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Ah the half Ironman – an event so cool, Ironman doesn’t even call it a ‘half’, they call it a 70.3. Because let’s be honest, just by the fact that you’re looking for a half Ironman training plan to eventually cross the finish line of a 70.3 mile race, is pretty darn cool.
“Ironman”, to many, is synonymous with “impossible”. So much so, they had to make their official motto “anything is possible” to try to convince the nay-sayers. But still, 99%+ of the words population doesn’t even consider completing a half Ironman® remotely possible.
But this isn’t for them. It’s for those who have the mental and physical toughness required to even make it through the registration process. It’s even more for those who sign up, train, and persevere through to the finish.
There are a thousands of training plans out there, you have probably even some some by now. Some that are 4 weeks long, others 16, others 2 years, but none that are truly focused on athletes looking to tackle a half Ironman for the first time. Thanks to the help of our ever-growing community of athletes, we’ve developed a half Ironman training plan that works for beginners, and seasoned athletes alike.
For those taking the first steps to tackling the Ironman® 70.3 Triathlon, it’s simple, this plan is for you.
This training plan covers the phases:
Preparing your body for training
Building an endurance baseline in all 3 sports
Steadily increasing training volume & distance
Safely hitting maximum mileage ahead of the full race
Helping your body recover to be primed for race day
Each of the details surrounding these phases are also accompanied by advice on training mentality, time management, nutrition & diet, and an often overlooked category of strength training.
Before diving into the details of a triathlon training schedule, there are a few mental checks you must make.
We’ve covered the physical training involved. It’s pretty obvious that the running, swimming and biking need to happen to prepare for a Ironman 70.3 Triathlon.
What is often ignored though, is all the other stuff, mainly time management & diet.
Well, let’s put it this way, how many 6 week training plans are out there? None? That’s right.
For anyone new to Ironman 70.3 training, it’s going to take a while to get from wherever you are to across that finish line.
That means lots of weeks and months spent prioritizing training over things like happy hour, late nights, etc. etc.
In some cases, you’re going to train 10-25 hours a week, so how on earth are you supposed to do that while already working 40 hours, commuting, spending time with the family, and everything else that comes with life?
Here are a few tips to make it possible (and really, not that bad):
Forget sleeping in for 6 months, that's just not happening. You'll be up early a lot to get in a session of training before work. With each session being anywhere from :30-1:15 during the week you might need to get up a little earlier than your used to. The benefit is you're probably not missing time with anyone, since they're likely sleeping!
If after work your life is a bit hectic, see what you can do during your lunch hour. Get your quick run or stationary bike ride in during lunch so you don't have to do it when you get home.
After work is (in my opinion) the hardest time to workout. There is a lot that can happen during the day you can't control (weather, stress at work, traffic, etc.). Because of this, you need to find a way to have a detailed routine once you walk in the door meant to get you from car -> workout ASAP. The mroe time you dilly dally, the harder it'll be to get started.
The reality of a 6 month half Ironman training schedule, is that you'll have to say no. No to happy hour, staying up late, vacations where you can't workout, etc. Having a solid support system of family and friends who understand your commitment makes this much easier, but it's important to be honest with them to avoid offending anyone.
The reality of a 6 month half Ironman training schedule, is that you'll have to say no. No to happy hour, staying up late, vacations where you can't workout, etc. Having a solid support system of family and friends who understand your commitment makes this much easier, but it's important to be honest with them to avoid offending anyone.
Incorporate a routine warm-up and cool-down into your workouts. Not only are you constantly playing defense against injury and over training, integrating these warm-up/cool-downs directly into the workout will help save time, and more importantly ensure they get done.
Ever been really hungry before? Well, get used to that being the case for 6 straight months.
On some of your longer training days, it wont’ be out of the realm of possibility to burn upwards of 5,000 calories in one day!
You’ll have to eat very deliberately to fuel your body, and make sure you don’t waste away into nothing.
Most people have no clue how much they eat, or in some cases, what they’re eating when consuming packaged goods.
To set a baseline for yourself, it’s recommended to use something like MyFitnessPal to see what, and how many, of each macro you’re ingesting (fat, protein, carbohydrate).
For all intents & purposes, try to keep it to 40% carbs, 30% protein, 30% fat. If you can keep a diet like this, eating whole, real food, you’ll be well on your way to the perfect diet for half Ironman training.
Eat real food made up of nuts, seeds, meat, vegetables, and fruit. Don’t eat processed sugar, and to make it even easier, shop on the outside of the grocery store (fresh foods). If it has a shelf life longer than a week, it should probably be avoided.
Processed food and sugar are only going to slow down your training & recovery. Something that simply can’t be afforded during training like this.
Get used to meal prepping (making many meals at one time) so you can ‘grab & go’ before and after work.
