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 Ironman racing actually demands because I'm out there doing it. Enjoy the work!

You've been training through the off-season or early season, and now it's time to get serious about your full. But jumping straight into a race prep block without the right foundation is where most age-group triathletes get into trouble — they're either underprepared for the volume or they burn out before race day arrives. The Endurance Nation Full Prep plan builds the bridge between your early-season fitness and the specific demands of 140.6 race preparation.

Who This Plan Is For

This plan is designed for triathletes preparing for a full-distance event who need a structured ramp into their race prep block. Choose the level that matches where you are right now:

Beginner — You're a first-timer at the distance or coming back from extended time off. You need a conservative, confidence-building ramp.

Intermediate — You raced last year and you're looking to improve on that performance. You have a solid training habit but need to rebuild volume and intensity across all three sports.

Advanced — You've raced in the last three to six months and you have competitive goals — an age group podium, a Kona qualification, or a significant PR. You can handle higher training load and want to enter your race prep block at a high level of readiness.

What You'll Do

This is a four-week block focused on building endurance and fluency across swim, bike, and run. It's not discipline-specific — the goal is to develop your all-around aerobic engine, get your body adapting to triathlon-level training volume, and dial in the weekly rhythm you'll need to sustain through race prep. Volume and intensity build progressively across the four weeks, finishing with swim, bike, and run tests plus a long challenge ride on the final weekend so you know exactly where your fitness stands heading into your race prep block.

This plan isn't about being perfect. It's about getting your schedule, your fatigue management, and your consistency dialed in so that when race prep starts, you're ready to absorb the work — not playing catch-up.

How It Fits Into Your Season

This plan can be repeated twice consecutively. If your race is far enough out, run through the prep block twice before starting your race prep plan. Either way, you'll enter race prep with the endurance base, training rhythm, and recovery habits to get the most out of the work ahead.

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.