Running Streak (11 Days)

 

Still going!

I wanted to go under 12 on my Olympus Loop, so yesterday I went at about an 85% effort and got 7:27 pace for a time of 11:11. The next milestone will be sub-11! It's amazing how much you can regress without running regularly though. That was an 85% effort to run 7:27 pace, and I used to be able to run 7:02 pace at 75% effort. Crazy stuff.

Still, there's only one way to get back there, and that is to keep running consistently. The mileage is nothing to call home about yet, and I'm realizing that if I want to get beyond 1.5 miles for my daily runs, I will need to wake up earlier. Right now, I either barely have the 15 necessary minutes in the morning, or I have to wait and squeeze it in after work.

My goal is to get in more total miles this week Sunday through Saturday than I did last week (12). Let's keep going!

A Fantasy NBA Team - No Superstars

The NBA is a league where the stars drive the money, the market, the hype, and the overall success of the league. It's always fun to create fantasy sports teams and matchups, but could a team without the superstars still find success? Here's my question - could you build an 8-man rotation out of current NBA players that would win it all, but without any player who has ever finished top-5 in MVP voting?

All the current best teams have at least one guy in this top tier of players. The Nuggets have Jokic, the Celtics have Tatum, the Suns have Durant, and so on. Could you win it all without any of these guys?

I went through the MVP lists back to the 2013-2014 season and put together the following list of 19 active players who will be excluded from this fantasy team:

Kevin Durant

LeBron James

Blake Griffin

James Harden

Stephen Curry

Russell Westbrook

Anthony Davis

Kawhi Leonard

Isaiah Thomas

Damian Lillard

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Paul George

Nikola Jokic

Luka Doncic

Joel Embiid

Chris Paul

Devin Booker

Jayson Tatum

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Without the very best players of the last 10 years available, could you still build a winning 8-man rotation? Here's my attempt:

Starting Big: Bam Adebayo

Starting Forwards: Jimmy Butler, Anthony Edwards

Starting Guards: Tyrese Haliburton, Kyrie Irving

Bench Big: Domantas Sabonis

Bench Forward: Mikal Bridges

Bench Guard: Jrue Holiday

On the downside, this roster has no clear superstars (which is the intention), although Jimmy Butler might disagree and rightfully so. And so many of these players are on the cusp - which is the point. Despite lacking a big-time MVP-caliber superstar, every single player on the roster is so solid, and I also think they would compliment each other very well. 

Butler, Edwards, and Irving could all take charge as primary scorers. Adebayo, Butler, Bridges, and Holiday can all play lockdown defense. Haliburton is a genius distributor. Adebayo and Sabonis can grab rebounds all day. And on top of all this, the roster as a whole has a better than average injury history. That is the main reason for the inclusion of Mikal Bridges, who is an excellent player that also has not missed a game since being drafted.

Put these guys up against any of the top teams in the league right now in a 7-game series, and I think they would come up on top. I would expect them to finish in the neighborhood of 60 regular season wins, and then lose in the playoffs 4-7 times on the way to a Finals trophy. Even if you used "cloning" and didn't take them from the teams they actually play on, I think this rotation is good enough to win it all (plug in bottom-of-the-barrel NBA players you want to fill out the roster).

Running Streak (7 Days)

 

Graham Blanks from Harvard just became the NCAA D1 XC Champion!

In other news, my running streak has reached 7 days! I have good momentum going and am using a new running log website: running2win.com - highly recommended so far. 

My runs have all been either 3 or 1.5 miles, including a 5K Turkey Trot on Thursday pushing my middle son in the stroller. 

I am keeping it structureless which is how I train best - just getting out the door consistently to run however much is timely and feels good.

No injury concerns so far either, God be praised!

I am replacing my burpee streak goal in Rhythm of the Sword with running at least a mile, instead. My Psalm and 0 Entertainment goals remain the same; both of those are going well.

The Lucky Leprechaun 10 Miler is 3 months, 18 days, 18 hours away. If I continue just running consistently, and sprinkling in some longer efforts here and there, I'll be ready to go and not embarrass myself come March - and run a result I can be happy with. We'll see as the weeks go by what goal takes shape. I currently have sub-75 minutes in my head. My typical training place is around 9 minute miles at the moment, so that would require a lot of improvement.

Running Streak (2 Days) - Try again!

 

Two days. Two 1.5-mile runs. Here we go again!

NBA - 15.8% Midseason - 5 Thoughts

 

Good evening!

It's been far too long since the NBA season has begun without word from the Rhythm of the Sword Blog - but here we are, come to the rescue and not a moment too soon! Action around the league is heating up, from the surging Timberwolves to the (gasp!) struggling Clippers. Here are 5 thoughts at the 15.8% point of this NBA season, as measured by the Cavs' number of completed games out of the 82 on the regular season schedule:

#1 - The Cleveland Cavaliers have not figured it out... yet

There have been encouraging flashes here and there, like the Cavs' most recent win against the defending champion Denver Nuggets, without the services of Donovan Mitchell no less. But the Cavs are only sitting at 7-6, just as hot and cold as last year and not separating themselves in any meaningful way from conference rivals. What will it take for Bickerstaff and the Cavs to accomplish a shift in team culture this season? The clock is ticking.

