My sister is thinking about doing her first triathlon out in the Seattle area (where she lives) at the end of September, and called me yesterday for advice. I offered to put together a training schedule for her to get ready over the next five weeks and thought I’d share it here for those out there who are considering a tri themselves. Important note: I am in NO way an expert on how you should train, so take this with a grain of salt. I simply drew up a schedule that would work for someone like me.
The triathlon she is looking at involves a 1/2 mile swim, a 12 mile bike, and a 3 mile run. Katie recently ran a half marathon so I’m not worried about her running. She said that she and my brother-in-law rode their bikes 12 miles last week, so she’s already covered that distance. And while she hasn’t swum laps in years, she (like me) spent a lot of time at the pool growing up so she knows how to swim and is comfortable in the water. Basically, she’s got a good level of base fitness already and just needs to get ready for the distances of each event and stringing them together.
| Swim | Bike | Run | ||
| 18-Aug | Mon | 15 min | ||
| 19-Aug | Tue | 3 mi | ||
| 20-Aug | Wed | 12 mi | 1 mi (immediately after biking) | |
| 21-Aug | Thu | 20 min | ||
| 22-Aug | Fri | Off Day | ||
| 23-Aug | Sat | 4-5 mi | ||
| 24-Aug | Sun | 14 mi | ||
| 25-Aug | Mon | 20 min | ||
| 26-Aug | Tue | 3 mi | ||
| 27-Aug | Wed | 12 mi | 1 mi (immediately after biking) | |
| 28-Aug | Thu | 25 min | ||
| 29-Aug | Fri | Off Day | ||
| 30-Aug | Sat | 4-5 mi | ||
| 31-Aug | Sun | 16 mi | ||
| 1-Sep | Mon | 800 yd | ||
| 2-Sep | Tue | 3 mi | ||
| 3-Sep | Wed | 12 mi | 1 mi (immediately after biking) | |
| 4-Sep | Thu | 1000 yd | ||
| 5-Sep | Fri | Off Day | ||
| 6-Sep | Sat | 5-6 mi | ||
| 7-Sep | Sun | 18 mi | ||
| 8-Sep | Mon | 1200 yd | ||
| 9-Sep | Tue | 3 mi | ||
| 10-Sep | Wed | 12 mi | 1 mi (immediately after biking) | |
| 11-Sep | Thu | 1400 yd | ||
| 12-Sep | Fri | Off Day | ||
| 13-Sep | Sat | 5-6 mi | ||
| 14-Sep | Sun | 20 mi | ||
| 15-Sep | Mon | 1600 yd | ||
| 16-Sep | Tue | 3 mi | ||
| 17-Sep | Wed | 8 mi | 1 mi (immediately after biking) | |
| 18-Sep | Thu | 800 yd | ||
| 19-Sep | Fri | Off Day | ||
| 20-Sep | Sat | Off Day | ||
| 21-Sep | Sun | 800 yd | 12 mi | 3 mi |
