For the past couple of months I’ve been training for The Hawk Island Triathlon. It’s one of the largest sprint triathlons in Michigan, and the most popular for beginners – like me.

As I do for most things, I decided to do some research and game plan how I wanted to meet my goal. Until about a week ago, I was doing great. But then I hit a wall in my training when I started to feel pain in my legs and lower back. I chalked it up to running too much, so I toned it down. But the pain remained.

It wasn’t until I was at work a couple of days later and reviewing a proposal that I realized I wasn’t utilizing something we do every day here for our clients at Truscott Rossman – ongoing evaluation.

When we’re going 100 miles per hour and fighting to meet a goal or objective, it’s challenging to see the big picture.

I went home that night and ran off a list of questions I needed help answering. I searched online and realized I needed to talk to an expert, so I went to Playmakers in Okemos. After running through my questions and showing them my running shoes, it was evident my problem was my shoes, not my training. They were toast, the wrong size and completely wrong for me. Thanks, Google. Now 15 miles later I’m pain-free and back on schedule.

Besides the fact that my right foot grew a half size in the past three years, the most important thing I took away from this was never be afraid to take a step back, ask for help or ask tough questions. It’s the only way you will know if you’re going in the right direction.

If you don’t, you may very well find yourself watching as your competition beats you across the finish line.