the national long-distance triathlon championships, and decided to take three months unpaid leave from work so that I could train full-time. I ended up finishing tenth. I had a terrible race, and was exhausted from beginning to end. I had overdone my training

and start again. Total time: 30 minutes. Record total distance. REST DAY SWIM: Warm-up: 3 x 100m. Main: 50m, 100m, 150m, 200m, 150m, 100m, 50m all with 40 seconds rest between. Cool-down 4 x 50 concentrating on technique. Thu SWIM: Continuous

Ingredients (serves 4) 2 tbsp vegetable oil 200g tenderstem broccoli, stems cut in half 1 red pepper, deseeded and sliced 1 yellow pepper, deseeded and sliced ½ bunch spring onions, sliced 200g leftover roast chicken, chopped 1-2 cloves garlic

The benefitsPeppers Peppers are packed with vitamins A and C, two powerful antioxidants. They work together to battle free radicals, those unstable molecules that race around the body looking to inflict cell damage. Red peppers also contain lycopene

Ingredients (serves 4)1 large onion, roughly chopped2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced2 cm piece fresh ginger, roughly chopped2 tbsp vegetable oil 200g yellow split peas200g Tenderstem broccoli, sliced in 3cm piecesSmall bunch coriander, roughly

at Sports-Nutritionist.com. "Then you need to take in foods that give you the fuel to perform your best." Here's how. Calories are based on a 68kg athlete.Picture credit: Sue TallowEasy Spin or RunCalories: 200 to 300 Time before: 30-45 minutes

," he says. "These one-hour sessions are not only practised by novices but also by elite and world-class triathletes."Swim sessionThis pace-control session should take around 45 minutes to complete.• 200m warm-up (50m easy swim, 25m pull and 25m kick. 30

shorter race and fit into your schedule easily as you can train in a number of disciplines quickly. These sessions are ideal and can be done up to two days before you race: • A 30-minute fartlek (varying the speed and intensity) cycle at 65 to 85 per cent

Ingredients (serves 4) 300g diced red potatoes, skins on 200g green beans, fresh or frozen, cut into 2cm pieces 3 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced 225g spaghetti 2 tbsp basil pesto 1 tbsp pine nuts, toasted 1 tbsp grated Pecorino cheese

placed on it during the Olympic-distance triathlon. "To avoid burning out use race nutrition during training," says Fiona Hoare, who has competed in the World Championships. "If you're hungry or thirsty it's too late, so drink every 20 minutes, up to a