Chief Endurance Officer

[00:00:00]

Greg McDonough: Well, welcome to the show. I'm super excited to have this guest today. He is a business entrepreneur, passionate athlete, serious endurance competitor. Over the years, has led strategic initiatives across mergers and acquisitions, private equity landscape, helping high growth entrepreneurs, lead companies.

He's a three, three-time Ironman finisher with a deep love for endurance sports, recently raising money racing at Boston Marathon for Semper Phi and the American Fund. Principal and head of business development at Cohere Capital and the leader of the Mergers and Acquisition Triathlon Group. Please welcome Mike Alberts.

Mike, welcome to the show.

Mike Alberts: Thanks so much for having me, Greg. This is, uh, this is awesome. I'm a, been a long time listener and fan, so it's cool to cool to be [00:01:00] on.

Greg McDonough: I appreciate it. And, uh, for those of you who don't know, Mike and I have towed the starting line together at Chattanooga this year, and if you haven't checked out the mergers and acquisition Tri Triathlon group, please DM him or ping me because it's a, it's a fun group of, uh, fellow competitors that are in the financial services space, but enough of that commercial.

Mike, I would like to know, how has your endurance mindset impacted your life unexpectedly? I.

Mike Alberts: Yeah. Thanks. Thanks, Greg. Honestly, it's. The thing about endurance sports that I've really picked up on has been the consistency, right? So to be able to toe the line, whether it be a running race, 5K marathon, you know, half marathon triathlon, you really have to be consistent. And it doesn't have to be 10 hours a uh, a week or 50 hours a week, right?

Just could be 30 minutes a day. And that consistency applied not only to. Working out and training, but [00:02:00] applying that to, to business and my professional career has totally changed the game for me. Um, really just making sure that I'm chipping away at things. I, I've got a little sticky note on my computer, uh, that says layers of paint, right?

And so kind of building whatever I'm doing, whether it be, you know, preparing for a race, just trying to be healthy, you know, chipping away a project at work. I just have to remember that it's literally layers of paint to, to grow and it takes time,

Greg McDonough: I love that, that layers of pain. Um, I,

Mike Alberts: paint.

Greg McDonough: love to dig into it a little bit further. Uh. With the companies that you work with in your professional life, like when you're approaching a business or seeing a CEO or thinking about doing an investment, like how does that consistency and also those of pain of come into your thinking when you're assessing opportunities?

Mike Alberts: and I'll, I'll, I'll, [00:03:00] I'll be clear. It's, it's layers of paint, paint,

Greg McDonough: paint.

Mike Alberts: does help, you know, happen as well. But some people say stacking bricks, but you know, I, I think of. Building a castle or a cathedral or whatever, by literally putting on layers of paint, right? Like it takes

Greg McDonough: Paint.

Mike Alberts: Many things to stack up.

And I think we, you know, we at at at Coherent apply that to a lot of the ways that, you know, we engage with the companies that we invest in and partner with. You know, a lot of these businesses, they're not built overnight, right? And it's generally an entrepreneur, a founder, or a team or a family that came up with an idea and.

They're like, wow, we can really serve our customers in this scenario. And to do that, it took them a long time of building trust with customers, finding new customers, making sure their service or their solution or their technology was absolutely perfect. And it's like the adage, Rome wasn't built in a day.

Um, I, I think what we like to do is [00:04:00] make sure that we're providing consistent results and consistent support over time. And that again, that consistency sort of rings true in everything that we do as a firm and as people. That's.

Greg McDonough: That's.

super helpful. Um, so you're talking about consistency and Ironman long distance training, long distance triathlon, endurance events. I get this question all the time, and I suspect you do as well. It's like, do you do it? Like I talk to somebody, they're like, oh, I could never, I could never, I could never. But to your point about consistency, like how you fit that into your life with a professional job? You know, fam, like all these other commitments that we have, how do you get that? How do you make it work?

