Full Distance / Ironman Training Plans
A finish built on structure, not survival.
3.8 km swim. 180 km bike. 42.2 km run. Full distance rewards the athlete who arrived prepared, and punishes the one who didn't, more than any other distance in the sport. This plan is built for triathletes training around a full life, not a training-only existence, who still want to arrive at the start line genuinely ready rather than just having logged the hours.
Who this is for
Time-crunched age-group triathletes balancing full distance training with full-time work and family life. Suited to first-time full-distance athletes who want the volume built around what their week can actually hold, and to repeat finishers who want their next build to feel less chaotic than the last one.
What a full distance block actually asks of you
The distance is not the hard part. The consistency is. A full distance build works because of what you do in weeks four, nine and fourteen, when nothing feels like progress and the race is still months away.
This plan is built for athletes with jobs and families, so it is designed around the hours you can repeat every week rather than the hours you could manage in a good one. Strength work runs from week one and stays, because durability over 226 km is a structural quality rather than a fitness one. Fuelling is practised in training at the rates you will need on the day, since a stomach that has never handled it will not learn on race morning.
If your available hours are genuinely limited, read the time-crunched section below before assuming this distance is out of reach. It usually is not.
Our approach
Strength work runs throughout the block rather than disappearing once volume increases, since full-distance racing is won as much by what holds up in the final hours as by outright fitness. Calm, deliberate execution over chaos, on race day and through the training that gets you there.
Block length
15 or 22 weeks, depending on your starting fitness and how much lead-in time you have before race day.
Structured for how you train
Each distance is available in four combinations, so you can train exactly how your equipment and usual approach support, swim is guided by RPE and pace throughout, with bike and run structured to match your setup:
Bike Heart Rate, Run Heart Rate
Bike Power, Run Heart Rate
Bike Power, Run Pace
Bike Power, Run Power
What's included
Fully structured swim, bike, and run sessions, built specifically for the 3.8 km / 180 km / 42.2 km distances
Strength work built into the block from week one
Unlimited email support, direct to the coach who built the plan
Delivered through TrainingPeaks, structured from day one
Sample Week
| Day | Discipline | Session | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | Swim + Bike | Endurance swim + VO2 max ride | 1:20:00 + 1:46:00 |
| Tue | Run + Strength | Comfortable run with hill repeats + strength | 1:30:00 |
| Wed | Swim + Bike | VO2 max swim + relaxed endurance ride | 1:05:00 + 1:40:00 |
| Thu | Run + Strength | VO2 max run, comfortable effort + strength | 1:32:00 |
| Fri | Swim | Strength endurance swim, pull buoy work | 1:25:00 |
| Sat | Brick + Run + Strength | Bike-to-run brick, comfortable effort + strength | 2:16:00 + 1:05:00 |
| Sun | Bike + Strength | Long ride, easy effort + strength | 3:00:00 |
Price: $150 for 22 weeks, $120 for 15 weeks
Time-Crunched Plans
A shorter path for a tighter schedule
Not everyone building toward the full distance has room for a full 22-week block, or needs the full 15 weeks to get there. The Time-Crunched plan compresses the same structured approach, swim, bike, run, strength, into a focused 15-week build for athletes training around genuinely limited hours, without cutting the sessions that actually matter to prioritise volume you don't have time for anyway.
Price: $120
“Third Ironman, first time I finished feeling like I had something left.”
— Grace