workmate and pushed myself well beyond my comfort zone 3) I'd never really concentrated on 10Ks before. Marathons were the event I trained for; a good 10K time was just not important to me. Now, after a couple of years out of the game I'm planning to beat

people so you motivate each other. Do a road or cross-country race and use the treadmills together at your local gym. Join a tri club and use the sessions and advice on offer." - Tim Don "Tell yourself that training in the miserable winter makes you a

into proper training, but on other days you just plod round your circuit feeling awful and wishing it was over. The most likely causes of this problem are overtraining and boredom.Rest is important: if you don’t give your body enough time to recover from

run through your training or plan for competition day. "Focus on making the image as real as possible, so you can hear, feel and smell what you see," he says. "Play out a scenario where things don't go exactly to plan, but you then turn things around

. It’s a great social occasion.” “I can’t speak highly enough of Bud,” says Phil Hinch, who has been training with Baldaro for just over a year. “He’s a fantastic motivator. If you’re on the track in a gale or freezing weather, he just keeps you going

’Connor.Schedule training in advance Try not to make training decisions on a day-to-day basis. Richard Nelson, a consultant with a transport company, sits down on Sunday evening or Monday morning and plans his weekly training based on work and family schedules. “If you

for recovery," he says.Successful training requires strict planning and preparation. Wheelchair and other disabled athletes may also have a heightened susceptibility to infection and must be doubly careful with rest and nutrition in order to stay healthy.  "I

Runners thrive on consistency, but don't let routine turn into a rut. "Following the same route every morning or recycling a trusty training plan will not necessarily produce PBs," says performance coach Kim Ingleby (kimingleby.co.uk). "Going

I don’t have a training schedule for a goal race, I find it harder to motivate myself. But if I have a training plan, I’ll be out running on good days and bad days,” says Mike Collyer, of Newcastle.27. Be happy “A positive attitude means everything

' weekly routines, as important as updating training logs and making plans."I get 20 emails a week from people who say how important IM Talk is to their routine," says Eyles. "We hear from people who are having a hard time with their training but my