Good luck to all the new YC applicants. As it mentions on the YC site, you should definitely bounce your applications off YC alums. Email us-- it can only help.
I've not got the stuff for Y Combinator. I've come to accept my own mediocrity. Just the same way I'm not going to go run a marathon against people who have trained for years.
Someday, you guys should try accepting that you are not extraordinarily clever. It's very liberating.
I agree that it shouldn't be a "life goal" or something equally ridiculous. But honestly, I applied on a whim. If I hadn't, I most likely would have been laid off from my job last week.
Dude, don't condition yourself. And the answer is right there in your words, you picked a great analogy. Start now training for next year! Make a plan. Have a progress log. Make a mockup. Make a prototype.
I don't know what that means, but it might be interesting to note that you're one of the first people to mention this phrase on the internet:
http://ri.ms/notime
(Edit: HN didn't like quotes in the URL, so used URL shrinker)
Applying for the summer I'd guess gets sent in around April, if it's exactly 6 months apart. Meaning people like you and me still have time to polish up the plans.