The Long and The Short Of It

Episode 372 - Lessons from a Triathlon

Transcript:

Pete: Hey, Jen.

Jen: Hey, Pete.

Pete: I was about to say, "I'm fresh off completing a triathlon," but I don't feel that fresh. I feel pretty sore.

Jen: Feeling pretty tired.

Pete: I felt pretty sore and tired, when I recently completed my first triathlon.

Jen: He says so casually.

Pete: And as I said to you prior, I'm sure there'll be an episode that comes out of this experience. And so, I was on the run in the final few kilometers. And the thing that kept me going in my head was, "What can I teach Jen about this experience? What can I teach Jen? What am I learning through this ridiculous experience?" So, thank you for getting me through the run. And let's see if we can bring up some learnings from my experience, struggling through my first triathlon.

Jen: Wow. What an extraordinary accomplishment, Pete. I can't wait to hear all about it. This is The Long and The Short Of It.

Pete: Now, I say it, like you said, I said it casually because this is not like an Ironman or a half Ironman. This is not like some ten-hour extraordinary event that many people (probably some of our listeners) have done and do. This is what is called an Olympic Distance Triathlon, which sounds and looks like a 1.5 K swim (which is about 1 mile), a 40 K bike ride (which is about 25 miles), and a 10 K run (which is about 6.5 miles). These are my rough numbers. So it's something, but it's not what many endurance athletes are out there doing.

Jen: On behalf of 95% of our listeners, I'm rolling my eyes. This is not normal, Pete. This is not a normal thing to do. Okay? It is extraordinary. It is not an ordinary thing.

Pete: Alright. So, okay. Yeah. It's a thing that I trained for and that I did, and by no means was exceptional at. I mean, this is the first time I did it, which is sort of part of the fun of doing it. I learned all these new things and rabbit holes to go down about nutrition and hydration. And like, there's all these interesting little rabbit holes and quirks. And I am such a noob and such a beginner to this. I just want to put that out there, if there's an experienced triathlete listening to this and they're like, "Seriously, what are you talking about? This is nothing." Like, so I just feel like I need to chuck that out there.

Jen: How very Australian of you.

Pete: Very.

Jen: Okay. Continue.

Pete: So the way I thought about this, I mean, I don't really know how to structure this episode, other than I thought triathlon = three disciplines. Like, maybe there's three learnings that I could take from this. And maybe, just maybe, we can apply those learnings (like you always are good at doing with your running episodes) to our work, our life, our leadership. So, I'll share three with you. Feel free to ask questions, poke holes, and let's see if they make any sense to anyone else that didn't complete this triathlon.

Jen: Great.

Pete: Alright. The first one I wrote down is something that we've spoken about before, but I think bears repeating and is something that was very evident to me during this whole experience, which is the power of acting as if. So how this played out in the triathlon sense, and we can expand that to beyond that, was I like learning about these new worlds. And subconsciously or consciously, my brain goes to like, "What do the best in the world do when it comes to a triathlon? What's their nutrition? What's their bike setup? What's their swimming technique?" And I'm like going down rabbit holes, acting as if I am an elite triathlete who has never done one of these events before. But I like doing that because what it helps me do is train more effectively and dial in my nutrition a little bit better. Because I don't need to be a professional athlete to eat the same nutrition as a professional athlete. I don't need to be a professional athlete to compete on the same course. Because it's literally on the same course. You do the same course that the professionals are doing that day. So, the benefit of just reminding myself that I can act as if. Not because I'm actually going to go out and buy a $20,000 bike (although I did contemplate it at one point), but because it enables me to show up for the training and for the event a little more seriously, which I think is a good thing.

Jen: I love this idea of acting as if. I mean, this is, of course, a literal acting tool that we use from time to time. The magic if.

Pete: Of course. Tell me more. So, how does it apply in your context? Tell me about the magic if.

Jen: It immediately creates an empathy bridge between you and the character.

Pete: Right.

Jen: And what's interesting about your application is it's creating the empathy bridge between the you in this moment and the character you are seeking to play, which is the better version of yourself.

Pete: Right. Ooh, I like that. Yeah.

