Customer Reviews

Distance Training for Masters

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book brings out points that older runners maybe weren't aware of or had forgotten. For instance the emphasis on the high knee kick was something I did naturally when in my 20s but after taking 15 years off from running, my body just doesn't do it naturally. I've begun to really notice my form in training. The emphasis on quality running vs. high quantity for older runners is sitting very well with me. I can't do high miles per week anymore but I make sure there's lots of quality. Exercising the posterior muscles to enhance form is something I never thought of. I think we all get in the habit of developing arms and chest for our egos and forget about the back. The book is definitely a jumpstart in attitude. I just wish they used a younger looking runner to demonstrate the exercises. I feel old looking at the book's cover and knowing its geared toward me, a 44 year old. The guy on the cover must be in his 60s.

This book doesn't go into detail about why you should do each of the exercises shown in the schedule, but I recommend this book anyway because the schedule for masters would be a useful guide. This is basically why I got this book.

I have read a previous book of his from '79 called Run the Lydiard Way, which gave the purpose of each of his exercises. Unfortunately this appears to be out of print, and I don't know if any other of his existing books provide the details.

For example, you do hill springing for ankle flexibily and knee lift, repetitions (time, distance, and quantity don't matter, as long as you feel tired at the end) for anaerobic capacity, leg speed and sprint training for speed and technique, 100 and 50m windsprints for sharpening and maintaining anaerobic capacity, and time trials for getting the body conditioned to running your race distance.

Some say his training concepts are outdated, but the fact is that all middle and long distance training are based on them. I have tried other schedules and have found his schedules to be the most effective for me. Some have said his 100 miles per week recommendation is outdated, but I have found his schedules will still work for you regardless of what mileage you decide to do.

Btw, fyi the 'old' man on the cover that another reviewer lammented over is an Olympic Bronze medalist (Barry Magee) in the '60 Rome Olympics, trained by Lydiard to be the fastest white man over the distance at that time.

I was very disappointed in this book. It is not geared at all toward the older runner except in the photos and in the title. Arthur Lydiard still thinks that the older runner needs to work up to a weekly mileage of 160km (100mi) a week to insure he or she is running fit. For the older runner and for that matter for most runners this is excessive. His schedules also advocate running every day. This also contradicts much of the advice given by other experts who advise at least one day of rest per week, especially for the older runner. I was also very disappointed in the photos. The photos depict an older runner doing various running drills. However, these drills are not described at all in the text. As a matter of fact it seems that for the most part the photos bear little relation to the text they are embedded in.

My bottom line recommendation is to forget this book. There are much better books on the market for the Master runner that provide a lot more useful information.

I give this book 5 stars because although the book is roughly 10 years old, it still is practical, current and the training still has merit. The book, perhaps like Lydiard, is direct and is barely 100 pages. But what makes it so current even today are his discussions of topics such as over engineered shoes that weaken the feet and can actually contribute to injury and this is written almost a decade before the now classic 'Born to Run'. In addition, he describes the need to 'run tall', landing lightly on the feet with low hands relaxing the upper body that allows the runner a slight tilt, which in many ways is very similar to POSe without concern for cadence. Of course a lot of the basis of the book is the need for base training, providing a foundation for racing. The confusion years ago with Lydiard supposedly endorsing long slow distance running is a myth as although
he advocated easy days for recovery days, a lot of long runs required a significant effort, they were not slow at least not for the non-comptetive runner. The other positive I like about Lydiard's methods is the break from routine training advocating fartlex, a free play style of running and not getting addicted to intervals on the track worrying too much about numbers. He was more concerned with the quality effort over numbers. There is a lesson in all this in keeping runners engaged by variety in training. Lydiard and Gilmour advocate that speed training can be added for peak performance at the late stages to allow for peaking but that also doing so after a decent base limits injury. The book includes a lot of basics covering injuries, rehabilitation, vitamins, running shoes etc. A nice range of subjects although they may appear basic for the well read runner. I had no problem with the pictures as I am somewhat familiar with the drills and I am actually utilizing some of the drills. They are important particularly for masters runners as we all lose flexibility as we get older and these drills help the synapses maintain that ability. As to the concern about the mileage, Lydiard is most likely addressing the competitive masters runners that can endure high mileage. In all books that provide training guides, you have to modify them in accordance with your own fitness, physical tolerance, proneness to injury and of course your goals. For me, an over 50 runner, I run 30-35 miles a week and do a modified mix of these workouts that include hills for my overall fitness and to compete at the local age group race level. To get a more detailed step up further on Lydiard's training style, consider the book "Healthy Intelligent Training' by Livingston, a Lydiard disciple.