This plan is written for a cyclist that is looking to build foundation fitness (often called “base”), but is pinched for time. This plan can be used to build fitness preceding one of the other plans posted or just gaining new fitness can be an event on its own.

Sometimes keeping foundation fitness maintained is challenging, so this plan provides you with the framework and workouts to keep or get fit. The plan can be used in the off-season or any time you are looking to get or stay on track.

PROFILE

The plan is designed for a Level I rider. Before beginning the plan, you are riding two or three times per week, indoors or outdoors; but, your workouts are not consistent. It is not a problem for you to ride for an hour, though.

You are looking to build strength, endurance and increase your riding speed. You’d like to begin a weight training program, but don’t know where to begin.

One big issue you have is time. There is never enough time and you don’t have much of it to devote to staying fit. If you can see a training plan that would whip you into shape on three to six hours a week, you’d jump up and down.

Get ready to jump.

GOAL

Your goal is to workout consistently for twelve weeks to build foundation fitness. Your main goal is to complete some 80 to 90 percent of the weekly training hours, ranging from 3 to 6, in the plan.

Although you know that simply riding will improve your fitness, you want to improve your riding speed as well. In addition to riding speed, you want a long ride of around two hours to be comfortable and easy to complete.

THE PLAN OVERVIEW

The plan is structured with three weeks of training to build training volume and intensity, followed by one week of recovery. This is a four-week cycle format.

Find the supporting documents you need to help you with this plan in the right column of this main page. in the right column of this page.

If you use this training plan, you will be ready to ride comfortably for two hours by the end of the plan. After you’ve completed this foundation fitness plan, you are ready to move on to another training plan.

This plan is also available in the book, Training Plans for Cyclists published by VeloPress.

Mountain bike racing at the 100-mile distance is increasingly more popular. Some courses are near sea level and others begin at over 10,000 feet and go up from there. One course might be very technical while another course has minimal technical sections. Some courses have check points and time cuts that are generous, others do not.

No matter the specifics of the course, you are competitive and want a fast race finish. This training plan is written for a cyclist that is currently fit and is looking for a solid performance at a 100-mile mountain bike race.

Find the supporting documents you need to help you with this plan in the right column of this main page.

PROFILE

Before beginning this plan, you are training approximately nine hours per week. You are riding two long rides each week. One ride is around two hours long and the second one is roughly three hours in length.

You are riding two or three other weekday rides that are an hour each. You may or may not be strength training.

This plan is designed to follow the Level II Foundation Fitness training plan found on on this main page.

After completing 18 weeks of that plan, you can move directly into the plan in this chapter. That combination provides you with 32 weeks of training.

Due to the volume of training necessary to complete this plan you will need to focus on recovery as much as you focus on accomplishing the training. Improved performance is accompanied by recovery techniques and high density nutrition. In summary, in addition to completing the training sessions, you need to get adequate rest and eat nutritious foods that fuel a high performance body. Be sure to read the supporting document on my main page that covers nutrition.

GOAL Your goal is to ride a 100-mile mountain bike race in a personal best time. This competitive goal is more than just completing the event, it is competing at the event. The competition may be for a spot on the podium or to beat a past personal record (PR). You want a new PR.

THE PLAN OVERVIEW

The plan begins with a four-week cycle. This means three weeks of building volume, then a week of rest. The first block of training is followed by a three-week cycle, with overall training volume continuing to build. After a rest week in Week 7, the training volume in Week 8 jumps up significantly to 22 hours. This plan uses a “crash” training week where volume and intensity is increased far beyond normal training. Crash training is effective only if the cyclist is rested going into the high volume week and recovers the week following the training.

A crash training week can give you a significant boost to your fitness and can be accomplished by participating in an organized bicycle tour or riding the hours on your own. If you are unable to do all of the hours shown on the plan, I will give you tips on how to modify the training.

Monday workouts are shown as strength training. If you are currently doing a strength training program, you can continue that program on Mondays. You may find you need to reduce the weights, sets, repetitions or some combination of all to keep strength training from negatively affecting your cycling.

