eBook ideas

[Tinman]

A friend of mine, who is a director and coach of a Division I track & field and cross-country program, recently inspired me to write eBooks on topics of interest to runners and coaches. I'm interested in knowing what community members of this forum want to read. Please feel free to share your ideas in this thread. (I want to cover topics that are important and interesting to you. ) 

Thank you!

[BoilerTom90]

Tom,

This would be super!  We've talked about many things, mostly in private emails, but I'll jot down some of the things that I think would be interesting

- Talk about the philosophy of CV reps and constrast it with the more traditional faster-paced interval training. And, perhaps touch on when it is appropriate to do the fast paced training.

- Talk about the benefits and uses of different speeds/distances for tempo runs (tempo, threshold, TT, MP, etc).

- Talk about recovery time after races and hard workouts (I know this was covered in a RT artile, but it might be worth repeating).

- Identifying the type of runner you are (fast/slow twitch), and how you might train different because of it.

- Different peaking strategies (based on the type of runner).

- Racing strategies (even pace != even effort)

- Strength training exercises for runners. I know most runners don't want to spend horus in the gym. Many just want a few key exercises to do that helps them and keeps them injury free.

- Pros/cons of longer warm ups and cool downs before workouts/races

- What is a proper race warmup depending on the length of race.

Looking forward to those eBooks!!

Tom

[Tinman]

Thanks Tom!

Any other suggestions?

I am looking for one main topic on which to focus the book. Example: 5k workouts, or marathon workouts, or CV training, or hill training, or Vo2 max training, or ....

Thoughts anyone?

[FTIR]

How many words/chapters are you looking to write?

I like the race strategies idea.

Or maybe something on how often you need to do each type of training to preserve it or to build it.

[rxb]

Training for 400m races.  You've said your sprinters used to kick butt; you could explain what was different about your method vs. your competitors' methods. 

[kresimir.karas@gmail.com]

Maybe, adaption of your trianing for trail races. There are many trail runners but not many good books

[runthe8]

I'd like to see something on how to adapt your ideas to a lower mileage approach that would be useful for training middle distance/distance runners like  A) old middle distance runners with arthritic knees that can't handle a lot of mileage (that would be me) and B) young kids who are new to the sport and need to build endurance and stamina bases but who get bored when given too much steady distance work.

[Barney]

Having two small children, I'd also like to hear something about when/how to introduce kids to running.  Other topics within this area:  running "games" to keep their interest, when to introduce speedwork, how much mileage, when to really push them.

I was at a crossroads several years ago when my daughter was 8 and running track.  As a parent/coach, I saw some, what I deemed, potential in her and wanted her to push and "hurt."  However, she wanted to run just under that threshold and finish races miling.  I ended up not pushing as much and allowed her to enjoy her track season the way that she wanted.  I figure that there is plenty of time for the other.  I certainly did not want to do anything to deter her from track.

Thanks     

[Tchuck]

Tom, just so that we are all clear. Are you writing one eBook or multiple books small books?  If one book, I think you need to appeal to the masses. Most runners do 5K-Marathon training so a focus there will get the most readers. How to optimize performance in these distances with a topic like, "How to run faster in a 5K, 10k etc. ? or marathon or all of them.........

[ap4305]

As Todd alluded to....there's "interesting"...and then there's "what's gonna sell?"...

I think there's room for a high school focused running guide. No book (to my knowledge) that takes readers through different real-life scenarios (two week vs three week postseason, how to deal with indoor track, kids coming from basketball/soccer, integrating studs who want to run in college and beyond with your masses, how to handle your slowtwitch guys and your 800m guys all at once without having to write 9 different schedules for your 57 runners, etc).  Everyone in HS running loves Daniels, which is a great starting point, but I think you can codify a lot of these "what do I do if....?" discussions that take place here.  Plus, it gives you the chance to teach through storytelling.     

[Tinman]

Good ideas, all!  Please keep them coming

Regarding Todd's question:

Because my family and clients are top priorities for me, the eBook will target one topic, such as 5k cross-country training for high school runners, or marathon workouts, or "VO2" max training, etc., which contrasts in style to the dozens of topics detailed in our Building Your Running Body book, which is scheduled to publish next spring.

[toughnessbucket]

Please include in the 5k high school training the difference between training boys and girls

[Tinman]

Would an book on Optimal Workouts for certain race distances be helpful?

I would focus on one distance per book. Let's say it was for the mile (1500m/1600m or full mile, which is 1609.344m); I would cover all the various types of key workouts. That's a long list, by the way: (1) Long Runs, (2) Tempo workouts, and (3) Threshold and CV workouts for Milers; also (4) hill workouts, (5) VO2 max and Race-Pace Workouts, and (6) Over-speed workouts; tactical/race-strategy workouts I provided many examples in the upcoming book (Build Your Running Body), but I was limited on the specificity of the workouts. I was writing for a wide range of abilities. For my book, I'll use highly technical formulas for generating pinpoint workouts for varying performance levels. For example, rather than right something like 8-10 x 400m at 1-mile pace with a 400m jog recovery, I might say 9 x 400m in 74.6 seconds with 1:49 of active recovery between reps (active recovery would be specifically defined, too, for the reader/runner/coach). Rather than say a 20-25 minute tempo run, I might say 23 minutes of tempo running at 84% of VO2 max, which is 6:34 pace per mile. I'd be very specific about everything, which is how to really fine-tune your training. The goal is to take the guess work out of training.

Besides defining what the types of training mean, I would describe their value, how to integrate them to a schedule, and when you know you need to go back to that type of workout (there are tell-tale signs that need to refurbish certain areas of your fitness profile).

When writing the book, I will get to the point. I won't add much fluff to it. I'll make it so that you can pick up the book, turn to a section - let's say CV training - and you can right away figure out the top 5 reasons why you are doing the training; you can see introductory CV workouts, intermediary CV workouts, and advanced CV workouts; you can see examples of CV workouts that are blended with other types of training, such as race-pace work for the mile or over-speed training.

Am I striking a cord with you guys? Is this making sense? Is there something you want to ask or add? I believe that with your help, I can make the book very useful, organized, and interesting / educational too.

Tinman

[Spider Man]

TM

Very interesting suggestion BUT I think there would be a danger in being too specific regards workouts. The danger being that coaches/runners might strive to hit the exact number of reps & splits, when these might not be appropriate for that given day ... you always say that (for CV pace etc.) that it's what you are capable of doing on that day given the conditions (heat/wind) & the level of tiredness/energy you bring to the session. In addition, from my experience, many runners set paces on what they think they are capable of ("goal" times) rather than what they can realistically achieve given their present level of fitness. ...

Remember that Lydiard regretted that his publishers included specific schedules in his books.

My feeling is that the signature characteristic of your method/practice is CV training ... that's what has influenced my coaching practice the most! ... You could focus on the value of CV as the cornerstone of a training programme, & then give examples of how it might be applied for different athletes with different goals (e.g. high school runners, marathoners (experienced & non-experienced), 5K runners etc.).

SM.

[Linus]

I think it makes a lot of sense and I like that you are very specific about everything Tinman.  Reading on this forum has given me the basic principle of your training method, but how to really fine tune the program is what I would like to learn now.

A topic on off trail running is on my wish list http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qya4hrSKYJk