Race to the Castle: It's Time for a Plan

Here we are at another Monday. It's weird how fast a week goes when you're not doing anything. I've kept up with easing myself into this run/walk world, and I am starting to understand what my body needs to perform well. But now? It's time to use a plan. The race is about thirty weeks away, so I think I need to start figuring out how I'm going to get there without being swept or getting hurt.

The other day, I spoke with a friend about how he found a training plan for his first half marathon. He told me that when he first started running he used a plan that was slightly shorter than the time he had to train. By doing this, he was able to progress at a pace that he was comfortable with while still being challenged. He could also repeat weeks to be sure he was doing everything properly. For some reason, this clicked with me. Despite there being thirty weeks until the race, I have a twenty-week training plan. I expect to need to repeat weeks in the beginning, so this is a nice buffer.

I haven't attempted anything yet today because the Florida heat has been strong these past few days. I need the temperature to cool down a bit before I go out. This week I have five total miles to cover: today one, Wednesday one, and Saturday three. It shouldn't be too bad of a week, but I'll be sure to let you guys know how it went!

Things I Suck At

It's no secret that I'm great at a lot of things. I mean, I won the dictionary competition in third grade and display that trophy proudly to this day. I'm good at pep talks, matching enthusiasm with dogs, and learning a new Rays lineup each year among many other amazing accomplishments. Surprisingly, though, I manage to suck at things too. They say a little humility goes a long way, so I'm hoping that this post knocks out my humility requirement for the entire year.

I suck at texting people back. The amount of text messages I start with, "Sorry I'm the worst...,"is appalling. Sometimes I take days, maybe weeks, to text back. You know what's the worst part of that? When I finally go to text them back I'll see that I already have a complete text drafted. I just never sent it. Sorry I'm the worst. If you are lucky enough to get a text back from me within 24 hours, it'll be like twelve hours later. Sorry. I'm the worst.

I suck at sticking to a normal sleeping schedule. Since I'm currently putting the F in funemployed, I really have no reason to be setting an alarm. Somehow this means that I'll wake up at noon and then slowly kill my sleeping schedule and become nocturnal. Right now I'm falling asleep around six in the morning and waking up around three. Perfect.

I suck at being consistent with things. This is a real concern actually. I go all in on things for about two weeks and then slowly taper off. I mean, look at this blog. It is the picture of inconsistency. I'm really trying to fix this though. I'm posting again. I signed up for a half-marathon, so that's happening whether I train for it or not. I'll make it through. I hope.

I know I'm not the only person who sucks at things. Be sure to comment and let me know about what you could improve on!

And Duke is the King of the Dance!

Yesterday, on my half birthday, Duke University won their fifth national championship. It's amazing. I still can't believe that it happened. I'm going to keep my thoughts and feelings post-game to a minimum, because it'll just be ninety-three different ways of me saying I'm super happy and super shocked.

Anyway, I'm so, so proud of this team. I'm so proud of Quinn Cook being an amazing leader. I'm so proud of freshmen stepping up when they needed to. I'm so proud of the players who played incredibly well, though the stats may not clearly indicate that. This was a team win. Every single player did their part, and for that, I am forever thankful. It's been a rollercoaster of a season, and I'm so happy that it ended the way it did.

For the rest of this post, now, I'm going to share celebratory pictures and videos from some of my favorite Duke fans. It doesn't get any better than this.

Source: Duke Blue Planet

Source: Ben Cohen

Source: Nike Basketball

It's been a great year. Let's see how the national champs follow it up next year.

Race to the Castle: It Isn't a Sprint

I'm going to start this by saying that training is going well. Could it be better? Sure, but it's better than it was at one point. I'll talk more about that next week, though.

Today I want to talk about something that recently just hit me. Really. It hit me like an hour ago. Accomplishing something great doesn't happen overnight. I mean, we all know this, but earlier today I finally understood it. 

Today is Opening Day for baseball, and I was quickly reminded of how long of a season this truly is. It's six months of a busy schedule, hard workouts and sacrificed time, but it's all worth it. It doesn't really matter how well teams do in April because one month doesn't determine a team's greatness. This sport isn't a sprint. It's a marathon. Putting in the effort, though it may not be the best, over the entire schedule is what gets teams playing well on into October. The teams that come out hot right out of Spring Training don't always make it. You know why? Because this isn't a sprint, it's a marathon. 

Tonight, my beloved Blue Devils are playing for their fifth National Championship. It's been five years since they've won their last national championship, and this is the first time since then that it seems like they actually have a real shot. Champions aren't built overnight, and you guessed it, it isn't a sprint. Coach K has built a team full of leaders. They've all been working toward this moment, and I bet if you asked them, they'd tell you it's been a marathon. It's been years of hard work and dedication, and they are finally seeing the finish line. 

Things aren't going to come easy while training for this half-marathon. I know that. I'm not going to be zooming out to the front with ease on my first runs, or even on my last runs. My success isn't determined by how well I start. It's determined by how well I push through over time. This isn't a sprint, it's a half marathon.