but I did put some work in. We got to BK a wee bit too early but better safe than sorry. I met up with my Hellgate teammates and we hung out for a bit before heading to our respective corrals. 

Pre-race selfie!

Of course almost as soon as we entered our corrals, it started raining. What?! That was totally not on any forecast I read. While we were waiting, my teammate introduced me to one of her friends from Harlem Runs so we chatted with her and some of her teammates until the gun went off. They were super fun and had such a positive spirit. When the gun went off I felt great and tried to keep up with one of the Harlem Runs girls. Mistake numero uno. Mile 1 = 9:20. 

Necessities

After we started hitting some 8:45 paces in the second mile I knew I had to fall back or I might not even make it to Prospect Park. I also realized I had to pee and was on the hunt for a portapotty. Almost a repeat of the marathon! The next two miles I have no explanation for and they are where I REALLY went wrong. 

Mile 2 - 9:15
Mile 3 - 9:04

This race was a mix of idiocracy and ambition. I know what my half PR is and I know what my body is capable of, but I haven't trained for a race in over two years. I had been putting out a few nice training runs but I got a little cocky. 

I still couldn't find a bathroom that didn't have a line and I didn't want to waste any time so I just kept waiting. I am very familiar with where everything is once you get inside the park- every bathroom, water stop and med tent- thanks to my 2015 performance. 

Going into the park is where I started slowing down, probably because I started hill training late. 

Mile 4 - 9:31

I had been hoping to go into this race running a steady 9:30. That pace seemed reasonable as it was in between my hard and easy training run times. 

What I wanted to do be doing instead of running at this point

Mile 5 - 9:37

I finally found a bathroom after mile 5 with no line so I popped off the hill to use it. This is where I started really slowing down because I lost my groove. It's also where my head was kind of like, "I'm over this, let's do something else." I tried to not have a time goal and let my legs do their thing but I am pretty competitive after all. 

Mile 6 - 10:15

After I lost my groove, I had trouble getting my pace back. Everything I tried to hit my 9:30 it felt like way too much effort too early in the race. I had really wanted to sprint down Ocean Parkway but had a feeling in the park that wasn't going to happen. 

Mile 7 - 8:58

And then there was the mile 7 gem. WTF! I have no idea what I was thinking running an 8:58 but I have a feeling we were going downhill. No other explanation as to why I thought it was OK to do this when I couldn't even hold the pace I wanted, 30 seconds slower. OOPS!

Venturing to shelter after it started pouring

Mile 8 - 9:31

Back to normal and on the parkway at this point. I actually forgot how much uphill the parkway has and I couldn't get my body to sprint. I felt like the course was super quiet this year and was hoping the crowd at this point would carry me to the end. 

Mile 9 -10:37

And here is where my head said nope, we're done. I didn't stop/walk at all during this race (except when I stopped for the bathroom break) but I definitely started shuffling. And I wanted to walk SO badly. I also thought I was looking for mile 8 not 9 so the surprise was welcome. I also did this the last time I ran this race. 

Mile 10 - 10:15

Almost there! Only a 5K left. At this point I was SO looking forward to seeing my team waiting just after mile 12. 

Mile 11 - 10:32

Slowing down and REALLY considering walking. I didn't.

[Credit: Jared Maestre]

Mile 12 - 10:36 

Yay for teammates! As soon as I saw the mile 12 marker I upped my speed and was super happy to see Hellgate, and the boardwalk in front of me. I got my pace back to a 9:30 and struggled to hold it until the end. My watch was also early so when I thought I only had 800m to go I'm pretty sure it was 1200 which made the end that much painful. 

Mile 13 - 9:35

Up that stupid little ramp we go for the last .1. The numbers on my watch were moving and I booked it down the boardwalk to fight to get under 2:10.

Mile 13.1 - 2:09:21

The end! I was so happy to be done. I was definitely fighting for a lot of those miles. While I'm super disappointed with my time, I am glad I redeemed myself. 

Hellgate Ladies

Now, off to train for a Fall half where I hopefully won't be putting out as an embarrassing performance as this was. 

Xo,
Lynette 

PR Intern Diaries: Meet Jenna

Happy Monday everyone! It's only natural that the weekend flies by when you have a race in Brooklyn the next and a million things on your to-do list in between. Fortunately, Lynette Nicole PR has a new summer intern who is eager to learn about PR and assist with day-to-day activities. 

It's time to meet Jenna! 

