Written by Overview
Welcome to Week 8!
(7 weeks to go)
We are back to the long run this week, with a small increase from Week 5’s run.
Topics & To-Dos
- Swim Skill–Feet Together: We’ve worked in past weeks on skills needed to help keep your feet near the surface of the water. This week we progress further with your feet by focusing on keeping them close together.
When your feet are far apart, you cause a large amount of drag and contribute to sinking legs.
Imagine your body swimming through a tube just big enough to move through–we want to keep our head, torso, and legs “in the tube” as much as possible. There are a few ways to improve your technique:
Focus on keeping your ankles close together. You do this by visualizing or use a small rubber tube to physically hold them together.
Initiate your kick from the hips rather than just from the knee. Visualize having your whole leg as a paddle instead of just your feet.
Focus on flexing your feet backwards as much as possible to create a straight(er) line with your leg instead of a 90 degree bend that you have while standing.
It’s hard to nail all these at once (especially with all the other elements of the stroke), but do just a bit in every session. This area is great to have a friend or coach film and give you feedback.
- Consistency and Logistics: Revisiting a topic first covered in Week 2–where can you improve your daily logistics to help execute your training sessions or make your non-training life run smoother? Can out outsource something? Are there any activities to decrease or stop? Can you batch any tasks?
Total Hours: 6h:30m
Swim: 1:20
Bike: 2:10
Run: 1:50
Strength: 1:10
MONDAY
Run 0:40
Endurance
- Warm up: 10 minutes starting in Zone 1, then into Zone 2
- Main: 30 minutes Zone 2 with 30 second strides every 10 minutes
Strength 0:35
- Whole body: 6-8 exercises, 2-3 sets each. See the Strength section in the Training Plan Overview for options.
TUESDAY
Bike 0:60
Endurance
- Warm up: 15 minutes starting in Zone 1, then into Zone 2
- Main: 40 minutes steady Zone 2, with 1 minute fast every 10 minutes
- Cool down: 5 minutes easy
WEDNESDAY
Swim 1100m, about 0:35
Endurance, shorter sets
- Warm up: 1 x 100, Zone 1-2
- Main:
- 14 x 50, Zone 2, rest 15-30 seconds between each
- For each odd numbered 50 (1st, 3rd, etc), focus on underwater exhaling. For each even numbered 50 (2nd, 4th, etc), focus on keeping your head down/feet up and keeping your feet close together as covered up in the Overview
- 1 x 100 fast! Put all those good technique focuses together
- Cool down: 1 x 100, relax Zone 1
THURSDAY
Run 0:70
Endurance
- Start: Begin well fueled and hydrated
- Warm up: 10 minutes starting in Zone 1, then into Zone 2
- Main: 60 minutes Zone 2, steady
Strength 0:35
- Whole body: 6-8 exercises, 2-3 sets each. See the Strength section in the Training Plan Overview for options.
FRIDAY
Swim 1600m,
about 0:45
Endurance, longer sets
- Warm up: 4 x 50, Zone 1-2
- Main: 1 x 250, 1 x 800, 1 x 250, Zone 2, rest 60 seconds in between. Focus on keeping your feet near the surface and together
- Cool down: 2 x 50, relax Zone 1
SATURDAY
Bike 0:70
Endurance
- Warm up: 15 minutes starting in Zone 1, then into Zone 2
- Main: 50 minutes steady upper Zone 2, focus on a smooth pedal stroke with few pauses/coasting
- Cool down: 5 minutes easy
SUNDAY
Day Off, or 
Hike/Walk, or 
Yoga/Mobility
Training Zones
Use this chart as a guide for how hard to work in each training session. This plan uses Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) or “feels like” to judge effort.
For those who want to train with heart race for the run and and heart rate and/or power on the bike, download an extended template here.
