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Runner's World Run Less, Run Faster: Become a Faster, Stronger Runner with the Revolutionary FIRST Training Program (Runners World)
written by Bill Pierce, Scott Murr, Ray Moss
Studio : Rodale Books
by Rodale Books
Release Date : 2007-05-15
Publisher : Rodale Books
Released : 2007-05-15
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 1
EAN : 9781594866494
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 29 reviews)
List Price : $16.95
Our Price : $9.45
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Product Description |
Finally, runners at all levels can improve their race times while training less, with the revolutionary Furman Institute of Running and Scientific Training (FIRST) program.
Hailed by the Wall Street Journal and featured twice in six months in cover stories in Runner’s World magazine, FIRST’s unique training philosophy makes running easier and more accessible, limits overtraining and burnout, and substantially cuts the risk of injury, while producing faster race times.
The key feature is the "3 plus 2" program, which each week consists of:
-3 quality runs, including track repeats, the tempo run, and the long run, which are designed to work together to improve endurance, lactate-threshold running pace, and leg speed
-2 aerobic cross-training workouts, such as swimming, rowing, or pedaling a stationary bike, which are designed to improve endurance while helping to avoid burnout
With detailed training plans for 5K, 10K, half marathon, and marathon, plus tips for goal-setting, rest, recovery, injury rehab and prevention, strength training, and nutrition, this program will change the way runners think about and train for competitive races.
Amby Burfoot, Runner’s World executive editor and Boston Marathon winner, calls the FIRST training program "the most detailed, well-organized, and scientific training program for runners that I have ever seen." |
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FIRST worked for me and the book is great information |
I'll start by saying most of the information in this book is available online for free. You can read about the theory and the success stories at various running websites and figure out the custom paces you will need to execute the plan on your own. I did exactly this and ran a successful marathon (3:45). I decided I wanted to ramp up the training for my next marathon and dropping the minimal ($10) on the book, helped. It reinforces the theory and gives you all the details and success stories to make you feel ready for the big day. The pace charts, tips and personal stories are all worth going back to, which makes this a book worth having.
Running three days a week is all a lot of people can squeeze in. This program truly minimizes burnout and leaves you recovered for each run. Each run is specific and relatively HARD compared to other training plans, but - as the book explains - each run has a purpose. This helps you mentally as you set out on each run. You know it's an important part of the program, not "just mileage". Don't get me wrong, I'm 3 weeks out from the NYC Marathon and I am VERY ready to be done, but I think it would be much worse if I had 4+ runs a week. That wouldn't work for my lifestyle.
SUMMARY: The program works and provides great training programs (You need to be strict with the cross-training). The book is a good reference tool to have handy to build your program and refer back to for information and motivation. |
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GREAT ! |
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great book for beginners to advanced runners. It will let you go from short distance to long in a short period of time, but remember no magical formula without discipline ! |
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EXCELLENT book on how to train for 10K to Marathon distance. Really Works! |
If you only buy one book on how to train, this is the one. I tell all my running friends that are looking to go longer distances or get their running to the next level that they need to buy this book and ChiRunning. This one to figure out how fast to run and how to train. ChiRunning to figure out how to run pain free and use gravity to run faster.
Buy this book. It has everything you need to figure out how fast you should be running in order to maximize your potential. It makes so much sense and it really works! |
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good advice, loosely packaged |
The book describes a new approach to train long-distance running.
The key idea is to cut down to three days of intense running per week augmented by two days of cross training.
The authors provide complete instruction to execute their training approach along with scientific evidence that their approach actually works.
The approach sounds appealing as it can save busy people interested in running a lot of valuable time. The evidence presented sounds solid but I was not yet able to complete 16 weeks worth of training since buying the book.
The downside of the book is that it is a compilation of a series of articles that previously appeared in a magazine. Hence, it is full of repetitions and contains lots of testimonials from people that tried this approach. These testimonials are initially fun to read, but then they get boring.
Summary: the approach sounds cool and worth trying out (I will), but the book could be improved by compressing the essential information in about 40 pages and putting the rest on a website. |
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Beware Slower Runners! |
A month ago I finished training for a marathon using the FIRST program from the internet (the one with a goal "to finish"). While I didn't finish in my desired pace (5:30), I did feel great while training and was ready to start training again sooner than I ever have been before (1 previous marathon, 10 half marathons). Now I'd like to train for a 2:30 half marathon, and I bought this book hoping it would illuminate the paces (such as ST, MT, and LT - short, mid and long tempo) that are not spelled out in the online half marathon training program.
Instead, I found the slowest marathon time included in the pace tables is 4:51:56 (2:19:03 half). And formulas to derive the paces are not included. The rest of the book has some explanation of why the key runs are set up the way they are (which I read on Runner's World), and TONS of success story letters (which I could have done without).
While I highly recommend the FIRST training program, just get the information from Runner's World or off the FIRST website, set your tempo paces at 5K pace - 15s (ST), -30s (MT), and -45s (LT), and save yourself the cost of the book.
Note: On second thought, I wish I had only given one star, but it doesn't look possible to change it. |
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