The Athlete's Bookstore
The Athlete's Bookstore __ _______________________________________ __
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__| | | THE ATHLETE'S BOOKSTORE BOOKNOTES | | |__
/ /| | | December 97 | | |\ \
/ / | | | | | | \ \
/ / | | | http://www.stevenscreek.com/books | | | \ \
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IN THIS ISSUE:
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o Time for Presents!
o Train Hard, Win Easy - The Kenyan Way, by Toby Tanser
o On The Run - Exercise and Fitness for Busy People,
by Grete Waitz
o Off-season Training For Cyclists, by Edmund Burke
o PocketTimer for PalmPilot, by Stevens Creek Software
o RunningTrax, by Gerry Purdy
o Road Racers and Their Training, ed. by Joe Henderson
o The Competitive Edge, by Richard Elliott
o Advanced Race Walking, by Martin Rudow
GIFT-GIVING TIME IS HERE!
-------------------------
Time is running out! If you're in Europe, airmail shipping
will still get books to you on time; if you're in the United
States, we'd strongly recommend Priority Mail. But in any
case, if you want to give books or software to others or
yourself as a gift, now is the time to place your order!
You'll find a complete list of gift suggestions at:
<http://www.stevenscreek.com/books/giftideas.html>
If you're not sure what to give, remember that we offer gift
certificates as well, in any amount. And our gift
certificates are electronic, so if the recipient has email
you can deliver them instantly, anywhere in the world! Of
course you can also mail or hand-deliver the gift certificate.
For more information or to order a gift certificate, go to:
<http://www.stevenscreek.com/giftcertificate.html>
HOT OFF THE PRESSES
-------------------
TRAIN HARD, WIN EASY - THE KENYAN WAY, by Toby Tanser
($19.95, paperback)
-----------------------------------------------------
They don't wear heart rate monitors. They don't eat energy
bars. They don't eat any magic pills or supplements. They
just train. And train hard. This brand-new book isn't
entitled "Secrets of the Kenyans" because, as the author and
the Kenyans he interviews make clear, there are no secrets,
no shortcuts. What you get instead is a no-nonsense, no-hype
portrait of Kenya and its runners. You'll learn about the
historical, geographical, and economic circumstances which
have combined to produce the world's greatest concentration
of world-class runners. You'll learn what life is like in the
Kenyan training camps, and read about the training of top
runners at distances from 800m to the marathon, including
excerpts from their training logs. An excellent book, perfect
for reading while you're resting from the three workouts a day
you're doing after deciding to train the Kenyan way. Complete
with lots of photographs, this is the smash hit of this
year's Christmas season.
ON THE RUN - EXERCISE AND FITNESS FOR BUSY PEOPLE,
by Grete Waitz ($19.95, hard cover)
--------------------------------------------------
This book by the 9-time winner of the NYC Marathon is
extremely well-written but poorly titled. It's really a
beginning running book, designed to get the reader to start
an exercise program and to introduce her or him to all
aspects of running. The "fitting in exercise in a busy life"
alluded to in the title is covered, but occupies only three
chapters out of eighteen. The chapter on stretching and
strengthening is particulary good, with lots of clear
pictures of Grete performing the exercises. An excellent book
to give as a present to a spouse or friend to get them
interested in running.
OFF-SEASON TRAINING FOR CYCLISTS, by Edmund Burke
($14.95, paperback)
-------------------------------------------------
This book was promised by the publisher for early November,
then early December. We're still hoping it will be out in
time to use for *this* off-season training, and we're not
referring to the Southern hemisphere. ;-) Anyway, we still
haven't seen the book, so all we can say is that the author's
other books, SERIOUS CYCLING and HIGH-TECH CYCLING, are
excellent sources for the latest scientific research and
coaching theories. We expect this book to be the same.
POCKETTIMER FOR PALMPILOT, by Stevens Creek Software
($39.95, software)
----------------------------------------------------
Our latest software for the PalmPilot is a race timing
application designed to record finishes (or intermediate
check points) in running races, bike races including time
trials, and similar mass-participation events where the
participants are numbered. Some quick taps on the PalmPilot
and you can record the bib# and time of each finisher, or
just the time if the density of finishers gets too great.
Suitable for clubs or schools who want to time their own
races without paying hundreds of dollars to timing companies
or purchasing their own expensive timing equipment, for
timing companies who want to supplement their existing
equipment, and more.
More information about this software, including a
downloadable trial copy and the complete manual, can be found
at:
http://www.stevenscreek.com/pilot/pockettimer.shtml
RUNNINGTRAX, by Gerry Purdy ($15.95, paperback)
-----------------------------------------------
Back in 1970, Jim Gardner and Jerry Purdy wrote a book called
COMPUTERIZED RUNNING TRAINING PROGRAMS, based on Purdy's Ph.D.
thesis. At long last Purdy has updated this classic, changing
the tables from English to metric units to reflect modern
reality.
The core of the system is the assigning of "point values"
based on performances at a given distance. Thus you become,
for example, a "550-point runner." For this writer, the
system proved remarkably accurate - my 1-mile, 10K, and
half-marathon P.R.'s all gave point values within four points
of each other. Once you establish your level, you use other
tables to guide you in selecting the pace and number of
repetitions for your interval workouts. Using the tables you
can select a wide range of "equivalent" workouts. For
example, if you're at the 350 pt. level, 8-9 reps of 400m at
1:41 with a 1-2 min. rest are of equivalent difficulty with
4-5 reps of 1 mile at 7:46 with 3-4 min. rest. Other tables
give you recommended paces for your long runs.
The book is great for coaches, since someone coaching
different athletes of different abilities can select
"equivalent" workouts for each runner. Incidentally, some of
the tables in the book, but definitely not all, can be
duplicated, or even improved upon (no need to interpolate) if
you have a PalmPilot and our ATHLETE'S CALCULATOR software.
NEW IN THE BOOKSTORE
---------------------
We've added a few more titles recently:
ROAD RACERS AND THEIR TRAINING, ed. by Joe Henderson
($14.95, paperback)
----------------------------------------------------
This is a book like no other. Joe Henderson surveyed 80 top
runners and had them outline their training - their overall
training plan, a typical week, and their favorite workout.
What makes the book fascinating is that the profiled runners
span the gamut - male and female, young and old, shorter and
longer distances, present and past, famous and not-so-famous.
Some examples (if you don't know who they are, you'll have to
buy the book): Mark Coogan, Nancy Ditz, Jack Foster, Norm
Frank, Jeff Galloway, Lynn Jennings, Shirley Matson, Mark
Nenow, Bill Rodgers, and Ann Trason.
THE COMPETITIVE EDGE, by Richard Elliott ($15.95, paperback)
------------------------------------------------------------
We carry several books on sports psychology - Mental Training
for Peak Performance, Body Mind and Sport, New Toughness
Training for Sports. Aside from George Sheehan's books, this
book is the only one we know of which is specifically written
for distance runners, as the subtitle makes clear - MENTAL
PREPARATION FOR DISTANCE RUNNING. Clearly written.
ADVANCED RACE WALKING, by Martin Rudow ($11.50, paperback)
------------------------------------------------------------
Subtitled THE SERIOUS RACE WALKER'S GUIDE TO COMPETITIVE
SUCCESS, this book is written by the former head coach of the
U.S. men's race walking team. Chapters cover technique, speed,
endurance, flexibility, and other topics. The training
schedules are detailed and extensive, covering periods as
long as three years. This is THE book for the serious race
walker.
