The Unconventional Running Coach

  Don't follow a running plan, listen to your body. That summarises my basic approach however unless you are highly motivated and have fully integrated a health lifestyle into your everyday life it isn't always as simple as that. As the successful coach P ercy Cerutty states in his book:  " Rigid schedules… and laid down day by day training routines, find no place in my ideas as to the fitness of things athletically. " Base Miles : I run around 50-70 miles a week but don't follow a strict plan. I have quite a lot of essential running as I  Run my daughter to and from school. I take the dog for runs at lunch time I have agreed to go out with my wife 3-4 times a week I run a session for my running club I run parkrun almost every week  Now if I am feeling good I can run to and from parkrun, and most weeks I do, I can extend the school runs, the dog runs, the club runs and run on the treadmill in some meetings, though I don't do that often. I can also add a long r...

 My Score 10/10 What is covered ? Diet, biomechanics, slow training, training plans  I don't give many books full marks but there is so little I don't like about this book I was annoyed I had forgot about it until now. In fact it is another book I own in both paperback and audiobook and as a result of seeing it am going to give it another listen to. Things I like / use in my own training that are talked about in this book:  Walking before you can run, it is even the title of chapter 3.  Standing more than sitting e.g. standing desks (chapter 2) Barefoot / Minimalist Running (mentioned in a few places)  Maffetone / Low Heart Rate training  Diet - Low carb which would be sufficient for most runners.  Running Drills to improve technique  Recovery is where you improve and should be prioritised.  Health and happiness before performance but also often leads to it.  Strength training The book opens up with how humans evolved and the function o...

My Score - 9/10 Key Area's covered: Running by Feel, MAF, Strength, Barefoot Key Positives: Great blueprint for getting started. "Primal Endurance" is aimed to be a ground-breaking guide that revolutionizes the way we approach endurance training, offering a refreshing and effective alternative to conventional methods. This book was the original inspiration for changing my training methodology after a few years of constant injuries. Authored by Mark Sisson and Brad Kearns, the book presents a comprehensive blueprint for achieving peak performance while embracing the primal principles of ancestral health. As is my guiding principle, health leads to performance (it might just take a little longer!). Sisson and Kearns skilfully marry their expertise in endurance training with the ancestral wisdom of our hunter-gatherer ancestors. The result is a holistic approach that prioritizes intuitive training, emphasizing the importance of aerobic development through MAF training and me...