Keep Your Head Up. "Many racers run with their heads down and eyes focused just a few feet ahead. This is especially true near the end of a race, when neck and shoulder muscles fatigue and it seems easier to rest your chin on your chest. But for optimal performance, you need to run with your head up and eyes forward. This way, you can see what's going on ahead of you. You can breathe easier, too, as your lungs will be able to fully expand. And tactically, you'll be able to keep contact with other runners and close gaps when necessary. Once your head and eyes go down, you're no longer racing, you're surviving."

 When you are training, you should be able to maintain a conversation, talking in complete sentences. If you are too out of breath to do this, you are training too fast.

 Feel great after 48: Daily running can leave your legs feeling dead. Instead, switch to runing every other day for at least 2 weeks. When you give yourself 48 hours between runs, your body had that much more time to repair the microscopic damage that occurs during tough workouts.