Structuring Your Triathlon Season with A, B, and C Races – A Practical Approach
Planning a triathlon season can feel like solving a complex puzzle. Between balancing training, work, and family, you also have to decide which races to prioritise and how to peak at the right times. Many coaches and athletes use the concept of A, B, and C races to rank the importance of events. In this deep dive, we’ll explore how to structure your season using A, B, and C races in a way that’s practical, flexible, and grounded in real-world coaching principles.
Understanding A, B, and C Races
In triathlon training, not all races are created equal. We can categorise races into A, B, and C events to help focus our efforts:
A Races: These are your big goal races. The ones where you aim to be in peak condition and deliver your best performance. Typically, you’ll only have a few A races per year (often 1–3) because true peak form can only be achieved a limited number of times in a season. Training is usually structured to build toward these events, and a proper taper is scheduled so you arrive fresh and race-ready.
B Races: These are important races where you still want a strong performance, but they aren’t the ultimate focus of your season. You might taper only slightly or just reduce training load for a few days beforehand. The goal is often to use B races to test your fitness, practise race execution, or qualify for bigger events, without sacrificing too much training time. You will go in wanting to do well, but you won’t be at 100% peak like an A race.
C Races: These are low-priority races, used primarily as training opportunities or for fun and experience. You typically don’t adjust your training plan much (if at all) for C races. You might do them with fatigue in your legs from training. They’re great for practising race skills, such as open-water swim confidence, transition speed, or nutrition strategy in a competitive setting, but without the pressure of needing a personal best.
Labelling your races A, B, or C gives you a clear hierarchy of what matters most. This ensures you save your best efforts for when they count, and treat other races as part of the journey rather than end-goals in themselves. It’s common for triathletes to plan their season around one or two A races (for example, an Ironman or 70.3, or a national championship race), with a handful of B or C races scheduled in the lead-up.
Why Use Race Priorities in Season Planning?
Structuring your season with race priorities offers several benefits. First, it acknowledges a fundamental truth: you can’t hold peak fitness year-round. The body needs phases of build-up and recovery. By targeting specific A races, you allow yourself to push hard and peak and recover afterwards. It can take around four to six weeks to fully recover from an ultra-endurance event like an Ironman. Trying to race at 100% effort too frequently without recovery can lead to declining performance and nagging injuries. Planning A races with adequate spacing helps prevent this.
Secondly, having B and C races in your schedule can actually enhance your fitness and preparedness for the A races. Rather than solely relying on training sessions, these lower-priority races become dress rehearsals and high-intensity workouts in their own right. Doing a race simulation in in a competition environment teaches valuable lessons that no solo training day can. Examples include learning how to pace properly on the bike, figuring out race-day nutrition, or just gaining mental toughness. Additionally, a well-timed B race can serve as a “training overload” that, when followed by recovery, yields a performance super-compensation for the upcoming A race. Your B race can be a hard effort that elevates your fitness, provided you allow rest afterward.
Finally, labeling some races as C (or “for fun”) is important for mental relief and experience. It’s easy for triathletes to put tremendous pressure on every race. By consciously treating some events as low-stakes, you give yourself permission to experiment and even fail. These races keep the season enjoyable and keep you engaged with the sport, without the stress that comes with your big goals. They also help you stay race-sharp. C races are your excuse to get out there frequently.
The Traditional Approach: Rigid Periodisation and Its Pitfalls
Historically, coaches have often used a rigid periodisation model to plan a triathlete’s season. This usually involves distinct phases like base → build → peak → taper, laid out months in advance. The idea traces back to legendary running coach Arthur Lydiard and others, who had great success building athletes through big base mileage and then sharpening for competition. A typical traditional plan might have you spend winter doing high-volume, low-intensity training to build an aerobic base, then gradually shift to more intense workouts in spring (the build), eventually fine-tuning speed and race-specific fitness as your A race approaches, and finally tapering off to rest in the last couple of weeks.