If you are not currently strength training, but want to begin a routine, see the supporting documents on my main page for a description of the SM phase of training. Plan to begin with very light weights and work your way into slightly heavier weights as the program progresses. There is no need to lift weights that are very heavy during this plan.

Another option is to take Monday as a day off, rather than strength train.

Tuesday workouts are typically form work or aerobic rides. The Wednesday workouts can be done on a road bike or a mountain bike. If you live in a location where you must drive a long distance to get to the trails, a road bike works fine for these sessions.

Thursday is a day off throughout the plan.

Friday is similar to Wednesday in that if you must drive a good distance to get to a mountain bike trail, the ride can be done on a road bike.

The Saturday ride is your key mountain bike ride each week. Early in the plan, these rides can be done on a variety of trails. The closer you get to race day, the more you need to be simulating course climbs and grades. Ride the actual race course if possible.

The Sunday ride is an aerobic ride that is best done on a road bike or a mountain bike course that is not too technically demanding. The main goal for Sunday is a steady, aerobic ride. The two weekend rides paired together build your overall race day endurance while keeping your average power or speed as high as possible.

PLAN DETAILS

Before diving into plan details, I want to share some of the plan philosophy. First, I am assuming you have worked on your foundation fitness and are coming into this plan fit. Your fitness has included some early work on lactate threshold.

In the beginning of this plan, you will find lactate threshold and anaerobic intervals. The purpose of this work for an experienced cyclist is to raise your lactate threshold heart rate and speed. If your lactate threshold moves from 80 percent of your maximum heart rate to 90 percent of your maximum heart rate, you’ve increased the capacity of your aerobic engine. For example if your maximum heart rate is 185 and you can move your lactate threshold from a heart rate of 148 to 167, you’ve got a larger aerobic engine. This pays big dividends in an event that lasts some seven to ten hours.

As the plan progresses and training volume builds, intervals are more dictated by mountain bike terrain rather than structured intervals.

WEEKLY TRAINING AT A GLANCE

Weeks 1 through 4

For this block of training, Monday is strength training or a day off. Tuesday is a skills day. Wednesday is an interval day that can be done on the road or mountain bike. Thursday is a day off.

Friday workouts are intended to work on strength, on the bike. Saturday rides are your mountain bike days and Sundays are aerobic endurance. It is important to begin working on race day fueling strategies on these weekend workouts.

Weeks 5 though 7

Weeks 5 and 6 continue with the same basic structure of Weeks 1 through 4. If you are going to use Week 8 as a crash training week, Week 7 needs to be aggressive resting. To aid in recovery, feel free to eliminate or reduce any training session.

If you are participating in an organized bike tour, often these tours begin on Sunday. If your tour begins on the Sunday that ends Week 7, take the first day of the tour at an aerobic pace. Yes, I know it is hard to keep the cap on pace this first day, but doing that pays dividends later.

If you are doing your own version of a crash training week, keep this Sunday ride easy. You can ride between two and three hours.

Week 8

If you are riding in an organized tour, it is doubtful that the hours will perfectly match those shown in the plan. Don’t worry about matching exactly. Do try to match the intensities of the workouts shown in the plan.

For the Monday workout, push the pace on the climbs. Tuesday, keep the intensity mostly aerobic. On Wednesday, include one segment during the ride that is crisscrossing threshold. If Thursday is not a day off, try to keep the intensity all Zone 1.

The Friday ride is mostly Zones 1 and 2. For the Saturday, ride the fastest average pace you can for the entire six hours. Of course you cannot push the pace the first two hours and blow-up only to limp along the last four hours. Ride smart.

The last Sunday ride is whatever you have left. If you are feeling tired, take it easy. If you have the energy to ride faster, go for it.

If you are doing the hours on your own, or a self-designed tour, here are some options:

1. You can slide all rides forward one day, beginning your tour on Saturday. If you do this, eliminate the S4 ride and take the last Sunday off or put the S4 ride on that day.

2. If your weekday schedule only allows two hours each day, that works. It is more training than you normally do, so you will get a boost.

3. If you do most of the tour on your own, but an organized century ride is Sunday rather than Saturday, just switch the Saturday and Sunday workouts. Keep the Saturday ride easy, Zones 1 to 2.

