What running a marathon taught me about running on EOS

“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”
– James Clear, author of Atomic Habits

For the record, I am not a distance runner. When it comes to running, I was built for sprinting, not long distance. But I picked up running several years ago because I enjoy it. I do not run for any particular purpose nor with any plan, other than it is my mental health time. I run for clarity, not distance. Although, some days it just takes longer.

Running a Half Marathon – without a System

In 2020, I had a goal to run 1,300 miles, about half the width of the United States and roughly a marathon’s worth of mileage per week. As a part of that plan, I ran the Columbus half marathon, having done no real training nor any formal preparation. I finished in 2 hours and 2 minutes. Easy peasy.

Fast forward a year, and I found myself in a serious rut on every level – personally and professionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually.

I needed a goal.

So, with six weeks leading up to race day, I signed up for the Columbus half marathon again. But this time, I had a goal – to finish in the top 10 of my age group. Not the top 10% – the top 10. Based on the previous year’s top 10 finisher’s times, I set my goal to finish in 1 hour and 35 minutes, or an average pace of 7 and a half minutes per mile.

With that goal in mind, I started to train. Hard. And with just two weeks until race day, I developed a hernia, a ruptured cyst in my knee, and plantar fasciitis on both feet. I had trained too hard. And now I had two weeks to figure out how to get through a half marathon at a pace I had never run before, safely.

Come race day, I showed up to my corral – corral #1. I was in corral #1 because of my estimated finish time I’d given with my application. Top 10, remember?

Corral #1 is for serious runners. These are the guys and gals with their names on their bibs, downing performance gels and chewing on Rx bars. Me? I am fueling on extra strength Excedrin and chocolate covered espresso beans. I was prepared to sprint 13.1 miles, no matter how painful it was. Top 10, remember?

Getting all caught up in the excitement of the start – the fireworks, the rock and roll music, etc. – off we went, like startled gazelles in the Serengeti. Within a mile or so, most of my fellow runners from Corral #1 were out of sight. And by mile 3 I was gassed – completely and utterly out of gas. I had violated the #1 rule in distance running: never go out too fast. Top 10, remember?

But now what?

At mile 10, as I ran past my family, I asked my son what time it was. “9:10! You’ve got to go!” I was behind – way behind! It should have been a little before 9 AM. I had been running harder than I had ever run before. That time cannot be right, I assured myself.

But with 3.1 miles still to go, the last 2 miles are up a steady uphill climb referred to as “hamburger hill”. I popped my extra strength Excedrin and espresso beans at a water stop and pressed on.

At the top of hamburger hill, we half marathoners split left and the full marathoners kept going straight ahead. From there, only 300 yards to the finish line and once again, I went into a dead sprint. Top 10, remember?

I crossed the finish line, and … boom … my body exploded on me. My hamstrings, my abdominal muscles, and my thighs all began cramping out of control. My calves were spasming. I could not feel my feet. And I was getting lightheaded. With each step, I realized I was walking like a newborn calf. It was not a good look, as I wrapped myself in a foil wrap and grabbed any food I could get my hands on.

As I walked toward the parking garages, I had one hand on the building next to me for support and one hand feeding my face. I found my car, and dropped into the driver’s seat. It took 30 minutes before I could head home, as I was unable to hold my feet steady enough to drive safely.

I later found out I finished in 1 hour and 46 minutes (an 8:06 minute per mile pace), good enough for 16th in my age group. Top 10, remember?

While my finish will garner a gratuitous golf clap from my friends and family, there was nothing healthy or sustainable about my approach to that half marathon. In fact, it was dangerous. Similarly, how I ran that half marathon was how I was running my small business and my life at the time. Full throttle!

I was full throttle saving the business I was running, while at the same time I was full throttle running myself into the ground. I had bought into the “no days off”, “keep hustling” culture that had permeated my social media feeds … and the accepted culture of my industry.

But I had my daily routine of running, journaling, reading and mindfulness exercises to take care of myself. Which worked, until one day it didn’t. And instead of slowing down, my answer was to work harder, yell louder, and to run longer.

Running Farther and Faster – but this time, with a System.

A few months later I would sign up to run the 2022 Chicago Marathon.

All systems “go” – I am all in! Full throttle!

Except this time I realized I would have to take my training seriously. I would need a training plan, a regimen, a system to protect myself from injury (or worse).

With the simple goal of crossing the finish line unscathed, I started to research training programs (systems) for marathons. That led me to reading and watching content for endurance races and endurance athletes, and how they can perform at such optimal levels over an extended period.

I learned about proper fueling – what to fuel with, when and how much.

I learned about proper running routines – how much to run, when and at what pace.

I learned about the importance of rest – when to rest and for how long.

I learned about our body’s two systems that produce energy – our Aerobic and Anaerobic systems. I learned about the function of mitochondria and our “aerobic threshold,” the point at which our body shifts from Aerobic to Anaerobic to produce energy. I learned that our Aerobic system is optimal for long distances, and that our Anaerobic system is meant for short spurts of energy (I.e., sprinting).

