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

1. Super sprintThe shortest triathlon distance is all about speed, and brick sessions are important for building pace. "Recreate race conditions," says coach Simon Ward. "If you're doing the race in a pool you won't need a wetsuit, and you should

these points - the difficult one is swimming. In a race we cannot keep looking at our heart-rate monitor or stopwatch," says Bill Black, who coached the GB Men's Triathlon Team at the Sydney Olympics. "But if we train at a certain pace in the pool we can keep

-to-bike sessions, thus guaranteeing optimum response during racing.Speed kingIt's a good idea to base your brick training on the demands of your next race. Sessions can cover practising race pace; developing aerobic endurance, threshold pace and aerobic endurance

.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

and then settling into a more manageable pace once the crowds have thinned, you are likely to have a better swim time," he says.Jump right inWorkouts that mimic races can give you the edge you need. "Choose one swim per week where, without a warm-up, you jump

as they would a straight running event." Do regular brick sessions by cycling at a high cadence for 15 minutes. Immediately shift into 10 minutes of fast-paced running, rest for five minutes and repeat three times. Aim to build to your race pace - the average

- record times and compare) Afternoon: CYCLE 90 mins steady Morning: SWIM (in wetsuit and open water) 750m (up to 20 mins) race pace, then tread water for 2 mins, then SWIM back focusing on technique Afternoon: CYCLE 10 mins easy, then 4 x 6 mins

. "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

with 20 seconds' rest between efforts, then 4 x 50m race pace effort. Cool-down: 10 x 50m alternating bilateral and catch-up drills. Fri REST DAY CYCLE: Warm-up: 15 minutes steady. Main: 1 hour 15 minutes easy on flats, work hills up to 85 per