This training plan is no joke. Tackle it only if you can look at yourself in a mirror and say, “I’m ready for elite-level triathlon training,” without blinking or laughing.

The plan is 16 weeks long. The base phase lasts 6 weeks and the build and peak phases last 5 weeks apiece. Weeks 4, 8, and 12 are recovery weeks and the final week is a taper week. An optional tune-up sprint triathlon is scheduled at the end of Week 12. If you can’t find a sprint triathlon to do at that time, or if you prefer not to do one then, just do the alternative brick workout instead.

In a typical week there are 12 scheduled workouts: 4 swims, 4 rides, and 4 runs. An extra 10-minute transition run follows Friday’s bike ride in weeks 2, 4, and 6. In weeks 8, 10, and 14, Saturday’s bike and run workouts are combined into a single bike-run brick workout.

The Level 10 plan begins with 9,100 yards (meters) of swimming, 5 hours and 40 minutes of cycling, and 2 hours and 58 minutes of running in Week 1. It peaks with 13,050 yards (meters) of swimming, 8 hours and 30 minutes of cycling, and 4 hours and 25 minutes of running in Week 15.