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Hey everyone! My name is Jenna and I’m Lynette’s new summer intern at Lynette Nicole PR. I’m a rising junior at the Pennsylvania State University majoring in public relations with a minor in digital media analytics. This is my first internship ever and I’m really excited to break into the world of PR!

This week I learned the importance of relationships in public relations. On Wednesday, Lynette threw an editor event showcasing one of her clients, Yo Yoga!, summer yoga deck. From what I noticed, everything about the event really came down to having great relationships with those you work with. Lynette was able to get the all of the food for the event sponsored thanks to referrals by people she’s worked with before and by forging new relationships with new food vendors. I also got to see how relationships with the press are (obviously) very important. Lynette was able to get a great number of editors and writers to the event, filling the entire deck, because of her great relationships.

Keeping a good work, health and wellness balance is really important. It’s something that Lynette takes really seriously. Although we had a very chaotic Wednesday, and weren’t able to grab a green juice or head to a yoga studio, I still learned about wellness this week. This week I learned how important it is, despite how busy you are, to still give yourself some down time to recuperate so you don’t wear yourself out.

I’m really excited for my first internship ever at Lynette Nicole PR. From this internship I really hope to learn about practitioner and client relations, as I can see how closely Lynette works with all of her clients and how dedicated she is to all of them.

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Stay tuned every Monday to hear more from Jenna!

Xo,

Lynette 

PR Intern Diaries: Yiman's Farewell

Hi everyone! I know I am a little behind on personal posts but I will have some updates to you soon. Before we break for the weekend, I wanted to share Yiman's last blog post as an intern. She is going to be graduating next week and head off into the real world! 

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Before coming to Lynette Nicole PR, I had some experience working in corporate PR and with big clients. So it was a good opportunity for me to come here and learn about how to promote start-ups and work in consumer PR. I do appreciate the opportunity to work with Lynette and her great patience to teach me, and share her experience and ideas with me.

Although my internship was only 7 weeks, I learned a lot from doing simple tasks such as pulling a media list to more comprehensive ones like hosting an event. Sometimes I am slow paced but am getting used to pulling a list by searching according to different clients, topics, events and situations. Also, I was lucky to participate in an event held at Yo Yoga!, by preparing all the items and setting up the venue.

The more important thing I have learned at LNPR is a different mindset. Every Wednesday we have a wellness day, taking a break in the middle of the week to refresh ourselves. Lynette and I went out for smoothies, healthy lunches, yoga or  cups of tea. After work, I don’t even need to check my email. From wellness day, I start to embrace this new idea of work/life balance.

The best part of my internship was the event. After several weeks of preparation, we spent time making sure everything was OK, double checking every detail just to make sure the event will go smoothly. Then I was able to see how participants enjoyed our event. It was a lot of excitement. Lynette told me PR is not a glamorous job, we always work behind the stage and let our client shine. By preparing the event, I can understand better what she said about PR.

For future interns, my advice would be: please seize every opportunity to learn, don’t be afraid to ask questions and learn to manage your time as well. Finally, I hope you will enjoy your internship at LNPR as I did. 

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Have a fab Cinco De Mayo and Derby Day! I will be hitting the town with my favorites to celebrate by upcoming birthday (May 11)!

Xo,

Lynette

PR Intern Diaries: Yiman's Top Resources

Happy May everyone! Not only is it a new month, it's also my birthday month! May 11 to be more specific (in case you wanted to wish me a happy birthday, or send rainbow cookies, whichever). To kick off the month, Yiman is talking PR resources.

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I have been doing this internship with Lynette for over one month. She has told me many times that a PR girl needs to be very resourceful, which means you are supposed to take advantage of all the resources you can think of. So I would like to talk about the resources I am finding most useful for my internship.

One thing I find very useful is Cision, a web-based software to build media lists. I can pull out a media list by searching media type, location, outlet topics and even the specific media outlet. On the other hand, it is great tool to use when you spot an appropriate editor to pitch but can’t find his/her contact information.

Cision saves me a lot of time. However, Cision isn’t everything. Most of the time I still need to use Google to find key terms, editors names and certain topics. So Google is another common tool I would turn to for help.

Last but not least, social media is also a good approach. For example, when looking for bloggers for certain topics, I would click on their social media accounts to find contact emails, how many followers they have and see how influential they would be.

Resources are very important for PR girls. Yet for me, I believe ability of collecting information is more crucial. Resources will not accompany with you all the time but capability will.
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Stay tuned for a Brooklyn training update, some new running toys and a few recaps! 

Xo,

Lynette