Whether you’re a new runner or a long-time competitor, having a well-thought out training plan is vital.  If you’re not confident in your ability to create one yourself, go out and get a copy of Daniels’ Running Formula (2nd Edition).  In my experience it is by far the best book on training theory for the masses out there.

It’s got several selling points:

1) Credibility – Jack Daniels is a PhD in exercise physiology and has been a leading researcher in the field for decades.  Most of his work deals specifically with distance running and how to improve your training.  So when he talks about a study and what it means for your training, he knows he’s right because half the time it’s his own study that he’s citing!

2) Accessibility – Even though the information presented is rooted in physiology, Daniels doesn’t expect you to understand the science behind it all.  He explains the importance of different workouts and training in terms of how it helps your running instead of why.  Even for runners with no background in the sciences, the concepts are easy to grasp and apply.

3) Usefulness – A lot of training books go into great detail on the science or the theory and provide precious little in terms of practical application.  Daniels commits virtually every page in his book to usable information.  There are detailed, 24-week training programs for every race distance from 800m to the marathon and often includes several versions depending on your ability level.

There are also charts for determining training paces, in-depth sections on racing strategy, how to put together your own training program and everything in between.  Even at 280+ pages it doesn’t feel like there’s any filler.

4) New Information – If you have the first edition of Daniels Running Formula, it’s still worth it to pick up the new edition.  While much of the information is the same, there are a number of major changes between the two editions.  The two that I use the most are the inclusion of training plans for the 800m (the shortest distance in the first edition is 1500m), and a new table for calculating tempo pace for long tempo runs.  

The first edition includes paces for 20-minute tempo runs, but the new version includes paces for tempo runs lasting from 20 minutes to an hour.  It may sound like a minor addition, but it’s one of the tables I use the most.  For me, the new edition was worth it for that addition alone.

Whether you’re just getting started in competitive running or are looking for a new way to spice up your training, Daniels Running Formula is a vital addition to any runner’s (and coach’s) library.


Get the Daniels Running Formula from: AbesBooks.com or Amazon.com 


Alok

Since I spend most of my day thinking about, talking about, and writing about running, I try to read books that don't have anything to do with running.  It helps that most books about running (with a few notable exceptions:  training books, Once A Runner, Running With The Buffaloes) simply aren't all that interesting to me.  They tend to either be too dry or too self-indulgent for my taste.  

Most of the non-fiction I really enjoy works hard to make the subject fascinating to the reader.  I feel like most running books assume that you're already fascinated by running.  And while that may be the case, it still helps if the book tries to shed a new light on what makes us all love running so much.

Haruki Murakami's book What I Talk About When I Talk About Running is an interesting read because he still seems in awe of his own fascination with running.  This awe leads him to study it and examine it rather than take it for granted. 

Partly this comes from the fact that he started running later in life.  As he says, "Thirty-three -- that's how old I was then.  Still young enough, though no longer a young man.  The age that Jesus Christ died.  The age that Scott Fitzgerald started to go downhill.  That age may be a kind of crossroads in life."

That was also the age that he began his career as a novelist.  Since then, the two pursuits have been intertwined for him.  Because he is better known as a writer, he assumes that his audience has less familiarity with running than with him and does a good job of writing for a general audience.

He talks honestly about his running -- the good and the bad.  There are no "Chicken Soup for the Soul" stories here, no grand life philosophies.  But he still manages to talk more eloquently and offer more insight into running than most of the running books I've read.

The stories he tells are interesting enough, but the real strength of the book lies in his self-examination.  The scrutiny that he puts his passions under (both running and writing) helps you look at your own and remember why you started in the first place, and the simple joys of doing it, "not so much as an intentional act, but as an instinctive reaction."

Neither rah-rah motivational or really plot-driven, it's an excellent, quick read that will definitely offer something different for any runner's bookshelf.


You can purchase What I Talk About When I Talk About Running at Amazon.


Alok 

Road Racing for Serious Runners provides an excellent, comprehensive look at training for competitive long-distance racing. It helps remove guesswork since it contains information on all variables affecting successful racing-from human physiology to actual nuts and bolts workouts.  Pfitzinger and Douglas believe for the serious runner, the runner who wants to run at his or her very best, training needs to focus on a small number of specific goal races. 

Keep it simple, stupid!