#2 - The Lakers are shooting themselves in the foot

LeBron has played at least 35 minutes in over half of the Lakers' games so far this year (7/13). The 38-year-old is somehow still expected to to be the main man in Los Angeles, even with the likes of Anthony Davis (age 30) healthy and playing alongside him. No one else on the roster seems to have taken the initiative to play a leadership role for the Lakers. The result is going to be another regular season of overuse for LeBron, leading to injury and an early playoff exit at best. The 4-time champ is not getting his fifth title if his teammates can't give him a chance to be fresh for the playoffs.

#3 - The Western Conference has two new serious contenders

At this moment in time, the Timberwolves and Thunder are sitting at Numbers 1 and 2 in the West. These young teams are finally beginning to really blossom after some rebuilding years, led by the emergence of two new superstars in Anthony Edwards and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Edwards in particular is getting a lot of hype, and his explosive play, 26 ppg  /  38.8 3P% stats, and low-maintenance injury history are making that hype look very much warranted. He should probably get his own article soon.

#4 - An MVP in the Making?

The internet tells me that Tyrese Haliburton has transformed the Pacers into a fast, free-flowing, competitive team. Currently leading the league in assists (12.5 apg), Haliburton has brought a new style of play to Indiana, a team that is near and dear to my heart as a former citizen of that great state. If the man could stay healthy, I could see Haliburton taking the Pacers on a deep playoff run as early as the '25-'26 season. You heard it here first. I want to watch some of his highlights, but alas for Zero Entertainment. Haliburton is also currently 4th in Player Efficiency Rating in the league at 29.71. All the stats are from Basketball-Reference.com by the way.

#5 - Still Championship Favorites?

The Damian Lillard era in Milwaukee has had mixed results so far. While the addition of Oregon's finest point guard has certainly lit up the Bucks' offensive capabilities, it has come at the price of defense. And while you can argue about whether or not defense wins championships, it certain does help. And the Bucks don't have it. I think Antetokounmpo and Lillard are players of such quality that they will find a way to overcome this shortcoming to find their way to rings and a banner, but the road will be neither easy nor linear. After a 9-4 start including losses to the Magic, Raptors, and Hawks, Milwaukee has plenty of work to do.

Running Streak (2 Days)

 

I'm starting a running streak!

A little over a year ago, I tried running at least a mile every day and made it around 30 or 40 days. That's by far the longest I've ever gone consecutively.

Now, I think I'm ready to give it another go, and see it through significantly longer. One year is the general goal, but of course that's a long way away. At this point, coming off once a week training at best, every day is a real milestone (both figuratively and almost literally; 1.5 mile daily loops will be the minimum). 

I have 2 days down - a 4 miler and a 1.5 miler yesterday and today, respectively. Part of my inspiration is Steve DeBoer (pictured above) whose streak of 52 years and running is currently #3 on planet earth. The guy is a machine. 

I want to get geared up really nicely form my 10 miler on March 16th, and this seems like the way to do it. I need to get out there every day and start logging some miles on a consistent basis. 

Today also happens to be Day 11 of a Psalm and 0 Entertainment streak, which is really at the core of what I'm working on and in a really solid place. I'm excited to keep it going, God willing!

New York City Marathon Preview + Predictions

 

Tomorrow is the day of the 2023 New York City Marathon! All credit to the Letsrun.com Men's Preview for my background knowledge of this year's event.

I like NYC compared to the other majors because of its more "genuine" hillier nature and lack of pacemakers, and the fact that it is held on American soil. My ranking of World Marathon Majors from most to least favorite is as follows:

1. Boston

2. NYC

3. Berlin

4. London

5. Tokyo

6. Chicago

This year is exciting because it is pretty wide open. The winner will very likely be one of these men:

• Shura Kitata
• Tamirat Tola
• Albert Korir
• Abdi Nageeye
• Maru Teferi
• Edward Cheserek
• Cam Levins

My money is on Cam Levins because the dude is a straight up Canadian dropping 2:05:36 in Tokyo. NYC (along with Boston) is the kind of race where total wildcards will occasionally put together a stunning win to inspire us American hobby joggers. Meb did it, Flanagan did it, Kawauchi did it, and Levins could do it. And Cameron Levins is already a bit more than a total wildcard; he has said he wants to go for the win. I also want Edward Cheserek to do well, a guy I was following while he was in college taking names and I was in high school taking participation ribbons. Here is my official prediction:

1st Place - Cam Levins (2:08:09)

2nd Place - Albert Korir (2:08:23)

3rd Place - Edward Cheserek (2:08:52)