(Part 2) Top products from r/AdvancedRunning

> I joined the cross country team since I'm too uncoordinated to play a sport with a ball so I opted

Ah /u/smallefforts - This was exactly why I did xcountry in Jr. High/High School! Best of luck with your race season! Hope you get those goals!

1. Yup! I have an old-man crush on Laz. I had heard mumblings about the Barkley when I was first lurking the local ultra scene. Learned more about it through reading Running Through the Wall a while back. And the documentary sealed the deal. At some point when I've completely lost my mind I would love to try for a Fun Run. As to this year's event - Just wow. Some incredible performances. Lots of great stories will come out I'm sure considering the visibility issues. Did Wardian make any kind of statement? I know he got lost but in all the commotion I really didn't catch anything. . . I was hoping he was going to be a pro that would actually do something there. But I think that also makes me love Barkley even more.
   
2. SHHHH LALALALA! I promised myself THIS time I would wait to make training decisions while I was in the process of recovery. Usually I get antsy during taper and end up filling in the next cycle. So far so good. . . . I have to make it another week. Reading about some other possibilities is helping though. . . And I know what my next races will be.
   
3. March was great! It got tough leading up to peak week. Happy to be tapering. Not counting . . . but 12 DAYS!!!! Excited to see what Pete-pals racing this weekend drop!!
   
4. We have a great LRC. And there are a ton of in-town options for routes. Guaranteed lake features. Lots of water stops if you need it. But places I would recommend. . . Circle B Bar reserve (If you caught the 'dinosaur' alligator known as 'Humpback' on FB - this is where he lives. Yes we've seen him before.) It's a pretty cool place! Our x-country park is pretty cool too and has some cool wildlife in the middle of the city as well. If we get to leave town. . . well I'd have months of adventures for ya'll.
   
5. Summer is coming. . . the humidity blanket is becoming stifling. . . But the transition isn't feeling as rough this year.

Well, but are you talking about an outlier like you who has also (I'm pretty sure) had years of quality workouts as well? Because as my patron saint of biomechanics, Jay Dicharry puts it, "Lots of practice at running sub-optimally will just make you more efficient at running wrong."

Now I grant you, a person can get pretty far without working on their form, for example — I got to a 3-flat marathon basically without using my glutes — but it was addressing my biomechanical issues, not raising my overall mileage, that got me to 2:47.

(Just kind of debating as a thought experiment...obviously the ideal would be to do all of the above. And I'm pretty sure that if I want to progress from 2:47, I'd probably have to peak at more than 57 MPW.)

Ones I have read and recommend:

Jack Daniels
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F0X7U2S/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

Pfitz
https://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Marathoning-2nd-Pete-Pfitzinger/dp/0736074600/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1510544635&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=Pfitinger

Yessis
https://www.amazon.com/Explosive-Running-Science-Kinesiology-Performance/dp/0809298996/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1510544911&sr=1-1&keywords=explosive+running

Noakes
https://www.amazon.com/Lore-Running-4th-Timothy-Noakes/dp/0873229592/ref=pd_sim_14_5?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=3QK52ZDHZVX4K6QW383Q

Fitzgerald (one of several)
https://www.amazon.com/Brain-Training-Runners-Revolutionary-Endurance-ebook/dp/B000VMHHBW/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1510544985&sr=1-1&keywords=brain+training+for+runners

Ones I have not read but have heard good things about:

Hansons
https://www.amazon.com/Hansons-Marathon-Method-Your-Fastest-ebook/dp/B01C6FBGHW/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1510544663&sr=1-3&keywords=hansons+running&dpID=51L6b5-M7OL&preST=_SY445_QL70_&dpSrc=srch


Bill Squires
https://www.amazon.com/Speed-Endurance-Bill-Squires/dp/0977250504

Peter Coe
https://www.amazon.com/Winning-Running-Successful-Racing-Training/dp/1852239972/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1510544703&sr=1-1&keywords=peter+coe&dpID=51lmDYFDyLL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch

There is also an out of print (I think) book by Arthur Lydiard that is really good. And for that matter, I am not sure I linked the correct Bill Squires book. One is really good, while the other is an awful, watered-down version.

