I found this on VeloNews.com. Pretty common sense we all already know, but good review and reinforcement. I’ve included my own spin on the topics for those who really care.

• By Vic Brown
• Published Dec 28th 2010 1:03 PM EST

Following these 10 injury-prevention commandments of endurance training will help keep you healthy and fit.

1. Rest and recover.

Include rest days in your training plan by taking a complete break from training both physically and mentally. Get off your feet, rest your mind, rest your body for the day. I recommend training no more than two weeks consecutively without resting. Novice and/or masters athletes may require “off” days more frequently. Recovery weeks, typically fewer hours spent exercising or less miles trained, should be included every third to fifth week. Recovery days, easy non-intense training, should follow hard training days.

It’s been two months now since my last race of 2010 in Maui. The first two of those eight weeks contained zero training, and to be honest, very little physical activity at all. Mostly I just enjoyed Halloween and the endless amounts of candy involved with that holiday. By the end of my break I had managed to add 7 pounds to my frame, all in the name of good health and immunity boosting fat! The following 6-weeks I got a little more focused and began to “train”. Base Prep was the name of the game. Getting back in the pool was objective number one. Following a series of drill progressions to help “rebuild” my swimming stroke, gaining more distance per stroke and using less strokes (energy) to get from point A to point B. Running was the next objective. I spent two days a week in the gym on the indoor track with bare-feet practicing several running drills and short runs to improve my foot striking mechanics and strengthen my feet and lower legs. Then another two days a week outside running gradually longer and longer distances to begin gaining endurance. Cycling, being my most experienced sport, was where I was doing most of my aerobic training. 2-4 hour rides three or four times a week; two being shorter at a brisk pace just under my AeT, and the other two being longer and a more mellow pace with others. I have also been lucky enough this year, with all of the early snow in the mountains, to be able to skate ski once a week since mid-November. I’m finding that a two-hour ski packs more aerobic punch than any either running or cycling! READ MORE

Another great question from an athlete I coach, about the relationship between swimming form and speed. Now I’m certainly no swimming expert, but I have learned a few things about swimming and the importance of good form in order to save energy for cycling and running in a triathlon. Any good swimmers want to chime in, feel free!

Cody,
Here is a question I forgot to ask before. At the pool. I swim during the same time as another guy that is pretty big and heavy set. He swims violently I guess you could say with lots of water disruption and a huge splash during his flip turns. He also swims very high in the water with almost his whole head and upper body out of the water. His strokes are also very awkward. My questions is that he is so much faster with what looks to be horrible form and water disruption. He was a swimmer but his form looks horrible yet he can swim forever with this awful form very fast. Any input???

Here is my response:

Perhaps he has swam for years and developed the strength to muscle through the water with at a high metabolic expense? READ MORE

I wanted titanium naturally, but after giving it some thought, ti would be much too cold for the bunsies. Carbon is the perfect material for this application!

The very real company that manufactures this incredible upgrade for any standard toilet allegedly uses “hand layered 550,000 psi tensile carbon fiber around a premoulded foam core,” and they have “experience in making carbon fiber bicycle and race parts, so the quality is top notch.” (Insert joke about which bicycle company they are associated with here.)

• Made with 100% real 2 x 2 twill carbon fiber
• Fit standard household toilets
• Comes with mounting hardware
• Dimensions: 16.5″ long (from nose to hinge centerline).  14.25″ wide
• Weighs: 2lbs 11oz (1,230 grams)
• Due to the nature of the product, sales are final

This item is available for purchase, when it’s actually in stock, from Carbon Fiber Gear’s website.

