4. Run as fast as you want to, not as fast as you think you can.
Who's imposing your limits? Sometimes it's you, says Elizabeth Waterstraat, coach and founder of Multisport Mastery (multisportmastery.com) in Chicago. "Especially when athletes train heavily with technology, they can become wrapped up and limited by where the numbers should be, rather than where they could be." Unplug the technology now and then, she says, "and tune into how running fast feels in your legs, what it sounds like in your breathing, and what it speaks in your head. If you look down at your device and see you're approaching 5K pace, you might begin to fear that you will blow up or not be able to hold it. But you just might be breaking through in that workout. Save the evaluation for later. Don't let your fears and worries limit how much you are willing to give."
Learn how to define what's truly hard for yourself. "Many athletes look to coaches or formulas to tell them what hard is by heart rate, pace, or percentage of VO2max. Hard is hard. You run hard. Until you connect to that, you will not run as fast as you want to; you'll run as fast as someone tells you to go."
Then, listen to what you're saying. "You may be focusing on the negative (I am so slow) rather than the positive (I am getting stronger; this is a solid starting point). Running fast is so much about managing the physical pain; there is no hiding behind equipment (bicycle) or conditions (waves); it's usually just you and the pavement. Your legs must be strong, but your head must be stronger," Waterstraat says.
"To know your limits, you have to be willing to test them," she says. "The best athletes take logical risks in training so they know how far they can go in racing." Don't be surprised if it's farther than you thought.
From:
http://www.active.com/triathlon/Articles/4-New-Rules-to-Run-Smart.htm?cmp=282&memberid=57260571&lyrisid=21006122&page=2
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