Ep 160 | Lessons from the NYC Marathon

Thank you for joining me today. It's Brian Gubernick, and welcome to the No Days Off podcast, where we believe that every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. Let's get into it. Today I want to talk about lessons from the New York City Marathon. This should come as no surprise because I always end up shooting, uh, recording an episode about lessons learned after an endurance or an athletic event. I did one after 29:29. Just recently, a few weeks ago, did one after Chicago. Well, I've got another one for you here after having just finished New York City Marathon. Now, why do I learn lessons when doing these events? I'll tell you why. It's because I am lost in my own thoughts for hours upon hours in doing these events. And as a result, I get them— I get some time to think and contemplate and kind of challenge some of my assumptions and, you know, experience some things during that race, uh, trials and tribulations, ups and downs, pain and joy. And I learned a lot. I get a lot out of it. I really do. It's, it's part of the reason why I like to do this stuff is that I know it pushes me. And as a result of that, that push, you know, growth occurs. And so I want to share with you some things that were going on for me in my mind during the race and after the race as I reflected on the experience. The first thing that I kind of look back and realize, you know, was a lesson for me. I was going into this race not in my healthiest form. As a matter of fact, a month ago after running Chicago, I thought I was just sore from that race, but it turned out I had actually injured myself. And as a result, really could not train all that much between the Chicago race a month ago and New York City just this past weekend. So going into New York City, I just wanted to get through the race and do so pain-free. I had no real expectations around performance. I wasn't really married to a, to a goal or an outcome beyond just, you know, having fun and trying to get through it pain-free. And I can't say that I've ever had an event where the goal was just go out there and have fun. And as a result, no expectations, just kind of going out there and wanting to smile, you know, throughout the entire event. I ended up running my best time ever. And it's just funny. You know, for me, I think about all the pressure I put on attainment of goals and, you know, how much stress I probably build up around, you know, wanting to achieve a certain metric or whatever it may be. And in the one time I don't really have a metric, I end up running my best time ever. So the lesson, I don't know, sometimes not having expectations, sometimes just enjoying the journey. You know, you look up and you end up outperforming, you know, what you've done historically with a different approach. The next lesson for me, you know, while I didn't necessarily have a goal in terms of time and it, it worked out favorably for me anyhow, I did have a target in that I had to execute my plan as it pertained to nutrition. So what I'm consuming, what I'm eating during that race, as well as hydration. And I'll tell you, I actually executed my plan in terms of when I'm drinking and out, when I'm, you know, the electrolytes I'm taking and the food I'm consuming. I executed my plan for the first time ever. I executed flawlessly. Like I nailed it. I really did. I was eating when I was supposed to eat. I was drinking when I was supposed to drink. I had the right amount of salt, the right amount of electrolyte. And I followed my plan accordingly. I did not adjust Not one time. And it's funny, but I ran exactly according to the nutrition plan and again, had my best runtime ever. And I felt, physically felt better than I've probably ever felt from a hydration and nutrition standpoint. So what's the lesson? Execution, execution matters. Executing a plan exactly as designed matters. Not straying from the plan because I felt a certain way, or maybe I wanted to introduce something new. Not straying and staying on course paid dividends. The next lesson for me, you know, in this race, probably more than any other, you know, and I guess I have this experience every time, but it occurred to me, kind of hit me when I'm running this race. The first 20, you know, a marathon's 26.2 miles. The first 20 miles or 22 miles, it's all just buy-in. It's all just buy-in. It's all just foundational work for the last 4 to 6 miles. In other words, you do the, in my case, 3 hours of running just to get to the last hour where the pain, you know, is had, where you've got to push through, where you've got to persevere. Where you've got to be resilient. And I recognize that. And I was thinking to myself, literally, as I'm running in New York, I'm thinking, man, how many things in business and life are just like that? Where, you know, for the years you're putting in of grinding and just kind of getting the work done and building, it's all just buy-in. It's all just foundational for that final push. Like it, like it all led to that final push. And it's he or she that shows up in that last leg and perseveres and pushes through to the finish line that ultimately wins. Said differently, he or she that taps out before the finish line, you know, unfortunately doesn't go the direction they wish they could go. So A lot of times in life, you know, the first 80% is just buy-in for that last 20%. Just an interesting thing to reflect on. Now, for me, along that same line, you know, I, I, I, I was in a slight bit of pain because I was not completely healthy. And it did occur to me that the tolerance for the pain, it wasn't pain in that I was going to be debilitated or I was going to do any damage to myself, but just to Tolerance for the pain may have been the most important factor in running the time that I ran. I don't think I'm necessarily tough. Don't— please don't take it to mean that. I just mean that of all things that occurred during that race, the thing that I, that I probably did well that allowed me to have some degree of success, at least as I measure success, you know, in terms of my performance, was tolerance for the pain. And again, I relate it back to business and relationships in life. You know, your ability to persevere through hard times, that might be the differentiator between winning and losing, between winning and getting beat. What's your tolerance for pain? Are you going to keep pushing, recognizing that, you know, it'll end at some point? You just got to get there. You just got to get there. Which kind of leads me to the very last lesson. This is not a new lesson. This is an experience I have in virtually all endurance events I do. And it comes from Chris Sacca, who I talk about in episode 123. So go back and listen to this one. But what Chris Sacca says, it is my mantra in every one of these events. And it's a mantra whenever I seek, whenever I'm experiencing challenges in business and life. And that's that no matter what you experience in the race or you experience in your day, you're going to be in your bed at night. You're going to be in your bed. I know that might sound like a funny one to some of you, but no matter what you experience, no matter what pain you have during an event, you know, a life event, a sporting event, you know, a run like I just described. No matter how you spin it, your day is probably going to end exactly the same as every other day, which is you laying in bed, looking up at the ceiling, ready to close your eyes. I love that. I love thinking about that. I love that that hits me in pretty much every endurance event. The second I'm about to hit a wall, I think to myself, man, just persevere, get through this. It's going to suck, but you're going to be happy when you're laying in your bed. Ready to go to sleep. So just the lessons learned from New York City. They're always fun for me. Uh, I'm sure some of these may have resonated with you, whether you've been in any sort of endurance event or your life, your business itself is an endurance event. I hope you could take some things away from what I shared. That's all I have for you today. The No Days Off podcast. Thank you so much for listening. And remember, every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. So let's get after it. [MUSIC] [MUSIC]