From the official training program for the New York City Marathon to specific training programs for all levels of runners. Sections on how to prepare your own training schedules make this the definitive guide to training to compete as a runner.

    In this book, the 24-year history of this event is covered in detail, with all known runners and their results listed. Numerous photographs, charts, and maps are included. The runners have had some interesting experiences out there during the Barkley races. Some of those experiences have been humorous, some dramatic and harrowing. Many physical and psychological obstacles have been incorporated into the design of the event to test the limits of human endurance. The result is that most runners fail to finish the race. The stories in this book describe the epic struggles of the Barkley contestants, including some of the world's best endurance runners, against this extreme challenge. Tales From Out There will captivate the reader with true stories of both heartbreaking failures and awe-inspiring victories.

    At its core, Train Like a Mother will comprehensively cover how to train for a race, including training plans for four race distances (5K, 10K, half-marathon, and marathon) for both beginner and more experienced runners; the importance of recovery; pre- and post-race nutrition; strength training; injury prevention (and rehab); and everything busy women need to know to add racing to their multitasking schedules. It is all presented with the same wit, empathy, and tone the avid fans connect and identify with.The book is divided into 13.1 chapters--the distance of a half-marathon, the sweet spot for many mother runners--narrated by both Sarah and Dimity. Like the first book, Train Like a Mother chapters have plenty of sidebars, including Practical Motherly Advice (helpful information about training- and race-related advice), Take It from a Mother (advice and answers from the growing tribe of running moms), and Racy Talk (entertaining, race-related stories from the authors and other moms). The .1 sections are entertaining "commercial breaks" celebrating the sport of running and the added thrill of racing.

    This easy-to-use workout manual draws on the latest research in running physiology to target all the components that go into every stride—including muscles, connective tissue, cardiovascular fitness, energy production, the nervous system, hormones, and the brain. With the breakthrough whole-body training program in Build Your Running Body, runners will improve their times, run longer and more comfortably, and reduce injury.With more than 150 workouts—from weightlifting and cross-training to resistance exercises and plyometrics—fine-tuned to individual skill levels and performance goals, PLUS: • 393 photos that make it easy to follow every step of every workout • 10 training programs to help runners of all levels integrate the total-body plan into their daily routines • Interviews with leading runners, exercise scientists, and coaches—learn how elite runners train today • Race strategy for the crucial weeks leading up to the competition and through to the finish line • Exercises to prevent injury and rehabilitate common running ailments • Seasoned insight on barefoot running, the pros and cons of stretching, and other hot-button topics • Nutrition guidance on carbs, proteins, fats, and weight loss • More than 30 recipes to speed recovery and cement fitness gains • Beginners' guidelines every step of the way • Valuable tips on proper apparel, tracking your progress, and more!

    With elite cycling coach Chris Carmichael’s innovative, time-saving approach, busy cyclists will develop fitness, speed, and power in just 6 hours a week. Now powered by Strava, this updated third edition of The Time-Crunched Cyclist training program taps into the most popular cycling social network to help cyclists get fired up to crush their workouts, one segment at a time.Through his popular endurance coaching service, Carmichael noticed that many busy cyclists are unable to make performance gains using conventional training methods; they simply don’t have enough time to train. So CTS developed a new approach—the Time-Crunched Training Program—to help cyclists achieve competitive fitness and power without the impossible time demands of traditional training methods.The Time-Crunched Cyclist shows cyclists how to build fitness on a realistic schedule by tapping the power of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts. Cyclists learn the science behind this alternative approach to training before performing the CTS field tests to get a baseline reading of their fitness. Nine comprehensive training plans include effective time-crunched workouts, nutrition guidelines, and strength training to develop the speed and endurance for a wide variety of cycling races and events. The new Time-Crunched Training Plans cover: · New and Experienced plans for criteriums, road races, and cyclocross· New, Experienced, and Competitive plans for century rides and Gran Fondos· Gravel racing and ultraendurance mountain biking plans· Intermediate and Advanced plans for commutersThis new, third edition integrates Strava, the popular ride tracking and analysis program. Powered by Strava, the Time-Crunched program becomes interactive, social, highly motivating—and focuses riders on the training data that matters most. It also adds the Time-Crunched Diet, a sports nutrition approach designed to help riders optimize their power-to-weight ratio with new guidelines on eating behaviors and delicious recipes from chefs Michael Chiarello and Matt Accarrino. A new chapter on hydration and managing heat stress will show athletes simple ways to avoid overheating that lead to better performance. The Time-Crunched Cyclist can help you capture your best performance—all in the time you have right now.

