Great Books Thread

[vgpedlr]

Since the regular contributors to this thread are mostly runners, I suspect this will be a running books thread. But as the only regular who is a tri-geek and cyclist, I want it open to other sports and perspectives.

What books have you found the most helpful and/or inspirational?

I'll start. Everybody knows of my love for the Maffetone method, so his Big Book is an obvious choice, but I want to highlight some great reads not yet mentioned.

Build Your Running Body, Pete Magill, et al.
http://www.amazon.com/Build-Your-Running-Body-UltramarathonersRun/dp/161519102X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1444925457&sr=1-1&keywords=build+your+running+body
A great read, well organized explanation of all aspects of physiology concerning running. Light on schedules, instead it teaches what goes into a schedule. Even the nutrition section isn't that bad.

The Training Bibles by Joe Friel
If you want to understand heart rate training and zones, go to the guy who wrote the Bible. Literally. While no running specific book, the cycling and triathlete bibles explain the principles of endurance training.

For fiction:

Once a Runner by John Parker
http://www.amazon.com/Once-Runner-John-Parker-Jr/dp/1416597891/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1444925805&sr=1-1&keywords=once+a+runner
A classic that disappeared, now back in print. The chapter on woodshedding in a mountain cabin and training on a home made track is priceless.

The Rider by Tim Krabbe
(broken url from Amazon)
The first person story of a bicycle race, at about one page per mile. Wear your HRM while reading and see if you get a training effect!

What's on your book shelf?

[VegSeekingFit]

I love this thread!! Love to read ... trying to get back to a higher level of exercise!! I can't wait to check out the books that people list! I like to read about triathletes too (even though I could never be one!!)....

My personal favorites:

I received 26.2 Marathon Stories when I finished my first marathon and it has several great personal stories that are inspiring. It's kind of a coffee table book... great pictures too!

I am also inspired by Scott Jurek and he follows a vegan diet - Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness.

Running Through the Wall: Personal Encounters with the Ultramarathon -- many personal stories -- great to read. Lots of heroes there.

I own several running books. Liked Hal Higdon and Jeff Galloway. Also the Penguin! Read multiple by these authors. Also own The Lore of Running which seems to cover everything... (have seen the recent threads on Noakes new dietary position - glad I have the book before it gets re-written)...

Not a book, but a magazine that reads like a book -- Marathon & Beyond -- very well done. Great personal stories of people conquering adversity and completing "crazy" events. Wonderful reviews of various marathons and tips for training that you can use. Some issues contain portions of published books (fiction, non-fiction) that are continued in subsequent issues. This is the best publication that I've seen on running. Check it out!

[Spiral]

I don't know if these books qualify as great books. But these are the ones that have influenced my ideas about training. They are low on inspirational prose and high on detailed training schedules.

Marathon by Hal Higdon

Advanced Marathoning by Peter Pfitzinger

The Daniels Running Formula by Jack Daniels

80 / 20 Running by Matt Fizgerald

The Hansons Half Marathon Method by Luke Humphrey

[WyldMoonWoman]

Heft on Wheels by Mike Magnuson

It's a great motivational book and an easy read.

It all started with a bike, lol. It's not a training guide, it's more of a memoir, it's a good story about a fat, chain smoking, alcoholic who turns his life around riding a bike.

After I read it, I trained for and rode a century in 2007.

[Crider]

Kenneth Cooper, MD literally wrote the book on Aerobics in 1968. Today after reading this topic here, I went over to Amazon to check Aerobics and see about getting one. They had a used hardback for $11.95 that I immediately snapped up because the other used hardbacks start at $224.84!

[petero]

Was yours a first edition? Re-list it at $99 or $120 and see if some newby book trader rescalps it It's more fun than any other form of gambling because there's some skill involved. And if you "lose" at least you end up with a book. More than likely, a piece of software priced the next one up, and yours was already an optimistic price for an outdated book about aerobic conditioning.

Anyway, great idea for a thread. I was looking around earlier to see if I had anything inspiring. The closest thing was Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air. Stories of danger do make me want to do dangerous things, I have to admit. A Walk in the Woods and Southbound are just Appalachian Trail porn that make good urban subway reading on the way to/from work, but otherwise aren't all that great. Haven't seen the Walk in the Woods movie yet.