I have a pretty similar background. I ran in high school, then DIII in college, quit running for many years, got back to it as a pre-masters/masters runner. People kept asking me questions, so I started coaching for free. Then on a spare weekend, I got certified as a USATF level 1 coach, which is really fun. I really recommend it, since you're a T&F fan.

We are pretty close to each other for running pace and both in triathlon. I think you are around a 7:10-7:15 pace for 5K right now. The 800s are great for elevating threshold/VO2, and I have found that a good indicator for 5K pace are cruise intervals. These are 3-4x 5-8min intervals at lactate threshold effort (near 5K effort) with 3min recovery effort between. They are great to mix into any training plan. You should be consistent in your interval paces for these. You can reduce the recovery time to 2 then 1 if you are pretty solid on the consistency and recovery improves.

800s are just above threshold effort. I do these at 6:20-6:30 pace. The cruise intervals I do at 7:10-7:20 pace, and I can run the top of that pace in a sprint triathlon. I ran a track 5K in 20:54 at my peak, so I would say around 21:30 for me on a road 5K effort.

EDIT: Training reference I use for triathlon training from the book 80/20 Triathlon :

http://8020endurance.com/8020-workout-library/

The book I picked is good for explaining concepts behind programming rather than the code itself, which is what I really like about it. It also uses JS throughout to teach those concepts, although it supports the material more than it aims to teach JS itself. That seems like a good language to build on HTML and CSS. This is the book I stumbled across at the library, and I really like it so far - very readable, with clear explanations.

And definitely not doing a boot camp, lol. I am a member of Mensa - I certainly don't know everything, but I am very good at picking things up on my own. I can't bring myself to drop $10k when I have a library and oodles of online resources... not to mention a local community college whose computer science classes were pretty much set up by Microsoft, which is right down the street. :P

+1 for AirPods. I’ve owned two pairs of Jaybirds and they both broke at about 6 months. My AirPods (with the silicone hooks mentioned in comment above) have been a magical combo. The “tap to pause” is great, and I love the fact they charge in their case. Best Apple product in a while and so far (9 months) they have worked flawlessly. Here’s an amazon link for the silicon adapter I also found to be essential to keep the AirPods in my ears while running. Wish I didn’t need these... and maybe you won’t for your ears.

ear buddyz Amazon link

I'd also caution against it. One night of bad sleep before a race is okay, provided you are sleeping well otherwise. At least that's what I got from reading: https://www.amazon.com/Good-Go-Athlete-Strange-Recovery/dp/039325433X.

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Zzzquil might be fine with your system, but have you taken it before a long run or key workout in the morning? Was your performance changed at all? Were you as strong mentally?

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I'm only bringing it up since I know that I feel relaxed and happy after taking Nyquil, but my body is just not ready for a big effort. I know this is only anecdotal, and there are different active ingredients, but I'm just bringing it up in case you hadn't considered this angle.

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I hope you kill it either way!

Sounds like you've got some free time, so I would recommend seeing a sports physical therapist, hopefully one with a background in running. I'd also recommend this book which has many drills for improving form and correcting for inbalalances https://www.amazon.com/Running-Rewired-Reinvent-Stability-Strength/dp/1937715752

Ha thanks I think I'll be alright. I'm planning to do some swimming, yoga, and biking starting tomorrow plus walking the dogs. So I won't be totally sedentary.

His new one is actually The Endurance Diet So it takes the base of RW and does a little spin on it by looking at the diets of elite athletes. If nothing else its a fun read to see what the pros are doing but I also think he did a much better job this time around of trying to emphasize the difference between eating for hunger and eating for pleasure and trying to get you to distinguish the difference.

Former 400: 52, 800: 156, 1609: 427 runner here.

I'm guessing your season starts in about March so I wouldn't make any big changes. Running miles in the morning can be useful if you're prepared for it. I'd be interested in what your mileage is before recommending doing morning runs.

Calisthenics is a great idea, getting more speed is always a plus. Coach jay johnson is great for strength training for running. http://coachjayjohnson.com/

I'd make the calisthenics apart of your weight lifting routine. Also be careful with the weight lifting if you are inexperienced. Lifts that are good for the 800 are important to do properly. Squats, cleans etc. I'd stick to box jumps, weighted step ups, calf raises, air squats, lunges (weighted or not weighted), push ups/pull ups.