Week 9

You had a big week last week, so now you must recover. Your only goal this week is to feel recovered by Sunday. Cut down or eliminate rides, if you have to, to make this goal happen.

Weeks 10 through 13

This training block is a taper of volume into race day. The key workouts are on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. Ride all intensities on the Wednesday rides, and mountain bike if possible. For Saturday mountain bike rides, aim for the fastest average you can manage for the time shown on the plan. Sundays should be kept mostly aerobic and on the road bike is fine.

Any bike maintenance should be done in Week 11 or 12 so you have a few rides on any new parts.

Strength training in Week 12 should be lighter than normal. You can also eliminate strength training beginning in this week.

In Week 13, do not be tempted to increase training volume. If anything, decrease the volume so you can be rested and ready for race day. Keep some intensity in some of the rides to keep your legs from feeling flat, but don’t get carried away.

Depending on your particular needs, the Saturday and Sunday rides in Week 13 can be cut down by 30 to 60 minutes.

Week 13

Please do not be tempted to do more than shown in the plan. If you have not had a chance to ride any of the course, if you arrive in time to do a short ride on the course on Friday, keep your ego in tact. Save your best for race day and not pre-ride peacocking.

Plan to ride the race in a negative-split effort, riding the second half of the event stronger than the first half. With your fitness and fueling plan nailed, you are sure to have a great ride.

This plan is also available in the book, Training Plans for Cyclists published by VeloPress

This plan is written for an experienced cyclist that had a great summer season of riding, or currently has solid fitness, and is looking to maintain strong off-season fitness. The purpose of this off-season is to enjoy improved performance next season – a step up. This plan can be used by cyclists that intend to race or those that want to improve group ride speed.

While the plan is written as an off-season training guide, it can be used to build foundation fitness at any time of the year. At less than $1 per day, this plan offers excellent value.

Find the supporting documents you need to help you with this plan in the right column of this main page. in the right column of this page.

PROFILE

The plan is designed for a Level II cyclist that is riding three or four times per week before beginning the plan. You are currently capable of comfortably completing a two-and-a-half hour ride. Your current long ride is mostly aerobic, but may include a small amount of intensity.

You are looking to build strength, endurance and increase your riding speed for next season. You want a weight training program included in your plan that will deliver on-the-bike speed later.

Your schedule allows you to train six or seven days per week.

GOAL

Your goal is to have an off-season training plan that gives you a jump on your summer fitness. Your main goal is to complete some 80 to 90 percent of the training hours given each week, ranging from 4.25 to 9.5 or 10.5 hours per week.

Two measures of improvement include improved speed for an aerobic time trial and improved speed for an all-out time trial. A third measure is your improvements during regular group rides. This might mean riding with a faster group or riding with less effort than in the past. Less effort can be measured by average heart rate values for a given distance or average heart rate for a given power output.

THE PLAN OVERVIEW

Take a look at the plan preview. The first week should be very manageable to you, before beginning the plan.

The overall structure is two weeks of training to build training volume and intensity, followed by one week of recovery. This is a three-week cycle format. While some riders can do well on a four-week cycle, I have found a three-week cycle works well for athletes utilizing higher training levels because riders can keep the quality of workouts high and avoid deep fatigue.

For the overall structure of the plan, Monday and Wednesday are strength training days. Friday is shown as an optional day off on the plan; however, depending on your personal needs, Friday can be an additional strength training day or an optional easy ride day. This is where the plan training time can increase by an hour each week. (Ranging on the top side from 9.5 to 10.5 hours per week.)

If you decide to strength train on Fridays, keep the AA Phase of training on this day throughout the entire plan. If you decide to ride for an hour on Fridays, keep the intensity of the ride mostly in Zones 1 to 2. You can use this day to work on cycling skills as well. The plan includes several days of skills, use any one of these workouts.

Tuesday and Thursday workouts vary throughout the plan, but the time stays around an hour on each day. If you have the time and energy to increase these workouts up to 30 minutes each, that is another option. Remember that more volume does not necessarily make you a faster rider. More volume or intensity is only good if your body can use it for positive adaptations. Chose wisely.

