Ask Doctoral Advising

I’ve accomplished a doctoral journey.
I’ve accomplished 2 marathons.

For me, there is a parallel journey, and lessons to be learned from each. I hope that this blog will provide some insight, even if you are not a runner.

I am not a fast runner. I started running in my late 40’s. My two marathon times were 6 hours and 20 minutes and 7 and a half hours. I ran and walked in both of these marathons. Keep this in mind while reading my posts.

A marathon [doctoral journey] is a major commitment.
A commitment of time. A commitment of effort.

The idea of running (or even walking) 26.2 miles with no training or preparation is ludicrous.
The possibility of harming your body is great. The possibility of not accomplishing the miles is also great.
Lessons are learned, even for those not inclined to ‘enjoy the process’

When training for a marathon, you have a training purpose every day. Running (or walking) to gradually build the miles over a long period of time: Varying the number of miles, the effort you put into those miles ( speedwork or easy miles ) and a long run every week. Even cross training ( swimming or biking) contributes to the end result. There are ‘rest days’ scheduled which are important to let your muscles rest and recover.
Training is a process, it happens over time, with effort. There are no quick fixes to get to the end of 26.2.

While progressing through the doctoral journey, one takes courses, learning the content, but also learning and experiencing the collegiality of others on the journey. The learning is developmental. In the beginning, a learner isn’t expected to know how to research and use APA, but is expected to learn, to ask questions, to develop the skills and competencies.

Questions:
What lessons are you learning through the process?
What pieces of your ‘training’ will you use to prepare?