– 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 cross

The triathlon season is over for another year, so it's the time to focus your energies elsewhere. Autumn is an excellent time to think about your performances in the past year and to set goals for next season.Setting goals can be broken down

Triathletes are a driven bunch, always setting goals, generating plans and setting new challenges. The summer race season is the culmination of enormous effort and determination. Then, sooner than you thought possible, the main races are over - you

with the motivation to train day in and day out so he can achieve the results he wants. And when things don't go the way they're supposed to, he knows that plans can, and must, be altered to suit new circumstances.Setting a goal is a process that must begin

. You would be better served doing, for example, two back-to-back 15-minute efforts at your 25-mile time trial pace, or some other planned session that is specific to your Olympic-distance triathlon.      It is also important to acknowledge

their advice with Triathlete's World.1. When disaster strikes, analyse the reasonsBen Bright, who coaches former ITU Triathlon world champion Tim Don, says if something isn't working or you have a bad race, you need to understand why."The first step

-start his plan to complete an Ironman triathlon in 2011, when he turns 40. "Joining the club was a real turning point," he says. "Even eight stone overweight, I could still run seven or eight miles. I was very slow but running gradually gave me more

as an opportunity to evaluate what you have done and what you want to achieve, and then plan your training for when you return home. "Remember that we improve while we rest and recover," he says. "So take a book or magazine and find out more about triathlons

, but paratriathlon has not yet achieved the same status and will not be part of the 2012 London Paralympics. If all goes to plan, however, triathlon could be included in the 2016 Paralympics and may be a demonstration sport in 2012. "These are hugely exciting times

Picture the scene: after 10 hard years of racing and training, you make a triathlon breakthrough by qualifying for the ITU World Championships. You're one of the finest triathletes in the country, winning the right to join Team GB.So you fine