performance and keep injury and boredom at bay, then variety and recovery should be the linchpin of your training and racing. It’s also valuable to decide what, for you, are going to be the three or four most important races of the year. This not only helps

-to-bike sessions, thus guaranteeing optimum response during racing.Speed kingIt's a good idea to base your brick training on the demands of your next race. Sessions can cover practising race pace; developing aerobic endurance, threshold pace and aerobic endurance

course there's no point cycling or running up hills for this length of time. But always use your race bike for training, even if you're on a turbo."Session 14-6hr bike: building up intensity over time.30-min run: 15-20 mins at race pace, 10-15 mins

-triallist based in Bournemouth doesn't have time for long rides but is still at the top of his game. "As a chef, I can train for less than an hour or not at all. I focus on high-intensity training sessions, often on the turbo-trainer, and race once or twice a week

and head out for a ride, run or swim. Basically, training and being more active become so much easier."Your body prefers it, too. Coach Rob Griffiths (www.trainingbible.co.uk) says, "Summer means an end to turbo sessions in the garage and it is great to go

riding with a high cadence on a lower gear to replicate the looser motions of the run. Once off the bike take a few seconds, even on race day, to really focus on the length of your strides. Bricking itPractise, practise and practise again. That

to leave a few surprises for race day, but you shouldn't.Knowing something about the course can be invaluable. Training on the course can help if you're nervous about the great unknown. Saffron Webber from Horsham, West Sussex, is training for the Banana

viewThe typical endurance session is the long or 'over distance' workout. Tackling sessions longer than race distance, or longer than you are accustomed to, helps you physically and mentally.One long training session in each discipline per week

-road terrain is that you are running on an uneven surface, so you need to prepare your body for that," says Barden. "If you were to do all of your training on the road, you might initially feel OK in a cross-country race, but your body will fatigue a lot

in the shoulders and neck. Yoga can train you to run more efficiently by relaxing areas of the body before you race and in between runs. Inhale slowly and deeply to the count of four and then as you slowly exhale imagine you are breathing into a specific part