Swim session"For beginners it's initially about working towards being able to cover race distance. So if you are limited to an hour you have to make sure you use that time efficiently," says Paula Dewar, coach at VO2 Maximum Triathlon Coaching. "With swimming

as they would a straight running event." Do regular brick sessions by cycling at a high cadence for 15 minutes. Immediately shift into 10 minutes of fast-paced running, rest for five minutes and repeat three times. Aim to build to your race pace - the average

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

  WEEK ONE WEEK TWO WEEK THREE WEEK FOUR Mon REST DAY REST DAY REST DAY REST DAY Tue RUN 1M easy, 3-4M hard, 1M easy; or speed session (eg 5-6 x 800m with 200m jog recoveries) RUN 1M easy, 3-4M

of the session   WEEK NINE WEEK TEN WEEK ELEVEN WEEK TWELVE Mon RUN: 35-45 minutes of steady relaxed running. Cool-down: walk 5 mins easy SWIM: Warm-up: 3 x 75m steady with 15 seconds 'rest between efforts. Main: 12 x [25m