On paper, this linear progression sounds logical, and indeed it can work. However, triathlon is not track running, and age-group triathletes are not full-time pros with perfectly controlled lives. Rigid periodisation often “fails in real life – especially for age-group athletes balancing work, family, and training.” The classic model assumes you can neatly compartmentalise your year, but life rarely cooperates. Maybe a winter injury or illness wipes out your base phase, or work travel in the summer interrupts your build. Or perhaps the model itself (endless base miles before any intensity) simply leaves you flat, bored, and slow by mid-season.
Another issue is that traditional periodisation often leads to unnecessary fatigue. For example, a strict base phase might have you logging long, slow distance workouts for months. By the time intensity is introduced, some athletes are already mentally and physically worn down. Piling on volume for volume’s sake can sap your energy before you ever get to use that fitness.
Traditional plans also often use fixed cycles like “3 weeks hard, 1 week easy” as a blanket rule. While the intention is to prevent overtraining by scheduling recovery, in practice it can misfire. Not every fourth week is when you actually need a down week, but the plan forces it regardless. A cookie-cutter 3:1 cycle “wastes valuable training hours by forcing a break whether the athlete needs it or not… A full down week every month means 25% of training time is underutilised.” If you’re feeling great and don’t need a rest yet, an imposed easy week can stagnate your momentum. Conversely, if you’re exhausted or busy, you might need a rest sooner than scheduled, but a rigid plan might pressure you to keep pushing since it’s not “recovery week” yet. This one-size-fits-all approach ignores the individual and day-to-day variability.
To be clear, periodisation is not useless. Having a structure is better than random training. But blindly following an inflexible plan can be counterproductive. Obsessing over perfect adherence to a plan can do more harm than good. The body doesn’t know the difference between a planned recovery week and an unplanned one, it only knows whether it’s over-fatigued or not. Modern coaching is increasingly about listening to those signals rather than the calendar.
Flexibility and “Reverse” Periodisation
So what’s the alternative? We advocate for a more flexible, athlete-centric approach to structuring the season. Instead of starting with high volume and low intensity, you start with higher intensity and strength work, and add volume later. This approach emerged from real-world needs, particularly for time-crunched athletes and those who can’t afford to spend months on base training. Triathletes have to juggle three disciplines, so efficiency is paramount.
Using this reverse periodisation approach, early season training focuses on building your engine with quality over quantity. Instead of logging big mileage in January, an athlete might be doing frequent but shorter sessions: hill repeats, swim technique and strength, bike power intervals, fast brick runs, etc. Endurance (the long miles) will come later, but first you get strong, fast, and efficient. The logic is that endurance is actually easier and less time-intensive to develop once you have a solid foundation of technique and high-end fitness. One of the biggest misconceptions is that you need “endless long sessions throughout the year.” In reality, “endurance is easy to build” once you’ve established strength and efficiency. We at Sense Endurance typically focus on truly long workouts only in the final weeks before an event to ensure that the athlete arrives fresh, not exhausted.
Another hallmark of our approach is continuous adaptation. Rather than pre-planning months of workouts in rigid detail, the training schedule is adjusted dynamically based on the athlete’s feedback and performance. We value coach–athlete communication and the athlete learning to “train as you feel.” If an athlete is showing signs of excessive fatigue or life stress, we will insert rest when it’s needed, not when the calendar says. Conversely, if the athlete is handling training well, we might extend a block or push a bit more. We explicitly reject fixed weekly templates like “Mondays off” or “hard for 3 weeks, then easy.” In our approach, an athlete “never loses momentum but never overreaches to the point of breakdown”. For instance, instead of a mandatory rest day every Wednesday, you rest when your body or schedule truly calls for it. This flexible method aims to maximise the volume of quality training while minimizing junk miles or forced downtime. It’s a direct antithesis to the idea of sticking to a schedule at all costs.
Importantly, this approach still respects the concept of peaking for key races. It’s not suggesting you hammer at 100% intensity all the time.
Racing as a Training Tool
One distinctive element of our approach is the use of racing itself as a form of training. This serves multiple purposes:
Benchmarking and Feedback: Your C or B race can reveal how your training is progressing. There’s nothing like a race to expose weaknesses. Maybe your swim lost form under pressure, or your fueling plan didn’t work, or you struggled on hills. These insights allow you to adjust your training before the A race. You shouldn’t wait until your A race to find out how you cope with race conditions. Low-priority races are those tests.
