1. Have a knowledgeable swimmer or coach take a look at your swim stroke and prescribe specific drills to help optimize efficiency.   It's much easier to learn proper stroke mechanics early in your training.  Poor stroke habits are hard to break if you wait too long.

2. The key to improving fitness is to progressively build duration and intensity.  However a quality workout is only as good as the recovery that follows.  Be sure to schedule rest or light training days between all hard workouts. Sometimes you need to train slower to go faster.  Include a week of lighter workouts (also called a recovery week) every three to four weeks.

3. Master age athletes over age 40 should consider resting more often than younger athletes.  Athletes over age 50 should schedule a full recovery week every 2nd or 3^rd week.

4. Include stretching and core exercises 2-3 times a week.  Swimming, cycling and running for long duration requires a strong core and good flexibility.

5. Strength training during the build and peak phase should be limited to maintenance and triathlon specific exercises.  Consult a triathlon coach or personal trainer for help designing a strength program to compliment your endurance training.

6. Run on dirt or other soft surface whenever possible.  Running on asphalt and especially concrete results in greater muscular skeletal impact and can lead to injury.

7. Adjust your caloric intake to match expenditure.  Endurance training requires energy to perform workouts.  If you're trying to lose weight, create a caloric deficit (difference between intake and expenditure) of no more than 500 calories a day.  This will result in approximately one pound of weight loss per week.  A nutrition expert can analyze your diet and help plan healthy meals.

8. Stay well hydrated by drinking before, during and after exercise.  Monitoring your body weight will help you replace lost fluids.  Drink one pint of water for every pound lost.

9. Include mental training.  A good sports or performance psychologist can help develop strategies and tools to gain the mental edge needed for times when training becomes physically and emotionally challenging.

10. Identify goals for training and racing.  Training goals should be specific and measurable and should support your race goals.  Keep it fun.  Remember that the reason you entered the race in the first place isn't always to place first.  If you let the process be the goal you'll enjoy the journey.