Day Twelve, We want to win!

Level: 5

Yesterday's score: 365

Total score: 5835

QOTD

"We want to win. We are determined to win, and believe that the system we're in we can win, and should win."

So my running is going really well right now and it's making me feel motivated to win some races. I'm running a 5k on May 19th that should be pretty chill and I'll definitely be going for the win there. The time I want to run is 16:50 or lower, but that might change due to how difficult the course is. This season I decided to always go for the win and not the time and not be afraid to race. In the past I haven't done much racing and that has hurt me. The experience is very needed and it will get my mentality for racing down while I'm younger. There isn't much of a point in being fast if I never prove it or use it to my advantage. Training is nice, but training and seeing results is better.

These are some changes I made to my training schedule since the last block I made.

• More base work; training that makes your aerobic system stronger and gets your body prepared for the harder work.
• Training to be a miler instead of an 800 runner; the training it takes for the mile will make me better off aerobically, which is my weak point.
• Less general speed work; I was doing too much general speed that didn't help me much in the 800.
• Less quality work in general; I just don't think my legs can handle three workouts a week, a long run and a decent amount of mileage.
• More specific speed work; these will have less volume and be faster paced, but will make it so I will be prepared to race the 800-5k
• More consistency; pretty simple reasoning behind this, I'm sure most people will understand this.
• Less plyometric work in warmups and cooldowns; that's how my quad problems started last time, so I'll tone it down a bit.
• More relaxing when I'm not running; I just need to relax in my free time instead of playing games or browsing the interwebz.

There is something going on with my achilles that scares the shit out of me. Its getting to be more like a pinpoint than a tightness over time. I guess I should start doing eccentric heel drops again. The funny thing about my running is that there is always something bothering me no matter how much time I take off and how I train. It would be nice to get a solid year of training in to see what I'm made of.

In chess I went 2-3, but my ranking still went up by 5 points so it wasn't an awful night. I guess over time I'll regress to the mean. 

My diet is awful right now and I'm barely hanging on. There just isn't enough healthy food or filling food to feel good about my eating. 

Day Twelve, WHOOP WHOOP

Level: 6
Yesterday's score: 360
Total score: 5470

Look inside of my soul, you can find gold, and maybe get rich.

Kendrick Lamar 

A job has been found with an old friend. Come Tuesday I will be a painter. So much to learn!

Now I just need make sure my running stays consistent and I can still go to school this summer. 

In chess I went 4-1 beating someone ranked higher than me 33-3 before getting them in a checkmate. I made hellfire rain on him before mercilessly mating him. Feels good. 

Running is awesome. 

Sorry for the shitty blog post, but I have a lot going on right now. 

Day Eleven, Middle Game

Level: 6
Yesterday's score: 400
Total score: 5110

QOTD

Some people think that id if their opponent plays a beautiful game, it's OK to lose. I don't. You have to be merciless.

-Magnus Carlson

Right now, in my life, I find myself playing the unpredictable and complex middle game. The middle game, a common chess term, describes perfectly most people lives around my age. Its where you set yourself up to win and any move can set you off the correct path. The middle game is where I thrive. Every day I learn new things and meet new people. Nothing is more exiting to me than improving myself and being better than the day before. As I watch my parents try to climb out of the middle game and move on to the end game I can't help but feel sorry for them. They come closer to a life with no purpose every day. A life where all you do is survive and move on. They're burnt out from the long days at work and the long nights of raising children. It's almost as if they didn't pace themselves through a race and find themselves wanting to drop out of it. How can they just want to do nothing? It doesn't seem real when there is so much to be done. I think that there is always room for greatness as long as you have an able mind and body. Will I understand one day? I really hope not. My middle game has just begun. I am left with life altering decisions everyday and when there is so much to accomplish I am going to need all the luck and energy I can get. I can only begin to fathom how small differences can change the path I lead everyday. It's almost too much to think about. So yeah long story short, life is amazing. I'm pleased that I'm smart enough to understand how much there is to do and that I'm motivated enough to do it.

Blitz chess- I won 3 and lost 2 if I recall correctly. Solid day I suppose.

Day eleven Part one, Modern day ROCK LEE!

Level: 5
Yesterday's score: 530
Total score: 4710

QOTD

"I am Konaha's beautiful green wild beast -- Rock Lee"

Rock Lee

So you might be wondering, who is Rock Lee and why is a beautiful green wild beast? Well I'll tell you! Rock Lee is a character in the popular anime/manga Naruto. He is always working his ass off to surpass his peers and become strong even though he has very little natural talent. Rock Lee is a goofy looking kid with huge eyebrows and he wears a skin tight green jump suit. His workouts consist of crazy amounts of reps and mental strain that would tear most people to shreds. 

For example

-200 One Arm Push-ups Each Side

-200 Unsupported Handstand Push-ups
-1000 Punches to Heavy Bag Each Side

-1000 Kicks to Heavy Bag Each Side

and if he fails to do any of that he adds another movement. The part that makes it the most interesting is that he designs the amount of reps to be just over his current maximum so he either gets a new best or has to keep working.

Even though Lee was called a dropout he never gave up and earned the title genius of hard work. His ninja way is to work hard and never give up. When his tendons on his right side of his body were torn apart he did one armed push ups until he passed out from exhaustion. Now you're probably thinking how impossible that is to replicate, and you would be correct. But there is a great lesson to be learned. No matter what hand you have been dealt you can overcome it with dedication. This is the type of person I aspire to be. Some days I fall short, but that will never stop me from believing in myself and having hope.

