My Favorite Outside+ Perk: A Library of Free Training Plans

If the pandemic proved anything about triathletes, it’s that at heart we’re outdoor enthusiasts who happen to channel that love most commonly into swimming, biking, and running. Without races on the calendar, we went after KOMs and FKTs, took on unique adventures, and enjoyed virtual challenges. Knowing all of that, the launch of Outside+ is perhaps most exciting for the adventure-fueled multisport athletes.

Throughout this week, we’ll be sharing our favorite perks of Outside+ (that we use ourselves!). And as the only never-been-a-professional-triathlete member of our editorial team, hopefully I can provide some unique insight into the benefits of the membership—even if you’re a middle- to back-of-the-packer like me.

My favorite perk (and I think it’s a bit overlooked by many of our members) is that with an Outside+ membership, you get to pick two books from the vast VeloPress library. The two that get the most use on my bookshelf are Sport Smoothies by Fern Green and Hansons First Marathon by Keith Hanson, Kevin Hanson, and Luke Humphrey. And I’m sure they won’t brag, so I’ll do it for them. You can also snag books from two of my fellow Triathlete editors. The Triathlete Guide to Sprint and Olympic Triathlon Racing comes from our executive editor Chris Foster, with training plans by renowned coach and Olympian Ryan Bolton. And our managing editor Emma-Kate Lidbury co-wrote Triathlon Swimming: Master Open-Water Swimming with the world’s leading open-water swim coach, Gerry Rodrigues. If you want to become a better triathlete in 2021, you’d be hard-pressed to find better books to help you do it.

Along those same lines, one of the best perks in the entire membership for triathletes is the hand-curated plans available at Today’s Plan. As a member, you get access to several triathlon training plans spanning every race distance and ability (and the use of the Today’s Plan software). My husband has been using Jim Vance’s 25-week Ironman plan to prepare for Ironman Coeur d’Alene and is feeling more prepared than ever to tackle 140.6 next month. 

RELATED: How to Set Up a Triathlon Training Plan in Outside+

And finally, while there are plenty of other fun perks (see them all here), the heart of what makes Outside+ so great is that it’s where editors across 20 active and healthy lifestyle publications get to share our best content. It’s the place where we as an editorial team get to have a little fun and focus more resources. We write about the rivalries in our sport, steal workouts and tips from top pros, dream up triathlon match-ups that will never happen but are fun to hypothesize about—and there’s plenty more in the works. This is the case for every brand across the Outside umbrella—whether you’re utilizing yoga as a recovery tool, keeping up on the latest cycling news, curious about the newest super shoe technology, looking to improve your nutrition, or want to take on a new adventure like climbing, backpacking, or skiing, you’ll find the best, richest content as an Outside+ member.

RELATED: Welcome to Outside+