I learned about the “zones” our bodies function in given the physical exertion we are tasking it with. We are in Zone 1 when sitting reading a blog post. We are in Zone 5 when sprinting.

If we need to sprint, our Anaerobic system will tap stored energy in our muscles to produce the energy needed. But in a short time, we will need to stop and take a bunch of deep breaths and catch our wind before we can move again. That is Zone 5. But the Anaerobic system is only meant for short periods of extreme output. It is not sustainable, if not dangerous, to run on your Anaerobic system for long.

I ran the entire 2021 Columbus half marathon in Zone 5.

However, when our body is using our Aerobic system to produce energy, it uses the oxygen we are consuming to burn fats and proteins for energy. And it can do this for an extended period, safely.

So how do we use more of our Aerobic system and not our Anaerobic system for endurance races?

That is when I learned about “Zone 2” training. Zone 2 is the zone in which our body is optimized for maximum performance. When we are in Zone 2, our body is maximizing its use of our Aerobic System to produce energy from oxygen and produces the greatest amount of output compared to the amount of energy used.

So how do I train in Zone 2?

Well, first, I would have to go slow to go fast. Very slow. When in Zone 2 we can breathe comfortably through our nose, and we can carry on a conversation comfortably. Our heart rate in Zone 2 is 80% or less of our maximum heart rate. For me, my Zone 2 was when my heart was 132 bpm, when running slightly over an 11 minute per mile pace. That is a full 3 minutes slower than my regular average pace! I was all but walking.

But soon I was running a 10:40 pace, then a 10:20 pace, and then a 10:00 pace, comfortably, for my longer training runs. I was starting to run faster exerting the same amount of effort. You must first go slow to go fast.

The key to this training is to build up the mitochondria to process oxygen faster and for a longer period, and therefore extend my “aerobic threshold.” This extends the duration at which my Aerobic system can support my energy requirements and prevent me from needing my Anaerobic system. In other words, I can run at a higher performance for a longer period without putting my organs, muscles, and tissue at risk.

I then learned a great tip for running a marathon: whatever pace is safest, stick with that pace throughout the entire race. As I look back at my half marathons and my mile splits, I ran a sub-7-minute mile and 9+ minute mile, and everything in between. That is simply not sustainable for 26.2 miles.

The key to a strong marathon is running at a consistent pace throughout. I figured my “safe” pace was going to be a 10-and-a-half-minute mile. I knew if I could run at that pace, consistently, I could go 26.2 miles and finish, unscathed. And another great race day tip I learned: never (ever) pass a water station. Check.

I followed an 18-week training program to the “T”. I ramped up mileage and tapered down, never missing a day of rest. I monitored my heart rate and pace, keeping a consistent pace. I fueled appropriately, with plant-based foods and water. And I rested some more.

You must first go slow to go fast, remember.

Then came race day. I found my corral (“K”) and my newest best friend – the pace runner carrying the sign “10:30 mile”. If I could run side-by-side with her, I would be OK. And that is what I did. Never passing a water station, I crossed the finish line in 4 hours and 39 minutes, and with energy to spare. My average pace per mile was 10:41, with my splits ranging from 10:01 to 10:51. I ran the first half in 2 hours and 18 minutes, and the second half in 2 hours and 21 minutes. Finish unscathed, remember?

Why running a Marathon on a training system is like running your business on EOS

I share all that to say, running a small business and being an entrepreneur is demanding work. And like running long distances on our Anaerobic system, it is not sustainable for entrepreneurs to run hard all day, every day, 7 days a week. And like running a marathon, entrepreneurs need to work at a pace that is sustainable and healthy, for them, their teams, and their customers.

They need to rest – detach from our work, for days at a time, to reflect and recharge.

They need to fuel properly – for physical and mental stamina.

And while they will undoubtedly have to work hard and face uphill battles, they need to take breaks – hourly, daily or weekly, to protect your confidence and our clarity.

And they need to remember that in order to go fast, you must first go slow. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.

“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”

If we can agree that running a small business is an endurance race, not a sprint, then entrepreneurs need to find our Aerobic system equivalent so they too can run their business in a sustainable, healthy way. And, like training for and running a marathon, they need a “system” to run their business on, one that allows them to maintain their mental health and optimize their productivity.

For me, that means running on EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System). EOS is the Aerobic system equivalent that keeps entrepreneurs in Zone 2, enabling them to do what they do in a sustainable, healthy way. EOS harmonizes and optimizes the human energy in an entrepreneurial organization, which ensures that entrepreneurs get the greatest output for the least amount of effort, over the longest period of time.

Running your business on EOS allows you to experience “Vision, Traction and Healthy”:

  • Vision, meaning you and your team are 100% clear on our vision and 100% on the same page with where you are going and how you are going to get there.
  • Traction, meaning your entire organization is executing on your vision with discipline and real accountability.
  • Healthy, meaning you and your leadership team are cohesive, open and honest, enjoy being together, and genuinely love what you do.

So it’s true when we say running on EOS is about running a better business and living a better life.

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ONE VISION. ONE SYSTEM. ONE TEAM.™

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