In the Formula, determining current fitness levels is important because of the connection between fitness and exercise intensity. Now that I have been training at proper intensities(after reading the book), I find running more enjoyable and I'm staying injury free. The season plan is ultimately what the whole training plan comes down to, so its construction and formulation is very important.

Daniels presents four phases, the number and length of which are determined by the overall season length determined in step one. Not following this law often leads to a more prolonged setback than if you’d taken a few days off to recover from an illness or injury.

So often, especially in races that involve younger runners, the typical race sees the best runner go out too fast, and eventually slow considerably.

The table below should help you sift through some of the options to get a sense of what the plan would look like for your weekly mileage and fitness level. The variability in these factors that determine a single ability is referred to as a pseudoVO2max, or VDOT. The first principle, “The body reacts to stress,” is quite simple and is explained by Daniels succinctly. This zone should occur less frequently that E running and generally takes the place of a long run at E pace, becoming a long run at M pace. It is clear from the start that Jack Daniels has a lot of experience, and he loves a graph or a table!Specificity of overtraining just says that too much running may overstress the body’s systems used to run. The half marathon plan has recommendations for a buildup phase of general running, followed by workouts for 18 weeks in three further phases.

He was named by Runner's World as the world's best coach and this book was selected as their top training book on the market. However, its an excellent book, and I have to give five stars, but it really is for the very serious runner or trainer. Once you get into this book it's a mine of information and training advice, but my problem was getting into it in the first place. It is critical that you select training paces based on your actual fitness measured by a previous race.The term comes from V̇O 2max which is a measure of aerobic capacity, and if you look closely you'll notice that the 'V̇' actually has a small dot above it, hence 'V dot' or 'VDOT'. Choose a program to get in shape, target a race program, or regain conditioning after layoff or injury. Dựa vào chỉ số VDOT, người chạy có thể xác định các tốc độ tương ứng cho từng loại bài chạy: easy, tempo, interval. It seems likely that one of the biggest factors behind excessive fatigue and injury from the long run is at this rate of mileage increase. Of all his accomplishments, Daniels is most proud of his two daughters and being married to his wife, Nancy.

The forth week with no quality training will help prevent overtraining and provide a useful recovery time. There are seven sub-plans under the 2Q plan for different weekly mileage, and the details of each sub-plan vary with fitness levels, creating a bewildering array of options. He justifies these breaks by saying “a break gives both the body and the mind some time to regroup from what might have been a pretty strenuous period of training and competition” (Daniels 82).How to find your "VDOT" value -- a derivative of Vo2 max -- predict performance and construct training program intensites based on this. I wanted to point out that if you are really into running, and want to know how much, when, and why, then this is the PERFECT book for you.