Trust me, using those Sunday afternoons to stock the fridge is going to be the best choice you could ever make. Your body (and those in the path of your hanger) will thank you.
This half Triathlon training plan is split into 4 distinct phases:
To cover all the bases, each of these phases is going to consist of a combination of swimming, biking, running, and strength training.
An important callout to the format of this plan: all of the disciplines are measured in time, not distances (except swimming & weight training). This is done specifically to
When looking at times for the run & bike, there are two “volume caps” to be aware of to keep you from overtraining on distance (if you’re super fast).
For the run, your max mileage should be whatever the time allotted is as it pertains to a 7:30 min mile pace. For example, if it says run 1 hour, your max mileage is 8 miles (60min / 7.5 min). On the bike, this is 20mph. If it says bike for 3 hours, your max distance would be 60 miles.
The exception to this, will be the acclimation phase, since the distances are considerably shorter and we want to make sure we build enough of a base to keep you moving along safely.
A key to success is practice. This training plan includes a practice race mid way through at the Olympic Triathlon distance which effectively means this training plan contains an Olympic triathlon training plan. Both are placed at a particular point in the plan ensuring that you’re A.) properly trained it, and B.) you can go into those races focusing on gaining good experience to even better prepare you for your Ironman 70.3 race.
The training plan outlined below is perfect for half course triathlons like Ironman 70.3, as well as a gear-up to those looking to train for a full Ironman® triathlon.
The first step of the plan starts with, acclimating.
The name says it all. Let’s get acclimated to some triathlon training.
Unlike other races (say, a Marathon), we’re training 3 sports! In order to make sure we get the appropriate amount of training time in each of the 3 disciplines, we’ll have to follow a schedule that in many cases, requires 2 different sessions per day.
If you’re on the fence of whether or not you should sign up for a half Ironman, this is a good phase to test out to make sure you can handle the schedule. This will show you what training 10 times per week will feel like, and allow you to decide if you’re going to move forward or not.
This is also the only phase where the length of time (weeks) could potentially be different for each person.
For example, if you’re just starting (i.e. ‘couch potato to Ironman’), start at week 1 and follow directly. If you’ve already obtained the ability to run 5-8 miles, bike for an hour, and swim (you’ve probably done some sprint/olympic triathlons maybe), you can use your judgement as to how much of the acclimation phase to follow.
Either way, the goal here is to get you to a solid starting point for the primary 18 weeks of training.
In terms of volume for your disciplines in the acclimation phase, it’ll look something like this:
Now, the schedule. This table is marked with “x” where the training session will take place. In the event that there are 2 “x”s on 1 column, consider the top “x” your first session, and the bottom your second.
| Acclimation weekly schedule: | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thur | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
| Weight Training | X | X | |||||
| Swim | X | X | |||||
| Bike | X | X | |||||
| Run | X | X | X | X | |||
| Rest | X | ||||||
Mondays will be your rest and recovery from your longer workouts on Saturday and Sunday. This is going to hold true for the entire plan, regardless of phase. It’s important to ACTUALLY rest. Not “active rest” where you go hike 15 miles for fun. Give your body a break, it’s in for some tough weeks ahead.
If you’re new to running or biking any considerable distance, this phase will need to last as long as needed in order for you to build up to 6 miles of running.
How long will that take? Well, we recommend that you take 2 weeks for every increase of 1 mile in distance. For example, if you can run 2-3 miles right now, you’ll continue training for 2 weeks running 2 miles during your Sunday run, then 2 weeks at 3, 2 at 4, etc, etc, until you end up with 2 weeks at 6 miles.
If that’s the case, your running Sundays will look like this: 3, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6 miles.
You’ll run on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. It’s the most days, because it’s the hardest to get the body used to.
In between running days (Thursday and Saturday), you’ll bike.
At the same time we’re building up running mileage, you’ll increase time on the bike (indoor or outdoor).
The running and biking schedule during the Acclimation Phase, will look just like this:
| MON | TUE | WED | THU | FRI | SAT | SUN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Rest | 1 mile | 2 miles | 30 min | 2 miles | 45 min | 3 miles |
| Week 2 | Rest | 1 mile | 2 miles | 30 min | 2 miles | 45 min | 3 miles |
| Week 3 | Rest | 2 miles | 3 miles | 30 min | 2 miles | 1 hour | 4 miles |
| Week 4 | Rest | 2 miles | 3 miles | 30 min | 3 miles | 1 hour | 4 miles |
| Week 5 | Rest | 3.5 miles | 4.5 miles | 45 min | 3.5 miles | 1 hour | 5 miles |
| Week 6 | Rest | 3.5 miles | 4.5 miles | 45 min | 3.5 miles | 1 hour | 5 miles |
| Week 7 | Rest | 4 miles | 5 miles | 1 hour | 4 miles | 1 hour | 6 miles |
| Week 8 | Rest | 4 miles | 5 miles | 1 hour | 4 miles | 1 hour | 6 miles |
When it comes to swimming, you’ll be looking to get more comfortable in the water. You’re also going to start getting used to swimming in sets vs just long continual distances. You’ll swim total distances around 1,000 yards or meters (depending on your pool), but you’ll do so by doing a bunch of 50’s or 100’s, adding up to that total distance.
