What We Can Learn From Running

A little over six years ago I started running and since that time have become an avid, if not fast, runner.

There are many parallels between learning to run and the learning we do in Continuous Improvement.

This past weekend I finished a simulated Half Marathon run in prep for what will be my third such race. I was reminded of training for my first half marathon with my coach, my daughter Helaina. Helaina was an all state Cross Country runner in high school, good enough to have run in college though she chose to focus just on her academics.

While Helaina is very knowledgeable herself, to be an even better coach she draws on the experience of others, teaming with a number of respected running coaches she knows. She developed a training plan for me to use that would get me from a 5k runner to a half marathoner.

While I was training for that first half marathon I tried completing a really long run on an empty stomach instead of with the energy gel Helaina wanted me to use. It was something I’d never done before and the run was horrible. I told her I read an article and it said this and that about teaching your body to burn fat on runs for energy. I hadn’t talked to her about it at all. She said, ‘Well why would you do what your experienced coach said since you read an article and everything?’

I got the message. I should have run it by her. She might have even incorporated it into my training. Instead I wasted a good training run because I wanted to try something I’d ‘read’ in a runner’s magazine.

The lesson here is while we are learning and growing in our Continuous Improvement journey we need to work with our coaches. To draw on their expertise and to team with them. Talk with them about what we are trying to accomplish and share ideas. Even ideas from articles we’ve read.

There is a principle of learning progression often used in Continuous Improvement, though it originated in the martial arts.

Shu Ha Ri

The Shu phase is you as a student under the master teacher. You do only what they say. Learning from them the foundational way to do things.

As you grow in your learning you move into the Ha phase, where you begin to learn from other sources and incorporate new learning into your own, teaming with your master teacher.

Ri, which is way down the road and certainly not before your first half marathon, is when the student begins to transcend the teaching. Transcend by taking all of the learning in Shu, adding in the Ha and developing your own understanding and learning.

Pablo Picasso said, ‘Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.'

Too often we like to skip that ‘learn the rules’ Shu phase and go straight to the artistic Ri. Somehow we think that without even knowing how to hold the brush we are ready to paint a masterpiece.

As for my jump to Ri in running, I quickly moved back to the Shu stage, following my coach’s instruction. While following her coaching we talked about new ideas and options like the fat burning training. My questions forced Helaina to dig deeper into her own coaching capability to research and think about how best to coach me toward achieving my goals. We both advanced in our learning and ability.

I hope to complete my third successful half marathon in a few weeks. By the way, I’ll be using the energy gels.