Seven years ago, a friend and I entered a local 4 mile race with the goal to simply finish without walking. We had both been running consistently for about 3 months at this point and were excited to finish with a time of 43:27 (10:51 per mile for those calculating).
Almost every year since then, I’ve run that race as kind of a benchmark and my time has continually dropped. Currently it’s at 27:59 (a 7:00 min/mile pace) which has been good enough to place in my age group and win a few gift certificates to the local running shop. Which, I’ll admit, makes running faster just a little more fun.
A key tip on how to continue getting faster is to avoid injuries. When sidelined by an injury, you’re not getting faster. A good thing, however, is that many things we do to get faster also keep us from being injured. Running form, warming up, Cross training, hydration, nutrition, adequate sleep, strength training, hill workouts, hiring a coach, stretching, and running with a group can all help keep you motivated and speedy.
In the same way that these activities and safeguards work together to help your body run efficiently and reach new goals, our spiritual lives require positive activities as well. Many of the physical tips we follow are based on avoiding injury so we can continue building muscle.
Spiritually, injury easily relates to sin. You can’t soar spiritually when pride, anger, and jealousy are dragging you down. Just as our running activities are geared for two things — to keep us from injury and help us build muscle — making choices based on love, caring, and patience will do two similar things. It will keep us from sin and allow our relationship with God to strengthen.
Instead of just trying to stop sinning, replace sin with new habits based on loving God and others. There are an infinite number of ways to go about fulfilling this challenge. Studying the Bible, praying, church attendance, and serving are great ways to avoiding sin and staying strong.
Philippians 4:8-9 (NASB)
8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. 9 The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
10 Tips to Run Faster:
#1 Gait Analysis
Have someone analyze your gait and give you exercises and stretches to improve your running form. Call your local running shop and ask for references.
#2 Sleep
Getting enough sleep is a vital aspect of training as our bodies repair and build muscle most during sleep.
#3 Nutrition
Nutrition and hydration are key as well. When you start pushing yourself, you need to fuel up on the right balance of protein and carbs.
#4 Warm Up
Avoid injuries by warming up properly before doing any speed work.
#5 Massage
Get a sport massage or learn about trigger point therapy and work out those knots that cause joint pain and muscle weakness.
#6 Doctor
A Sport Dr or chiropractor who does A.R.T. therapy can make all the difference too. One thing I noticed after I became injured repeatedly is that I began to run in fear of becoming injured again and wouldn’t push the pace. After finding a sports doc, I run harder on speed days as I know I can get things fixed fairly easily and inexpensively.
#7 Cross Train
Cross training helps you build muscle and avoid injury. Speed drills on your bike can really help especially if you have a cadence monitor. In running, it’s considered ideal to have your foot hit the ground about 90 times per minute. Your bike cadence should be the same.
#8 Advanced Schedule
Once past the beginning stages of running, there are a variety of intermediate and advanced running schedules online. I like to pick the ones that go a little over my comfort level and try to keep up.
#9 Speed Work
Weekly track workouts, tempo runs, and strides all pull those race times down. Be sure to warm up to avoid injury.
#10 Iron
If you are feeling sluggish, especially if you are a woman, have your iron levels checked. If it’s low, work with a doctor to bring those levels up.