As I work towards my first Ironman distance race in August this year, I find myself furiously reading as much as I can about anything related to Swimming, Cycling, Running, nutrition - you name it I will read it.
Granted, I have spent almost half my life doing this anyway, so it is more of a hobby than a task, and I always find that after spending a few hours reading, my excitement for what lies ahead on the rise.
In this day and age, finding a few hours (or even a few minutes) to sit quietly and read can often be pretty tricky, but once you have actually made the effort, and have settled down and focused the mind on the job at hand (reading), what a pleasure.
Currently I am reading 3 books with a focus on Endurance sports (2 triathlon, 1 Cycling).
One of the three books I have had in my library for a few years now, and have never gotten around to reading it, and now that I am reading it, I am so excited because it has caused a shift in my approach to training both myself and some of the athletes I work with.
It is written by Joe Friel and Gordo Byrn and is 300 pages of great and highly relevant information for athletes training for the Ironman distance event.
The book to which I refer is called Going Long, and was first published in 2003.
It has the perfect blend of "Geeky science" and practical, field based applicability, that will ensure you get a good edcuation, and at the same time, a great insight and understanding of the ins and outs of the sport.
One of the highlights was reading the section of testing your Power output using a test called the CP30 (critical Power 30) test.
I will expand on the test in my next posting, until then, check out Going Long (there is a second edition out now) - it is well worth the effort!
