80/20 Running: Run Stronger and Race Faster by Training Slower

I've been running off and on for most of my life. Mostly because I had to be in shape for my occupation. I mostly trained for runs of 3 miles or less and my training was running a few miles a week as fast as I could. "No pain, no gain" was the only way I knew. I retired and no longer had any external motivation to continue running. It was such a drag that I didn't miss it at all. Then I got soft and flabby and started running again. I did it the same way I always have, short and fast. I made some progress and won my age group in a couple of 5k races. I tried to train for 10k and I couldn't. My legs were always wore out and joints were constantly sore. I started researching different training methods and came across Maffetone, polarized, and 80/20. All of them emphasizing mostly low intensity training. I'm currently a month into Maffetone training and just finished this book. I'm getting much more mileage without wearing myself out and my pace is slowly coming down while my heart rate stays the same. It is also rather enjoyable and almost relaxing to run without panting and having my heart pounding. I believe the method works. It's a slow process and it will require patience and discipline to keep plugging along at a very low intensity and slow pace. This book has some great information that I will incorporate for my next phase of training. I think any runner could benefit from this training concept but it would be especially beneficial to aging recreational runners who want to train in a way that is sustainable and less prone to cause injury.

TL;DR: Buy this book. I'm very happy with the book. I only recently bought it, but I had previously borrowed it from my library and liked it. I might have read some blogs by the author, but wasn't really familiar with him before getting the book. There are lots of parts of the book where the author is discussing the 80/20 philosophy, its history, research, other training approaches, and things like that. Those sections seem well written and are not boring. I am even re-reading it, as I feel like I want to really get a good grasp of this knowledge. A lot of the author's basic discussion applies to all areas of exercise fitness, not just running. The sections that discuss specific workouts and later training plans seem pretty well set up in tables with good discussions before them. I liked it so much I felt I needed to own the book and continue to return to it rather than just copying some of the information from the library book. I feel like the running philosophy the author is advocating is sound and works well for me. The author backs up his main premises with really solid research. I previously would run way too hard on what should have been easier runs, and it made it difficult to keep up a long-term fitness routine. Now I feel pretty refreshed after easier runs, and am able to improve on my long runs, short interval workouts, and tempo runs while not be drained at the end of a week. By the way, I'm basically an amateur runner. I'm 36, and I ran track and cross country all through high school, but was never at an elite level even when compared with my local conferences, let alone at larger region or state level. I've been running off and on since, sometimes with some pretty good stretches. I only ran my first Marathon when I was 35 (roughly 7 months prior to this review, roughly 2 months before I initially obtained this book), and prior to that had never completed a race of longer than 5 miles. I had a lot of trouble with training for the marathon, and after reading numerous blogs I feel like I have a better understanding of some proper ways to train. Even still, I don't think I had grasped the idea that more of my running needed to be at a lower effort. This book offers a consistent guide and seems to have all the information I need in one place. At the time of this review, I'm in the middle of the half-marathon level 2 training plan, and am pleased with the fact that I've made it this far and still feel good. I took off one star due to some issues with the physical book, not with the content. The paper seems super thin and cheap, and it tears easily. It is probably recycled paper and that makes me feel okay about it, but it still makes it a little annoying. Also, I think the book pages could be better labeled with chapter numbers at the tops and such for an easier time quickly finding something you're looking for. The titles of some chapters are not necessarily as helpful to me for quickly finding content. However, these are very minor issues not related to actual content. If I could only take off a half-star I would probably do that. The book itself is inexpensive, so some issues with the physical book are probably expected, anyway.

I've found this book after discussing the half-marathon training approaches with a friend. My friend has been in a running club for a couple of months regularly training under supervision of a seasoned professional athlete. I, on the other side, is a complete opposite to that: self-directed, self-educated and rather chaotic runner. On top of running I've been doing lots of medium-to-high intensity cycling and strength training almost daily. My general rule for training was getting the shoes on and going as fast and as far as possible. After just a couple of discussions I realized that professional athletes have strict guidelines to training and — most astonishingly — they seem to train significantly less hard. Exactly this is covered in a book — it describes the history of training approaches in running, comparing results not only across past 100 years but also across different endurance sports. First part of the book is full of research descriptions motivating the 80/20 rule. The second part contains training plans and practical tips to make the system work. So far I have tried only a few low-intensity training sessions. Keeping the heart rate in the zones 1-2 is pretty hard, but I was able to sustain this intensity for 2 hours without any problem and soreness. Also during each session so far I am able to go a little faster for the same heart rate. Without this book I would continue running fast to get faster and quite probably never even consider anything else

