Book picks similar to
My Best Race by Chris Cooper
running
memoir
non-fiction
nonfiction
Running Your First Marathon: The Complete 20-Week Marathon Training Plan
Andrew Kastor - 2017
Just as Andrew has helped me on my journey, he is sure to help you on yours.”—Ryan Hall, US Olympic Marathoner, holder of the US record in the half marathon, and marathon training expertAs a marathon training coach for world-class runners and Olympic medalists, Andrew Kastor knows what it takes to get to the finish line. Whether you are planning to run a full or half marathon, Coach Kastor’s marathon training program conditions you to set achievable goals, get in shape, and stay motivated. With an easy-to-follow 20-week marathon training schedule for building strength and endurance, plus expert advice from record-holding runners on what to expect, Running Your First Marathon is the only coaching you’ll need to go the distance.Running Your First Marathon lays out a goal-oriented marathon training program with:
A 20-Week Marathon Training Program—detailed day-by-day marathon training schedules and space to track your progress
Marathon Training 101—advice and tips from world-class marathoners on marathon training, fueling your body, avoiding injury, and race-day preparation
Motivational Marathon Training Boosts—from Coach Kastor and other famous runners to help you stay on track during marathon training
"Running Your First Marathon will not only inspire you but also help train your mind and body to unlock hidden potential."—Shalane Flanagan, Olympic Silver Medalist, NYC Marathon champion, American record holder, and marathon training pro
Runner's World Train Smart, Run Forever: How to Become a Fit and Healthy Lifelong Runner by Following The Innovative 7-Hour Workout Week
Bill Pierce - 2017
This book will teach you how to become a fit, fast, and healthy lifelong runner by following the authors’ innovative 7-hour workout week. In this new approach, Bill Pierce and Scott Murr show how overall fitness and total body health are the secret to longevity as a runner.Runner’s World Train Smart, Run Forever is appropriate for all runners, but is especially helpful if you’re frustrated by injuries or looking to maintain your healthy lifestyle as you age. This book addresses the controversies surrounding the dangers of over training and the stress associated with the constant craving for faster race times. Complete with a comprehensive program to enhance overall fitness, improve race times,and support healthy aging, this book will show you how to achieve your fitness goals at any stage.
Drunk on Sports
Tim Cowlishaw - 2013
By the time he reached his 50th birthday his career was everything he'd ever hoped it would be. With a sports column in a major paper, winning APSE's Best Sports Columnist in Texas four times, and a daily spot on ESPN's highly successful show, "Around the Horn," Cowlishaw had pursued and conquered nearly everything he ever desired professionally. However, the pursuit of that success nearly cost him his life.DRUNK ON SPORTS is more than simply a memoir by one of America's most well-known sportswriters. Behind his happy-go-lucky public persona was a man with a considerable (but well-disguised) drinking problem. For years, Cowlishaw believed that his ability to drink with the best of them helped in his development of sources and pursuit of stories and, unfortunately, he was right. Among others, the relationship he built while sitting on a barstool next to Cowboys Coach Jimmy Johnson allowed him to get where other reporters couldn't. As all hell broke loose between Johnson and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones in 1994, Cowlishaw was right next to Coach Johnson every step (and beer) along the way. In DRUNK ON SPORTS, Cowlishaw recounts first-hand stories never told and quotes never shared from the bizarre breakup of one of the NFL's most successful dynasties.As he points out in the introduction, this is not an anti-drinking book. Cowlishaw loved alcohol for 35 years. If anything, this is a how-not-to book more than a how-to book. Along the way, Cowlishaw takes readers inside some of the biggest stories in sports. He joined ESPN in 2002 as a regular on Around the Horn and discusses life behind the scenes at the Worldwide Leader candidly and at length. Cowlishaw writes and talks and, at times, drinks his way into the sports world's fast lane - what else would you call getting hammered on vodka with Denny Hamlin at the Daytona 500 - before realizing the only way to continue was to call a halt to the partying.The story of his rise and fall is more insightful and humorous than it is preachy as Cowlishaw examines some of the flawed decisions he made throughout his lifetime in sports. DRUNK ON SPORTS is a cautionary yet entertaining tale of never before told stories featuring some of the most recognizable personalities in sports, and if it causes some readers to reexamine their own lives, then it will have gone above and beyond its intended purpose.
