You have your workouts all set and have arranged your job schedule just so. Everything is lined up for that long ride this weekend. Then the in-laws come to town, and, if you don't want a divorce, you have to entertain them. Drat! Two training days shot.

It's annoying, to be sure, but it's not the end of the world. How you handle the small detour in your training can mean a lot to the bottom line of your program. The key is not to let stress take over when life interrupts your training plans. Stress is your enemy. In a stressful state, you are more prone to injury.

In a twelve-week training program, you will be lucky if your plans are not messed up several times. Plan for interruptions and be creative when they occur. For example, if your long weekend ride is canceled by the weather, try to make it up during the week, perhaps riding instead of swimming one day, or just shorten the swim to give you more time for riding. If you find that your bike has a flat and you don't have a tube to fix it, do a run instead.

Just remember that your training doesn't have to follow the schedules in this book to the letter. Small deviations will not screw up your training.