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   18 Week Sprint Distance - Intermediate
750 yd Swim   12-15 mi bike   3.1mi/5k run

The following program is designed for the triathlete who is ready to take his or her performance in a Sprint Distance Triathlon to the next level. Furthermore, he/she has competed in several triathlons, perhaps even a season of triathlons. Unlike the Beginner Sprint Distance Training Program listed on this site, the Intermediate Program will be a substantial increase in effort. Even though the over-all race will take between 45 - 60 minutes (depending on the distance) your effort will really resemble more of a sprint then that performed by a beginner. It also takes into consideration the following: 1) the triathlete can run at least 6 miles for a long run or has trained for and competed in 5K or 10K road races 2) the triathlete can swim 1500-2000 yards three times per week and 3) the triathlete can ride at least 15 - 25 miles 3-4 times per week on the bike.

The first 12 weeks of the program is considered a base building phase gradually increasing mileage and yardage. A speedwork/quality phase makes up weeks 13-16 with weeks 17 and 18 dedicated to the taper. You will also notice three recovery weeks on weeks 4, 8 and 12. These are important. Stick to them. You will also notice, weeks 9 - 11 are maintenance - you will not move up but rather maintain the same regimen for three weeks. During the Speedwork/Quality phase you will be cutting back on the distances covered in each event while maintaining your overall endurance via one long run and bike during the week. * NOTE * - the risk of injury is increased due the introduction of the speedwork. Therefore, you must begin to use your head and train smart!  We will discuss this further as we break down the individual activities.

The base building phase focuses on general aerobic training and should include the use of a heart rate monitor. If you do not own one, than I suggest you make the purchase. There are several on the market and all do a fine job. You Refer to the Tri Links page for more information on heart rate monitors. And you do not have to buy the most expensive. However, you will want a model that has at least an overall time display. This will keep you from having to wear both a watch and HR monitor when you run.

I subscribe to the Maffetone method of determining your aerobic heart rate zone. This is just one method of heart rate training and certainly not the only one. You will find a basic description of this method as well as the tradtional 220-method in the article Follow Your Heart: Methods of Heart Rate Training located in the Triathlon FAQ's section.

According to Dr. Maffetone, the following formula will give you your aerobic heart rate zone:

180 minus your age will give you your upper range in beats per minute. Then subtract 10 to find your lower range in beats per minute. If you feel this range is too high then bring everything down 5-10 beats per minute.

Ex: A 37 year old individual in descent shape-

180 – 37 = 143 This would be the upper range.

143 – 10 = 133 This is the lower range.

Therefore, the aerobic range of this particular individual is 133-143. You will find a complete breakdown of Dr. Maffetone’s method of HR training on the Tri FAQ’s page. Now according to Dr. Maffetone, this should be fine for the run and the bicycle. However, some folks have a hard time sustaining that high a heart rate on the bike. So an adjustment downward may be necessary.

The heart rate monitor should be used as a means of keeping yourself in “aerobic” check. BE STRICT with yourself and stick to your aerobic levels. Do not let anyone else influence your training. If you have been training with a partner or are currently looking for one, explain to the individual what your goals are and make sure he/she will go along. 

Because you are training for a Sprint Distance Tri, you may want to start increasing the efforts within your training. You still want to stay within your aerobic zone but begin working at the upper level of your zone primarily during the week (I refer specifically to the bike and run) Continue to keep your long run and ride at the lower end your aerobic zone.

** In week 5, you will add a fourth day of cycling to your weekly regimen. In week 9, you will add a fourth day of training ot your swimming and running...but keep it easy! You will find each highlighted in red. They are considered recovery workouts but will also contribute to base building within your overall program.

Swimming: The swim portion of the Sprint Distance Tri usually covers a ¼ mile or 400 - 500 yds and a set of swimming workouts for the entire program can be found at the bottom of this page. They were designed for training in a 25 yard pool. If you are swimming in a 25 meter pool, you can use the same workouts. For a 50 meter pool, there will be some changes. You are certainly not bound by these workouts so feel free to tweak them as you see fit. Please see the
breakdown below:

25 Yard (meter) Pool – usually standard length
1 length = 25 yards (meters)
1 lap (2 lengths) = 50 yards (meters)
2 laps (4 lengths) = 100 yards (meters)
¼ mile = about 400 - 500 yards = 16 - 20 lengths

50 Meter Pool
1 length = 50 meters
2 lengths = 100 meters
¼ mile = about 400 - 500 meters = 8 - 10 lengths

When you read the swim workouts, you will notice that I did include yardage for stroke drills but did not specify the type of drill. I will leave that up to you.

