The secret to running fast (Read 2999 times)

JimR


    Keep looking for that secret

     

    Me, I'm going to keep running.


    Feeling the growl again

      Rather than trying to be a jerk I was trying to elude to what Jeff summarized, which is that when people talk about wanting "speed", what they really want is rarely true speed.  Only I expected to get back here and explain that sooner, sorry.


      When people think they need speed they go out and do fast work then wonder why they plateau quickly or see only minimal gains.  In truth, for anything over a mile race, true speed has VERY little predicitve value on what a runner can accomplish.  True speed is mostly related to ratio of fast vs. slow twitch fibers (genetically programmed) and neuromuscular conditioning and strength.  These are all things that can be maximized in a very short period of time and don't do much for you once the race gets over 800-1600m.


      Most people are really looking for endurance and aerobic capacity.  These are what makes one faster over longer distances but in actuality have nothing to do with speed.


      While I'm sure I could if I really applied myself, I have never gone faster than 60 flat in the 400m or 29.5sec in the 200m and have been timed in that many times.  Worse yet my 800m best is 2:06 or 2:08.  Any decent high school has multiple runners with better speed than that.  However in the same conditioning that produced those times I ran under 31 for 10K and under 2:30 for the marathon several times.   When I was running those times I had a teammate who was doing 1:53 for 800m but was 40-50sec behind me in a 5K.  Clearly speed does not matter much for 5K and above. 


      Form, well yes, it might help a little.  But in the big picture your aerobic engine dwarfs everything else in importance.  

      "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

       

      I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

       

      Lane


        darn, I was hoping to find the secret in here.

        Oh well, back to running I go

         

        In the first line you imply you didn't find the secret here.

        In the second line, you imply you found the secret.

        I am confused.

        WMRunner


           

          You figure that out here and write a book--you'll become a millionear.  There's no secret.  I think it was Frank Shorter who said, in summary, that "You don't run 2:10 marathon on secret formula and good looks."

           

          Speed is the product of hard work and intelligent approach.

           

          Genetics is the most important factor.  Hard work and many miles will bring out the best in a runner, but without good genes he/she will never be fast.

          JimR


             he/she will never be fast.

             

             

            define 'fast'

            Scout7


               

              Genetics is the most important factor.  Hard work and many miles will bring out the best in a runner, but without good genes he/she will never be fast.

               

               

              And without hard work, all the genetics in the world won't make you faster either.  So.....is genetics really the most important factor?  Or just one of several inter-related factors?

              DoppleBock


                Patience

                Perseverence

                Persistence

                Passion

                Intelligence

                Genetics

                 

                I am not "Fast" but when I started running, my goal was to get as fast as I could in 7 years.  My time horizon was much longer than many people.  You goal can only be to get as fast as your genetic potential.  Some here that might mean a 2:10 marathon goal, others a 3:20.

                 

                And its a heck of a lot more than just running - The better at recovery you become the more you can improve.  Recovery means diet, hydration, electrolyte maintenance, sleep and stretching.

                 

                Long dead ... But my stench lingers !

                 

                 

                  Newsflash: none of us on this board is ever going to be in the Olympic 5000 meter final.  So discussions of our genetic limitations are not really relevant.


                  The "running fast" we are talking about is relative to how fast we are now.  Fast = faster than we are now.  That's the goal, the project.


                  In that context, I would say that both speed and running form are the product of conditioning.


                  Also, it's just running.


                  Runners run

                    "running"

                    "If you have the fire, run..." -John Climacus

                      Patience

                      Perseverence

                      Persistence

                      Passion

                      Intelligence

                      Genetics

                       

                      I am not "Fast" but when I started running, my goal was to get as fast as I could in 7 years.  My time horizon was much longer than many people.  You goal can only be to get as fast as your genetic potential.  Some here that might mean a 2:10 marathon goal, others a 3:20.

                       

                      And its a heck of a lot more than just running - The better at recovery you become the more you can improve.  Recovery means diet, hydration, electrolyte maintenance, sleep and stretching.

                       

                       

                      A warm welcome back to Mikey the PPPPig.

                      E.J.
                      Greater Lowell Road Runners
                      Cry havoc and let slip the dawgs of war!

                      May the road rise to meet you, may the wind be always at your back, may the sun shine warm upon your SPF30, may the rains fall soft upon your sweat-wicking hat, and until you hit the finish line may The Flying Spaghetti Monster hold you in the hollow of His Noodly Appendage.

                        Genetics is the most important factor.  Hard work and many miles will bring out the best in a runner, but without good genes he/she will never be fast.

                         

                        Thank goodness we will soon be able to eliminate races entirely, once we find the running gene.

                         

                        There are a million different ways to look at this, but the easiest is going to be a race between identical twins.  Why did twin A break the tape?

                         

                        Maybe simpler to just accept a formula someone shared with me a long time ago, results = (effort x ability)

                        If effort or ability (genes) is zero, the product is also zero.

                        E.J.
                        Greater Lowell Road Runners
                        Cry havoc and let slip the dawgs of war!

                        May the road rise to meet you, may the wind be always at your back, may the sun shine warm upon your SPF30, may the rains fall soft upon your sweat-wicking hat, and until you hit the finish line may The Flying Spaghetti Monster hold you in the hollow of His Noodly Appendage.


                        Why is it sideways?

                          Talent, like understanding, is retrospective. Running, like life, is prospective.
                            Genetics is the most important factor.  Hard work and many miles will bring out the best in a runner, but without good genes he/she will never be fast.

                             

                            When it comes down to it, there's only ONE thing that's different between "fast" runners and "slow" runners--# of excuses you give.  "I don't have good gene" is one of the top of these excuses "slow" runners give.  Why?  Because it's the easiest excuse to give.  I don't know of ANY research or study that had pin-pointed what "genetics" you need to be a good runner.

                              on the question of genetics....    While I am sure probably not everybody could be a 2:15 marathoner even if they trained for it.   However do you think everybody could be a sub 3 hour runner if they properly applied themselves?
                              Scout7


                                on the question of genetics....    While I am sure probably not everybody could be a 2:15 marathoner even if they trained for it.   However do you think everybody could be a sub 3 hour runner if they properly applied themselves?

                                 

                                What answer will satisfy you more?

                                 

                                Do I think everybody could be a sub 3 hour marathoner if they properly applied themselves? Possibly, but there are a lot of factors involved.