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alisarae's review
4.0
This was a good book that collects a lot of running resoures into one place: stretching, body strength exercises, drills, all with photos of Meb illustrating how to do them properly. I come from a swimming background, so I have hundreds of swimming drills in my back pocket but zero running drill knowledge. I know that there are many free resources online for this type of thing, but it's nice to have all of it in one place.
As other people have said, there are some goofy sponsorship messages (at least he is honest about saying it's a sponsor), and some of the advice is basic (set well defined A, B, and C goals, for example) but it was still interesting. As an athlete who literally has decades of professional running experience, it is nice to learn what training principles he lives by:
- It's better to be undertrained than overtrained
- Constantly evaluating choices in light of the bigger goal ('Can I have this doughnut? No, because my goal is to win the Boston Marathon.' -- maybe a little extreme for recreational runners but... he did go on to win the Boston Marathon. A more relevent question might be: Should I log on to facebook after 9:30pm? No, because it will tempt me to stay awake too late and compromise my workout tomorrow, and my goal is to run a sub-4 marathon.)
- Patience is key. Long distance running is not for the impatient.
- Diligence, discipline, and consistency in all areas of life
- Stay humble and honest
I understand why Meb is such a beloved figure in American running. His stoicism, commitment to excellence in his professional and personal life, his faith, and his humility are very inspiring.
As other people have said, there are some goofy sponsorship messages (at least he is honest about saying it's a sponsor), and some of the advice is basic (set well defined A, B, and C goals, for example) but it was still interesting. As an athlete who literally has decades of professional running experience, it is nice to learn what training principles he lives by:
- It's better to be undertrained than overtrained
- Constantly evaluating choices in light of the bigger goal ('Can I have this doughnut? No, because my goal is to win the Boston Marathon.' -- maybe a little extreme for recreational runners but... he did go on to win the Boston Marathon. A more relevent question might be: Should I log on to facebook after 9:30pm? No, because it will tempt me to stay awake too late and compromise my workout tomorrow, and my goal is to run a sub-4 marathon.)
- Patience is key. Long distance running is not for the impatient.
- Diligence, discipline, and consistency in all areas of life
- Stay humble and honest
I understand why Meb is such a beloved figure in American running. His stoicism, commitment to excellence in his professional and personal life, his faith, and his humility are very inspiring.
kristofor's review
1.0
Meb is an inspiring runner. I hoped this book would give me some novel approaches to training that would take me to the next level. It doesn't. The book wanders. I'm bored even trying to write a short review about it. The only saving grace is that some of the money went to Meb and helped him on his running career (I hope).
coachkevin's review
4.0
Too much of a training plan book, was hoping for more of a story about Meb. Will definitely try his other book(s).
marybeth77's review
4.0
Were there a lot of sponsor mentions? Yes. Is it basic? Yes. But Meb's ideas on recovery and training volume re:hard balanced with easy resonated with me. It's simple, but not everything needs to be complicated. I don't understand the vitriol from other reviewers. Meb's a professional runner. He views running through a different lens and is way faster than most of us. He still shares some valuable insights with the everyday runner like me.
evamadera1's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this book and downloaded the kindle version instead of purchasing the hardcover so that I could read it before Monday's running of the 2015 Boston Marathon.
Not all of the information was new to me, in fact a lot of it was not. However, Keflezighi and Douglas present the information in an engaging manner carefully tied back to Keflezighi's personal experience throughout his running career and specifically to the training leading up to his historic 2014 Boston Marathon win. Too many books "authored" by an elite runner (*Kara Goucher) cater to beginning runners and almost completely ignore the fact that the purported author is an elite runner whose training looks quite different from the everyday, average, beginning runner.
I loved all of the warm up drills and strengthening and stretching exercises included in the book complete with Meb posing as the model for the demonstrations. Some of the faces made me laugh a little. I hope to make many of these various exercises a part of my own daily routine as I try once again to qualify for Boston.
I recommend this book for all runners whatever your final goal is and especially if you are Meb fan.
Not all of the information was new to me, in fact a lot of it was not. However, Keflezighi and Douglas present the information in an engaging manner carefully tied back to Keflezighi's personal experience throughout his running career and specifically to the training leading up to his historic 2014 Boston Marathon win. Too many books "authored" by an elite runner (*Kara Goucher) cater to beginning runners and almost completely ignore the fact that the purported author is an elite runner whose training looks quite different from the everyday, average, beginning runner.
I loved all of the warm up drills and strengthening and stretching exercises included in the book complete with Meb posing as the model for the demonstrations. Some of the faces made me laugh a little. I hope to make many of these various exercises a part of my own daily routine as I try once again to qualify for Boston.
I recommend this book for all runners whatever your final goal is and especially if you are Meb fan.
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