From Ironman to Leadership: Lessons I Learned on the Run

Welcome to Love Mondays More the weekly LinkedIn newsletter that delves deeper into the ideas and concepts driving my Love Mondays email newsletter series.

Why ‘Love Mondays’? Mondays are often the low part of the week, earning the title of “worst day of the week” by the Guinness World Records. So I aim to provide a 4-minute caffeine hit of content to fire up the other 10,076 minutes of your week and stave off the Monday malaise. Don’t just live Mondays, love Mondays!

This Wednesday marks Global Runners Day, and as an avid runner I wanted to give a shout-out to all my fellow pavement (or treadmill) pounders who enjoy a jog on the regular.?

Natural runners, who are both blessed with the physique and love of running from day dot do exist (despite my long-held scepticism around the mythology of such humans, I have met a few over the years) however, I am certainly not one of them. I never clicked with cardio until I set myself a wildly audacious challenge in 2015 that forced running and me to start a relationship. Despite a rocky start, we eventually fell head over heels in love, and we’re still going strong a decade later.?

That wildly audacious goal that marked the start of my running career was signing up for an Ironman triathlon, a gruelling challenge featuring a 3.8km swim, a 180km cycle, and a 42.2km run—a true 'Everest' for athletes worldwide.

If you’ve read my book ‘The Leading Edge’, you’ll know the backstory of ‘why’ I signed up, I don’t intend to write about that today—today I want to talk about what running has taught me, lessons that continue to shape my approach to challenges and goals.

1. What You Focus On Expands

I signed up for my first Ironman one hundred days before the race at a time when I couldn’t have run 10km. The mere thought of completing such a gruelling triathlon seemed an impossible dream.?

In the beginning, the enormity of the task was overwhelming… paralysing in fact. I realised early on that my energy was being drained by fear and doubt. To combat this, with the help of my coach, I shifted my focus just to one training session at a time. I trusted that if I could just be present and focus on the still challenging and yet certainly more achievable goals of my individual training sessions, with my coach's guidance that would scaffold me up into being able to complete the whole race. Every week, my coach shifted the goal posts—training got longer and harder and I just told myself to focus on showing up and doing what was asked of me in any given training block.?

Come race day, the mentality I’d cultivated of breaking a large goal (the finish line) into small manageable goals was critical.? By continuously asking myself, "What's important now?", I directed my attention to manageable goals like the next 5kms on the bike or 2km markers on the run. This strategy of breaking down the massive challenge into smaller, controllable tasks kept me from feeling overwhelmed and allowed me to complete the Ironman.?

This principle applies to any audacious goal: develop a plan that starts with the end in mind but concentrate on what needs to be done in the immediate present.?

2. Your Inner Voice Is More Powerful Than You Think – Use It Wisely

In the early days of my Ironman training, I quickly realised that my head would give up long before my body did. Training for the Ironman meant adapting to running without music or podcasts—external distractions that often drown out our inner dialogue. This experience underscored a profound truth: running is as much a mental game as it is a physical one.

Without the crutch of auditory distractions, I was left alone with my thoughts, and I became acutely aware of how I talked to myself during those runs. In those moments of fatigue and doubt, the conversations I had with myself were pivotal. I had a choice: I could either let negative self-talk erode my confidence and willpower, or I could use positive self-talk to propel myself forward.

The way we talk to ourselves matters profoundly. Our inner voice is a powerful tool that, when used for good, can help us navigate through the toughest challenges and emerge stronger on the other side. Running taught me to harness this power, and it continues to be a guiding principle in both my personal and professional life.

“It’s not the distance you must conquer in running…it’s yourself.” - Michael D’Aulerio, ultra runner and author

3. Life Isn’t Easy – Stop Waiting for It to Be

Recently, I heard a powerful speech delivered by the Head Coach of the women’s basketball team at Duke University, Kara Lawson - you can watch it here. Her message is powerful;

“We all wait for life to get easier…it will never get easier. What happens is you become someone who handles hard stuff better.”

At no point does training or completing an Ironman become ‘easy’. I think we could say the same thing about the pursuit of anything meaningful in life—it doesn’t get easier, but we can get better at handling hard. This is a crucial piece of what our training and development needs to do in order to set us up for success in the moments that matter.?

Running has taught me that the true essence of growth lies in facing challenges head-on and becoming stronger because of them. I stopped waiting for the runs to get easier and started focusing on how I could get better at handling the discomfort and challenges. Embrace the hard stuff, and you'll discover a version of yourself that's more capable, more powerful, and more resilient than ever before.

And train to learn how to handle your ‘hard’, whatever that might look like for you.?

1. Be more intentional with your inner dialogue: Your inner voice is a game-changer, especially when the going gets tough. Tune into how you talk to yourself during challenging moments. Swap out those negative thoughts for powerful affirmations and constructive insights. Your self-talk should be your biggest cheerleader, pushing you forward and helping you rise to success.
2. Be more patient: Remember, meaningful progress isn't a sprint; it's a marathon. Stop measuring your journey against others and zero in on your own growth. Patience is your secret weapon—it keeps you steady and committed, even when the finish line feels far away. Trust that your consistent effort will yield incredible results.
3. Be more aware of what you focus on: Take a step back and audit your daily focus. Where’s your attention going? Are you investing time in activities that push you toward your goals, or are distractions derailing you? Sharpen your focus on what truly matters, and watch your productivity and success skyrocket.
4. Be more proud of showing up:?Remember, showing up is half the victory—it's a testament to your dedication and a crucial step toward reaching your goals. Keep showing up, and watch as your persistence transforms your aspirations into reality.

What about you? What lessons have you learned from your own runs or training sessions? How have they shaped your approach to challenges and goals?