{"id":1363,"date":"2016-04-21T18:46:41","date_gmt":"2016-04-21T17:46:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.iese.edu\/mba\/?p=1363"},"modified":"2016-04-22T15:16:28","modified_gmt":"2016-04-22T14:16:28","slug":"compete-less-encourage-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.iese.edu\/mba\/compete-less-encourage-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Compete Less. Encourage More."},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s been some days since the Sunday I participated in\u00a0the Barcelona Marathon sponsored by Zurich Insurance<\/strong>\u00a0<\/a><\/em>and I have finally had a chance to reflect on my performance in the race. I am a firm believer that there are many life lessons in running marathons. From this race, the lesson I would like to share with you is COMPETE LESS. ENCOURAGE MORE.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The story is the following<\/strong>: I arrive to the starting line of the Marathon<\/a><\/i><\/b>\u00a0with plenty of time, hydrated, and prepared physically and mentally for the 42.2 km run. People were nervous and so was I<\/strong>. But I had no one to share it with at the start line as my friends Jorge and Juan<\/strong> would accompany me in KM 4 and 10 respectively.<\/p>\n

The race started punctually and I ran the first kilometers without a fix pace. First warning sign<\/strong>. Adrenaline can be a dangerous partner.<\/p>\n

After four kilometers of running with house beats pumping in my ear, I met my friend Jorge. He ran with me during six km until Juan took over. Thanks Jorge for pacing me!<\/strong> When I met Juan at km 10 my legs were feeling heavy. Second warning sign<\/strong>. In theory, after 10 km you should feel as if you have not run much.<\/p>\n

Juan set a fix pace of 4 min, 10 sec per km. Thanks Juan for pacing me!<\/strong> We passed the half marathon mark in 1 hour, 28 min. I was feeling my legs pretty tired but nothing to worry too much about. However, three weeks earlier I ran 30 km at a much faster pace and felt better. Third warning sign.<\/strong><\/p>\n

By km 30 my body was generally tired, but there were only 12 km left. We were on schedule to beat the 3 hours goal and even improve it by several minutes.<\/p>\n

At km 32 I started to have a pain in the stomach, similar to a stitch. However, the usual technique of pressing didn’t work. The race got very\u00a0complicated very quickly. Fourth warning sign<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

For the first time, Juan warned me that we were running slower than we should. Fifth warning sign<\/strong>. I ran 2 km completely bent forward. It was unbearable! I couldn’t run any more! After months of hard work, that was the last thing I would have suspected could ruin the race.<\/p>\n

But Juan and Jorge kept encouraging me…..until finally….<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

At km 35 I decided to stop. I walked for about 20 minutes until I saw the bright faces of my family cheering me on. “Go daddy, you can do it!” cheered my daughter and wife. I started to run again and finished the<\/strong>\u00a0Barcelona\u00a0Marathon<\/em><\/a>\u00a0exactly how I started…..RUNNING!!\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Now, I wonder. Could I have coped with that pain running until the end\u00ad? Should I have followed any other strategy? Perhaps I trained too much the last week as a result of anxiety? Who knows\u2026.the most important thing is that I did not give up!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Thinking about this race, it reminds me of my journey in the IESE MBA<\/em> <\/a><\/strong>and the contagious culture<\/strong> there of collaboration<\/strong>. In order to win at life, you will need the help others.<\/strong> You will need friends like Jorge and Juan to join you in various parts of your MBA and life journey – not necessarily starting\/finishing with you but encouraging you along the way. So as you approach your next life challenge, I implore you to COMPETE LESS. ENCOURAGE MORE<\/strong>!<\/strong> The best successes are won as a team!<\/p>\n

Until the next race…..Luis<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s been some days since the Sunday I participated in\u00a0the Barcelona Marathon sponsored by Zurich Insurance\u00a0and I have finally had a chance to reflect on my performance in the race. I am a firm believer that there are many life lessons in running marathons. From this race, the lesson I would like to share with… <\/p>\n

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