Taylor. Eating your pre-workout or pre-race meal a few hours before is also key to keeping symptoms at bay. "A high concentration or volume in the gut slows down gastric emptying, meaning you will not only feel sick but the fuel and fluids consumed

Once upon a time long-distance triathlon was seen as something of a grail, holy or unholy, depending on how you felt about a 140-mile race. It was the preserve of the experienced, the specialists and, maybe, the slightly unhinged. Not any more

that turns up the flavour volume in any dish that it's added to. It's also "One of the richest sources of flavonoids in the human diet," according to researchers at Cornell University in the US. Flavonoids are plant compounds that fight bacteria, viruses

potential in time for your races.For most of us, summer is a reminder of why we took up triathlons in the first place. Coach Dan Bullock (www.swimfortri.com) says, "It's just great to be outside. When the time comes to get away from the chlorine and straight

.swimfortri.com).Pool session"This session involves holding race pace over an extended period and will help to simulate race-day conditions," says Bullock. "Do this 10 days before the triathlon." Warm up, doing 6-8 x 50m, with a 10-second rest between each. Do front crawl

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

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