Recommended
Reads
This section contains a list
of books and websites which I have read and find to be enjoyable or
helpful. As time goes on, I will add comments and ratings on how
much they influenced or helped me.
In everyone of these books there are things I agree with and
disagree with, but something can be taken away from every book, no
matter how good or bad. It is extremely important to analyze as
many different training ideas as possible.
- Biographies
- A_Cold_Clear_Day
- The_Perfect_Mile
- Paul_Tergat:_Running_to_the_Limit
- Training Books
- Better_Training_for_Distance_Runners
- Running_to_the_Top
- Training_Profiles:_High_School_Distance
- Lore_of_Running
- Run_Run_Run
- Jack_Daniels_Running_Formula
- Run_Strong
- Food_for_Fitness
- Fiction Books
- Once_A_Runner
- Websites
Books
Biographies
A Cold
Clear Day
by Frank Murphy
This book is the story of American marathoner Buddy
Edelen. Edelen is probably one of the most forgoten best US
runners in history considering he set a World Record in the
marathon. It is a great read that keeps your attention throughout
and even gives some of his training. It's really amazing the
training that he did while working as a school teacher in England.
The Perfect Mile by
Neal Bascomb
The stories of three athletes, John Landy, Roger
Bannister, and Wes Santee, all after the same goal of breaking the 4
minute mile barrier, are intertwined in this book. It's a very
entertaining and informative read as all three athletes have distinct
differences that really come across in this book. It makes you
appreciate the effort of all three athletes.
Paul Tergat: Running to
the Limit
A short book on Paul Tergat's carear. It's
sort of a combination short biography/ short training advice
book. A lot of the advice is geared towards beginners and the
biography portion doesn't really go in depth very much. The real
benefit of this book is the brief section on Dr. Gabriel Rosa and his
training, Paul Tergat's opinions on training and other subjects, and
the training schedules. There are two schedules of Paul Tergat's
training, one 4 week schedule leading up to one of his World Cross
victories, and one thirteen week schedule leading up to his marathon
world record. Also there's a two week sample training schedule of
what young kenyans who attend a training camp do to prepare for
cross-country. In addition there is a little section on the
Kenyan staple foods. The training schedules are the real beuty of
this book. Also the pictures in the book are superb.
Training
Better Training for
Distance Runners by Martin and Coe
THE
textbook on running. I don't agree with everything in here, but
the Physiology chapters are great. You learn
what happens in your body during the different types of exercise and
get basic understanding of the different energy
systems, muscle fibers, etc. that make the body work. The
training chapters are also very good. There is probably too much
intensity for most athletes to handle in the training section, but it
does show you the importance of working on each system of training, and
clearly defines how to work each system effectively. The book has
more information than just about any other running book out
there. I use it constantly as a resource and look back on
different sections whenever I have a question about a training topic.
Running to
the Top by Arthur Lydiard
A great book that describes Lydiard's training
beliefs which he came about through the best science known to man
(trial and error) and his ideas have been later backed up by
science. Also, this book keeps the scientific explanations
relatively simple so it can be read by all. Highly recommended
for those getting started on coming up with a training program.
Training Profiles:
High
School Distance By John Nepolitan
A comprehensive book which is in the form of
the classic "How they train" model. It gives insight into how 70
star distance runners trained in HS, including there general philosophy
and sample weeks of indoor, outdoor, and base period training. It
is a great resource for HS coaches and athletes alike who can learn a
lot by comparision of how elite HSers and elite athletes trained in
HS. After all, as I say, trial and error is one of the best
scientific ways to determine training. You can look at what
worked for all sorts of different HSers. In addition, my training
profile's in it as are the profiles of Lukezic, Jefferson twins,
Solinsky, Willis, Brannen, Mcdougal, and many more.
Lore of
Running By Time Noakes
This book is very in depth. It covers an
enormous amount of information regarding everything running. It has a
very good physiology section, along with training, nutrition,
etc. This book comes the closest of any to fit anything you
wanted to know about running into it. Also, the scientific minded
runner will like this as an incredible amount of studies are references
in this book.
Run, Run,
Run By Fred Wilt
This is an older book from the 1960's so the
training methods are dated. However it is still a fascinating
read. It has numerous authors who give explain all the different
training methods of the days. It really is remarkable that they
have info from greats such as Lydiard, Lawrence, Igloi, Gerschler,
etc. It's a shame no one writes a book like this today. Any
way, reading the schedules of older runners is pretty interesting and
you'll probably learn a lot more things from them, even if they are
dated, then you would have thought.
Jack
Daniels Running Formula by Jack Daniels
A solid training book for a runner who needs a
training program with very little heavy physiology information. I
recommend this book for the beginner runner or those who don't have a
scientific background. It explains the keys of different workouts
and what they do so that all can understand. I don't agree with
some aspects of his training plan, such as when he puts emphasis on
different systems (such as thresholds, VO2max, reps, etc.) during the
season.
Run Strong
edited by Kevin Beck, various Authors
This book has good advice on a wide range of topics
from training to nutrition and recovery. Overall there is a good
collection of authors and article topics. This book doesn't stand
alone by itself as a training guide, but is a good complement
book. The range of articles that I found interesting and
beneficial varied greatly as some were in depth and informative and
others just had the same old stuff that's repeated in most other
training books.
Food for
Fitness by Chris Carmichael
One of the best books I've found on nutrition for
more athletic people. Although the book doesn't go into as much
science as I would have liked it does contain a good amount of
information. It's very easy to understand and helps to tell what
each nutrient and fuel source that your eating does to an endurance
athlete. The best part about this book is it's focused on highly
active people, which is almost non existant in the vast majority of
nutrition books. The emphasis is on food as a fuel source and not
as a demon that causes you to gain weight, as many books portray food.
Fiction
Once
A Runner by John L.
Parker
This is by far the best book I've ever read,
period! It perfectly captures the essence of being a runner down
to our crazy little quirks. It's the best explanation of what
makes runner tick. I found myself constantly thinking that I do
that, when reading about Quentin Cassidy's life as a runner and the ups
and downs he grows through as he trains to be a world class miler.
Websites
Letsrun.com
This is where all the runners
go. The front page is where you can get all the up to date news
and meet results for the sport of track and field. The message
boards have a ton of very useful information, but the key is finding
it. The boards are littered with a bunch of useless crap, but
finding thoses quality posts are well worth it as you can learn from
some of the best coaches in the world. (tips: search for threads
that such users as: Renato Canova, Antonio Cabral, Tinman, Joe Rubio,
Jtupper (Jack Daniels), and others I'll mention later, have posted
on. Also the John Kellogg information on the site is a must for
anyone looking into training.
dyestat.com
This is the top website for news and info on High
School track and Cross-Country. It has a ton of meet results,
performance lists, and even a new training section. The message
boards contain some good information, but it's geared more to the
novice runner, and doesn't go as in depth as some letsrun.com posts
do. However it's a good place for HSers to go to learn the basics.
nutrition.gov
A good site that lists all the RDA and other such
info for all vitamins, minterals, and foods.