I have to confess to arrogance being a big problem for me also I read recently in a running magazine that most people will feel more easily motivated when they get things right with their sleeping and eating patterns etc. Unfortunately then a lot of people overtrain when their feeling good, rather than allowing themselves to have the recovery they need. The result is a cycle of overtraining and crashing which is less beneficial than just being honest about how much you can do and actually recover from.

As far as equipment goes I think skipping on anything other than sprung floor boards is a common killer. I've never suffered from using equipment the wrong way - touchwood!