The finish line

It was a brisk, dry Midwestern morning. Slightly warm for the season, but otherwise perfect conditions for running a half-marathon. I was running this race for the fifth time, on a flat course with great scenery and plenty of spectators.

The first nine miles seemed to fly by. I had plenty of energy and great music. I was dressed properly. My legs almost knew what to do without any signal from my brain. We saw classic old Victorian houses, early brunch-goers and much of a college campus.

I powered through the next 3-1/2 miles, which were tougher. I had a bit of fatigue. We ran up a couple of hills. I stopped for water a couple of times. And then I hit what would turn out to be the hardest point in the race for me.

I had all of a half-mile to go. I knew this because the course was basically a loop, and we were near where we started. I was also using a run tracker. It would all be over in less than five minutes, barely enough time for a song or two on my running mix.

I knew all of this intellectually, but not physically. Because I couldn’t see the finish line.

The course had changed since the last time I ran it, so we had to make a quick turn before the end. The finish line wasn’t visible until the last block or two of the race. Which might has well have been another three miles.

I pushed, I powered, I persevered. I got my medal and my margarita. I took an epic nap and ate a large meal. But I kept thinking about how I felt like the race was never going to end.

We’re not meant to run at race pace during all of our training runs, and we’re not meant to run 16 miles when we’ve trained for 13.1. At some point, the body has to stop moving.

This is also how we work.

We can rev ourselves up for the final stretch to meet a deadline: the book is published, Election Day passes, the app update goes live. But what if the finish line isn’t that obvious?

When you’re in emergency medicine, or disaster response, or government, the work is never actually done.

That’s where leaders make the difference. When you’re in charge, it’s up to you to at least lay down the mile markers. The milestones that lead to success are up to you. And you know the difference between the effort you can reasonably expect from a peak performer and the effort that will lead to burnout.

Try a mini finish line, or a series of them. Build in a rest cycle. Repeat.

Coaching prompts:

• How might you help your team understand what completion looks like, or when they’ve achieved it?

• What might you do to honor the milestone, beyond acknowledgment and heading straight back to work?