Q:  I do a lot of mileage, but my times haven't been improving.  Do I need more speed work?

A:  When I run, I focus on a guideline I've heard from many people in distance running: Endurance will get you to the finish line, but speed will get you there first.

For example, on a big field like a soccer or football field, set up a course on which you can do a workout alternating 100-meter runs at three different speeds: (1) tempo speed (faster than "conversational" pace but slower than race pace); (2) race pace; and (3) faster than race pace.  Don't stop between runs.  Keep moving for 10 to 15 minutes. This should give you at least 8 to 10 repetitions.  It's a great workout.

This develops your ability to sustain a hard race pace when you're tired.  You'll feel as if you can always pick up the pace in a race and respond to surges by your opponents.  This workout will also help develop your kick.  And though the workout is hard, it's also fun, adding variety to your running.

High school runners tend to wait too long in the season before working on speed.  You can integrate speed into your program even while doing the initial phase of base-building with distance runs.  Think about this: The world's greatest distance runner, 5,000 and 10,000 world-record holder Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia, does a workout of 30x100-meter sprints all year long.

Pizza, Doritos, hot wings, chicken  fingers ... mmmm.  Yet, as tasty as these treats are, we know they're not the most nutritious  for runners.  Runners need a varied diet to perform at their best.  To help you do that, Tufts University researcher Katherine Tucker, Ph.D., has developed a checklist of 37 foods and food groups. "If you can check off 28 of these foods over the course of three days, you're doing pretty well," she says. "But if you're consuming closer to 14 or 15 of these foods, you probably should be expanding your food universe".  In addition, Tucker suggests varying the foods within each category.  For instance, within the Beans and Legumes category, go for soybeans, pinto beans and lima beans.  Don't just open a can of baked beans and figure you have the category licked.