A sample racing season


It's all talk until you put it on the table!

There is a general theme to most age-group athlete's season plans. They typically include a target spring event and a season finish in late summer or the fall. It could be a sprint triathlon in the spring and an Olympic distance or half-marathon in the fall; it could be two Ironman events. Everyone is different, as are individuals at different points in their life.

So your goal is not to copy your spouse's or buddy's plan (though that often works), it is to find the best approach for you.

I like to advise my athletes to pick a run race or two throughout the winter, a warm up triathlon or two in the early spring, and a target late spring or early summer event. They can follow the target race with 2-4 weeks of light or unstructured training before getting back to a strict training program.

The summer depends on when the athlete's later season goal falls. USA Nationals is typically late August to mid September, while World Champs, BQ runs, and late season Ironman events run through November in the Western hemisphere. It's a good idea to do at least one summertime event so you don't forget how uncomfortable racing hard feels.

The late season concludes with another practice/warm up race or two, the big goal race, and then a few weeks of unstructured or light training.

Unstructured training periods are good times to be more aggressive with your strength training, as the strength side of exercise typically takes a hit when the peak season is demanding.

Here is a good example:

mid-Feb: a local 5k or trail run
early-mid March: a charity 10k or half-marathon
April: a sprint or Olympic distance triathlon
May: an open water swim :)
May: a half-Ironman
July: a sprint triathlon
August: a sprint triathlon
September: an Olympic triathlon or National Championship
October: an Ironman 70.3
November: some easy weeks and a Turkey Trot
December: maybe a trail run or try not to get too lazy

Your schedule may have more or less races or distance per race, but the theme here is a couple of build ups and peaks with corresponding down time afterwards. You cannot maintain peak fitness all season, so plan for your recovery and rebuilding phases of training.

Marty Gaal, CSCS, is a USA Triathlon coach who lives in the Triangle area of North Carolina. Marty has been coaching endurance athletes since 2002. You can read more about OSB coaching services at www.osbmultisport.com.