***The main set of each workout is based on repetitive swims with very little rest between each. During the 12 Week Base Period, swim these relaxed. The idea is to build endurance while swimming aerobically, NOT fast. You will find your speed will begin to increase naturally. In order to stay aerobic, periodically check your heart rate throughout the set. The quickest way to do this is place your finger under your chin/neck, find your pulse and count the beats for a six second count and add a zero to the total. For example:

14 beats in 6 seconds = 140 beats per minute.

This reading is not as accurate as would be displayed on a heart rate monitor, however, I have attempted to wear a HR strap and monitor on a set of 100 freestyles (do not bother trying this, it is futile!) and found the finger-to-throat test is certainly accurate enough. Besides, it is all we swimmers have! Try to keep your heart rate between 140 – 160 beats per minute. For folks in their 40’s and up, try to keep your rate closer to 140, maybe even a bit less. For athletes in their late twenties to mid thirties, try to keep it closer to 150. And for those in their twenties and younger, 160 should be fine. The idea behind this method of training is to prepare your heart rate for the bike ride upon exiting the water during a race. The closer your heart rate is to your bike training rate, the better the outcome of your entire race. For example:

Let us say you are in your early 40’s and for eighteen weeks the bulk of your aerobic bike training was at an average heart rate of 125 bpm (beats per minute). Come race time, you exit the swim with a heart rate of 175 bpm. As you begin the bike ride, you are now a full 50 beats per minute above your bicycle training rate! Within a mile or two the ride, your heart rate will drop, but probably not the full 50 beats. More than likely, it will settle in at about 145-155 beats per minute or a 20-30 bpm recovery. Thus you will be riding the 25 mile/40k bike coarse with a heart rate some 20-30 beats higher than your training rate. And this will be the beginning of the end, for you will pay the price on the run. Now, if you were to exit the water in the same race with your heart rate closer to 140 or 150 beats per minute, and you recovered the same 20-30 bpm during the bike ride, your heart rate would settle in somewhere between 120 and 130 bpm – your normal bicycle training rate! This would only leave you better prepared for the run.

During the Speed/Quality Phase, work on descending your swims in each set and negative splitting your swims. 

Descend or Descending order – Used during a swim set made up of multiple swims with each swim in that set getting faster. On a set of ten 50’s, each 50 would get faster until you reach the tenth which should be the hardest effort.  In most cases, as in the case of a set of 10 x 50's.  You would want to descend 1 - 5 and 6 - 10.

Negative Split – when you swim the second half of a particular swim faster than the first half. For example, if you are swimming a 200 yard freestyle and the coach tells you to "negative split" the swim, he/she means to swim the second half or the second 100 yards of each 200 faster than the first.  And learn to build the speed. Do not simply swim the first half easy and sprint the second half regardless of the distance of the set you are swimming. Learn to build your effort gradually.

Flip turns – Do not worry about flip turns while you swim unless you feel very confident doing them. Simply take a quick breath on the wall and push off. Flip turns will cause your heart rate to rise. This in turn may negatively affect your aerobic pace. If you do swim with a masters program, you may be forced to do flip turns to keep up with the swimmers in your lane. If this be the case, move to a slower lane with less pressure from the other swimmers.

Breathing – when swimming freestyle, you should get into the habit of breathing every stroke. The more oxygen you take into the body, the lower your heart rate will remain. However, alternating your breathing or breathing every three strokes, will help you in two ways.
1. It will balance out your freestyle stroke.
2. It will get you used to looking in both directions, which may help during a race when trying to find your mark.

Also, on occasion, practice lifting your head and looking forward when swimming…You  will not have a black line in a lake or the ocean to help guide you through your swim! 

** You will notice I added a 1000 yard Saturday swim workout in weeks 9-17. The purpose of this workout is to add base yardage to your swim program and still benefit from the effects of a recovery swim. Treat this workout solely as a recovery workout after your long run on Saturday. Swim easy and relaxed, but not sloppy. There is absolute no stress involved. Kick easy, swim real easy, just relax, rest a lot and piddle in the water.

The quality workouts listed at the bottom of this page are designed to help you build speed. You will be getting a bit more rest overall from here on out, however, there will still be some longer distance workouts to maintain endurance. When you do the workouts, you want to slowly build your exerted effort and work on getting faster as the set progresses. You also want to build each workout with the last week of the quality period showing the greatest results. For example:

