The power of planning.
When I made the decision to do my first triathlon, I simultaneously made the decision that I was already properly conditioned for the race — no additional training required. After all, I was athletic, kickboxed dix days a week, and I knew how to swim.
What could go wrong?
See that picture?
That’s me completing the first of three legs in this endurance challenge. If you look closely, you’ll notice absolutely no one behind me.
I was dead last after the swim.
Pretty embarrassing for a highly competitive person.
I would go on to finish the race in the middle of the pack, but this brutal - and humbling - exercise taught me a few things.
Peak Muay Thai conditioning doesn't correlate to open water swims.
The open-water U.S. Open on a cold, rainy day is a very bad first triathlon.
Skipping the planning and preparation part of a challenge, and jumping straight into to action sounds fun, until you're struggling to keep yourself afloat in the middle of the lake.
The decision to not train was based on unfounded biases that clouded my judgment. And I didn’t invest the time to challenge those biases, test them, and create contingencies.
As a result, about halfway through the open-water swim, as it was evident I was being left behind, the safety canoe rowed up and the official asked if everything was ok. Barely able to catch my breath, I assured him everything was fine.
As it turned out, everything was not fine. And every stroke I took made it harder because I was using bad form that required way more energy than was necessary. As luck would have it, the man in the safety canoe had quit his first triathlon and always regretted it, so he ended up coaching me to the dock.
Barely.
I paid dearly for skipping the important part of creating a plan, which seems like an obvious mistake when it comes to triathlons. Yet, entrepreneurs and executives routinely do this with their business and jump into action without investing sufficient time into planning properly.
The bias for action is admirable, and I obviously share it. But not taking the time to create a strategy first makes for hard ass work later, and usually results in wasting resources.
When I signed up for my next triathlon, I took a different approach.
I hired a coach.
We created a training plan.
We mapped out a series of races to compete in.
I executed the training and the races according to the plan.
And, interestingly enough, I stopped finishing last out of the water and started finishing in the top 25%.
Plan before you dive in.
And if you are in a sales leadership position and want to ask a coach to help you with your “training plan,” feel free to check out my free coaching opportunities here.