Mike Alberts: Yeah, I, I get the same thing all the time where people say, oh man, it's so cool. I'd love to do it, but I, you know, I could never do it because of all these obligations and. [00:05:00] I say often if I can do an Ironman, anybody can do an Ironman. Um, you know, it's, I will preface that I have a similar situation to you where my wife is very into triathlon as well.

Um, and so I have that support system at home where if I need to go on a couple hour ride or run, you know, she's encouraging that and, and that is very important to have that support system at home. Um. But you know what, what I found with the consistency is it's really about chipping away. It's better to go for a 20 minute run or a 10 minute swim than to not swim and to not run and to not bike.

And I think a lot of times we see on social media these fantastic athletes that, that are just in the pain cave for a really long time and they're suffering and they're, you know. Getting, getting past that suffering and having all of these achievements. That is so cool and it is [00:06:00] so inspiring to watch.

But I actually look at it the other way is I, I, I get so inspired by the people every day that are going to their jobs working really hard and they're able to do it as well. And I, I think it's just reframing it in your mind of, if I can find 30 minutes a day. Maybe, you know, an hour on the weekends and just stacking that up over time.

You can certainly achieve it.

Greg McDonough: You know, you actually what you say 'cause that's on your social media feeds earlier this week, and it seems almost as if every post. every post, but many of your posts are you on a run or with a bike with colleagues from yours around work, um, around your professional life. And not many of us have sort of incorporated this here.

Like I have done a conference call on my bike trainer with the camera off, but I haven't got to the extent that you have of, [00:07:00] Hey, I'm gonna be in San Francisco this week for work. Why don't I coordinate? runs in the morning and a swim in the bay in the afternoon. Like us a little bit more insight of, of, of how much effort that takes.

Mike Alberts: Yeah, I. So I think the common misconception for me is that, or about me, is that I love running, or I, you know, love this stuff every single day. I don't actually love running that much, but I love running with people and I love talking to people and hearing their stories and really digging deep. And you can do that over a cup of coffee or lunch, you know, or a, you know, an adult beverage, but.

You really get to know somebody if you spend a couple hours on the bike with them, you know, an hour out running with them. And it, it really started out as a accountability tool. Tool. I'm traveling, excuse me, I'm traveling so much for work. Um, you know, you can only fit so many [00:08:00] coffees and lunches and dinners in a day, but if you add a run early in the morning, that's just another person that you can.

Spend some time with. Um, and so what I've started to do is when I'm going to x, y, Z city, looking at the list of people that I'd like to meet with and thinking, is there anybody here that might be a runner or might be interested? And in some cases I'm asking around like, Hey, anybody in town, you know, that's in our industry that might like to run with me?

Um, and it's really been a super fun thing for me because I've. Heard so many different stories. I've met a lot of triathletes in our industry, which sort of spawned the m and a triathlon, uh, group. But yeah, it's, it's just trying to stay consistent myself and

Greg McDonough: Hmm.

Mike Alberts: Something, I love spending time with people, something that I, I know I'm gonna feel better doing running or biking or swimming and just trying to put them together.

Greg McDonough: So how do you handle a difference in speed? Like I've, I [00:09:00] love your idea and I've seen it and I've been like, you know, that would be great. I should go for a run while I'm at this conference with this group. But I'm always hesitant because. I'm a 10, 11 minute miler on my runs, and if they're 7, 8, 9, like I just, it's just an awkward conversation.

How have you gotten around

Mike Alberts: Yeah, so I, I'll, I'll pull this back to our conversation. On, you know, misconceptions, uh, about training, right? I think because I post a lot on LinkedIn in my run meetings, um, people assume that I'm a fast runner or that we're going out and hammering and I like to meet people where they are if I can. So, you know, for example, this past week, um, I was in Milwaukee and I ran with some folks in Milwaukee.

And we sort of talked at the beginning, Hey, what, how far does everybody want to go? What's our pace? And you know, there were a couple guys that hadn't run in a while, so we decided to do [00:10:00] three-ish miles at a kind of 10, 10 30 pace. And we walked a little bit, right? And you know, some of the group kept going afterwards.

