Ironman Triathlon Training Plan

If you are at the point where you are looking for a training plan to get you to the start line of an Ironman Triathlon, then you must know what's involved. An Ironman Triathlon is commonly referred to as the longest day in sport. Most people can't even imagine completing one and those who do rarely go on to anything longer. As the Sport of Triathlon increases in popularity, so more Triathletes seek to test their mettle against the Ironman Distance. And so that brings us to your goals.

When you consider that an Ironman Trithlon runs for 17 hours, the distances aren't all that insurmountable. Don't get me wrong! You have to be fit and strong to even seriously attempt one but if you are comfortable finishing simply "sub 17" then you could probably get there without following a strict training plan. However if you have been training in the three disciplines for a few years and know what speeds you can maintain, you may have an idea of your realistic time and be keen to match or beat your own expectations. This plan is designed around time and effort so regardless of which, if any, of the swimming, riding or running legs is your strength, this plan will still work for you. No matter your motivations or expectations, the race will be long and tough. But when you cross that finish line, whether it's at 9h30m or 16h30m, you will be an Ironman or Ironwoman and nobody can take that away from you.

This is a big commitment, don't kid yourself. If you have a wife, significant other and/or children, then you need to sit down and discuss your training and your target race with them. Nearly all of your spare time and probably a lot of what would normally be time you spend with them, will be needed for training. Work may even be affected, depending on the flexibility of your job; or if you are a student, you may need some time off for some of the higher volume training weeks. If you have children, you may want to invest in a good quality, quiet wind trainer. This will allow you to fit in your bike training and yet still be around to keep an eye on the kids. If you have appropriate facilities at your place of work, you may be able to fit some training in at lunch or before or after work. Whichever way you look at it, the training for this event will take some serious commitment and not just from you.

This plan will stick to the philosophy of three weeks of building followed by one week of recovery. Recovery as always is extremely important. Your body doesn't adjust or get stronger while you are exercising, it happens after and while you recover from exercise. One day out of every week is for recovery. This doesn't mean you have to sit still all day - it just means not undertaking specific training sessions. The training sessions aren't time dependant. You can ride in the morning and run in the afternoon or vice versa, whatever is most convenient for you. It's important to separate your long run and your long ride. These will be pushing your limits and as the training plan continues, these sessions will become very long. If you do decide to juggle the training days in this plan, remember to keep your recovery day after either your long ride or long run. Another useful tool for recovery is the Swim. Swimming is by nature low impact and easy on the legs, relatively speaking. The Swim sessions have been placed after tough rides and runs as often as possible. Another technique is "active recovery", where you can have an easier training session like an easy swim or cycle if you don't feel completely recovered from your last major workout.

In this 22 week plan you will be working through a base, build and peak phase system, finishing with a two week taper before your event. A long solid base period will provide you with a solid platform on which to build. With many relatively easy kilometers in all three sports, your body will be conditioned and this will decrease your chance of injury. A strong base can also reduce fitness loss if you need to stop training later in the plan due to illness or other unforeseen commitments. In the build phase, you will work to increase speed and general strength and fitness. The peak phase will concentrate on simply maintaining your endurance and adding more speed. Your taper is also important. For an Ironman distance Triathlon you need to start feeling 100%, because you will need at least that to finish the race.

The sessions will be described as easy, medium and fast. You can translate this to heart rate zones in the table provided at the bottom of the page. You may be tempted to push a little harder in the base period. Try to avoid this. The last thing you want is to be peaking in fitness levels three weeks before your event. 22 weeks is a long time, almost half a year and there are likely to be some interruptions - that's to be expected. The sessions and phases are designed to have you peak at the end of the plan. Try to stick to it as closely as you can. Going out and smashing yourself on a short run or ride in the middle of your base phase won't help much. At the end of the day you're training for endurance not speed and if you're going to push your thresholds, better to do it on your long run or ride than on a speed session.

Strength sessions have been included in the plan. You can use our Weight Training for Triathletes or prepare your own. In the Base phase lift heavy - this is the best time to increase muscle mass. The Weight sessions are dropped toward the end of the plan to allow more time and energy on the three main disciplines. Nutrition is important from day one till you cross the finish line. Without the proper fuel there is no way you will be able to complete this schedule. Your long rides on Saturday are a perfect time to practice race day nutrition. You need to get comfortable eating on the bike and running. It's during training that you want to find out what your stomach can handle, not during your race. You can look though our Nutrition articles for expert advice on what to eat, when and why. Knowing what foods and fluids to consume and when, are very important to ensuring that you have the energy and stamina to finish your training sessions.

