There’s an old parable about a man who walks past a massive stone each day on his way to work. One morning, he sees another man hammering away at it - day after day, same time, same place. Nothing seems to change. But then, one morning, the stone splits clean in half.

A bystander says, “Wow, that must have been one powerful hit!”

The man with the hammer replies, “It wasn’t just this one. It was the hundred before it.”

That’s how progress works. Quiet. Repetitive. Often invisible, until suddenly, it isn’t.

Whatever you’re chipping away at -your fitness, your discipline, your mindset - just know that every rep, every page, every early morning counts. The stone doesn’t split on day one. But it does split.

Let’s swing the hammer again this week.

Brain - You're Lying to Yourself and It's Holding You Back

I’m a big fan of an unanticipated gut check, which is why I subscribe to Mark Manson’s newsletter (author of Subtle Art of Not Giving a F***). His letter from last week dropped a short but powerful message that serves as a good reminder, and also that proverbial gut check: “Personal growth is the process of learning to lie to ourselves less.” In the text, he highlights six deceptively common fabrications we tell ourselves. When was the last time you said one of these:

• “If I had more time, I would do the thing.”

• “If I could just have that, then my life would be amazing.”

• “If I tell them this, then they will finally change.”

• “Everything is perfect/ruined.”

• “I can’t live without the thing.”

• “I know what I’m doing.”

Each is a self‑soothing delusion. A story we spin to avoid discomfort, confrontation, or responsibility. But Mark says growth begins when we start cutting through our own bullshit.

These lies aren’t harmless - they shape our habits, choices, and relationships. Telling ourselves “I don’t have time” lets us off the hook for what we could prioritize. Believing someone will change only if we say exactly the right thing keeps us stuck in unhealthy relational loops. The problem isn’t just that we lie, but that our lies keep us small, reactive, and resisting truth.

This week the challenge task is pretty straight forward for us all: Ask yourself - what lie are you currently leaning on?

Try and redirect that lie in your head with the truth of what you are really saying. Rewrite these deflections. Instead of “I don’t have time,” be honest: “I haven’t prioritized it.”

Confronting your own pretense is uncomfortable, but that discomfort is the foundation in which meaningful change is built upon.

Mark is a big fan of journaling and directly addressing thoughts just like these. He goes on to provide a journal prompt for the week:

• Write down one common lie you tell yourself - pick one of the six above or create your own.

  • Ask: What would be true if I dropped that lie?

    • Example: Instead of “If I had more money, I’d travel,” try, “I choose not to make travel a priority right now.”

When I think about this challenge for myself, I like to also add a little bit of a positive spin in it. I am someone who tends to thrive in a pressure filled environment where my self-talk tends to get a little negative sometimes. Take for example the current marathon prep - I am the king of using the internal motivation of “you can’t run that fast for 26.2 miles" and “you’re not ready yet.”

I use these cues to constantly put pressure on myself to show up and do the work, but there are moments when I need to confront these types of lies too. I am ready. I know I can go this fast. As long as I do the work and hit my training sessions.

Be real with yourself this week, on both sides of the coin, and watch how it influences your ability to take action on what matters most.

Body - Training Through the Heat - How to Survive It

Training for a marathon in Missouri is pretty sick (or any other area that experiences the full bout of all four seasons).

A 12-16 week prep leaves you a few options:

• Begin training in the winter and freeze during training so you can get a spring race in

• Begin training in the spring and battle heat exhaustion through the summer so you can get a fall race in

• Begin training in the late winter / early spring so training is nice, only to suffer from 100 degree temps and 170 BPM heart rates for a summer race

The winter is the easiest to train in due to the lower heart rates, but the battle of snow, dark mornings AND evenings, and limited spring races make it challenging. I have found myself the last five years training for my big race of the year as a spring race, which means I have banked some experience at this point hammering through the summer heat.

Lately, I’ve been grinding out 8–12 mile runs before 8 AM in the thick, humid Missouri air. You step outside and it feels like someone threw a wet blanket over your body. The pace slows, the sweat pours, and your watch starts asking if you’re okay. But over the years I’ve learned that hot weather training isn’t a setback, it’s an adaptation opportunity that will only make race day even easier.

Why heat training hurts—but helps

When you train in high heat and humidity:

• Your heart rate increases even at lower effort levels.

• You lose more electrolytes through sweat, increasing fatigue risk.

