This is a bit of a late post—life caught up with me last week—but the miles still mattered.
Last week’s half marathon training was one of those weeks that didn’t go exactly as planned, yet still ended on a strong note.
The shorter runs earlier in the week went well overall. My 3-mile runs felt solid, though the Texas heat made sure I stayed humble. Some days were manageable, others were oppressive, but the work was getting done.
Midweek, I had to adjust my schedule. With a duck hunting trip planned and leaving straight from the office, I didn’t want to run Thursday night and then again Friday morning. To avoid stacking runs too closely, I shifted both the Thursday and Friday runs to early mornings, which also gave me more recovery time before the weekend long run.
I’ll be honest—I’m not a fan of morning runs, and Friday morning confirmed that. Nearly 98% humidity, already hot, and my legs just weren’t responding. I made it through 2 miles and called it there. Sometimes discipline means stopping before you dig a deeper hole.
After the hunting trip and walking around in water in waders after a night of no sleep, my legs were completely gassed on Saturday, so I made another adjustment and waited until Sunday for the long run.
That decision paid off.
Sunday’s run was scheduled as a 5-mile long run for the week, and I was able to run all 5 miles without stopping. No walk breaks. No shortcuts. Just steady forward movement. That felt like a real milestone.
There had also been some uncertainty about the financial side of traveling back to Michigan for race day and whether I’d need to switch to a virtual option. Thankfully, that worked itself out, and I’ll be heading back to Michigan to run the race in person—which makes every mile feel that much more purposeful.
It wasn’t a perfect week. The heat was tough, the schedule was messy, and flexibility was required. But finishing the week strong with a full, uninterrupted 5-mile run was exactly the momentum I needed.
Progress doesn’t always arrive on schedule—but it shows up when you stay consistent.
Brick by brick.