with total flexibility in terms of how and when to clock up those miles. Online running community fetcheveryone.com has monthly mileage groups, which are great for motivation. You could even run the year – 2010 miles works out as 38.5 per week! Start a

, it's time for 'fourth gear': do maximal sessions like 4x2K track runs and 10-mile time trials." - Will Clarke"Winter is the time to work on weaknesses, make changes and try new ideas. Winter training is about flexibility and compromise, so do not set

rest."It can be hard for triathletes to truly switch off when the seasons ends. "Age-group triathletes generally are very obsessive; they tend to be successful, highly motivated individuals, which means they struggle to take time off," says Freedman

the most daunting, so take a minute to check out our BIG Beginners’ Index before you bound out the door – it’s packed with get-started tips, motivational advice and an essential kit checklist too.Don’t be tempted to run as far as you can, as fast as you can

, and that's something I really care about."To develop mental resilience, Ben Bright suggests occasionally attempting a training set you've never achieved before, such as 15 x 100m front-crawl intervals with 10 seconds' less rest than usual between each. "I

to make any post-run socials that are an integral part of any club's cohesion. "Mine's on my way home from work, so it's virtually impossible for me to justify not going – and I can enjoy a relaxing drink afterwards knowing I've got an easy 10-minute jog