The Ideal Triathlon Training Plan
Getting through the year and racing well in important event will require some planning on your part. Usually, it is recommended to start with the mid-season race and then just plan backward from this point to the level of fitness you have now. To do this, you must first know the date of the race you will participate in during the next 12 to 20 weeks. This is because if you plan any closer than this, you might not be able to take the best advantage of a great build-up, taper and speed program.
On the other hand, you should, likewise, not plan to focus on any race that will occur any farther than the 20 week timeframe because you run the risk of becoming burned out during the date of the important race. Have you ever heard of some athletes saying, I was in incredible shape only a week ago? Well, this is a classic example of an athlete who reached his peak physical state too early.
You should note that having a perfect training plan for a race would take you about 12-20 weeks to prepare for. There is specific number of weeks that is required for each phase of the training such as the base training, the race-specific training, the speed training, and the taper training. All the training you need to do to improve on these factors depends on the amount of time you have between now and the event you are preparing for.
For example, having a 12 week program will require you to have something like 5 week training on aerobic base, around 4 weeks of race-specific training, 2 weeks of speed training and taper training, and then continue with the taper training for another one week. So basically, your training should be concentrated on 10 weeks of building your base, 6 weeks of race-specific training, and 4 weeks of taper exercise.
