"There is nothing like pink toilet paper or a floating plaster to come at you from the deep to make you swim faster!" says Duncan Hough, vice chair of the Birmingham Running and Triathlon Club (www.bratclub.co.uk). But your first open-water swim

or chafe anywhere when you move. Sagging points will allow water to gather as you swim, which will slow you down, and no one needs to be told how uncomfortable chafing can be. Be especially careful to ensure the neck area is free from anything

Jumping in the Thames or heading for the beach aren’t always possible when you’re training for a triathlon but there are some open-water swimming skills you can practise in the pool. By spending a few minutes every week honing your ability, you

way to monitor your training effort. On a scale of one to 10, a three would be a very easy session, perhaps a very easy distance swim, run or ride with concentration on technique; a seven would be a medium-intensity session; while a nine would be a

and count how many kicks you usually make per two-arm cycle. "Now try swimming with a two-beat kick," says Kelly. "If you can mostly use your arms, that will help the bike and run."Join the draftMany triathlons forbid drafting on the bike (using another

will have built up your swimming fitness in the pool and you should now be working to overcome the technical and mental challenges of open-water swimming.Specialist swim skillsBill Black coached the GB men's triathlon team at the Sydney Olympics in 2000

It would never previously have occurred to me to seek out external help to improve my swimming or even to have a sense of introspection about it. But now, on the cusp of my first serious triathlon season, the obvious limitations of my swimming have become

It's no use just ploughing up and down the pool in a bid to become a more efficient swimmer. And you're probably going to need more than just a swimsuit, hat and goggles, too.Smart swimming certainly involves the element of raw determination, but a

- and sometimes even in the pool when you're training. However, he's right: making friends with water could be the difference between loving every minute of a triathlon and metaphorically holding your breath until you exit the water.Triathletes from a non-swimming

Most triathletes come from a running or biking background, so it's no surprise that the swim is usually the part of the race triathletes like least. Pool swimming generally poses few problems but taking to the open water is another matter