Long term plan for a 70.3 A race next August

Hi all!

I am fairly new to TrainerRoad but I already like it a lot, especially after the new changes.

I’ve added my A race to the new TR calendar, which is a half distance triathlon in August next year, and I realized that between now and then I could fit 4 training training blocks (currently one week into half distance base).

I started doing triathlons this year and so far completed 1 sprint (had to withdraw from an Olympic distance race later due to illness), so I though starting with the base program first made sense.

My question is, once I complete this 8 week block, what should I do next? Basically I will have to repeat one block, so do I go:

  • base → base → build → specialty
  • base → build → build → specialty
    or
  • base → build → specialty → specialty

Which option is the most optimal? What should I look out for when deciding on transitioning from one phase to another?

If it makes a difference, I will be doing 2 Olympic distance B race events in June too, so somewhere between the 3rd and the 4th block.

Thanks,
Tom

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Two builds back to back could leave you very tired. My main event next year (12hr TT) is likely to be in August, so I’m going to do Traditional Base, Sweetspot Base, Sustained Power then the 40k TT but switch some workouts from the Full Triathlon plan to build longer duration power.

I might look at the Triathlon base plans as an alternative to Traditional Base, but my thinking is that as I have time, I may as well work my way up through the zones and build as good an aerobic engine as I can to lay a solid foundation for the harder workouts and races next year.

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I face exactly the same issue at the moment. Decided against build->build option as @Greased_Flea mentioned.

I went now with Sweet Spot Base, supplementing with my own swim and run workouts based on my specific goals for the post-season. With a few weeks travel this takes me to the next year. In January I take a week or so off and then start with normal cycle. The extra weeks that remain I will use as buffer (you never know when you get sick or a small nagging injury or want to go on unplanned vacation) and otherwise fill up with repeating a week or two.

There has also been a similar discussion on reddit recently.

Let me know how you decide.

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I’m in the same boat as @octopusx although my A race is a 70.3 in late July. So here’s a summary of what the official TR account posted the reddit thread that @schmidt linked:

if you have a time frame that exceeds the 24 weeks outlined in the Half Distance Plan, we recommend the following progression:

Traditional Base (12 Weeks)
Half Distance Base (8 Weeks)
Half Distance Build (8 Weeks)
Half Distance Specialty (8 Weeks)

This will be a total of 36 weeks. This progression allows you to build a massive aerobic engine by doubling down on Base training, which will help immensely on the 56 mile bike leg."

Seems like a reasonable plan, seeing that there are ~44+ weeks until August 1st.

My only concern is: what is the best way to fit some strength training & general run/swims into the traditional base portion? (I imagine this won’t be super hard to do, I’d just like to have TR or someone else tell me how to lol)

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I’m in a similar situation and have an Ironman at the end of July. Training begins officially on Monday. I’m doing a high volume sweet spot base (12 weeks), then Ironman base (8 weeks), then build (8 weeks), then specialty (6 weeks) so similar to the reddit recommendation. I think it should work well

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Thank you guys for all the comments, this is all very useful information!

Thanks for the tip @Greased_Flea I definitely will stick to a base program first and not double up on build/specialty phase.

@clay good spot on the comment from the TR reddit, this is definitely reassuring. And definitely nice to do a longer base plan first over the winter months. As for adding your swims/runs to the Sweet Spot Base plan - what I will try and this:

  • swimming on the two “rest” days (Monday and Friday)
  • long easier pace run on one of the “rest” days - Friday for me
  • interval/hill repeat run on Wednesdays, after that easier ride

@schmidt I think you’re right, Sweet Spot Base (medium volume for me) seems to be about the right intensity and number of weekly workouts, still with enough space to squeeze in those swims and runs in between. And definitely, good idea to have a few weeks spare in any case, I already had to cancel one event due to illness this year!

@tribuddha I am hoping it will work well, will do pretty much the same, will be interested in the future how it all worked out for you!

Edit: I screwed up and posted the initial post before it was read :stuck_out_tongue:

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My 2 “A” 70.3 Races are in June and Sept 2019

My plan of attack is:

Traditional Base Level I, II, III (12 weeks)
Sweet Spot Base (4 weeks)

Then into the Half Distance Triathlon Base, Build Specialty

Keeping away from anything too intensive this early in the programs helps me avoid any sort of burn out and over training injuries.

I’ve stuck pretty close to the entire Half Triathlon Programs for the last 2 seasons and have PB’d multiple times.

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just wanted to make everybody reading this far aware of a parallel thread which covers plans for the early base phase

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I’ve got a similar Goal, a half distance tri on 7th July. with an Olympic distance about 3 weeks before. The plans which i have set out on the Calendar are. Sustained Power Build (to build up my FTP a bit), then go in to Sweet spot base. Then Half Distance Base, Build, Speciality. Which leads nicely up to my events. I’m new to swimming, so can’t actually do the distance set out on even the low volume tri plan, so until Jan when i actually start the tri base. I’m trying to just get 2 swims in a week to just “learn to swim”, almost like a pre plan. i’ve gone from 600m to about 1300m now. My Goal time is 5 Hours, so plenty of work to do.

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Sounds like this group is on the same page. I’m in a similar situation and was going to run sweet spot base to build my base up and hopefully drop a few pounds before starting my half tri base.

Happy Training All

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