Some of the groups stopped early. But for me, some of these, these run meetings and groups, it's more about the connection and it gets me outside. And I'd rather again, run at an 11, a 12, 13 minute pace for 20 minutes than do nothing. Right. Um, so long way of saying I like to meet people where they are. Now, in another case, uh, I was in San Francisco couple of weeks, a couple of weeks ago.

Um, and, uh, guy Chad, who I ran with, pretty quick guy, we went off on a, a pretty fast clip and he was, he was hoping to get. You know, eight miles in, at, at kind of a sub eight minute pace. Pretty challenging for me and I hung with him for a bit. But, you know, we walked a little bit while, while I could, you know, bring my heart rate down.

Um, and I found that if you're very upfront with people and say, Hey, this is kind of what I'd [00:11:00] like to do, um, is that gonna be okay with you? Most people are fine with it. And, you know, I've, I've had some people say, Hey, I really, I need to do a track workout at, you know, X, Y, Z pace. And and I say, Hey, you know, no worries.

If that's what you need to do this morning, go for it. We'll, we'll do it at a different time.

Greg McDonough: That's awesome. You know it's funny, you reminded me of a conference that I was at a few years ago they did an exercise every morning and one of them was a group run and there's on 40 of us. There's folks like me that love to exercise and there's folks that like to sit at their desk and it was incredible like watching those who would just go out gangbusters for a three mile run, like right off the bat.

And then after a half a mile they're just like huffing and puffing and walking and you know,

Mike Alberts: Statement, sir.

Greg McDonough: Of love this endurance sport, right? We know sort of our pacing and know we kind of calculate the distance and calculate the time. Um. So Mike, your story there brought back those memories, um, which [00:12:00] really kind of leads into a bigger conversation that I'd love to get into around how do we, back to the point, like how do we get this stuff done?

And I, and I think the point that you've, you've touched on 20 minutes a day get you to the starting line of an Ironman or the finish line of an Ironman. It kind of goes back to expectations and goal setting, and so I'd love for you and I to dig into this conversation and really convince an audience member who's listening and thinking about a full distance Ironman race or an ultra or like something bigger than life to them, and let's get them off the couch and say, Hey, you know, let's just find 20 minutes a day. Two hours a week and, and, and kind of get into the strategy of how we can kind of walk into that one step at a time.

Mike Alberts: Yeah. It, it's, I think it's a lot about just getting started and this stuff is hard, right? Um, getting eight hours of sleep [00:13:00] is really hard sometimes for, for busy people with families and children and obligations and jobs, especially when you're traveling. Um, eating healthy is, is challenging sometimes. Um, you know, getting your bike ready or getting to a pool or finding a route to run in a city that you don't know and.

You know, there, there's all these challenges, right? And I think that just getting started is the biggest piece. And so if the beginning of your training looks like 30 minutes, you know, three times a week for a little while, it, it's just getting started. And you're gonna again, add those layers of paint over time and it's gonna compound.

Um, you know, what's sort of interesting to me is for my first Iron Man. Uh, I start, I signed up during COVID and we had a lot of, I had a lot more free time. I wasn't traveling as much, and you know, I, I, I put in strong training hours. I was [00:14:00] very focused on training, and I, and I did well. I was very happy with it.

Um, fast forward to my, my last Ironman or my third one, which was last year. You know, I was traveling a lot, very busy with work, a lot of obligations at home, and I probably trained the, the, the least volume on a weekly basis for the three races. And I, by far had the most fun in the race, and I did the best in the race.

And I think it's a function of a couple of things. I stopped putting so much pressure on myself and I reminded myself that this is fun and it's not, you know. We're not supposed to, this isn't suffering. This is just, you know, you pushing yourself and you know, it, it isn't my top priority. Ironman racing is a, a hobby.

