This book sets out tried and tested principles of training that have been applied to triathlon. However, everyone is an individual and not every method of training may apply to you. Some people thrive on long, slow distance training; some cannot live without their daily fix of intervals or high quality work; some triathletes rarely need rest while others may find that training every other day is sufficient for massive improvement. You are an individual and need to find a way of training that is best for you alone. general principles, for you, may not represent the truth.

LAW TWO: SUCK IT AND SEE

Be prepared to try out new methods of training and see if they work for you. Be adventurous, don't get stuck in a rut. Try something new; you never know, you might just like it.

LAW THREE: APPLY THE KISS PRINCIPLE

'KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID!' Sometimes it is possible to get so bound up in new fangled theories of training that you forget the basics; the fact is, the harder you train the better you get (although that is of course an over-simplification). Be aware of new methods and equipment, or your hero's favourite regime, but don't lose sight of where you are going.

LAW SEVEN: MAKE HASTE SLOWLY

Progress at the beginning can be quite dramatic, and improvements in an endurance sport are usually measured in minutes or tens of minutes rather than seconds. The rate of improvement will slow down and it is a natural reaction to want to train harder and longer in order to maintain the same rate. This risks injury, so don't be tempted. An increase in training, whether in time or intensity, must be gradual. Think in terms of months and years rather than days, look for gradual increases in training and commitment, and you will improve and remain free of injury.

LAW EIGHT: CHOOSE YOUR PARENTS WISELY

Unfairly, genetic inheritance governs everyone's limits of attainment and improvement. The child of a10,000 meter track world record holder and an Olympic swimmer is likely to have a special set of genes. Don't waste such a great head start. Those who have not been presented with such an advantage (the vast majority) will have to make the very best out of what they have, and train sensibly and systematically to maximize their potential. 

LAW NINE: DON'T SET LIMITS

Don't underestimate your potential to improve. It is all too easy to look at the star in the next swimming lane and think 'I'll never be as good as that.' Why not? It is difficult to envisage massive improvements, but it is easy to aspire toan improvement of one second on a 100m swim, or ten seconds on a 10km run. Then you make another 10 second improvement, then another and another. Before too long that ten second improvement has become a minute. Look to the next level of attainment and in time you will come closer to your dreams. It may take a month, it may take five years, but it will come.

LAW THIRTEEN: DON'T PLAY THE 'IF' GAME

You know - if only I could swim faster.... if only I didn't have so many work commitments ... if only I could get invited to classier races ... if only I didn't get injured so much ... if only I was lighter / heavier / smaller / taller ... Playing the 'if' game leads to frustration and bitterness; it's also a good excuse for losers. If you don't like something, do something about it. And if that is not within your power, then get on and do something else.

There are few secrets in training any more. CASE stands for 'Compare, Adapt, Specify, Examine', or 'Copy and Steal Everything'! Look at other athletes methods or training and try them yourself; play around with times, distances, rest intervals and targets, and adapt others' schedules. You can be sure that they will do the same to you!

LAW FIVE: KNOW YOURSELF

Don't fool yourself into believing that you are something that you aren't. Know what you are good at, what you like doing and what you dislike. Know your strengths and weaknesses. Don't look back at the end of a season or career and think, 'If only...'.

LAW SIX: TRAIN TO YOUR WEAKNESSES, RACE TO YOUR STRENGTHS

Everyone likes doing what they are good at and dislikes making a fool of themselves. To make a significant improvement in triathlon, it is necessary in training to work on the weak aspects, and cut back on the strongest discipline, which may have been your specialist sport before you cam into triathlon.
In a race situation, the opposite applies: work on your strengths and minimize your losses. If you can swim like Kieron Perkins and take a three second lead into the bike section you'd be a mug not to take advantage of it.

LAW TEN: DON'T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU READ

When sports magazines print an interview with a superstar, and include a box by the side of it entitled 'A Typical Week's Training' , they should print a health warning too. They should also print another box with the heading, 'And this is what I was doing 5 years ago'. You don't have to train the same as your hero to emulate your hero. Train for yourself, not anybody else.
Here's something else to ponder: If somebody interviewed you for a magazine, wouldn't you think something like, 'They'll never believe I train as little as I do. I'd better tell them about my best ever week'.

LAW ELEVEN: TREAT EVERY MINOR INJURY AS IF IT COULD BECOME A MAJOR ONE

Triathlon tends to attract people who like to train long and hard, whose natural inclination is to swim/cycle/run through any small niggling injury. Untreated niggles can easily progress to major niggles and become major injuries. Treat minor inconveniences as if they have the potential to become a significant inhibitor, and stop them progressing too far downhill. Be cautious, and do not ruin a season's hard work by refusing to back off.

LAW TWELVE: ENJOY

If you don't enjoy triathlon, don't do it. The sport is demanding in terms of time and commitment, and some people simply do not have the time. If you stop enjoying triathlon, stop doing triathlon.

LAW FOURTEEN: THERE IS LIFE OUTSIDE

Triathlon is part of life, but it is not life itself. Only a miniscule number of people are full time triathlon professionals or make a substantial income from the sport. The vast majority who take part as age groupers have full-time jobs and families, and take part in all sorts of other life-enhancing everyday activities. don't let triathlon become so important that you lose sight of reality. there is life outside triathlon, and after triathlon.