What Triathlon Racing Taught Me About Failed Plans

I love planning.

Business planning.

Personal planning.

Planning for big races

But plans don't always work out.

Last weekend, I completed a full-distance triathlon in Roth, Germany.

A 3.8km swim.

A 180km bike ride.

Followed by a 42 km marathon.

I trained for 9 months with one BIG RACE PLAN in mind.

I was aiming for a sub-12-hour race in Roth.

But plans sometimes crumble in the face of reality.

We were supposed to swim 3.8km in the canal wearing wetsuits.

However, the water was too hot, so we'd to swim without them.

No wetsuit means a lower, more energy-sapping swim.

I got 60km into the bike ride only to end up in a crash, which destroyed my rear tire. I only got going again with the help of a local German triathlon club.

I’d been nauseous all day, so my nutrition plan went out the window for the run.

The race turned into a brutal war of attrition.

I finished it in 13 hours and 20 minutes, which was some 1 hour and 20 minutes behind schedule.

The reality of race day tanked my plan… and gave me a masterclass in adaptation.

No matter how much you put into planning, it doesn’t always work out.

I spent weeks planning an entire SEO strategy for my portfolio of content websites.

I killed that plan pretty quickly after Google changed its search algorithm and how sites are ranked.

I followed a pricey business plan from a coach. I spent dozens of hours taking part in his trainings. However, when I implemented his plan, it actually did more harm than good to my offers.

So, I killed the plan and cut ties with the coach.

A few months ago, I planned a new offer for my list of subscribers…

I thought my plan for a new offer was good…. But the response?

Crickets.

So I killed the offer.

Planning feels safe.

Execution is riskier, harder and more unpredictable.

But, it’s also more revealing.

And more rewarding.

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