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BEGINNER or FIRST TRIATHLON: Sprint distance in 8 weeks

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BEGINNER or FIRST TRIATHLON: Sprint distance in 8 weeks

Author

Mikael Eriksson

All plans by this Coach

Length

8 Weeks

Plan Description

Unique benefits of this plan (that few, if any, other plans have):
-Sessions ccategorised as A, B, and C sessions to help you decide which workout to skip if life gets in the way
-In addition to tips for the actual workouts, the plan contains tips on what your focus points should be on a weekly level, what the purpose of each week is, and tips on planning your race, how to stay healthy and injury-free, and more.
-Plenty of links and additional resources. Not sure how to sight in open water swimming? No problem, this plan links to the best instructional video on the topic, and the same goes for other topics like foam-rolling, etc.

This plan will help complete beginners or triathletes with a couple of races behind them prepare for a sprint distance race in 8-weeks.

For the first-timer, the plan will make sure you complete the race with no issues, and can enjoy it. For the triathlete who has already completed a triathlon or two before, the structured progression of the plan will help you go faster.

The plan is simple and easy-to-follow. It is based on RPE (Rating of Perceied Exertion). You don't need any prior knowledge about endurance sports to be able to follow it.

There is on average 4 hours of training per week, over 6 workouts. The lightest week is 3 hours, and the hardest has 5:15 of training.

This plan is also available as versions where heart rate and/or pace zones are used to determine intensity. See https://www.trainingpeaks.com/coach/mikael-eriksson.

How it Works

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Training Plan Sample Week

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

Rest day

Rest
Keeping at least one rest day every single week is critical. It will help you absorb the training that you do.
Details
Tuesday

Foundational/Technical Swim

Swim00:30:00
Warm-up set - 10 min
-Easy 25-m repeats for the set duration / 10-20 sec rest between intervals

Technique set - 10 min
Pick 1 or 2 drills that target your weaknesses from the list below.
-Repeat (25 m Drill 1, 25 m normal swim) for 5 min / 10-15 sec rest between intervals
-Repeat (25 m Drill 2, 25 m normal swim) for 5 min / 10-15 sec rest between intervals

Endurance set - 10 min
-3 x 3 min* @ RPE = 5 / 30 sec rest between intervals

*Pick a specific distance that you can cover for the time duration. For example, for 2-min intervals it might be 75 m, 100 m, 125 m, or something else. But pick one distance and repeat it for the prescribed number of intervals.

MORE INFORMATION:

Warm-up
Focus on one or at most 2 aspects of your technique / swimming form throughout the warm-up (the warm-up is an additional technique set). Presence and focus will pay dividends! Choose the 1 or 2 aspects that are your biggest weaknesses (e.g. breathing, body position, rhythm)


Technique set
For each drill, know what the purpose of it is and what you want to achieve (e.g. practise better breathing, body position, etc). When you swim back in the "normal swim" segments, try to implement the technique you trained in the drill in your normal stroke.


Endurance set
Pace well! Swim at an easy, comfortable, and constant pace. Don't go out too hard and fade. It's good if you have energy left to go faster towards the end.

DRILLS:
(In many of the drills, it may be appropriate to use tools like fins and snorkel if you have them)

All-purpose drills
-Swim with fins

Rhythm
-Catch-up: https://youtu.be/L2ZUMX0qQns

Body position
-Side kick https://youtu.be/3mBb2djmdv0
-6-1-6 https://youtu.be/3mBb2djmdv0
-6-3-6 https://youtu.be/HfXuRVVc_Ic

Stroke mechanics
-Scull #1 (front scull) https://youtu.be/f96EqH0mdc0
-Scull #2 (under shoulders scull) https://youtu.be/_2Fezx3ZnD0
-Single-arm https://youtu.be/MhD3S1mJPTM
-Doggy paddle https://youtu.be/PqwN2l_HWrc

Breathing
-As you swim, repeat the phrase “Breath, bubble, breathe, bubble to yourself”. Say “breathe” as you rotate to take a breath and “bubble” as you turn your face back into the water and you should be starting to exhale. Literally say “bubble” out loud in the water as you’re exhaling - this will make you blow out air into the water as you should.
Details
Wednesday

Endurance ride

Bike00:30:0025 TSSStructured Workout
Easy endurance ride.

RPE = 4/10

RPE is your Rating of Perceived Exertion. See a reference RPE-table here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8-6VpgcV5Z3Q1ozazVrLVltcnc/view

Note that perceived exertion increases over time even at a constant exercise intensity. Therefore, the suggested values or ranges refer to perceived effort as determined relatively early in a training session/series of intervals.
Details
Thursday

Endurance run

Run00:25:0021 TSSStructured Workout
Easy endurance run.