    Hansons Marathon Method tosses out mega-long runs and high-mileage weekends--two old-fashioned running traditions that often injure and discourage runners. Runners using the Hansons method will gradually build up to the moderate-high mileage required for marathon success, spreading those miles more sensibly throughout the week. Running easy days mixed with precisely paced speed, strength, and tempo workouts, runners will steel their bodies and minds to run the hardest final miles of the marathon--and finish strong. In this new second edition, the Hansons program welcomes newer runners with a new Just Finish program featuring a simple schedule of easier running and lower mileage. The Just Finish program sets up first-time marathoners for an enjoyable marathon and a lifetime of strong, healthy running. Hansons Marathon Method will prepare you for your best marathon: Sensible weekly mileage based on science, not outdated traditions Effective Hansons speed, strength, and tempo workouts paced to achieve your goal Crucial nutrition and hydration guidelines to run strong for the whole race A smart and simple Just Finish program for new runners and marathon first-timers Detailed training schedules for experienced and advanced marathoners This revised second edition answers frequently asked questions, shows how to integrate flexibility and strength work into your training week, and shares the most effective recovery methods. Using the Hansons' innovative approach, you will mold real marathon muscles, train your body to avoid the wall, and finish strong. Hansons Marathon Method lays out the smartest marathon training program available from one of the most accomplished running groups in the world. Using their innovative approach, runners will mold real marathon muscles, train their body to never hit the wall, and prepare to run their fastest marathon."You might expect a training program devised by the Hanson brothers to be a little different than the usual rehashing of principles and schedules. Given the success of athletes from the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project, you wouldn't be surprised if it was effective, too." -- Runner's World

    When she decided to take up running in her thirties, she had grand hopes for a blissful runner’s high and immediate physical transformation. After eating three slices of toast with honey and spending ninety minutes on iTunes creating the perfect playlist, she hit the streets—and failed miserably. The stories of her first runs turn the common notion that we are all “born to run” on its head—and expose the truth about starting to run: it can be brutal.Running Like a Girl tells the story of how Alexandra gets beyond the brutal part, makes running a part of her life, and reaps the rewards: not just the obvious things, like weight loss, health, and glowing skin, but self-confidence and immeasurable daily pleasure, along with a new closeness to her father—a marathon runner—and her brother, with whom she ultimately runs her first marathon.But before that, she has to figure out the logistics of running: the intimidating questions from a young and arrogant sales assistant when she goes to buy her first running shoes, where to get decent bras for the larger bust, how not to freeze or get sunstroke, and what (and when) to eat before a run. She’s figured out what’s important (pockets) and what isn’t (appearance), and more.For any woman who has ever run, wanted to run, tried to run, or failed to run (even if just around the block), Heminsley’s funny, warm, and motivational personal journey from nonathlete extraordinaire to someone who has completed five marathons is inspiring, entertaining, prac­tical, and fun.

    Forget the ultralight, uncomfortable bikes, flashy jerseys, clunky shoes that clip onto tiny pedals, the grinding out of endless miles. Instead, ride like you did when you were a kid—just get on your bike and discover the pure joy of riding it.   A reformed racer who’s commuted by bike every day since 1980, whose writings and opinions appear in major bicycling and outdoor magazines, and whose company, Rivendell Bicycle Works, makes bikes for riders ready to opt out of a culture overrun by racing, Grant Petersen shares a lifetime of unexpected facts, controversial opinions, expert techniques, and his own maverick philosophy. In 87 short, two-to-three page chapters, it covers:Riding: Count Days, Not Miles; Corner Like Jackie Robinson; Steer with Your Hips, Shift with Your LegsSuiting Up: The Shoes Ruse; Ponchos—the Ultimate Unracer’s GarmentSafety: #1 Rule—Be Seen; Helmets Aren’t All They’re Cracked Up to BeHealth and Fitness: Why Riding Is Lousy All-Around Exercise; Saddles Don’t Cause Impotence; Drink When You’re Thirsty—Not Before Also includes chapters on Accessories, Upkeep, and Technicalities, and a final chapter titled “Velosophy” that includes the essential, memorable thought: Your Bike Is a Toy—Have Fun with It.

    Into this growing market comes a revised Beginning Runner's Handbook. Whereas most running books are directed at the more advanced runner, this tightly written, absolutely basic guide offers a proven program perfectly suited to the beginning runner seeking long-term fitness.New to this edition is an expanded training chapter including all-new material on running faster and farther; maintaining fitness while vacationing; building toward half and full marathons; running with the family, including running during pregnancy and after the baby arrives; coming back from injuries; and the latest on nutrition and running.

    New Functional Training for Sports, Second Edition produces the best results on the court, field, track, and mat, not just in the weight room.Michael Boyle, one of the world's leading sport performance coaches, presents the concepts, methods, exercises, and programs that maximize athletes' movements in competition. A series of functional assessments help in determining the design of a specific plan for each athlete. Self-reinforcing progressions in exercises for the lower body, core, upper body, and ultimately total body give athletes the balance, proprioception, stability, strength, and power they require for excelling in their sports. Sample programs assist in the customization process and ensure each aspect of preparation for physical performance.Boyle also draws on the latest research and his wealth of experience to offer programming advice and recommendations on foam rolling, stretching, and dynamic warm-ups.New Functional Training for Sports goes beyond traditional exercise descriptions and explanations, incorporating full-color, high-definition composites of foundational movements as well as online access to video demonstrations, commentary, and analysis of key exercises.New Functional Training for Sports is a refined and expanded version of Boyle's original work published more than a decade previously. This edition offers the most current functional training expertise to apply to your specific purposes.

