This plan is for the intermediate to advanced triathlete with at least 3 years of steady training and competitive level racing under their belt. Race day is on a Saturday, not a Sunday. Before starting this plan, the athlete should have a well established foundation of aerobic base fitness, along with good general overall conditioning. The use of Spinervals Cycling dvds are recommended for this and all of coach Troy's plans, but is not a requirement. Done properly, this program will get the athlete to the starting line in peak form and injury free.

The workouts are given an intensity description by Zones. Advanced athletes can use heart rate, power (on the bike) or PE(perceived effort) to monitor their daily training intensities. In general, the intensities for this plan are as follows:

Zone 1: Recovery pace. Very low intensity active recovery 'shake the legs out'. Ideal after long/hard workout days and races. 'Noodle it'.

Zone 2: Aerobic/Blue pace. Low to moderate intensity training. PE of 7-8 (Scale 1-10, 10 being 100%). Steady conversation effort. HR is at least 10-25 beats per minute below LTHR (lactate threshold heart rate).

Zone 3: Aerobic Endurance/Gray pace. Moderate to hard training. PE of 7.5- 8.5. Harder efforts that can be sustained for long periods of time. HR 0-10 beats below LTHR

Zone 4: Threshold Training. Hard training at a pace sustainable for short durations. At and above 'race pace'. PE 8.5 - 9. Suffer a little. HR within 5+/- LTHR

Zone 5: V02max Training: Really hard training, PE 9-10. Suffer a lot. HR 10-20 bpm above LTHR

Prior to starting this program and again mid-way through the program, it is recommended that the athlete gets a metabolic test in order to set up target training zones effectively. If that test is not available or convenient, benchmark tests such as that found in Spinervals 27.0 (http://www.spinervals.com/products/item10.cfm), a 20 minute functional threshold test or for the run, a hard 3 mile effort (take avg. HR for the run) can be used to determine LTHR. (Example: If a 3 mile hard, race paced run yields an avg. HR of 150 bpm, this is your LTHR.)

Success in this and all programs is dependent on your consistency and focus on other variables including nutrition, recovery and your overall health. Try to maximize each of these for best results.

If you have any questions, please contact us for immediate attention at info@coachtroy.com. And for more information, visit www.coachtroy.com

Thank you.