Heads-up to two outstanding articles for runners

October 22, 8:38 AMSan Jose Running Fitness ExaminerGeorge Beinhorn

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Here’s a heads-up to a couple of exceptionally fine articles.

First is 1992 Olympic marathon bronze medalist Lorraine Moller’s piece, “Essential Lydiard: Principles, Not Formulas, Are the Keys to Successful Training,” which appears in the November 2009 issue of Running Times magazine. (Photo: Arthur Lydiard, courtesy of the Lydiard Foundation)

Particularly relevant to this Examiner column (on the role of the heart in training) is Moller/Lydiard’s principle #2, “Feeling-Based Training: Tune In To Your Inner Coach.” A brief excerpt:

One of the benefits of the buildup phase is that these longer aerobic runs allow you to safely build a rapport with your body. This is a greatly underrated aspect of training, probably because feelings have generally not been a part of any serious exercise discussion. But being able to precisely gauge one’s effort over time is an ability that is the hallmark of all great athletes. They can run the razor’s edge, knowing how to pitch their effort and energy to extract the best from their bodies on any given day. 

If you never read another word about Lydiard, you owe it to yourself to read this article, because Lydiard plumbed the essential truths of training. And Moller does a wonderful job of compressing it all into just two pages.

The next article, “Is Running Barefoot Better for You?” appeared in this morning’s edition of Gretchen Reynolds’s superb New York Times “Phys Ed” blog.

The running press and online forums are awash in hooplah over barefoot running. It all started with the book Born to Run, which makes an appealing case for a simpler approach - physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually – to running. It’s a lovely idea, but, well, the credibility of ideas diminishes in proportion to the giddiness they evoke in the media. Reynolds’s well-researched article brings a welcome maturity to the subject. Recommended.

For More Information: To see 90+ articles on feeling-based training for runners, visit the author's Fitness Intuition website.