To complete... yes.

To complete comfortably... no

The best way to train is to fit in as much as possible in all disciplines from today. Every little bit helps in the end, so why limit yourself.

My thinking was that the lunchtime workouts were pretty rushed, so those should be runs since they require the least "get ready and shut down" time. As far as the weekends, since that was the only time I could workout for longer than 40 mins, it seemed like a good time to get my long run, and a long bike done.

Should I maybe skip the weekend run and opt for a swim instead?

That training volume certainly won't make for a comfortable day.
My question would be, is your goal to simply PR or build for stronger performances when your time frees up?

If you simply want to PR and you're only able to swim for 2 months, then I would do the bare minimum to feel comfortable enough for a 1.2 mile completion. The gains from bike/run training will show up stronger on your final time.

Of course, if your goal is to one day be competitive a balance in all three disciplines starting asap is the way to go.

Thanks for the input. I'd certainly like to PR, and once school is over I definitely want to become a more balance and faster triathlete. I guess for now I want what will make for the best finishing time.

Good question, that one really got me thinking. :)

No problem! Just don't tell my boss that I'm working harder on triathlon concerns.

My scattered thoughts;

-Your weekly max is 8 hours (assuming 3 hrs on Sat and Sun).
I take back what I said, if you consistently hit 8 hours, I believe you can finish comfortably. However, 3 hours two days in a row doesn't sound realistic or beneficial for recovery.

-Your only option is to run during the week during lunch for a total of 2 hrs per week.
If you could find a way to make one of your three sessions a bike session that would be huge. Also, given the short duration I would argue these sessions should be kept intense, above race pace.

-Weekends
Nail the longer, easy efforts and mix in a brick workout.

Overall- its a tough because when you have time to hit it harder (May and June) it isn't the best time to do so. Ideally, at that time you would have already built fitness and you be slowly ramping down.

Doesn't quite meet your constraints but here ya go:
Sunday- 1.5hr bike, 30min run, Monday- OFF, Tues- 40min run, Wed- 40min bike, Thurs- 40min run, Fri- 3 hour ride, Sat- 1 hour run

Thanks again!

Now you have me thinking. The reason that I can only workout during lunch is because my nights are consumed with family(not complaining) and school work. BUT...... I could shift the school work to my lunch hour for one day a week and not get too behind. That would allow me to have one night a week free for trainer time.......

So that would be 3 runs(2 short and one long), and 2 bikes(1 trainer and one long) a week until early May, then I can unleash.......

8 hours is just enough. I was doing 6-8hrs for about 3 months and did 2:09 OLY/4:45 HIM; both were average courses in terms of difficulty and speed.

The three months this was happening I was student teaching, which was about 50 hours a week (Maybe 60-65 if I had to correct an essay or something). I was also taking 12 hours of classes at a very difficult university, which also took up about 20-25hrs.

The only thing I would say be wary about is not the actual amount of training you're doing, but just the amount of the time you're "going". While I wasn't training a lot, the stress of teaching, being a student, being a president of a major club/org on campus with appx 100 members took its toll and I was just worn out after a while. I did very poorly in my races (in comparison to what i usually do) mid season when the stress was high and I wasn't much less fit than when I had my good races which were about 2-3 weeks after school was done for me, both as a student and teacher (freed up about 70hrs a week for me!)

Good luck

Thanks for the encouragement.

Eventually I'll get this triathlon thing figured out. Hopefully before my kid's grandkids have kids......... :)

I did my first 70.3 this summer on very little training volume compared to what most usually suggest on ST and it went surprisingly well.
Here's a rough summary of what I did in case it's useful. however it's definitely not what I would plan for.

My race was in early August and I also planned to do a marathon in April. They were my two target events.
I ran 3 times a week for most of the first 3 months of the year (one short, one medium, one long) but never swam and did very little cycling (I think a 1.5hr ride most weekends and an occasional short evening spin was about it). I doubt I did more than 6hrs any week in January, February or March. Then I picked up a minor hip injury and had to stop running in late March, missed the marathon and couldn't resume (with reduced volume) until the end of April. So in early April I started doing a little more cycling and a very small amount of swimming (one 45min swim each week). Due to long work hours and relationship commitments I was only doing maybe 5hrs a week and missing one or more planned sessions most weeks. In May I ramped up the cycling a bit more, still did very little swimming and tried to get running again but kept the volume low. For May and early June I typically did one 2-2.5hr weekend ride and a couple of short (40mins-60mins) high intensity rides each week. One of my long rides was a sportive on the road bike and I otherwise spent most time on old road bike which I had converted for tri with extensions and a forward saddle position. I was only running 2 or 3 times a week and my longest runs were only 10km (due to recovering hip problem). I did an Olympic triathlon at the end of May. That was my first triathlon and I felt very underprepared for the swim and run. The swim went surprisingly well given I had only swam that far (1500m) once in practice and had struggled a bit. In fact I went in half expecting to drown but actually came out of the water in the front 1/3 of the field. I was confident enough on the bike and it went fine. The run was tough, as expected but my hip held up and I finished reasonably strong.
In the middle of June I had a 2 week holiday away and training stopped with the exception of a single 1hr session on a treadmill and a few very short swims.
I returned from holidays with about 6 weeks to go to my 70.3. I continued to concentrate on cycling. I did a 2.5hr ride each weekend and one of them was a 70.3 bike leg as part of a relay team (okay, that took me more than 2.5hrs!) I raised my long runs to 15km by late July but only did two at that distance. I was still doing 3 runs most weeks. I was a lot more confident in my swim after the Olympic and continued to neglect this except for 3 longish (2-2.5km) open water sea swims to get used to sea conditions and ensure I could do the distance. Then I tapered a little for the last two weeks (probably not needed given the small training volume).

