Favorite Training books

[stephenmarklay]

I didn't race last year due to a hip injury but I am starting to get the bug again. I got rid of all my books on the subject and I liked having them to refer to.

I guess I will repurchase some.

Which ones do you guys like?

I had Joe Friell, Chris Carmichael and the power book by Hunter/Coggan

[kgreene10]

I have the Friel and the Allen/Coggan books as well. I have to say that I find them somewhat difficult and time-consuming to use. It's really challenging to take their general advice (which seems quite good to me) and make it into a concrete weekly and daily training plan. If only coaches weren't so darn expensive!

[MattTuck]

Racing Weight by Matt Fitzgerald

More about diet than training... but diet is an important part of training....

[stephenmarklay]

I have to agree on kgreen10. I turned those pages many times. I actually hired a coach to get started from November to April in 2009. It was a big help. He was old school -do the miles and lots of them. I gained incredible fitness (all relative) but my health was actually poor due to massive over training. I was also stressed to get in all the time and slept for sh*t.

The books helped as well. I didn't (and still don't) have a power meter so that reading was interesting but I could not use it.

I read racing weight too.

Its a fine line doing enough and too much and since I do a lot of trainer miles they are very effective at doing me in. I was doing 4 hour rides on my trainer on the weekends :o. I did a few 5's too.

This time I don't think I will do more than 3 and 2 is more likely.

I would love to do the 3 -4 day interval deal and save myself a lot of time but I doubt next year would be that great without the base training.

[Peter P.]

Speaking of favorite training books, you won't believe what I did.

I have two cycling books I value as references; The Science of Cycling, and Eddy B.'s training book from the early 80's, Bicycle Road Racing.

With both books, the pages were unglued from the spine and pretty much falling out.

I sought out a book bindery on the 'net as they are a dying business for onesie/twosie books.

I shipped them out last week. Got a call today on the cost to rebind these soft cover books as hardbound, with the title on the spine.

The books probably cost 20 bucks each, 2 decades ago.

It'll cost just over 100 bucks to put both under hardcover and ship them back.

I'm probably a fool for paying that much because it's quite possible I could find new replacements at original prices.

These things will be heirlooms when I get them back; but none of my relatives are cyclists so who's gonna want 'em when I die?!

[stephenmarklay]

If you die send them to me and I will treat them in kind.

[dekindy]

http://www.arniebakercycling.com/pubs/Free/HIT%202011%2013%20ed.%20ABC%2020%20pages.pdf

Written by a cyclist/MD. Has 4-week programs that I believe are desgined for in season training to peak for a specific event versus 13-week programs for Winter indoor training. Really good explanation of the science. The current Winter cycling training program that I am participating in is following the same basic principles.

[stephenmarklay]

Thanks Dekindy I will read this.