IT’S A MARATHON, NOT A SPRINT

Written by Jessica Murray

Have you ever been in the midst of a challenge, only to have a friend, colleague or family member say to you, “It’s a marathon, not a sprint?” How did you react? How did that perspective change your approach?

Whether about life, career, parenting, endurance training or building a business, this adage is commonly used to describe the importance of pacing ourselves and maintaining an eye toward long-term vision.

While I’ve historically nodded my head in skeptical agreement when people use the expression, it’s taken on a lot of new meaning for me over the past two years. It’s shaped my personal endeavors and those of my business with Empower as I strive to help our partners drive longer-term, more sustainable success.

Since the expression is in the spirit of endurance training for running, there’s no better way to describe what I mean than by paralleling my recent running experiences with the personal learnings from my training and how they apply to Empower’s business philosophy and general food-for-thought when it comes to business building.

I’ll start by saying that I’ve never been a marathon runner. I’ve run two half marathons, but otherwise, I purely run for enjoyment, building strength, staying fit and challenging myself to improve continuously. However, my relationship with running changed after I gave birth to my daughter.

The setback

Before I was pregnant, I felt strong. I consistently ran sub-8-minute miles and felt like I was in the peak shape of my adult life. Even when I was pregnant, I kept up my running and even enjoyed it (if you can believe that). I set goals to stay fit during pregnancy and ran at least three miles consistently until about seven weeks before my daughter was born. You know that feeling in business when you have the adrenaline of early successes and feel like you can roll that boulder up the mountain? That’s how I felt at the time.

Then, things got frustrating. Six weeks after my daughter was born, when women typically get the sign-off from their doctor to begin exercise again, I tried to ease back into jogging. I got three sessions in when I started experiencing pain in my left hip. It was the dull, achy type of pain that lingered for hours, sometimes days, too. Instead of regaining my running strength quickly, I spent months in physical therapy, which required a new plan, patience and commitment to building new strength.

About six months later, I could run three miles without pain. I was so excited. This was it, I would be back to those sub-8-minute miles in no time. Right? Not so fast. I quickly realized that although I exercised six times per week and was close to being back to pre-baby weight, my running endurance was a whole other story. By my daughter’s first birthday, I grew increasingly frustrated that running a 5K felt worse than running the LA half marathon, and my speed wasn’t improving. I started telling myself this was the new normal, and, on top of it, I wasn’t even enjoying running anymore.

The shift

I needed to get out of this negative loop. The first step was shifting my mindset. I resolved to find a positive way to get beyond this setback. My solution: committing to a race. I found a local 5-mile race that seemed like the perfect opportunity. I hadn’t run five miles since pre-pregnancy, so it would be challenging. If you don’t know Nashville terrain, it’s also quite hilly, so this wasn’t a race that would be a straight flat cakewalk either.

The next step was developing a plan to ensure I felt strong by race day. The event was just over two months away, so I had time to build out a training plan. A cliché in 2024, but after registering for the race, I quickly typed a prompt into ChatGPT to produce a 2-month training plan for a 10K distance (a little longer than the five miles I would have to run) with a target pace of 8:20-minute miles. Because I’m a process and systems nerd, I transferred the training plan to a calendar in Notion and started holding myself to account.

The results

I won’t bore you with the play-by-play details, but I will tell you that creating a clear plan, taking it a day at a time and developing consistency worked. To prove it, here are the race results.

My 5-mile race results. I exceeded my goals!

Not only did finishing the race with those results feel great, but I’m also proud of the incremental milestones I hit during training:

I ran multiple 6-mile and 7-mile distance training runs.
Towards the end of training, I consistently ran 3-4 miles at a low 8-minute mile pace.
I ran a handful of sub-8-minute miles and ran the race at that pace!

After the race, I felt it — I’m back! No longer stuck in a running rut. At the end of the race when I saw my daughter at the finish line, I also had the realization again, “Oh, wow. You’re not an infant anymore… you’re a toddler.” It reminded me that this process truly was a marathon, not a sprint. The marathon’s not over either.

The learnings

My running journey will continue. Just like the long path I’m on to build Empower and the one our partners will be on as they scale their businesses. I’m committed to challenging myself, pushing for continuous improvement and maintaining the new muscle I’ve fought so hard to build.

But, as I hit the race milestone, things felt good, I took a moment to celebrate and I can now reflect on how far I can go if I set clear objectives, focus, create a plan, act nimbly and keep setting new goals to achieve.

My retrospection has also led me to five key learnings from this experience that also apply to business owners:

How you’ve always done things before won’t always lead to the right results: My post-partum running journey underscored a critical lesson — success requires adaptation. The fitness routines that once worked with ease did not yield the same results when faced with my post-partum body and hip injury. This experience also reinforced how a growth mindset – openness to new ideas, methods and habits – is essential for both personal achievements and business innovation. When you’re overwhelmed in business or the successful things before are not yielding similar results, you have to be willing to embrace change. It’s not just beneficial but necessary to reach new heights.
A system tailored to your specific needs and goals can set you up for success: My training plan was designed for my unique circumstances and goals. While strong systems are important, they are only effective as much as they are also flexible. If a system is too rigid, you won’t be able to adapt when a curve ball is thrown at you. In my example, there were a couple of travel days that made it difficult to stick to the plan. So, I adapted and replaced a cross-train or rest day with a run to make sure I completed the most important parts of my training. Similarly, every business is different and their operational needs are not one size fits all. That’s why Empower’s solutions are crafted to the specific challenges and goals of partners. We endeavor to enable innovation and flexibility; not curtail it.
Achievement is a cumulative process: You won’t achieve your big goals overnight (unless you’re incredibly lucky). Commitment and incremental progress can make a big difference. Just as rebuilding my strength required patience and persistence, so do most endeavors in business. From start to finish, my recent running journey was 18 months. The first milestone was running three miles without hip pain, the next was building enough endurance to run five miles confidently, the third was hitting the sub-8-minute mile and the last was finishing well ahead of my target pace and placing third in my age group. Make the commitments, set a plan, find trusted partners and just get started. You’ll get to where you’re trying to be much more effectively.
Setbacks = fuel: Reframe your mind. Setbacks don’t have to discourage or demoralize. They can provide valuable learnings and motivation that enable you to come out the other side stronger. Think of ways to adjust your thinking. For me, reflecting on my experience in writing (like this post) is one approach. Another is asking questions like, “How can I use this experience to improve my next step?” This type of resilience is key to overcoming obstacles.
Celebrate the milestones: Recognize and celebrate progress, even the small wins. This will fuel further momentum and make you realize what you’ve accomplished along the journey. Celebrate with yourself, your family and your community. While celebrating, set your next goal to keep yourself accountable to continue moving forward. These rituals will not only reinforce your commitment, but they might also lead to you inspiring others.

Bonus: Accountability partners make the process easier and more fun!
When it came to the race, my husband held me accountable by purchasing me new sneakers, running gear and my race entry as a Christmas present after I first mentioned I wanted to commit to a race in 2024. He also made sure I had the time to complete my training runs.
I also had a friend enter the race with me. Knowing that she also committed to the journey kept me motivated to stick to my plan. There were days I didn’t feel motivated, especially on interval run days, but when she and I exchanged texts about our runs I got re-energized to stick to the plan and get out on the road.
Accountability partners are equally, if not more important, in business. With Empower, I’ve had a couple of key people who, whether they know it or not, have been my accountability partners on my journey to make the leap and launch.
Who are your trusted partners in your business journey?

What lessons have you learned about business through personal experiences? Share them at info@empower.co.