Training Plan: Your Fastest Olympic Distance Triathlon

This 12-week training plan involves many of the principles used to coach athletes to world and national championships as well as ITU podiums. It is designed for triathletes who have completed several races and want to improve performance yet have limited training time.

One mistake athletes make is going too hard on their easy days, which hinders their ability to go very fast during quality workouts. This plan is based on three basic intensities:

1. Easy, which is aerobic and relaxed. When in doubt, slower is better.
2. Race pace, which is your current or projected race intensity or speed.
3. Fast or max, which is the highest pace or intensity you can sustain for the given set.

This might take some trial and error but will help you learn how to pace properly. This format allows you to use perceived exertion, heart rate or power meter/ GPS-based training, depending on which measurement tools you have.

Other Key Points
• Weekly time commitment varies little.
• There are four, three-week blocks, each consisting of two build weeks, followed by five days (weekdays) of active recovery and one weekend race-specific session, since most athletes have more time to train on weekends.
• Each three-week block has the following emphasis: Weeks 1-3: speed development Weeks 4-6: specific strength Weeks 7-9: race-pace training Weeks 10-12: race taper