Hey everyone, Trish and Toby here. This month we've created a guide to our best seasonal articles to help you maintain a healthy lifestyle throughout the holidays. No matter what your active passion may be, we've got you covered.

Lifestyle:
With holiday feasts right around the corner and weather that can diminish our motivation to train, it is not uncommon to pack on a few extra pounds this time of year. Active Expert Charles Stuart Platkin’s article, The Diet Detective: Fall Into Healthy Eating Habits, offers valuable tips for maintaining fitness without a compromise in performance at winter races and ensures a return to peak form in the spring.

Endurance:
Have you ever heard the saying, “athletes are made in the off season”? Now's the time to target your weaknesses and build proper technique and habits to lead into a successful racing season. Check out Boost Your Endurance in 7 Simple Steps and get the most from your off-season training.

Team:
Basketball season is upon us and it’s time for fundamental workouts with and without the basketball. Mississippi State basketball coach, Sharon Fanning, shares a 45-minute Workout that will developing confidence, coordination, strength, timing, and stamina on the hardwood.

Action:
Indoor Climbing Gyms Offer Year-round Fun Fitness and a nice break from the treadmill and stationary bike routine. Don’t let the winter elements take you off belay—utilize indoor climbing gyms to build stamina and confidence in a controlled environment. When the weather warms enough to head outdoors, you’ll be in peak condition.

Activities of Interest:
Check out Sacramento Winter Softball Camp by Olympic gold medalists Tairia Flowers and Natasha Watleyto hone your softball skills at the plate and in the field. Focus will be on increasing offensive power, slapping techniques, defensive fundamentals and pitching development. This camp will also feature practice-structure tips and drills along with valuable college recruiting advice from the pros.

Take advantage of The Classic Y-100, one of the last century rides of the year on November 25 in Ormond Beach, Florida. Crank out 100 in this inaugural ride that promises a beautiful route leading north along the Intracoastal waterway through parks and along the Atlantic coast. This event features a great safe route for beginners as well as 65- and 35-mile routes.

Folks in Southern California have already begun to register for the 2008 Carlsbad Marathon and Half Marathon on January 20. This was Toby’s first half marathon back in 2006 and he recommends it for runners of all abilities because of the fast course and beautiful ocean view.

See your training bear fruit at the oldest Ironman-distance triathlon held in the continental United States. Check out one of five 2008 Vineman events: Ironman 70.3, full Vineman, sprint tri at sundown, women's half or Aquabike during this weekend-long triathlon celebration.

My teammates and I competed in the Solana Beach Triathlon on Sunday morning. Our team, Active.com, won the mixed relay division and posted the best relay time overall. Swimmer, Carrie Smith handled the ¼-mile in 6 minutes, 59 seconds; our cyclist, Airey Baringer, biked the nine miles in 24:45; and I ran the 5K in 18:43 for a total team time of 50:27. Our performance ranked 15th place overall on the day.

Our team is satisfied with the outcome of the race and we've already begun planning our next event. I think we were most excited for the opportunity to compete as a team because we've each become used to training and competing on an individual basis. The camaraderie of the team environment proved motivational and I recommend this experience for anyone looking to get involved in the sport of triathlon or to gain valuable race-pace experience in any of the individual disciplines.

Individually, I set a PR because it was actually my first 5K distance. I felt extremely powerful throughout the 3.1 miles, and I've recovered well already. It's interesting to note that on Sunday I raced at a six-minutes-per mile pace and on August 11 I will be attempting the Mount Disappointment 50-mile ultra marathon, which demands a conservative pace of approximately 10-minute miles of mixed running and fast hiking.

Here is a video I made of the event using the video editing technology, Jumpcut, which is a new feature of Active.com

To care for the tendinitis that developed in my Achilles tendon while training for a marathon, my sports medicine physician set me up with a treatment plan consisting of prescription anti-inflammatory medication, stretching and strengthening exercises. It is advised that an acute tendon injury can be cured within six weeks while chronic conditions take up to 8 to 10 months to heal.

With conservative treatment and non-impact cross-training, I hope to build upon the cardiovascular base that I developed while marathon training. This will allow my Achilles to repair while preparing for my first triathlon.

With that said I?ve decided that the Bulldog 50K Ultra Run will be too much too soon so I scratched it from the list and now have my sights set on the 5th Annual Lake Arrowhead Triathlon on August 18. This sprint-distance race stood out because it represents a S.M.A.R.T goal at this stage in my rehabilitation process.