My top priority number one is my family. But my num, you know, number two priority in a lot of cases is, you know, my, my job and, and, uh, the firm and the people that I work [00:15:00] with and supporting them. And so. You know, finding, finding what works, you know, well for you is, is, is one perfect thing. And so what, what I would kind of go back to you is what's sort of that bare minimum, right?

If, if somebody wants to do a sprint triathlon, an Olympic triathlon, you know, a half Ironman, a full Ironman, and he gets finding what is, what is the bare minimum to get yourself kind of moving and then build on that over time. Um, so.

Greg McDonough: It, it is a great point, Mike. Um, and it's, for me, the bare minimum of like, how do you get started, then it's also an expectation of

Mike Alberts: Yep.

Greg McDonough: Right. I find that the longer I've been doing this. The better I'm getting a race performance, but it's all, and a lot of that is because I've been racing long distance now for 10 years.

Right. And so the things that I did at year one [00:16:00] the mistakes that I've made and the, the, like, it's just, it co to your point about layers of paint. I've had lay 10 years of layers of paint. Now, when I approach a race, granted I'm still as committed. I'm still got my coaching, and I still put the hours in. Um, and my goals have changed. ultimately, like if you're considering doing a long distance triathlon and you've never done a triathlon, give yourself the flexibility in the space to say, you know what, this could be a a two year journey.

Mike Alberts: absolutely. I think a lot of times we as perhaps type A people or very driven people or people just looking for a little bit of a shake up in their life. Think, okay, I got six months, I'm gonna do this right. I'm gonna build to this. But you may not be in the position where you can do an Ironman in six.

Again, people focus a lot on what they see on social media, on Instagram and Twitter and LinkedIn and [00:17:00] all these things. Wow. There's these guys and gals doing all these incredible things, you know, I can do that too. And then they start and they're like, wow, this is a little bit harder than I thought. Well, I, I just, I don't know how to convey to people that it's okay to have fits and starts.

It's okay to, you know. Fail a little bit and train so great for two weeks and then not train for a week. And, um, it just doesn't have to be perfect. Right? Um, and I think that that's what a lot of people are missing is everybody wants to be perfect and do what they're supposed to do. Um, and they're, it's so personal.

Ironman is, is such a personal sport because you may be really focused on making the cutoff time. Whereas somebody that's your peer or friend may be really focused on, you know, winning their age group or qualifying for Kona, which is an incredible feat. Um, and neither of those goals are [00:18:00] better or worse than the other.

It's just finding what your goal is and finding those, those steps to get there in, in a slowly.

Greg McDonough: You know, I work with this woman, Caroline Miller. Um, she's a, a life coach, professional coach, and her most recent book, she talks about the difference between performance goals and learning goals. I think it really applies here of where you're setting out to do your first Ironman, let's not set performance goals, right?

This is a learning experience. You need to learn how to. Do a longer run, do a longer bike, how to transition in T one and T two. And so, and, and as you started working with me about those differences, it really took a lot of pressure off of like, you know what, this is a learning goal. I'm learning how to go 26 miles in a run versus my 10 k a performance goal of like, Hey, Mike just did an eight hour [00:19:00] Ironman.

Why can't I do an a little

Mike Alberts: Yeah, I definitely don't do eight hour Ironmans, but I appreciate you saying that.

Greg McDonough: Yeah. Um, I, I gotta take, take another step back, Mike. How did you, like, what was your inspiration to get into Triathlon? Like we all have that story of what pushed us over the edge to sign up that first race. I'm curious what years was.

Mike Alberts: Yeah. Um, so it's somewhat of a longer story and I'll, I'll make it as succinct as I can, but. It back, you know, when we were, we were talking about kind of getting back into fitness. I, I started, started my career in investment banking, and then I moved into private equity. Um, and then I moved into an operating role and I was just working so much and so focused on that.

