How Triathlons Make Sense Of Startup Life
Inspired by America Ferrera’s text published a few days ago in the New York Times about her triathlon experience, I thought back on my own triathlon experience and how it corresponds with the startup life.
It started as a momentary bug, a fantasy of “why not/what if”, a challenging flirt with intense sports. Who ever thought I’d make it all the way.
I started looking online and decided to check out an all-female triathlon (getting kicked in the nose in open water by a female sounded, in a way, a bit less harsh than by a male). As any typical consumer I chose the middle option, not too short and not the longest. They called it the “family route”, half of the sprint triathlon (at that time, the longest this female triathlon event offered).
As part of my in-depth research I called the man who is in charge to ask some questions and mostly share my fears. I told him I plan to enroll to the family route. “Are you sick?” he asked (almost shouted at me). “Hmm..no. I’m quite fit, but haven’t practiced in a while, not seriously that’s for sure, and the event is quite soon”.
After this call I thought the man was nuts to take the chance that someone he never saw will participate in such a challenging competition… I might actually be ill or not very fit. “Worst case — we’ll wait for you in the end” he concluded and in a way decided for me I’ll go for the longest route. I finished the sprint triathlon (750m swim, 20km cycle and a 5km run) quite easily. Indeed it was too easy and he was right.
Two years later, an email landed in my inbox excitingly announcing that an Olympic route has been added to that females’ triathlon and that it will take place in 3 months.
This was a fantasy coming true — to do the full length (a total of 51.5 km), do something Olympic! So I enrolled, and for the next 3 months I went out training 3–5 times a week. I rode 6km to the pool, swam 1.5 km, rode 6km back and then continued running. It was definitely trying and hard. At times I just wanted to “not work out” meaning to do nothing in the afternoon/late night/weekends, potato couch myself in front of the T.V etc.
But I didn’t. There was a clear deadline that was coming and I wanted to be prepared.
On the day of the event my daughter and husband waited and cheered for about 3 hours!
Girls I knew who took part in the sprint section yelled and cheered when I crossed them with my pink bicycle. I was high. Adrenalin my love took me all the way and quite nicely.
I bumped into the organizer whom I talked with two years before just after crossing the finish line. I told him how crazy I thought he was back then, and how easy it was for me that I immediately enrolled to the Olympic section.
Ferrera mentions in her text the hardships prior to the event and the choice to not listen to the mean voices in her mind that tell her she shouldn’t even try, it’s not her field, stay away and so on. And girl, is she right!
I want to stress how the event itself corresponds with practicing “startup-ism”:
Transitions are the worst
It’s known that in triathlons the challenge is to master the (2) transitions: between sea and land which is the hardest since you change positions from horizontal into vertical. And between cycling and running. Think how painful your thigh muscles are when you get off the bicycle and need to start moving on your legs. The faster you change from one sport to another and adapt your body to the new skills required — the better.
Similarly, pivots are the pitfalls of startups. If an entrepreneur does not adapt quickly to the changes required by consumers, customers or market as a whole he/she loses. They need to master changes and to be able to quickly take a new road since the conditions are no longer the same as when they embarked on their adventure.
It’s a long long way (total of 51.5km)
Logically it is hard to give your best at each section when you have so much to do afterwards. But the key in triathlons and also in startup life is to (surprise:) focus. When I go in the sea I swim. When I cycle I only think of the technique and watch the road. And when I run I run, as simple as that (also, being the last section, it’s much easier since you can rightly fantasize on the finish line that’s coming). I think only of the section I am doing at that time.
When working on a startup there’s so much to do which is at times overwhelming or depressing. You first work on the product, then market fit, then investments and customers and so on. The only way to go about it is to completely immerse in each stage and put your focus only there.
What keeps you going?
A few years back I took an organized tour at Central Park that focused on how the park was designed and the objectives behind each bridge and lamp post. The guide told us that there’s almost no one straight path in the park. “Each ends with a curve to make people curious what’s waiting for them down the road”. The same with triathlons: the fact that the activity changes, you step out of the water and go on the bicycle and then throw them aside and run — is a lot of action that keeps you up and ready, curious what’s next, even though you have more than 50km to go. I never ran a marathon but I think my challenge there would be the mentally and physically boredom (unless I’ll go into an auto-pilot state).
With startups, there’s never a dull moment. So many things happen all the time, at a speedy pace, that you get addicted to the adrenaline.
Can’t wait to hear how your line of sport corresponds with your daily job/career. I believe we can take great lessons from our physical workout (especially curious regarding the zumba people:)).