The 22 week program

MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY HOURS P/W PHASE
WEEK 1 60min Easy Cycle, 30min Easy Run 30min Easy Swim, 45min Strength, 30min Medium Cycle 60min Easy Run, 30min Easy Swim 60min Easy Cycle, 45 Strength 30min Easy Swim, 35 Easy Run 120min Easy Cycle REST DAY 9.6 BASE
WEEK 2 70min Easy Cycle, 30min Easy Run 30min Easy Swim, 45min Strength, 30min Medium Cycle 65min Easy Run, 30min Easy Swim 70min Easy Cycle, 45 Strength 30min Easy Swim, 35 Easy Run 130min Easy Cycle REST DAY 10.2 BASE
WEEK 3 70min Easy Cycle, 35min Easy Run 30min Easy Swim, 45min Strength, 30min Medium Cycle 75min Easy Run, 30min Easy Swim 70min Easy Cycle, 45 Strength 30min Easy Swim, 40 Easy Run 140min Easy Cycle REST DAY 10.7 BASE
WEEK 4 40min Easy Cycle, 30min Easy Run 30min Easy Swim, 45 Strength 35min Easy Run, 30min Easy Swim 45min Easy Cycle, 45 Strength 30min Easy Swim, 35 Easy Run 90min Easy Cycle REST DAY 7.6 BASE/R
WEEK 5 70min Easy Cycle, 40min Easy Run 35min Easy Swim, 45min Strength, 30min Medium Cycle 80min Easy Run, 30min Easy Swim 70min Easy Cycle, 45 Strength 30min Easy Swim, 40 Easy Run 150min Easy Cycle REST DAY 11.1 BASE
WEEK 6 80min Easy Cycle, 40min Easy Run 35min Easy Swim, 45min Strength, 35min Medium Cycle 90min Easy Run, 30min Easy Swim 70min Easy Cycle, 45 Strength 30min Easy Swim, 40 Easy Run 160min Easy Cycle REST DAY 11.7 BASE
WEEK 7 90min Easy Cycle, 45min Easy Run 40min Easy Swim, 45min Strength, 40min Medium Cycle 100min Easy Run, 30min Easy Swim 90min Easy Cycle, 45 Strength 40min Easy Swim, 50 Easy Run 170min Easy Cycle REST DAY 13.0 BASE
WEEK 8 40min Easy Cycle, 30min Easy Run 30min Easy Swim, 45 Strength 35min Easy Run, 30min Easy Swim 45min Easy Cycle, 45 Strength 30min Easy Swim, 35 Easy Run 90min Easy Cycle REST DAY 7.6 BUILD/R
WEEK 9 80min Easy Cycle, 45min Easy Run 40min Medium Swim, 45min Strength, 90min Easy Cycle 100min Easy Run, 40min Easy Swim 80min Easy Cycle, 45 Strength 30min Medium Swim, 50 Easy Run 180min Easy Cycle, 20min Medium Run REST DAY 14.1 BUILD
WEEK 10 80min Medium Cycle, 45min Easy Run 50min Easy Swim, 45min Strength, 60min Medium Cycle 110min Medium Run, 40min Easy Swim 80min Medium Cycle, 45 Strength 50min Easy Swim, 50 Easy Run 200min Easy Cycle, 20min Medium Run REST DAY 14.6 BUILD
WEEK 11 90min Easy Cycle, 40min Fast Run 50min Easy Swim, 45min Strength, 60min Medium Cycle 120min Easy Run, 45min Strength 80min Easy Cycle, 45 Strength 40min Medium Swim, 50 Easy Run 210min Easy Cycle, 20min Fast Run REST DAY 14.9 BUILD
WEEK 12 40min Easy Cycle, 30min Fast Run 50min Easy Swim, 45min Strength, 60min Medium Cycle 50min Easy Run, 30min Easy Swim 45min Fast Cycle, 45 Strength 30min Easy Swim, 35 Easy Run 230min Easy Cycle, 20min Medium Run REST DAY 7.9 BUILD/R
WEEK 13 40min Medium Cycle, 30min Easy Swim 50min Easy Swim, 45min Strength, 60min Medium Cycle 130min Easy Run, 40min Easy Cycle 60min Medium Cycle, 45 Strength 30min Medium Swim, 35 Easy Run 250min Easy Cycle, 20min Fast Run REST DAY 13.9 BUILD
WEEK 14 60min Medium Cycle, 30min Easy Swim 40min Medium Run, 60min Easy Cycle 145min Easy Run, 40min Easy Cycle 70min Medium Cycle, 45 Strength 40min Easy Swim, 35 Fast Run 270min Easy Cycle, 20min Medium Run REST DAY 14.3 BUILD
WEEK 15 60min Fast Cycle, 30min Easy Swim 50min Medium Swim, 80min Medium Cycle 150min Easy Run, 40min Easy Cycle 80min Medium Cycle, 45 Strength 30min Fast Swim, 60 Easy Run 290min Easy Cycle, 20min Fast Run REST DAY 15.4 PEAK
WEEK 16 40min Easy Cycle, 30min Easy Swim 40min Easy Swim, 45min Strength 50min Easy Run, 40min Easy Cycle 60min Easy Cycle, 45 Strength 30min Easy Swim, 35 Easy Run 110min Easy Cycle, 20min Easy Run REST DAY 9.1 PEAK/R
WEEK 17 60min Fast Cycle, 40min Easy Swim 50min Medium Swim, 60min Medium Cycle 160min Easy Run, 60min Easy Cycle 40min Fast Cycle, 45 Strength 30min Fast Swim, 60 Medium Run 340min Easy Cycle, 20min Fast Run REST DAY 16.1 PEAK
WEEK 18 60min Fast Cycle, 50min Easy Swim 60min Medium Swim, 90min Medium Cycle 170min Easy Run, 60min Easy Cycle 50min Fast Cycle, 45 Medium Run 60min Medium Swim, 35 Fast Run 350min Easy Cycle, 40min Medium Run REST DAY 17.8 PEAK
WEEK 19 60min Fast Cycle, 50min Medium Swim 30min Fast Swim, 90min Medium Cycle 180min Easy Run, 80min Easy Cycle 50min Fast Cycle, 50min Medium Run 70min Medium Swim, 45 Fast Run 360min Easy Cycle, 30min Fast Run REST DAY 18.3 PEAK
WEEK 20 60min Fast Cycle, 60min Medium Swim 30min Fast Swim, 100min Medium Cycle 180min Easy Run, 80min Easy Cycle 50min Fast Cycle, 60min Medium Run 80min Medium Swim, 45 Fast Run 360min Easy Cycle, 50min Medium Run REST DAY 19.1 PEAK/R
WEEK 21 40min Easy Cycle, 30min Easy Swim 40min Easy Swim, 50min Medium Cycle 50min Easy Run, 40min Easy Cycle 60min Easy Cycle, 45 Medium Run 30min Easy Swim, 35 Easy Run 150min Easy Cycle, 30min Easy Run REST DAY 10.0 TAPER
WEEK 22 50min Easy Cycle, 30min Easy Run 30min Easy Swim, 50 Easy Cycle 45min Easy Run, 40min Easy Swim REST DAY REST DAY RACE WEEKEND RACE WEEKEND 4.1 TAPER

