Triathlon Training Plan for Beginners

12 weeks·sprint·beginner

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Weeks: 12
Sessions: 71
Peak week: 4h 05; week 10
Long ride: 1h 15; week 10
Taper: 2 wk

BaseCutbackBuildPeakTaperRace

Heart-rate zones use the Karvonen formula from max HR 185 and resting HR 55. Enter yours to recalculate.

Week-by-week training plan
Wk	Focus	Sessions	Volume	Biggest session
01	Base: technique + aerobicLong ride 45 min	6 · 4 key	2h 25	Long ride 45 min
Tue Oct 6 Swim technique + aerobic 15 min 8 × 50 drill/swim 4 × 100 @ 2:20/100 yd, 15 s rest Wed Oct 7 Bike intervals 25 min 10–15 min warm-up 3 × 5 min Zone 3 (146–159 bpm), 3 min easy 10 min easy Thu Oct 8 Swim endurance 15 min continuous or broken 400s @ 2:22/100 yd · bilateral breathing, sighting every 6–8 strokes Thu Oct 8 Run + strides 20 min easy with 6 × 20 s strides Sat Oct 10 Long ride 45 min Long ride, Zone 2 (133–146 bpm) · fuel 60–80 g carbs per hour Sun Oct 11 Long run 25 min Zone 2 (133–146 bpm) · flat to rolling route
02	Base: technique + aerobicLong ride 45 min	6 · 4 key	2h 35	Long ride 45 min
6 sessions Tue Oct 13 Swim technique + aerobic 15 min 8 × 50 drill/swim 5 × 100 @ 2:20/100 yd, 15 s rest Wed Oct 14 Bike intervals 25 min 10–15 min warm-up 3 × 5 min Zone 3 (146–159 bpm), 3 min easy 10 min easy Thu Oct 15 Swim endurance 15 min continuous or broken 400s @ 2:22/100 yd · bilateral breathing, sighting every 6–8 strokes Thu Oct 15 Run + strides 25 min easy with 6 × 20 s strides Sat Oct 17 Long ride 45 min Long ride, Zone 2 (133–146 bpm) · fuel 60–80 g carbs per hour Sun Oct 18 Long run 30 min Zone 2 (133–146 bpm) · flat to rolling route
03	Base: technique + aerobicLong ride 45 min	6 · 4 key	2h 50	Long ride 45 min
6 sessions Tue Oct 20 Swim technique + aerobic 20 min 8 × 50 drill/swim 6 × 100 @ 2:20/100 yd, 15 s rest Wed Oct 21 Bike intervals 30 min 10–15 min warm-up 4 × 5 min Zone 3 (146–159 bpm), 3 min easy 10 min easy Thu Oct 22 Swim endurance 20 min continuous or broken 400s @ 2:22/100 yd · bilateral breathing, sighting every 6–8 strokes Thu Oct 22 Run + strides 25 min easy with 6 × 20 s strides Sat Oct 24 Long ride 45 min Long ride, Zone 2 (133–146 bpm) · fuel 60–80 g carbs per hour Sun Oct 25 Long run 30 min Zone 2 (133–146 bpm) · flat to rolling route
04	Recovery weekLong ride 30 min	6 · 2 key	2h 00	Long ride 30 min
6 sessions Tue Oct 27 Easy swim + drills 15 min drills and easy aerobic swimming, no clock Wed Oct 28 Easy spin 20 min 10–15 min warm-up Zone 2 (133–146 bpm), cadence 90+ 10 min easy Thu Oct 29 Swim endurance 15 min continuous or broken 400s @ 2:22/100 yd · bilateral breathing, sighting every 6–8 strokes Thu Oct 29 Easy run 20 min Zone 2 (133–146 bpm) Sat Oct 31 Long ride 30 min Long ride, Zone 2 (133–146 bpm) · fuel 60–80 g carbs per hour Sun Nov 1 Long run 20 min Zone 2 (133–146 bpm) · flat to rolling route
05	Build: threshold + weekly brickLong ride 45 min	6 · 5 key	2h 55	Long ride 45 min
6 sessions Tue Nov 3 Swim CSS intervals 20 min 11 × 100 @ CSS 2:13/100 yd, 10–15 s rest Wed Nov 4 Bike intervals 30 min 10–15 min warm-up 3 × 10 min sweet spot, high Zone 3 to low Zone 4 (159–172 bpm) 10 min easy Thu Nov 5 Swim endurance 20 min continuous or broken 400s @ 2:22/100 yd · bilateral breathing, sighting every 6–8 strokes Thu Nov 5 Run quality 20 min 4 × 5 min @ threshold 10:03/mi, 90 s jog Sat Nov 7 Brick: long ride + 20 min run 65 min Long ride, Zone 2 (133–146 bpm) · fuel 60–80 g carbs per hour 20 min run off the bike · first 5 min at race pace 9:37/mi, then easy Sun Nov 8 Long run 20 min Zone 2 (133–146 bpm) · flat to rolling route
06	Build: threshold + weekly brickLong ride 1 h	6 · 5 key	3h 10	Long ride 1 h
6 sessions Tue Nov 10 Swim CSS intervals 20 min 11 × 100 @ CSS 2:13/100 yd, 10–15 s rest Wed Nov 11 Bike intervals 35 min 10–15 min warm-up 3 × 10 min sweet spot, high Zone 3 to low Zone 4 (159–172 bpm) 10 min easy Thu Nov 12 Swim endurance 15 min continuous or broken 400s @ 2:22/100 yd · bilateral breathing, sighting every 6–8 strokes Thu Nov 12 Run quality 20 min 5 × 5 min @ threshold 10:03/mi, 90 s jog Sat Nov 14 Brick: long ride + 25 min run 80 min Long ride, Zone 2 (133–146 bpm) · fuel 60–80 g carbs per hour 25 min run off the bike · first 5 min at race pace 9:37/mi, then easy Sun Nov 15 Long run 20 min Zone 2 (133–146 bpm) · flat to rolling route