Found this on BikeRumor.com

-CW

Looking for more speed this winter in the water? Aren’t we all. You have two options to get more speed: increase your distance per stroke (stoke length) or increase your cadence (stroke rate). The former allows for less energy expenditure while the latter comes with increased energy expenditure. Increasing your stroke rate really isn’t that hard. All you need to do is move your arms faster! This requires more muscular strength in the arms and shoulders (smaller, weaker, more injury prone muscles), and more oxygen to use them. The “cost” of  the increased speed from increasing stroke rate is rather high, but many novice swimmers still pursue this option because it is simple, and with a lot of hard work, it’s easy to improve (to a point anyway, you can only move your arms so fast). But wait! The fact is you stand to make the most gains in speed in the water from increasing your stroke length, not stroke rate, by practicing good technique and improving your body position, streamlining, and reducing drag. These skills require very little energy, mostly just practice, and in the beginning a lot of concentration until the movements become ingrained in your nervous system. Teaching an “old dog” new tricks. Getting back in the water after a bit of time off from swimming after your race season, is the perfect time to practice these new moves that will lead to a longer stroke and less energy use that can be used for cycling and running faster!

Here are a few facts I pulled off of Terry Laughlin’s Total Immersion Blog regarding swimming speed:

1. Velocity = Length x Rate.

READ MORE

Need a little assistance starting your training for 2011? We have just the solution: EPC Training Plans available on TrainingPeaks.com! We are adding new plans every week to help you arrange your own training schedules around the proven EPC methods. You can follow them word-for-word, day-by-day, or simply use the detailed information to get ideas and direction for your own scheduling. Currently we have Strength Training for Triathletes plan to help you make the most out of your gym time, a Swimming Technique Plan to jump-start your off-season swim training with improved skill, and a complete 8-week Base Prep Plan that includes detailed training sessions in swim, bike, run and strength training to kick off your 2011 campaign! More to come includes the famous 12-week EPC Stationary Trainer Series Plan (new & improved for 2011!), individual bike and run off-season plans, a complete 12-week Base Training Plan and plenty of XTERRA focused training plans. All ready reasonably priced, EPC Club Members receive 50% off all plans with EPC Club Member discount code.

Check out the current offerings HERE.

-EPC

It’s that time of year again when you need to start thinking about food as fuel rather than tasty enjoyment or as a “get me through the next few hours of life” commodity. Including ample amounts of quality fats and proteins in your daily diet is critical to keeping your blood sugar in check and fat burning furnaces cranked on high!  I found this article pointing out some good sources of protein on Triathletemag.com and thought it worthy of sharing. Many of the item listed below are also great sources of quality fats (tuna, almonds, eggs, salmon), red blood cell building heme-iron (red meat), and other healthy components to the diet (yogurt w/ good bacteria and soy w/ antioxidants and bioflavonoids). Including several of these items to your daily diet everyday will help you become lean and mean on the race course!

The 10 Best Protein Sources for Triathletes

Updated: Dec 13th 2010 7:31 PM EST by Matt Fitzgerald

Protein is a very important component of a runner’s diet. Your muscles are, after all, made of protein. And the protein you include in your marathon training diet or triathlete diet needs to be adequate to promote fast muscle recovery after workouts and to ensure that your muscles adapt fully in response to your training.

READ MORE

Here is great question from one of my athletes I coach regarding training and when is it okay to take a day off or miss a workout and is it okay to go above my aerobic threshold HR during training.

Cody,

Training is going pretty good.  I have only missed one workout in the first 7 weeks.  One of the things people have said in the last few weeks is that I’m obsessed with working out.  That really isn’t true.  What I am obsessed with is making sure I get every workout done that is on the plan.  In the last seven weeks there have been times that I get very busy at work or I have to take a last minute business trip.  Sometimes I get fairly tired and mentally fatigued but I make sure I get the workouts done.  When I’ve read some of your blogs I see that you talk about listening to your body.  Is it better for me to power through and get all the workouts done or back off when I feel tired?  The other question I have is should there be a week that I do less training.  If you take the average I have worked out 11 hours a week.  I know to get better I need to get that up to 14-15 hours a week.  That being said is there anytime that you would back off a week to 6-7 hours as a recovery week.

READ MORE