Walk Into the Future

Category: Lifestyle

Articles discussing lifestyle and walking into the future.

  • 2025 Town of Celebration Half Marathon

    “When your legs get tired, run with your heart”.

    (Unknown)

    The Walk into the Future blog made a return trip to Celebration, Florida to give the 2025 Town of Celebration Half Marathon a run.  This race has become one of my favorite races on my calendar.  I love the town of Celebration, and the people there put on a great race and after party.  Yes, I call it an after party because the entire town comes out to celebrate (pun intended) with race participants. 😊

    I doubled up on my races in January with the Vero Beach half marathon on the weekend prior to the Town of Celebration race.  The weather is milder in January, and I don’t have to worry about heat and humidity early in the race year. The Vero Beach half marathon has two bridge crossings within the first 5 miles of the race, and this can hamper runners for the rest of the race.  This will be my last year running the Vero race.  I want to explore additional race options in January and may give the 2026 Houston Marathon a run next year instead of the local race.

    The Town of Celebration racecourse is completely flat, and I love this aspect. This is a great component of the race regardless of the temperature.  We had cool weather this year and I had to decide if I was running with layers on or go with my traditional running tank top.  It was 47 degrees at the start of the race, so I decided to dress warmly with multiple layers.  This was a great choice since the temperatures never got much higher than 51 degrees.  Great for running but not for standing around waiting to start the race.

    I lined up at the start line with the intent to leverage the cool weather and improve my time from last year.  My goal was to hit the 2:08 mark for the half marathon with the cool weather and wanted to see how fast I could go.  My fastest time for this race was 2:09:16 back in 2023 and I wanted to see if I could go this fast again.  Well, the short answer for this year is no. I ran 2:14:27 which was a full four minutes faster than my 2024 time.  I’m always happy to go faster in a race than the previous time out and I will take the results from this year.  I struggled a bit in the middle of the race with my legs and had to stretch them out around the 8-mile marker.  This helped me continue to push forward and I got a bit faster in the final 3 miles of the race.  I’m happy with my final kick and completed mile 13 at 10:08 and a huge smile on my face.  The crowd at the finish line was very inspiring and helped me enjoy the final stages of the race.  I grabbed my race medal and took a few finish line photos to document my time in Celebration, Florida.

    The after party was relocated closer to the finish line this year and I headed over to take my eating and drinking tour of the town.  The race participants receive a food card that highlights each of the restaurants present for the event.  You take your food card to each vendor, and they provide a food sample from their restaurant and mark your food card to signify you have been served.  My first stop was at the Michelob Ultra table to get my two beers to get things started.  I ventured to the Mimosa table next to get a sample before hitting the food tables.  Fast forward and I made my way to every table available this year.  The samples were a bit smaller than last year, but the food was delicious, and the atmosphere was outstanding.  I hung around the after party a bit longer this year to soak up the atmosphere and chat with Orlando runners.  I’m thinking I will spend an additional night in Celebration next year so I can just chill after the race and socialize a bit longer.

    My next big race is the 2025 Nashville Half Marathon in April.  I am looking forward to getting back to Nashville and enjoying great live music.  Who’s going to join me in Nash Vegas?

    Irie!

    Calvin Williams

    “The person who starts the race is not the same person who finishes the race”.

    (Spectator sign)

  • Five Minute Thursday: Favorite Comedian

    “You know you must be doing something right if old people like you”.

    (Dave Chappelle)

    Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to give the Five-Minute Thursday writing prompt another run! 😊

    I created this topic with designs to write about Ali Siddiq who is an amazing storyteller and keeps audiences engaged.  This prompt came to me because I drove up to Daytona Beach last weekend to see Ali at The Peabody for his new tour, In the Shadows.  I started writing this article with the intention of telling my readers how great Ali Siddiq is but decided to take a slight detour to truly highlight the GOAT (Greatest of All Time).

    This Five-Minute Thursday prompt is: My Favorite Comedian.

    Surprise, it’s not Ali Siddiq but Dave Chappelle.  I have been a fan of Dave’s comedy for a while now with my full introduction to his work via The Chappelle Show.  This show only ran for two seasons but the amount of work he put into this show makes every episode a classic.  The level of comedic timing and clever skits made him a household name.  The show was must see TV and never disappointed the viewers. 

