A couple of weeks ago we talked about consistency and sticking with it. Those principles are important foundations to maintain your focus. But sometimes you have to shake things up a little!

Running is a sport of repetitive motion that can seem boring at times. Repetition, routines, repeats, blah blah blah. The trick is to discover ways to look at things differently and find the extraordinary amongst the ordinary!

• Change your training route occasionally
• Find a subdivision or park that you know safely, but you've never explored on foot
• Try to notice something new about a neighborhood you normally run
• Visit a race that you've never attended before. You can run or volunteer there
• Invite a new running partner to join your group
• Wear your running shoes on the opposite feet

No wait. Strike that last one. Let's not get too weird here. Just go out and enjoy yourself and the new person you are evolving into.

Track Group Tip of the Week - Negative Splits

Ever heard of negative splits?  In a race, it's when you run each mile progressively faster, or maybe you run the last mile or two faster than the middle miles.  It's very difficult to do because most of us like to go out fast and use up some of that adrenaline to our advantage!  But some of the best races I've run have been when I ran somewhat negative, or even splits.

I think this concept works even better for track workouts.  The temptation is to go out and run the first interval as fast as you can simply because you're fresh and ready to go.  However, then you tend to struggle for the remainder of the workout.  For your next workout try running the first interval a little slower than your average pace, then set a goal to go a little faster with each successive interval.  Make the last one your best if you can.  You'll be surprised how good you feel in the latter intervals, and you might even be able to "bust" a really fast one.  Negative splits CAN lead to positive results!