__

Yesterday's happenings

I went job searching for a while yesterday. Not a single place wasn't hiring which was hella cool. The oddest event that happened was I went in to a pizza place that gave me an a order sheet to write my resume on and the owner interviewed me while slicing a pizza. No time gets wasted there I suppose!

In chess I went 4-1 for the day. I didn't do anything amazing, but I didn't make any really awful obvious mistakes and those are usually my downfall.

My run ended up being a track workout with Jeremy that went super well. Even though I am half injured I remain in good shape speed wise and my strength should definitely be better than ever by the end of the season! Shits gonna get real fast real soon!

  

Day Ten Part One, Teamwork

Level: 5
Yesterday's score: 435
Total score: 4180

QOTD

"C'mon Sora, together we can do it!"

Riku

Today's quote of the day made me think of my relationship with Jeremy helps me through my running. He is always pushing me to be better in longer workouts and I help him in shorter workouts. He has the strength I have the speed! The kid is a machine and can turn over when it really counts. I'll be happy to be his teammate when I go to CCSU. Its very awesome to know that I'll have my training partner for at least three more years!

I don't have much time to write tonight so I'll just explain the day quickly. There was a track meet at coginchaug that I helped out at. I made sure people handed off in the correct zones and did some timing. While I was at the meet I met up with Wolf who has a stress fracture and told him about the town pool in Branford that anyone can go to for a swim. He said that would work so I'll have to give him a ride sometime. The other interesting part about yesterday was that I think I convinced my sister Lauren to train with me over the summer. She has amazing potential, but never works hard enough and when she does she isn't training optimally. I'm positive I can get her below 65 in the 400 by the end of the summer.

The thesis paper's topic got switched to running biomechanics and is mostly outlined. I am thinking I will get the outline one hundred percent done and make the intro paragraph soon.

Anyway to anyone who reads this, have a nice day! 

Day Nine Part One, King James

Level: 4
Yesterday's- 400
Total score- 3745

QOTD

"I treated it like everyday was my last day with a basketball"

-Lebron James

Thats an awesome quote right there and something that everyone should apply more often. I wish it could be applied to running, but I would just overtrain and get injured. This way of thinking can be applied to this game and will be. Tomorrow. . . just kidding. Anyway you'll be seeing many more points per day than before.

Achievements:

Read "Thinking, Fast and Slow"- I read another couple chapters of this book last night. The lesson the book gave me was that no matter how convincing statistical data is, as long as there is personal data to go with it the statistical data gets ignored. In the next chapter it the lesson was that people always read data and understand it enough to recite it back, but not enough to apply it. To learn to apply the data you need to be able to experience your faults first hand and then you will finally be able to apply the lesson.

Quests:

Run over 30 miles per week- Yesterday I ran a solid five miles. It was a perfect day for a run so I cranked up the pace a bit. As I started off I was going about 7:15 pace and then I would see a runner ahead of me and try to catch up to them which would increase my pace a good amount. Sometimes I would find myself running about 6 minute miles. This was my first faster paced run since my injury and it felt g.o.o.d.! Hopefully this trend continues and I'm able to string together a solid season.

Play 5 games of blitz chess- I only played 4 games and went 2-2 for the day. The first two games were easy wins that I botched by being overconfident. The final game of the day was against my neighbor who I mated by accident. I had a really good lead and her king was wide open so I would have gotten a real mate sooner or later. =D

Play the daily challenge game- The challenge for yesterday was to look at something from nature and clear your mind for a couple minutes. I chose to look at a tree that I gave to my mom in fourth grade for mothers day. I gave it to her as a seed and that has grown into a beautiful tree. It was nice to think about and I'm happy I took the time out of my day to do it.

Day Eight Part One, Social Butterfly

Level: 4
Yesterday's score- 705

Total score- 3345

QOTD

"Ask yourself: 'Can I give more?'. The answer is usually: 'Yes'." 
-Paul Tergat, Kenyan professional marathoner

Achievements:

Help Jeremy go below 9:30 in the 3200- Jeremy had a very promising day yesterday that showed he is ready to embrace speed training! He ran a half marathon at 5:58 mile pace after a week of training that would leave most unable to function. With this race under his belt he will have tons of confidence too! The best part about this race is that he has so much room for improvement when the race specific and repetition work begins. By state opens he will be ready to destroy his 3200 goal!!!!!

Quests:

Run over 30 miles a week- I ran 30.1 miles this week. It isn't much, but after being injured for what feels like an eternity 30 miles for a week feels amazing! Jeremy won't be the only person having a good season!

Go out at night- I went to ECSU for a gaming event run by my friends last night. No girls that I would want to date were there, mostly because no matter who I dated from that group I would have three friends who were upset with me. =/ It was still a great time though and I met a bunch of people. There was a super smash bros tournament that my best friend Cam ran. I didn't enter but I did coach a girl who had never played before. She won a set and took a game in another set. My coaching was basically use all the techniques that are really broken vs bad people and easy to use. It helped that the girl I was helping is a fast learner. It was a fun night and I was happy to support my good friends who were hosting the event. =D

Missions:

Play 5 games of blitz chess- I played horribly yesterday. -_- My shit was not together.