Train on the evidence.

Evidence-based coaching, from a coach who helped build the evidence.

Go to sample weeks and training-load structure ↓

You already train across swim, bike and run, and you want a focused run-in to your half-distance triathlon, not a long base phase started from scratch. This is a 17-week build that sharpens an existing engine into race fitness, peaking near 15 hours a week, then tapers you in fresh. The point is to add race-specific sharpness without digging a hole you cannot climb out of before race day. Newer to long course, or building from a modest base? Start with the Half-Distance Foundation plan first.

HOW IT IS BUILT

What it is built on

Built the way the evidence says a half-distance triathlon is built: a broad aerobic base trained mostly easy, the bike carrying the aerobic load while the run is built carefully, and a limited, deliberate dose of harder work. It opens with an orientation week and a benchmark week, then progresses in absorbable steps with deload weeks along the way.

In the build you rehearse race-pace efforts and brick sessions, so moving off the bike onto the run feels familiar rather than improvised, and your key long days grow steadily. Every session is anchored to your own threshold, your LTHR (Lactate Threshold Heart Rate), set in the benchmark week, so easy days are genuinely easy and the hard days count.

The plan peaks near 15 hours in its biggest weeks, then tapers cleanly so you arrive sharp. There are 139 structured workouts that push to your watch and guide each interval, and every week comes in three doses, full, reduced and minimum, so a loud work or family week never derails the thread. It is built to the same standards behind every Summit plan.

Before you start

You should already be training consistently across all three disciplines, with a broad fitness base to sharpen rather than one to build from the ground up. Newer to the distance, or working from a modest base? Start with the Half-Distance Foundation plan and step up when you are ready. The plan opens with an orientation week to settle in and set up your devices, then a benchmark week that sets your heart-rate zones from your own threshold, so nothing in the build is guesswork. A heart-rate monitor is essential, and you will need pool access for the swims.

Delivered through TrainingPeaks and loads into your calendar from your chosen start date. Train to your own limits and seek medical advice before starting a new program.

Summit Triathlon Coaching is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by World Triathlon Corporation (The Ironman Group), the T100 Triathlon World Tour, or Challenge Family. IRONMAN® and IRONMAN® 70.3® are registered trademarks of World Triathlon Corporation.