Following on from my full-distance Ironman plan, quite a few of you asked for the same thing focused on the 70.3, also known as the half Ironman or middle distance. It's all the same, and I think it's a great distance. You can do more of them in a year, it's less taxing on the body for obvious reasons, and it doesn't take up your whole weekend of training. Two to three races a season is probably enough.
Ideally you have some sort of background in sprint or Olympic distance, which helps. It's fine if you haven't, and you've just entered a 70.3 and want to know where to start. This article gives you some pre-context, how many hours you realistically need, and a simple three-block structure, and you can then dive into deeper training strategies down the line.
The first thing is to understand the demands of the race, without getting too sciencey, because we'll lose everyone along the way. Demands are key: you work backwards from them.
Start With the Race Demands
A 70.3 is a 4 to 7 hour event. It can take some people up to 8 hours, and I'm trying to cover all bases here. Fast amateurs do it in around 4 hours, and the professionals do it in about 3 and a half hours.
The effort is mid to upper tempo, which you'll hear thrown around quite a lot. It's basically your upper aerobic zone. It's not super hard, but you go harder than you would in an Ironman, over a much shorter time. You sometimes go over that magical threshold, which you'll find out in field testing, and which moves and changes as you get fitter.
Start With You: Strengths, Weaknesses and Testing
A good place to start, a bit like a business, is working out where you stand. We're all different, so work out your strengths and weaknesses. We all have different backgrounds and injury histories. You might come from a swimming, cycling or running background, and it all feeds in.
Male versus female matters too: the training is slightly different, and it's not one size fits all. Age is mainly about recovery. I don't give any boundaries on age. We can all keep doing this into our 70s and 80s, and my oldest athlete is 68, still running marathon distance and half Ironmans. The full distance is where we need to be more careful: it's much more erosive on the body, the training takes so much focus in terms of hours, and the recovery is much longer.
Perhaps the best place to start, if you haven't already, is field testing in the swim, bike and run, and then setting your training zones. This doesn't have to be complicated. Use a platform like TrainingPeaks and just get your basic training zones based off your three disciplines. I think that's crucial. Our calculators can help you get started.
How Many Hours a Week Should You Train for a 70.3?
As a rough idea, this isn't set in stone, and plenty of people do way more:
- First-timer: 6 to 8 hours a week. You'll be absolutely fine.
- Intermediate: roughly 8 to 10 hours a week.
- Performance: anywhere from 12 to 14 hours a week.
Then make the most important thing the most important thing. That's probably the bike, but remember the classic saying: you bike for show and you run for dough. If you go too hard on the bike in racing, your run will suck.
You're on the road for 4 to 7 hours, so fuelling and hydration are really important for the 70.3. Watch my other videos on that. For more on how the hours are best used, read Train Smarter, Not Longer.
The Plan: Three Six-Week Blocks
I think we should break it up into three six-week blocks, which is an 18-week plan. Grab a pen and paper. You can shorten these durations depending on how far out from the race you are.
Block 1 (weeks 1 to 6): build basic endurance and get strong
In the first six weeks we're just going to build basic endurance and get strong. I think this is key. Get strong, girls and boys, no matter what your age. Older athletes need to pay more attention to it: there's a big emphasis on strength for injury prevention and for the loss of muscle mass from endurance training.
That could be gym work for some, or Pilates, because you have a weak calf, or it could simply be training on hilly terrain. Aim for basic endurance for at least six weeks. This is also the time to bring in the hydration and fuelling, which is crucial.
Block 2 (weeks 7 to 12): get more specific, add volume and intensity
Block two starts to get a little more specific. We maintain our strength, add some volume (a little more duration to each swim, bike and run), and do one, maybe two, types of intensity session per week. Here's an example:
- Bike: 3 to 8 minute VO2 efforts, which are very difficult, as best-effort intervals. Do 3 to 5 of them.
- Run: one track session, with 800 m and/or 1 km reps, 6 to 8 of them.
- Swim: two to three times a week. It might seem quite low, but I'm trying to average it out for most of us, because you're going to be quite tired. One swim can be a continuous 2 km, another 20 by 100 m with paddles and pull buoy, and the third more endurance-focused, moderate to hard. It doesn't take up too much time, but it keeps your frequency higher than two.
Block 3 (weeks 13 to 18): race prep
The final block is race prep, and it's important to be specific. Specificity is crucial to the demands of the event. If the event has hills, you try to create that in your training, either artificially or by going outside. We decrease the intensity from block to block, but we always sprinkle some in, so we don't lose it: use it or lose it.
- Bike: at least a 2 to 3 hour ride (it can be a bit longer, depending on your availability) with 3 to 4 reps of 8 to 15 minutes at threshold, which is quite hard, around zone 4. In the last bike session I'd also add some strength: low cadence work at around 50 to 60 rpm, such as hill reps or over-gear work, at a tempo effort. For more experienced athletes, add 20 km time trial efforts at race pace, generally zone 3, which gives you a lot of conditioning in the last phase.
- Run: brick runs at a tempo effort, running off the bike close to the demands of the race. I also like to include a negative-split run of 14 to 16 km. We're not going right up to race distance, but a negative split (also known as a progressive run) means you start easy and finish really quickly. You build very good fitness over time.
- Swim: I haven't put a huge emphasis on the swim, because it's quite a small element at 1.9 km. Build on the 100s with paddles and pull buoy by moving to 10 by 200 m, and add 5 by 400 m to get a bit of race distance, at moderate to hard. Add an open water skills session as your third swim. If you don't have access to open water, or the season doesn't permit training through the winter, you can do it in a pool, with some technique skills mainly for recovery. I'll touch on open water skills in another video.
That's exactly what I use, with a little tweak thrown in and a sprinkling of intensity. It's the meat and potatoes of the plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many hours a week do you need to train for a 70.3?
As a rough guide: 6 to 8 hours for a first-timer, roughly 8 to 10 for an intermediate athlete, and 12 to 14 if you're going for performance. It's not set in stone, and a lot of people do more.
How long should a half Ironman training plan be?
I split it into three six-week blocks, 18 weeks in total: basic endurance and strength, then more specific work with volume and intensity, then race prep. You can shorten the blocks depending on how far out from the race you are.
What effort is a 70.3 raced at?
Mid to upper tempo, which is your upper aerobic zone. It's harder than an Ironman effort but over a much shorter time, and you sometimes go over threshold. Field testing will tell you where your threshold is, and it moves as you get fitter.
Am I too old to train for a half Ironman?
I don't give any boundaries on age. Age is mainly about recovery, and my oldest athlete is 68 and still running marathon distance and half Ironmans. Older athletes need to pay more attention to strength training, for injury prevention and to offset muscle loss.
Which discipline should I prioritise for a 70.3?
Make the most important thing the most important thing, which is probably the bike. But you bike for show and you run for dough: if you go too hard on the bike in racing, your run will suffer.
Final Thoughts: Work Backwards From the Race
Know the demands of the race, know yourself, test and set your zones, and build in three blocks: endurance and strength first, then volume and intensity, then race-specific work. If you want a full 70.3 plan that fits around your own week, read Build Your Own Half Ironman (70.3) Training Plan, or From Couch to 70.3 if it's your first.
If you find this daunting, get in touch and I'll gladly help.
