, in the early summer, so in spring I decided to test my new wetsuit at the Cotswold Water Park. It had been a bitter winter and the water was still very cold, but I was unaware of that because my wetsuit insulated me so well, at least in the shallow parts

Developing the right pace for the open water is one of the most important lessons a novice triathlete must learn - and misjudging pace is one of the most common mistakes in the sport. When you're running you can use a heart-rate monitor and mile

I am not a fish. I'm not even a hippo or an elephant. They all swim instinctively. I don't. There is nothing I find natural about moving through water. That's not to say I can't swim. Like most people, I've been swimming since childhood. For periods

Drinking during most races is pretty simple. Race organisers thoughtfully set up trestle tables with cups, and kindly volunteers hand out energy drinks, water or weak orange squash to parched competitors. Sadly, unless your friends and family

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

While it's perfectly normal to feel a little nervous when you first do an open-water session, you'll be surprised how quickly you'll come to enjoy swimming in the outdoors. Many centres offer coached  and supervised open-water swim sessions. It

intuitive understanding of the most fluent way to move through the water," says swimming coach Terry Laughlin. "But anyone can learn this fluency with a few simple drills."Laughlin suggests the four below. With each, swim short intervals (25 metres or so

Keri-Anne Payne's name is synonymous with open-water swimming. She won silver in the gruelling 10km marathon swim at the 2008 Beijing Summer Games, when open-water made its Olympic debut.With London 2012 quickly approaching, Keri-Anne is predicted

, in the early summer, so in spring I decided to test my new wetsuit at the Cotswold Water Park. It had been a bitter winter and the water was still very cold, but I was unaware of that because my wetsuit insulated me so well, at least in the shallow parts

250ml glasses of water a day. But there’s little to no evidence supporting the eight glasses rule. The good professor Last summer, Heinz Valtin, the Professor Emeritus of Physiology at Dartmouth Medical School, USA, published a compelling article