Running Man
Charlie Engle - 2016
As Engle got sober, he turned to running, which became his lifeline, his pastime, and his salvation. He began with marathons, and when marathons weren’t far enough, he began to take on ultramarathons, races that went for thirty-five, fifty, and sometimes hundreds of miles, traveling to some of the most unforgiving places on earth to race. The Matt Damon-produced documentary, Running the Sahara, followed Engle as he lead a team on a harrowing, record breaking 4,500-mile run across the Sahara Desert, which helped raise millions of dollars for charity. Charlie’s growing notoriety led to an investigation and a subsequent unjust conviction for mortgage fraud for which he spent sixteen months in federal prison in Beckley, West Virginia. While in jail, Engle pounded the small prison track, running endlessly in circles. Soon his fellow inmates were joining him, struggling to keep their spirits up in dehumanizing circumstances. In Running Man, Charlie Engle tells the surprising, funny, and emotional story of his life, detailing his setbacks and struggles—from coping with addiction to serving time in prison—and how he blazed a path to freedom by putting one foot in front of the other. “A fast-paced, well-written account of a man who accepts pain, pushes beyond imagined limits, and ultimately finds redemption and peace” (Booklist), this is a raw and triumphant account about finding the threshold of human endurance, and transcending it.
Running Through the Wall: Personal Encounters with the Ultramarathon
Neal Jamison - 2003
Some of the biggest ultras are 50 or 100 miles long, races in which people run all day, through the night and on into the next day. What makes them tick? What thoughts go through their minds at mile 93? How is the pain different from that of a marathon? How can you train for such a colossal undertaking? All these questions are answered in 35 interviews with ultramarathoners. Ultramarathoning is the logical next step for those who burn with a desire to achieve and explore their limits. Every kind of ultra runner is included here, and this book will be an indispensable volume for anyone dreaming of running long.
Relentless Forward Progress: A Guide to Running Ultramarathons
Bryon Powell - 2011
What was once the pinnacle of achievement in a runner’s life is now a stepping stone for extraordinary adventure in ultramarathoning. The number of ultrarunners—those running distances of 50k (31miles), 50 miles, 100k (62 miles), or 100 miles—is growing astronomically each year.Dean Karnazes’ Ultramarathon Man and Chris McDougall’s Born to Run have inspired tens of thousands to try these seemingly superhuman distances. But to date, there has been no practical guide to ultramarathoning. Now, Bryon Powell has written Relentless Forward Progress, the first how-to manual for aspiring ultrarunners. Powell covers every aspect of training for and racing ultra distances. This encyclopedic volume prepares runners for going farther than they have ever gone before and, in the process, shows them that they are capable of the “impossible.”
Four Months to a Four-hour Marathon,Updated
Dave Kuehls - 2006
Whether you’re a competitive veteran or a recreational beginner, this essential guide will tell you exactly what to eat, what to wear, what to expect, and how to train. When race day arrives, author Dave Kuehls, contributing editor at Runner’s World and a marathoner himself, will have you in the best shape of your life—physically and mentally. All you have to do is take the first step.Four Months to a Four-Hour Marathon includes:• Day-by-day training schedules for 4-hour and 5-hour marathoners• Detailed diet plans• The marathoner’s mind-set• Right and wrong things to wear• How to pick the right sneakers• Pain vs. performance—how far to go• Common pitfalls to avoid—in training and during the race• A list of the 36 marathons in North America where you can run the fastest times
Out and Back: A Runner's Story of Survival and Recovery Against All Odds
Hillary Allen - 2020
Allen was nearly halfway through the 50k race when she fell 150 feet off an exposed ridge, breaking two ribs, fracturing her back, rupturing a ligament in her foot, and breaking both wrists. Beginning with the dramatic story of her accident and rescue, Out and Back A Runner's Story of Survival and Recovery Against All Odds recounts Allen's fight to return to the life she loves. With vulnerability that reveals remarkable strength and introspection that yields wisdom, Allen shares the story of her recovery both physically and mentally, and hard-earned knowledge that the path forward is not always linear, that healing takes time, and that the process of rediscovery is ongoing as she learns what it takes to survive--and thrive. Out and Back is an inspiration to anyone who knows what it means to reclaim and rebuild your life, one day and one step at a time.
