What 700+ miles has taught a 70-year-old CFO about patience, structure, and showing up.
In May 2025, I learned I was going to become a great-grandfather. That changed something in me. I have 17 grandchildren, including two adopted, and the idea of a great-grandchild arriving in November made me take stock of something I’d been putting off: I wanted the stamina and energy to actually keep up with all of them—not just now, but for years to come.
I decided the simplest thing I could do was run. No gym membership, no equipment. Just walk out the front door and go. My original goal was straightforward: run a 5K without stopping by my 70th birthday, around Thanksgiving 2025.
The early runs were humbling. My heart rate spiked almost immediately. I couldn’t sustain a jog for more than a few minutes without stopping. There was no base to speak of—no aerobic foundation, no rhythm, no data to work with. Just a stubborn decision to keep going out the door.
I did what I do with every problem I encounter: I put structure around it. I strapped on a heart rate monitor, recorded every session, and started treating my own physiology the way I treat a client’s financial statements—as a system that produces results for reasons, whether or not those reasons are obvious yet.
I hit that 5K goal—and kept going. A year later, I’ve logged more than 729 miles across 144 sessions. My longest run is 11 miles. I’ve placed in my age group in both races I’ve entered—1st at a local 10K in November 2025, and 3rd in the 70–74 division at the Houston Rodeo Run 10K in February 2026, a field of 12,500 runners. I’ve been slowly increasing my goals as I’ve met them. I run the same 1.15-mile loop through my neighborhood in northwest Houston—Jacqueline to Flowerdale to Whispering Pines to Shadyvilla and back up Wirt. I know every crack in the sidewalk, every dog that barks, every stretch where the shade disappears. The route hasn’t changed. I have.
Running taught me the same thing I tell my clients: the structure underneath determines the results on top. You can’t outrun bad form, and you can’t outgrow bad financial structure.
For the first six months, my pace barely improved even though my fitness was clearly building. The aerobic base was developing—but the visible results lagged behind the structural progress. I see the same thing in businesses: the owners who build the right structure first are the ones whose results eventually compound. The ones who chase pace—or revenue—without fixing what’s underneath keep hitting the same walls.
At 70, I’m not the fastest runner in Houston. But I understand exactly why my body produces the results it does, and I know what to change to improve them. That’s what I do for my clients’ businesses too.
I use AI to analyze every run—tracking splits, cardiac drift, and recovery patterns in real time. The same tools I use to find patterns in a company’s financials help me find patterns in my own performance. It’s a different dataset, but the thinking is the same: what does the structure tell you, and what should you do about it?
Two races in the books. Both with age-group placements.
| Date | Race | Distance | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 15, 2025 | Local 10K — Houston | 10K | ~1:15:00 • 1st in age group |
| Feb 28, 2026 | Houston Rodeo Run 10K | 10K | 1:13:53 • 3rd in 70–74 |
Rodeo Run: 12,500 participants. Finished top 25% overall.
Five races planned this year, building toward my first 10-miler in October. Each one is a checkpoint—not a finish line.
| Date | Race | Distance | Target |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 17 | Run Houston! Clear Lake | 10K | sub-1:11 (11:27/mi) |
| Jun 20 | Houston Stars & Stripes | 10K | sub-1:08 (10:58/mi) |
| Sep 9 | Run Houston! at UH | 10K | sub-1:03 (10:10/mi) |
| Oct 11 | Space City 10 Miler | 10 miles | sub-1:45 (10:30/mi) |
| Nov 28 | Gobbler 10K, Cypress | 10K | sub-1:00 (9:40/mi) |
32-week training plan targeting 10 miles at 10:00/mi pace by November 2026.
