In preparation for the 2016 Ironman Chattanooga 140.6 (or 144.6 depending on the course) triathlon on September 25th, I've registered for the Ironman Chattanooga 70.3 triathlon on May 22nd. The shorter race next spring will get me motivated to train over the winter and familiarize me with the course. Before I could register for any race I had to renew my
USA Triathlon (USAT) membership. I let my membership lapse since I wasn't doing any races. I could have renewed my membership during the registration process through
Active.com but that might have confused things. A USAT membership is $45.00 per year. One-day memberships are available for purchase during registration but since I plan to do several races next year an annual membership is probably a better value for me. An annual membership also provides some benefits from the USAT organization and rankings among members.
I've created the training plan below for this Half-Ironman (HIM). It's interesting that my 20 week plan starts on January 4th. 2016 will be a busy year. I created the plan from a previous plan I made for the 2013 Augusta Ironman 70.3. I finished that race in just under 5 hours. Race conditions that year were perfect. The famous Augusta Savannah River swim with the swift current and low humidity on the bike and run compared to previous years made for fast finish times for everyone.
The plan is 20 weeks in duration. As the weeks progress the hours of training increase. There are three recovery weeks inserted at weeks five, ten, and fourteen. Past experience has shown that due to my work schedule I've only been able to complete about 75% of my
planned training. This time I'm gonna to be more resolute. That means I can't sleep in and I can't put things off. I'm not liking this already!
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| 20 week chart of training plan hours |
In the plan, I start each week on Monday and end on a Sunday. The race is on a Sunday. Monday is always a recovery day. Cycling is indicated in gray, running is in orange, and swimming is in light blue. Weekly hours of training go from 7 hours at the start to a maximum of 16 hours of training during week 17. Keep in mind that I don't count any warm-up or cool-down time, that's all extra. One hour and 10 minutes of cycling means roll-out and
hit it when you can. It doesn't include time freewheeling in the parking lot waiting for your ride partners to get ready. I train by feel and not by heart-rate or zones. If I'm feeling good then I'm able to put forth more effort. If I'm not feeling good I may swap out a hard day for an easy day.
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| Weeks 1 through 7 |
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| Weeks 8 through 12 |
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| Weeks 13 through 16 |
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| Weeks 17 through 20 |
I've published all four pages of the plan in .jpg format to allow for easy viewing. Should anyone want to copy and print them for their own use please feel free to do so. I also have provided a link to the .pdf file here (Link removed). The .pdf file might be a better option for some. The plan isn't perfect and I'm not a coach so please
use at your own risk.
That's my 70.3 training plan. My 140.6 plan will be posted shortly.
Thanks for reading.
