Joe Friel

Let me first say, I love this book. It is so well constructed. This is the type of book I will read once, and will find myself going back to again and again as I progress in my understanding of Triathlon. This book was compiled by a gathering of experts and gives new meaning to the words approachable and thorough. I am a nurse and a runner. I am brand new to the science of Triathlon, so this book was particularly well designed for me. I love that they began the book with a chapter on the show more science of energy. After reading it, I understood the physiological aspect of how my body creates energy during exercise in a whole new way. I appreciated that each chapter ends with a "conclusion", so I can reinforce the new information and hopefully clarify each segment. I valued the myriad graphs and charts used to illustrate the many training techniques. As a beginner, I again appreciated that they illustrated the basics of each discipline (swimming, biking, and running) so I can understand the fundamentals in swimming and biking, areas of triathlon that are new to me. The book does not shy away from the science and technical aspects of training, stretching, injury and injury prevention, training and overtraining. The authors devote a whole segment to the various types of Triathlon, from the sprint Triathlon to the Iron Man, discussing how to train for each particular distance. Finally, I love that the authors concluded this exhaustive work with a chapter on the mental aspects of training for Triathlon contributed by a sports psychologist. Mental training, relaxation, and mental toughness are just important to the athletes ultimate performance as the physical act of training. I do not pretend to have understood all the details presented in this book. But as a resource, I know I will reach for it again and again as I begin to study and gain better understanding, to train, and to ultimately compete in this new sport. show less

This epic tome takes takes a deep, technical look at every aspect of tri-training. It's actually a multi-author collection of essays but the editors have done well to create a consistent tone throughout. The approach is resolutely evidence-based and there are no attempts to advance crackpot theories. Yes it's dry and academic but there are plenty of other books out there if you want touchy-feely.

Even if you're only serious about one or two of the three sports, "Triathlon Science" is well show more worth having on your bookshelf. It's all covered in depth: kinematics, technique, nutrition, equipment, injury prevention, psychology, &c. show less

After being diagnosed with celiac disease but not responding to a gluten-free diet, I ended up with a medically prescribed diet that is pretty much Paleo (though a bit stricter). The new diet is working amazingly well, so I thought I'd read a bit about it to educate myself as to why.

Sadly, this is more of a "try this diet" book than a "why this diet works" book. There is some good information to it but it is more infomercial than what I hoped for, particularly with the "you will lose show more weight!" bits. I'm a couple of pounds away from being underweight; the last thing I want to do is lose more weight.

I suppose I'm just the wrong demographic for this book. I've already switched over to this way of eating and after a few weeks, had a dramatic turnaround in my celiac problems (joint pain being the biggest issue), so I don't need convincing. It did give me a few ideas as to where to expand my current diet and did give me a bit more confidence going forward, but probably not the most necessary diet-related reading I've ever done.

Two stars for the book, one more star for the diet (because it has been pretty great to me in helping me control my health issues so far). show less

Intended for competitive cyclists (i.e.. road racers, triathletes), explaining how to utilize a power meter to serve as the basis for their training.

Missing from the discussion is the power meter itself, which ends up mostly being a good thing. The book is a few years old, so any mention of specific products would be woefully out of date, while the interpretation of the numbers hasn't changed. The downside is that for people looking to get started, there is no guidance on what type of power show more meter would be best for them, let alone details of what to look for when comparing products.

To get any use out of the book, software such as TrainingPeaks must be used to analyze the data in order to properly track progress and plan future workouts. While essential to optimize performance, this may be daunting and overkill for the casual rider. show less