What non-running activity led you to more successful running?

I worked construction which in general was not good but when it was hot at races I outperformed my competitors.

I foind similar results playing tennis, 90 min of strong hitting twice a week.

You buy $300 shoes for every 100 miles of training?

I was a soccer player long before I became a runner. At the age of 15 my soccer days were about over as the skill level was above what I could do. It sucked. I decided to join the XC team that fall at school for my junior year. I had very good success right away making the varsity team at a large school. Surprised a lot of people including me.

i'm rewiring my nervous system by walking through the shallow waters along the beach while channeling sensations that are reminiscent of a cross between a jelly fish and a snake

significant change of movement patterns has occurred after putting in 500+ hours over the last 18 months

will report back with more in 12 months

Plyometrics and leg strength sessions. Dropped my 800 time from 2:00 to 1:53 in one season in high school.

I dropped 2:01 to 1:54 from freshman to sophomore. It was puberty, not jumping around lol

That said, I think plyo and leg strength are important and effective and a good contribution to this thread but big high school breakthroughs like ours are 90% puberty / natural growth.

Three words:

CrossFit style sprint repeats

This concept has taken the fitness industry by storm. Basic idea is you do sprints all out, leave nothing on the table and then very short rest, repeat 20 of those.

Good advice.

Wear a new pair of $80 compression socks for every workout, also. Fresh from the packaging. They're never as good reused.

after what we've seen from Valby and Cook, people are still denying the power of cross training?

You shouldn't just replace running that your body is tolerating well, but when you hit that amount, whether it is 10 mpw or 50-60 mpw, add on elliptical training and it will make a difference. Cycling is not quite as similar, with the stationary upper body, but the legs are moving and if you can keep your heart rate anywhere from 60-80% max, there is no way that isn't doing something for you.

For 17 5k and slower, 30 miles a week is enough. You need to become more efficient and mileage will increase on its own as you get faster (assuming you are running for time and not some arbitrary amount of mileage). Hobbyjoggers get addicted to mileage and long runs.

For sure, puberty played a part, but my sprint times were also improving from week to week after starting plyos and leg strength work. I think it's neglected a lot in many mid-d programs.

He asked about diet so...I've read in several places that beer is an excellent post run drink.

I started drinking and gambling and I hit a string of PRs in 13 straight races.

30 miles is enough for what? For a 17 minute 5k runner, that is probably not even 4 hours per week.

Lets not start confusing 17 minute runners with 22-24 minute runners.

Rowing Machine

Definitely cycling, but more specifically Zwift, which I think runners really tend to enjoy -- the races and events can eliminate the boredom of cycling, and being able to do it indoors makes it way more convenient (in the same way that running from your front door tends to be much more convenient than safely riding outdoors for any extended period).