cycle followed by 7-minute runTuesday Swim session AWednesday Bike session CThursday Run session AFriday Run session: 10-minute recovery jog with D&S and long stretch; Swim session GSaturday Rest day and stretch; Visit the race course if possible

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

1. Sleep well"In reality, trying to sleep well the night before a race never works," says triathlon coach Rick Kiddle (www.rickkiddle.com). "The best sleep will be the night before the night before. Many athletes can survive with little sleep

riding with a high cadence on a lower gear to replicate the looser motions of the run. Once off the bike take a few seconds, even on race day, to really focus on the length of your strides. Bricking itPractise, practise and practise again. That

legs used to turning over at race pace".To replicate the type of terrain you'll be racing on, Robison suggests incorporating both uphill and downhill training sessions into your preparations: "Try to find a stretch of road or trail that is steep enough

in and swim 400m front crawl fast," says Hauth. "Simulate the uncomfortably fast swimming right at the beginning of a race, then gradually swim another 400-600m, slowly stretching out the stroke and settling into your distance freestyle pace."Pick up the pace

, Florida. The best 100 triathletes in Wimbleball earn themselves a place for the American race, which could ultimately open a door to the prize of a place at the Ironman World Championships finale in Hawaii.The triathlon starts with a swim in the flooded

you run into trouble during the race, move to one side if you can so you can receive help without causing a pile-up.By remembering these few simple rules and ways of conducting yourself, you'll be helping to make the world of triathlon a happier place

.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

With three disciplines to consider, it's easy to make mistakes when you're eating and drinking during training and racing. That's the bad news. The good news is that it's easy to avoid triathlon's common nutritional pitfalls if you plan ahead