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February 12, 2005
Run Fast
Hal Higdon's 2nd edition of Run Fast excited me less than Marathon, but did give me more advice than I need right now on improving my running speed.
Hal of course also cautions us not to go overboard in training, good coaching for someone training right. Looking back, I realize Wed., Thurs., and Fri. included intense speed work, although this is a step-back week. That's probably not what I wanted to do. Every time I reread something from Hal Higdon, it becomes clearer that without a long-term view you're liable either to drop out bottom by not training enough, or to push yourself over the edge by overtraining. He's definitely good at getting you enthusiatic enough to be chomping at the bit, but then reminding you enough about overdoing it to keep you from running headlong into injury.
If you've hit a plateau at your current distance or mainly want to gain speed in shorter races, read this one. I also plan to reread this book during my summer training, before going to the track or running hills. As Matt says, your upper speed limit is where you're most likely to force your mind and body to find out how to move ahead with less brute force expended per meter covered. So in some sense, every runner with stretch goals needs to consider running fast.
Posted by Mark at February 12, 2005 10:30 AM