23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book for competitive runners, December 8, 2002
This review is from: Alberto Salazar's Guide to Road Racing : Championship Advice for Faster Times from 5K to Marathons (Paperback)
The audience for this book is those who have been running for six months or more, who have possibly completed a road race, and who now want to improve their racing times. The book's aim is to teach correct principles of training for faster times and to help runners apply those principles to a training program. The book succeeds well in its goal.
I particularly like the explanation of the four types of training (base, VO2max, running efficiency, and tempo) and the four types of speed work (long intervals, medium intervals, short intervals, and tempo runs). Salazar and Lovett clearly explain the purpose and methods for these runs, and how to incorporate them into an overall training program.
The material is, for the most part, scientifically correct and thorough. The book is authoritative, due Salazar's experience as a competitive runner and coach, and well written, due to Lovett's experience as a recreational runner and freelance writer. In fact, the book approaches training from two points of view: the elite competitive runner's (Salazar's) and the serious competitive recreational runner (Lovett's).
I especially like Salazar and Lovett's coverage of stretching, strength training, and injury prevention. As a marathoner, I would have like a stronger emphasis on that racing distance. If your focus is marathoning, I recommend "Advanced Marathoning" by Pfitzinger and Douglas.
The weaknesses of the book are few and minor. Some readers might want more example training charts. Some scientifically minded readers might want more cited research. In one case, the authors err in suggesting the method of glycogen depletion to proceed carbohydrate loading (the depletion phase is dangerous and ineffective), but that's about the only serious mistake I found in the book.
How does Salazar's book compare to others? Salazar's book has the same audience and purpose as Pfitzinger and Douglas's "Road Racing for Serious Runners," and Glover's "The Competitive Runner's Handbook." My favorite of the three is Glover's book, because of its complete and authoritative information, numerous helpful tables, predesigned and customizable training charts, and coverage of heart-rate monitors, injuries, cross training, and many other specialized topics. I would rank Salazar's book at the same level of quality and coverage as Pfitzinger and Douglas's book; both are excellent.
In summery, Albert Salazar's Guide to Road Racing is an excellent training guide for serious runners. If you want to improve your racing time, you'll love this book.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great resource book for all road runners: beginners & elite, February 5, 2004
This review is from: Alberto Salazar's Guide to Road Racing : Championship Advice for Faster Times from 5K to Marathons (Paperback)
Since Alberto Salazar was a former world-class runner
himself, before retiring from competitive running, this
book is definitely worth checking out. It also helped that
elite runners like Bill Rodgers and Mary Decker Slaney also
had positive comments regarding this book.
This book is useful because it takes you from preparing
race, the race itself, and the post-race routines. It also
discusses injuries, and how to deal with them, and other
associated topics, like the psychological aspect of running,
and basics like weight training, crosstraining and nutrition.
If you're a beginner or even a veteran runner, you will
find useful advice, because there was a few things I picked
up in this book that I don't recall seeing in other running
books, and viceversa. If I had a complaint, is that it only
had a sample training schedule for someone training for their
first marathon, not including his own elite schedule when he
was running 120 miles or more weekly. This schedule was not
of any use to me, because my weekly training mileage already
exceeds the highest weekly mileage suggested in the book.
However, despite this, it is well worth the investment,
if you plan to enter a road race at some point in the future.
The topics are logically organized in a chronological fashion
that makes the book easy and simple to read. FYI, if you want
a sneak peek, here's a look at the Table of Contents, and you
can decide if this book is for you or you can take a pass and
look for another book that will fit your goals more suitably.
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction From the 100 Yard Dash to 1
the Ultramarathon
Part 1. Preparing To Race
1. On The Road To Racing 9
Why Race*Coaching What Nature Gave You*
Before You Start*Stages of Life*Medical Issues
2. Basic Principles of Running Faster 23
Muscle, Power, Fuel and Oxygen*Base Training*Speed
Training*Lab Tests and Training Theory*Callusing
The Mind*Rest*Building a Workout Schedule
3. Base Training
Hard-Easy Pattern*LSD Pacing*Warm-Up and Cooldown* 38
Hydration*Maintaining Consitency*Overtraining
4. Running Form
Upper-Body Form*Leg Motion*One Ideal Form 50
5. Speed Training 61
Eyeing The Prize*The Variety of Speed Workouts*
Picking Your Benchmark Pace*How To Run A Speed
Workout*Customizing Your Speed Workout*Training for
the Distances*Other Workouts*Putting It All Together
Part 2. Oiling The Machine
6. Stretching 85
Stretching Basics*Ten-Minute Stretching
7. Weight Training and Cross-Training 95
Lower-Body Exercises (Core Program)*Upper-Body
Exercises (Core-Program)*Pylometrics*Cross-
Training
8. Nutrition and Weight Control 112
Nutrition Basics*Fueling The Serious Athlete*
The Right Weight For You*Body Composition:
Measuring The Fat
9. Aches and Pains 126
Basics of Field Repairs*Common Hurts*Excess
Pronation and its Control*Coming Back After an
Injury Layoff*DMSO*Lesser Ailments*Other Maladies
10. The Runner's Mind 157
Paying The Price*Building The Confidence*Letting Go*
Relaxation*The Mental Race: Fighting Fatigue*Long-
Term Motivation
Part 3. The Race
11. Getting Ready 171
Choosing Your Race*Planning Your Race*Tapering*
Registration and Packet Pickup*The Night Before The
Race
12. Race Day 179
Rise and Shine*Warming Up*The Start
13. After The Gun 190
Split Times*Race Strategy 101*The Dictates of Nature*
Fine-Tuning Your Pace*Hydration*Gels
14. The Finish and Beyond 207
The Final Mile*At The Finish Line*Recovery*Setting
Your Next Goal
Part 4. The Marathon--And More
15. The Marathon 219
Marathon Training*The Big Day*The Recovery
16. Masters Running 240
Masters Physiology: Bad News/Good News*Masters
Training*Age-Graded Performance Standards
17. Advanced Challenges 255
Race Strategy 102: Racing People Rather Than The
Clock*Cross-Country and Trail Running*Relay Races*
Alternative-Format Races*Mega-Races*Triathlons*
Ultramarathons
Appendix: Pace Chart of Common 273
Workout and Racing Distances
Index 279
All in all, this book is fairly easy and fast to read. You
could probably finish the book in 4-5 hours, since there
are diagrams, charts, and other detailed information. It's
nearly 300 pages, but a person could probably polish it
off in a weekend or less if they devote a couple of hours
or so each day.
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