Reddit reviews Healthy Intelligent Training: The Proven Principles of Arthur Lydiard

So. . . In the process of taper I've been arming myself with info on planning the next couple of cycles. (Happy to report that I STILL have not filled in any training beyond a few weeks of recovery post-Boston!) Tying up Healthy Intelligent Training on Lydiard principals at the moment.

One thing stuck out with me was a statement (below) re: VO2 max training. As an endurance monster, average runner - re: not a speedster it really stuck out to me. I looked back at the VO2 that I did do this training cycle and I would say as soon as I hit interval times around that 5min mark - my recovery for that type of workout was definitely on the high end. I bailed early in the 3 x 1600m so I can't speak to the after effect ultimately but that would have put me in the 6:45-ish range for each interval had I executed it well. And that might very well have been too much based on this.

To the more experienced and coaching type folks: Merit to applying this type of 'max time' principle to VO2 work akin to the 'diminishing returns on LR greater than 3hrs'? It seems logical to me . . .

>The most effective work bouts or intervals for running appear to be longer than 2 minutes or shorter than 5 minutes, with equal or shorter recovery, depending on fitness. Any longer than 5 minutes at VO2 max pace and it’s too near being a race in intensity, without the adrenalin, to have training value.

Livingstone, Keith (2012-03-01). Healthy Intelligent Training, 2nd Ed (p. 149). Cardinal Publishers Group. Kindle Edition.

PS I totally think we should do a Symposium on the 'Running Laws of Diminishing Returns'.

Most importantly Listen to your body. I can promise you that you are pushing yourself hard enough but you may also be pushing yourself too hard. Here's some advice to improving your 5k times since you asked:

• try to run every day. Get used to running as many days that are possible but remember to slow down and not push yourself too hard so that you exhaust your legs. This is building an aerobic base which you will be extremely grateful for when you start working on your anaerobic workouts (hill workouts, intervals etc.). If you have a hard time running a set distance in miles (I do) just do a set amount of time (20 min, 30 min) and don't give a hoot about your pace just listen to your body and how you feel. This game is about gradualism and there is no shame in going slow.
  
  
• Rest days are necessary if you think they are necessary! You are the big kahuna in your training program!
  
  
• Be careful not to burn yourself out. There is a thing called pushing yourself too hard and everybody can do it no matter the fitness level. Typically though (and I can say this because I have fallen into this trap) it's people who don't want to accept their current fitness level. You may be a 10:00 miler but think you're a 9:00 miler but you won't improve until you accept your current fitness state. Be honest with how you feel and you will notice improvements within a couple weeks.
  
  
• No smoking. Weed/cigarrettes/whatever. Smoking damages your lungs which decreases your cardiac efficiency. If you like the herb though invest in a vaporizer. Your body will thank you. Other substances like alcohol or harder stuff which I won't mention will stress your body out so be mindful of your indulgences.
  
  
• Control your breathing. I used yogic breathing excercises such a as pranayama to get control of my diaphram. The amount of air you can intake is proportional to your cardiac efficiency. The burn you feel in your legs when you sprint is from lactic acid build up due to lack of oxygen (because your cardio [oxygen intake for your muscles] can't keep up with your muscle contractions, this is how you burn yourself out, aka acidosis) learn to read your body and how fast you can go comfortably for a set distance. "i can run 3 miles at an 8:00 pace if I push myself. At the end of my run my heart rate is 33 beats per 10 seconds so that's about 198 BPM"
  
  
• Improving cardio fitness is all about your heart rate efficiency. In the beginning of accruing a large enough aerobic base, let's say 40-50 miles a week (this depends on how serious you want to be can be less but the larger the base, generally, the faster you can go think of a pyramid /\), be mindful of your heart rate and check it at the end of each run. This will help you later and is just fun to guess when you track it enough. Personally and from the advice of my cross country coaches it's best to get your base in before you do things like hill workouts or intervals.
  