07	Build: threshold + weekly brickLong ride 1 h	6 · 5 key	3h 25	Long ride 1 h
6 sessions Tue Nov 17 Swim CSS intervals 25 min 12 × 100 @ CSS 2:13/100 yd, 10–15 s rest Wed Nov 18 Bike intervals 35 min 10–15 min warm-up 3 × 10 min sweet spot, high Zone 3 to low Zone 4 (159–172 bpm) 10 min easy Thu Nov 19 Swim endurance 15 min continuous or broken 400s @ 2:22/100 yd · bilateral breathing, sighting every 6–8 strokes Thu Nov 19 Run quality 20 min 5 × 5 min @ threshold 10:03/mi, 90 s jog Sat Nov 21 Brick: long ride + 30 min run 90 min Long ride, Zone 2 (133–146 bpm) · fuel 60–80 g carbs per hour 30 min run off the bike · first 5 min at race pace 9:37/mi, then easy Sun Nov 22 Long run 20 min Zone 2 (133–146 bpm) · flat to rolling route
08	Recovery weekLong ride 45 min	6 · 2 key	2h 25	Long ride 45 min
6 sessions Tue Nov 24 Easy swim + drills 15 min drills and easy aerobic swimming, no clock Wed Nov 25 Easy spin 25 min 10–15 min warm-up Zone 2 (133–146 bpm), cadence 90+ 10 min easy Thu Nov 26 Swim endurance 15 min continuous or broken 400s @ 2:22/100 yd · bilateral breathing, sighting every 6–8 strokes Thu Nov 26 Easy run 20 min Zone 2 (133–146 bpm) Sat Nov 28 Long ride 45 min Long ride, Zone 2 (133–146 bpm) · fuel 60–80 g carbs per hour Sun Nov 29 Long run 25 min Zone 2 (133–146 bpm) · flat to rolling route
09	Peak: race-specific bricksLong ride 1 h	6 · 5 key	3h 45	Long ride 1 h
6 sessions Tue Dec 1 Swim race-pace sets 25 min 6 × 400 @ 2:15/100 yd, 30 s rest Wed Dec 2 Bike intervals 40 min 10–15 min warm-up 5 × 5 min Zone 4–5 (159–172 bpm and up), 3 min easy 10 min easy Thu Dec 3 Swim endurance 25 min continuous or broken 400s @ 2:22/100 yd · bilateral breathing, sighting every 6–8 strokes Thu Dec 3 Run quality 20 min 4 × 10 min @ race pace 9:37/mi Sat Dec 5 Brick: long ride + 30 min run 90 min Long ride, Zone 2 (133–146 bpm) · middle third at race effort, Zone 3 (146–159 bpm) 30 min run off the bike · first 5 min at race pace 9:37/mi, then easy Sun Dec 6 Long run 25 min Zone 2 (133–146 bpm) · last 15 min at race pace 9:37/mi
10	Peak: race-specific bricksLong ride 1 h 15 min	6 · 5 key	4h 05	Long ride 1 h 15 min
6 sessions Tue Dec 8 Swim race-pace sets 25 min 6 × 400 @ 2:15/100 yd, 30 s rest Wed Dec 9 Bike intervals 40 min 10–15 min warm-up 5 × 5 min Zone 4–5 (159–172 bpm and up), 3 min easy 10 min easy Thu Dec 10 Swim endurance 25 min continuous or broken 400s @ 2:22/100 yd · bilateral breathing, sighting every 6–8 strokes Thu Dec 10 Run quality 20 min 4 × 10 min @ race pace 9:37/mi Sat Dec 12 Brick: long ride + 35 min run 110 min Long ride, Zone 2 (133–146 bpm) · middle third at race effort, Zone 3 (146–159 bpm) 35 min run off the bike · first 5 min at race pace 9:37/mi, then easy Sun Dec 13 Long run 25 min Zone 2 (133–146 bpm) · last 15 min at race pace 9:37/mi
11	Taper: less volume, keep intensityLong ride 45 min	6 · 5 key	2h 55	Long ride 45 min
6 sessions Tue Dec 15 Swim sharpening 20 min 6 × 50 fast @ 2:08/100 yd 200 easy Wed Dec 16 Bike intervals 30 min 10–15 min warm-up 3 × 3 min at race effort inside an easy spin 10 min easy Thu Dec 17 Swim endurance 20 min continuous or broken 400s @ 2:22/100 yd · bilateral breathing, sighting every 6–8 strokes Thu Dec 17 Run quality 10 min 4 × 3 min @ race pace, 2 min jog Sat Dec 19 Brick: long ride + 35 min run 80 min Long ride, Zone 2 (133–146 bpm) · fuel 60–80 g carbs per hour 35 min run off the bike · first 5 min at race pace 9:37/mi, then easy Sun Dec 20 Long run 15 min Zone 2 (133–146 bpm) · flat to rolling route
12	Race weekRace	5 · 1 key	1h 00	Race
5 sessions Tue Dec 22 Swim sharpening 15 min 6 × 50 fast @ 2:08/100 yd 200 easy Wed Dec 23 Bike intervals 20 min 10–15 min warm-up 3 × 3 min at race effort inside an easy spin 10 min easy Thu Dec 24 Swim endurance 15 min continuous or broken 400s @ 2:22/100 yd · bilateral breathing, sighting every 6–8 strokes Thu Dec 24 Run quality 10 min 4 × 3 min @ race pace, 2 min jog Sun Dec 27 Race day: sprint triathlon Swim 750 m · settle at 2:17/100 yd Bike 12 mi · Zone 4 (159–172 bpm) Run 3.1 mi · target 9:37/mi if the bike was controlled

