Part 1 of 18
🧠 Introduction
Sooner or later, many athletes find themselves intentionally trying to improve their running speed.
They want to get faster.
Sometimes they need to get faster.
Because speed matters.
It matters to making the team.
It matters to earning playing time.
It matters to standing out.
It matters to confidence.
And perhaps you’re there right now.
Maybe speed has become very important to you.
So you start trying to improve it.
👉 Training harder.
👉 Lifting heavier.
👉 Sprinting with more intensity.
You put in the effort.
You commit to the process.
You do what coaches and trainers tell you to do.
And yet…
your speed barely improves.
Or worse:
there’s no noticeable change at all.
And that’s what makes it so difficult.
Because if you didn’t care…
it wouldn’t bother you.
But you do care.
A lot.
You want to get faster.
You need to get faster.
You believe getting faster could change things for you.
So when your speed doesn’t improve the way you hoped…
it becomes hard not to think about it.
You start replaying practices in your head.
You start wondering whether you’re doing enough.
You start wondering whether you’re doing the right things.
And eventually a thought begins creeping into your mind:
What am I missing?
🧠 Something Just Doesn’t Make Sense
At first, you try to stay positive.
Maybe you just need more time.
Maybe you need to work a little harder.
Maybe the breakthrough is right around the corner.
So you keep training.
You keep lifting.
You keep showing up.
And for a while, it feels like things are moving in the right direction.
Maybe your squat goes up.
Maybe your deadlift improves.
Maybe you’re lifting more weight than you were a few months ago.
Those are real signs of progress.
And that’s what keeps you going.
Because if your squat is up…
and your deadlift is up…
and your training numbers are moving…
shouldn’t your speed be moving too?
And if it isn’t…
that’s when you start wondering:
Shouldn’t I be further along by now?
⚡ Maybe This Is The Answer
At first, you’re excited.
Maybe this workout is the answer.
Maybe this coach knows something.
Maybe this program will finally help.
And for a while, you believe it.
You work hard.
You stay committed.
You do everything you’re supposed to do.
Then the results don’t match the hope you started with.
So you look for another answer.
And then another.
And then another.
Each one bringing a little hope with it.
Each one feeling like it might finally be the thing you’ve been missing.
And each disappointment makes the next answer a little harder to believe.
Not because you’ve stopped caring.
But because you’ve been here before.
You still want to get faster.
You still show up.
You still put in the work.
But after a while…
something changes.
You’re no longer looking for the perfect answer.
You’re just looking for something that works.
And somehow…
after all the effort…
after all the searching…
after all the hope…
you find yourself in a place you never expected to be.
You’re stuck.
🧭 Your Journey To Faster Speed Continues Here
If you’re stuck…
that’s okay.
Not because being stuck feels good.
It doesn’t.
But because being stuck usually means you’ve reached the limits of what you currently understand.
You’ve worked.
You’ve searched.
You’ve tried different approaches.
And despite all of that…
you still don’t feel like you’ve found the answer.
The good news?
You now know a lot about what doesn’t work.
Or at least what hasn’t worked to your satisfaction.
And that’s often how breakthroughs begin.
Not by finding the answer immediately.
But by realizing the answers you’ve been given so far aren’t fully solving the problem.
Maybe that’s where you are right now.
Not at the end of the journey.
Just at the point where you’re ready to start asking different questions.
The next article starts by asking whether we’ve been looking at the problem correctly in the first place.
Because before trying another workout…
another drill…
or another training program…
it may be worth stepping back and looking at speed from a different angle.
📖 Next Up: Part 2 of 18
👉 If you’re still searching for answers, the next article is where your journey begins to take a different direction.
➡️ You’re Training the Right Muscles… But Still Missing Speed
