In the Reading: Running A to Z- An Encyclopedia for the Thoughtful Runner

One of my favorite running related activities is hitting up local used book stores to find musty, yellow paged gems of the mid century running boom. The Fixxs, Bowermans, et al. are often hard to find but others such as Joe Henderson's writings from a few years past the apex of the "boom" offer us a refreshing glimpse into the era prior to Map My Run, Polar HRM, iTunes and hashtags.

I am also always reading current writing related to exercise physiology and psychology. But that reading is less of a hobby and more of the work required to be a successful coach staying competitive in the information age where no one seems to sleep (don't get me started on what research says about need for sleep!). I love Matt Fitzgerald, Steve Magness and Greg McMillan and what they offer the inquiring coach of today. I have a book by each of them on my desk waiting for the weekends of summer where college coaches park the bus and hit the refresh button. 

There is simply no reason for a coach not to have logical, educated views on training runners. Later on I plan to address my thoughts on training but today I wanted to set the stage for future posts on my reading. 

Writing on running and training from the early 1980's will often come into conflict with much of what we think of today as common knowledge about those topics. Yet we are not any less subject to the trends and whims of the latest marketing. We laugh at swishy, pastel, nylon jogging suits or bulky transistor radio headsets or racing in something very akin to Chuck Taylors with a spike plate.

Yet our running clothing is no less unfashionable and our gadgets, while smaller in size have only made more room to lug additional baggage with us each time out the door. With the minimalist running boon of the last five years giving way to the Hoka One-One I am reminded of the Onitsuka Tigers that gave way to the first New Balance and Brooks trainers of the 1980's.

If you can clear the clutter of possibly outdated training advise you can find wisdom in the pages of these texts. My quote from today connects back to my recent posts on the need to simplify training from time to time. If it was true in 1982 during the era of Running Magazine, I think it rings even more true in today's noisy, busy, non-stop twittering world.

"The run can still be quiet. but you have to try harder now to keep it that way. Set aside one hour in 24 that is yours alone. Guard it jealously against all intruders, human or electronic. In all your other waking hours, your head is being cluttered with the information, opinions and demands of others. Keep this one hour as your time to remove that clutter instead of piling up more"

- Joe Henderson, Running A to Z: An Encyclopedia for the Thoughtful Runner (Stephen Green Press, 1983) 

Have a great run today and let me know your thoughts thanks for reading!

Wrapping up Thoughts on Healthy Running and Racing Context

Today's post connects back to my previous two entries about the healthy context I believe is necessary for us to feel successful in racing. It is absolutely necessary to follow planned and organized training schedules for runners to reach their goals. If I did not believe that I would not be in this profession and certainly not publishing my thoughts to a web address with "Coach" in the URL.

Yet the need to remain connected to the fundamental reason we chose to engage in running must never be lost. The freedom in movement, the simplicity in task, the escape from our daily grind in an allegorical act of taking control. In pursuit of worthwhile goals and results in sport there is an inescapable demand for monotonous rigor carried out over time to harden the athlete. Hours of batting practice or the golf driving range are, in those aspects, not that different than runs on my favorite four miles and change.

However, there is danger present when the reasons my favorite route is preferred over others becomes the tree lost in the proverbial woods. At that point it is only a matter of time before motivation fails, goals become inconsequential and I might surmise that no training plans will rescue the athlete.

Every run is not fun. Monotony will steal joy. Athletes will have to drag themselves reluctantly toward the next workout. Coaches will need creativity and confidence to inspire athletes on the days dulled by the "trial of miles". But over the last few months I have become more convinced than ever that sometimes we must leave room for the freedom of simplicity in our training.

The great part about my favorite route is that it became so over time spent running there over almost two decades. I know the distances by heart within less than a tenth of a mile. I know the hills and flats and holes in the pavement. Because of the past work relationship I have with my beloved "Hennepin Loop" there is trust that I just need to cover the route in one of its various iterations. The other variables are not always required reading every time out on the path.

As a coach taking the watch off for an RPE based workout is great for athletes training for cross country where times are often irrelevant to team scores. But sometimes it also opens the window for us to look back and remember why we chose to run in the first place. Every time my fitness has been good enough to achieve fast times at my ability level there have been complicated, well planned, physically and mentally taxing workouts on the schedule. But there were also days where I could trust my natural self-selected recovery or easy pace over a route that was close enough to the distance I needed to cover. 

In those days I can tell if the training is too much. In those days I can see the forest tree by tree. Enough of those days allow me to pin on a bib number with enough mental, physical and emotional energy available to confidently unleash my best effort and embrace the spirit of competition that drew me to running in the first place.