Some Quotes

Every athlete at the start of every season looks forward to improved times and picking up new scalps. But there are some thngs to keep in mind. The first is a wee quote from Frank Horwill - "He who trains the same, remains the same!" And that is 100% true. If you train this year exactly as you did last year, why should you improve? There must be some progression every year.
How to progress? Well "You can't increase quantity and quality at the same time." The usual way forward is to build the strength first - and that is normally done over the winter - then graft on the speed. Even if you haven't done it over the winter or even if you get ill and try a six or eight week build up to a particular race, then the first couple of weeks must be on training to be able to train.
"They do too much training and not enough running" was said by an old companion of mine, Doug Gunstone (Google his name and see what his record is like) when I asked him why the standard of distance running today is not what it was.
One to go out the back door is "Don't train harder, train smarter". This is usually an excuse to do less training than before, less than other people or just less training. THE TWO ARE NOT IN OPPOSITION TO ONE ANOTHER. If you want to run faster, you have to train harder and I have never ever heard an athlete say "Train dumber!" Whatever your weekly mileage, you are always looking for a way to make it work better for you. The best athletes train harder and train smarter than the rest of the pack.