Imagine training with the best distance runners and running coaches of our time, learning their favorite and most effective workouts, and discovering their hard-earned secrets to success. With Running Tough you'll find yourself running side by side with such world-class runners as Bill Rodgers, Libbie Hickman, Frank Shorter, Arthur Lydiard, Ron Clarke, Emil Zatopek, and Adam Goucher, tasting their unwavering dedication and determination, and viewing firsthand their training runs.
Written by prolific running journalist Michael Sandrock, Running Tough organizes the workouts by training goals to create a user-friendly handbook. This allows you to develop a customized training plan using the most appropriate workouts for training and racing. You'll find chapters dedicated to
- long runs, to help develop aerobic endurance
- off-road training, to build and strengthen the legs;
- fartlek training or the ""speedplay,"" to discover variety;
- interval workouts, to increase speed;
- hill workouts, to build strength and stamina;
- tempo runs, to push anaerobic thresholds;
- recovery fun runs, to heal muscles while emphasizing the enjoyment of the sport; and
- building a program, to prepare for competition.
With Running Tough, you'll have the tools to create enhanced training programs, discover new plateaus in your workout regimes, and meet the challenges of world-class competition. You'll find that whether you're looking for increased strength and endurance, improved aerobic or anaerobic capacity, or just a competitive edge, Running Tough will help you train with more efficiency, more enthusiasm, and more variety.