12 Week Sprint Triathlon Training Program + World Triathlon Bermuda!

Imagine your next tri swim in crystal clear, turquoise ocean water (rather than the mucky lakes most of us are used to swimming in).  Follow that up with a bike ride with coastal views of paradise, and a run along vibrant city streets. 

This can be your reality with the upcoming ITU World Triathlon Bermuda event! 

{And I’ve even got a sweet 12 week sprint triathlon training program at the bottom to hook you up with if you’re thinking about making this your first tri.}

The ITU series is making a stop this year for the first time in Bermuda on Saturday, April 28^th, 2018.  I’m personally hoping to swing a trip to this event, and can already feel my tri mojo kicking into full gear just thinking about it. 

By April, I’m sure all of us up here in the Northeast will be tired of the cold weather and grey days – and ready for a little fun in the sun.  Bermuda is only about a 2-hour flight from Boston, 90-minutes from NYC, and less than 3 hours from most other East Coast destinations. 

Just watch this – guaranteed to make you think about taking the plunge…

Don’t be fooled – just because it’s called the World Triathlon Bermuda doesn’t mean that it’s only for the pros.  While the race will attract its fair share of elite athletes, it’s also welcoming to first-timers and recreational triathletes.  If you’ve been tossing around the idea of trying a tri – what better excuse than going to Bermuda to tackle it?!

The event offers both a sprint and Olympic races with the following course distances:

• Olympic Distance = 1500m swim; 40km bike; 10km run (0.9 mile swim, 24.9 mile bike, 6.2 mile run)
• Sprint Distance = 750m swim; 20km bike; 5km run (0.45 mile swim, 12.5 mile bike, 3.1 mile run)

You can also check out the full course maps here.  It’s a loop course for the bike and run.  For each, sprint participants will do two laps and Olympic participants will do four.

One thing the course map doesn’t clearly show is a steep climb called Corkscrew Hill.  Apparently, this is a legs-burning, heart-beating-out-of-your-chest kinda challenge of a steep hill with hairpin turns.  According to their website, it offers “athletes an opportunity to test themselves while still being achievable.”  Bring it on, Bermuda!

Ready to race?  You can register for the event here.  I’ve also put together a sprint-distance training plan to help any of you new athletes get ready for this beautiful course.  If you start this 12 week sprint triathlon training plan the first week of February, it’ll bring you right up to race day.  {Scroll below to see full plan notes!}

12 Week Sprint Triathlon Training Program!

Who is this sprint distance training plan for?

This plan is for first-timers and beginners.  It will get you from “I’m not sure I can do this” to successfully crossing that finish line.  You should have at least a minimal level of fitness in each discipline – being able to swim a few laps in the pool, ride a bike for 20 minutes, and run for a mile – to start with this plan.  (If not, spend a few weeks working up to that first!).

For the Bermuda triathlon, you can start this plan on Monday, February 5th and it will bring you right up to race day on Saturday, April 28th.

If you’re using this for another event, you can simply schedule it 12 weeks out (hence the race option for Saturday OR Sunday).

How many workouts are in this 12-week sprint triathlon training program?

The plan includes 6 workouts per week – 2 swims, 2 bike workouts, and 2 runs.  If you need to cut down to 5 days of training, you can combine a swim day and a run day, and do one in the morning and one in the evening.  Or you can cut out a workout from the discipline you feel strongest in.

What about zones and heart rate?  Shouldn’t I use those?

The plan is focused on consistency of training.  While there are some speed sessions, we’re not going to worry about zones or heart rate or any of the fancy stuff.  Simply do the workouts regularly and comfortably, and you’ll be able to finish the race.

I did note some intensity levels on the workouts as general guidance.  If you think about your level of exertion (RPE) on a scale of 1-10 (1 being laying on a couch and 10 being an all-out sprint), here’s what the words in the training plan mean:

• Easy = 6
• Moderate = 7
• Tempo = 8
• Best Effort & Hill Climbs = 9-10

Swim Session Notes:

You can use the workouts as written for yards or meters, depending on whether your pool is a 25-yard or 25-meter length.  25 yards is around 23 meters, and for the purposes of this training plan there’s really no reason to worry about such a slight difference.

Use the following to guide pace for the swim workouts:

• Warm up/cool down – easy pace (RPE 5-6)
• Drills – easy pace focusing on form (RPE 5-6)
• 100’s – moderate pace (RPE 7)
• 200’s – tempo/threshold pace (RPE 8)
• 50’s – best effort (RPE 9-10)
• 75’s – best effort (RPE 9-10)

Use the following rest times for the swim workouts:

• Between drills – 10 seconds
• Between 100’s – 5-10 seconds
• Between 200’s – 30-45 seconds
• Between 75’s – 30-45 seconds
• Between 50’s – 30 seconds

Most of the swims have a warm up and cool down that should be done in your normal freestyle form at a comfortable pace. 

Drills refer to swimming a certain amount of time while working on a specific swim skill or weakness.  For the most simplistic way to approach this, think about different isolating movements for those drills – like focusing the first 25 on your kick, the second on arm movement, the third on your catch, and the fourth on breathing correctly.  For more advanced beginners, try these different types of drills, focusing on what you feel your weaknesses are:

• Thumb to thigh drill
• Catch up drill
• Closed fist drill
• Balance and rotation drill
• Fingertip drag drill
• Kick focus – work on flutter kick using kickboard
• Form focus – work on overall form using pull bouy

Cycling Session Notes:

For those of you in the Northeast, you can do your bike rides indoors if necessary due to weather.  A bike trainer is the easiest option, but if you don’t want to invest in one, ride the spin bikes at a gym.

There is some hill work built into the plan to help get you ready for the hills in your race.  You can do this outside by finding a hill you can ride up for a one-minute time frame.  If you are not riding outside, just increase the gear settings on the trainer or increase the resistance on a spin bike to simulate hills.

A brick refers to a bike ride followed immediately by a short run.

Running Session Notes:

It’s completely fine to add walking intervals to your runs as needed.

All this looks confusing.  I don’t understand intervals.  Do you have anything more basic?

Yes!  If you don’t feel comfortable or at the fitness level to include speed/hill sessions for any of the sessions, you simply change that day to a steady state workout that follows the same time frame.  It decreases the effectiveness of the training but it will still get you to the finish line successfully!

For example, if the plan calls for a 45 minute bike ride with 5×1 minute hill climbs with 2-3 min easy pedaling in between – just skip the hill climbs and do a comfortable 45 minute bike ride.

Any other questions?

Post ‘em in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer for you!

Share with me:  Have you ever done a sprint triathlon before?  Are you also thinking about doing this destination triathlon in Bermuda?  Have you followed this 12 week sprint triathlon training program?

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Chrissy Carroll

Chrissy Carroll is a Registered Dietitian and USAT Level I Triathlon Coach. She specializes in sharing nutrition and fitness tips, as well as recipes, for runners, triathletes, and active women.Chrissy holds a Bachelor's Degree in Nutrition, a Masters Degree in Public Health, and is also an ACSM Certified Personal Trainer.

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