This book gives short, simple explanations to the key elements of a training program. We now know everything we need to know about VO2 max and lactate threshold training, their relative importance, how to improve them and how to incorporate them into your training program.

Topics that are covered are: 

• recovery
• pure endurance
• lactate threshold
• VO2 max
• and speed

In Road Racing for Serious Runners, Pete Pfitzinger-a world-class marathoner, distance running coach, and exercise physiologist-tells you how to get the most out of your limited training time. Pfitzinger teams up with former Running Times editor-in-chief Scott Douglas to present a training and racing plan that will help you excel in the full spectrum of road racing distances. You will learn how to:

• design a week-by-week training program,
• determine the right pace to run during speed workouts,
• get the most out of long runs,
• taper training before an important race,
• detect and avoid staleness and injury, 
• determine the best strategy for each race, and
• achieve the optimal mental state to train and race.

Pfitzinger points out how most of us are doing no lactate threshold training and doing all of our interval work to fast. Lactate threshold represents the speed at which you can run while still clearing most of the lactic acid from your cells. A high lactate threshold, on the other hand, allows sustained high speeds, and therefore high levels of performance in endurance events. 

Pfitzinger and Douglas emphasize the importance of minimal effective stress. For example, they provide the example of two runners trying to build VO2 max, the maximum oxygen your body can use. 

"In the past I've had a love/hate relationship with mile repeats, a very strong type of VO2 max workout -- I knew they had a great effect on my fitness but they were SO uncomfortable. I now know I was running them too fast. Last year I put Pfitzinger and Douglas' approach into effect in my training. 

Using a heart rate monitor, I ran long VO2 max sessions, half-mile and mile repeats, monitoring carefully to stay in my VO2 max training range. The effect was dramatic. Not that mile repeats became easy, but they were far more manageable than they had ever been before. As a result I was able to run more of them, recover better, and actually (sometimes) enjoy them. I also had my best racing season in years."
- George Williams

Included with each of five training schedules are racing tactics, mental tips, and lessons from world-class runners. Whatever distance you plan to race, Road Racing for Serious Runners will guide you to peak performance!


Buy Road Racing for Serious Runners at Amazon
Buy Road Racing for Serious Runners at Abebooks.com

Do you dream of running a marathon? But consider yourself too old or too out of shape to run a marathon? You can do this. By following the training advice of the experts from University of Northern Iowa, you will be crossing the finish line in no time! 

 The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer is based on the highly successful marathon class offered by the University of Northern Iowa. It is based on a marathon class offered over the years at the University of Northern Iowa that proclaims a high success rate for 1st time marathoners. In over 11 years, they have taught this course to approximately 200 students -- all first time marathoners and many with absolutely no running background. 

The promise of the book is to that you'll be able to run 26.2 miles training just 4 days a week with no runs over 18 miles.  The book accomplishes this goal in sixteen chapters, one for every week of training. What makes this program better than any other? It is the special emphasis on the mental aspects of endurance running. 

You don't have to love to run -- you don't even have to like it -- but you have to realize that you are capable of more than you have ever thought possible. One participant in the program explained it like this: 

"I'm doing this for me -- not for others or the time clock. I just feel better when I run, plus it helps me to cope with things in general. The skills we've learned in this class don't apply just to marathoning -- they apply to life! Just like you never know what the next step in a marathon will bring, so too, you never know what will happen next in life. But if you don't keep going, you're never going to find out. By staying relaxed, centered, and positive you handle just about anything that comes your way." 

Don't have tons of time to train? 

Don't worry. This book has been written for regular people like you and me. Those who have the desire to run and complete a marathon however also have responsibilities that take up their time - such as family, careers, school, and kids.  This is marathon running for real people.  The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer has proven successful for everyone, regardless of who they are and what they do. 

Easy to read

Each chapter is cleanly divided up into 3 sections. Part one deals with the mental aspects of marathon training (which in my opinion is just as important as physical preparation when it comes to marathons), part two lays out the actual training program for the week, and the third part of each chapter contains advice and suggestions from people who have done the course and the program. The last chapter gives advice on your recovery.  

This is a complete book covering everything you can imagine about training for a marathon. Easy to read and helpful information are included such as stretches, weight training exercises, nutritional advice, how to dress, and what shoes to wear. 


Get the Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer at Amazon.com.  
Get the Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer at AbeBooks.com.