Happy New Year! We hope you had a great holiday season and are sticking with your New Year's Resolutions! If your list includes more exercise and a healthier lifestyle, then Jack & Adam's is here to help!

In this month's edition we have a variety of events to help with your fitness goals. Not only that, but a popular Tri Coach offers his guidance on losing the winter blahs (& lbs). So sit back, enjoy & make 2008 a great one!

Jack & Adam's Bicycles is proud to announce the 2nd Annual Texas Triathlon Series. The Texas Tri Series consists of six triathlons in Austin and the central Texas region. Participants complete the series by finishing or volunteering in all 6 of the events. A fun-filled finisher party concludes the series. Don't miss out on all the fun, sign up today!

The Lonestar Tri isn't part of the Texas Tri Series this year, but it's still a fun event in which to participate. Take the whole family on a mini vacation to Galveston Island and enjoy the action packed weekend starting on March 28th.

If you're giving your bike some recovery time this winter, don't forget to keep it safe from theft. Jack & Adam's carries a variety of Kryptonite locks to keep your commuter or tri bike safe year round.

Not only that, but we like Kryptonite because they give back to the bike community. They are doing so by donating racks to local retailers and interesting spots so cyclists can feel free to stop and enjoy the community. Jack and Adam's was one of the local retailers to receive the racks. Other locations in Austin include: Austin American Statesman (Bats at Congress), YMCA, Cream Vintage, and Alamo Drafthouse. Thanks Kryptonite!

'Tis the Season - for the Off-Season!

Off season to a lot of athletes means taking time off from October to March to help re-energize for the following season. Others focus on different sports to get out of the winter elements. How can you keep training during the off-season so as to keep things interesting and to keep the sport of triathlon fun year 'round?

The goal should be purposeful training -- focus on a few key elements with your training. A great place to start is working on your physiology and the changes you can make over the winter months. Two key components to altering your physiology include: increasing power to weight ratio and improving your cardiovascular network.

As a year round coach for adults, I have athletes come in and out of the off-season in different shape, literally! Some athletes start the tri season in February in good cardio shape, but have added some extra holiday weight. Others have gone to a few too many holiday parties and ignored the fact that they'll be starting from Square One when the season begins. It is best when body weight doesn't fluctuate; keeping it constant is best for your cardiovascular system.

The best way to keep the weight off is to run, not like Forest Gump, but to actually have a plan for running. The key to improving physiology and keeping the weight off is to work on your stride-rate. This means faster, possibly shorter strides during your long runs to improve your cardiovascular development in your legs. Try to pick up the stride rate without increasing your pace per mile or effort. A faster stride rate will help you develop capillaries deeper in the muscle and help fuel the legs better and flush lactic acid quicker. A good 3-6 weeks of this technique will help you keep the weight off until its time to work on the strength building phase of your training plan. Maximizing your power to weight ration will allow you to find greater efficiencies across all three sports in triathlon.

Swimming and cycling can also help to increase the cardiovascular network. In swimming you can incorporate longer, aerobic sets with short rest intervals. A good example would be 4-6 x 800's as a workout. Working on technique during these sets is a must. Long sets with bad technique can set you back rather than move you forward. Try taking a technique clinic to make sure you learn the proper forms of efficiency swimming.

High cadence while cycling will also aid in increasing your cardiovascular network. Keep your cadence at 90+ rpms for 70% of the ride time (this may keep you in smaller gears than usual.) If you don't have a cadence meter, a good substitute is to count one leg for 15 sec and multiply by 4 to get your rpms. During the winter months we find ourselves riding indoors and on a trainer more often. Focusing on high cadence in these indoor sessions will give more purpose to your training. Spin classes are a good place to work on this, but using your own bike with a trainer is best because you keep your body position similar to how you ride on the road.

Setting goals and having a purpose to your OFF-SEASON training will help you stay motivated and focused during the winter training. Best of all these few tips will help you have a much more successful racing season in 2008. Contact Maurice

Maurice Culley is a USAT certified head coach with AUSTIN T3 Triathlon Training. He has over 10 years of coaching experience - including beginner athletes and world championship qualifiers. As a triathlete himself, he enjoys racing the long distance events and just recently competed in the 2007 70.3 World Championships in Florida.

Confused about when to replace different bike parts? Here is a helpful list, which if followed, will keep your bike running smoothly time and time again.

Tune up: Once a year or as needed

Cables Replaced: Every 6 months or as needed

Tires: Every 2500 Miles

Tubes: Until they flat

Chain: 10-speed: Every 2000 miles
9-speed or less: Every 2500 miles

Cassette: Every 15,000 miles if chain is replaced regularly

Bottom Bracket: Replace when loose or rough

Brake Pads: Replace when worn halfway through

Bearings: Replace when rough

Carbon Bars and Seat Post: Replace every 1.5 to 2 years.