It's a familiar story: you return to training after injury aiming to be faster and stronger than before. Then reality kicks in as your decreased fitness becomes apparent. You begin to wonder if you'll ever be able to repeat your pre-injury

that triathlon revolutionised her running. "I knew I could run faster and stronger but every time I concentrated on training for a marathon, I became injured," she says. "Triathlon training helped me to become a stronger runner and train injury-free." After

Hands up if you've never been injured. If your hand is in the air, you're in the lucky minority of triathletes who have never had to take time off training to recover from a sore calf, aching shoulder or throbbing knee.Triathlon is a great sport

Weight training for triathlon is a complicated subject. Some triathletes think it is unnecessary while others are in favour of hitting the gym, but may not know exactly what and how much to do in the weights room. Then there is strength training

. This acts as a braking action - as your upper body mass is behind your heels when the foot hits the ground - which transmits impact through your skeleton, leading to an increase in injuries and slowing you down.But if you lean too far forward, there is often

session is about speed, so not every session should leave you sore and exhausted.Ralph HydesRalph Hydes  is a running, duathlon and triathlon coach. He has helped many athletes reach international-level competition and has been the trainer to corporate

and learn about your body and what nutrition works for you before competing in an Ironman triathlon.Build up your distances gradually; increasing the distances too quickly will not only delay your progress but can also cause injury and result in a poor

Drugs don't workResist the reflex to reach for a bottle of ibuprofen to reduce swelling. "Killing pain is fine," says Andrew Pruitt, author of Andy Pruitt's Medical Guide for Cyclists, "but deflating inflammation during the initial stages of injury

of course led to an increase in the number of triathletes picking up injuries. The problems that most often trouble triathletes can be broadly described as 'overuse' injuries. But triathlon does not necessarily have to result in recurring injuries. Many

Q. How do I deal with a niggling calf injury?A. An injury that won't settle can be deeply annoying. When the calf is injured your swim, run and bike training can be affected, which will have a major impact on overall fitness if you lose training