are lethargy and a dizziness similar to that caused by low blood sugar. Your friends may say you look pale and you may feel exhausted all the time - even after a good night's sleep. If these symptoms sound familiar, ask your GP for a blood test to measure your
the meals for the night before, breakfast on the day and your recovery immediately after and in the days following the big race.Go longYou can use your long training sessions to find out what works best and you can put it all to the test at some
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
. "Training rides are prime opportunities to practise race-time eating and drinking strategies," says Eberle. Once you discover a winning formula, you'll approach your next triathlon with a foolproof plan.Change it: Test new foods on shorter rides before
trained helps you cope better with this physical demand."Stress testOther influences include humidity, heat and the stress of race day. "Stress may come from performance anxiety or the physical stress of exercise on the body," says Taylor. "Both can play
It is normal to have mixed feelings about the swim portion of a triathlon. Even experienced triathletes can feel nervous about the washing machine-experience that is the swim start. But with the right guidance you can make a first-class start.Test
is plenty. If you are training for a sprint- or standard-distance triathlon, building your long training sessions to twice the race distance is the best approach. If you are preparing for a half-Ironman distance race, aim towards 1.5 times the race distance
If transition is triathlon's fourth discipline, nutrition should be the fifth. Making fuelling mistakes could mean your race ends in disaster. And the longer the event, the more critical your food and drink strategy becomes. But it's not easy
sprint triathlon. Part of the way round I completely ran out of energy and my time was terrible. For my next race I had porridge for breakfast and finished in a great time."There are certain things to bear in mind with regard to eating before training
.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