And I, my health took a back seat. And one day, um, you know, a, a friend and mentor of mine, you know, passed away unexpectedly and. He was a super healthy guy, wonderful guy, [00:20:00] and it got me in my head space where I really need to, to focus more on my health, um, mentally and physically, and I was outta shape. And so I joined a run club and I started running and the first time I showed up I couldn't keep up with the group and there was a guy.

That was leading the run club that came back and walked with me and stayed with me, which is probably why I, I like to run with people at different paces, right? Because that was really a huge thing for me. So going to that run club and running, I was like, you know what? I can do this. I'm in this community.

So I signed up for a marathon, did a marathon, did a couple marathons, um, and then fast forward, you know, COVID hit and my wife and I like to run together and we started biking together a little bit and. I just casually said, Hey, I'd love to do an Ironman someday. I think it'd be cool. And she said, let's do it.

Why not? Let's sign up right now. And I said, no, I, I just meant at some point. And I'm just so fortunate [00:21:00] that, you know, my wife, who's coincidentally my best friend is, is just a super, super supporter and said, if you wanna do it, let's just do it now. And we literally signed up that day and the next morning I woke up and I said, you know, Alice.

Neither of us really swim. Um, we gotta figure that out. So we joined a pool and we started swimming and you know, we sort of chipped away at it and eventually did it. And so what I, what I really think the origin story of my endurance path was trying to get healthier and wanting to make a bit of a change in my personal life.

But it really was the community of people. Whether it was the people in the run club that I had joined my wife, friends, you know, that I. Wanted to spend more time with and were encouraging and, um, yeah. It's just, you, you know this having been in the Ironman community, you go to these races and even if you don't know anybody, you feel like you're, you're with people you know, because everyone has their own story.[00:22:00]

Everyone has their own training path. Everyone has their own reason for being on that start line. And the Ironman community and the Ironman company. Are so good at fostering that and making you feel like you, you belong and encouraging you there and meeting you where you are.

Greg McDonough: You know, that's such a great point around community, um, because I think many of us look at triathlon and especially Ironman and think it's so individualized. Like granted you have to do the work right, to get to the finish line, but at the end of the day. The people that open their doors or are welcoming to you or are just supportive within this community is, is incredible.

Like, like, talk to us a little bit more, Mike, about of the relationships maybe that have come out of being in the community or how it's impacted your work. You know, outside of sort of like doing run groups and things, have you seen sort of a, [00:23:00] a coming together of like-minded entrepreneurs, athletes, et cetera?

Mike Alberts: Totally. I, I think one, once I started to put it out in the ether that I like endurance sports, um, it was like people popped up all over the place. Ev you know, people in the industry, whether it be, you know, investment bankers that I talk to on a daily basis, um, you know, service providers in our industry, accounting firms, you know, law firms, and then, you know, some of the CEOs and and management teams in our companies.

One of the CEOs at one of the companies that we're invested in it. Ed Cohere is on a journey to run a marathon in every state. And you know, he and I really, um, connected initially because he learned that I like to run. And so, you know, you, you, once you sort of put it out there, um, you, you find people that are drawn to you.

Not only that do it as well, um, but people that are interested, right? Oh, I'd love to do, you know, a half marathon or a marathon or whatever. Um, or I wanna do a 5K, you know, [00:24:00] and so. I, I think it's, it's really been a fun way to get to know people and in our business I think things can, can become quite transactional.

And that's the thing that I try to resist a bit when I'm building relationships. I wanna know what people's thing is, whether that's, you know, skiing or golfing or. Playing basketball, whatever, you know, whatever someone's hobby is, or books and puzzles and doesn't matter. Um, I wanna know what makes people tick.

And I think putting that out there, that, oh, this is what I like to do, gets people to open up and say, I'm really into knitting. You know, I really like, this is my hobby, this is what I do. Um, was talking to, to one of, uh, a sales leader, uh, at a company that we worked with yesterday. And, you know, she was, she was saying, I really like.

To talk to people and find out about their families. But I feel like it's a weird thing to talk [00:25:00] about, uh, you know, in, in sort of like a sales environment. It's like, no, definitely not. You want, you wanna make sure that, that people know you and, and understand you and, you know, there's, there's more to you than just the bottom line.

