If transition is triathlon's fourth discipline, nutrition should be the fifth. Making fuelling mistakes could mean your race ends in disaster. And the longer the event, the more critical your food and drink strategy becomes. But it's not easy

: Two slices of white bread with jam, 60g of fat-free yogurt, a banana and a glass of orange juice. Eat an energy gel or sweets 15 minutes before the start.Hard Ride or Long RunCalories: 600Time before: Three hoursStrategy: A tough two- to three

for you on race day. So I would say that the more time you have to try different sports bars, gels, energy drinks and timings, the better. As well as thinking about which carbohydrate you'll take on board during the race this is also a good time to plan

With three disciplines to consider, it's easy to make mistakes when you're eating and drinking during training and racing. That's the bad news. The good news is that it's easy to avoid triathlon's common nutritional pitfalls if you plan ahead