There are a few things through my own career that I learned, that helped move me from the guy who no one knew to the guy every one was watching because they knew I was going somewhere.
1) If you want to be a serious runner it's takes dedication you should run at least 6 days a week if not all 7. I'm not saying go kill yourself everyday your body needs rest. But you do need to get out and get active. It's amazing how you can work super hard for 3 months and be in great shape, yet take 2 weeks off and you lose practically all of your stamina.
2) Eating right is important (You need to give up that fast food, any carbonated beverage, and donuts) [I know right, how can we live without donuts?]
3) Speed for a distance running is important. The faster your 100% speed is easier it will be for your distance to be faster. For example, if I can run 18 mph for 100 meters it will be much easier for me to keep a pace of say 12 mph for very long distances because my body is only working at 67% (rounded up of course) of it's maximum potential. As apposed to say 15 mph as my max and 12 mph as my goal, which is 80% of my maximum. So in short I'm saying "don't neglect speed work"
4) Don't forget to mix it up, you don't want your body getting into a rhythm that will take months to get out of.
5) Stretching is some thing I never did enough of and neither can you. But keep in mind that rubber bands that sit longer break easier. I.E. don't just start stretching you need to warm up your muscles a bit (light jog, 1/2 mile warm up, some thing) then stretch, then work out, then stretch.
Here is an example schedule for me when I was in off season. Note: I was a competitive running who was always wanting to increase my times. These are not meant for "getting in shape workouts" these were my "I want to be better next season" stuff.
::5k (high school schedule)::
Mon
First day of the week. Just want to get some miles under my belt 5-7 mile day.
Tue
Some type of speed or hills along with a solid run. I used to do like 3-4 miles and do stupid stuff like sprint up hills or sprint through intersections (when there was no cars) or pick random areas to sprint for short bursts or take routes i knew had a couple solid long hills and try to keep pace. This way I was tiring myself out but continued to run (active recovery type stuff). Because let's be real, in what race can you go run the same speed the whole time and be competitive? You can't unless you are the Steve Prefontaine of your area.
Wed
Was usually tired because of Tuesday but still need a solid run 4-6 mile day.
Thur
Speed day, repeats were my best friend. Repeat quarter miles, or 200m repeats. I would do 8-12 quarters trying to pick a challenging pace to run each one like 90 seconds which would be a 18:45 5k if I kept that pace the whole race, in later years I would go faster like 75 seconds (15:30ish 5k)
or Indian runs if you have people to run with.
Fri
A recovery day easy 4-6 miles
Saturday
long day 7-10 miles (speed based on however you feel)
Sunday
Day off (or activity day, swimming, Frisbee, basketball, or a shorter easier jog)
::8k/10k (College Schedule)::
Mon
8-12 miles in morning
weights and sprints at night (100 yard dashes, burst speed, bungees etc...)
Tue
repeats 400 meters (2 minutes in between each one, never running slower than the previous or it didn't count) in morning
3-5 miles at night
Wed
10-15 miles in morning
weights and sprints at night
Thur
1200 meter repeats in morning (usually about 7-10 of them)
3-8 miles at night (more or less miles depending on how many repeats in earlier days)
Fri
recovery day 4-12 miles in morning
usually just sprints at night
Sat
5-10 miles in morning
evening off
Sun
long day 12 to 20 miles
Some things to note:: High school was a very hilly place. So we focused on lots of hill work outs the bigger the hill you practice on the smaller the hills are when you race. College was very flat so speed work outs were a must.
Carbs Carbs Carbs when making food choices. Proteins (mostly meats for me) didn't work well when trying to run fast ( I would vomit or get bad cramps) this is different for every one keep track of what you are eating and keep a running journal of how you felt during the run you might find some of your favorite foods kill your race time.
Another thing I used to do to kinda just surprise my muscles was run backwards. It's amazing how you can run forward for 8 miles without getting sore but run backwards for a 1/2 mile or mile and your muscles will all hurt the next day. I used to do this to work out the muscles in my legs that don't get too much action from regular running. I believe it really helped me hit the next tier in my career.
