A recent post on social media caught my eye, something along the lines of:
“Anybody out there with a program to get me as close as possible to a 2:30 marathon?”
Not verbatim, although pretty close. The individual's personal motivations aside, what struck me was the almost nonchalance of the request, as if just going out and running a marathon at a desired pace is but a given.
Which brings me to the subject of great book I recently finished.
1:59 is the latest of Dr. Phil Maffetone's literary classics. Whilst the title obviously outlines the book's central theme, much of the content is actually applicable to athletes of all levels and aspirations.
Barriers are a long-renowned factor in distance running; the sub-four minute mile, under three hours for a marathon, and so on. You name the distance and, no matter the athletic ability, there more often than not appears to be a time aspect or goal associated with the corresponding distance.
Maffetone does a great job in reminding us that excellence over the mythical twenty-six-point-two miles is in fact a simple – yet challenging – process. In the modern day era of instant gratification, there are those that want to fast-track their own preparation to smash any particular boundary right here right now. Personal excellence in marathon running is in fact an ongoing journey of gradual improvement and discovery, where patience and restraint can – and do – go a long way to achieving just that.
Books with impressive looking tables and charts are dime-a-dozen: facts, facts, facts as a great philosopher once ranted about rigid tertiary education. Anybody can just pick up a training program and follow it to the letter. Yet how many actually derive the true benefit of this cookie-cutter approach, best intentions aside? Whilst Maffetone does include a hypothetical schedule in his writing, 1:59 is marked by the absence of much of the “fluff” contained in other books on the subject of training and racing.
Which brings me to the actual book itself.
Like its authour, 1:59 is modest in appearance but deep in insight ,and even bigger in pragmatism. Whilst Maffetone is an understated fellow, he is a sage amongst coaches and trainers. Not one to drive his opinions down anyone's throat, he follows a lovely way of providing advice more as suggestions than gospel. Like most great coaches, his advice and methodology is on offer to those who seek it out. He is not a self-marketer, but if you are willing to listen, he will gladly impart his decades of knowledge and practical application.
Be warned though. Anyone looking for the “magic bullet” and any performance secrets could be disappointed. After all, what did Maffetone prescribe prolific professional triathlete Mike Pigg one winter to help take him to the next performance level?
A month of daily wood-chopping.
While I really do hope that our mystery Tweeter does achieve his or her ambition, perhaps a read of Phil Maffetone's simple masterpiece will provide a deeper understanding of going the distance. He or she might even surpass their preconceived ideal of sub-two-thirty.
Maffetone's work is as practical as it is inspiring.
Listen to him if you dare.