Your quality set is 5 x 100's all out on the 6 minutes. First, you want to try to build your effort with each lap of the 100 so you are finishing faster than you started. In a 25 yard pool, always swim the first 25 yards building up your effort so when you come off the first wall, you can begin to really push it. You will also want to attempt to descend the set of 100's so the each 100 gets faster. And your overall set (and your swims in each set) should be noticeably improve each week so that the your last workout of the final week of the quality phase was faster than the first. Do not simpley start out at a full sprint. You will risk injury, perhaps in your shoulders, and you will be driving your heart rate up too fast, too soon. I also suggest you swim your quality workouts in a 25 yard pool. The point is simply to build speed. If you attempt to do quality work in a 50 meter pool, lake or ocean, you will tire out much sooner due to fewer walls which will actually hurt your speedwork. Plus you will not be swimming this hard in a race, so there is no point in trying to simulate such conditions. And again, do not worry about flip turns. In a set like this where you are pushing your heart rate to maximum levels, flip turns will not hurt you. But if you do not know how to do one...it is fine. Taking a quick breath on each wall with a good push-off will actually help you remain in "sprint-mode" for the entire swim.

Cycling: Again, your bike rides should be aerobic, concentrating on staying within your heart rate zone. However, as mentioned in the introduction, work on riding in the upper range of your zone. For some, your running heart rate zone may be higher than your cycling, so you will need to experiment to find out what works best for you. Subtracting  5 to 10 beats from your running zone is a good starting point. For example:

If you are 30 years of age, and in pretty good shape, your aerobic heart rate zone based on the Maffetone method, should be 140-150 beats per minute. If you were to subtract 10 beats for your cycle training, your zone would be 130-140. 

Obviously, the flatter the terrain on which you ride, the easier it will be to monitor your heart. If you live in a hilly or mountainous area, your rate will definitely rise when cycling uphill. If this be the case, shift to higher gears (so you are spinning) and try to keep your ride smooth. Avoid pumping the pedals if possible. The harder you pump, the higher your heart rate will rise. This will not always be as easy as said but you should at least attempt to keep your heart rate as low as possible during the uphills. Also, try to remain in the saddle while riding uphill and only climb out as a last resort.

Cycling workouts during base building phase:
Monday- your ride should be treated as somewhat of a recovery/aerobic ride after your long Sunday ride. Warm up for 15 minutes keeping your heart rate (HR) below your training zone. For the bulk of you ride, keep your HR at the lower end of your training zone. Finally, leave yourself enough time for a good cool-down. On all cool downs, wait until your HR drops as close to or below 100 bpm before stopping.
Wednesday- your ride will be about the same as Monday. However, during the bulk of your ride, train with your heart rate at the high end of your zone. Just remember to leave yourself enough time for a cool-down.
Friday- your Friday rides will begin during week 5. This should be an easy ride, spinning in the small chain ring. Spinning will benefit your cycling efficiency as well as provide a nice warm-up for your Saturday long run. Keep your cadence up (around 80 - 90 rpms). Also, try to keep your heart rate below your aerobic zone throughout the entire ride.
Sunday- begin the ride with a 15 minute warm-up. For the bulk of the ride keep your HR at the low end of the zone for as long as possible. Work on your nutrition. As your endurance improves, you will have two choices. You can either increase your distances on the ride holding to the above training regimen. Or you can begin to increase your efforts - if you keep your long ride at 90 minutes. But again, only increase within your heart rate zone.

Aero position:  The aero position will be important in a Sprint Distance Triathlon and even more so on a flatter race coarse. The flatter the coarse, the less the need to get out of the saddle to ride i.e. Hill work. Your Sunday long ride will certainly be a good time to practice. Once you have decided on a race, try to find out as much info as possible about the bike coarse. Is it hilly? What are the winds like…etc? Then try to simulate these conditions within your own training rides. For example, if the coarse is hilly, incorporate some hill work or hill repeats into your biking regimen. If you know the coarse is famous for its winds, say along a coastline, try to ride on days you know the wind has picked up. Typically, the wind will pick up in the afternoons so plan a couple of rides after work. Once daylight savings time begins, you will have time in the late afternoons to get in a good ride. Spending a lot of time in the aero position can cause some lower back pain, at least in the beginning. If you are experiencing lower back pain after your ride, a good lower back stretch is a must as you increase the distances in your cycling. One good stretch (see figure to the right) is to lay on your back and pull your knees to your chest. Wrap your arms around the outside of you legs and gently squeeze the arms pulling the knees closer to the chest. You should feel this in your lower back. Remember, ease into the stretch by pulling gently. You may also lift one leg at a time to your chest while leaving the other extended with a slight bend.

***NOTE***

When incorporating hill work into your bike rides or if you are faced with strong headwinds throughout your ride, staying aerobic should still be your goal. With the hills, this will be tougher to do. Unlike riding into head winds, gravity plays a huge roll on hill work, and your heart rate can soar. So do the best that you can. As you travel uphill, stay in the saddle, and try to maintain an easy spin as opposed to pounding the pedals. Obviously, if you live in the west where “hills” are much steeper and longer, some of this is easier said than done, but try to stay as close to your zone as possible. For some of you, headwinds will always be part of your training. If so, again, shift to higher gears, and find a comfortable pace. As I stated earlier, gravity will not play the same role here, but psychologically, head winds can be quite defeating. Find a nice gear and spin rather than grind the pedals. Do not worry about speed.

