Article: Get a small journal or notebook and write down your distances, dates, and times. Look over it to see how you are progressing. You can also purchase apps for your phone that will help you to track your runs. Consult your phone when running to monitor your pace. Think about your most recent runs and try to increase the distance or speed up your pace on future runs. It may help to write down your goals for each day’s run. Choose goals that you can actually attain or you may get burned out. Consider adding a hill into one run per week for a month, or changing your running route. When you feel like quitting toward the middle or end of a race, split the remaining distance into pieces. This will allow you to reach a series of small goals on the way to one major one. Each time that you complete a chunk, praise yourself and further divide the remaining pieces. Keep doing this until you reach the finish line.  For example, if you have 8 miles left to go, try breaking it into 2 mile chunks. Watch for each 2 mile section to pass and then celebrate mentally before moving onward. You can even break your run down into telephone poles and street lights. Focus on getting to the one in front of you. Once you pass it, focus on getting to the next one. This keeps your distance feeling manageable. Make a note of where/when you lag at each race. Then, in future races, start to purposefully slow your pace in the minutes before you hit this wall. You may also need to regulate your pace at the very start of the run, especially if you start at almost a sprint. For some runners, training with an interval workout is helpful is teaching them how to ramp up and ramp down their speeds and energies. You might fall into a rut if you follow the same running schedule every day. This may make you more complacent and lead to less of an effort on your part. So, every few weeks, switch up your routine and add a few opposite-time runs in. If you usually run in the morning, take a quick evening jog and vice versa. People who run in the mornings generally see a larger boost in energy and better sleep than evening athletes. If you switch up your routine temporarily, you may find that another time suits you even better. Running on the same path can be helpful in that you know the landmarks for pacing; however, it can also get boring really fast. Try to add short new legs to your run. Hop in the car and go to a park for a change of pace. Make sure that you are running on different types of terrain to add in even more of a challenge. All of this will help you to keep pushing yourself to new levels.
Question: What is a summary of what this article is about?
Keep a log of your runs. Set reasonable goals. Break down your run into chunks. Save energy for the end of your run. Experiment with a different time of day. Run somewhere new.

Put one story or joke setup on one side of the card. On the other side, write down the punchline(s), including different directions you could take the joke (less insulting, more insulting, totally different direction). That way, it makes it easier for you to adjust your jokes based on audience response.  For instance: "Just look at him over there, slouched in that chair. Let me tell you, my brother is so lazy …”  “... he can’t even summon the energy to laugh at these hilarious jokes.” “... that when his ex-wife said ‘That’s it — I’m leaving,’ he said ‘Could you grab me a beer on your way out?’” “... that no one even bothers to ask him to do anything anymore — oh, wait — i just realized — my brother is a genius!” The element of surprise can often help you create the punchline of the joke. That is, people often expect a story to go one way. If it goes a different way, that can often produce a laugh. Use the person's quirks to create the element of surprise. Alternatively, use a line of your own to surprise your audience.  For example, say the person has an obsession with tea. You could tell a little story this way: “One time, I saw Charlie lugging a box of like 200 tea bags into the office. I said, ‘Charlie, how can any person drink that much tea?’ He said ‘I’ll tell you a secret — I soak my feet in it under my desk to help with foot odor.’ And when I asked ‘Then why are your teeth stained brown?’ he answered ‘Well, I’m not going to waste it — this is expensive tea!’" Part of being funny is pacing yourself. If you rush through a story and the punchline, you're probably going to leave people in the dust. Instead, include pauses so that your audience can keep up, especially when you're delivering the punchline. What will really make your roast funny is putting what you have to say in perspective by using stories to drive the point home. If you just say, "Haha, isn't Fred a joke? He's always running late," that's not very funny. However, if you put the same point in a story, people will find it more amusing.  For example, you could say, “Fred has never been on time for a staff meeting.  In fact, when it came time for him to lead one, he thought he was supposed to start it with ‘OK, any questions before we finish?’ And for the ‘continental breakfast’ he brought lukewarm decaf and half an onion bagel for everyone to share.” While providing detail is good, make sure you don’t waste excessive time getting to the point of the joke. If you're not confident in your jokes, the people around you won't be either. The jokes will fall flat. You've got to believe in your jokes--or at least act like you believe in them--for people to actually come along for the ride.  Look around the room, and catch people's eyes. Also, stand up straight, and try not to fidget. Speak in a clear, engaging tone. Practice in the mirror a few times. And remember that you’re putting on an act.
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One-sentence summary --
Create note cards that give you multiple punchline options. Use the element of surprise. Get the timing right. Focus on detail. Say it with confidence.