£20 a year to £75 a month, depending on coaches, equipment and access to pools and gyms.4 Get a coach or follow a training planPlanning your training can be difficult, especially if you're new to racing. So it's a good idea to invest in a coach or a

continuous running as follows:• 13 minutes at 25 beats per minute below marathon race pace OR 13 minutes easy• 13 minutes at 20 beats per minute below marathon race pace OR 13 minutes steady• 13 minutes at 15 beats per minute below marathon race pace OR 13

equal parts orange juice and water, plus a pinch of salt.Drink 100-200ml of an isotonic solution every 10-15 minutes; a standard 750ml bottle containing an isotonic drink should see most people through 50-75 minutes of training. You can have solid food

early in the race. Continue to regularly drink small amounts. Most athletes can tolerate 200-300ml every 15-20 mins but this will vary with the intensity of the exercise. You are more likely to drink them if the drinks are cool, palatable and easily

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

cause an electrolyte imbalance, which can also lead to nausea," says Taylor.Having a race-day nutrition plan is the best step for combating exercise-induced nausea. Some athletes set their watch to beep when it's time to take in fluids. "Develop a fluid

Championships in the 25-29 age group. "Use it to plan a season of training sessions and races."It also allows you, when you are not racing well, to look back at a time when you were performing better and see what you were doing right. "You don't have to write

Q. I want to practise my nutrition for race day but my trainer says I should wait until a few weeks before the race so I get the maximum benefit - is he right?A. It's imperative that you experiment during training to find out what will work best

Once upon a time long-distance triathlon was seen as something of a grail, holy or unholy, depending on how you felt about a 140-mile race. It was the preserve of the experienced, the specialists and, maybe, the slightly unhinged. Not any more

. "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