I've received thousands of e-mails recently asking me about my training regime. More specifically, when do I train and when do I not train? Okay, I’ll be completely honest here and state for the record that I did get one e-mail about six months ago asking me this or that about training … or perhaps it was about the house-training of my dog. Unfortunately we'll never know, because somehow I managed to lose the e-mail.

But as you may suspect, I'm not one to let facts, questions or even rumors get in the way of doling out my plethora of sage advice. Thus, I will do my best to answer this long-forgotten question: When do I train and when do I not train?

When it comes to training, I have the easy-to-remember Golden 2NF Rule. You way be wondering what 2NF stands for … at least I hope you are, as that's how I’ll keep you from clicking over to your favorite online shopping, joke, video or chat room/forum Web site.

No I'm sorry; I didn't mean that. I meant your favorite news, work or research web site.

If you are still with me, here's what 2NF stands for. And since I'm all about choice, I'll give you two possible definitions and you can choose the one you like best.

1) 2 Negative Factors
2) 2 No Freaking Way!

Let me explain.... The Golden 2NF Training Rule is what I use to determine if I should go out and train on any given day. Here's how it works:

Let's start with running, as that is how many of us got into endurance sports. Picture yourself well rested on a perfect day. The sun is shining, it’s about 70 degrees with light, fluffy clouds in the sky, no wind, no traffic, and you have nothing else to do but go for a lovely run on the perfect running path, around the perfect lake, alongside young people with perfect bodies, followed by a perfect and peaceful nap. This would pretty much be the perfect training run.

Now lets add some common negative factors to that run. I'll start with three to keep this simple, but we'll add a few more as you get the hang of this.

The three negative factors (NFs) are:

1) Dark
2) Cold
3) Rain

So the Golden 2NF Training Rule states that I will go for my training run as long as only two out of the three negative factors are in play. In other words, I will go for that run if it is cold and dark but not raining; I'll go for that run if it is raining and cold but not dark. I will NOT go for that run if it is cold, dark AND raining. The simple idea is that if the negative factors exceed two or more, I'll opt to not do that workout.

Now that you have the basic concept, here are some other factors that could negatively impact training: snow, nagging injury, fatigue, wind, gear issues such as not having the proper shoes, not enough time, sickness, pain, hunger/nutrition issues, mud, hills, mental stamina, heat, new training route, allergies, hangover. I'm sure you can add your own negative factors to this list.

So why the 2NF rule? I have found that when I break this rule and end up going for a training run that, according to the rule, I should not go on, the workout usually makes me weaker rather than stronger. In other words, by breaking the rule, I tend to do more harm than good to my overall fitness and stamina.

The most common way this plays out is injury. For instance, the last time I went running in the dark, cold and snow, I slipped and fell on a huge rock and twisted my ankle. I would have been in much better shape had I just stayed in bed instead of going for the freezing early-morning run.

This is especially true when I become overeager (and a bit stupid) and try to train trough a nagging injury. If I combine the nagging injury like my Plantar Fasciitis with a hilly, hot run, I can promise you that the next week I'll be exclusively in the pool because I won't be able to run.

As many of us type-A endurance athletes have either become addicted to training or cannot stand the thought having to miss a planned training day, this rule serves as a common-sense tool to actually get fitter and faster.

The second most-common way that breaking this rule impacts my training is that I get sick. If I'm fatigued and I go for a cold and snowy run, chances are I'll be looking down the double barrel of a nasty cold and flu within 48 hours.

The great thing about the Golden 2NF Rule is that it also works for the bike and the swim. You just need to add and subtract a few of the negative factors and you have a training rule that you can live by on your bike and in the pool. For example, you can add negative factors such as "questionable water quality" or "unknown Masters coaching" for the pool workout and "incorrect bike fit,” “dangerous traffic" and "crazy riding partner" to the bike ride.

Now for myself, I have set the bar pretty high with the Golden 2NF Rule. For a newbie, I would suggest that you don't exceed the Golden 1NF Rule … at least not until you get to better know the limits of your body. For instance, you don't need to go on a training ride or run in the cold with a "crazy training buddy" who will run or bike you into the ground. That may be a huge ego boost for him or her, but it does absolutely nothing positive for you—especially when you can't walk the next day because your knees are screaming in pain.

So the next time you are not sure if a training workout is worth doing, the Golden 1NF or 2NF Rule is all yours.

Oh yes, you may have two other questions:
1) Why do I call this the "Golden" 2NF rule?

It’s simple: Do unto your body, as you would have it do unto you. Or, in other words, the way you treat a training workout is the same way it will treat your body.

2) Why can NF also stand for No Freaking Way!?

When I tripped and fell on that rock in the cold, snow and dark, I swore "No Freaking Way!" would I ever again violate my own Golden 2NF Rule.

Roman Mica is an amateur Clydesdale triathlete who lives and races in
Boulder, Colorado, and has his own blog, EverymanTri.com. He is also the founder of the team raceAthlete www.B-FitB-Day.com Challenge. His new book entitled No Seriously, My Training Starts Tomorrow: The Everyman's Guide to IRONFIT Swimming, Cycling & Running was just published and is available on Amazon.