TRAINING PLAN

Keep the season going by training for – and smashing out – a duathlon. Here’s how to stay in the multisport game…

As the triathlon season draws to a close, many athletes will be looking to finish on a high. This could be for any number of reasons. Maybe their season went really well and they want to keep it going before finally taking a break. Or perhaps their season didn’t go quite as well as they’d have liked, so targeting a final multisport race will give them a chance to justify all their hard work. Either way, keeping the season going with a duathlon is a superb opportunity to get the most from the year. Plus, it can provide some useful benchmarks to carry forward into next year’s training and racing.

A standard-distance duathlon (10km run, 40km bike, 5km run) is similar in total duration to a triathlon – though some athletes would argue that it’s harder. At this time of year, there’s a pretty good chance that you’ll have taken part in a couple of recent triathlons, so your base fitness level should be well established. Because of this, our eight-week training plan will focus more on the top end of your fitness levels, with sessions aiming to fine-tune your race pace (RP).

Another main difference with this plan is the volume of run sessions compared to a standard triathlon plan. This is because, in the absence of swim training, you’ll need to build up your stamina in other ways. Also, how well you perform in a duathlon is very much dictated by your ability to execute a strong first run without burning all of your candles. With this in mind, our plan will see you simulating the duathlon situation with plenty of brick sessions. Each session differs in distance, to give you a great chance of figuring out the best target race pace for you. Brick sessions also represent a great opportunity to practise your transitions – which is key.

The plan is based around five days of training per week. However, for those people who have the time and energy, there’s an extra training session in weeks three, five and seven – providing an even greater chance of success. If you do need to keep your training to five days a week, it’s advisable to omit the ‘Run Tempo’ session.

So, what are you waiting for? Pack that wetsuit away, get your running shoses on and let’s finish the season in style!