What doing too much, too fast, can really cost you.

Sometimes when we see and understand what we want, anything that slows us down from getting there can be seen as an obstacle. Assuming that the things that are holding you back are bad and should be eliminated can be a costly and painful mistake when you realize (after it's too late of course) that those things that you thought were standing in your way were actually the things that would have prevented the mistake, if you had only slowed down enough to take a closer look and consider your next steps.

Last weekend I ran my first 5k race. This was a significant personal milestone for me since I had changed my lifestyle and lost 60lbs to do so. I was running my program, doing great times, and feeling more and more confident. When asked if I would be willing to run with a team for a second 5k, I readily agreed. Back down from a challenge when I was doing so well? So what if it meant running 2 races in the same weekend? How did I know I couldn't do it if I didn't try?

The next day as I was out on my regularly scheduled training run when something happened and I twisted my leg. At first I tried to ignore it, thinking I could walk it off and continue on. But as the searing pain shot through my calf muscle like a red hot blade, I hobbled the few miles home and iced it, mad and cursing the whole way. After I talked with my running peers about what I should do so I could still run my scheduled races, I was told to rest, ice, stretch and compress it. Great. Boring! I wanted to not just run my first 5k, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't last! I didn't see how sitting around was going to help me do that.

For entrepreneurs and business owners, the boring parts of their business might be sitting down and:

• Reviewing the books,
• Coaching for staff performance,
• Nurturing customer delight and referrals,
• working on their own marketing and sales.

When you are trying to create opportunities for yourself in your business you can be tempted to take every opportunity that comes your way and in doing so, can do more harm than good for your business growth. 

In business, this might apply to the partnership/client/lease/vendors you agreed to work with that ended up costing you clients/employees, stress, reputation and ultimately your opportunity for growth.

But if you seek and follow the advice of those who have run a similar race before you, you can avoid some of the same injuries and run a better race. Personally, I followed my coaches and peers advice and though I missed a few running days, I was back to my routine and feeling optimistic. I was able to finish my first 5k at 31:28. It was a small group of about 100 people, and I ended up somewhere in the middle for my first race, and thought that was a good baseline. I rested, iced and stretched to be ready for the next race the next day.

Don't get caught up in the heat of the race, run at the right pace.

As I stood with my team and the other 1000+ runners, I told myself that I didn't need to push it on the second race.  The leg was a little sore and I had a 3rd race to run next weekend. But then as the race gun went off, I found I didn't like being in the crowd and found my pace and pushed ahead. I didn't feel like I was running faster than I should, some people were passing me...

As I passed my first mile, I started to see the crowd thin out and was feeling pretty good. I started to pick out my targets that were 1 or 2 people in front of me. I found that if I focused not on the person in front of me, but the person in front of them, I could easily pass the person in front of me. One by one I passed and was surprised at how easy it was. I didn't know the route however, and didn't know where the hills were. Right after the second mile, we got into a series of hills that I refused to slow down for because I had my next mark in sight.

And that's when it happened. The searing pain came back and I slowed down, then was forced to walk. As I cursed myself again, I realized I let myself get caught up in the heat of the race and forgot what it would cost me in future opportunities.

As entrepreneurs, when we ignore what we think are the boring parts of our business growth, we are bound to do the same as I did during my second race. If we do the boring things, we are less likely to injure ourselves and take ourselves out of the race.

Does this mean you always play it safe? Haven't you heard? There is no such thing as safe anymore, not even a government job.

Does this mean you shouldn't make those big, hairy, audacious goals that seem preposterous to others? If that were true, I'd have never got off my couch and run a 5k in the first place.