    There were a few skits that you really had to pay attention to keep up.  One of these skits was:  The Blind Black White Supremist.  Yes, the skit was just as ridiculous as the title, but he made a point and kept the audience laughing.  Check it out when you get a chance. 😊

    Dave ventures into True Hollywood Stories featuring Charlie Murphy to tell stories about legends, Prince and Rick James.  These are identified as completely true stories as told by Charlie Murphy.  I still watch these clips on YouTube when I want to laugh out loud.

    Dave Chappelle is a true stand-up legend.  His Netflix comedy specials are some of the most watched.  I believe I have seen them all and continue to watch clips on YouTube—his work never gets old to me.  I jump on YouTube when I need a laugh before going to bed and I always search for something from the Chappelle archives.  He just completed his fourth hosting stint on Saturday Night Live.  I’ve watched them multiple times and he continues to bring the funny.

    I highly recommend you jump on YouTube and check out some of his work.  You pick what looks good to you, but The Blind Black White Supremist is worth a shot if you want to laugh at a concept this silly.  The Prince skit is hilarious too. 😊  Challenge him!

    Check out Ali Siddiq while you are browsing.  He is a funny dude too!

    Who is your favorite comedian?

    Calvin Williams

    “I love my jokes”.

    (Dave Chappelle)

  • 2024 Palm Beaches Half Marathon

    “Shut up legs.  We got this”.

    (Unknown)

    My Walk into the Future helped me discover the Palm Beaches Marathon as I graduated from running half marathons to the full marathon distances.  Nothing scientific on how I selected this race to start running marathons.  West Palm Beach is less than 50 minutes from Fort Pierce, and I wouldn’t need to get on a plane after the race.  This was attractive for me since I didn’t want to be cramped up on a plane and did not know how my body would respond.  The race course was described as completely flat and that was a major factor for me as well.

    My first full marathon was completed in 2022 at the Palm Beaches event.  I wanted to improve my time, so I toed the line again in 2023.  I enjoyed the first attempt a lot more than my 2023 run.  The weather was a lot warmer, and the sun beat down on runners for the final 16 miles.  I decided not to attempt the full marathon again in Florida and set my sights on the 2024 Chicago Marathon.  I won’t rehash my training and time in Chicago, but I caught the bug to run larger races in the northern part of the country to enjoy cooler weather.  The full marathon is hard enough without adding Florida heat and humidity. 

    I still wanted to run in West Palm Beach but decided to scale back my race to the half marathon.  This would allow me to complete the 13.1-mile loop only one time vice doing it twice for the full.  Fun fact—running the same route two times is not a lot of fun. 😊

    The 2024 Palm Beaches Half Marathon was the weekend after the 2024 OUC Half Marathon.  I wanted to finish 2024 with a series of races and this fit my schedule and is close to home.  The race EXPO consists of 10 tents outside in the Meyers Amphitheater.  There are a few vendors but the setup is strictly come get your bib, t-shirt and Garden of Life giveaways and then leave.  I grabbed my goodie bag, bib and headed across the street to ER Bradley’s Saloon.  It’s a funky place with a ton of South Florida history and great food.  They normally have a DJ playing throughout the day and it’s a great place to people watch:  https://www.erbradleys.com/

    I made my way back to my hotel to relax and stretch a bit.  I didn’t have a set finish time in mind but wanted to ensure I got off my feet so I would be ready to perform the next morning.  There was forecasted rain in the morning so I didn’t know how that would impact me getting to the starting line and running the race.  My hotel was within walking distance of the start line, and I used the distance as a race warm up.  I always like to stretch my legs before racing and this was a great way to ensure I was ready to race.  There was no rain on my way to the race, but the skies opened after I got down to the race area.  I found shelter from the rain under one of the vendor tents and waited out the rain there.  A lot of runners stood in the start corral and got wet for some odd reason.  Yep, they just stood in the rain even though the race organizers made an announcement that the race would be delayed until the rain let up a bit because it was too dangerous to have us running on the wet and slick streets.  Oh well, I stayed dry under the tent. 😊

    The 13.1-mile course travels through multiple West Palm Beach neighborhoods and along the waterways.  The views are spectacular so this is a race I would recommend just for taking in the sights.  There are not a lot of spectators so it’s a bring your own motivation type of race.  The Chicago Marathon has spoiled me because the spectators inspired me to run faster throughout the entire marathon. 