Sleep, i'm sure you've heard it but this is pivotal.

Stretching is another one that can get overlooked.

I wouldn't do anything to crazy 2 months out. But after your season is over I'd take a look at some different training books. Jack Daniels book or peter coe's book and take some advice from those.

https://www.amazon.com/Winning-Running-Successful-Racing-Training/dp/1852239972
https://www.amazon.com/Daniels-Running-Formula-3rd-Jack-ebook/dp/B00F0X7U2S/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1485570976&sr=1-1&keywords=daniels+running+formula

If you’re a fan of sweat elite, I could also recommend you look to the NOP (I know, unpopular opinion) training logs, it’s quite the opposite. Their sample week is something like . Additionally, training for a marathon, and training more specifically for 10-mi and down are two different things.

Also, the easy pace isn’t an indicator of race performance, obviously. It’s an indicator of ability to handle work volume (see Daniels , Hansons , Heinonen & Heinonen , Fixx , and especially Noakes ), which actually supports your statement about the intersection between speed and endurance (threshold runs, tempo-oriented intervals, etc - is at least what I’m assuming you’re talking about).

Furthermore, as I stated in an above comment, this is casual pace. I could tape a one-person podcast at these paces. Granted, because I’m running the audio quality wouldn’t be that great; but these paces feel like a trot. I’m painfully bored, and barely exerting. I’m never above an 11RPE on the 6-20 scale.

Thank you for the notes and article recommendation, though.

EDIT: All About Road Racing link addition.

I listened to it on tape during my long runs, highly recommended. The author is a former elite runner and talks about his own breakthrough race in a helpful way:

https://www.amazon.com/Endure-Curiously-Elastic-Limits-Performance/dp/0062499866

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Have fun with your training and racing!

I've worn them for several major marathons. Sometimes interference at the start but as long as the music is stored on your phone/ipod, there shouldn't be any problem. I bought small "wings" on Amazon that they fit into so they don't fall out of my ears during the race.
https://www.amazon.com/EarBuddyz-Accessories-AirPods-Headphones-Earphones/dp/B019BREFE4

(edit: posted link)

Born to Run. Highly recommend it if you're looking for some motivation and to open your mind to the many different perspectives of running.

If you like non-fiction:

Periodic Tales - Hugh Aldersey-Williams


Dark Money - Jane Mayer


Between the World and Me - Ta-Nehisi Coates

Yep, I'm supes liberal. Sorry.

I'm half way through

Running Through the Wall: Personal Encounters with the Ultramarathon

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And really enjoying it.

there are dozens of books on this subject - at the moment i'm reading Endure by Alex Hutchinson (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Endure-Curiously-Elastic-Limits-Performance/dp/0062499866).

One of the questions posed is why are we able to a) sprint for a finish line despite not being able to run any faster a minute earlier, and b) why are we able to easily run around a few seconds after we supposedly 'emptied the tank'? (exactly like your scenario).

As far as can tell, the answer is 'we're still working on that one...'

This is a book I own which is basically exactly what you describe. I recommend it to all runners.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0312695977

I'm assuming you're using in-ear or ear-bud type headphones. I used to use those, but had the same problem with shorting out one ear, and then the next. If you switch to over the ear headphones like these, you should be ok.

they make race belts for this purpose: https://www.amazon.com/VeloChampion-Marathon-Triathlon-Running-Number/dp/B00AQ0TEL0

Maybe too late, but I have been in that situations and that's why I got one of those bib "belts". It's not a running belt, there's no storage or anything, it's just a thin strap to attach your bib on, and if your T-shirt goes byebye you're still fine.

In the early 1900's two friends decided to see if they could get away with murder. So they drove around the neighborhood trying to find someone to kill. They happened upon one of their cousins and then killed him.

One of the kid's glasses fell at the crime scene and they were caught. Higdon wrote a book about it:

https://www.amazon.com/Leopold-Loeb-Century-Hal-Higdon/dp/0252068297