Yes, I did complete a 5k every day in February but that is not where the story starts. Backing up a bit, This past Fall I had felt my life and my health spinning a little bit out of control. Funny how those two seem to go together isn’t? More on that later. In an effort to snap out of the funk, I took a look at my daily habits including how I consume media. I began to focus less on news about a presidential election (ever notice how every election is the most important one of all time?) and updates from my favorite football teams (Steelers and Penn State of course) and more on finding the accounts that can actually help me improve. Two feeds began to stand out. Ryan Dreyer and Jordan Goldstein. Ryan posts wisdom and motivation around working out and endurance training and Jordan, the athletic philosopher, was all about the idea that sports and physical activity transcend all aspects of life. Little did I know that there was so much more than that from these two and their community.
The first light switch turned on and I reached out to Ryan, who is an online fitness coach and leads a community called Tribal Training. He helped me develop a workout plan. I have always been active but always been overweight as well. What was missing we consistency. I committed to working out 6 days a week for the first time, Swim, Bike and Run. For two months, even through the holidays, work travel and family commitments, I did it. Stacking wins every day made it easier and these workouts became a part of my everyday life.
January 25th of this past year was my 45th birthday. 45. Halfway to 90. Technically past Middle Aged. My entire adult life I have been what BMI calculators call overweight and I do not have the muscle to use that as an excuse. See Michael Easter’s post on BMI for more context (link below). I saw Ryan post something about 5K a day in February for the guys in the group struggling with consistency. Consistency? I’ve been working out regularly for two months at this point, I was the expert in consistency (did you catch the sarcasm there?). For a second time, a light switch turned on and I reached out and said, “I’ll do that”. I think he was surprised but the great thing about Ryan and this group is that they will support you and hold you accountable.
On Saturday February 1st, I woke up in a rented townhouse after an ice storm had covered the significant snow base at the Hidden Valley Ski Resort in Somerset, PA. I ventured out in the cold in legit Salomon hiking boots and my ski pants to do whatever it took to get 3.1 miles in. A little less than an hour later I returned to the townhouse after a few thousand ridiculous steps where for a split second you think you may walk across the top of the snow… and then you fall down in. A while later my friend and much faster trail runner Rob told me that type of hiking was called “Post-Holing”.
Fast forward to February 28th and I finished a 4 mile trail run that day with that very same friend Rob and officially finished a 5k every day in February. Here’s how it played out by the numbers. 26 “runs” and 2 “hikes” almost exactly 100 total miles, 6, 965 ft in elevation gain, 3 different time zones, 12 trail, 8 road, 7 treadmill and 1 waterpark parking lot. Funny, the last one was the only one that I completed with someone else. The other 27 were all alone. I guess I needed some “me” time.
Highlights include running my beautiful local trails, icy trails in a ski resort, beautiful streets of downtown Nashville, TN, desert trails and the canal trail in Scottsdale, AZ and the magnificent views of Sedona, AZ.
There was one that I was most proud of. Sunday February 16. The day of the flight to Nashville for the ViVE Digital Health and Business Conference was a snowy afternoon in Pittsburgh. The plane was delayed for hours, we spent an hour or so on the plane before it took off and almost that much time on the ground in Nashville before we got off. I finally arrived at the Hilton in downtown Nashville at 10pm central time, which was 11pm Eastern. Instead of crashing into bed or visiting the hotel bar which I surely would’ve done last year, I put on shorts and running shoes and unlocked the tiny, barely used hotel fitness center and hopped on the treadmill. Got. It. Done.
Yes I lost 10 pounds in February and yes I am in better physical shape than I was a month ago but there is one even more important outcome. I told myself I was going to do something hard and then followed through and actually did it. I’m not one to throw around the word depression loosely, I don’t think I was depressed. I was frustrated and down on myself for sure. I have a great life, beautiful family and live in a great community, but something was missing. Someday years down the road, I am going to look back and say that February 2025 is when it all changed.
Please stay tuned and following along to come alongside my personal journey as well as my mission to empower Health and Wellness providers to help people change their lifestyles in a similar way. Let’s reverse this trend of getting more unhealthy and work toward a better future.
Success in fitness and success in business follow the same formula: discipline, consistency, and the willingness to push through discomfort. Committing to a 5K every day in February wasn’t just about physical endurance—it was about proving to myself that I could set a goal, adapt to challenges, and execute no matter the circumstances. That same mindset is what drives real progress in business. Whether it’s launching a new venture, scaling a practice, or breaking into a new market, the key isn’t raw talent or perfect conditions—it’s showing up every day and doing the work, even when it’s inconvenient, even when no one’s watching. Just like those solo runs, the toughest but most rewarding parts of business often happen when you’re grinding alone. But by stacking small wins daily, momentum builds, and real transformation happens.