S.M.A.R.T goalNext week, I?ll be training in the ocean with an open-water swim. I grew up a fresh water swimmer and gym-pool swimmer, so I lack an abundance of experience with the intricacies of open-water swimming. After reading *Rachel Cosgrove*?s article, Survive the surf: Entrances and exits in open water swims, I realized that swimming in the ocean is more hazardous than swimming in a pool. I feel confident in pursuit of my latest endeavor after gaining a better understanding of the imminent risks. Since Cosgrove is a USAT Level 1 certified triathlon coach, her explanation of basic techniques are helpful for both training swims as well as race situations.

Safety first, fun a close second.

During a visit to Beijing earlier this month, swimmers Michael Phelps and Katie Hoff caught an early glimpse of the National Aquatics Center. Also referred to as the Water Cube, the futuristic square building -- which will host swimming, diving, water polo and synchronized swimming -- looks like it's covered in bubble wrap.

"It's definitely pretty cool," Phelps told reporters. The structure is located in the Olympic Green, adjacent to the National Stadium, and is one of the centerpieces of Beijing's Olympic venues for the 2008 Games.

"I think it's going to paint a picture for Katie and me in our minds, to really help us prepare for next year and get us more and more excited," Phelps said.

Scheduled for completion in October of this year, the Water Cube's exterior is made up of membrane structures which comprise over 3,000 pneumatic cushions. Low-pressure air is inflated into the cushions to resist wind and provide insulation.

For the Olympics, temporary seating will allow a capacity of 11,000. Permanent seats number 6,000. In comparison, the largest indoor pool in the U.S., the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis, Ind., can hold 4,700 spectators. It will host this year's U.S.A. Swimming National Championships.

For more on Michael Phelps, visit here. And be sure to check out how Beijing is working toward staging an environmentally-friendly Olympics.

The 2007 NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships came to an end this past Saturday in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The title was secured by Auburn, who finished with 566 points which was 169 points ahead of second place Stanford. Auburn coach David Marsh was awarded NCAA Coach of the Year and secured his 12th national championship tying the record with the most swimming and diving titles ever won by a NCAA head coach.

This model of leadership greatly contrasts second place finisher Stanford and the leadership role of their head coach, Skip Kenny, who was suspended for erasing the records of 5 of his swimmers who graduated 2006. Kenny was suspended with pay by the university for his actions <click here for full story> and did not attend the 2007 NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships. In Kenny's absence, 2 new school records were recorded amongst the four second-place finishes.

By Jesse Hammond

On the heels of an incredible World Championships in Melbourne, the swimming world was suddenly rocked last week when the French newspaper L'Equipe reported that retired Australian swimmer Ian Thorpe showed high levels of two performance-enhancing substances in a drug test in May 2006.

Thorpe, who retired last November at the age of 24, denies ever cheating. He will not face losing his records (except, perhaps, to Michael Phelps) or medals, because he did not fail the test, according to swimming and doping officials. The substances, testosterone and luteinizing hormone, are both naturally occurring in a male's body, but high levels can have steroid-like effects.

In fact, the biggest controversy surrounding the report has been the actual leak itself. FINA, swimming's world governing body, plans to investigate how the confidential information reached a French newspaper. The Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) performed the test and maintains they aren't the source of the leak.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has called the report a "serious breach of confidentiality." WADA is not yet involved in the case because it "has not led to an analytical positive result, but is rather an unusual situation which is subject to further inquiry," it said in a statement.

Stanford swim coach Skip Kenney "selectively removed" the names and best times of 2006 graduates Michael McLean, Peter Carothers, Tobias Oriwol and Rick Eddy, as well as a 1989 performance by Jason Plummer from this year's media guide. Stanford athletic director, Bob Bowlsby, told reporters that the university's former media relations representative, Bob Vazquez, was equally responsible for the violation because of his role in producing the men's swimming guide. Further investigation lead to an interview with 2006 graduate, Michael McLean, and uncovered tension between Kenny and the former swimmer. 4 of McLean's times were erased for what he described as a lasting resentment that Kenny developed following a summer when McLean chose to intern rather than solely focus on training, even though it violates NCAA regulations to require student-athletes to train in the off season. When Kenney was interviewed by the student newspaper, he told them that the omissions were honest mistakes and were not a result of poor relationships with the former swimmers. This violation will lead to disciplinary action by the university after next week's NCAA men?s swimming championships in Minneapolis where Stanford could win it's eight nation title.