Running Your First Ultra: Customizable Training Plans for Your First 50K to 100-mile Race
Krissy Moehl - 2015
Between Moehl's positive and encouraging attitude and her deep knowledge and enthusiasm for the sport, there's no one better to prepare and train you for your first ultra and beyond!Moehl will become your guide to completing a 50K, 50-mile or 100-mile race. Her experience translates into the most effective and easy-to-follow training method, broken down into phases to help all runners take it to the next level and accomplish their goals. She shares her love of the sport by providing helpful tips, bonus content and personal stories. Her commitment to growing the sport and passion for coaching others running their first is evident in the care she's taken to create detailed plans and lifestyle adjustments. With Moehl, you will find all the resources and encouragement you need to succeed in challenging your mind and body with an ultramarathon!
To the Edge: A Man, Death Valley, and the Mystery of Endurance
Kirk Johnson - 2001
When his beloved older brother commits suicide, Kirk starts running -- running to escape, running to understand, running straight into the hell of Badwater, the ultimate test of endurance equal to five consecutive marathons. From the inferno of Death Valley to the freezing summit of Mt. Whitney, alongside a group of dreamers, fanatics, and virtual running machines, Kirk will stare down his limitations and his fears on a journey inward -- a journey that just might offer the redemption of his deepest and most personal loss.
Science of Running: Analyze Your Technique, Prevent Injury, Revolutionize Your Training
Chris Napier - 2020
Discover the hard science that will help you run faster, endure for longer, and avoid injury.Analyze your running style and learn how to enhance your gait for optimum efficiency and safety.Transform your performance with exercises targeting strength, flexibility, and recovery - each exercise annotated to reveal the muscle mechanics so you know you're getting it right.Understand the science behind your body's energy systems and how to train to maximize energy storage and conversion.Follow training and exercise programs tailored to different abilities and distances, from 5K to marathon.Whether you are new to running or an experienced runner, this book will help you achieve your goals and stay injury-free.
Rebound: Train Your Mind to Bounce Back Stronger from Sports Injuries
Carrie Jackson Cheadle - 2019
These same strategies can help athletes who aren't currently injured reduce their vulnerability to injury and enable any individual to reach new heights within their sport and beyond.Injuries affect every athlete, from the elite Olympian to the weekend racer. In the moment, a traumatic crash, a torn muscle, or a stress fracture can feel like the most devastating event possible. While some athletes are destroyed by the experience, others emerge from their recovery better, stronger, and more confident than ever. Not everyone can recover swiftly enough to notch a winning performance in two weeks, of course. However, anyone can toward a swifter, stronger comeback using mental skills, psychological tools that enable them to take control of their recovery and ultimately use the experience to their advantage. Injury and other setbacks are inevitable--but with training, you can learn to overcome them skillfully and confidently, the same way point guards and forwards practice rebounds.
Damn! Why Did I Write This Book?
Jayson "JTG" Paul - 2015
In this compilation all focused around the four letter word that has ended more wrestling careers than steroids, pills and alcohol combined: HEAT!HEAT: A dark cloud that follows a wrestler after a personal conflict or misunderstanding between two individuals or more backstage.JTG will take you, the reader, on a journey, from the beginning of his career, to the final curtain call; sharing stories on how he battled Heat from day one. Join JTG on this epic pilgrimage through this blazing inferno that was his career, while managing to piss off more people for writing this book!!!
What Makes Olga Run?: The Mystery of the Ninety-Something Track Star Who Is Smashing Records and Outpacing Time, and What She Can Teach Us About How to Live
Bruce Grierson - 2014
Olga Kotelko is not your average ninety-three-year-old. She not only looks and acts like a much younger woman, she holds over twenty-three world records in track and field, seventeen in her current ninety to ninety-five category. Convinced that this remarkable woman could help unlock many of the mysteries of aging, Grierson set out to uncover what it is that’s driving Olga. He considers every piece of the puzzle, from her diet and sleep habits to how she scores on various personality traits, from what she does in her spare time to her family history. Olga participates in tests administered by some of the world’s leading scientists and offers her DNA to groundbreaking research trials. What emerges is not only a tremendously uplifting personal story but a look at the extent to which our health and longevity are determined by the DNA we inherit at birth, and the extent to which we can shape that inheritance. It examines the sum of our genes, opportunities, and choices, and the factors that forge the course of any life, especially during our golden years.