STEP UP TO STANDARD

Raced a sprint or two and ready for the next challenge? Then you need this two-month training plan to get you 1.5km swim, 40km bike and 10km run ready…

The path through the various triathlon distances has been trodden by many athletes in the past. Sometimes triathletes jump straight into longer distances, however the more methodical, practical and successful pathway is to begin with the sprint and move on by doubling the distance up to the Olympic (standard). The distance made famous by the Brownlees, Javier Gomez, Gwen Jorgensen and co. in the ITU World Championships is the most commonly-raced distance and seen as the gold standard of triathlon racing.

In simple terms, the step-up is double the distance, but in terms of training and racing there’s a lot more to consider. If you’re considering making the jump to Olympic distance, this training plan will get you race ready, with the confidence to cover the distance and the ability to attack the race with speed and power.

The plan requires you to be already able to cover the sprint distances and be ready to build your distances from the very beginning. Above all other factors you must be able to get the distances covered, so there’s a gradual build-up to race distances and then we go past them, working with the principle of ‘over-distance’.

At the same time as focusing on distance, the plan ensures you will carry your sprinting speed through to the new distance. So, you can expect interval sessions that include a lot of anaerobic and threshold-style workouts, and race-pace efforts. It’s essential to fine-tune your race performance by including brick sessions featuring the full longer distance and multi bike/run workouts.

Racing the Olympic distance will require a different level of pacing that you may not be used to. Trying to go ‘all out’ for 51.5km is a whole new adventure, and so during the longer and tougher sessions consider approaching them with a degree of caution until you find the right speeds for you to race at.

Doubling the distance will also mean putting a little more thought into how much nutrition you’ll need and how often to take it on board. During key workouts take time to nail your nutrition, work out your hydration needs and decide how best to get those calories in.

Finally, reset your goals. Your experience from racing sprints will help but this requires new, achievable targets.