We all have different strengths and weaknesses as athletes. It is important to assess these to know what areas to improve on and train specific to you as an individual. 
✅ NATURAL SPEED: These runners were the faster kids in elementary/middle school, tend to ENJOY speed work over threshold work or long runs, and their 1 mile or 5k times predict a faster marathon time than they’ve ever been able to run
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👍 If this is your STRENGTH:
🔸Focus on hills, threshold work, and long runs to improve your aerobic endurance
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👎If this is your WEAKNESS:
🔸Focus on interval and speed work outs
🔸Take a season to focus on the 5k with more speed work and less volume
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✅ DURABILITY: These runners can run miles upon miles, day after day without getting injured or even feeling achy!
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👍 If this is your STRENGTH:
🔸Runners that are durable are susceptible to BURN OUT! Be DILIGENT about monitoring yourself day to day. Check your resting heart rate in the morning and monitor your sleep. Ensure that your body is still responding well to the work you’re putting in because burn out can be SNEAKY!
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👎If this is your WEAKNESS:
🔸Schedule more cutback weeks
🔸Add in more cross training to get the aerobic work in without the pounding on your legs
🔸Focus on strength training
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✅ MENTAL TOUGHNESS: These runners tend to negative split races, recover well after hills during a race, and can maintain good pacing through rough patches in a race
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👍If this is your STRENGTH:
🔸Use your mental grit to your advantage and take some chances earlier in races! If you know you can close well even when you feel awful, push the pace a little earlier to see if you can get even more out of yourself!
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👎If this is your WEAKNESS:
🔸Know that you DO have another gear to tap into and you CAN go deeper into the well if your mind allows your body to
🔸Run in any conditions! Barring any unsafe conditions, do your work out when it’s super windy and run in that snow! It will pay dividends on race day
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✨REMEMBER: You can TRAIN yourself into the runner you want to be! You are NOT stuck where you’re at. With the right training for YOU, you can become the runner you’ve always dreamt of being✨
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