Road Racing for Serious Runners

Pfitzinger's book finally delivers on what I always want from a book on a complex subject, simple explanations and simple solutions. Why write 800 pages when 188 will suffice. If you are only looking to train for 5K's then you can skip the section on 10K and marathon training and get even more concise explanations. 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. Pete indirectly points out how most of us are doing no lactate threshold training (by running most of our daily runs to slow) and doing all of our interval work to fast. I recommend this book to anyone looking to improve his or her racing times. I would also suggest buying "Daniels Running Formula". I bought it last summer and my 5K's times went down from 19:40 to 18:50. I bought "Road Racing for Serious Runners" to basically get a second opinion on Daniel's theories. Actually these are not opinions or theories. These are time-tested methods back by sound science. I'm 43 years old and I'm living proof that random training will yield random results. Both Pfitzinger and Jack Daniels book will eliminate the "lets try this" approach to training. Both books cover the same topics and both authors come up with the basically the same training program. Daniels book breaks his schedule into 4 six-week phases while Pfitzinger has a 10-week and an 11 phase. When you look at both plans it becomes obvious and almost laughable on how easy it is to improve on your racing times (and in my case actually cut back on the training intensity).I would buy both books so you can really feel good about your new training methods. Pete's book is simpler and has separate schedules for some of us low 20-40 mile per week folks. Daniels book has slightly more science and covers more topics. Daniels also has been around longer and has trained more athletes. There are only a few contradictions in Pete's book. He states on page 21 that your volume of Vo2 max workouts (your hard intervals) should be 1 workout per week with a total distance covered of 4 to 8K with the possibility of adding a second lower volume session each week. This corresponds with Daniels book where he has 2 Vo2 max sessions each week (or 1 Vo2 Max and a race). But when you get to the detailed 5K schedules for the 20-40 miles per week you only see 6 Vo2 max workouts scheduled in 21 weeks, despite them being listed as the number one priority. Also only 5 threshold workouts are scheduled in the last 11 weeks for the 20-40 mile schedule. I guess Pete is no dummy. He knows that Bill Rodgers may not use his book and that it will be geared towards people like me. He knows that I'm going to sneak in a combination of ten 5K and 8K races this fall before I attempt to peak in early December. The Daniels book just encourag

Along with Jack Daniel's Running Formula, this book is the best of its kind. It shows you the right way to train and tells you how to do it. This book is great for a beginner as well as an advanced runner. the training programs are easy to understand and they work, whether you race a 5K or marathon. It explains the right pace to use for each workout, whether it be an easy day or speed session. If you want better race times, read this book and train the right way. Use this book as your running bible.

There are several good books available now that explain "state of the art" training for distance runners. Most of those books deal with concepts like VO2 max and lactate threshold and show the reader how to make use of those concepts in his or her training. This is the best book I've seen of that type. The concepts are explained clearly, and the author shows how to train effectively and efficiently using these and other key concepts. I felt like I understood a lot more about training when I finished the book, and rereading some sections has deepened my understanding. I especially like the fact that training schedules are easy to understand, reasonably flexible, and that schedules are provided for runners at different levels and for different distances, e.g. runners who do around 20 miles a week and want to train for a 5K. I remember watching the author win the 1984 Olympic marathon trials against many runners who arguably had more talent, and that credibility should give the reader confidence that good results will come if the schedules and principless are applied.

This book is an excellent training manual. It focuses on specific training for specific events (from 5 Km to the marathon) and gives you remarkably predicatable results regardless of your level. I tried a couple of the programs because I was skeptical. The results that they promised were too good to be true given the little amount of training needed. I succeeded every time. I am amazed at how little is required to achieve a goal if you focus on the correct principles at the correct times. The book also gives a detailed background on the training methods and scientific principles involved so you are not just following a training 'recipe' without understanding it. I have been running for many years and didn't think I could run faster. This book has shown me how to do it and also, how to do it with far less effort! This is by far the best running/training manual that I have read.

This is an excellent book. Pfitzinger not only tells you how to train, but explains why in clear, understandable language. His schedules are perfect for runners who need flexibility since he sets out what needs to be done each week & prioritizes them so you can fit them into YOUR work schedule, not the other way around. After using 2 cycles of the training program, I can attest that they bring results. The best training resource I've read in 25 years of running! Bravo!