After reading reviews that stated this book was simple to use and had specific examples, I couldn't wait to receive it. I really need time saving training methods and hoped this book would offer solutions. What I found was the usual confusing information on VO2 max, heart rate and other measurements that needed to be taken before you could move on to what you could do to train efficiently in less time. I tried to skip all that and move ahead to the meat of the book and found that pretty confusing too. If I had enough time to read and comprehend this book, I wouldn't need it...I would spend the time training. I am going to give Mark Allen's new book about the same topic a try.

While this material might not be ideal for most beginners, once you've been training for a while, it will be an invaluable addition to your training regimine.

The principles can be utilized and easily expanded to cover 1/2 and Full Ironman programs -- weekdays stay the same, just extend the long weekend workouts and you're all set!

There are better books for beginners (I used Triathlon 101 by John Mora, which I found perfect for my first race), but when you're ready to focus on improving performance instead of simply finishing, this book can help you get to that next level. He explains the technical details, but then generally summarizes in layman's terms. He encourages technical training aids like heart rate monitoring, but also proposes lower-tech ways of estimating. At the end of the day, however, if you want to improve and have a limited time budget, you've got to be organized and be willing to structure your training for greater intensity. It's not easy and it's not going to hold your hand; it is focused on performance