Gaining Race Experience: Especially for newer triathletes, doing a few lower-key races is invaluable for learning the ropes. You practice sighting in open water, dealing with a crowded transition, pacing when excited, and managing nerves. By the time you get to your A race, you’ve gone through the routine and can execute more smoothly. Even veteran athletes benefit from an occasional tune-up race to stay sharp. This is why many coaches recommend including some shorter events or single-sport races (like a 5K run or a century ride) as C races.
Motivation and Hard Training Stimulus: A race will push you harder than almost any solo workout. Stepping onto a start line, you’re likely to tap into an extra gear. By racing in the red occasionally, you induce fitness adaptations (especially at high intensity) that are tough to get otherwise. For instance, doing an all-out sprint triathlon can greatly boost your anaerobic capacity and speed, which will pay dividends even in a longer race. The key is that these races are planned and recovery is accounted for, so they contribute to the big picture rather than detract.
Practicing Nutrition and Strategy: There’s no better place to refine your race nutrition and pacing strategy than in an actual race. Use C and B races to test that new hydration mix, or to see if going out a bit slower leads to a stronger finish. Treat each as an experiment. It’s far better to discover at a low-stakes race that a certain gel upsets your stomach than to have that happen during your goal Ironman. Likewise, you can rehearse how you’ll execute transitions, what gear setup works best, and even things like travel logistics or pre-race meals. By A race day, you’ll have a well-oiled routine.
When incorporating training races, set appropriate expectations. Approach them with a mindset of learning and pushing hard, but don’t pin your self-worth or season success on the result. You might be going into them tired from training, so acknowledge that a personal best is unlikely. In a C race you still give a hard honest effort, but if you finish slower because you didn’t taper, that’s expected and fine.
One caution: avoid the temptation to race too often or too long, thinking more is always better. Racing every weekend or doing back-to-back long races can indeed lead to diminishing returns. Your body needs some time to recover and absorb gains from a race effort. How much time depends on the race’s distance and intensity. As mentioned earlier, a full Ironman might need a month or more of lighter training to bounce back from, whereas a sprint triathlon might only knock you out for a few days. If you stack races without recovery, you risk accumulating fatigue rather than fitness.
Tapering Smartly for Your A Races
One of the most critical parts of season planning is the taper into an A race, and how you handle (or skip) tapering for lower priority races. A well-designed taper yields significant performance gains.
For A races, a taper is indispensable. The specifics can vary, but common principles include: cutting down total training volume by somewhere around 40–60%, maintaining training frequency (so you don’t lose “feel” for the sport), and keeping some intensity (short bursts) to stay sharp.
For B races, you generally do a “mini-taper” or quick freshen-up. That could be as short as taking the day before the race off, or a few easy days leading in. You won’t be in peak form, but you give yourself just enough respite to race hard and get a good stimulus.
For C races, as mentioned, typically no taper. You fold the event into your training plan. Perhaps you do a normal training week and just treat the race day as that day’s workout. It’s not uncommon to see athletes run a 5K or sprint tri as a workout during Ironman prep; they might bike long the day prior, show up to the sprint triathlon with fatigue, race it all-out, and then maybe even ride or run more later that day to hit their training volume. These kinds of “race workouts” are tough but can yield big fitness gains and resilience. Just use them sparingly and ensure proper recovery afterward.
Staying Adaptable: The Anti-Rigid Season Plan
Perhaps the biggest takeaway from our methodology is the importance of being adaptable and keeping things in perspective. It’s good to have a season plan by identifying your A, B, C races and broad phases of training but it should not feel like a prison. As the season progresses, be ready to tweak your plan based on reality. If you get injured, you might need to change your A race or add a new B race once recovered. If you find you’re ahead of schedule fitness-wise, you might up your goals or conversely, if behind, you adjust expectations.
