time accordingly. Think about it: the swim leg accounts for roughly 10 per cent of your race, around 60 per cent of your time is spent on the bike and the remaining 30 per cent on the run. If you want to compete, rather than simply finish, you'll need

and perhaps even take your running to a new level.One answer, and a possible way to improve your running time at the next triathlon, may be cross-training. Substituting some of your running with other cross-training enables you to complete extra endurance

legs used to turning over at race pace".To replicate the type of terrain you'll be racing on, Robison suggests incorporating both uphill and downhill training sessions into your preparations: "Try to find a stretch of road or trail that is steep enough

1. Sleep well"In reality, trying to sleep well the night before a race never works," says triathlon coach Rick Kiddle (www.rickkiddle.com). "The best sleep will be the night before the night before. Many athletes can survive with little sleep

easyand RUN for 20 minutes easy SWIM for 10 minutes easy; CYCLE for 10 minutes easy Sun Strength train for 20 minutes Strength train for 20 minutes Strength train for 20 minutes Race Day KeyBilateral Breathing to both sides

Heavy legs? Breathless? Can't keep up with your training partners? If you've put any recurring lethargy down to too much training and have carried on regardless, hoping that the fatigue will eventually, magically disappear, you could be in for a

you run into trouble during the race, move to one side if you can so you can receive help without causing a pile-up.By remembering these few simple rules and ways of conducting yourself, you'll be helping to make the world of triathlon a happier place

.swimfortri.com).Pool session"This session involves holding race pace over an extended period and will help to simulate race-day conditions," says Bullock. "Do this 10 days before the triathlon." Warm up, doing 6-8 x 50m, with a 10-second rest between each. Do front crawl

. "Duathlons can be a good gauge of performance, and they can replace 'threshold' workouts with something more interesting" says PhysFarm Coach Dr Philip Skiba.Duathlon, which has national, European and world championship races, is governed by British Triathlon

Swim session"For beginners it's initially about working towards being able to cover race distance. So if you are limited to an hour you have to make sure you use that time efficiently," says Paula Dewar, coach at VO2 Maximum Triathlon Coaching. "With swimming