Jen: Right? So, we've talked about this in the past. We did an episode called Broadway Jesus.

Pete: We did. We did.

Jen: Where we do, you know, "What would Broadway Jesus do? Act as if you were someone working at that level. What would you do?" I like this as a tool of permission for stretching beyond your own comfort zone and into someone else's comfort zone, rather than thinking of it as the discomfort. It's like, "Oh, if I was in someone else's comfort zone, where would the edges be?"

Pete: Ooh, I like that...that framing. Yeah.

Jen: And then, it reminds me of something I learned from, I think, the book Fierce Conversations (which is a great book), which is when you ask someone or yourself a question and the answer is, "I don't know," a possible follow up question is, "What could it be if you did know?"

Pete: Nice. Yeah. "What would it look like if you did know?" Yeah.

Jen: Right. And I like this idea because it's like, "Oh, I don't know what to do about nutrition." "Well, what could it look like if you did know about what to do with your nutrition?" "Oh, well, I'd probably be consulting a nutritionist, or I'd be asking ChatGPT for my triathlon nutrition plan," and it just unlocks ways of thinking.

Pete: Yes. It unlocks ways of thinking. I think it's a powerful tool to get unstuck.

Jen: Yeah.

Pete: And that is a good thing. Because we, gosh, we all can feel stuck at certain points. And yeah, I think about it in the context of like with my training, it's like, "Okay, so what are you feeling? A bit sore in your hamstring? Well, what would a world-class athlete do? And could you act as if them? Oh, I guess you'd go and talk to a physiotherapist. And by the way, they're really helpful at helping you work through those things." So it's like, rather than hack your way through, and try and make everything up, and do it all yourself, it's like the permission of acting as if might unlock ideas, solutions, ways of training that you hadn't thought about before.

Jen: I love that. What a great lesson.

Pete: So that was particularly front of mind, with some boundaries, of course. Because part of it, you know, if you acted as if Matt Hauser (who was the world champion and Australian triathlete), you know, the way that he swims and rides a bike, there's no way I could act as if that. So, he's seriously fast. So, there's limitations to it. But there's also learnings that can be had from adopting that, to your point, that Broadway Jesus-esque mindset. So, that was the first thing that came to my mind.

Jen: Yeah, I love it.

Pete: Okay. The second thing maybe feels trivial, but it was brought to life again actually just yesterday when I was running this workshop. And that is that appreciation feels really good.

Jen: Yeah.

Pete: Or cheering and affirmation feels really good, even from a stranger. So, the coolest thing about this event...it's called the Noosa Triathlon. I'll put a link to the video that they made in the Box O' Goodies, if anyone's interested. It's worth looking at. It's on one of the best beaches in Australia and is the biggest Olympic Distance Triathlon in the world, for good reason. Once you see this video, you'll understand. The vibe, that beach, the atmosphere, it is like a party with ten thousand people, eight thousand of whom are competing. I guess there's more than ten thousand. Eight thousand people compete, twenty thousand people-ish spectate. And so, it's the closest I'll think I'll ever come to feeling like a professional athlete running at the Olympics or something. Because when I say the streets are lined with people, I mean the streets are lined with thousands of people. They're squirting hoses at you, because it was so hot. They're offering you drinks. The guy in front of me on the run, on the way home, grabbed a beer off someone in the crowd. He was drinking a beer. It was all happening. And as you would know, I mean, the New York Marathon was recent. So, maybe this is top of mind for some of our listeners in New York. Everyone wears a bib, and it has your name on it. And so, I'd be running along, and all of a sudden, a total stranger would be like, "You've got this, Shep. Keep going."

Jen: Wow.

Pete: And I was like, "That is the thing I needed to hear, in this moment. And now, I've got an extra pep in my step." And so, like the random calling out appreciation. "I see you." "You got this." I mean, it's sort of shockingly and disarmingly powerful still, even though we all know this.

Jen: Yeah, the New York Marathon was recent. And it is the best day in New York City, because everyone is cheering each other on. It raises the question, what is it about that day or that scenario that makes people feel unembarrassed and uninhibited to tell a stranger they're doing a great job?