Consistency is key, but consistency doesn’t mean rigidity. This could mean adjusting your training on a given day (listening to your body and backing off if needed), or adjusting the whole season roadmap if life throws a curveball. Age-group triathletes in particular must integrate training into complex lives. One month you might be able to train 12 hours a week; another month a work project might limit you to 6 hours. A rigid plan might crumble in such scenarios, whereas a flexible mindset will seek solutions (maybe more intensity during the busy period, since volume is down, for example).
An adaptable approach also helps manage the inevitable mental stresses of a long season. If you treat your plan as gospel, any deviation (illness, missed sessions, sub-par race) can induce panic or a sense of failure. We encourage athletes to see the plan as a living document, guided by principles but adjustable. For instance, if you wake up feeling extremely run-down on a day that’s supposed to be a hard workout, we will reschedule that workout or adjust its intensity rather than slog through it poorly and risk illness. One missed or adjusted workout won’t negate months of consistency. Adaptability is not a sign of weakness; it’s a hallmark of intelligent training.
Mindset: Treating Your “A” Race as Just Another Race (JAR)
When the season plan finally brings you to that all-important A race, it’s natural to feel pressure. You’ve circled this date on the calendar for a long time. However, one of Brett Sutton’s famous pieces of advice for big races, even the Ironman World Championship in Kona, is captured by the acronym J.A.R.: Just Another Race. This mindset doesn’t mean the race isn’t special or that you shouldn’t care; rather, it’s about controlling the hype and expectations so you can execute without psychological weight on your shoulders.
Sutton observes that athletes often get to a major race and psyche themselves out by treating it as a do-or-die, once-in-a-lifetime quest. They may depart from their normal routines, freak out about conditions, or set unrealistic outcome goals (“I must hit X time or place”). This can lead to poor decisions on race day, like not adjusting pacing when weather is adverse, or burning too many matches early because “this is the big one.” Approach your A race much like you would any other race in terms of mindset. Control what you can control, race the day that’s in front of you, and don’t make it a mythical monster in your head. If you can adopt the JAR mentality, you’re more likely to stay calm, make smart adjustments, and ultimately perform better.
This perspective is healthy also for after the race. If things don’t go perfectly in your A race, it’s not the end of the world. You learn and move on to the next. By not elevating the race to an unattainable pedestal, you free yourself to actually enjoy it and flow with the day. Many athletes find that when they remove the self-imposed pressure, they finally deliver the performance they’re capable of. Confidence and composure are the quiet companions of a well-structured season. You’ve done the work, had practice races to hone your skills, and now you simply execute. Whether it’s the local tri or the World Championship, the process is the same: swim, bike, and run to the best of your ability.
As a final note on mindset: while we categorise races into A, B, C to prioritise our efforts, remember that every finish line is an accomplishment. C races done as training can still be celebrated as milestones. B races that don’t go perfectly can be reframed as valuable lessons. And an A race that falls short of your goal time might still be a personal victory in other ways (overcoming adversity, setting a personal best, etc.). We want athletes to succeed, but also to enjoy the sport and stay in it for the long haul. That means avoiding the boom-and-bust cycle of overtraining that rigid planning can cause, and keeping perspective that we do triathlon for personal challenge and fulfillment.
Bringing It All Together: Planning Your Season Like a Pro (Even If You’re Not)
To structure your season with A, B, and C races effectively, consider the following practical steps:
Set Your A Race Goals: Identify one or a few pinnacle events for the year. These should be the races that excite you the most or suit your strengths (or perhaps scare you a bit in a good way!). Ensure they are spaced out enough to allow full build and recovery. For example, if you want two A races, you might target one in early summer and one in fall. Or one midseason, one late season. Having an off-season or at least several weeks of active recovery after an A race is wise. Reset and rebuild for the second peak, rather than trying to hold peak form continuously. We try to avoid seasons any longer than 22 weeks because any longer without a serious break affects adaptibility, and strive for blocks of effective building towards A-races of 15 weeks. Of course, here, flexibility is still key.
Choose B and C Races to Complement Your A Goals: Pick out some smaller events that will serve as stepping stones. Ideally, they should align with your build-up. For instance, a sprint or Olympic triathlon a couple months out can be a great hit-out before a 70.3. A 70.3 itself often serves as a B race about 6–8 weeks before a full Ironman. These intermediate races help you gauge readiness and break up long training blocks. Also, consider variety: you can include single-sport events as well. Just treat those with the same A/B/C logic (e.g., the half-marathon might be a B race if your run is a focus).