There's a lot of nonfiction on my shelf like Stephen Herrero's must-read, Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance.

I like to watch ultra running documentaries on YouTube, though I think I may have found most of them by now (e.g. by GingerRunner). Maybe I should read more, and my list is long and long overdue. Not just outdoor stuff either. Everybody from James Hillman to Chris Hedges is waiting for me to get fired and go on welfare.

[MINNIE]

I'm a non-runner, but I do have a few favorite books about fitness. I'll just mention one.


The first really useful book I ever read on strength training was called Lift Your Way to Youthful Fitness. It was written by Terry and Jan Todd, a weight-lifting couple from the University of Texas. This was written in 1985, and is no longer in print. (see Wikipedia entry here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Todd )

The reason I initially bought this book was that it seemed to be a non-nonsense book on a topic that is often over-hyped and rife with bad advice and unscientific claims. I had no intention of becoming a competitive body builder or weight lifter, but body building exercise was an important part of my life for many personal reasons. The book clearly explained the basic concepts of muscle building, showed how to do the exercises safely, and gave some advice about food (although that part would be pretty useless to plant eaters).

But what most impressed me was that it was written for both men and women, by a couple who were both successful in strength sports. For the first time, I saw evidence that a female with muscles and strength was not universally condemned as a freak! Thirty years ago, this was dynamite. It was one of the most liberating books I had ever read. If you should come across it in a library or used book store, it's certainly worth a read.

P.S. As the title suggests, they were saying that people could counteract the effects of unhealthy aging by maintaining a strong healthy body by using weight training and clean living. I wasn't too concerned about that at the time, but thirty years later I can say that it has worked for me:).

[Skip]

The Training Bibles by Joe Friel
If you want to understand heart rate training and zones, go to the guy who wrote the Bible. Literally. While no running specific book, the cycling and triathlete bibles explain the principles of endurance training.

It's interesting that some of these authors endorse a Paleo diet, for example Joel Friel has:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/159486 ... oks&sr=1-8

Another book by Fitzgerald that I like is:

http://www.amazon.com/RUN-Mind-Body-Met ... fitzgerald

[vgpedlr]

The Training Bibles by Joe Friel
If you want to understand heart rate training and zones, go to the guy who wrote the Bible. Literally. While no running specific book, the cycling and triathlete bibles explain the principles of endurance training.

It's interesting that some of these authors endorse a Paleo diet, for example Joel Friel has:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/159486 ... oks&sr=1-8

Another book by Fitzgerald that I like is:

http://www.amazon.com/RUN-Mind-Body-Met ... fitzgerald

I just listened to a couple of interviews with Friel that were very good. I did not realize that he has been paleo for 20 yrs, or that he is as low carb as he is. It was because of him and the book he co-wrote with Loren Cordain that inspired me to try paleo about ten years ago.

That didn't last long since it was an epic fail.

I really like that Fitgerald book. Probably my favorite of his, along with Iron War.

[petero]

try paleo about ten years ago.

That didn't last long since it was an epic fail.

How did it affect your biking?

[vgpedlr]

try paleo about ten years ago.

That didn't last long since it was an epic fail.

How did it affect your biking?

I wrote epic fail. That's why. I had no energy and couldn't recover, couldn't train consistently. Things didn't improve until I went plant based. Things continued to improve as I learned more.

[Skip]

I wrote epic fail. That's why. I had no energy and couldn't recover, couldn't train consistently. Things didn't improve until I went plant based. Things continued to improve as I learned more.

I listened to Joe Friel discuss why he went paleo in a youtube interview, he gave the exact reasons you did for becoming plant based to become paleo....but note, Jim Friel cannot run now because he's got close to bone on bone in his knees (can't conclude that's from paleo but it is a suspicion)....

[Skip]

I really like that Fitgerald book. Probably my favorite of his, along with Iron War.

Enjoy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWrpbMVicnY

[Skip]

Besides Rich Roll, are there any great plant based/ endurance expert authors?

[Gershon]

Besides Rich Roll, are there any great plant based/ endurance expert authors?

Scott Jurek