Home > Media > Books > Bob Glover and Shelly-Lynn Florence Glover - The Competitive Runner's Handbook: The Bestselling Guide to Running 5Ks Through Marathons
Bob Glover and Shelly-Lynn Florence Glover - The Competitive Runner's Handbook: The Bestselling Guide to Running 5Ks Through Marathons
cymsteve's Full Review: Bob Glover and Shelly-Lynn Florence Glover - The C...
I first bought this book in the early 80's, aged 17 around the time I ran my first marathon in Wales, UK. This year, having lived a dream in running the Boston Marathon I used the updated 1999 edition to help me in my preparation. This latest edition is everything the original book is, but has been modified and expanded to incorporate more modern ideas and thoughts, making it a unique addition to the runner's bookshelf. Although this book is suitable for complete novices right through to seasoned elite athletes, Glover's other publication "The Runner's Handbook" would be a better choice for runners lacking confidence and/or very basic knowledge.
Glover has the ability of writing as if he's directing his advice to you personally, not to a worldwide audience of runners from every imaginable background. He makes you feel comfortable with what he's saying and gives you the confidence to want to get out and run. For me, running gives me focus in life and this book is packed with ways to get the most out of your running.
TRAINING: As a gentle introduction Glover starts by defining training principles and covering the 3 basics - how far, how fast and how often. He then goes on to discuss the different types of workout, including endurance and speed. To make it more personal there's a great chapter on developing your own training schedule, which is followed by specific training advice for all the common race distances - the mile, 5k, 10k, half-marathon, marathon, beyond the marathon (a goal for me in the future) and even the often left out cross-country races.
To keep you motivated there's some excellent information on mental preparation which is just as important as being physically ready to race, and also some useful advice on setting goals and predicting your race finish time. Glover also goes on to discuss proper running form, style and technique.
INJURY, DIET & EXERCISES: To help if anything goes wrong in your training (and to prevent things going wrong in the first place!), there's a whole chapter devoted to causes of injury and illness and also to the prevention of the common running problem that frequently occur.
Glover explains what foods are best to eat to maximize your potential, and also what to drink and how much to drink, both during races and in your training runs. He also explains how running is linked to your body weight and general health.
To supplement your running, there's a detailed list of exercises that will make you stronger and help get those race times down. As an addition we also find many of the often skipped warm-up/cool-down routines which will help you get the most out of your workout.
APPENDICES: For those who love to analyze facts and figures there's a great collection of pace charts, race-time predictor charts, comparison charts, conversion charts and a detailed list of recommended reading (not that you'll probably need too many other books once you've read this one!) For me this section always gets used as I tend to analyze everything, but it is a very useful resource that you can refer to anytime. You'll soon find your friends and colleagues asking you all sorts of questions when they realize your new-found knowledge.
SUMMARY: This book is packed with over 600 pages and although it is a little long for a one time read, it can be worked through at your own pace (no pun intended). It is meant as a complete reference guide and you can flip through to the relevant chapters without feeling like you've missed a whole bunch of stuff or use the very detailed index to find exactly what you're looking for.
For me, this book has been and will be my #1 reference for everything to do with running. I've built up quite a collection of other books over the last 20 years but nothing comes close to this in terms of advice, detail, information and data.
For both runners entering that first neighborhood race and elite marathoners, this completely revised guide is one that racers have been counting on f...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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