The last 20 sessions from the log. Every run is recorded, analyzed, and used to adjust what comes next.
| Date | Distance | Pace | Avg HR | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 20 | 3.12 mi | 13:50 | 121 | 58°F — fully Z2–Z3, no walk breaks |
| Apr 18 | 5.46 mi | 14:50 | 125 | 81–83°F — run-walk in loop 3 |
| Apr 17 | 4.26 mi | 14:02 | 129 | 69–70°F, 2 loops |
| Apr 15 | 4.34 mi | 13:11 | 126 | 71°F, 2 loops |
| Apr 13 | 3.16 mi | 16:03 | 118 | Recovery week |
| Apr 10 | 4.62 mi | 15:37 | 130 | Phoenix AZ, 87–90°F — heat run, 13 walk breaks |
| Apr 6 | 3.13 mi | 14:31 | 119 | 1 loop, easy day |
| Apr 4 | 6.69 mi | 15:14 | 122 | 4 loops — run/walk intervals |
| Apr 1 | 5.67 mi | 14:26 | 125 | 3 loops |
| Mar 31 | 3.11 mi | 14:17 | 117 | Short easy makeup day |
| Mar 28 | 6.62 mi | 13:31 | 128 | 61°F — long run, walk break at 5.4 mi |
| Mar 23 | 5.45 mi | 13:03 | 128 | Houston |
| Mar 20 | 7.53 mi | 13:20 | 133 | 59°F — longest since Nov 27 |
| Mar 18 | 5.41 mi | 12:39 | 131 | Houston, cool |
| Mar 16 | 3.59 mi | 12:09 | 132 | Houston, cool |
| Mar 11 | 5.64 mi | 14:27 | 127 | Houston, warm (70s°F) |
| Mar 7 | 4.16 mi | 12:45 | 137 | Salt Lake City (~4,450 ft altitude) |
| Mar 5 | 2.92 mi | 13:12 | 128 | Salt Lake City (~4,430 ft altitude) |
| Mar 2 | 5.63 mi | 13:15 | 127 | Houston |
| Feb 28 | 6.30 mi | 11:41 | 150 | Houston Rodeo 10K — 1:13:53, 3rd in 70–74 |
Data tracked via Apple Watch SE 3. Runs analyzed with AI for split patterns, cardiac drift, and recovery trends.
A 32-week structured plan targeting 10 miles at 10:00/mi pace by November. Currently in Phase 1.
| Phase | Weeks | Dates | Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1: Base Building | 1–8 | Mar 23 – May 17 | Rebuild to 18–20 mi/week, extend long run to 9 mi |
| 2: Endurance Build | 9–16 | May 18 – Jul 11 | Push long run to 10+ mi, introduce tempo segments |
| 3: Speed Development | 17–24 | Jul 12 – Sep 5 | Structured speed work, pace drops toward 10:30/mi |
| 4: Race Prep & Peak | 25–32 | Sep 6 – Nov 1 | Sharpen to 10:00/mi, race-specific workouts, taper |
Currently in Week 5 of Phase 1.
Heart rate governs my training, not pace. My observed max HR of 171 far exceeds the age-based estimate of 150, which means the standard training zones don’t apply—I had to build my own from actual data. That’s the same discovery I make in most businesses: the generic formula doesn’t fit, and the real answer is in your own numbers.
Temperature has a dramatic impact on performance. There’s roughly a 3-minute-per-mile difference between a 58°F morning and a 90°F afternoon in Houston. The April 10 run in Phoenix at 87–90°F required 13 walk breaks. Two days earlier in Houston at 70°F, I ran the same distance without stopping. The conditions changed, not the fitness. In business, I see the same thing—external conditions can mask or inflate true performance.
Walk breaks are a legitimate heart rate management tool, not a sign of failure. When cardiac drift pushes my HR above threshold, a 60-second walk reset lets me finish stronger than grinding through. Knowing when to slow down in order to go farther is a discipline, not a concession—in running and in business.
I didn’t start running to prove anything. I started because I believe you should always be building something—even if the only thing you’re building is a better version of yourself. The miles add up the same way good financial decisions do: slowly, then all at once.
If you’re a business owner who’d rather know than guess—about your financials or anything else—let’s have a conversation.