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Triathlon Training Plan

There’s all sorts of training plans to train for a triathlon out there…we found this one on www.beginnertriathlete.com.  It lasts 5 months, starting Dec 1 through our Triathlon in Florida on April 27.  Marvel at what we’re about to get ourselves into!

Month 1   

Week

M

T

W

TH

F

S

S

TOTAL

Vol

1

24-Swim

Off

40-Swim

24-Run

80-Bike

Off

40-Run

4h 16m

48-Bike

256m

2

26-Swim

Off

44-Swim

26-Run

88-Bike

Off

44-Run

4h 41m

+10%

53-Bike

281m

3

29-Swim

Off

48-Swim

29-Run

97-Bike

Off

48-Run

5h 9m

+10%

58-Bike

309m

4

17-Swim

Off

29-Swim

17-Run

58-Bike

Off

29-Run

3h 5m

-40%

35-Bike

185m

Notes

Short Swim

Off

Long Swim

Short Run

Long Bike

Off

Long Run

Short Bike

Grand total:       17h 11m           

 

Month 2     

Week

M

T

W

TH

F

S

S

TOTAL

Vol

1

29-Swim

Off

48-Swim

29-Run

97-Bike

Off

48-Run

5h 9m

58-Bike

309m

2

32-Swim

Off

53-Swim

32-Run

107-Bike

Off

53-Run

5h 41m

+10%

64-Bike

341m

3

35-Swim

Off

58-Swim

35-Run

117-Bike

Off

58-Run

6h 13m

+10%

70-Bike

373m

4

21-Swim

Off

35-Swim

21-Run

70-Bike

Off

35-Run

3h 44m

-40%

42-Bike

224m

Notes

Short Swim

Off

Long Swim

Short Run

Long Bike

Off

Long Run

Short Bike

Grand total:       20h 47m           

 

Month 3  

Week

M

T

W

TH

F

S

S

TOTAL

Vol

1

35-Swim

Off

58-Swim

35-Run

117-Bike

Off

58-Run

6h 13m

70-Bike

373m

2

38-Swim

Off

64-Swim

38-Run

128-Bike

Off

64-Run

6h 49m

+10%

77-Bike

409m

3

42-Swim

Off

70-Swim

42-Run

141-Bike

Off

70-Run

7h 30m

+10%

85-Bike

450m

4

25-Swim

Off

42-Swim

25-Run

85-Bike

Off

42-Run

4h 30m

-40%

51-Bike

270m

Notes

Short Swim

Off

Long Swim

Short Run

Long Bike

Off

Long Run

Short Bike

Grand total:       25h 02m           

 

 

 

Month 4  

Week

M

T

W

TH

F

S

S

TOTAL

Vol

1

42-Swim

Off

70-Swim

42-Run

141-Bike

Off

70-Run

7h 30m

85-Bike

450m

2

46-Swim

Off

77-Swim

46-Run

155-Bike

Off

77-Run

8h 14m

+10%

93-Bike

494m

3

46-Swim

Off

77-Swim

46-Run

155-Bike

Off

77-Run

8h 14m

+0%

93-Bike

494m

4

28-Swim

Off

46-Swim

28-Run

93-Bike

Off

46-Run

4h 57m

-40%

56-Bike

297m

Notes

Short Swim

Off

Long Swim

Short Run

Long Bike

Off

Long Run

Short Bike

Grand total:       28h 55m           

 

Month 5  

Week

M

T

W

TH

F

S

S

TOTAL

Vol

1

42-Swim

Off

70-Swim

42-Run

141-Bike

Off

70-Run

7h 30m

85-Bike

450m

2

46-Swim

Off

77-Swim

46-Run

155-Bike

Off

77-Run

8h 14m

+10%

93-Bike

494m

Peak

3

37-Swim

Off

62-Swim

Off

124-Bike

Off

62-Run

6h 36m

-20%

74-Bike

37-Run

396m

Taper

4

23-Swim

Off

39-Swim

78-Bike

Off

Race

Race

3h 30m

-30%

47-Bike

23-Run

+Race

Taper

Notes

Short Swim

Off

Long Swim

Short Run

Long Bike

Off

Long Run

Short Bike

Grand total:       24h 50m + Race        

 

 

14 Comments

  1. brandon
    brandon September 14, 2009

    this plan looks awesome.
    Would it be possible for you guys to also post your half-marathon plan again as well?
    Thanks

  2. Frank
    Frank November 6, 2009

    Weeks 18 & 19 are looking pretty heavy still. Most plans that I’ve seen don’t have such long runs during the last two weekends.

