should you join the crowd?Many triathletes are runners looking for something new to do. Once they try triathlon or triathlon-style cross-training, they often have an unexpected result: they become better runners. Heidi Wilson, 30, from London believes

Hard Training Q&AsTRAINING GENERAL• Do I need to take an "easy week" when my average mileage isn’t that high? • Should you try and break through ‘the wall’ in training? • Is it just the cold weather, or am I getting fitter? • How do I overcome

his athletes to make a plan of their intended weekly training and then increase mileage or intensity only every third or fourth week.For example, if your current mileage is 20 miles a week and you’re aiming to build that up to 40 miles, add five

bilateral and catch up drills. CYCLE-RUN BRICKS: Warm up: cycle 10 minutes and run 5 minutes. Main: 4 x [8mins bike + 4 minutes run]. Cool down: 5 minutes easy jog. Choice Day: but keep it fun and aim to feel strong, not over-trained, at the end

-8 x 2 lengths easy SWIM (in wetsuit and preferably open water) Go with a training partner for safety, make sure it's shallow water, acclimatise 5 minutes, then 10 mins continuous swim SWIM 8 x 2 lengths easy (with drills), then 20 lengths time

GETTY IMAGESCross-training can be quite an education for an HRM user. You've probably spent time fine-tuning ideal heart rate bands for your various running sessions, to the point where keeping to them is almost second nature. But when you climb

Wed Power walk/run for 30 minutes easy Power walk/run for 30 minutes easy Power walk/run for 35 minutes easy Power walk/run for 35 minutes easy Thu Rest Day Rest Day Strength train for 20 minutes Strength train

TRAINING: GENERAL | Long runs | Speedwork | Hillwork | Heart rate | TRAINING FOR RACING | Marathon | CROSS-TRAINING | Miscellaneous | CreditsThese are highlights and frequently asked questions from our training forums. They were created by members

Here's a no-brainer: when you add swimming and cycling sessions to your training, you need to adjust your running schedule. More specifically, as you make room for these new sports in your training, you have to plan more carefully the types of runs

. In particular, we need to look at the big picture. Instead of training more, we should be training smarter. No one’s got any time to waste – but, paradoxically, we may need to stop and smell the roses occasionally.Planned relaxation is part of the new fitness