Ask The Coach | Aquathlon Training | Question 3
Ronnie Janiola of Quezon City has been doing 10k runs regularly and is planning to do his first ever Aquathlon. The thing is, he only has 3 weeks to prepare for it. SWIMBIKERUN.ph and SBR Resident Coach Jojo Macalintal of TriMac Coaching is here to help him achieve that goal. Read on below to see his question and Coach Jomac’s answer.
From Ronnie Janiola, Quezon City
Good day coach,
Im thinking of doing my first aquathlon. on march 12. Its a 400m swim with a 3k run.
Could you please suggest a training plan for me? 3 weeks training would that be enough? or should i pass on this one and train more first?
I haven’t been swimming for quite some time now and am mostly running 10k distances the past months.
Thank you.
COACH JOMAC:
Hi Ronnie,
If you have been running 10k’s regularly and you are confident in your swimming skills, you can definitely handle a 400m swim and 3km run in three weeks time. But if you are unsure of your swim skills, you can try these sample workouts for a week and gauge yourself first. If you cannot accomplish the swim workouts successfully, consider trying another aquathlon later in the future when you have more time to prepare.
Week 1
Swim session # 1
8 x 25m warmup swim, rest 15 seconds between
4 x 25m easy kick (you may use a kickboard), rest 15s between
4 x 50m moderate effort swim, rest 20s between
2 x 50m easy kick, rest 20s
4 x 25m hard effort swim, rest 30-40s between
2 x 25m easy kick cool down
Run session # 1
Run 5km easy to moderate effort
Swim session # 2
8 x 25m warmup swim, rest 15s between
4 x 25m easy kick, rest 15s between
6 x 50m moderate effort swim, rest 20s between
6 x 25m hard effort swim, rest 30-40s between
2 x 25m easy kick cool down
Run session # 2
Warmup: 10 minutes jog, then do 6 x 30 second efforts, jog 30sec easy between
Main: 8 x 200m hard effort, recover 200m jog between
Cool down: 10 minutes easy jog or walk, and do stretching
Swim session # 3
4 x 50m warmup swim, rest 20s between
2 x 50m easy kick, rest 20s between
12 x 25m hard effort swim, rest 30-40s between
4 x 25m hard effort kick, rest 30-40s between
2 x 50m cool down swim
Run session # 3
Run 30 minutes (5 minutes easy, 10 minutes moderate, 10 minutes hard, 5 minutes easy)
Week # 2
Swim #1
4 x 50m warmup swim, rest 15s between
2 x 50m easy kick, rest 15s between
2 x 100m moderate swim, rest 30s between
8 x 25m hard effort swim, rest 30s between
2 x 50m cool down swim
Run #1
Run 5km easy to moderate effort
Swim #2
4 x 50m warmup swim, rest 15s between
2 x 50m easy kick, rest 15s between
4 x 50m swim (25m hard, 25m easy), rest 40s between
2 x 100m swim (25m hard, 75m easy), rest 45s between
4 x 25m hard effort swim, rest 30s between
2 x 50m cool down kick
Run #2
Warmup: 10 minutes jog, then do 6 x 30 second efforts, jog 30sec easy between
Main: 10 x 200m hard effort, recover 200m easy jog between
Cool down: 10 minutes easy jog or walk, and do stretching
Swim to Run
2 x 50m warmup swim, rest 15s between
2 x 50m easy kick, rest 15s between
1 x 200m swim moderate
1 x 100m kick moderate
2 x 100m swim (25m hard, 75m easy), rest 45s between
4 x 25m hard effort swim, rest 30s between
then run 10 minutes steady effort immediately after
Run session # 3
Run 30 minutes (5 minutes easy, 10 minutes moderate, 10 minutes hard, 5 minutes easy)
Week #3 (Race Week)
Swim #1
8 x 25m swim, alternate easy and hard, rest 30s between
4 x 50m moderate swim, rest 10s between
1 x 100m hard effort swim
4 x 50m easy kick cool down
Run #1
Warmup: 10 minutes jog, then do 6 x 30 second efforts, jog 30sec easy between
Main: 10 x 100m @3k-race effort, recover 100m easy jog between
Cool down: 10 minutes easy jog or walk, and do stretching
Swim to Run (3 days before race)
10 x 25m swim, alternate easy and hard, rest 30s between
1 x 100m hard effort swim
then run 5minutes at race effort immediately after
Rest (2 days before race)
Run #2 (day before race)
15 minutes jog, insert 6 x 30seconds race pace efforts, jog 30seconds easy between
stretch after
Race Day
After registration, body marking, fixing your transition area and knowing the rules/ route and start time, you can do the following warm up:
Run first, do easy 5 minutes then do 8 x 25m race pace efforts, then jog or walk back in between
Swim 4 x 25m, alternate easy and hard effort, rest 30s between
Good luck!