  3. Miguel
    Miguel November 26, 2009

    Wow that’s a lot of running lads!

  4. Robert Grahmann
    Robert Grahmann November 27, 2009

    I still don’t understand why you are advised NOT to run the 26.2 miles until just before the race. The closest you come is 20 miles 4 weeks before the race. other than that you don’t even come close to 26.2 miles. I always thought that when preparing for an athletic event you do MORE in the preparation than you do in the actual event, so that the event seems easy by comparison. When and why did that philosophy change?

  5. Mark
    Mark December 6, 2009

    It’s so you don’t hurt yourself, mostly. If you’re building up to a huge distance, then week after week you’re doing more than your body is accustomed to. So without cutting back, you never really recover, and you’ll end up completely crapping out before race day. With the long runs going back & forth for the last few weeks, you do get to recover without losing conditioning, and as long as you’ve had ample recovery time, you should always be able to do about 30% more than what you’re conditioned for. So since going all the way up to (or past) 26.2 isn’t necessary, the safe bet is to just condition yourself up to where 26.2 is within that extra 30% range.

  6. Tim Jarrett
    Tim Jarrett January 2, 2010

    The best way I’ve heard the reason why you dont run a marathon while training for one, was if you where climbing Everest you wouldn’t practice by climbing Everest. You’d practice on smaller mountains, then progressivly bigger mountains, then you’d have a try at Everest.

  7. Paul
    Paul February 4, 2010

    Okay; a complete surprise for me: I am exactly at where the Two Gomers are. I was listening while on a scheduled 14 mile run when I heard that they had just done their 14 mile runs. Also the first marathon they are training for is the same one I’m working towards. Very cool. But, I blew off my first 1/2 Marathon this Sunday since it was 27F (w/ice) and waited until it warmed up to 42F (and sunny!) and ran 17 miles (a new record for me). So, since I’m right where they are, I’m switching to their schedule. Maybe I’ll see y’all in Atlanta for the ING Marathon in March. Caio!

  8. Joshua
    Joshua May 20, 2010

    Where did you get this plan?

  9. Zach
    Zach February 9, 2011

    I am still unclear about what the speed work outs. If I am doing track workouts, how long (time or distance) do I run at 3k pace? How many intervals? If I am running hills, how do I know if its a “good” hill? The description mentions that “The steeper the hill, the shorter you can make the intervals”. How steep should the hill be? Is this a HR issue? If so, what should the target HR be?

    Also, as to the running more then marathon to train for marathon, Galloway’s plans call for at least one run longer then 26.2 during the training. I think its just what you are comfortable with.

  10. Alison
    Alison February 22, 2011

    I’m going to ditto one of Zach’s questions- what are the speedwork days supposed to entail? Based on the numbering, it feels like there is supposed to be a set plan or a series of interval workouts but they aren’t listed here. I’m also curious what track work is suggested.

    Any chance we can get that info posted? I’d love to get started. 🙂

  11. Brad
    Brad February 28, 2011

    Zach and Alison,
    If it’s okay with the Gomers, I’ll post the specifics for the speedwork sessions as comments on their Facebook page.

  12. Emi
    Emi August 13, 2011

    With the speedwork, is the number the length you have to run?
    Like Speedwork 1, does that mean that you only have to do 1 mile?

  13. grant
    grant June 23, 2012

    the plan looks great guys:) thanks to the brad im doing my first official 5k race soon so i wanted a plan:) anyways happy running!

  14. Jane
    Jane March 6, 2014

    Okay, I get it that you guys don’t want to sound like you are promoting a particular book, but… would you, please, remind me what the title is of the swimming book that you mention in almost every podcast? Thanks!
    PS I can swim two laps :-)!

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