    My goal was to run as fast as possible and enjoy the views.  I was hoping to run faster than I did in Orlando the weekend before but that did not happen.  The temperature at race start in Orlando was in the 40s.  The temperature in West Palm Beach was in the low 70s with humidity since we got all that rain.  I was still able to pull out a 2:14 half marathon (10:13 per miles) which was 3 minutes over my OUC Half Marathon time.  I was happy with this time and made my way to the race village to get my beer and pancake breakfast.  I got my beer, but the pancake line was too long.  Headed back across the street to ER Bradley’s and had a huge breakfast and beer there.  It was a great way to complete my last race of 2024.

    I’m working to finalize my full 2025 race calendar.  I want to add some new races and still compete in familiar races close to home.  My new reveal is I didn’t get accepted into the 2025 Chicago Marathon, but I will pivot and race the 2025 Atlantic City Marathon with my homey Lauren Apgar.  https://www.acraceseries.com/course.  Marathon training starts on 6/15/2025 and I’m sure there will be articles that highlight my training progress. 😊

    What do you have planned for 2025?

    Irie!

    Calvin Williams

    “Running is a mental sport…and we’re all insane”.

    (Robin Williams)

  • Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

    “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing”.

    (Helen Keller)

    The concept of travel is a large part of my Walk into the Future journey.

    Running tourism and Negril, Jamaica have been the focal points of my travel articles so far.  I do write about local trips and my time sitting on the beach.  I plan to get back to the beach more in 2025 so there will be more Florida beach explorations in your reading future. 😊

    One of the great things about higher education is our winter break schedule.  My current school is a member of the Florida College System (FCS) and our break schedules match our students, examples: Spring Break, Thanksgiving Break and the Winter Break.  We are off when our students are not in classes. 

    Winter Break 2024 started the day after our last Fall Commencement ceremony.  Our break ran from 12/19/2024 to 1/2/2025.  This was a few days shorter than our normal Winter Break based on the academic calendar, but this was a nice break and provided us with an opportunity to enjoy some down time at the end of a long year.

    I decided to get a little more adventurous this year over break and travel to a destination I have never been to.  Several friends have been down to the Dominican Republic (DR) and everyone had great things to say about the island.  I thought about going to my tried-and-true spot in Negril, Jamaica but wanted to get a new country’s stamp in my passport. 

    I did some initial travel research on Expedia to figure out a resort for me to visit in the DR.  I did not have any preconceived ideas on my trip but wanted to get down and see some sights.  I booked my flight, resort and ground transportation via Expedia which is how I book my Jamaica trips—no surprises with the process. 😊

    I picked the Bahia Principe Grand Punta Canta resort based on reviews and proximity to the airport.  I flew out of Orlando International Airport via Jet Blue and my adventure was off and running.  The flight down to Punta Canta, DR was a little over two hours and I slept most of the way down.  The Punta Canta airport is not a huge place so getting bags and through Customs was quick.  I made my way out towards the ground transportation area to find my ride and head to the resort. Again, a very simple process and I was directed to the van waiting to take me to the resort.

    The resort check-in process was simple, but I had to wait a bit since I arrived two hours prior to check-in.  This allowed me to explore the property and get my bearings.  The resort was as advertised with multiple bars, restaurants and places to unwind.  This location was a big change from my stay at Samsara in Negril.  This resort was a self-contained city and had everything that most people would want. The resort was not close to shopping or entertainment areas, so these things are provided within the resort.  Not a complaint but a bit different from my time in Negril.

    I decided to make the most of the resort and everything it had to offer.  My room was spacious and centrally located to the beach area, restaurants and bars.  It took me less than a 10-minute walk in either direction, and I could find something to entertain myself.  The resort had multiple events scheduled during my trip, so I just made my way to the sound of music nightly and enjoyed the atmosphere.

    The beach area was small and crowded but there was a nice little vibe there since there were multiple bars directly on the beach.  One of the large pools was close by so I could hear music coming from the pool while I sat on the beach and worked on my tan.  😊

    The food was plentiful and delicious!  I found myself parked in the dessert portion of the buffet more than I thought I would, but everything was fantastic.  The all-inclusive aspect of the resort allowed me to dabble in different types of food without feeling guilty. 

    The DR was a nice little get away before Christmas.  I’m glad I made it down and got a new stamp in my passport.  Been there and done that. 😊

    I will head back to my happy spot in Negril, Jamaica in March for Spring Break 2025—back to regular travel.

    Where have you always wanted to travel?  Will you make it in 2025?

    Irie!

    Calvin Williams

    “Not all who wonder are lost”.

