Forums >General Running>The secret to running fast
They go deeper and deeper into valley of fatigue.
Nice.
The process is the goal.
Men heap together the mistakes of their lives, and create a monster they call Destiny.
So, it's annoying to hear someone say that you're lucky to have a genetic gift and not mention all the hard work you've put in to see the improvements you've made?
huh.
I think some other important determining factors in one getting as close to their potential as possible are: eliminating muscle imbalances, improving core strength, and partaking inactive and passive recovery. I now have ITBS and I got it from ignoring these three things (as well as doing a particular workout that I wasn't ready for). It's very hard to run faster when you are injured! But now that I am taking proper care of myself, I am interested to see the effect on my race times. I have a 5K on Sunday. I am hoping to set a PR, even with the injury.
Food for Thought
Perhaps the most important questions is this - what do you want to get out of running? One needs to figure that out before they precede any further. If you are running for fitness, get out there and run! Who cares about your speed? But if you want to be more competitive, you have to determine 1) how competitive you think can become (REASONABLE dream goal), and 2) determine what resources (time, energy, studying) you are willing to achieve that goal. I know that I will never run under 27 minutes for 10K like Chris Solinsky, but I have a PR of 37:40 and a dream goal of sub-30 minutes. Will I get there? Who knows. Sometimes the journey and the people you meet are more important than whether you get there or not...
Goals for 2013: sub 18 5K; stay healthy
Prince of Fatness
Not at it at all.
why don't we just summarize it like this:
Fast = talent + LotsOfTraining + determination
Remove any of those 3 (yes Spaniel, you DO have talent), and someone will not be fast, assuming we define fast as elite.
Secretariat ran 2:24 for 1.5 miles. That's pretty quick.
blog, training log
Now that's talent.
When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?
but do you think Secretariat has more talent than Super Saver?
Super saver isn't a dead horse, so the reference wouldn't have been as funny (to me).
"fast" and "slow" are meaningless terms. For every person here that calls himself "slow", there is someone else out there who would consider those times :"fast". Stop using "fast" and "slow". They are four letter words that serve no purpose other than to pigeonhole and limit you. You will find you running to be far more satisfying once you banish those terms from your running vocabulary.
"fast" and "slow" are meaningless terms.
For every person here that calls himself "slow", there is someone else out there who would consider those times :"fast".
Stop using "fast" and "slow". They are four letter words that serve no purpose other than to pigeonhole and limit you. You will find you running to be far more satisfying once you banish those terms from your running vocabulary.
Meaningless? Fast is the goal--it's what gets me out the door most days.
Runners run
Huh?
Whenever I see dead horse posts I think of a scene from the movie "Animal House."
Why is it sideways?
It also helps to care a lot about the pretty-trivial-in-the-grand-scheme-of-things goal of getting fast.
Whenever I set the goal of getting faster or running a PR, I always tend to forget how bone-wearyingly hard my former self trained to get where he was. Not to mention how zealous and tough he was as a racer, that bastard. But that dismal fact usually becomes pretty clear about a month or two into the effort. For me, it's pretty clear that my limits as a runner are set by my willingness to endure and capacity to enjoy the relentless grind of training rather than "genetics"--whatever the hell that term is supposed to refer to.
Having friends to run with and continue to convince you of the value of being fast helps, perhaps more than anything.
I do see your point; but all I read in your post is resentment that you "have to work harder than your step brother". I never EVER saw life that way. I do what I have to do to get where I want to be. It's just a matter of whether I get there or not. Whether I'd have to work 2 hours a day or 12 hours a day is irrelevant. To me, whoever brings up a topic of "genetic" or "luck"--all they care about is that; whether they have to work harder at it or not and be pissed about having to work a little bit harder than others.
That's interesting! I didn't see even a hint of resentment. My perception was that this person has a healthy respect for the value of training while at the same time maintaining perspective about his/her ability to be faster than someone else simply because he/she trains more. Maybe you see resentment because you've heard or dealt with the "genetic" excuse too many times. Maybe people who get frustrated early in their running career would use it, but likely not so much after the first 20,000 miles.