Audiobooks by Matt Fitzgerald

Running the Dream: One Summer Living, Training, and Racing with a Team of World-Class Runners Half M

The bestselling author of 8/20 Running and How Bad Do You Want It? reveals his inspiring and surprising journey to see just how fast he can go. Matt Fitzgerald has already made a name for himself in the endurance sport community with books like 80/20 Running, How Bad Do You Want It? and Iron War. He is an accomplished amateur runner, but if he follows the training, nutrition and lifestyle of an elite runner, just how fast could he go? He is approaching his mid-forties, so the time to do this is now. He at last has the financial means to do nothing but train. He accepts the goodwill of a friend who will let him crash at his apartment in the running mecca of Flagstaff, Arizona, and convinces the coach of Northern Arizona Elite, one of the country's premier professional running teams, to let him train with a roster of national champions and Olympic hopefuls for an entire summer leading in to the Chicago Marathon. The results were astounding... Filled with a vibrant cast of characters, rigorous and gut-wrenching training, Matt's knowledgeable yet self-deprecating voice allows us to vicariously live out our own fantasies of having the opportunity to go all the way. Yet for the runners Matt trains with, it's no mere fantasy, but a calling and their individual stories enrich this inspiring narrative. Running the Dream is a chance for us all to experience a bit of this rarified and wild world, and to take away pieces of this amazing journey to try to achieve our own potential

Matt Fitzgerald (Author), Jamie Renell (Narrator)

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Life Is a Marathon: A Memoir of Love and Endurance

An endurance athlete and coach reveals how the marathon transforms the lives of everyone who attempts it--and how it has helped his own family cope with serious adversity Step after step for 26.2 miles, hundreds of thousands of people run marathons. But why--what compels people past pain, lost toenails, 5.30 am start times, The Wall? Sports writer Matt Fitzgerald set out to run eight marathons in eight weeks across the country to answer that question. At each race, he meets an array of runners, from first timers, to dad-daughter teams and spouses, to people who'd been running for decades, and asks them what keeps them running. But there is another deeply personal part to Matt's journey: his own relationship to the sport--and how it helped him overcome his own struggles and cope with his wife Nataki's severe bipolar disorder. A combination of Matt's own How Bad Do You Want It? and What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, Life Is a Marathon captures the magic of those 26.2 miles. At the end of the day--and at the end of the race--the pursuit of a marathon finish line is not unlike the pursuit of happiness. You will pick up the book for a powerful personal story about what running does for the people for whom it does the most. You will put it down with a greater understanding of what it means to be alive in this world.

Matt Fitzgerald (Author), Jamie Renell (Narrator)

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80/20 Triathlon: Discover the Breakthrough Elite-Training Formula for Ultimate Fitness and Performan

A breakthrough program for triathletes--beginner, intermediate, and advanced--showing how to balance training intensity to maximize performance--from a fitness expert and elite coach Cutting-edge research has proven that triathletes and other endurance athletes experience their greatest performance when they do 80 percent of their training at low intensity and the remaining 20 percent at moderate to high intensity. But the vast majority of recreational triathletes are caught in the so-called "moderate-intensity rut," spending almost half of their time training too hard--harder than the pros. Training harder isn't smarter; it actually results in low-grade chronic fatigue that prevents recreational athletes from getting the best results. In 80/20 Triathlon, Matt Fitzgerald and David Warden lay out the real-world and scientific evidence, offering concrete tips and strategies, along with complete training plans for every distance--Sprint, Olympic, Half-Ironman, and Ironman--to help athletes implement the 80/20 rule of intensity balance. Benefits include reduced fatigue and injury risk, improved fitness, increased motivation, and better race results. **Contact Customer Service for Additional Material**

David Warden, Matt Fitzgerald (Author), David Warden (Narrator)

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80/20 Running: Run Stronger and Race Faster by Training Slower

