Biscuits, the Fuel of Champions
When I'm not eating biscuits I'm in the pool, cruising the country lanes on my bike, or running loops round a housing estate all in preparation for triathlon events. There are a lot of similarities between triathlon training and project delivery, particularly Business Analysis techniques and tools that help create goals and execute a plan.
As the triathlon season kicks off, what better way than to share some insights from how complimentary triathlon has been to my business analysis work (and vice-versa).
The Start Line
For the uninitiated, triathlon is a swim-bike-run format event with distances ranging from super-sprint (~12k total) through to 'Ironman' (~226k total). At amateur (my) level, it is an equalising sport - the fastest swimmers generally aren't the quickest runners, the fastest cyclists generally aren't the quickest swimmers etc. Factor in the transitions from swim to bike and from bike to run (commonly referred to as the 4th discipline) and there's opportunity for shoes to be on the wrong feet, helmets still on while heading out for the run, getting stuck in a wetsuit all while your competitors are making up time/distance.
Triathlon can be a great source of cross-training for other sports, or a route to stay fit after enjoying more intense or contact sports and picking up injuries. At local events you'll see a whole range of competitors: people gearing up for the top spots with aero helmets, people there for their first ever event, people doing the race as a relay (1 leg each) and every flavour of large/small, quick/not as quick, youth/experience. The community is very welcoming and willing to share tips and advice to new athletes.
Find out more about how to get involved in triathlon and find your local club at: https://www.britishtriathlon.org/
Eat, Sleep, Work, Train, Repeat...
Now you're in the deep end, lets break down the areas where I've seen cross-overs and used techniques from "work" to reach personal goals in triathlon, maintain consistency and build year-on-year.
🗓 Planning & Research
Goal Setting
SWOT & Risk Analysis to help determine improvement areas, balancing race/performance goals against any social events (or that wedding at the end of June!)
Lessons learned from previous season & coaching feedback
Identifying target races to achieve goals, or to build up to the goal
💡 Creativity & Innovation
Do I have the right tools around me, would a new bit of tech help with measuring performance (hello new bike), am I prepared if the weather means I can't train outside?
Investing in a bike-fit to find an optimal balance of aerodynamic, power and comfort
🔍 Precision & Accuracy
What data points am I using to measure success and am I capturing that data reliably?
How closely am I adhering to the plan on a weekly basis, and am I missing key sessions too often?
Am I hitting the power/pace/speed targets on an individual session?
📈 Testing & Evaluation
What is my general trend of 'fitness' (speed, perceived effort, vo2 max, threshold pace)?
Periodic testing of FTP (bike power), swim and run time trials. Do I have appropriate "build" races planned in to test performance before my 'A' race of the season with enough time to adjust based on the results?
🗣 Communication & Collaboration
Two-way feedback with my coach per session, per race, per phase of training.
Finding the balance between family, social events, training and work.
Risk analysis - if I miss this session to go for a few beers what impact does that have on my preparation and ability to meet the season goals?
Biscuit Break: Training is a constant feedback cycle with goals for each session, race and season, a review of how it felt and if anything needs adjusting ahead of the next one. It's probably a stretch to compare it directly to an iterative development cycle, but it's not far off. Define the user story (training session/race), execute the session (dev, test & release), review outcomes (was the session quality as expected, any new risks or impacts to goals?).
The Finish Line
Similarly to when a project is closed out there's a real sense of achievement at the end of a race. There's also the opportunity to reflect and understand where improvements can be made for the next event or season. Just like a retrospective we can break down what we should stop, start, or continue doing - even down at the individual sport level. Maybe my transition from swim to bike is as clunky as our project kick-off process? Or maybe my focus on triathlon is a distraction from sorting out the flower beds in the garden in the same way that drawing some process flows might be a distraction from dealing with a stakeholder concern.
I could probably talk about triathlon and its various components for several posts. Because of its complex and broad nature there are probably lessons that can be applied to any job role or industry. Ultimately it comes down to performance, if you want to perform (define as you wish) in work or out racing there are elements of preparation, understanding current capabilities, goals & aspirations, commitment, communication and evaluation.