• Your body redirects blood to your skin to cool you, which means less goes to your muscles.

So yes - it’s harder. But that’s exactly why it pays off.

Research shows that heat training can improve plasma volume, cardiovascular efficiency, and even lactate threshold in a similar fashion to altitude training. Once the temps drop in August, the goal is that we will feel like we are flying.

5 Strategies to Beat the Heat (Without Burning Out)

If you are running or doing any consistent exercise in the heat, lean on these key

1. Adjust Your Expectations
   Slow down. Don’t chase pace—chase effort. A Zone 2 run at 7:45/mile in April might look like 8:30/mile in July, and that’s okay.

2. Hydrate Early, Often, and Intentionally
   Don’t just drink more water, replace lost sodium and potassium. I preload with electrolytes (like LMNT or BPN Electrolytes) and sip during long runs.

3. Time Your Runs Strategically
   Early morning or post-sunset runs are your best bet. Midday training? Avoid unless you're trying to simulate race-day heat.

4. Dress Light, Go Technical
   Lightweight, moisture-wicking fabrics in light colors make a real difference. There is nothing worse than running with what feels like a 28 pound sweat soaked shirt

5. Track Heart Rate or RPE
   Use HR zones or Rate of Perceived Effort (RPE) instead of pace. Heat elevates heart rate, so keeping intensity in check is key for avoiding burnout.

Embrace the Suck

There’s a certain pride that comes from outlasting the elements. You’re not just logging miles, you’re building resilience, mental grit, and physiological armor that pays off on race day. Every miserable, muggy run is a deposit in my fall marathon bank, and whatever goal you have in mind too.

I know that on August 10th when the weather is 70 and cloudy in Seattle that I will be glad I bruted out the runs on these 95 degree summer Missouri days.

Book - Running It Back: Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins

Every single prep I have been through over the past few years, I find myself back between the pages of David Goggin’s “Can’t Hurt Me.” This was the book that started it all to be fair, and so when I need some extra motivation or a reminder of why I continue to sign up for these hard things, I lean back on the bible of Hard Shit, authored by Mr. Goggins himself.

When I first picked up “Can’t Hurt Me”, I was 250 pounds, out of shape, and coasting through life on autopilot. I told myself the same lies we all do: “I’m too busy to train.” “I’ll start Monday.” “I’ve just always been this way.” But reading Goggins shattered that narrative. He didn’t offer comfort. He offered accountability - and that’s what I desperately needed at that point in my life.

One could say that this book didn’t motivate me, it confronted me.

A Passage That Stands the Test of Time

Every time I revisit these pages, I always end up writing down this quote again and keeping it front of mind, especially during a training block:

I remember vividly reading that quote from the first time and contrasting it to the path that I was on at the time. Work was going very well, my friendships where great across the board, I was progressing in many buckets, but I was not finding many ways to make myself uncomfortable - and that was just a fact.

This quote scares me. I read enough books from people who are successful and the most striking passages are always the ones in reflection where they wish they would have done this, and wish they would have tried that.

I knew that I wanted to push myself and to accomplish meaningful goals, I just hadn’t built a foundation of discipline and focus to actually take action on it. Goggins got the snowball rolling down the hill for me there.

A Few Other Great Ideas from the Book:

1. The Accountability Mirror

   • Goggins talks about looking himself in the mirror and calling out his own BS, daily. It’s a harsh but effective way to change your mindset.

     • “You’re fat because you choose to eat and not train. Change that.”

2. Callusing the Mind

   • Like building physical calluses, Goggins teaches that doing hard things daily builds mental toughness.

   • I started waking up earlier, running even when I didn’t feel like it, lifting when I was sore. It wasn’t about performance, it was about proving I wouldn’t quit.

3. The 40% Rule

   • “When your mind is telling you you’re done, you’re only 40% done.”

   • That idea redefined what I believed was possible. On the treadmill, in my career, and in life. The voice that says “stop” isn’t a full stop, it’s a starting point to a new realm.

Can’t Hurt Me isn’t just about running ultras or doing pull-ups or hard-nosed Navy Seal attitudes. It’s about breaking through the mental cages we put ourselves in. It taught me to stop negotiating with excuses and start taking radical ownership—of my health, my discipline, my future.

Reading this book didn’t just help me lose weight. It helped me build a mindset - one that I carry into every mile I run and every rep I lift.