Piacevole scoperta di questo metodo. Poi ho preso anche il libro sul triathlon forse ancora meglio di questo. Il plus inatteso è stata la storia delle metodiche di allenamento da Zatopek in poi davvero avvincente. Ci sono poi le tabelle espresse a tempo quindi nessun problema con le miglia. Fondamentalmente ho imparato ad andare piano negli allenamenti easy controllandomi con il cardio

This is a wonderful book that has immediately altered the way I train as a distance runner. It has given me the confidence to aim for higher mileage than I'd previously run, knowing that solid physiological benefits await me, while at the same time explaining why I have had mixed results over the last few years - and some over-use injuries along the way. Fitzgerald sets out a strong argument in favour of training 80 percent of the time at relatively slow paces (a minute or two slower than your marathon race pace), and about 20 percent of the time at moderate to fast paces (around marathon race pace or faster). The idea is that this division of training time/miles will benefit all of the body's adaptations to endurance training while avoiding the over-use injuries and burn-out that come with too much moderate/fast running; and at the same time avoiding the lethargy of endless slow miles that don't change heart stroke-volume, or much alter mitochondria density, etc. I have been guilty of doing too much moderate-paced mileage myself in previous years: miles that were too tiring to recover from before fast work-outs, but too slow to really challenge me aerobically. This book sets out why that is wrong, and supports the anecdotal benefits of the 80:20 split observed in many elite athletes, with recent scientific studies that corroborate the idea - studies not just over the usual "6 weeks with moderately-fit high-school students..." (whatever they are?!), but with already well-trained amateurs for several months. Although I'm quite quick compared to the average 5k to marathon runner, the principles in this book relate to every runner, no matter what their age, talent or experience. Technical jargon is kept to a minimum, but when it was used it was clearly explained. And practical examples of training plans for a range of abilities and event distances were included, so you're not just left high-and-dry with the facts either. In case you're still in any doubt: I can't recommend it enough!

Buen libro en el sentido de que se fundamenta gradualmente el método que propone Matt. Si estas iniciando o si no sabes como tener un mejor nivel en tus entrenamientos, te recomiendo este método, en general tiene muy buenos resultados y de bajo impacto a las rodillas, por lo que te permitirá tener un entrenamiento completo con una baja probabilidad de lesionarte.

'Relentless Forward Progress'を読んでいた所、この著者、Matt Fitzgeraldの名前が出てきたので読んでみた。 要約すると、耐久スポーツ、特に長距離走の場合、トレーニングの80％は話しながら走れる程度の軽負荷、 残りの20％を中〜高負荷で行うことで記録が飛躍的に伸びると言う内容。 同様のトレーニング法を推奨しているコーチは多く、例えば有名な小出義雄監督もその一人だし、 最近よく聞くマフェトン理論も結局は同じような事を目指した練習法だ。 この本のキモと言えるのは、 『軽負荷の練習でも良い』ではなく『軽負荷でなければならない。』と明確に述べている点。 これまで軽負荷のランニングは無駄な練習『ジャンクマイル』と蔑まれていたが、 逆に『見栄や焦りのために中〜高負荷のトレーニングをする事は記録更新の障害にしかならない』 という事実を豊富な裏付けとともに詳細に述べている。 『周りが眉をひそめる程ゆっくり走るくらいで良い。』『練習は虚栄心との戦いである。』 と言い切ってくれる本は中々ない。 この本に沿って心拍数をチェックしながら練習してみると、 月間距離が飛躍的に増えたとともに、記録も着実に伸びている。 トレランやウルトラ愛好家の人には’Racing Weight' とともにオススメの本。

Conocimiento completamente base si te quieres tomar en serio el running. Matt se enrolla un poco a veces pero en general muy muy bien. Además que, después de explicarte toda la base y la teoría, te recomienda planes para distintos formatos y te da tres niveles de intensidad para cada uno. Para mi es una referencia total.