Training intelligently for short-distance triathlon racing is a challenging task. How do you fit all the sessions in? How do you order the workouts? How do you keep yourself from burning out, doing too much, or not doing enough?
Well, smarter people than me have said that making a good training schedule is more art than science. I think most of you have realized that I don’t market myself as a scientist!
The first table provided below is a summary of the different types of training sessions one would undertake in a season of triathlon training. The table includes examples and the phase that such training might take place. These are just general suggestions and everyone’s schedule should reflect their particular strengths and weaknesses. For example, a former collegiate runner might want to spend more time swimming and cycling and could get away with a minimum of run specific training.
The next few tables give example weeks for various levels of ability and period. I will continue to modify this file as I have time and as new ideas occur to me.
Key Sessions
Sport
Frequency
/ Week
Type
Example
(not including warm up/ warm down)
Phase
Swim
S1
2-3
Lactate
Threshold (LT)
20 x
100 at 90% on :10 rest
6 x
400 descend effort 1-3, 4-6 on :30 rest
Late Base
/ Build / Peak
S2
2
Aerobic
/ aerobic endurance (AeT)
4 x
500 at 75-80% on 1:00 rest
10 x
200 at 80% on :30 rest
Base /
Build
S3
1
Any of
the above can include a V02max sprint set somewhere in there
6 x 50
all out on 1:00 rest
10 x
50 all out 25, easy 25 on :30 rest
Build
/ Peak
S4
1
Recovery
16 x
100 at 70% on :15 rest
All
S5
All
Drills
All
sessions some focus on form & drills
All
Bike
B1
1-2
LT
2 x 20
minute at threshold, 10 minute spin between
time
trial up to 40k
5 x 4
min Z4, 4 minute spin between
Late
Base / Build / Peak
B2
1-2
Skills/Strength
3 x 20
minute big gear w/ 10 minute spin between
5 x 5
minute climb (hill repeats)
10 x 1
minute one leg drills (each leg)
10 x
20 second jumps (sprints)
10 x 1
minute spin ups (high cadence)
All
except Prep
B3
1
AeT
2-3
hrs steady state moderate pace
Base /
Build / Peak
B4
1
Aerobic
/ long slow distance / recovery
2-5 hrs
easy to moderate
All
B5
Optional
Short
recovery
45
minute spin
All
B6
Hill
work
Include
hills in AeT and aerobic sessions
Base /
Build
B7
Optional
V02max
10 x 1
minute sprint, 1 minute between
Build
/ Peak
Run
R1
1
LT
30
minute steady at LT
1 hr
at LT minus 5bpm to 10bpm
4 x 1
mile at 10k-15k race pace, 3:00 rest
Run
Season / Build / Peak
R2
1
V02max
8 laps
on track, stride straights, jog corners
8 x 200
fast, full recovery
8 x
400 at 5k pace, 200 jog between
Build
/ Peak
R3
1
Long
run
1-3
hrs at easy conversational pace (Z1, low Z2)
All
except Prep
R4
1
AeT run
1-2
hrs at moderate aerobic pace
Base /
Build
R5
1
Brick run
Run
10-45 minutes at various pace off bike
Base /
Build / Peak
R6
2-3
Aerobic
conditioning
Easy
running
All
R7
1
Drills
Tack
drills onto the end of an easy session
All
Strength
ST1
1-2
Core
Swedish
ball, situps, machine assisted resistance training, hip abductors,
isometrics, etcetera
All
ST2
1
Sport
specific
One
leg bike drills, stair running, hill running, swim cords, lats, quads,
hamstrings, etcetera
All
Sample build week for experienced AG athlete with 15-20
hours to train
AM
session
Lunch
/ PM session
Monday
S2, S5
R1
Tuesday
B2
S4, R6
Wednesday
ST1
S1, B3
Thursday
R2, R7
Friday
S1,
S5, S3
B1, R5
Saturday
R3
ST2, B5
Sunday
B4, R5
Due to the nature of short course training, base periods
will include more LT work than might be considered normal for IM or new
athletes.
A base period week for the
same athlete could be quite similar:
AM
session
Lunch
/ PM session
Monday
S2, S3
Tuesday
R1
Wednesday
ST1
B4
Thursday
S4, R6
Friday
S5, B6
Saturday
R4
Sunday
B1
Clearly, there are a number of ways to construct both the
base and build weeks, and as you can see these weeks did not include a day
off.
Sample build week for newer AG athlete with 10 hrs to
train
AM
session
Lunch
/ PM session
Monday
S2, S3
Tuesday
R1
Wednesday
ST1
B4
Thursday
S4, R6
Friday
S5, B6
Saturday
R4
Sample base week for newer AG athlete with 10 hrs to train
AM
session
Lunch
/ PM session
Monday
S2, S5
Tuesday
R1
Wednesday
ST1, S4
B4
Thursday
S4, R6
Friday
B6
Saturday
B3, R5
Sunday
off
Some general guidelines for OD and sprint specific
training (my take on it anyway):
Put 48-72 hours in between LT run sessions
Put 24-36 hours in between LT run and bike sessions
Put 72-96 hours in between any V02max sessions (except swimming)
Don’t do more than 1 V02max session per week per sport
Increased Aerobic
volume =
Better Results
Too
much LT/V02 max = Results ¯
Not
enough LT/V02 max = Results ¯
1-2
bricks per week
Go
easy on easy days, fast on fast days
Listen to your body and watch for signs of injury
Nutrition and sleep are different yet related subjects.
Suffice it to say: Better diet = better athlete. Rested athlete = better athlete.
