Doug is right, you don't need a book. But if you are an analytical person and like to take that angle, I would recommend Matt fitzgerald's "80/20". I recommend it to just about everyone and I can't say enough about how much this book has helped me improve my running. Given your goals, I would say it is perfect for you.

Another +1 for Doug's answer.

If you are looking for a safe way to build up your mileage, I would highly recommend looking into the Maffetone 180 method.

Good luck

vcphil wrote: »

Id say getting a coach would be a better choice than ready a book

If the OP is anything like me, they are going to want to now why the coach says to do 7 miles with 3@LT. You can get that knowledge from the books. If you are already a fairly accomplished runner looking to get to the next level, then a coach is the way to go.

vcphil wrote: »

Id say getting a coach would be a better choice than ready a book

I'd rather read a proven book than trust my body to a coach with questionable credentials.

SonicDeathMonkey80 wrote: »

k1214 wrote: »

I did also recently join a local running group as well. The reason I'm asking for book recommendations is because I got a Barnes & Noble gift card from the in-laws LOL! But also because I'm the type that likes to read the instructions before putting something together. Thanks again for the suggestions - much appreciated!!

Buy yourself a good running log. This one has a little bit of everything in it. You're going to want to see your milestones, trends, and what was going on in the event you get injured.

I use a notebook, I track my mileage on my shoes, the runs (time, distance, pace, rpm), and sometimes I jot down pain I feel. I also use it for my lifting records and physical therapy

k1214 wrote: »

I did also recently join a local running group as well.

I thought the Los Angeles Leggers and the L.A. Roadrunners were a good idea until i read the recent thread here about marathon preparation. They both take you from couch to marathon in six months using Galloway's run-walk program. Now i doubt both.

I bought Galloway's"Running: Getting Started" and his "Training Programs". He swears the walk breaks remove injury risk. I like the personal coach idea.

Timothy Noakes, "Lore of Running", is a little older but really, really interesting. He goes through a TON of scientific studies about running, especially distance running, including analyzing the training and performance of top marathoners. He also compares the most popular marathon training plans (Higdon, Jack Daniels, Galloway, Pfitzinger), talks about the physiology of running different distances--it's dense but readable, and incredibly informative.

To build up mileage, I don't know where you are right now, but there is a "Bridge to 10K" program that builds on C25K/running a 5K. A lot of half marathon training programs start from a 5K or 10K basis, and you could follow one of those to build up that far even if you don't run the race at the end. If you want to go even more slowly, you could do each week twice.

My general recommendation for a running book would be Pete Pfitzinger's "road running for serious runners" - it's very light on schedules, but contains a lot of useful (and, unlike many other books, well referenced) advice on everything from nutrition, incorporating different paces, periodization, cross-training, injury prevention and recovery, etc. Rather than giving you a plan to follow, it helps you become your own coach.

For a beginner, however, I would really suggest joining a running club - yes, they may not be as "competent" as Jack Daniels or Tim Noakes, but they have one big advantage: they see you; they can advise you on your form, they can motivate you, and answer your questions. And they know the best routes in your area, and which races to run (or to avoid).

@maggiehillis, if Chi Running (or Pose, or whatever the latest name) works for you, that's great, but I personally wouldn't recommend it to someone I don't know. For a really thorough and critical discussion on running style, I would recommend: http://sportsscientists.com/2008/01/running-technique/

If you want to be entertained while gaining some running insights, read John Bingham's "Marathoning for Mortals." There are portions of it (like his commentary on "taper fever") where just isn't safe to be reading it and drinking something. He has numerous plans in his book for various races and goals.

Jeff Galloway's Book, "Running: A Year Round Plan" and "Marathon: You Can Do it!" are two useful books, as well. Based on his run/walk formulas and approach, both books present an alternative to "running the whole way." As I've discovered at age 61, you can be surprisingly fast training and running this way AND not tear yourself down so that you become part of the furniture after the end of a long run or a race.

In this part of the world Galloway has a big following and so, when you're out on the course and you hear these timers going of, people dropping out a run for a specified timed walk cycle and then when the timer goes off again they are off and running again, people here know what you are doing.

In other places where Galloway doesn't have much of a following, the run cycle of 3-4 minutes with a walk cycle of between 30 seconds to one minute, can be disconcerting to others. In half marathons, I'll settle into a pace close to 9:10/mile where people run by me when I'm walking and then I go by them when I'm running. This usually lasts for about 9-10 miles and then I pull away as they fade and I keep going on this same sequencing. In the last two or three miles, I could go to continuous running, though I usually do not. Somewhere after mile 12, depending upon the runners in front and behind me and the terrain, I go into a continuous fast finish to the end rather than run/walking to the end.

Realize that I'm now finishing in the top-third of all competitors and often in the top 3 of my age category. (Note: as a result of the training I've been doing, as mentioned down below, I think I'm now capable of running the entire half-marathon distance at a new PR pace. Just haven't tried it out yet).

Run Less, Run Faster seems a bit more controversial as an approach to some. But the book's training program is a bit more aggressive even on a 3-day per week training cycle. If you want to know why you are doing something according to this training program, this book does a good job of explaining the why of it rather than you are doing a particular run because the plan says so.

I've become a fan of Matt Fitzgerald's recent books. These include the "80/20 Running" (the training plan/approach I am using now) and "The New Rules of Marathon and Half-Marathon Nutrition."

For my last marathon, I trained using Galloway's Plan (26 weeks) of run/walk but I used Fitzgerald's recommendations for nutrition prior to and during the race. I have completed each marathon feeling reasonably good at the end. But for this last one in November, I upped my carb percentage before the race and my carb intake during the race. When I crossed the finish line, nearly 30 minutes faster than when I ran this race last year, and nearly 16 minutes faster than my previous PR, I felt better than I've felt after going the marathon distance (except for being really cold).

I'm analytical in that I like to know "why" I'm doing something in a plan and I like to keep the performance data on what I am doing. But these are the books I've enjoyed reading the most and have gone back to review in the context of my own experience.

Good luck!