The idea for this blog was seeded on my high school WhatsApp group- a bunch of fellows doing various things in their professional lives, connected by experiences shared in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. In this WhatsApp Group (like any other) we share and debate everything under the sun. There are arguments- with data at times and with emotions at other times. Let me put it this way, it is a typical group of “men” in their 40‘s.
One of the topics we keep going back to is ‘Health’. Most times when it comes to health, there are no arguments in the group, it is pure sharing. However, last week started different, we bantered on health, and the topic was cycling vs running. It was a long thread of arguments and finally, we agreed to disagree; to each their own poison. Good Fun!
Fast forward to the weekend (March 19), I competed and finished duathlon, Olympic Distance- 10Km run, followed by 40Km biking, followed by 5Km run. I have run many half marathons, a few marathons and biked maximum 120K in a day. However, had never done duathlon earlier.
It was an amazing first experience! Different from what biking or running. I think the exciting and wierd parts were transitions- from running to biking and from biking to running. At the start of the finish run (transitioning from biking to running) for about a kilometer I felt like a penguin- hopping more than running.
In this blog I have tried to capture the similarities and differences of these 2 endurance sports and how biking and running have made me me a better entrepreneur and a better person.
Lesson 1. The definition of ‘inertia’ needs a relook.
Inertia is defined as “a property of matter by which it continues in its existing state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line, unless that state is changed by an external force”.
Learning from endurance sports : In my experience there is no external force strong enough to make a person jump off the bed at 3:30AM every sunday and say to themselves let’s burn 3K calories. There’s no external force strong enough to make one run the last mile in a marathon with cramps. For good 10 years there were people around me running marathons, eating healthy. However, these external forces did not change my state of inertia.
The force is ‘internal’, perhaps the definition of inertia should be “a property of people by which they continue in their existing state of rest, unless that state is changed by an INTERNAL force”
Entrepreneurship Lesson: Do not jump on the entrepreneurship boat inspired by the success stories. Look at the sacrifices and years these entrepreneurs put in to be successful. Speak with entrepreneurs who failed. The calling should be from within because there is a psychological price of entrepreneurship.
Lesson 2. Understand the game before making your ‘move’.
The one big difference I find between biking and running is how one deals with elevation- both gain and loss. In plain english, while biking going uphill is super exhausting and coming down is super relaxing. In running going uphill is less exhausting however running downhill is a skill hard to master.
Learning from endurance sports : Descending feels easy aerobically, but each step triggers muscle-damaging eccentric contractions in the quadriceps and lower legs. On level ground, these muscles shorten as they fire; on declines, they elongate while under tension as they work to control your speed. This creates more micro-tears in each fiber, which stimulates muscle growth but leaves you fatigued and sore.
While biking get in the right gear while approaching elevation, maintaining posture and pace your ride. While running do not give in to gravity, tread with caution, try other techniques like shorter strides.
Entrepreneurship Lesson: Evaluate the opportunity, understand the macro environment, follow your competition before you venture out. Copy pasting business models is a recipe for disaster.
Lesson 3. Everyone is alone alone, in their special timelines.
This is where biking, running and all endurance sports are similar. For athletes every race is about “Personal Best”. When one (amateur athletes) laces up or takes to the saddle of the bike it is not about beating others, it is about giving ones personal best.
Learning from endurance sports : The experience in the holding area could be daunting. Thousands of atheletes all lined up waiting for the gun. Some warming up, some meditating, few joking and singing. However, few minutes into the race everyone is running alone. Similarly, even in our lives we have many many people around us- friends, family, acquaintances and the unknown. However, if one really thinks about it, they are alone in their timeline from womb to tomb.
Entrepreneurship Lesson: There’s no right age to start and you could fail any number of times in this journey. The best time to start a business depends on the maturity of the industry and more importantly maturity of the entrepreneur.
Lesson 4. There’s opportunity when things are “Going Downhill”
Normally the phrase “going downhill” means declinining and growing worse. It is not very uncommon to hear this phrase in organizations and life, for example-“2016 was bad year for startups, everything went downhill”. However, in biking and running going downhill presents an opportunity.
Learning from endurance sports : Most people learn to ride bike downhill because it is so much easier and natural. Even for experienced bikers going down slope seems such a bliss. Looking at the course gradient is integral part of race planning for any athlete. For runners, hill runs are initially a challenge, specially going downhill. However, after training for a few months on long hills, short hills, hill sprints, hill endurance, one barely notices these hills and starts gliding downhill. Looking back at 2016, Matheran hill endurathon was one of the most enjoyable events for me that year.
Entrepreneurship Lesson: There are 2 lessons here, an entrepreneur must cherish failures as much as success. There’s more learning in failure than in success. The second lesson is that it may be the best time to start when the economy and industry is going “downhill”- there are opportunities and resources are available.
Keep running, biking, walking, hiking and creating awesome stuff by starting again after every failure!