Miserable winter weather left holiday travelers delayed or stranded at airports from coast to coast. What are your rights when your flight is canceled or delayed?

As 2008 draws to a close, it’s time to start looking ahead to the 2009 race season. On Trifuel.com, triathlete coach Matt Russ has a few easy steps for athletes of all mediums to help you envision a successful racing year. He recommends dividing your races into A, B, and C races to help you plan a calendar that won’t leave you overwhelmed.

“A” races: races you really want to do well in. This is your main sport and your training is directed at being successful in this format. All of your “A” races should be similar, Russ recommends, like doing all sprint triathlons, all marathons, or all competitive eating contests. This can help keep you focused and working the correct muscles.

“B” races: races you’d like to do well in, but are not your primary sport. For example: a favorite 10k even if you’re a long distance swimmer. B races are great warm-up events for your A races, but you should still be giving 100 percent at these events.

“C” races: Races that are just plain fun and keep you interested in working out. A charity ride or walk with friends that won’t push you too hard is great for C events.

SCHEDULING:
Start with your A races. You need about 10-12 weeks to train for an “A” event to peak at the right time. Lay your calendar out and mark down all your A races, giving yourself at least 12 weeks before the first one. After your first A race, schedule your A races in 4 week clusters during your high season (for example, biking during the summer months) or give yourself at least 12 weeks between A races. After each A race, give yourself a week of active recovery.

Your B and C races can be sprinkled throughout the calendar. Some words of advice: don’t plan B or C events too close before your A races, because the time before A events should be devoted to specific training.

OTHER GOOD RESOURCES FOR THE NEW YEAR:
Check out Outside Online’s Nutrition Doc with Walter DeNino of Trismarter.com for specific nutrition tips for real athletes.

From all of us at Outside Online, we wish you a happy and healthy new year.

–Melanie Lidman

How do you plan your race season? Share your tips below!   

An Air New Zealand Boeing 747 made a successful test-flight yesterday using a mixture of conventional jet fuel and fuel made from the jatropha plant, according to The New York Times. The 50-50 combo represented, “the
earliest stages of sustainable fuel development and an important moment
in aviation history,” according to Air New Zealand’s chief executive Rob Fyfe.

Last February, Virgin Atlantic became the first airline to use a biodiesel concoction. This Air New Zealand flight was monumental because it used jatropha plant, which grows in “sandy, saline or otherwise infertile soil and each seed
produces 30 to 40 percent of its mass in oil, giving it a high per-acre
yield,” reported The New York Times.

The test also furthered the International Air Transportation Association’s quest to have its “members use 10
percent alternative fuels by 2017.”

–Alex Crevar

As the hours tick down to the New Year, it’s time to take one last look back at the highlights—er, lowlights, shall I say—of traveler industry news in 2008.