Matt Dixon’s books are great. His training plans helped me to realise the type of run training I needed and did my best run splits ever at 41 years old, after having started triathlon at 25.
Daniel’s Running Formula by Jack Daniels.
That’s a huge book. You got it?. I am also keen to get a copy of bill sweetenhams book as I like my aussie coaches too. Some old threads refer to bills book and if I remember correctly the basic pattern is 24 weeks of 55-60km per week. If you can’t improve on that you’re obviously allergic to water
I also got a book called swimming to the top by David Wright. Kiwi coach influenced by Lydiard. Was recommended on a podcast Joel filliol did. Quite relevant some concepts and themes to year on year swim training for triathlon
That’s a huge book. You got it?. I am also keen to get a copy of bill sweetenhams book as I like my aussie coaches too. Some old threads refer to bills book and if I remember correctly the basic pattern is 24 weeks of 55-60km per week. If you can’t improve on that you’re obviously allergic to water
I also got a book called swimming to the top by David Wright. Kiwi coach influenced by Lydiard. Was recommended on a podcast Joel filliol did. Quite relevant some concepts and themes to year on year swim training for triathlon
Don’t have “Swimming Fastest” but do have “Swimming Faster” and “Swimming Even Faster”. By the time “Fastest” came out, I was pretty over reading about swim training. I concluded some yrs ago that it boils down to swimming as much as you can tolerate, as hard as you can, then rest, taper and shave. There is no magic number of 100s or 200s to do, or any magic ratio of swimming, pulling, and kicking. There are no “key workouts” but rather improvement is a series of tiny improvements each week which you may not even see until you taper. You just have to kick ass, swim hard, and enjoy the process. Savor those tired shoulders and legs, and that ability to fall asleep in under 60 sec from lights out. 
I am now confused about the titles but they are all swimming and they are all fast
That’s a nice way to put it. Just bit by bit and also when you start to get friends with the guys and gals who work at the pool - you’re then spending enough time there
I kind of think most people swim so differently it’s just an individual perpetual optimisation of the stuff under the water. What’s above the water don’t matter too much. Lots of responsibility on your self to figure out what works for you physiologically and mentally
I am now confused about the titles but they are all swimming and they are all fast
That’s a nice way to put it. Just bit by bit and also when you start to get friends with the guys and gals who work at the pool - you’re then spending enough time there
I kind of think most people swim so differently it’s just an individual perpetual optimization of the stuff under the water. What’s above the water don’t matter too much. Lots of responsibility on your self to figure out what works for you physiologically and mentally
The first book was Swimming Faster, 2nd was Even Faster, and 3rd was Fastest. I will quibble a bit that above the water does matter to some degree. For example, you can see someone fishtailing from above the water, which is a big waste of energy. But on the whole you’re right that the pull is the most vital thing, and it is obv under the water.
Before knowing much I bought Time Crunched Cyclist back in the day. While it did help get me started the workout zones are woefully too difficult in intensity for most people. And doing several intervals workouts per week that are already almost impossible isn’t it.
I went more traditional 80/20 and feel and perform much better.
You won’t find a better, accurate, easy to read and understand…
“Scientific Training for Endurance Athletes” by Philip Freire Skiba
He posts here under the handle Philbert. A really smart dude
+1
Hands down best coaching book I’ve ever read
Would love to get this book but it’s not available from anywhere I can find, if the author is watching this forum maybe he can let me/us know where to get it.
Thanks!
thanks for the idae/inspiration for this thread
i’m always interested in a good to great training book. at 56, I’m even more interested how training advice/principles should be adapted for the recovery impaired older dudes (like me!).
in my own experience - i’m trending to more variety to avoid too much neglect from a cycling dominant history (and preference).
do some of these training book suggestions address the older endurance human (skiba’s appeals already if it also addresses this!)?
Probably not what you’re looking for (because this book is actually fun) but I really enjoyed Running With Sherman by Christopher McDougall
“From the best-selling author of Born to Run, a heartwarming story about training a rescue donkey to run one of the most challenging races in America (the Burro Racing World Championship in Colorado) and, in the process, discovering the life-changing power of the human-animal connection.”
.
Training essentials for Ultrarunning by Jason Koop - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09MYVR8P6
Although written with Ultra Running in mind, it is a gold mine for endurance/speed training and racing in general. Highly recommend his podcast too: https://www.jasonkoop.com/podcast
“Never Finishedâ€, by David Goggins
Read Goggins for purely the inspiration. Helpful early on, if you are just getting going in Endurance Sports - perhaps moving from a sedentary life to being more active, and taking on the challenge of finishing a Triathlon. However, after that, my personal feeling is the Goggins messaging starts to be NOT helpful, particularly if you are in it for the long haul and have higher performance goals. Really - running a marathon on a broken leg? How “helpful” is that? The real wins in training are stringing together months and months and months of steady consistent, daily, repeatable training - not climbing Mount Everest one day, and taking the next 3 - 4 weeks off recovering!
Daniel’s Running Formula by Jack Daniels.
Seconding this. I’ve had to replace a few copies after it became so marked up and worn from loaning (imposing) it on anyone who has ever asked me for running advice.
Related story: after using the book for about 10-15 years, I decided to open myself up to a different set of eyes on things, and paid local TO coach Megan Brown about 300 bucks for “customized†season paling, coaching and guidance. She delivered to me verbatim excerpted contents of the book, including VDOT progression and paces, and a daniels weekly plan, passed off as her own customized work. What a POS.
What books do you all like regarding training? I’m not referring to books with training plans, but more so the physiology behind what we do. I have a kinesiology background and love numbers, metrics, etc.
The only one I’ve found and have started reading so far is Training and Racing with a Power Meter by Andrew Coggan and Hunter Allen.
Any other suggestions?
I almost forgot about a really good general resource on training: Tudor Bompa’s “Theory and Methodology of Training, The Key to Athletic Performance”. Dr. Bompa is a prof at York University in Toronto and in this 380 page book he covers literally every single facet of training for any sport. Per Wiki, he has also written 18 other books on training.
Thanks! Ordered and received, now read and apply!!
do some of these training book suggestions address the older endurance human
Joe Friel has a book called Fast after 50 on this topic.
What books do you all like regarding training? I’m not referring to books with training plans, but more so the physiology behind what we do. I have a kinesiology background and love numbers, metrics, etc.
The only one I’ve found and have started reading so far is Training and Racing with a Power Meter by Andrew Coggan and Hunter Allen.
Any other suggestions?
I almost forgot about a really good general resource on training: Tudor Bompa’s “Theory and Methodology of Training, The Key to Athletic Performance”. Dr. Bompa is a prof at York University in Toronto and in this 380 page book he covers literally every single facet of training for any sport. Per Wiki, he has also written 18 other books on training.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tudor_Bompa
I was stunned when you said he works at Toronto uni…
I had to look that up I was sure he had to be 80 at least turns out he is 92 years old lol
Not exactly training plan books but Sport Gene and Endure were two really good reads. I just picked up Endure & finished it. Two really good books that go through the science of performance, limiting factors, how to push boundaries, etc. A lot of numbers/metrics but good story telling so they’re accessible reads/not super dense even though they’re packed with good info.
Daniels & Pfitz are my two running bibles. I self-coached when I started tri & pulled on the principles from those two.