Pete: Right. Yeah. Is there something in the fact that, "Oh, it feels like you're doing something that I could never do. And so, I immediately want to throw praise at you." Is it just, "I'm swept up by the community involved in this thing," or, "The festival-like atmosphere of this thing makes me put away all of the devices and bullshit that we see online and just focus on human-to-human connection and appreciation." You know?

Jen: Yeah. I think it's all of that. I mean, community is such a big piece of it. And my guess is most of your crowd didn't actually know each other. Certainly, the crowd in New York City, they don't know each other. But when you see your friend run by and you start cheering, then you turn around and someone else starts cheering for your friend because you're cheering, and then you're hugging each other and high-fiving, it's such a beautiful thing to be the person doing the appreciating. It's also a really good reminder that we need appreciation in our lives, and for the hard things that we're doing. They don't always look like triathlons. Sometimes, they look like conversations or projects. It's also nice to get some appreciation for even the little things, like the things that are not that hard.

Pete: 100%.

Jen: So maybe this is like a call to all of us to investigate, are we giving enough appreciation? And are we putting ourselves in a position to be able to receive it, as well?

Pete: Yes, please. Yeah. The way I was thinking about this is we all have the ability to make people feel seen all day, every day. And so like, what are we doing with that power?

Jen: Right.

Pete: And just yesterday, I mentioned I ran this workshop, where there was a newly-formed senior leadership team. And it wasn't necessarily in my plan for this session but, I don't know, half an hour in, I got this idea to do this activity that you and I have done before and I've done with groups before. And that is essentially like good finding / appreciation, in the moment, for people. And so, I just on a whim was like, "I want us to go around the room, and for everyone to tell each individual what you think their superpower is. And so, we're going to start with Jen. And then, we're going to go to Pete." And so, seven people gave their perspective on what the superpower was of this particular leader. And everyone, you could see, started to feel...I mean, everyone felt a little uncomfortable, because it's a particular experience to feel praise like that. But afterwards, it was like, "Wow, it feels good to get that appreciation." And my god, in corporate...well, corporate New Zealand, this was. But in corporate Australia, in corporate America, in the corporate world, we don't do this enough.

Jen: Yeah.

Pete: And, "I've always thought this of you, but how often have I actually told you that?" So, there's just so many examples of a simple appreciation goes a long way.

Jen: I love that. One of our trainers at my gym...his name is Raj, and he's the best. He won't start the group classes until he has hugged or high-fived every single individual person in the room, as like, "Yeah, you made it here today. Like, you're on the mat. Let's go." And you feel that little burst of (what is it) serotonin, dopamine, adrenaline. There is a chemical reaction when someone's like, "Hey, I see you. Good job. Let's go."

Pete: Yeah. I mean, there was a guy in the final two kilometers of the run...I was so miserable at this point. I was hot. I was like, "I'm ready to finish this thing." There were people dropping like flies. It was thirty degrees Celsius, which is like eighty-six degrees in America. For context, it was 80% humidity. It was hot. And so, people are starting to walk. People are dropping like flies. And there was this guy, this freakin' guy, an absolute legend. He must have been a couple of meters behind me. And literally, every single person he ran past, he was like, "Come on, you've got this. Two kilometers to go. Come on, you've got this. Like, we got this. It's only ten minutes, twelve minutes. We've got there. We've got to get there. We've got to get there." And like, him and I ran at the same pace for the last two kilometers. And we crossed the line. And I turned around. And me and this random guy just hugged each other.

Jen: I love it.

Pete: I didn't say anything to him, but I could hear him the whole time. And I was like, "Hearing you appreciate other people made me feel better about the last two kilometers." So, we hugged it out. It was great.

Jen: Yes. Oh, I love it.

Pete: Alright. So, that's the second learning. The third one is something I've never done. I'm embarrassed to say I've never done this intentionally for a sporting event, and it was shockingly effective (unsurprisingly, for anyone who has). And that is the power of the taper.

Jen: The power of the what?

Pete: Taper. T-A-P-E-R. I'll explain what I mean by that.

Jen: Oh, the power of the taper. Okay.