Saturday rides on the plan are the longer and more intense rides of the weekend. These can be group rides. If you do participate in group rides, try to keep the intentions of the workout shown on the plan within your group ride. If your gr

This 8-week plan is designed to immediately follow the plan titled “Triathlon Base Training: 4.75 to 9.5 hrs/wk.” This block of training includes more base training; but it is designed for the athlete that has already been training and has a very well established platform of base fitness. As with all of my training plans, you can easily modify and move workouts to meet your personal training needs—and I suggest you do, so that you can optimize the benefits. This training block is not intended for beginning athletes. Before beginning the plan, have a look at the plan preview. If you have not been following the plan titled “Triathlon Base Training: 4.75 to 9.5 hrs/wk,” you can still use this plan if the first week of training on the plan seems manageable to you. You must know your training intensities for cycling and running. Also, you need to know your T-pace for swimming. If you have questions about these terms, see the Supporting Documents on my training plan page. The plan design includes the option of a 5k or 10k running race on Saturday of the fourth week of the plan. It also includes the option of doing a half-marathon at the end of the eighth week of training. If you don’t want to race an optional workout is suggested. If you do want to race and want to find a race in your area to use as a good training event, check out available races at Active.com The first week of training begins at 9:00 hours and progresses to 10:45. Your longest run progresses to 1:30 and includes the lactate threshold training. Your long bike ride progresses to 2:00 and also includes lactate threshold training. The experienced athlete using this training plan needs to closely monitor fatigue. If the training plan offers more volume or intensity than you can reasonably manage, it is up to you to reduce the training so you can make solid gains. At the end of this training block you are ready for a race-preparation block, also noted as “build” by some

This 8-week plan is designed to immediately follow the plan titled “Triathlon Base Training: 5.5 to 12.0 hrs/wk.” This block of training includes more base training; but it is designed for the athlete that has already been training and has a very well established platform of base fitness. You can easily modify and move workouts to meet your personal training needs and I suggest you do, so that you can optimize the benefits. This process is not intended for beginning athletes. Before beginning the plan, have a look at the plan preview. If you have not been following the plan titled “Triathlon Base Training: 5.5 to 12.0 hrs/wk,” you can still use this plan if the first week of training on the plan seems manageable to you. You must know your training intensities for cycling and running. Also, you need to know your T-pace for swimming. If you have questions about these terms, see the Supporting Documents on my training plan page. The plan design includes the option of a 5k or 10k running race on Saturday of the fourth week of the plan. It also includes the option of doing a half-marathon at the end of the eighth week of training. If you don’t want to race an optional workout is suggested. If you do want to race and want to find a race in your area to use as a good training event, check out available races at Active.com The first week of training begins at 9:30 hours and progresses to 12:30. Your longest run progresses to 1:45 and includes the lactate threshold training. Your long bike ride progresses to 3:00 and also includes lactate threshold training. The experienced athlete using this training plan needs to closely monitor fatigue. If the training plan offers more volume or intensity than you can reasonably manage, it is up to you to reduce the training so you can make solid gains. At the end of this training block you are ready for a race-preparation block, also noted as “build” by some coaches.

This 8-week plan is designed to immediately follow the plan titled “Triathlon Base Training: 8.5 to 13.5 hrs/wk.” This block of training includes more base training; but it is designed for the athlete that has already been training and has a very well established platform of base fitness. The training weeks in this plan are similar to Weeks 15 to 22 of the year-long Olympic distance training plan in the book, “Training Plans for Multisport Athletes.” Subtle changes have been added to improve the training plan, including Kudo comments to keep you on track if you utilize the online logging feature. The online format makes it easy for you to monitor and track your progress. Additionally, you can easily modify and move workouts to meet your personal training needs and I suggest you do so that you can optimize the benefits. This process is not intended for beginning athletes. Before beginning the plan, have a look at the plan preview. If you have not been following the plan titled “Triathlon Base Training: 8.5 to 13.5 hrs/wk.” you can still use this plan if the first week of training on the plan seems manageable to you. You must know your training intensities for cycling and running. Also, you need to know your T-pace swimming. If you have questions about these terms, see the Supporting Documents on my training plan page. The plan design includes the option of a 5k or 10k running race on Saturday of the fourth week of the plan. It also includes the option of doing a half-marathon at the end of the eighth week of training. If you don’t want to race an optional workout is suggested. If you do want to race and want to find a race in your area to use as a good training event, check out available races at Active.com The first week of training begins at 10:30 hours and progresses to about 15:00. Your longest run progresses to 2:00 and includes the lactate threshold training. Your long bike ride progresses to 3:30 and also includes lactate threshold training. The experienced athlete using this training plan needs to closely monitor fatigue. If the training plan offers more volume or intensity than you can reasonably manage, it is up to you to reduce the training so you can make solid gains. The next block of training that follows this 8-week block is a race-preparation block, also known as “Build.” That block includes three triathlon race options with the most important race on the last week of the 10-week plan. Plan is available in the book “Training Plans for Multisport Athletes”

