Summit Half-Distance Triathlon Foundation (28-Week), by Leighton Wells, PhD
Summit Half-Distance Triathlon Foundation (28-Week), by Leighton Wells, PhD
Length
28 Weeks
Plan Description
Go to sample weeks and training-load structure ↓
You want to reach your first or fastest half-distance triathlon genuinely ready, not just hanging on. This is a 28-week build that grows a deep aerobic engine the patient way: a 1.9 km swim, 90 km bike and 21.1 km run is long enough that real endurance decides your day, and that engine is built over months, not crammed in weeks. It is for triathletes newer to long course, or building from a modest base, with the time to do it right. Already training across all three with a broad base and want a shorter run-in? The 17-week half-distance plan is the better fit.
WHAT'S IN EVERY SUMMIT PLAN
Coaching built in, not just a list of workouts.
Targets are set from your own heart rate, so they scale to you, not a generic chart.
Most of your running kept genuinely easy, with a smaller, sharper share of hard work. Endurance research links the fastest marathon and half-marathon times to more easy running, not more hard.
Every interval downloads to your device and guides you in real time.
Plain English, every Monday: what matters most and what to drop when life is loud.
Full, reduced and minimum, so a hard work or family week never derails the plan.
The reasoning behind every session, with every term defined in full.
THE INTENSITY THAT GETS YOU THERE
Most of your training, easy.
A big aerobic base carries the work, with a smaller, sharper dose of harder training to lift your ceiling.
Polarised training has the strongest evidence, so these plans are built that way. Pyramidal training is also effective, so in one-to-one coaching the balance is tailored to your stage of training and your life load.
Where your training load sits in the typical age-group triathlon population, from my own PhD research (the TrainingPeaks Coach Blog I wrote →).
Dr Leighton Wells
PhD · MAppSpSci · TrainingPeaks Level 2 · 7× IRONMAN® finisher · research on 34,731 training sessions
HOW IT IS BUILT
What it is built on
Built the way the evidence says long-course fitness lasts: training that is mostly easy by design, anchored to your own heart-rate threshold, the point where easy tips into hard, and progressed in steps your body and your week can actually absorb.
The bike carries the aerobic load while the run is built carefully, so durability comes without breaking you down. After the longest base phase, race-pace work and brick sessions sharpen that base into half-distance fitness, with deload weeks built in so the work turns into fitness rather than fatigue.
The plan opens with an orientation week and a benchmark week that sets your zones from your own threshold, peaks near 13.8 hours in its biggest weeks, then tapers cleanly so you arrive fresh. It is built to the same standards behind every Summit plan.
THE SUMMIT COACHING CYCLE
Coach yourself the way we would.
This is the rhythm we run in one-to-one coaching, and we encourage you to run it yourself when self-coaching. The plan prescribes the training; you measure, monitor and manage, week to week, and each step feeds the next.
The plan designs each week with intent, built on the method above.
Capture every session, and just as important, how it actually felt.
Watch the trends, your fatigue and your life load, not just one session.
Adjust, progress or back off, then it feeds into the next week.
THE AUTHORITY BEHIND YOUR PLAN
Published in leading sport-science journals.
Teaches coaching, training load and exercise science in university sport-science programs.
For AusTriathlon and TrainingPeaks.
Presented at the ECSS 2025 congress in Rimini, a leading global meeting.
ENDURANCE RESULTS FROM SUMMIT ATHLETES
Real results, from real endurance athletes.
“I reduced my IRONMAN® 70.3® PB by 50 minutes in less than 12 months with Leighton, and he coached me to my first IRONMAN® finish.”
Andrew Hyde · First IRONMAN® finish“Exceptional, personalised service. Leighton provides great insights and really knows what endurance training is all about. I reduced my IRONMAN® 70.3® time by 40 minutes.”
Scott Hunter · IRONMAN® 70.3® athleteBefore you start
You should already be swimming, riding and running regularly, with the time across a busy week to build properly across all three. Newer to long course, or coming off a modest base? That is exactly who this 28-week plan is for. It 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 every later session lands exactly where it should and nothing in the build is guesswork. Already carry a broad fitness base and want a shorter run-in? Step up to the 17-week half-distance plan.
FROM PLAN TO COACHING
A plan gives you the structure. Coaching adds the person reading the data.
Buy this plan, and if you later move to one-to-one coaching with Dr Leighton Wells, your first month is free. We pick up from where the plan has taken you, with your training built and adjusted around you, week to week.
Free email support, with every plan
Stuck on a session, or a term in the plan? Email leighton@summittriathloncoaching.com.au and ask. You get a real answer from a real coach, not a help desk.
GO DEEPER
Where your training load sits in the age-group triathlon population: the TrainingPeaks Coach Blog I wrote →
The science behind how I coach: the Summit method →
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.
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Training Plan Sample Week
Stats
Average Weekly Breakdown
| Workouts | Weekly Average | Longest Workout |
|---|---|---|
|
Run
x3
|
02:44:00 | 01:52:00 |
|
Swim
x3
|
02:04:00 | 00:55:00 |
|
Bike
x3
|
04:20:00 | 03:20:00 |
|
Strength
x2
|
01:03:00 | 00:40:00 |
| Workouts Per Week | Weekly Average | Longest Workout | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
02:44:00 | 01:52:00 | |
|
|
02:04:00 | 00:55:00 | |
|
|
04:20:00 | 03:20:00 | |
|
|
01:03:00 | 00:40:00 |
Training Load By Week
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- Track your weight, sleep, hours, fatigue and stress while you train.
- Completed workouts sync with popular apps like Garmin and Wahoo. Learn More
- If plan includes Structured Workouts, then planned workouts sync to compatible devices and guide you through workouts in real time. Learn More
Refund Policy
This plan is protected by our Refund Policy and may, with the author's approval, be exchanged for a plan of equal value from the same author.
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Premium unlocks smarter training with advanced analytics, TrainingPeaks Virtual, and Structured Strength to give you deeper insights and data-backed results.
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