The race went really well. I paced the swim conservatively but was still disappointed to see it had taken me 45mins when I was aiming for about 38. However I later found out there was an error on the swim course and it had been over-length by around 350m. I was perfectly happy with 45mins for a 2.25km swim!
I started pretty fast on the bike and was slightly worried I might be overcooking it but I felt good throughout. 2h 54m for the bike. I had been worried about the run but felt okay leaving T2. I went out way too fast but got it under control after 500m or so and didn't do any real damage. I managed a better pace than I expected for the first 10km but then started to hurt and decided I'd have to drop it a little if I wanted to stay running all the way to the end. So I let it slide a little then maintained the slightly slower pace to within 1km of the finish then threw everything I had left into the remainder. I suffered for the last 5km or so but I was delighted with the time (about 5:50 having expected about 6:05-6:10).


Not sure why I just recounted my whole race! That wasn't the point really.
My point is that you can do fine with significantly less than the numbers of weekly training hours usually discussed on these forums.
It does depend a lot on your starting point and your expectations.

On limited time, I don't think it makes sense to dedicate much of that time to swimming. Certainly ensure you're capable enough not to be at risk during the event, but don't worry about being fast. The difference it will make to your swim time is likely to be very small compared to the difference it could make on your run and especially your cycle, if you spend more training time on those instead. The swim is the shortest leg of the race, and training is time consuming before you even include the time in the water when you include travelling to and from a pool, etc. Cycling requires the most time in training but the potential gains are pretty significant. Running sessions are usually the easiest to fit in as there's minimal prep time and you don't need to commit as much time on the road as cycling to make improvements.

I think your plan is good given the constraints but would be better if you could fit in at least one short mid week cycle or trainer session. Something short but at a higher intensity than your weekend ride. If you have a 3hr block of time to train on both weekend days then you could perhaps fit in a short swim before or after the run as the run need not exceed 1.5hrs.
If you can't then I think you're right to sacrifice the swim training until you have a bit more time. Then in the last 2 months concentrate primarily on the bike and do enough swimming to be confident, while maintaining the running.

Thanks a lot for the info! I am definitely a weak swimmer, but I am at least functional in the water.....

Thanks again.

It's all about commitment and sacrifice. Sleep earlier & wake up earlier to train. Forget about the lunchtime workouts if they are too hard to fit in. I have 3 small kids and a full time job. I'd wake up at 4am, train from 4:30am-6:30am, then get the kids ready for school. I'd get a lunchtime swim or run in if not too busy at work. How many hours can you truly commit everyday and on the weekends without making training a burden? I'd focus on one of the disciplines more, so you can see more improvement.

It's not just about commitment and sacrifice. Life is about balance, or it is for some of us.
I have no intention of spending my evenings in bed so I can get up at 4am and train. yes it might be a way to get faster, but it's also a good way to make myself miserable and single.

While I commend those who get up at 4am to train, I do not intend to join them and I think it's rather missing the point to suggest that everyone should aspire to this level of "commitment and sacrifice". It's possible for triathlon to be a big part of your life without demanding such extreme measures, especially for 70.3 and shorter distances. There's nothing wrong with deciding how much you're going to accommodate and setting your expectations accordingly. For example I'm signed up for my first IM next June and I don't plan to do more than 10hrs training a week for the majority of the intervening period. I may briefly peak around 12-13hrs. Will I put in a stunning performance that you'll all be highly impressed by? No. Does that matter? Not in the slightest. Will I be dangerously underprepared? I don't think so. I'm aiming for a time around 12.5hrs and I think that's feasible on the amount of training I have planned. We'll see. On the plus side, race day aside, my approach is probably more healthy. Excessive training volume does appear to hold some cardiac risk if recent studies are to be believed.

Everyone has different goals. Some want to finish, some want to podium, some want to improve every year. I'm just saying to set your expectations with what your training plan is. It's all about time management and quality of life.

Have you thought about Sprints and Olympics?

Why force a HIM on sub-optimal (hour-wise) training, when you can comfortably go shorter distance and be better prepared for it? On the bright side you will have a better racing experience and your family will appreciate you more. There is also a part, where you can do 3-5 shorter races for the same price as HIM.

I've done a few sprints and olys, and I do enjoy them also. For some reason, I have this fascination/obsession with the 70.3 distance(I also have this fascination to a much lesser degree with the 13.1 distance).

Ultimately I guess I'm just a masochist. Oh and I love chaos also.......