This revolutionary training method has been embraced by elite runners-with extraordinary results-and now you can do it, too. Respected running and fitness expert Matt Fitzgerald explains how the 80/20 running program-in which you do 80 percent of runs at a lower intensity and just 20 percent at a higher intensity-is the best change runners of all abilities can make to improve their performance. With a thorough examination of the science and research behind this training method, 80/20 Running is a hands-on guide for runners of all levels with training programs for 5K, 10K, half-marathon, and marathon distances. In 80/20 Running, you'll discover how to transform your workouts to avoid burnout. ● Runs will become more pleasant and less draining ● You'll carry less fatigue from one run to the next ● Your performance will improve in the few high-intensity runs ● Your fitness levels will reach new heights

Matt Fitzgerald (Author), Rob Grgach (Narrator)

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How Bad Do You Want It?: Mastering the Pshchology of Mind over Muscle

The greatest athletic performances spring from the mind, not the body. Elite athletes have known this for decades and now science is learning why it's true. In his fascinating new book How Bad Do You Want It?, coach Matt Fitzgerald examines more than a dozen pivotal races to discover the surprising ways elite athletes strengthen their mental toughness. Fitzgerald puts you into the pulse-pounding action of more than a dozen epic races from running, cycling, triathlon, XTERRA, and rowing with thrilling race reports and revealing post-race interviews with the elites. Their own words reinforce what the research has found: strong mental fitness lets us approach our true physical limits, giving us an edge over physically stronger competitors. Each chapter explores the how and why of an elite athlete's transformative moment, revealing powerful new psychobiological principles you can practice to flex your own mental fitness. The new psychobiological model of endurance performance shows that the most important question in endurance sports is: how bad do you want it? Fitzgerald's fascinating book will forever change how you answer this question and show you how to master the psychology of mind over muscle. These lessons will help you push back your limits and uncover your full potential. How Bad Do You Want It? reveals new psychobiological findings including: Mental toughness determines how close you can get to your physical limit. Bracing yourself for a tough race or workout can boost performance by 15% or more. Champions have learned how to give more of what they have. The only way to improve performance is by altering how you perceive effort. Choking under pressure is a form of self-consciousness. Your attitude in daily life is the same one you bring to sports. There's no such thing as going as fast as you canonly going faster than before. The fastest racecourse is the one with the loudest spectators. Faith in your training is as important as the training itself.

Matt Fitzgerald (Author), Matt Fitzgerald (Narrator)

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Diet Cults: The Surprising Fallacy at the Core of Nutrition Fads and a Guide to Healthy Eating for t

From the national bestselling author of Racing Weight, Matt Fitzgerald exposes the irrationality, half-truths, and downright impossibility of a “single right way” to eat and reveals how to develop rational, healthy eating habits. From “the Four-Hour Body” to “Atkins,” there are diet cults to match seemingly any mood and personality type. Everywhere we turn, someone is preaching the “one true way” to eat for maximum health. Paleo Diet advocates tell us that all foods less than twelve thousand years old are the enemy. Low-carb gurus demonize carbs, and then there are the low-fat prophets. But they agree on one thing: there is only one true way to eat for maximum health. The first clue that that is a fallacy is the sheer variety of diets advocated. Indeed, while all of these competing views claim to be backed by science, a good look at actual nutritional science suggests it is impossible to identify a single best way to eat. Fitzgerald advocates an agnostic, rational approach to eating habits based on one’s own habits, lifestyle, and genetics and body type. Many professional athletes already practice this “Good Enough” diet, and now we can too—and ditch the brainwashing of these diet cults for good. “Noting that there’s no single approach that works for everyone, but that each approach has effective elements (though some are only effective in the short term), Fitzgerald identifies what works and what doesn’t within each of the major weight-loss programs…Noting that motivation is a key component, he focuses on common sense: eat lots of fruit and vegetables, avoid processed foods, incorporate healthy oils, eat high-quality meat and seafood, and, of course, exercise.”—Publishers Weekly

Matt Fitzgerald (Author), Stephen R. Thorne (Narrator)

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