Last summer, I took a fairly long bike trip that I had to spend some time training for. Since I'm not a cyclist, I had no idea how to prepare, so I scoured the bookstores looking for tips on how to train. That's how I came across 'The Cyclist's Training Bible,' by Joe Friel, a writer and coach who has been training cyclists and triathletes for years.

While Friel has written several books for both cyclists and triathletes, 'The Cyclist's Training Bible,' was the one I really studied because it lays out a training plan for attacking the cycling racing season. (Nevermind that I wasn't racing: My goal was just not to be left in the dust by the life-long cyclists I was riding with.)

Friel is a great writer, but what I like most about him is that he's a true scientist when it comes to training. Unlike many coaches, his methods are really exact, based on data recorded from both elite and amateur athletes.

I'll write about it in more depth in a later post. But to give you some background, his premise is that by following a precise trainging plan you should be able to shape--even predict--when your body will provide the best performances during the season, right down to the week of the event.