---
aliases: ["May 2024"]
Is A: Month
Created at: "2024-05-28"
Belongs to: "[[24q2]]"
Rating: "😐"
---
# May 2024

## Focus

- Finalize [[24q2-hire-editor]] — make the offer, onboard
- Publish first batch of [[24q2-10-pillar-articles]]
- Race Nove Colli ([[24q2-spring-gran-fondo]])

## Highlights

- Hired the editor — she starts full-time in June, doing first-pass editing on every newsletter issue
- Published "Staff Engineer vs. Manager" — it went semi-viral on LinkedIn, drove 800+ new subscribers in a single week
- Completed Nove Colli ([[24q2-spring-gran-fondo]]) in 7h42m — finished but bonked hard on the fourth climb due to heat
- [[24q2-build-podcast-landing-page]] kicked off — basic wireframes done, episodes 1-6 now need a proper home
- Newsletter hit 40.5k subscribers — the pillar article spike was significant

## Reflections

Mixed feelings this month. The editor hire is great news — having someone who can handle the first pass means I can focus on the ideas rather than the polish. But Nove Colli was humbling. The heat in Romagna was 34 degrees, and I didn't manage my nutrition well enough. Bonking on the fourth climb — legs completely empty, seeing spots — was scary. I sat on the side of the road for 10 minutes eating everything in my pockets before I could continue.

I finished, and that matters. But the time was disappointing. Lesson learned: nutrition strategy needs to be as planned as the training itself. The Maratona in July will be at altitude, which adds another variable. Need to take fueling much more seriously.

The "Staff Engineer vs. Manager" article reminded me why I do this. The number of engineers who DMed me saying "I needed to read this three years ago" — that's the impact I care about. More than subscriber counts.
