Plans for training for a half-marathon (or 5K, 10K, marathon) are all over the place. The allure of these guides to simplify what sounds so daunting, getting to a point where you can run for a couple of hours, brings to mind other guides with the allure of simplifying the complex. How to be creative, how to be a better leader, how to change your habits, how to lose weight, be a better lover, a better parent, cook like a gourmet, all in a few easy to follow steps. The simple steps offer reassurance that you too can master the complex and become an expert at some skill, all in a matter of a few days, a week or two tops.
All of these guides offer shortcuts, keys, plans, easy to follow instructions (or at least the illusion of easy to follow) to attain skills that can only be obtained through the consistent application of effort. With that in mind, here's my guide to mastering the skill that you want to have now:
1. Apply sustained effort. The more effort, the better. The more focused and conscious the effort, the better.
A 12 week plan to get in shape for a long run looks so inviting. A list of suggestions for how to improve your creativity has such intuitive appeal. Leadership and management feel so comfortable when summarized by a few bullet points. The easy presentation hides the hours and hours of sustained effort, the agony, setbacks, frustration, pain, irritation, sacrifice, required to turn those plans into real results.
Everyday. There is no shortcut.
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