I am making the change from long course to short course for next year. Started doing triathlons in 2000 and raced 5 years of long course with an Ironman at the end of every year. Last two years have been short course, but not seriously racing. Sadly (or maybe not sadly…), I am at the point where life wont allow 20 hour training weeks any more- although I am sure I can still squeeze out 12-15. For those that have made the switch what advice do you have? Training used to be really simple for me. Ride 200-300 miles a week, run 40-50 and swim 2-3 times a week. No real intensity or variation. I am guessing short course training is quite a bit different, but maybe it isn’t. Any thoughts on how to best train or make the switch would be greatly appreciated. Specifically, how much weekly volume/distance in each sport, intensity, etc. Any other general thoughts would be appreciated as well. Thanks!
Your workouts are going to be shorter. Add a few speed workouts in each week. Also check out the websites of the races you are interested in doing, several of them now offer training plans. Don’t forget to reduce your calories- your races are 1/4 of what they used to be.
How long should my long bike and run be? I was thinking 10-12 for the run and 50 for the bike. Does this sound reasonable?