    The very best stretches for shoulders, chest, arms, torso, back, hips, and legs are all here, and all in the stunning detail that only Frederic Delavier can provide.With over 550 full-color photos and illustrations, you'll go inside more than 130 exercises to see how muscles interact with surrounding joints and skeletal structures and learn how variations, progressions, and sequencing can affect muscle recruitment, the underlying structures, and ultimately the results."Delavier's Stretching Anatomy" includes 13 proven programs for increasing muscle tone, releasing tension and stress, and optimizing training and performance in 13 sports, including running, cycling, basketball, soccer, golf, and track and field.The former editor in chief of "PowerMag" in France, author and illustrator Frederic Delavier is a journalist for "Le Monde du" "Muscle" and a contributor to "Men's Health Germany "and several other strength publications. His previous publications, "Strength Training Anatomy "and "Women's Strength Training Anatomy, " have sold more than 2 million copies.

    In college, I ran against Kenyans, and wondered whether endurance genes might have traveled with them from East Africa. At the same time, I began to notice that a training group on my team could consist of five men who run next to one another, stride for stride, day after day, and nonetheless turn out five entirely different runners. How could this be?We all knew a star athlete in high school. The one who made it look so easy. He was the starting quarterback and shortstop; she was the all-state point guard and high-jumper. Naturals. Or were they?The debate is as old as physical competition. Are stars like Usain Bolt, Michael Phelps, and Serena Williams genetic freaks put on Earth to dominate their respective sports? Or are they simply normal people who overcame their biological limits through sheer force of will and obsessive training?The truth is far messier than a simple dichotomy between nature and nurture. In the decade since the sequencing of the human genome, researchers have slowly begun to uncover how the relationship between biological endowments and a competitor’s training environment affects athleticism. Sports scientists have gradually entered the era of modern genetic research.In this controversial and engaging exploration of athletic success, Sports Illustrated senior writer David Epstein tackles the great nature vs. nurture debate and traces how far science has come in solving this great riddle. He investigates the so-called 10,000-hour rule to uncover whether rigorous and consistent practice from a young age is the only route to athletic excellence.Along the way, Epstein dispels many of our perceptions about why top athletes excel. He shows why some skills that we assume are innate, like the bullet-fast reactions of a baseball or cricket batter, are not, and why other characteristics that we assume are entirely voluntary, like an athlete’s will to train, might in fact have important genetic components.This subject necessarily involves digging deep into sensitive topics like race and gender. Epstein explores controversial questions such as:Are black athletes genetically predetermined to dominate both sprinting and distance running, and are their abilities influenced by Africa’s geography?Are there genetic reasons to separate male and female athletes in competition?Should we test the genes of young children to determine if they are destined for stardom?Can genetic testing determine who is at risk of injury, brain damage, or even death on the field?Through on-the-ground reporting from below the equator and above the Arctic Circle, revealing conversations with leading scientists and Olympic champions, and interviews with athletes who have rare genetic mutations or physical traits, Epstein forces us to rethink the very nature of athleticism.

    

    Expanded, enhanced, and updated, the best-selling "Stretching Anatomy" returns to show you how to increase range of motion, supplement training, enhance recovery, and maximize efficiency of movement. You'll also gain a detailed understanding of how each stretch affects your body."Stretching Anatomy, Second Edition," is like having an X-ray of each stretch, only better. Not only do you see full-color illustrations of the muscles in action, but you also see how a change in position can alter the muscle emphasis and difficulty and how variations can improve safety and effectiveness. A new Stretch Focus section details the procedure and benefits of every exercise as well as safety considerations and variations according to skill level.Each exercise describes how to stretch, when to stretch, primary and secondary muscle emphasis, and which muscles are activated for support. Stretching programs provide three levels of difficulty, including light stretching that can be used to aid in recovery from soreness and injury. A new chapter on dynamic stretches covers the most effective exercises for athletic warm-ups, while another chapter shows you how to customize a program based on your individual needs, including a program of passive static stretches proven to help lower blood glucose.Whether you seek increased flexibility, better athletic performance, or reduced muscle soreness and tension, "Stretching Anatomy" is your visual guide to proper stretching technique.

    Hundreds of full-color photographs and three-dimensional graphics help you put theory into practice while detailed advice offers help for intermediate, advanced, and elite swimmers alike. The book's approach lets you identify the strengths and weaknesses of your stroke and drills and training tips let you make the most of your time in the water.Swim Efficently. Swim Fast. Swim Smooth.