Looks like I'll be making a deal with one of the people to stay, which should give me most of my summer back. It's funny how responsive people get when talk turns to eviction. Soon I'll have someone else dealing with all the people hassles.
That book is the best. I've never seen one that lays it all out so clearly, from overall training program design to each specific type of workout and its purpose. The trouble I had when using it was getting the pacing right on VO2max and LT interval workouts. I always leaned toward going too fast. Then again, pacing is pretty much THE issue when it comes to racing anyway, so it makes sense. I tried to pace via lap times at a track. If I were to do it again, I think I'd just spring for a nice HR monitor, so that I could manage the pace more accurately and run wherever.
Never heard of that GPS feature. At first I thought we were talking about maps and maybe running in Alaska or some shit. Distance would be nice, but I don't think you need it. For the workouts themselves, all you need is time and HR. When it comes to doing your own time trials or getting an idea of how fast you are, you could always do what I did: take a bike with a tachometer and a can of street spray paint out, and mark off distances on a street or path near your house. You don't really need to know distance that often. I had the bike path marked off for x meter distances up to a mile, then one per mile after that, and a mark for the turnaround point for a 5K, which was the distance I was interested in.
Now that I'm into strength training and HIIT, I find it hard to believe I used to like running as fast as I could for 5K. It has to be one of the most torturous things I ever did voluntarily.
You shouldn't need the HR for lower level endurance running, which is the only time I would endorse running with an entertainment device like an ipod. Interval workouts are precise, serious business. You need to pay all of your attention to your body if you want to make them work and avoid injury.
HIT is kind of a second-rate way to lift weights based on a lot of pseudo science and misconception. It is basically a one set to failure protocol with long rests between workouts. I don't recommend it.
HIIT is High Intensity Interval Training. It's basically a serious of anaerobic intervals with inadequate rest between, which functions as an all-purpose aerobic/anaerobic workout and is supreme for fat loss. I discuss it in the 'need help' thread.
I would go with the book and keep your anaerobic/speed, VO2max, and LT interval training all separate and use the appropriate rest-work schemes for each. Saving time is nice too, but if you're serious about racing, I'm afraid putting in the hours is just part of the game.
One thing you might want to borrow from my HIIT plan is substituting a different activity like jumping rope or running stairs for running in some of your VO2max workouts to add variety and lessen running-oriented wear and tear. Once you get an HR monitor, it should be easy. You could also substitute during some of the pure endurance training and maybe with the LT, but not the anaerobic intervals since the purpose is sprinting-oriented strength/speed.
