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Long Duathlon 10km / 40km / 5km - 12 weeks

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Long Duathlon 10km / 40km / 5km - 12 weeks

Author

Nick Harris British Triathlon Federation level 3 Coach, Training Bible Master endurance coach

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Length

12 Weeks

Plan Description

This program should be used for an athlete who is new to duathlon and their goal is to complete a standard distance duathlon of 10km/4km/5km

The schedule consists of 3 workouts per week in each sport.

This program can also be used to lead you into the 12 Week 10k/40k/5k Distance duathlon plan.

Heart-Rate training
This plan uses heart-rate training zones for intensity specific training.  There are also a few weeks with some additional testing in this plan, see See 'Related Links' at bottom for testing protocol and how to determine and setup your heart-rate zones. 
 
Since this is a basic program and some athletes may not be able to complete the test outlined in this article above, I thought it would be best to leave out the testing in the program.
 
Background requirements
You should be able to bike at least 90 minutes, and run at least 45 minutes.

Nick is a level 3 British Triathlon Coach, STA level 2 Swim Teacher, Level 1 Training Peaks coach, and Training Bible coaching Master endurance coach with 25 years’ experience in triathlon, founder and Head Coach for Speedy Swimming.

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Training Plan Sample Week

Sample Workouts - Week 100
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
Monday

1hr #2 test

Bike01:00:00
ride for 1 hour staying in mid level 2 to build low level aerobic fitness, lung capacity. can you upload this one as its a good indicator of power in zone 2
Details
Tuesday

Tempo finish, 3 miles at goal pace

Run00:50:00
BT: Tempo finish. The first part is a warm-up at heart rate zone 1-2. The last 3 miles are at next race goal pace. Walk 5 minutes for cool down. What was your goal-pace heart rate?
Details

AA1+MT2

Strength00:30:00
After warm up do 3 sets. Reduce the number of exercises to those in the MT phase. For the first set of each exercise use a load that allows 20-30 reps (AA phase). For the second and third sets increase the load so you do only 10-15 reps (MT phase). Cool down 5-10 minutes by spinning. For details on AA and MT go to START (above), WORKOUT DESCRIPTIONS or TRAINING, PRINTABLE VIEW OF WORKOUTS or Joe Friel''s Training Bible book.
Details
Wednesday

TTT, road, 3M

Bike01:00:00
Tempo Time Trial (TTT). Warm-up about 20 minutes on the road raising heart rate to 10 beats below LTHR (lowest 5a zone number). Then ride 1.5 miles out & back (3 miles total). Flat course. Keep heart rate 9-11 bpm below lowest heart rate zone 5a number. Exactly! It''s OK to shift. Record time.
Details
Thursday

Trails, Zones 1-3.

Run00:45:00
Heart rate in zones 1-3 on trails. ''PROUD'' form. Allow heart rate to rise to zone 3 on hills, but don''t force it up.
Details
Friday

Recovery Day

Rest
Actively focus on recovery today: 1) stay off of legs all you can, 2) watch nutrition closely (healthy carbs, lean protein, and good fats), 3) stretch, and 4) drink when thirsty. Other common recovery aids include massage, napping, elevating legs, floating in water, and listening to music.
Details
Saturday

10km track speed testing for pace

Run01:00:00
Testing for 10km Speed Requirements
Run for 15 mins as hard as you can, ideally on a running track or marked out laps, eg 1km. Record the distance covered as accurately as possible
Find pace from the timed run ( eg 2 mins for every 400m)
Halve this (60 secs) and take off another 8 secs to find 200m pace (52 secs).
Run a series of 200m in 52 secs with reducing rest, down a pyramid scale and then back up if needed. (90secs, 75, 60, 5, 30, 15)
Keep going until you cannot maintain 200m in 52 secs
Details
Sunday

1 hour TT build

Bike01:30:00
Warm up
10' - 15' min easy spin, build to 80% in last 5'
2' easy recovery
6' @ 80-85% cadence of 98rpm
2' easy recovery
2 x (15" fast - 15" easy, 30"/30", 45"/45", 60"/60"). Set 1 = 108rpm, Set 2 = 75rpm
20 mins at 70% HRmax
20 mins at 80% HRmax
20 mins at 90% HRmax
10 min cool down at 65-70% of max hr
Details

Sunday Sample Workout Details

Other

Stats

Average Weekly Breakdown

Workouts Weekly Average Longest Workout
Bike x4
03:47:00 02:30:00
Run x3
02:29:00 01:20:00
Day Off x1
—— ——
Workouts Per Week Weekly Average Longest Workout
Bike Bike
03:47:00 02:30:00
Run Run
02:29:00 01:20:00
Rest Day Off
—— ——

Training Load By Week


This plan works best with the following fitness devices:

  • Heart Rate Monitor

All supported devices

Nick Harris

Speedy Swimming

Nick has been a Level 3 British Triathlon Coach for 14 years, and has been a master endurance coach with Training Bible Coaching UK in that time. He is also a Training Peaks Level 2 Accredited Coach, and has worked as a Regional Development Coach for the South East region for British Triathlon.

Alongside his online coaching business, Nick also runs Speedy Swimming which specialise in 1-2-1 front crawl technique lessons, endless pool swim video analysis, swim clinics and group swim sessions

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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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