Take Your Ironman to the Next Level With this 24-Week Training Plan

This mid-level Ironman training plan is custom made for those who want to do more than just finish an Ironman. Perhaps you are returning to an Ironman event you have done in the past and you want to better your time. Or maybe you even have an ambition to earn a qualifying slot for the Ironman World Championship. This training plan will help you achieve such goals in a time-efficient way that still allow you to please your boss and enjoy your family.

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These 24 weeks provide the perfect balance of challenging training and time efficiency. It features three swims, three rides, three runs, and a bike-run brick workout per week. The bricks are scheduled on Thursday in odd-numbered weeks and on Saturday in even-numbered weeks.

The base, build, and peak phases last eight weeks apiece. Every fourth week is a recovery week and the final 2 weeks constitute a tapering period. There are three optional tune-up races scheduled: a sprint in Week 12, an Olympic-distance event in Week 16, and a half-Ironman in Week 20. The plan begins with 5,400 yards of swimming, 5 hours and 10 minutes of cycling, and 2 hours and 33 minutes of running in Week 1. It peaks with 10,825 yards of swimming, 9 hours and 30 minutes of cycling, and 3 hours and 52 minutes of running in Week 22. Happy training!

Training plan abbreviations

Base phase: Week 1

The first eight weeks of this training plan constitute the base phase of training. The conditioning priorities in this phase are developing aerobic capacity and building endurance. The key workouts are base and fartlek swim intervals and foundation and long rides and runs. You will also do a small amount of high-intensity work (e.g., running strides) to gain efficiency and prepare your body to handle the high-intensity workouts of the build phase.

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

This week is a recovery week. Your training is slightly reduced to allow your body to fully absorb your recent training and prepare for the harder training to come in weeks 5-7.

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

This week is a recovery week.

Build phase: Week 9

The build phase of training begins this week. Because you are training for a very long race, your primary conditioning objective in this 8-week phase remains endurance development, which you will achieve through your long weekend workouts. But you will also maximize your aerobic capacity and build high-intensity fatigue resistance and efficiency through challenging high-intensity workouts including swim sprint intervals, cycling speed intervals, and running hill repetitions.

Week 10

Week 11

Week 12

This week is a recovery week.

Week 13

Week 14

Week 15

Week 16

This week is a recovery week.

Peak phase: Week 17

The peaks phase of training begins today. You’re already fit. It’s time to get race fit in this 8-week phase. You’ll do this by completing your longest swims, rides, runs, and brick workouts, to maximize your endurance. You will also do longer workouts at high aerobic intensity and threshold intensity to enhance your ability to sustain a relatively fast pace.

Week 18

Week 19

Week 20

This is a recovery week.

Week 21

Week 22

Week 23

The last two weeks of this training plan are a taper period. Your training will steadily taper down to ensure you’re rested and ready to perform your best on race day.

Week 24