Training Zones/Levels

Training for endurance events isn't spent at just one intensity. Below is a table mapping the general terms of easy, medium and fast heart rate training zones. You can check out our Heart Rate Training article for more information on these zones.

Level Heart Rate Zone
Easy Mostly Zone 1 with no more than 30% in Zone 2
Medium Zone 3 with no more than 20% in Zone 4
Fast A mixture or Zone 3 and Zone 4 This will really be pushing your thresholds
Interval/Sprint Very short periods in Zone 4 followed by a recovery. Eventually building to short periods in Zone 5 followed by recovery

Training Zones can be very different for each individual. After some time spent training at various intensities, you should get an idea of your heart rate zones for each sport. Your heart rate zones will most likely be lower for Cycling and Swimming than for Running. There are many different ways to calculate your heart rate zones, though most entry level heart rate monitors these days feature Zone training information.

This plan was designed to be used by anyone. Minutes are used to measure training sessions so that your speed does not matter. If you are planning a run/walk strategy for the Marathon then you can use that in the plan above. Generally though, the plan is aimed at athletes looking to complete an Ironman Triathlon somewhere between 9 and 12 hours. If you're looking at under that time, you can still use the plan of course, but if you're expecting a time of more than that you will need to include longer training sessions and a lesser intensity. The road to becoming an Ironman is long and very tough. But if it was easy... everyone would do it.


By Chris Allen


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