News Flash: Wanna run faster? Well ok...

... but first, what you'll need to do is quite simple.  It's as simple as the words you're currently reading.  So to get faster you'll first need to scroll to the bottom of this page and read that little section to the left titled "***DISCLAIMER***"

Don't worry, I'll wait.

You back?  Did you read it?  You sure?  Positive?  Was that a twitch?  Because if you didn't then shame on you!!!  Crazy rabbit!  Seriously...  Read that *$&#!!!

Okay cool. Now to the topic at hand.

At the eve of this year I was engaged in a conversation on the topic of increasing one's running speed.  You know, "how do I run faster?"

Being the intelligent smart a$$ that I am, my response was and is "to run fast you should run faster!"

Seriously.  That's it.  That's the fvcking key.  There's no science here.  you just run faster.

...but wait you sick son'um *&#(!  How da hell does this help me?  I'm a 12+ minute mile person and I want to get into the 11s for my next half marathon.  I need more than that, come on cuz!

Okay, okay, okay.   So here's the skinny.

1. Make sure you have some miles under you belt and your health, heart, muscle systems are prepared.  Basically you're at a point where your current speed is maintainable for a decent distance.  You're smart, figure out what a decent distance is for the type of running you do.
2. FORM - Make sure your form is good for you at the speed you're currently running.  If you find yourself routinely injured, then you wanna find out what the hell is the cause of your injuries or the crap gonna just hit the fan faster at faster speeds.  duhhhh.  So fix your form before you really hurt yourself.  Basics!
3. WTF ARE YOU LOOKING AT!? - If you're like me when I started out, or like a lot of runners I see on the path, you spend time looking at your feet.  What's down there?  What are you looking for?  Are there nude elves massaging your toes?  NO?!?  Then keep your head and eyes up!  Look ahead!  Look to where you're going.  Stop studying the cracks in the ground.  See step 1 and start over!  - well unless you're running trails.  different story, different techniques. 
4. HILL WORK!!! - Hill repeats or getting into the trails with some major elevation change will definitely help with building up the strength to assist with not only form, but speed.  So if your form is fvcked from above, go straight to running up hills before you jump into intervals.  Your knees, hips, and feet from 5 years in the future will thank you. 
   
5. INTERVALS!!!!  - Work intervals into your running maintenance routine.  If you run just three times a week, switch one of those runs (with an interval run).  Basically run as fast as you can for 20-30s and then rest for 60-90seconds and repeat.  Gradually increase the length of your fast intervals and decrease your rest periods until you're basically running faster for the duration!  Ta-da!
6. DA 3 HOLES IN YOUR FACE -  Two are associated with your nose and one is your mouth!  How's your breathing at this point?  Not good.  Possibly haven't paid much attention to it.  But with Hill Work and Interval sessions you've found yourself bent over with your hands on your knees wondering what NFL linebacker has punched you in the gut and you feel as if there's not enough air in the fvcking AIR!!!!  With speed comes the need for you to focus on your breathing and make sure you're getting more oxygen to those muscles that are working harder.  You'll need to focus more on your breathing when you're doing your longer steady runs at your normal pace.  You'll be surprised how by not paying attention to your breathing how fvcked your breathing has been all this time.  
7. DOWN TO THE CORE - I fvcking hate core work and the next time Shawn T-25 screams at me to do a fvcking plank, Imma... I swear...  I'm just going to...  ...suck it up and do the damned plank for as long as I can (damned I need to consider that plank challenge that's spreading across IG).  This some bull...  But hey, it helps.  
8. WATCH YOUR MOUTH!  - ...especially what you're putting in it!  As you ask more of your body remember your body is an amazing work of natural art.  A machine that puzzles the greatest minds and you gonna just stuff McDonald's in there five times a week?  SMH.  Just stop your delusions now if you're not going to change your eating habits to fuel the body that you're asking more of.  Now I'm not saying go all vegan and thangs.  Nope.  Just be sensible. I still eat my sweets.  I still occasionally have my southern style sweet tea.  And you betta believe I'm going to have that pizza and that Mountain Dew Blast Freeze after a race.  Er'time!  But I'm not eating crap everyday either.  The more I ask of my body, the more my body ask that I feed it properly.  Be good to you.  Geeze.  But those fries though...
9. TAKE IT OFF -  Now unless you're at a nudity camp, don't go frolicking through the tulips au'natural!  But loose some of the accessories, fuel belts, all that &#^@^!!  Every PR in my half and full times were when I went out "light."  No hydration pack.  No extra fuels.  Minimum clothing with reliance on aid stations for my hydration needs (water is heavy as...  well, you know).  Have you noticed all the pros go out basically nude?  Consider how many pounds you have on you across those miles on race day?  Crap adds up and takes energy out of you that could be better used moving you forward!
10. SLEEP!!! - Should I comment?  Fvck it!  Your body repairs itself while you're sleep.  Enough said.  If you want shoddy repair work, then rush your repairs and see how fast you find yourself back at step 1 because you've suffered an injury.  
11. DO YOU! - Don't worry about other people.  Don't worry about how much faster other people are.  This is about you.  If you're this far into this long a$$ blog and you haven't figured out that running is about you and not the person next to you then you need to consider why the hell you're running!  Seriously.  Don't be your worst enemy.  There's enough craziness in the world against you for you to be screwing with your own self from within.  Progression takes time.  Progression is individual.  Progression sometimes means regression.  I've seen my biggest increases in pace after much needed weeks of not running and a clear mind not giving a fvck about the world.  Heck, my fastest mile to date was on a morning I didn't want to run and just wanted to get back home and just didn't give a care.  Before I knew it I looked down at the watch and was like WTF!  Had I tapped into some form of speed force?  Am I the new Wally West?!?!?

See what I did there?  Pull it all together back to the title reference of the Flash and the speed force.  LOL!  Now get out there and run.  Faster!