If you live near a place that has a masters swim team (check your local colleges), that is preferred. Most (if not all of these groups) come with a coach to help you with form, efficiency, not to mention the actual programming of your sets. All that plus swimming with other people adds a sense of accountability to make sure you show up every day!
If you don’t have access to a masters team, you can use something like the Swim Workout Roulette app to auto-generate swim sets for you.
Commonly skipped by many endurance athletes, weight lifting (or strength training, more accurately) is an integral part to preventing injury.
The weight training advised in this phase (and all future phases) will be predominantly be lower body/legs and core. Short of swimming, you’re spending a lot of time using your legs/feet, so it’s important to keep your muscles flexible & strong to avoid common injuries like IT band syndrome, and tight hamstrings.
You’re mainly going to focus on 3 exercises for this phase:
The program for the squatting is technically based off a 1RM or 1 rep max. This would be the weight that you can perform 1 good quality squat with, but not 2.
If you’ve never tested for a 1RM, now is not the time to try. Instead, use something called a perceived rate of exertion whereby the percentages represent level of effort. For example, 60% should be quite easy & controllable, whereas 90% should require a lot of effort. The key would be to find your “60%” by finding something you could comfortably do 8-12 times. Start your first week there, then add 5-10lbs per week based on how you feel.
On Wednesdays you’ll be performing the front squat. A squat meant to get you fully through a squatting range of motion with the predominant focus on the quads, upper back and core.
On Fridays you’ll be back squatting. A squat that incorporates more of the posterior chain (hamstrings, glutes, etc.) and typically is 10-20% heavier than your front squat.
Following each squat workout, you should perform 25-100 AbMat sit-ups (building over time). This is just one added way to increase your core strength. Something that’s imperative to keeping good form on the bike, run, and definitely the swim.
Lastly, all the ‘sets’ are noted as 5×3. This means 5 sets of 3 reps each. This will be 15 reps total, but done like this: 3, 3, 3, 3, 3.
Your squat program looks like this:
| WED | FRI | % of 1RM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Front Squat 5×3 | Back Squat 5×3 | 60% |
| Week 2 | Front Squat 5×3 | Back Squat 5×3 | 65% |
| Week 3 | Front Squat 5×3 | Back Squat 5×3 | 70% |
| Week 4 | Front Squat 5×3 | Back Squat 5×3 | 75% |
| Week 5 | Front Squat 5×3 | Back Squat 5×3 | 80% |
| Week 6 | Front Squat 5×3 | Back Squat 5×3 | 83% |
| Week 7 | Front Squat 5×3 | Back Squat 5×3 | 85% |
| Week 8 | Front Squat 5×3 | Back Squat 5×3 | 90% |
After the 8 week acclimation phase, you’ll move into the first of 3, 6 week phases. Your first, is the baseline phase.
This phase is designed to take the comfort you’ve built over the course of the acclimation phase, and build on it.
This is also your commitment time. You’ve tested the training schedule, and what it’s like to do 3 sports, 10 sessions in 1 week. Now, once you’ve dedicated yourself to the rest of the 6 month half Ironman training plan, it’s time to create your baseline.
By the end of this phase, you’ll be running for 1 hour, biking for 2 hours, and swimming consistent sets of 1,000y/m.
The phases to follow, build & peak, will continue a progression of adding time & distance, but this phase will help assure you that your body is ready for the increase in volume, with a decrease of chance for injury.
Your schedule for the next 18 weeks will be the same, though it will vary slightly from your acclimation phase schedule. It’ll look like this:
| Baseline weekly schedule: | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thur | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
| Weight Training | X | X | |||||
| Swim | X | X | |||||
| Bike | X | X | Long | ||||
| Run | X | X | X | Long | |||
| Rest | X | ||||||
The main difference here is your Wednesday “brick” workout. This is a bike immediately(!) followed by a run so your body can learn to adapt to the transition between the 2 disciplines. It’s typically something like 30 minutes on the bike and 15 minutes running, so they’re not ‘long’ but they are effective.
The other difference is switching from a dedicated squat program to a more functional fitness type of weightlifting. Something like CrossFit is perfect for this.
The introduction of something like CrossFit (or other group classes) is to keep you doing various forms of anaerobic exercise throughout your training. You’ll be doing a TON of aerobic training, so making sure your heart can handle spikes and declines is only going to make the rest easier.
The baseline phase looks like this:
For build, peak and taper phases, download the full Half Triathlon Training Plan below.