This book is dedicated to one of my wisest high school runners, Matt Fulvio. As a sophomore, he said to his rambling coach, “Why don’t you just write this all down?” Well Matt, it took me four years to do it, and by the time I finished, you were no longer running. Note to the reader This book is not longer in print. Thus, the reason it is free on my website. However, this means that the version of the book you see here is pre- professional editing. There will likely be a number of editing mistakes. But with 400 pages of single-spaced text, you can see why I have not bothered to spend the time required to polish it. Eric Anderson, August 2008 About the Author Doctor Anderson has coached high school, collegiate, and elite distance runners since 1986. He has five degrees, including a Ph.D. from the University of California Irvine. Dr. Anderson has published a number of books relating do distance running, including: Training Games: Coaching Runners Creatively and Trailblazing: The True Story of America’s First Openly Gay Track Coach . Introduction Because running is a multi-faceted sport infused with both science and art, writing about it in a comprehensive fashion is difficult: entire books have been written on individual aspects of the large spectrum of factors that influence the distance runner. So what inspired me to tackle them all in one work? I desired to combat what I call postcard theory: that most students (of any discipline) desire to read a source of information that is short and precise; just enough to know what to do. Often, they do not want to know why or how it came to be . When you lack these other variables, the coach/athlete is unable to shape what to a variety of variables that influence the runner. To be a good coach or runner, you need to know much more than just what to do; you need to know why. For example, I once saw a high school cross country coach read an article titled Four Proven Workouts to Improve Speed. If used with the proper runners, at the proper time, the workout were descent. However, without understanding the overload principal, or having an understanding of meso and macro cycle training loads, this particular coach was ill- equipped to apply the knowledge he learned from the article. Because of this he assigned them to run 300 meter repeats with 45 seconds of rest, during the first day of summer practice. When I confronted him about the physical abuse to green runners, he replied, “How can it be wrong, I read about it in Runner’s World?” In this aspect, you can see how having an understanding of the various academic disciplines that influence the sport of distance running will serve you well. That is why The Runner's Doctrine takes many fields into account. Drawing from physiology, psychology, sociology, nutrition, and health psychology, this book will teach you how to best utilize these fields in an easy to understand text. It is thorough, yet does not shy away from advanced theories. Whatever your motivation to run is, and however long you have been running for, this book will help you to do it better; to gain more from it; and to increase your love for it. I hope you enjoy and prosper from reading this runner’s doctrine. Copyrights: 1990, 1992, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2005 Table of Contents Chapter 1 - Physiological & Psychological Effects of Distance Running Physiological Effects The Disease of Lifestyle 1 The Cardiovascular System 2 The Respiratory System 4 The Skeletal Muscular System 6 Running and the Immune System 7 Did Running Kill Jim Fixx? 8 Psychological Effects Running and Stress Reduction 9 Running and Depression 11 Running on Creativity and Imagination 11 The Runner’s High 12 Chapter 2 - Principles of Athletics Health Related Components of Physical Fitness 13 The Overload Principle 14 Muscle Strength 15 Types of Muscle Contractions 15 Concentric vs. Eccentric Contractions 16 The Makings of a Distance Runner 16 Body Composition 17 Aerobic vs. Anaerobic 18 Muscle Twitch Fibers 19 Slow Twitch Fibers and Mitochondria 20 Chapter 3 - Training The History of Training in America 22 The Galloway Pyramid 24 Developing a Training Pyramid 25 Pump up the Base: The Beginning of the Training Pyramid 26 Strengthening our Resources in the Training Pyramid 26 Speed Play in the Training Pyramid 27 Tapering at the End of the Pyramid 28 Tapering Schedules 29 The Trial Run of the Training Pyramid 30 Hard Days and Easy Days during the Training Pyramid 30 Recovery during the Training Pyramid 31 Racing during the Training Pyramid 33 Average Seasonal Improvements 35 Building a Training Pyramid 36 Sample Training Pyramid 37 Blank Training Pyramid 38 Blank Training Schedule 39 Chapter 4 - Types of Training Runs The Warm-Up and Cool Down 40 Long Steady Distance 