Plan Description -- Hey, I'm Patrick McCrann, head coach and founder of Endurance Nation. I've been coaching endurance athletes for close to 20 years, and I've got the race resume to back it up: 30 Ironman finishes, a Big Buckle at Leadville, and a top 10 at Unbound 200. I've coached thousands of athletes through plans just like this one, and I build every block from the same methodology I use with my coached athletes. I know what 70.3 racing actually demands because I'm out there doing it. Enjoy the work!
You're not here to finish — you're here to compete. The EN Half Race Prep Advanced Bike-Focused plan is 12 weeks of structured, progressive training designed for experienced 70.3 athletes who want to use the bike as their competitive edge. This plan pushes the cycling volume and intensity to the level required for age group podium contention, while maintaining the swim and run fitness to hold it all together on race day. If you're ready to do the work, this plan will get you to the start line at the sharpest you've ever been.
Who This Plan Is For
You're chasing an age group podium, a Kona or Worlds qualification, or a significant PR at the 70.3 distance. You train at a high level, you've completed multiple half-distance races, and you know what it takes to absorb serious training load. You've identified the bike as where you gain competitive advantage — either because it's your strongest discipline or because you know the biggest time gaps in your age group happen on the bike course. You should have a current FTP, train with power, and be coming off a structured prep or base phase.
What You'll Do
This plan trains all three disciplines at a high level with cycling as the clear priority. Swimming is scheduled three times per week, with the option to add an active recovery swim on Mondays. Cycling includes three to four rides per week: a weekday threshold interval session designed to push your sustainable power higher, a Saturday long ride that builds race-specific endurance (with interval work woven into some weeks), and a tempo ride when appropriate. The cycling prescription in this plan reflects what it actually takes to be competitive on the bike at 70.3 — sustained power, fatigue resistance, and the ability to execute on race day after months of progressive overload.
Running is scheduled four to six times per week, with long runs on Thursday and Sunday. The Thursday long run begins as a split long run and shifts to a traditional long run later in the plan. Race rehearsals in weeks 8 and 10 let you test your race execution under real fatigue.
Weeks six through eleven are where the magic happens. This is the highest-quality training in the block, and it's where you separate yourself from the competition. Guard these weeks. Manage your recovery, manage your life, and show up ready to execute. Running frequency is non-negotiable — you need to arrive at the run course with durability, not just bike fitness.
What's Included
All structured workouts are built in the TrainingPeaks Structured Workout Builder, so they export directly to Zwift, Garmin, and Wahoo — no guessing at intervals. Each week begins with a coaching note explaining the purpose of that week and what to pay attention to. A Quick Start guide is attached to Day 1 covering how to follow the plan, key terminology, and how to set your training zones.
Have a question before you start?
Email your #1 question to enation.admin@gmail.com and I'll get back to you within 48 hours.
👋 Hey, I'm Patrick McCrann, head coach at Endurance Nation. I've been coaching endurance athletes for 20+ years, and I race the same stuff you do: 30 Ironman finishes, a Big Buckle at Leadville, 5 BQs and a top 10 at Unbound 200. EN has helped 1000s of age-group athletes get faster with the time they actually have. Whether you're following one of our training plans or working with me directly, the approach is the same: smart structure, no junk miles, and coaching that respects your life.