Sketch a Training Roadmap (But Keep It Flexible): Outline generally how you’ll train through the year. For example, you might plan an early-season focus on speed/technique (as per reverse periodisation), then gradually extend endurance. Mark down roughly when your heavy training weeks will be and when you’ll taper. However, be ready to revise this plan as needed. Think of it as a pencil sketch, not an inked drawing. If by mid-season you see you need more work on biking, you might insert another bike-focused block or an extra cycling race. If you’re feeling ahead of schedule, you could afford a little mid-season break to avoid peaking too early. Regular check-ins with a coach or an honest self-assessment can guide these tweaks.
Use Races Strategically in Training: As each B or C race comes, integrate it into your training plan thoughtfully. Decide if you will taper slightly or not at all. Plan the week prior accordingly (for example, you might do normal training until three days out from a B race, then ease up). Also plan the week after. A hard race effort will likely require some recovery or at least a few easy days. Avoid the mistake of racing hard and then immediately resuming intense training as if nothing happened; that’s a recipe for injury. Instead, absorb the benefits of the race by recovering from it. Many athletes schedule a light week or at least a mid-week rest day after a B race. Remember, fitness gains happen when your body recovers from hard stimulus.
Monitor and Adapt: Throughout the season, pay attention to your body and results. If you had a fantastic B race and felt strong, that’s a sign your training is on track, maybe even that you could aim higher in your A race. If you struggled, figure out why: Was it nutrition? Lack of rest? A niggling injury? Address those in the remaining weeks. Adapt your training blocks if needed. They are not set in stone. If you find yourself overly fatigued or see signs of overtraining, don’t hesitate to insert extra recovery days or weeks. It’s better to arrive at the start under-trained but healthy than overtrained and broken.
Keep the Big Picture in Mind: All season long, remind yourself of the purpose of each phase and each race. This prevents the common trap of deviating from the plan out of impatience. For example, during what is meant to be a lower-intensity period, don’t suddenly throw in a random marathon “because you felt like it,” as that could jeopardise the structured build (unless, of course, you consciously re-evaluate and decide it fits). Conversely, when it’s time to go hard or race, commit to it. Don’t hold back all the time out of fear of fatigue, or you’ll never reach that peak. Trust the process, but also trust your instincts enough to adjust the process when reality disagrees with theory.
By following these steps, you create a season that has direction and focus but also enough flexibility to handle the unexpected. This approach is very much in line with what we preach: consistency, adaptability, and purposeful training.
Conclusion
Structuring a triathlon season with A, B, and C races is both an art and a science. The art lies in knowing yourself, your motivations, your limits, your life context, and tailoring the plan to fit. The science lies in applying principles of training periodisation, tapering, and recovery in an evidence-based way to maximise performance. The Sense Endurance coaching principles we’ve discussed boil down to common-sense ideas: focus on what brings results (not just what tradition says), use races and high-intensity work as potent tools, avoid the trap of rigid schedules, and always prioritise sustainable progress over time. They remind us that racing can be an integral part of training and that being adaptable is a strength, not a weakness.
By prioritising key races, you ensure you’ll be at your best when it counts. By peppering the schedule with lower-priority races used as training, you gain experience and fitness while keeping things fun. By rejecting a one-size-fits-all formula, you give yourself room to thrive in the real world’s messy schedule. And by maintaining a grounded mindset, you perform with less stress and more consistency. This approach isn’t about throwing away all structure; it’s about applying theright structure: one that is dynamic and athlete-centered.
As you plan your next season, remember that the ultimate goal is to improve and enjoy the journey. A well-structured season should leave you fitter, faster, and hungrier by the end. Set those A race goals, map out your training phases, line up a few tune-up races, and get to work. By the time you hit that A race finish line, you’ll not only have achieved peak performance, but you’ll also appreciate all the steps (and missteps) that got you there. After all, every race is just another step in your growth as a triathlete.