This 12-week plan is perfect for the time-crunched athlete looking to prevent boredom and build some base fitness. You can have a triathlon in mind for one of your future goals, or you might want to simply use multisport training to get yourself into shape. The goals of this plan include: - Establish a fitness routine and stick with it - Build swimming endurance to swim 1500 non-stop - Lift weights to improve strength - Build your longest run from 30 minutes to 60 minutes - Build your longest ride from 45 minutes to 90 minutes This program has the swimming details to help you build swimming endurance without a masters group and without having to dream up your own swimming sets. Swimming is blended into a running and cycling routine that can be accomplished indoors or outdoors. Weekday running and cycling workouts are used as a warm-up for strength training to conserve on training time. Weekend running and cycling workouts build in length and intensity at just the right pace. Weekly training is manageable, ranging from three hours to six hours. At the end of the training block, you can maintain your endurance by continuously repeating the last three to four weeks of the training plan, with the Strength Maintenance weight training routine substituted for all strength sessions. Longer weekend workouts can be repeated or you can get creative and design your own sessions. Or…maybe you will look for a new set of goals at the end of 12 weeks?

This 12-week plan is perfect for the athlete with time restraints during the week. You are looking to prevent boredom, build some base fitness and increase your longest weekly workouts. You can have a triathlon in mind for one of your future goals, or you might want to simply use multisport training to get yourself into shape. The goals of this plan include: - Establish a fitness routine and stick with it - Build swimming endurance to swim 1500 non-stop - Lift weights to improve strength - Build your longest run from 30 minutes to 1:30 - Build your longest ride from 45 minutes to 2:00 to 2:30 This program has the swimming details to help you build swimming endurance without a masters group and without having to dream up your own swimming sets. Swimming is blended into a running and cycling routine that can be accomplished indoors or outdoors. Weekday running and cycling workouts are used as a warm-up for strength training to conserve on training time. Weekend running and cycling workouts build in length and intensity at just the right pace. Weekly training is manageable, ranging from about 3:45 to 8:20. At the end of the training block, you can maintain your endurance by continuously repeating the last three to four weeks of the training plan, with the Strength Maintenance weight training routine substituted for all strength sessions. Longer weekend workouts can be repeated or you can get creative and design your own sessions. Or…maybe you will look for a new set of goals at the end of 12 weeks?

This 10-week plan is base training for fit athletes. Before beginning the plan, you are training approximately five hours per week. This training includes one or two days of each swimming (on your own or with a masters group), cycling (indoors or outdoors) and running. Before beginning the plan, you are capable of swimming for 30 to 45 minutes, running 45 minutes and riding 1:00. The first week of training shown on the Plan Preview seems manageable to you. The first training block is four weeks long, followed by two, three-week blocks. Training begins at 6:00 hours per week and progresses to about 9:30 in the longest week. Your longest run progresses to 1:15 and includes the beginning of lactate threshold training. Your long bike ride progresses to 2:00. Testing days are included as benchmarks of progress. This plan is perfect for the athlete looking to build or maintain fitness. The plan “Triathlon Base Training, Phase 2: 4.75 to 10.75 hours per week” is designed to follow this plan. There is a Supporting Documents section located on my main page at http://home.trainingpeaks.com/training-and-nutrition-plans/training-plans/gale-bernhardt.aspx Please download and review these documents when you use any of my training plans. These documents give you additional information to help you get the most from your training.

