SFTC Discussion Forum

What are the main component of fast times? Speed (an obvious), speed endurance ( gotta be able to hold your pace), the training to allow us the reserve to call on to run "fast". Then there is the mental aspect of racing. After you've gotten your fitness ready to test the competitive waters, how do you compete? Is your goal to just complete the distance? Or is it to run faster than your immediate competition? Each goal holds the same key of success. Your mental toughness or freshness as I like to call it depend on how well equipped you are to handle the stresses at races' end. Two people of like ability come down to the end of a hotly contested 5k. Is it the one who wanted it the most the winner? Or is there a higher correlation of success related to one of the athletes being better prepared to handle the fatigue and doubt all racers have at the end of competition. In almost every case, if the two (or more) racers, who had a equal chance of finishing first based on ability and place , the one who was equipped to handle the set of circumstances at the end of the race is the one to come out on top. Evaluate the last close finish you had and see if it's true. If your outlook to the races' outcomes is fresh and vibrant, the likelihood of success is much greater than without. So often we get caught up in race goals that allow no room for error or loss. I'm all for pushing the envelope as it were but we should never lose sight of our real victory, joy of competing and the opportunity to improve. If we lose either, then our joy is dashed and all our hard work is for naught. Once we hold this key to victory, we can overcome most any obstacle we seek to champion over. And our speed work, tempo runs and long runs build us to a better tomorrow with a joy we garner along the way.