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

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

.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

3 triathlon coach (www.theendurancecoach.com). "But just a bit of playing around on a mountain bike can help you acquire the skills that will save five minutes in a race." It's not necessary to do a killer session every time you leave the house