My 27th marathon in Nottingham yesterday with Josh Barrow was definitely not the most fun I’ve ever had.
It was a hot, sunny day.
My training and nutrition beforehand weren’t up to scratch and I wasn’t rested enough.
The course is beautiful but demanding, both physically and psychologically.
Something happened that I’ve never experienced before – I hit a wall at 14 miles, resulting in hyper-ventilation with the added concern of pins and needles in my fingertips.
After walking for 10 minutes, I was able to gain my composure and, frankly, struggle to the end in 5 hours 12 minutes (not my worst time).
Three morals to the tale:
- you don’t get the medal if you don’t cross the line – knowing that we had a goal of 26.2 miles presented us with the unavoidable reality that we just had to keep going;
- you cannot blag your way to excellence – there has to be careful preparation;
- buddies make a difference – if Josh hadn’t been there to pace and encourage me on, I would have taken much longer to complete the course.
If I’m going to achieve my goal of 12 marathons in 12 months, I’m going to have to take it more seriously.
So let’s take a look at your business this morning:
- are your team going to be reminded of their goals for the day/week – is there a finish line?
- is everyone adequately prepared?
- do your team members have buddies to encourage them when things get tough?
Running a business is a marathon.
Take it seriously.
A shout out for Josh Barrow, who ran 52 miles in 2 days – marathons on Saturday and Sunday – and still managed to coach me across the line. Epic.
A second shout out for Rachel Barrow, who accompanied us for the weekend and managed to get a mention for Josh and I from the announcer at the start of the event before dashing around the course to give us encouragement.
