Now that my children are getting into their early teens, they've been playing a lot of team sports.  Of course, a big part of being on a team includes going to "practice" 2 or 3 times a week.  

Practice, in the context of team sports, usually  means a series of skills and drills and possibly of some scrimmaging at the end.  It's a lot like rehearsing when you're involved in a play or musical performance.

Most adult runners, on the other hand, tend to "train" rather "practice."  "Training", simply put, is getting out there every day, or almost every day, and just putting in the miles.  Training may involve running a bit faster or a bit longer depending on the day, but the hallmark of training is just running.

Because running is, relatively speaking, a low skill sport, it makes sense to spend the vast majority of your time "training" rather than "practicing".  Make no mistake, you do need to log consistent miles if you're going to get anywhere in running.

On the other hand, it makes sense to spend a bit of your workout time practicing rather than training.  This can include things like strides, time trials, practice races, simple pylometrics, core strength drills, and/or sprint drills.  If you're racing performanced has plateaued, maybe incorporating a few of these "skills and drills" can be the breakthrough that you need.

So, consider training less and practicing more.  You just may see an improvement in your racing performance.

For help with designing a program to meet your goals, check out a Run Quick program.