This 10-week plan is base training for experienced triathletes. This plan is based on the base training within the year-long Olympic distance training plan in the book, “Training Plans for Multisport Athletes” but is designed for the athlete needing less training volume. The first training block is four weeks long, followed by two, three-week blocks. Before beginning the plan, you are training approximately five hours per week. This training includes two or three days of each swimming, cycling and running. Before beginning the plan, you are capable of running 45 to 60 minutes and riding 1:00. The first week of training shown on the Plan Preview seems manageable to you. Training begins at 7:30 hours per week and progresses to about 12:30. Your longest run progresses to 1:15 and includes the beginning of lactate threshold training. Your long bike ride progresses to 2:30. Testing days are included as benchmarks of progress. The training plan, “Triathlon Base Training, Phase 2: 5.5 to 13.0 hours per week” is designed to follow this plan.

This 10-week plan is base training for experienced triathletes. A flood of requests have finally been answered and this popular training plan is now available online. This plan is similar to Weeks 5 to 14 of the year-long Olympic distance training plan in the book, “Training Plans for Multisport Athletes.” Subtle changes have been added to improve the training plan, including Kudo comments to keep you on track. The online format makes it easy for you to monitor and track your progress. Additionally, you can easily modify and move workouts to meet your personal training needs. Before beginning the plan, you are training approximately six hours per week. This training includes two or three days of each swimming, cycling and running. Before beginning the plan, you are capable of running 1:00 and riding 1:00. The first week of training shown on the Plan Preview seems manageable to you. Training begins at 8:30 hours per week and progresses to about 13:30. Your longest run progresses to 1:30 and includes the beginning of lactate threshold training. Your long bike ride progresses to 2:30. Testing days are included as benchmarks of progress. After you complete this plan, an option is to use the next block of training in the sequence titled Triathlon Base Training, Phase 2: 7.0 to 15 hrs/wk. Plan is available in the book “Training Plans for Multisport Athletes.”

This 16-Week training plan is for the runner looking to step-up to a new distance and successfully complete a 10-mile event. Personal speed records will come at another race. The beginner plan is written for athletes intending to run, or run and walk, the event at a pace between 11 and 15 minutes per mile (finish time at 1:50 to 2:30). If you use the training plan “as is”, it is a 16-week program. The first week of the plan has you running three or four days. Two of the days are 20-minute runs and the third day is a 30-minute run. The plan helps you progress to a long run around two hours in length in Week 14. Every three or four weeks, rest weeks are included to help you recover, get stronger and faster.

This 12-Week training plan is designed for the beginning cyclist that is looking for a plan to follow to get fit. This plan begins with three, 30-minute rides and builds to a goal-ride of 24 to 30 miles on Saturday of Week 11. Week 12 is a rest week with a 5-mile time trial included to benchmark your fitness. Each week of the plan has three cycling workouts, one equipment or technique tip, a nutrition tip and one of my favorite motivational quotes. A Kudo comment is included on one ride each week to help keep you on track. Have a look at the plan preview and the goals listed below to see if this plan is right for you. Goals of the plan: - Ride three times per week for 12 weeks to build fitness - Build the long weekend ride from 30 minutes to a goal, destination ride around 24 to 30 miles. (This will take you around 2 hours if you average 12 to 15 miles per hour (mph).) - Establish cycling as a routine. - Get fit.

This 14-Week training plan is for the runner looking to step-up to a new distance and successfully complete a 13.1-mile event. Personal speed records will come at another race. The beginner plan is written for athletes intending to run, or run and walk, the event at a pace between 12 and 16 minutes per mile (finish time at 2:37 to 3:30). If you use the training plan “as is”, it is a 14-week program. The first week of the plan has you running three or four days. One day is a 20-minute run, the second day is a 30-minute run, the third day is your “long run” at 30 to 45 minutes and the optional fourth run day is 20-minutes long. The plan helps you progress to a long run between 2:15 to 2:30 in Week 10. The plan is laid out with a form run on Tuesday, an optional easy bike ride on Wednesday, a race-pace or endurance run on Thursday, a long run on Saturday and either a run or a long bike ride on Sunday. What? Why bike rides to prepare for a half-marathon? In coaching multisport athletes I found cycling can be used to prepare people to run long distances without the joint-pounding stress that running creates. In the case you don’t have a bike or don’t want to use cycling to train for this event, there is a run scheduled in the plan for you to use on Sunday. So, all Wednesday bike rides are optional for everyone and the Sunday workout is a long bike OR a run, but not both. Training plan hours range from 2:45 to 4:30 (running only) to 5:30 (with cycling)

