I was reading the book, “YOU (only faster)”, by Greg McMillan on aspects of running. It is a very detailed book that has programs for serious runners interested in improving their times in races. There are programs for races from the 5K distance to the marathon. It covers almost everything you need to know about training, dieting, rest and recovery, and race preparation. The one portion that interested me is his emphasis on needing to build in rest days. Besselink, in his book, “RunSmart” also emphasized the importance of rest. Both books focus on running faster.
There are a few runners that run for fitness and are completely satisfied with their present speed and have no interest in running faster. This is okay and the important thing is that the person is moving and exercising. There is one point I have observed with runners that are not interested in running faster is that even at a slow pace, they still want to know their time in a race. It seems that in the next race they put in a series of a faster walking, or a slow jog, to the finish line for a faster finish time. It is almost human nature for runners to want to gradually be able to run faster. Even watching ads on television showing car commercials it seems that many of the ads emphasize the speed of the car. It is bound to affect a runner’s behavior in training, even if it is sub-conscious.
McMillan shows his 10 rules of running that pertain to all levels of runners. As with any detailed book the reader has to “know the language” of the topic. Whether you are reading a book on Physiology of Exercise, Chemistry, Physics, or Kinesiology, the book has a language that needs to be understood to learn the lessons in the book. McMillan has a simple phrase that summarizes a training program. He writes, “Optimal Stress + Optimal Rest = Optimal Progress”. This seems like an easy program to follow. Reading into the information the reader finds “hidden words” that make the simple phrase a little more complicated. Words such as ‘under rest’,’ quick recovery’, and ‘long recovery’, that need to be adhered to for the “stress + rest = progress” training program to work.
