The summer and tri season are coming to an end, but that doesn?t mean you have to go into hibernation. There are plenty of things to look forward to including the Austin Marathon, the brand new Texas Tri Series and Fit Body, Fit Soul Workshop by Mark Allen.

Speaking of Mark Allen, he's written the Training 101 section for this month?s edition. That?s right: the 6 Time Ironman World Champion and man once considered the fittest person on Earth is providing some tapering advice just for you! You don?t want to miss it. Nor do you want to miss next month?s training tip from October?s Triathlete Magazine coverboy, Michael Lovato.

What you do want to miss, however, is all of the vehicular and pedestrian traffic around Jack and Adam?s Bicycles this ACL Festival weekend. For that reason, the shop will be closed those three days beginning Friday, Sept. 15. Jack and Adam?s will also be closed on Wednesday, Sept. 25 while the staff attends Interbike Bicycle Industry Tradeshow.

You read that right - Jack and Adam's will be presenting a triathlon series for the upcoming year. The series will include local sprint and Olympic distance favorites along with two new events. The series will kick off with The Rookie Tri on May 12th and end with the Longhorn Triathlon, a half Iron distance, produced by Endorfun Sports on September 30th. Get on board early as to not miss this "History in the Making!"

Do you want to reach your fullest potential in a race, a job, or a truly healthy life? If so, then check out Mark Allen's Fit Body, Fit Soul workshop at The Crossings September 29 to October 1.

In this exciting three day seminar, Mark Allen and Brant Secunda (renowned shaman and healer in the Huichol Indian tradition) provide you with the tools needed for health, balance, and well-being. Allen reveals Forever Fit, his program designed to help everyone achieve lifelong fitness and health. The program incorporates a blend of exercise, nutrition, and strength training. Secunda shares powerful shamanic practices that you can use in daily life to experience health and healing, and awaken your connection to inner awareness.

New at Jack and Adam's: The GEL-BOT. It's the first water bottle available with an integrated gel flask. Using Energy-Core technology, Gel Bot allows you to consume gel, drink water or have a mixture of both, all from the same bottle. It's easy to use and easy to clean. Check it out at the shop today!

What to Expect When You Taper

I hope your season has been a great one. Most people are getting close to their speed phase if not already into it and nearing the time when they will taper down for the final big event of the season. Here are a few things to keep in mind to help you have a fantastic last race of the year and to maximize the benefits of your taper.

First, when your workouts start to taper down during the final four weeks to your goal race your body will go through some important changes where you can experience sensations that may feel like things are not working correctly. Let me explain some of what to expect so it is not a surprise. During the first week of backing down the training volume your body will still be in the mode where it is expecting you to keep loading on the volume. This often results in feeling really strong, which is certainly a great thing to have happen.

Next comes the part of a taper that can cause athletes to question their fitness. As you continue to drop off the training volume in the second and third weeks of your taper your body finally figures out that you are not going to keep demanding more from it, and that you are giving it the chance to go into super-recovery mode. When you get to this point in the taper cycle you can actually start to feel extra tired, flat and heavy during workouts, and feel like you are losing some of that hard earned fitness.

But no matter what, resist the temptation to throw in some extra volume or speed just to test yourself to make sure that you are indeed still in good shape. This is just part of the taper. During these weeks get extra sleep, reduce the external stresses, and cut back on some of your workouts if your body is telling you to do so. Most of all trust that this is just part of what will help you to be supercharged on race day. This is a normal yet temporary feeling during a good taper.

Once you get to that last week before your goal race things will start to switch back in the other direction. Your energy will start to come back and your body will once again feel stronger and faster. The advice here is the same as during the previous part of your taper, which is to resist doing anything that really tests your fitness. Keep storing up, stick to your training schedule, and continue to do your best to keep the stress low and to get good quality sleep. Then by race day you will have done everything possible to be ready to have the race of your life!

Best of luck for the upcoming months.

Yours in Sport,
Mark Allen

If you didn't make it to Jack's Generic Triathlon on Labor Day, then you missed out on a lot of fun. This event was highlighted by the Don T. Bonk Zone where a token for Amy's Ice Cream was given on the final half mile of the run. Not only could participants chow down on burgers and ice cream afterwards, but thousands of dollars worth of door prizes were also doled out. Thanks to all of the participants, volunteers and sponsors of this fun event!