Unless you are among the elite triathletes in the world, you probably approach the sport with goals and desires that do not revolve around winning. Instead, in all likelihood, you started the sport to challenge yourself, to prove something to yourself, to replace other sports you can no longer compete in, or to simply stay involved in a competitive manner. If so, then we all must admit that we train for different yet similar reasons, and, although we will go about our daily workouts differently, two very distinct commonalities do, and must, exist.

First, we each have a disciplined approach that seeks to get the most from our training. Whether we create a schedule based on what we want or we follow a delineated breakdown borrowed from someone more experienced, each of us has a daily goal designed to get us to the end. The work rate we invest begins as a struggle but will quickly alter into an addiction, once we see and feel the results of our efforts. Thus, we portion off a small piece, although how small varies person to person, of our lives to this sport, and within that time period we push and drive ourselves like we never have before.

Yet, despite our greatest desires to succeed, we all must realize the power of reality, which brings about the second, although slightly contradictory, commonality. Within the discipline rests a guilt that can eat a triathlete up: letting life happen instead of training. Many people experience an overwhelming sense of guilt if they eat wrong or miss a workout. Nothing could be more detrimental to your mental training stability than permitting yourself to feel this guilt. Life will happen, sicknesses will occur, so understand that although you see training as imperative, other parts of life have more value.

In the end, train really hard, but live life too. If you miss a workout, move on and don't try to compensate. Let your world continue because triathlon is about improving life and self-esteem, not making it more difficult and stressful. Relax and enjoy a sport than can change who you are.

As time passes and you fall in love with triathlons, you will begin to ponder upgrading your competitive gear. Now that your body is fit and you have stopped merely wanting to finish and have instead replaced that goal with ones more focused on success and time, you will need to take a look at every aspect of your training and competition.

If your actual workout regimen suits your lifestyle and your fitness level has solidified, then you need to examine your gear. Everything from your choice of swimwear to your body positioning on the bike to the type of shoe you use must come under close scrutiny.

In the swim, if you have been competing with either a bulky, non-productive wetsuit or without one at all, you are losing precious seconds. While it is widely held knowledge that you will never win a triathlon during the swim portion, you can certainly lose it. Thus, buy a high quality swim skin or wetsuit that permits you to cut the water and maintain good flexibility. A good wetsuit can take off almost 1:30 over an Olympic triathlon swim.

On the bike, utilizing standard handlebars forces your body into an upright position too often. Seeking to become more aerodynamically inclined, you should upgrade by installing aerobars. Learning to ride properly with aerobars will save you between 3:30 and 4:40 in an Olympic triathlon depending on the type of course you encounter. Upgrade your wheels from standard to aero wheels and you will shave another 1:00 to 1:15 off your time.

Finally, on the run, running in your trainers can actually slow you down. Instead, in order to save almost a minute's time in an Olympic race, leave your trainers in the transition and wear a pair of racing flats. They take a little getting used to, but they will quicken your step and make you feel mentally faster.

If your wallet will allow you to, and your body says it's time to, begin your upgrades. You'll taste more success and fall deeper in love with each race you do.

When people begin preparing for a triathlon, especially those who have limited to no experience, they place all their attention on the three stages, which is obviously logical. If you can't compete in the three events, why do it? But, often people forget to consider the time between the events—the transitions, those precious seconds and minutes that can have a remarkable impact on your the overall performance. Practicing these changes between stages can not only enhance your time, but can also make the race much more enjoyable.

Transition One, the time between you exiting the swim and climbing on your bike, is generally the longer of the two. It begins as soon as you leave the water and start the short run to where you have stored your bike and cycling equipment. Once you arrive, you should have already pulled down the top of your wetsuit and removed your swim cap and goggles. The gear you need—a towel, cycling shoes, socks, helmet, sunglasses, hydration supplies, race belt—should be laid out in a manner that is efficient and logical. During your training, you should have practiced for this moment to the point where it becomes routine. You do not want to have to think yourself through everything after a long swim; instead, it all should happen out of repetition, so practice, practice, practice.

Transition Two, the time between the bike and the run, normally does not take as long as the first transition, but it is equally important. As you pull in on your bike, you should have already visited the area during your pre-race check; this way you know the exact row and place to rack your bike and pick up your racing shoes. Once the bike is set and your shoes are on, grab a quick drink or gel pack and get moving. Your legs will feel funny after pedaling for miles, which is where your practice comes in. You should know this feeling and how to deal with it. If you need to stretch for a moment, do so.

Build transitions into your training and race day will go much smoother. Not only will your time reflect it, but your body will also thank you.

Far too many triathletes attack the sport with the passion of a six-year-old on Christmas morning, doing all they can do get in as much as possible in the shortest amount of time. While this philosophy may seem good at the outset, in the long term this approach will fail miserably, with your body breaking down and your confidence transitioning from optimistic to nonexistent.

Understanding an athlete's desire to become fit and competitive as quickly as possible, one can easily see how this simple mistake is made. Yet, a triathlete cannot stress enough the importance of slow, moderate work to build a strong, reliable base upon which he can continue to build for the remainder of the competitive season. Whether you are training for your first and only race or working to peak for late season distances, the base you construct early on will dictate how well you fare.

So, leave your ego on the couch, strap on a heart monitor, and get to work. First, you must train aerobically, which means to be active in lower heart rate zones so you can burn fat. Knowing that this phase should take about 12 weeks, you need to exhibit tremendous patience, as training at higher heart rate levels (anaerobic) will force you to burn carbohydrates, which is a different, more limited training type that actually does not work well in competition with aerobic training. If your aerobic base is healthy and complete, you can begin anaerobic training in a more efficient, positive manner, resulting in a far better race day performance.

Because of the low intensity of the aerobic workouts, you may feel as if you are accomplishing next to nothing. However, the base you build within this 12 week portion will pay huge dividends down the line, as your ability to increase training intensity for speed and endurance jumps dramatically, allowing you to see great strides. Select a program that fits your current fitness level and believe in the need for a strong base. If you commit to it, you will find that your season is one that contains little injury and plenty of satisfaction.