41 Long Steady Distance for the 800 Meters 42 Long Steady Distance for the Mile 42 Long Steady Distance for the 3,000 Meters 43 Long Steady Distance for the 5,000 Meters 43 Long Steady Distance for the 10,000 Meters 44 Long Steady Distance for the Marathon 45 Intervals and Speed Play 47 Tempo Runs 50 Hill Training: For the Base Phase 51 Hill Training: For the Strength Phase 51 Hill Training For the Speed Phase 52 Fartlek Runs 53 Time Trials 54 Muscle Soreness, Stiffness and the Role of Recovery Runs 55 Two-A-Day-Runs 56 Concentration Runs 57 Dogs are Smarter than Man 57 Bounding Exercises for Strength and Speed 58 Types of Kicks and How to Develop One 60 Breathing for Maximal Oxygen Uptake 61 Chapter 5 - Training Games Different Types of Runs 65 Things to do While Running 66 Chapter 6 - Other Forms of Physical Training Roy Benson on Cross Training 70 Running in the Pool 71 Weight Training 72 Chapter 7 - Training and Racing Factors Training and Racing in the Heat 76 Fluid Balance 77 Dress for the Heat 79 Eye Protection 79 Training in and for the Cold and Rain 80 Running in the Sand 81 Altitude Training 82 Overtraining 83 Chapter 8 - Form Analysis Footstrike 86 The Ankle 89 Stride Length and Frequency 89 Stride Cross Over or Duccessation 91 Arm Swing and Torso Function 92 The Hand Carry 94 The Head, Neck, and Shoulders 95 Biomechanics and Running Speed 96 Uphill Form and Hill Bounding 96 Downhill Form 98 Videotaping Form 99 Chapter 9 - Flexibility Range of Motion 101 Injury Prevention 101 Forms of Stretching and Terminology 102 Stretching 102 The Overload Principle of Stretching 103 Performance 104 Stretching an Injury 104 Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation 105 A Stretching Regime 105 5 Recommend PNF Stretches 106 Chapter 10 - Psychological Training & Racing: Winning and Losing The Subconscious Mind The Power of the Subconscious Mind 107 Programming Your Subconscious Mind 109 Affirmations 111 Self-Fulfilling Prophecy 113 Goal Setting 114 Mental Training Imagery Defined 115 Imagery Research in Sport 116 Imagery and Performance 117 Theoretical Explanations for Imagery Effects 118 Psychoneuromuscular Theory 119 Symbolic Learning Theory 120 Uses of Imagery 121 Psyching Up 121 Arousal Regulation 123 Planning/Event Management 124 Emotional Rescripting 124 Other Imagery Uses 124 Imagery Perspective 125 Imagery Ability 126 Imagery Use 128 Summary 128 Sample Mental Training Session 129 Visualization Tips 131 Making Your Weaknesses Your Strengths 132 Racing Concentration and Attention 133 Praise 135 Cheering 136 Fear and Nervousness 137 Fear of Success and Winning 139 Arousal and Performance 140 Arousal Control 143 Anger 144 The Five Stages of Loss 145 Depression and Suicide 147 Watch-A-Holic 150 The All or Nothing Attitude 150 Dedication and Motivation 151 Chapter 11 - Utilizing Valuable Assets The Coach 152 The Measure of Your Miles: The Log Book 155 The Progress Chart 158 Sleep 158 Napping 161 Music and Endorphins 162 Blank Running Log 163 Sample Progress Chart 164 Blank Progress Chart 165 Chapter 12 - Tracks, Times, Talk Track Dimensions 164 The 440 Yard Track 164 The 400 Meter Track 167 Converting Times and Records 167 Hand vs. Electronic Times 168 Time Equivalency Charts 168 Pace Comparison Chart 169 Minutes per Mile Chart 169 440 Yard and 400 Meter Track Pacing Tables 171 How Courses are Measured 171 Spikes 171 Track Talk 173 Chapter 13 - Pre-Race Activities The Week before the Race 178 The Day before the Race 178 The Day of the Race 179 Chapter 14 - Racing Tactics Wind 184 Hills 187 Boxing 189 Gates 191 Narrow Paths and Dust 192 Breaking Their Stride and Forcing into Water 192 Cornering 193 Surging 193 Tangents and the Quickest Route Possible 194 1-2-3 Go 195 Catching Up 195 Staying Behind 196 Passing 196 Pressing and Verbally Psyching 197 The Reverse Psych 198 Puddles 198 Running Through Sand 198 The Road 199 When Things Get Rough 199 Falling 200 Use of the Watch 200 The Finishing Kick 201 Chapter 15 - Racing Strategies Pacing What it is 203 How to Develop Pacing: Schema Theory & Feedback 203 Racing Strategies 205 Starting Slow and Increasing the Pace: The Silky Sullivan Strategy 205 Going out Fast and Trying to Hold the Pace 207 Maintaining a Set Pace 209 Positioning The Front Runner 210 The Pack Man 210 The Sitter 211 The Best Strategy is Often the Unexpected Strategy 212 Creating A Strategy 212 Race Strategies The 800 Meters 213 The Mile: or 1500 Meters 217 The Two Mile: or 3,000 Meters 222 Racing Cross Country 225 The 5,000 & 10,000 Meters on the Track 228 The 5K Road Race 232 The 8K and 10K Road Race 234 Racing 10 Miles through 20 236 The Marathon 238 Chapter 16 - Team Tactics and Strategies Cornering 243 Passing 243 Gates 243 Wind 243 Surging 244 Boxing 244 Team Strategies 244 Coach vs.