A CPA's Plan for Success

Plan for Success

Over the last 4 months I have trained to run a marathon in a Boston Marathon qualifying time. In order to qualify for Boston, I would have to run a marathon in under 3 hours and 5 minutes. My previous best was over 3:18.

As I began my quest, I knew I needed a to change my nonchalant off the cuff training I had done in the past. I needed a guide to tell me the steps to take in order to achieve this goal. I had a couple of options: Hire a coach; Join a team; Or develop a plan. As I researched my options I found the following:

For this budget minded athlete – I found hiring a coach to be a little costly. I knew that the coach would not only guide me through the process, but also keep me motivated through the program. I liked the idea…I just wasn’t ready to make the investment this 1st time trying to qualify for Boston.
Join a team – In joining a team, I had to find people who would run my pace and who would be training at the limited times I had to train. Because, I have a couple of young children, it’s difficult to get me people to run at 5am let alone at the pace I wanted to run.
Develop a plan – Because the first two options didn’t work out for me, I decided to write my own plan. But then again, I had never conquered a marathon at my goal pace, so what do I know about developing a plan to run the goal pace. It occurred to me, that just because I hadn’t done it before, doesn’t mean that other people haven’t achieved the desired results. I really was not interested in researching hours and hours the best methods to recreate a plan that has been developed multiple times over by people much more in tune with running science then I was.

Purchasing a Guide

I scoured the internet for various plans on how to achieve my Boston Marathon qualifying time. I ended up spending $15 on two PDF documents that were emailed to me. When I opened up these documents, I was blown away that at one point during the training period, the plan called for me to run 70+ miles a week. But, if others could follow this plan…so could I!

The Realization

I may be a slow learner, but it took me about 10 of the 16 week program to figure out that I didn’t have to follow this plan to its core in order to achieve the results I sought. As I ran 40..50…60 miles a week, I found my body breaking down. I could barely move, my wife did not get the attention she needed, nor did my kids. I quickly looked at the plan and made it my own. By this time, I understood the concepts of the plan and the reasoning behind each workout. Because of this, I could easily remove a run or two a week with a different type of exercise.

The Result

On December 6, 2015 I ran the California International Marathon (In Sacramento) finishing in 2 hours, 59 minutes, and 43 seconds. I did it! I will be running the Boston Marathon in April 2017!

Why I am Sharing this With a Bunch of CPA’s

As CPA’s we tend to think we have all the answers. If we just spend a little more time (that we don’t have) we will achieve the results that we want. Often times that is not the case. There are plans that have been proven to work. If we take that plan, break it down into weekly actionable items, and believe in that process – the results will follow.

If we don’t have a plan, our actions tend to be wild, incalculable, and lacking of progression. So if you want to continue running around in circles, keep on doing what you did yesterday…If you want to see results, find a plan that has proven results, and make it your own!

As Thomas Edison said “Being busy does not always mean real work. The object of all work is production or accomplishment and to either of these ends there must be forethought, system, planning, intelligence, and honest purpose, as well as perspiration. Seeming to do is not doing.” Be productive, you only have so much time!

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Adam Blitz, CPA is business development manager at Reckon, Virtual Cabinet in Fresno, and a member of the CalCPA Communications Advisory and Technology committees.