I'm never going to make the Olympic track team

Runner and coach Greg McMillan wrote a 5 Habits of Highly Effective Runners. for Running Times. I read it but didn't understand it really so I re-wrote it for myself. I feel like I probably got it wrong. What I mean is, I took what he said and applied it to myself and so this isn't exactly what he said but works for me. This summer I'm running with a goal or two: don't get injured, get faster.

These are my 5 guidelines to help me be a better runner:

1. When you have a bad workout, look at what might have gone wrong and adjust for it i.e. running long or hard too soon after a race, then make a note and move on. Let it go. Your next workout is a new day.
2. Find the training rhythm where your stress/rest cycle is in balance. Frequent injuries and bad days mean you aren’t recovering enough.
3. Training plans are a moment by moment series of decisions with a long term goal as the result. Your decisions should all be made with that goal in mind. That goal should not be date specific i.e. a particular race on a particular date but rather “I want to be strong enough to run a marathon.” You build toward that goal and when you get there, you run a marathon.
4. Success is about keeping on keeping on. Foster tenaciousness in small ways every day. This means that success is earned over time. It means consistently working out, committing to the plan and following through on a day by day basis until you get where you want to be. It does not mean working out come hell or high water with injuries or when you’re under rested. Being tenacious means knowing when rest is the right move and resting when your mind tells you to just go out there and do it.
5. Listen to yourself and what you need. Sometimes you need to run long and slow with good tunes because that feels good. It’s fun. Sometimes you need to run a fast 5k. It’s fun. In the end, feeling strong is almost as important as being strong. Do things that will make you fast but also things that make you feel fast.