Secret

The secret to running fast is not a secret. You do not become better at any sport in life unless you practice it. Some people are born with a genetic predisposition to run faster than others but facts are facts nurture has a lot more to do with it than nature. The fact is that the kids who used to go to York High school ran a lot, and I mean a lot. Usually about 1000 miles a summer and then in the first week of practice they run approx 80 miles. Insanity. Yes. Hard work. Yes. Does it work. Yes. Can you become a state runner without this many miles. Yes. Is there a chance that your legs are like a car who has driven too many miles after being told to run an eternity in high school. Probably. Which is why I recommend a medium, or somewhere between. While it is necessary to work harder you can also work smarter. Make sure you eat the right things at the right time. Not just right before the race but the two days leading up to the race, also making sure you eat the right things after a race. Make sure you put all your effort into proper running technique. If you read that earlier blog and read about proper running technique and apply it to how you run you can shave time off your PR. More important than running, eating, and weight training is learning to over come your body. Truly the one lesson you learn and it is still the best lesson I learned in life thus far was how to over come my body by using my mind. When you run your body builds up lactic acid, which burns. This is I guess you could say an evolutionary advantage because it reminds you to stop doing what you are doing or else your body will go into failure and you eventually collapse. Everyone who is an athlete overcomes this pain to a certain degree, lets call this degree value X. If you run hard you should have an increased work of breathing, so much pain and lack of energy that sitting down feels amazing. By the way when I work in the ER when someone comes in and they are "short of breath" they are not able to speak full sentences, usually its like one or two words. There is also accessory muscle use and retractions. Retractions are when someone is breathing in so fast that the skin is sucked in around the bone. What I am trying to say is there is obvious signs for me and you to see that you are working as hard as you can. Try to overcome the pain and tell yourself in your mind, "just one more lap," "just a little bit faster," or "just a little bit longer."
By the way it would help keep track of your times better I think if you guys brought stop watches or carried a phone in your hand that has a stop watch built into it. Most cell phones have this function. I would then write down whatever time you said. See you at practice tomorrow.