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Half Olympic Triathlon Training Program - Novice

The following is an example of a ½ Olympic Triathlon Training program (phase 3) for a novice athlete. Before starting any training, you must have a medical examination to ensure it is safe for you to do so.

Any training program application is at the athlete's discretion and risk.

Key to notations and terms used

m = metres k = kilometres hrs = hours min = minutes secs = seconds Rep = repetition
pb = "personal best" time for Triathlon 5 × 200m = 5 repetitions of 200 metres
tpb = "target personal best" time for the Triathlon event

Phase 3

Each training session should include an appropriate warm-up and a cool-down.

Week 1

Day Develop Session Effort Recovery
Rep Set
Monday Specific Strength
Weight Training      
Tuesday Specific Endurance
& Transition
Swim 100m + 100m transition + Bike 5 mins tpb    
Wednesday Specific Strength Weight Training      
Thursday Specific Endurance
& Transition
Bike 15 mins + 100m transition + Run 1 km tpb    
Friday Specific Strength Weight Training      
Saturday Specific Endurance
& Transition
Bike 1 min + Run 1 min
Bike 2 min + Run 2 min
Bike 3 min + Run 3 min
Bike 2 min + Run 2 min
Bike 1 min + Run 1 min
tpb   10 min
Sunday Rest        

Week 2

Day Develop Session Effort Recovery
Rep Set
Monday Specific Strength
Weight Training      
Tuesday Specific Endurance
& Transition
Swim 200m + 200m transition + Bike 5 mins tpb    
Wednesday Specific Strength Weight Training      
Thursday Specific Endurance
& Transition
Bike 15 mins + 200m transition + Run 1.5 km tpb    
Friday Specific Strength Weight Training      
Saturday Specific Endurance
& Transition
Bike 2 min + Run 2 min
Bike 2 min + Run 2 min
Bike 3 min + Run 3 min
Bike 2 min + Run 2 min
Bike 2 min + Run 2 min
tpb   10 min
Sunday Rest        

Week 3

Day Develop Session Effort Recovery
Rep Set
Monday Specific Strength
Weight Training      
Tuesday Specific Endurance
& Transition
Swim 200m + 400m transition + Bike 5 mins tpb    
Wednesday Specific Strength Weight Training      
Thursday Specific Endurance
& Transition
Bike 15 mins + 400m transition + Run 1.5 km tpb    
Friday Specific Strength Weight Training      
Saturday Specific Endurance
& Transition
5 x (Bike 3 min + Run 3 min) tpb   10 min
Sunday Rest        

Week 4

Day Develop Session Effort Recovery
Rep Set
Monday Endurance General Swim - 30 min Fartlek      
Tuesday Strength Specific
& Endurance General
Weight Training
Bike - 2 hrs Fartlek
     
Wednesday Endurance General Run - 40 min Fartlek      
Thursday Strength Specific
& Endurance General
Weight Training
Bike - 2 hrs Fartlek
     
Friday Endurance General Swim - 30 min Fartlek      
Saturday Rest        
Sunday Rest        

Minor Race

In the event of a minor race in this period, then for the week of the race, the training will be as follows:

Day Race on Sunday Race on Saturday
Monday Training as normal Training as normal
Tuesday Swim - 30 min Fartlek Swim - 30 min Fartlek
Wednesday Training as normal Training as normal
Thursday Swim - 30 min Fartlek Swim - 30 min Fartlek
Friday Run - 8 x 400m @ tpb-5% with full recovery Rest
Saturday Rest Race
Sunday Race Bike - 2 hrs Fartlek

Major Race

In the event of a major race in this period, then for the week of the race, the training will be as follows:

Day Race on Sunday Race on Saturday
Monday Bike - 2 hrs Fartlek Bike - 2 hrs Fartlek
Tuesday Swim - 2 x (200m @ tpb-5% + 200m @ tpb) with full recovery Swim - 2 x (200m @ tpb-5% + 200m @ tpb) with full recovery
Wednesday Run - 8 x 400m @ tpb-5% with full recovery Run - 8 x 400m @ tpb-5% with full recovery
Thursday Bike - 2 hours easy Swim - 30 min easy
Friday Swim - 2 x (200m @ tpb-5% + 200m @ tpb) with full recovery Rest
Saturday Rest Race
Sunday Race Bike - 2 hrs Fartlek

Page Reference

If you quote information from this page in your work, then the reference for this page is:

  • MACKENZIE, B. (2007) Half Olympic Triathlon Training - Novice - Phase 3 [WWW] Available from: https://www.brianmac.co.uk/triathlon/ohnph3.htm [Accessed