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

in a specific event (such as winning your age category in a race).Performance goals relate to a certain level of achievement (for example, a sub-40:00 10K).Setting different targets means you're more likely to focus on the positive outcomes of your

with total flexibility in terms of how and when to clock up those miles. Online running community fetcheveryone.com has monthly mileage groups, which are great for motivation. You could even run the year – 2010 miles works out as 38.5 per week! Start a

Setting challenging yet attainable goals is key to maintaining a long-term running career. After all, you’re more likely to stay motivated when you have something to work towards and can measure your progress at regular intervals. But picking

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 it shows. When children draw stick figures, you’re the model. Just right Twice a week, spend about 30-45 minutes in the gym. Choose weight amounts that you can lift 10-12 times before fatiguing, and do a variety of exercises and stretches for upper

, 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