Um, and I think that's really important in our, in our day-to-day lives, community.

Greg McDonough: I ha I have to ask. Do you get tired talking about it? Because I was sitting with a buddy yesterday, happy hour and just having a beer friend came over and he's like, so what's your next race? What's this? How did this go? And I'm like, sometime I just get tired of, that's my persona, right? It's like, and, and I should embrace it.

And I do. And I love it. And it gets me motivated. 'cause I know when I see them again, I'm gonna have to tell 'em a different story. But at some point in time do you get. Tired of being that endurance guy.

Mike Alberts: You know, it's a, it's a good question. I don't, I don't think so. Um, I was at a conference [00:26:00] earlier this week and because of my LinkedIn posting, I think 90% of the people I saw that knew me were like, Hey Mike, did you go for a run this morning? Um, and it's kind of a fun way to, to start a conversation. Um, yeah, it hasn't quite become tedious to me, but I think that if people were asking, you know, how'd your race go?

And, you know, what's your training looking like? Are you hitting those times that you wanted to, I think that might be a, a, a different story. I do sometimes maybe get that way when people are like, oh, you know, what's your workout today? And maybe I haven't had time to get that workout in, or maybe I missed that workout.

Right. Um, yeah, it's sort of situational, but I, I haven't gotten tired of it. Just yet, but maybe I'm, I'm too, too early in the sport, Greg.

Greg McDonough: I doubt it. And to the, the ultimate part, like I, love talking about it and I, and I'd much rather be associated with endurance training and racing versus [00:27:00] like, hey, fill in the blank. Right. Um, so Mike. Over the races you've done, the races you've seen, what's the epic story that you've got sort of tucked in that nobody knows, or only a few people? And it could be groveling bonk on the bike, or it could be the ultimate finish on a run. Like what's the story that kind of comes outta you and somebody's like, Hey, tell me about x.

Mike Alberts: I have, I have three stories and I'll make 'em very quick. One of, one of them is about me and two of them are, would be more community based, if that's okay.

Greg McDonough: Yeah.

Mike Alberts: Um, these just pod in my mind. So I'll start, I'll start with me. I used to, before I got into endurance sports, I used to really fear the, the pain, you know, moment or the pain cave, like once, once you get to that moment in your race.[00:28:00]

And where it's like, this is really hard and I'm really struggling. I used to hate that. And then I was listening, I'm gonna butcher her name, but courtney.dot Waller or, um, she's one of the best ultra, um, marathoners out there. I'm so sorry that I, I butchered her last name, but she's incredible and super inspirational.

And I was watching a, a YouTube of her. Talking about her race, and she's like, I welcome it. I welcome it as like an old friend, the the pain and I wanna live in that as much as I can. And I was like, yes, that is where, that is the turning point for me, where when I'm in that race and I can't hold the wattage that I told myself I was, and I'm really pushing.

Um, I just wanna live in that. And, and at Ironman, Florida this past year, I was alone on the bike. It's a one loop bike. There was nobody around. And I'm on my bike and my legs are tired, and I just was like, I don't wanna be doing this anymore. And it was [00:29:00] like a switch. Like, no, you gotta just love this and be in here.

And that has really changed the game for me. And I went into the marathon that day with that mindset, and I ran the best marathon. I've run open marathon or in an Ironman. Because I was just so focused on I'm, I'm here and I'm gonna live here as long as I possibly can. Um, and that's just been such an, like, an amazing mindset change for me.

Um, I, I,

Greg McDonough: What mile on the bike was that

Mike Alberts: uh, 60,

Greg McDonough: Okay.

Mike Alberts: so, you know, just short of halfway through. Now, coincidentally, I did get to special needs, uh, you know, shortly after there and, and re-upped on some things. So perhaps that helped. But, um, it was pretty early on and. I was just looking at my bike computer, like I got so much time left. So, um, that's one thing.

