stroke to help develop bilateral breathing – breathing on both sides) 12 x 25m, done as a 25m drill with a 10-second rest followed by 25m full stroke and a 10-second rest Main-set pyramid (all with 20-30-second recovery) 8 x 25m, 4 x 50m, 2 x 100m, 1 x

continuous swim of 750m and the second, a 20K bike followed by a 5K run. For an intermediate, a December target could be a 1500m swim in 32 minutes, a 40K bike in 1:15 and a 10K run in 50 minutes. A good March target would be combining any two disciplines

20-minute time trial on the turbo trainer and record the heart rate, speed and cadence you maintained.On the run, go to your usual run route or course and try to set a PB for intervals - such as 5 x 1000m - or sustained efforts - such as three miles

, injury. Be assured, you are not alone.World-class triathlete Richard Stannard (10 times the fastest swimmer in the London Triathlon) was gearing up for a great 2009 season when, at the end of May, he was hit by a car while training on his bike

. 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

, 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

-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

for people with disabilities) shaved two minutes off his time to finish in 1:17; James Smith (Tri 4) improved by nine minutes, with a time of 1:24, and Paul Thomas (Tri 6) slashed more than 15 minutes from his 2008 time to cross the line in 1:47. Something

.That was the nightmare in which navy triathlete Charlie Pennington found himself in 2009. His main aim had been to make it to Australia's Gold Coast for the World Championships and he decided to take his wife and eight-month-old son on the 12,000-mile trip. It was a big