  
• During your aerobic base period make sure to change tempo and distance (within reason). Vary it up and do days at faster pace for less distance and days at a slower pace for longer distances. Keep your heart guessing and it will respond and improve
  
  
• stride outs at the end of a run are very useful to get your form down and to get that heart rate raised. this is not a sprint ( I do like 4 - 8 40 meter lengths at 75% with a recovery jog in between)
  
  
• NUTRITION IS SO IMPORTANT. Carbs are your friends! Simple sugars before you run and after you run ( I like to have a few dates before a run and a nice slice of watermelon after [it's just the best on a hot day]). Simple sugars before hand so you have easy to burn energy for your run and simple sugars after your run so can accelerate the recovery for your muscles (sugars clean out lactic acid buildup from your run and this decreases your recovery time from your runs) and of course within an hour or two after your run make sure to get a nutritious meal with a good source of protein.
  
  
• Okay I have mislead you. The most important thing is to enjoy yourself! If your runs are a chore you are less likely to continue and less likely to improve your times! I use it as a release. There's a saying that goes something like, "Running; It's cheaper than therapy."
  
  Resources:
  Healthy Intelligent Training guidelines from an olympic caliber coach Arthur Lydiard I reccommend this book, though it doesnt' give you a training schedule it explains how to, most efficiently, improve your times and achieve your running goals no matter the distance
  
  How to Use Fitness to Create Mental and Physical Strength for Life - Brendan Brazier is pretty great. The thrive in 30 series is easily digestible and full of fantastic information for the athlete within
  
  What is VO2 max? nice summation of the physiology of high performance excercise
  
  Metabolic acidosis lecture (Warning! Techincal!)
  
  Natural running form
  
  
  I hope this post can give you something to take away! Though I have given you information that you may feel is beyond where you want to go these principles will help you achieve whatever your goal is in the quickest and most efficient manner. Don't be intimidated this is all about fun and challenging yourself in a healthy way!

Start with this, I would recommend you buy Healthy Intelligent Training by Keith Livingstone and Running with Lydiard by Arthur Lydiard.

For the physiological underpinning of training, I second Science of Running and Daniel's Running Formula. That said, you can find a lot of info that's in the Science of Running book on Steve Magness's blog...which is also called Science of Running.

If you're looking for books that are more geared towards specific training plans for races, check out Advanced Marathoning by Pete Pfitzinger and/or the Hanson's Marathon Method (for marathons, duh). For shorter races, Pfitz also has Faster Road Racing and Road Racing for Serious Runners.

My favorite book on training -- from both a physiology and a specific training plan standpoint -- is Healthy Intelligent Training by Keith Livingstone. It's a very understandable and relatable interpretation of the Lydiard training philosophy, especially considering that Lydiard's own books were fairly vague and contradictory. Lydiard-style training sometimes gets a bad rap because it's "old" and "all long slow distance," but the underlying principle (push your fitness up from below with relatively lower intensity aerobic development while also maintaining constant leg speed drills) is still employed by most every serious coach and every serious distance runner -- especially at the professional level of the sport.

1.) Everything I'm taking is from this book.

http://www.amazon.com/Healthy-Intelligent-Training-Principles-Lydiard/dp/1841263117/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1382049219&sr=1-1&keywords=lydiard

2.) According to this book, when you run too fast for your current fitness level, your body produces lactic acid which puts your body in a state of "Acidosis." This acidosis negatively affects your aerobic endurance and the rate that your muscles recover.

So, that doesn't mean it's bad to run faster than aerobic speed, it just means that you can only train at hard, fast paces for a limited amount of time before it makes you less fit. I had two team mates that ran an 18x400 with a 1 minute rest and they averaged 64 seconds per 400...they ran 4:42, and 4:44 in the 1600 season. In contrast, in 2011 I saw Sam Chelenga do 12x400 at 65 seconds just a few weeks before winning nationals.

I'm trying to condense a lot of physiology into the basic idea that you need to practice being relaxed while running fast and hard in training, so that you have an extra gear to give in your races.