    (J. R. R. Tolkien)

  • Poetic Flow: Control

    Life’s limitations can only limit what you allow

    You have control over all circumstances

    This I will avow

    The simplicity of life will make you see

    The things most important can be

    Right in front of you

    But you have to stay true

    The vision you have requires additional work, time and effort

    Put the past behind

    Start to remove the limitations from the process and let the simplicity of life

    Guide your path

    Calvin Williams

  • Boston with NACE

    “I came to Boston because I’m wicked smaht”.

    (Funny Boston Quote, Unknown)

    My Walk into the Future has led me to the Northeast multiple times in the past year. 

    The first adventure was a quick trip via Breeze Airways to explore Hartford, Connecticut.  I was able to hit Springfield, Massachusetts and Providence, Rhode Island over a long weekend in October 2023.  The weather was great, and I got a chance to experience the wonderful colors of the fall season in the Northeast. 

    Providence, Rhode Island was an intriguing place, and I wanted to get back up there to explore more in-depth.  I had never run a race in the northeast and saw the 2024 Rhode Island Half Marathon as an opportunity to get back up there and see the city from a ground level perspective.  This trip saw me make my way up to Cambridge, Massachusetts and walked around Harvard.  This was an outstanding opportunity to soak in the campus history and add content to the Walk into the Future blog. 

    Fast forward and I had an opportunity to explore the northeast again with my volunteer work with the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).  I was selected in July to serve on the NACE Sourcing and Nomination Committee.  This is the group of NACE members who review all Board of Director applications and select the next generation of board members.

    Boston was selected as our meeting location based on one of our members providing access to the meeting space within her organization.  This provided us with a great location in downtown Boston with access to sights and great restaurants.

    Most of our committee work was accomplished virtually from our home locations.  We were able to review application packages in a blind format—there were no names associated with the applications, and we scored based on the NACE rubric provided.  The work in Boston was to finalize our scores and discuss candidates as needed.  This was a great experience for me to help NACE select the next wave of leaders.  The experience also helps me understand the process in case I want to launch a future run for a board position.

    Boston experiences:

    • Walking the halls and grounds of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
    • Touring the Novartis Headquarters
    • Walking through the Beacon Hill neighborhood
      • Walking on Acorn Street
    • Italian dinner at the famed Toscano restaurant
      • Our Novartis host got us a reservation 😊

    Not sure when I will get back to the Boston area but enjoyed my latest adventure.

    The results from the NACE selection process will become public in early February.  Excited to watch our new leaders move the organization forward.

    Irie!

    Calvin Williams

  • Poetic Flow: Living Life

    bunch of small flowers on a book
    Photo by Wallace Chuck on Pexels.com

    The enemy within causes a majority of problems

    Thoughts provoked by fear

    The anger is near

    Constant give and take

    What type of life to make?

    Pulling one way, then the next

    The pendulum of life continues to swing

    What might tomorrow bring?

    Thanks to my Walk into the Future blog readers for a great 2024! I’m looking forward to 2025 being the best blog year yet. Stay tuned for more travel, fun and training articles. Guest bloggers will make a few appearances in 2025 as well! 😊

    Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! See you in 2025!

    Irie!

  • Five-Minute Thursday: 2024 Fitness

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    “The successful warrior is the average man with laser-like focus”.

    (Bruce Lee)

    Let’s give the Five-Minute Thursday writing prompt another run.  I’m starting to love the simplicity of this writing concept and having fun generating content for the Walk into the Future blog.

    My fitness journey primarily chronicles my running program and the tourism opportunities this brings to me throughout the year.  I also write about being goals oriented but, I don’t believe I ever identified one of my 2024 goals was to get to and maintain my body weight at 198 pounds or less. 

    The sixth prompt for Five-Minute Thursday is: 2024 Fitness.

    My normal weight over the past three years was right around 205 pounds.  This was fine as I increased my running program and got a bit more serious with my marathon pursuits.  I completed marathons in 2022 and 2023 with my weight at 205 pounds.  I was able to get the training done but wondered what would happen if I trained AND got my weight down a bit.  I set my weight goal back in January 2024 and put effort to meet and/or exceed the goal this year.

    I started January 2024 at 203 pounds after taking three weeks off from running after my 2023 Garden of Life Marathon in December 2023.  I reevaluated my training program and my diet to determine the adjustments I needed to get my weight down.  Again, I was not looking to lose substantial weight, but I wanted to get down to see how it impacted my daily life and fitness levels.