You know, this is a little bit of a departure of what you asked, but there are two other experiences that I've, I've had [00:30:00] at Ironman races that have been really meaningful to me. And one, I was not racing, but I was at Ironman, Florida two years ago and a friend of mine was out there racing and he was having a tough day.

And I borrowed a bike and I got on the bike and I rode next to him and we chatted for, it was well over an hour or two, you know, while he finished his marathon. And you know, he's the kind of guy that would've done that for anybody. Um, and so I was like, I wanted to do that for him. And he came up to me after the race and said, I wouldn't have been able to get through that without you, man.

And I really appreciate it. And I was just like. Dude, you would've done that for anybody. And I just wanted to be out there with you. And you know, he was having a tough time, but we just sort of chatted and the whole time, and I was thinking to myself, that's what this community does. People want other people to do well, and when you're on the race course, everybody's cheering everybody else on whether you're [00:31:00] race or not.

And that's what makes it so special. Right. Um, and the third thing I really have to say, because I'm super proud of her. At World Champs last year, my wife was racing niece and she got the stomach bug the day before the race and had a really tough go out there. And on the marathon she was, you know, un unable to to skip any of the bathroom, you know, stops and was just having stomach issues and was really upset.

And she said, you know, I don't think I can do it, but she did and she ran the marathon and she finished it. She came across the finish line. Just having been in pain all day long. And I was just so proud of her as a husband, not, you know, because, just because she finished, because she started out, you know, what she wanted to do and, and she made it happen.

And, and, and again, that's just another, you know, example of people in our community that you [00:32:00] can really push yourself to do incredible things and surprise yourself.

Greg McDonough: It's very well said. And not only that, she posted about it. Right. I remember seeing that on social media and I, and I sent you a note and I

Mike Alberts: Yeah.

Greg McDonough: Mike, this is vulnerable. This is a like, and to the point, and especially for the audience, right? Like that's the magic, right? The magic. really the starting line, and it isn't really the finish line.

It's the people you meet in between and the experiences you have either directly or through somebody else you're watching.

Mike Alberts: Yeah, it's, it's about, you know, for her, which I know we haven't really touched on, you know, she does it now full time and it's. You know, instead of being, you know, embarrassed by, by having a really slow time or the performance, it was not, it was just about finishing and being there. And I think a lot of people age groupers, pros, um, you know, spectators, support crews, everyone can appreciate [00:33:00] doing that.

Right? And, and just making sure that, you know, you don't, you don't give up because pain's temporary and quitting is forever.

Greg McDonough: So well said. Mike, an audience member wants to get in touch with you, like what's the best way for them to get in touch with you?

Mike Alberts: Yeah, so Link LinkedIn's a great way. Um, you can find me on LinkedIn or on the Cohere Capital website. My, my email's out there. I love meeting people and talking about triathlon or talking about business and what, what, whatever. So feel free to reach out if I could be helpful to you.

Greg McDonough: Fantastic, and we'll include those in the show notes. Um, I gotta tell you your story about welcoming the pain as an old friend. And I am staring at my bike like 20 feet from me. just going to jump off this recording and go hammer away at my bike and, and get into that pain cave. Uh, Mike, this has been a great show.

I think it's been a, a, a different style than I'm [00:34:00] used to. Like you and I are, are. Age

Mike Alberts: Yeah.

Greg McDonough: Are, have fought this fight for many years and love this sport so, so much. Um, and we just want other people to sort of come into our community and, and, and experience Ironman, experience the 5K experience health. Um, you know that you're not alone, right? So audience members, if you got some value out of this show, please subscribe. Please follow Mike on all of his socials. Connect with us over the show. Um. This has been a really inspiring conversation, Mike and I, I appreciate the time you put into it.

Mike Alberts: Thanks, Greg. I could, couldn't agree more. And I think the thing I'll leave with everybody is that Iron Man is for everyone.

Greg McDonough: Well said.

[00:35:00]