RPE = 3-4/10

RPE is your Rating of Perceived Exertion. See a reference RPE-table here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8-6VpgcV5Z3Q1ozazVrLVltcnc/view

Note that perceived exertion increases over time even at a constant exercise intensity. Therefore, the suggested values or ranges refer to perceived effort as determined relatively early in a training session/series of intervals.
Details
Friday

Foundational/Technical Swim

Swim00:30:00
Warm-up set - 10 min
-Easy 25-m repeats for the set duration / 10-20 sec rest between intervals

Technique set - 10 min
Pick 1 or 2 drills that target your weaknesses from the list below.
-Repeat (25 m Drill 1, 25 m normal swim) for 5 min / 10-15 sec rest between intervals
-Repeat (25 m Drill 2, 25 m normal swim) for 5 min / 10-15 sec rest between intervals

Endurance set - 10 min
-4 x 2 min @ RPE = 5 / 20 sec rest between intervals

*Pick a specific distance that you can cover for the time duration. For example, for 2-min intervals it might be 75 m, 100 m, 125 m, or something else. But pick one distance and repeat it for the prescribed number of intervals.


MORE INFORMATION:

Warm-up
Focus on one or at most 2 aspects of your technique / swimming form throughout the warm-up (the warm-up is an additional technique set). Presence and focus will pay dividends! Choose the 1 or 2 aspects that are your biggest weaknesses (e.g. breathing, body position, rhythm)


Technique set
For each drill, know what the purpose of it is and what you want to achieve (e.g. practise better breathing, body position, etc). When you swim back in the "normal swim" segments, try to implement the technique you trained in the drill in your normal stroke.


Endurance set
Pace well! Swim at an easy, comfortable, and constant pace. Don't go out too hard and fade. It's good if you have energy left to go faster towards the end.

DRILLS:
(In many of the drills, it may be appropriate to use tools like fins and snorkel if you have them)

All-purpose drills
-Swim with fins

Rhythm
-Catch-up: https://youtu.be/L2ZUMX0qQns

Body position
-Side kick https://youtu.be/3mBb2djmdv0
-6-1-6 https://youtu.be/3mBb2djmdv0
-6-3-6 https://youtu.be/HfXuRVVc_Ic

Stroke mechanics
-Scull #1 (front scull) https://youtu.be/f96EqH0mdc0
-Scull #2 (under shoulders scull) https://youtu.be/_2Fezx3ZnD0
-Single-arm https://youtu.be/MhD3S1mJPTM
-Doggy paddle https://youtu.be/PqwN2l_HWrc

Breathing
-As you swim, repeat the phrase “Breath, bubble, breathe, bubble to yourself”. Say “breathe” as you rotate to take a breath and “bubble” as you turn your face back into the water and you should be starting to exhale. Literally say “bubble” out loud in the water as you’re exhaling - this will make you blow out air into the water as you should.
Details
Saturday

Endurance ride

Bike00:45:0038 TSSStructured Workout
Easy endurance ride.

RPE = 4/10

RPE is your Rating of Perceived Exertion. See a reference RPE-table here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8-6VpgcV5Z3Q1ozazVrLVltcnc/view

Note that perceived exertion increases over time even at a constant exercise intensity. Therefore, the suggested values or ranges refer to perceived effort as determined relatively early in a training session/series of intervals.
Details
Sunday

Endurance run

Run00:35:0032 TSSStructured Workout
Easy endurance run.

RPE = 3-4/10

RPE is your Rating of Perceived Exertion. See a reference RPE-table here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8-6VpgcV5Z3Q1ozazVrLVltcnc/view

Note that perceived exertion increases over time even at a constant exercise intensity. Therefore, the suggested values or ranges refer to perceived effort as determined relatively early in a training session/series of intervals.
Details

Friday Sample Workout Details

Other

Stats

Average Weekly Breakdown

Workouts Weekly Average Longest Workout
Swim x2
01:15:00 01:00:00
Bike x2
01:17:00 01:10:00
Run x2
00:56:00 00:45:00
Day Off x1
—— ——
Workouts Per Week Weekly Average Longest Workout
Swim Swim
01:15:00 01:00:00
Bike Bike
01:17:00 01:10:00
Run Run
00:56:00 00:45:00
Rest Day Off
—— ——

Training Load By Week


Mikael Eriksson - Founder of Scientific Triathlon, Host of That Triathlon Show

Scientific Triathlon

Mikael is the founder of Scientific Triathlon and host of the podcast That Triathlon Show. He has helped athletes from beginners to professionals achieve goals from completing their first triathlon through qualifying for World Championship events, qualifying for pro licenses and racing professionally. His training plans have been used by thousands of athletes with excellent results and fantastic feedback. They are some of the best-rated and best-selling plans on the Training Peaks marketplace.

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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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