Pushing yourself
I was watching a bit of the tour de France the other day and this young Frenchman was way out in the lead, like really far in front. But there was a group behind him and they were gaining. Being in front, the guy would have been able to think to himself “I am going my hardest” while the riders in the group would have been thinking “I need to push way harder to keep up with the group” this difference in attitude was causing the gap to shorten.
I have noticed this a lot, when training alone you can push yourself but it’s nothing compared to how much a second person can push you.
Like a few years ago I ran a half marathon. It was very packed and you couldn’t move 5 meters without catching up to someone else (It was like that the whole way). But because there was always someone that could be overtaken the urge to overtake was always around, and I ended up running the whole thing really easily.
Sometimes to make yourself achieve more you need an external influence, and other people are a good source of encouragement.
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If you watch some of Usain Bolts runs the guys that come second and third often break their personal bests because they are trying to keep up with him
Strikee 