This 13-Week training plan is for experienced triathletes looking to comfortably complete their first half-ironman distance event (1.2 miles of swimming, 56 miles of cycling and 13.1 miles of running.) This plan is for the experienced triathlete, who has completed several sprint and Olympic distance races. You can currently swim three times per week for about an hour, estimating a race swim pace of 1:45 to 2:00 per 100 yards. You are currently doing a long bike ride at about 90-minutes and you estimate an average of 15 to 18 miles per hour for the race. You can currently do a long run that is about 75-minutes long. Weekday training needs to be light, but weekend training hours are more available. The total training hours for the first week of the plan are 8:00 (please see the Plan Preview) and the biggest week of training, Week 11, is 10:30. The long run builds to 2:00 and the long ride builds to 4:00. The major differences between this plan and the 13-Week Intermediate plan are training volume, the volume of training above Zone 2 and the format of long training days. (In this plan the long run is on Saturday and the long ride is Sunday. In the intermediate plan the long run is Sunday and the long ride is Saturday.) Of course there is also one more week of training with this plan. Plan is available in the book “Training Plans for Multisport Athletes”

This 14-Week training plan is for the runner looking to step-up to a new distance and successfully complete a 26.2-mile event. Personal speed records will come at another race. The beginner plan is written for athletes intending to run, or run and walk, the event at a pace between 12 and 16 minutes per mile (finish time at 5:14 to 7:00). If you use the training plan “as is”, it is a 14-week program. Before beginning the plan, you should be capable of running or run/walking four days per week. The description of the first week of the plan should seem easy for you. The first week of the plan has you running three or four days. Monday is an optional day of walking, Tuesday is a 20-minute run, Wednesday is an optional 30-minute bike ride, Thursday is a 30-minute run, Friday is a day off, Saturday is a 45-minute run and Sunday has two options. On Sunday you can do a run/walk workout or use a bike ride to build endurance. What? Why bike rides to prepare for a marathon? In coaching multisport athletes I found cycling can be used to prepare people to run long distances without the joint-pounding stress that running creates. In the case you don’t have a bike or don’t want to use cycling to train for this event, there is a run scheduled in the plan for you to use on Sunday. So, all Wednesday bike rides are optional for everyone and the Sunday workout is a long bike OR a run, but not both. Training hours range from 3:00 to 6:25 (run only) or 7:30 (cycling included)

This 14-week training plan is designed for the cyclist looking to successfully complete a bike tour that lasts five to six days. The average mileage per day on the tour is 30 miles and you plan to ride an average of 12 to 15 miles per hour while on the tour. The training plan prepares you for your tour by utilizing a combination of strength training days and cycling days. The weekly hours of the plan ranges between 3:00 and 8:00, very manageable. By Week 11 of the plan you will be riding four or five days in a single week, with a three-day block of riding 1:30, 2:30 and 2:00. The plan does give you guidelines for adding or removing time from some of the ride days. Have a look at the plan preview to see if the first week looks doable to you. If you are currently strength training, you can use your own plan or use the program suggested in the Supporting Documents. If you utilize in indoor cycling class for some of your training, simply use the guidelines in each training day to get the most from your class. The plan is 14 weeks long and the last Sunday of the training plan is the first day of the bike tour. This day is your “event” day. So you can enjoy the bike tour, log your tour results, view the cool graphics and know what to do with your post-tour recovery, there is an additional training block titled See Bike Tour And Recovery – All Tours designed for athletes using the tour training plans. All you have to do is use enter the promotional code “FreeBikeTour” (without the quotation marks) and instructions for the tour days and a week of recovery are yours at no cost. I love bike tours; I hope you have a grand time.