Pete: Yeah, the taper. So tapering is a commonly instigated practice for, I mean, definitely elite athletes, but a lot of athletes who take particular endurance events seriously. Where essentially, you dial back your training for the week or two leading up to the event, so that you have more energy for the event itself. You stop pushing yourself and stretching your limits in your training, so that your body has a chance to recover and be set up for success during the event itself. So, instead of going for a 10 K run or a 5 mile run, you might just go and run for fifteen minutes casually in the park, so that you still get the stimulus but you don't exhaust your body, essentially. And I realized in the last week when I was doing this, which, I got the idea from my AI interaction / triathlon coach...which is a whole separate thing, where it was super handy to use AI for triathlon training, by the way. And anyway, it said essentially do a ten day taper. I did it. I followed the rule. And during the last week, three days before the event, I was like, "Wow, I have a lot of energy at the moment. And I'm feeling pretty fresh." And it was a bit like, "Yeah, of course you do. Because you would deliberately have slowed down, so that you can speed up on the day." And I thought, "Huh. Outside of this context, where are you not slowing down, so that you could speed up? And where could you benefit from slowing down to speed up? Where might you start to think about inserting a little taper, so that when you get to a big keynote, a big workshop, a big proposal, a big production, a big show, whatever, you've got more energy than you would have if you had just kept going a million miles an hour?" Which, I feel like is what a lot of our listeners are pretty good at doing. That is, going a million miles an hour.

Jen: Wow. I've got to say, Pete, this is the first time I've ever heard this phrase.

Pete: Oh, really?

Jen: Yes. And I'm really struck by it, for several reasons. The first is, you know, one of my mottos at the studio is, "Go slow to go fast." But I realize that it's probably more accurate to say, "Go slow to go fast, to go slow to go fast, to go slow to go fast."

Pete: It's a loop. Yeah.

Jen: Yes. But I also realize I do this with clients when we have a coaching preparing them for like a final callback, and the material gets to a place in the coaching where I'm like, "That's it. Like, you need to stop working on this now." And then, I'll usually say to them, "So what's your plan between now and the audition?" Because I want to hear them say either, "I'm not going to touch it again," or if they say, "Yeah, I'm going to go over it and over it and over it," then I am able to say, "You know what? I actually think you're ready."

Pete: "You're good."

Jen: Yeah. "You don't need to touch it again until the day of."

Pete: Yes.

Jen: But I hadn't thought of this as tapering. Because they are working so hard to get it to the point where it gets that thumbs up of like, "It's ready to go." And then, we have to taper off. Oh, I'm obsessed with this.

Pete: Yeah. The way it was articulated to me was, "You're not going to get fitter in the last ten days. Trust me, you won't get fitter. But you will perhaps get injured or more tired if you don't do something like slow down." So, it's the same as what you described. "You already know this. You're not going to know it even more if you keep practicing it."

Jen: And the inverse of that (which I sometimes say with a wink and a nod) is when I am in class and I see someone has their book of music open and is like staring hard at it, I'm like, "If you don't know the words now, you're not going to know them when you get up in a couple of minutes."

Pete: Oh, it's so good.

Jen: Like, you can't cram it in at the last minute.

Pete: Yeah. Like, quickly going for a bike ride the night before, because you realize you haven't bike ridden enough. That's not going to work.

Jen: Correct. Wow, Pete, these are such wonderful lessons. So I want to repeat them back to you, to make sure I got them.

Pete: Yeah.

Jen: Number One: There is power in acting as if. Number Two: Appreciation feels really good. Number Three: Deliberately slow down, so that you can speed up.

Pete: That's it. They're the three. I'm sure there's more. I mean, I had to have a bonus fourth one, which was: Please hydrate. Please just hydrate. My friend who I did this event with was dehydrated and collapsed over the finish line, and ended up on a drip.

Jen: No.

Pete: He's totally fine. He's totally fine. And afterwards, he was like, "Yeah, I probably should have had more water on the bike ride." And I was like, "Yeah." Please hydrate. That is relevant, whether you're doing a triathlon or not.

Jen: And that is The Long and The Short Of It.