    I changed my diet and decided to stay out of the drive-through lines more in 2024. Yes, I write about my running program, but my diet has never been the greatest over the years.  Also, it is so easy to hit a drive through after work instead of going home and cooking.  I didn’t eliminate this process completely, but I put a huge dent in making these stops on the way home.  I got more use out of my grill in 2024, and this helped me with better meals throughout the year.   

    I also rededicated myself to following my training programs especially with my 2024 Chicago Marathon 18-week training process.  My goal for this training block was to not miss a session to ensure that I give maximum effort to get ready for the Chicago Marathon.  I only used the exercise bike as a warmup for my runs—this was a bit different from previous cycles. I also adjusted my bedtime to 8:30 pm daily and woke up at 4:30 am to ensure I had time for morning runs before work.  Going to bed at a consistent time helped me get prepared to get up and run in the morning. 

    The 18-week marathon training plan increased my mileage weekly, and I incorporated additional mileage in my training process.  I’m on pace to finish 2024 with over 1,500 training miles which would be 300 miles over my previous maximum running year. 

    Fast forward—I got down to 192.5 pounds on 9/14/2024 and ran the 2024 Chicago Marathon at 197 on 10/13/2024. I’ve consistently met my goal to stay under 198 this year.  My fitness levels are much higher within this weight range.  Fun fact—I have started to order new pants since my old ones don’t fit as well now. 😊

    Not trying to get down more but want to maintain this new level of fitness and keep my weight right around the 195 – 198 range.  My friend Lynn calls me skinny now—not sure I agree but I have a new level of fitness and I’m happy with it. 😊

    What 2024 goal are you proud of accomplishing?

    Irie!

    “The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be”.

    (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

  • 4th Annual Fall Fun Fest

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    “If work isn’t fun, you’re not playing on the right team.”

    (Frank Sonenburg)

    Work hard and play hard is an old saying but we are getting a lot of use out of it daily.

    My Walk into the Future provides multiple outlets for me to live life daily. I leverage this blog to record and share these adventures with my readers.

    The newest adventure was the 4th Annual Fall Fun Fest at work. We started this tradition back in October 2021 with an 80’s themed dance party.  I did not think my coworkers would dress the part or even dance at work, but I was wrong. Our folks know how to have fun and are always looking for the next time to party at work.

    It took a while to produce the 2024 theme for our event, but we decided to make this year Dynamic Duos with Karaoke. We never force people to join in, but it helps when Vice Presidents get into the event, dress in costume, and have fun. We also learned that a lot of our colleagues love karaoke and could not wait to sing at work again this year. FYI, participants did not have to sing karaoke as a duo, but several did. We continue to discover talented singers from around campus and this year was no exception.

    My VP (Beth) and I agreed to dress as the Saturday Night Live (SNL) Spartan Cheerleaders this year:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SErOdLSlpkE

    We agreed to become this duo back in June and ordered matching outfits via Amazon. Yes, we take this work party seriously. Beth insisted that we match completely so she purchased matching sneakers for me to ensure we were completely in character. 😊 Our routines did not have a karaoke theme, but we wanted to entertain the audience and get them ready to have fun. We planned to perform as the opening act before the singers got started with karaoke. Most people knew we were up to something but never imagined that I would dress as a Spartan Cheerleader and perform multiple routines in my outfit. Well, Beth continues to convince me to do things out of character and it is fun. 😊

    We started with a little skit to welcome everyone to the 4th Annual Fall Fun Fest. We incorporated memories from the previous 3 Fall Fun Fest activities. This was a fantastic way to break the ice for the group and gave us time to get into character. This skit led us to perform The Perfect Cheer which was made famous by Will Ferrell and Cheri Oteri as the Spartan Cheerleaders on SNL (starts at 3:36 mark:  https://www.tiktok.com/@matt.gizmo.yerke/video/7287395646066249002?lang=en)

    The karaoke machine kicked in once the Spartan Cheerleaders were done. Again, we have some talented folks on our staff and the singing was outstanding. Several folks hit the stage multiple times to entertain the crowd. We had to adjust the song format a bit when we kept getting songs from musicals. I have nothing against these types of songs but the energy level in the building went down with slow and dramatic musical songs. I will implement a party anthem only concept in 2025 to help keep the crowd moving.

    I am not sure of the theme we will have next year, but it should be another epic adventure for the team. 😊

    What do you do for fun at work?

    Irie!

    “It is not really work if you are having fun.”

    (Pierre Omidyar)

  • Happy Thanksgiving!

    happy thanksgiving greeting card on brown envelope
    Photo by RDNE Stock project on Pexels.com

    Enjoy your family time!

    Irie!