So I am penciling through lessons learned and planning for next season. I am curious about why there are such differences in the lengths of the different phases. SSB is 2x 6 weeks. But the Olympic is 1x 6 weeks. Sprint is 1x4 weeks. Traditional is 3x 4 weeks.
Build phases are similar in differences: Short, General, and Sustained builds are all 8 weeks. But Sprint and Olympic builds are 4 and 6 weeks, respectively; while longer are 8 weeks.
Dang this makes off-road triathlon training complicated – bike from XC stuff not matching up with run stuff for the triathlon plans.
Wishing I could afford a coach. Budget is not there at all. TR has worked – I just have to plan it out. Just wondering why the difference in phase lengths.
For triathlon, we increase the length of the Base Phase based on the needs of the event. We do this because those that are completing a longer event will need more time dedicated to the Base Phase. For example, someone preparing for the full distance 112-mile bike leg will need more time in Base than someone preparing for a sprint distance, 15-mile bike leg.
All of our Build and Specialty Phases are 8 weeks though, regardless of discipline or event length.
As for the SSB vs Traditional plans being 2x6 vs 3x4 week plans, it just comes down to the rest weeks. The traditional plan has a rest week every fourth weel (which is more “traditional” for a Base program), while the SSB plan has a rest week every 6 weeks.
I am sweating it as I use planning for XC racing but need the run information from the Olympic Tri plans. For good or bad, the swim gets done with a Master’s group.
@Bryce if I do the SSB I and II, what would TR suggest I use for the second round of running workouts? Repeat those in the Olympic Base?
