I joined a track team about 6 months ago and we do interval training 3 days a week. You get put with groups to run with based on your speed, and I got put with people that are a year or more older than me and have been doing track for a year or two longer. They are quite faster than me, but yet I can keep up with them during training. For example, they can all run a 200 meter in about 24 seconds, and a 800 in about 2 minutes and 10 seconds. I can run a 200 meter in 28.5 seconds and a 800 meter in 2 minutes 23 seconds. Yet, for the 200 meter interval in practice for example, we all run from 30-32 seconds. So I can keep up with them somehow, but after the practice I feel like crap. My headache is pounding, I'm dizzy, I feel like I'm going to throw up, and I lie down for about 15 minutes because when I stand it feels like my legs are going to give in. When my ride arrived 15 minutes after practice, I struggled to do the roughly 30 meter walk to the car, and almost fell over three times. When I sat down I realized my heart rate had gone all the way back up from that walk. I felt tired, but better about a hour and a half later.
What I'm asking is two things: First of all, I've heard that if you push yourself too hard, that you actually don't improve as much. Is that true?
Secondly, I really don't feel like going through that hell 200 days a year, but I also want to keep up with those guys, so if there anything I can do to make myself feel better besides slowing down?
Thank you