Triathlon events have grown fast in popularity over the last couple of years, and this week's questioner is just one of many RW members thinking of giving the run/bike/swim thing a whirl..."I am a plodder (mainly 2-hour half marathons; FLM last year

This week: Do you really benefit from warming up before a run – and if so, how hard and how far should you go?"How far, or for how long, are you supposed to warm up before a race? The more I warm up the better I seem to perform. I ran a 5.4-mile

race? Can I continue running 40-50 miles per week without risk of serious injury? Or this a stupid idea?!"– Michael FirmstoneYour best answers...Keep up the training, and enter a race evry couple of months to give you targets to aim at. Start trying

or you will injure yourself. I gradually increased the miles on my toes and gradually decreased the "heel" miles; whole process took about 10 weeks. The morning walk down the stairs took longer than normal, but it felt great running at my new race pace

?"For years I've not taken a complete day off, apart from two days' bad flu and after a couple of hard races. My days in the gym give my legs a rest as I focus on upper-body strength. My fitness-freak boss says I should have a day of complete rest once a week

of supportive underwear and pads! I raced about three months after giving birth, and with my second baby I did the London marathon six months after he was born and achieved a personal best. Having a baby certainly makes you more motivated. Good luck and don