Bike trainers: During the winter months, some of you will be forced to ride indoors on a trainer. And this can be extremely boring!…even with the most user friendly trainers such as a Computrainer. However, riding on a trainer does provide one excellent benefit - Mental Toughness. And this will only help. Once you begin riding outdoors, the bike trainer can still play a significant role in your cycling program especially during your quality workouts. Furthermore, Quality workouts can be dangerous on the highways unless you can find a road that is rarely traveled upon. And even this can be dangerous simply because sprint cycling requires so much thought and concentration, safe biking habits are usually sacrificed. Doing your speedwork on the trainer will offer you the ability to focus solely on your speedwork without any worry of highway traffic.

Quality Work: Like swimming, you will want to build within your quality set, as well as throughout the weeks of the quality phase. For example:

If your quality workout consists of 6 x 5 and 2's (five minutes hard, two minutes easy/recover) you should take the first 5/2 of the first day building your effort. On the first 5/2, gradually build your effort throughout the first five minutes. Do not just start out hammering. On the second 5/2, you can build your effort a little quicker so by numbers 3-6 you are really going after it. And for each particular quality day during this phase, follow this same pattern. By the last week of the quality phase, your output or results should still exceed those recorded on that first session.

** You will notice I added a fourth bike ride to your training beginning with week 5. The purpose of this addition is to add base mileage to your cycling program and still benefit from the effects of spinning. The ride can be used as a recovery ride as well as a prep ride for your Saturday long run. However, to benefit from this ride you must spin at a high cadence in an easy gear for the entire ride, keeping your heart rate very low. If you are riding on hills, than this will be tougher but try to stick to your plan. If you are riding in headwinds, just slow your cadence until your heart rate drops to the desired mark. For more information on the benefits of spinning and how it can positively affect your running -
click here!

Running: The key to a successful running program is training smart. And the best way to accomplish this is through aerobic training with a heart rate monitor. By now you should have determined your running heart rate zone based on the information at the top of the page. However, if you would like to explore other methods of heart rate training feel free to check out the article on Methods of Heart Rate Training. As previously mentioned, I tend to adhere to the methods of Dr. Phil Maffetone. And according to Dr. Maffetone, a successful running program should include a solid warm-up and cool down. When you head out on your run, spend the first 12-15 minutes warming up slowly bringing your HR up to your aerobic zone. After you have completed the bulk of your run spend the last 12-15 minutes bringing your heart back below your training zone. For example:

An individual with an aerobic HR zone of 130-140 bpm heads out on a 45 minute run. The first 15 minutes is spent slowly bringing the heart rate up to 130 bpm. After the warm-up, the individual then runs for 15 minutes keeping his/her heart rate between 130-140 bum. Finally, the last 15 minutes will be spent running below 130 bpm and should be maintained until the run is completed.

The running distances in the program are listed in minutes. However, if you feel comfortable running in miles than that is fine. Just allow yourself a sufficient warm-up and cool down period. The advantage of running by minutes is it allows you to accurately assess your training improvement.

Running hints: If you can, run on a grass path, or gravel path. The softer the ground, the better the shock absorption for your legs. Concrete is the worst, asphalt is next, tar is very soft (running track) with any type of dirt trail being the best. Actually, running on a golf coarse is ideal!. Whatever the surface on which you train, stay aerobic and you should be fine.

***For many of you, you will be testing new grounds regarding running and the addition of speedwork and injury prevention is of the up most importance. Incorporate a good stretching routine especially after your speedwork days. 

**You will notice a fourth day of running was added to the program beginning with week 9. Use it as a means of recovery after your long ride an run EASY! Even walk if you wish. If you do walk, double the time. In other words, walk for 40 minutes. 

Weights: Finally, I suggest you lift weights at least two days per week and no more than three. Do some type of circuit training and 2 sets of 15 reps per exercise. Keep the weights light. You do not want to build bulk. We just want to build some strength for endurance, speed and power. And, make sure you do not rush through each set of 15. Just because the weights are light, does not mean you hurry through the set. Take your time with each rep concentrating on form rather than speed. You may feel sluggish the first couple of weeks but it will get better. A basic circuit consists of Lat Pull Downs, Bench Press, Leg Lifts, Leg Curls, Squats (or lunges), Tricep Pull Down, Bicep Curls, Calf Raises and sit-ups or crunches. Feel free to add or leave out what you see fit. You will find a Weight Training Program on the site with photos.