Tuesday, August 02, 2005

A DAY LATE

I have wanted to get a copy of Ron Daws’ Self-Made Olympian for awhile now, however it’s out of print and could only find it for about $75. When I ran with Double a couple of weeks I go I mentioned this to him. He told me how much he enjoyed the book, so I decided to splurge and get a copy for my birthday. I was able to get it through the used section of Amazon for $60. The book arrived today, but it may be awhile before I get around to reading it. Right now I’m working on No Bugles, No Drums about Peter Snell.

I wasn’t really looking forward to today’s workout because of the heat (85-90 with a heat index in the mid-90s). We were supposed to do a similar workout to the last two Tuesdays; 20 minutes of hills followed by mile repeats. Two weeks ago we did 2 x 1 mile, last week we did 3 x 1 mile. Today was supposed to be 4 x 1 mile, but due to the heat and this weekend’s 10k, our coach said we’d only do 3.

I know I prefer running on the flats as opposed to the hills, but it was really apparent today. Of course, Jenna lead the way on the hills, but Sue and Jim were also WAY stronger than me on the hills. However, on the track I averaged 6:06 while Jim (6:23) and Sue (6:40) were a ways back. Maybe I’m saving too much during the hills or maybe I’m just a poor hill runner. Overall, I was happy with the workout as I ran each mile repeat faster than the previous; 6:10, 6:06, 6:02.

After practice about 8 of us headed to a bar to grab a bite to eat and watch the last few innings of the Twins. While it was a lot of fun (despite the Twins poor performance – losing their 6th in a row), I didn’t get to bed until 11 PM. I’m going to pay for that tomorrow.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Chad,

I have a copy of the biography of Lydiard that was published end of last year. If you're interested let me know, and I can bring it along next time we run.

Evan

Chad said...

Wow. Yeah, that'd be awesome. I'll email you about running together next Friday. Looks like it'll just be the two of us.

Anonymous said...

I bought the book in 78' and read that thing about 15 times so far. I may break it out again, it's been 5 years since the last reading. I would say it is the most profound book on running I ever read. The methology fit me perfectly. If more people today read it, they would be presently surprised about how much actual work was involved "back in the day."

The premise has always been simple. Build up a huge aerobic base through all conditions and then go hammer the daylights out of yourself for 10-12 weeks.

Chad said...

Yeah, it'd be nice if they're reprint some of the classics. I paid $60 for my copy. When I flipped it over it said $3.50 on the back for the original price.