does it work? is it good? how do you rate it?
does it work? is it good? how do you rate it?
jack daniels follower wrote:
does it work? is it good? how do you rate it?
It is good. It could be better, at least for middle-distance.
I think his interval/rep times are too soft.
I don't believe JD actually believes in generic training plans, the publishers persuaded him to include them in his book.
I think they're too intense for 3:30+ marathoners.
Many high school coaches, including me before I moved up, have used Daniels successfully. I don't know if the present Oregon coaches are using it, but Vin was using it, not directly out of the book, but a Daniels system.
As somebody pointed out, JD comes from more of a marathon orientation and the book was written for the average Joe, so the middle distance interval workouts have been on the soft side.
On the other side, also due to the marathon orientation, the easy paces are oriented to people running more than 50 mpw, and people running less than that typically find the easy paces too fast for recovery (so you have to adjust).
If you buy and read Jack's book (all of it), you will understand enough about physiology that you can design your own program by the time you're finished.
It's not the end-all be-all, but it's a great place to start.
Read the book, understand the concepts, and apply them with thought and care. Blindly following any plan interval-for-interval will likely be sub-optimal. Learning what Daniels has to say about what workouts to do when, and why, will lead you to effective training.
Common pitfalls:
1) Daniels says "up to x% of weekly mileage" and similar things quite often. That is a MAX, not a starting point! Work your way up to it.
2) His tables give paces to the second, but the text talks about variation and perceived effort a lot. Think, and listen to your body, don't just stare at your watch and try to hit the number in the chart. This goes both ways, faster and slower.
3) If you are new to rigorous, intentional training, don't just take the snippets from the book that sound fun. Everything from the training logs to rest days to nutrition is important. Do it all, and as you gain experience you'll see what you need to change, and why.
One more thing: he says to ask yourself, "what is the purpose of this run?" Read the book with the goal of being able to answer that question.
Well it hasent worked for me so far but I'm still praying!
what is the general consensus of the 800m programme