Your paces

Swim CSS: 2:13/100 ydcritical swim speed
Run easy: 13:10/mi
Run threshold: 10:03/mi
Run race pace: 9:37/miopen-run pace; expect 3–8% slower off the bike

Heart-rate zones · Karvonen

Zone 1: 120–133 bpmrecovery
Zone 2: 133–146 bpmaerobic base
Zone 3: 146–159 bpmtempo
Zone 4: 159–172 bpmthreshold
Zone 5: 172–185 bpmVO2max

The numbers

About this plan

This triathlon training plan for beginners runs 12 weeks for a beginner athlete, from 2.4 hours in week 1 to 4.1 hours in week 10. Week 6 is 3.2 h, split about 22% swim, 45% bike and 33% run across 6 sessions. Over the plan that is 24 swims, 23 rides and 23 runs for a 750 m / 20 km / 5 km race.

The 1 h 15 min ride in week 10 stays in Zone 2, 133–146 bpm on Karvonen zones. 24 swims use a 2:13/100 yd critical swim speed; 6 bricks follow long rides.

Week 4 (2 h) and week 8 (2.4 h) recover. The 2 taper weeks go from 4.1 h to 1 h; the 34-hour block ends with run race pace near 9:37/mi.

Week 1, shown in full above, is 2.4 hours: Tuesday — swim technique + aerobic, 15 min; Wednesday — bike intervals, 25 min; Thursday — swim endurance, 15 min; Thursday — run + strides, 20 min; Saturday — long ride, 45 min; Sunday — long run, 25 min.

Structure: base weeks 1–3 (2.4–2.8 h), build weeks 5–7 (2.9–3.4 h), peak weeks 9–10 (3.8–4.1 h), taper week 11 (2.9 h) and race week 12 (1 h).

Questions

FAQ

How many hours a week is this triathlon training plan for beginners?

2.4 hours in week 1, 3.2 h in week 6, 4.1 hours in week 10; 34 hours in all.

What heart-rate zones does the triathlon training plan for beginners use?

Karvonen zones: Zone 2 133–146 bpm for 3.2 h weeks like week 6, Zone 4 159–172 bpm for the 47 key sessions.

How many brick workouts are in the triathlon training plan for beginners?

6 bricks across 12 weeks, the longest behind a 1 h 15 min ride.

What is the longest bike ride before the sprint triathlon?

1 h 15 min, in week 10, before a 2-week taper to 1 h.

Keep exploring

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