How to cut 2 min & 20 secs off a 5k

Blind Boy wrote:Yeah, it's

Blind Boy said:
Yeah, it's quite simple, really. You get better at what you do.

I think what BB said is key ... you get better at what you do. It's the epitome of simplicity, really. The body adapts to, and gets better at, whatever activity you consistently challenge it with. If you want to go fast, you've got to practic fast consistently. If you want to go long, you've got to practice long consistently. If you want to increase strength, you've got to lift increasingly heavy weights consistently. If you want endurance, you have to lift light weights for increasing numbers of reps consistently.

My problem is with the consistency - or discipline, maybe. Sometimes I feel like running fast for a short time. Sometimes I feel like running slow for a long time. Therefore, I'm not really good at either! If I consistently did one or the other, I suppose I'd get better at it, perhaps at the expense of the other.

That begs the question: Is it really possible to be a good generalist? Or is a "good generalist" really just mediocre at all things?
 
Tender Toes Mark wrote:That

Tender Toes Mark said:
That begs the question: Is it really possible to be a good generalist? Or is a "good generalist" really just mediocre at all things?



Probably a GREAT generalist is REALLY good at a lot of things, but a REALLY good specialist could blow away the generalist in the specific area of his/her devotion.

It goes far beyond athletic endeavers as well. The specialist might devote their other time to building their intellectual or spiritual pursuits to levels far beyond the generalist athlete's desires.

I remember watching a Big Ten men's gymnastics rings specialist with awe. He was one of the few on the team that trained and competed in one event only, and he was unbelievable!

Never found out what he looked like trying to vault, high bar, parallel bar, pommel horse, or floor ex., but was impressed that he was not a communications major like most of the others on the team, (not that there's anything wrong with that) but rather an honors economics student!

Nobody can be great at everything, compare the performance of a decathelete in each event VS the specialist.

Two sport Olympians that become orthopedic surgeons are top performers in my estimation.

I guess I'm ready to move on over to PWY now.

Anybody else? It IS Thursday after all!
 
 Yes you can use the

Yes you can use the treadmill for hill work but it's just not quite the same however I have been able to use it instead of real hills with many clients and had good success with it. The key with the treadmill is exaggeration. Nothing lower than a 10 on the incline should be considered a hill.

Crossfit will not help you be a long distance runner. It will help with anaerobic abilities, build muscle, and burn calories but the efforts do not translate to long distance running. It can help in a 5k which is something I was eluding to in an earlier response but that's about the most it is going to give you. I've been a personal trainer/coach for 14 years and I've seen it all come and go. Crossfit has a purpose and good uses but for the distance runner it is not much more than cross training.
 
I'll second the comment about

I'll second the comment about embracing the pain...I think some of my increase in 5k speed over the last year (from 20:14 to 18:49) was being willing to go out a little bit harder for the first mile and accept a bit more hurt over the 2nd and 3rd miles while maintaining that pace.