Hi there, my first post and a apology to start with , I’m aware the “what training plan” question have been done to death but I find myself in a bit of a ponder, I have 3 A races this year, my aim is to podium at 3 age group national championships in the U.K at various distances, my races are
Standard dist. tri June 9th - Sprint tri (Draft legal) 15th June and Middle Distance Tri 16Th of August I have done Low volume ssb1 and 2 and now moved onto mid tri dist. base mid volume - I plan to move onto mid dist. tri build and then specialty ending in time for my first race (standard dist. tri June 9th) from there on in I plan to work backwards from my middle distance tri and copy the remaining weeks of middle distance tri specialty in, my previous background is from standard distance triathlon , my thoughts are that I will probably be slightly underprepared for the sprint tri but shouldn’t loose out for the standard distance, what would others do in this situation ? should I mix things up a bit more leave things as they are or totally chance my outlook to the entire process ? , thanks in advance , Jono
Do you mean the 18th August? If it is it looks like you’ve got 9 weeks between the sprint and the HIM.
I think I’d try to aim to do a Base and Build to finish for the Oly Championships and either use the last week of the Build, or a taper week from one of the Speciality plans, to lead into it. You could recover/tick over, or maybe just repeat the recovery week, before the Sprint and then give yourself another easy/recovery week from those two races before starting the Speciality plan for the HIM.
I would think that the Mid Distance Plans would be the best option overall, especially if you are following the low volume plans. Some of the hour long HIM rides have a pretty high IF and would prepare you well enough for the shorter races.
When you say “middle distance tri specialty” are you talking about “Half Distance” or “Olympic distance”? I’ll go with the assumption that you mean “Half Distance”.
If you really dive into the Mid Volume plans for Half Distance vs. Olympic, there’s not too much difference in the workouts in terms of maximum length and target powers. The primary difference is the number of rides, and there’s a small difference in IF of your longer rides as you might expect since the Half will be a lower IF ride than the 40K or sprint.
Have you thought about doing the Oly HV build and specialty plans (just for the bike)? That gives you a bit more intensity which is suitable for the Oly and Sprint race, while increasing the volume a little bit to prep you for the Half.
You could do something like:
Base → Oly HV Build → Oly HV Specialty → (recovery/sprint race week) → Half MV Specialty
That’d add less than an hour of riding per week over the Half MV plans, but give you more intensity appropriate to the shorter races, and still leave you well-prepared for the longer, less intense effort of the Half as well.
If you don’t want the added volume from that plan, then I think your idea is pretty sound:
Base → Half MV Build → Half MV Specialty → (recovery/sprint race) → Half MV Specialty
Bottom line, it’s tough to be optimally prepared for three different distances and three different race types in a single season, particularly with that little time apart. I would pick ONE event that really wanted to be the “A” event, and train to that, accepting that I might be a little bit less specialized for the other two. In your case, it seems like the Half is your focus, so yes, I would expect that your top end may not be optimal for the sprint race. As long as you’re OK with that, either of the above plans probably works.
Thanks - yes my mistake race is 18th of Aug ,and correct by middle distance i was implying half distance - ive not looked or compared any of the high volume plans , I will have a scan of them and compare , as it happens im only picking the bike workouts from the plans as I have my own ideas for the swim and run but there handy to pick up some new ideas!- , I stand my highest chance of a first place at the standard distance so am hoping my previous experiance will help me in this race. I will need to work the hardest for the middle, so this is why I have concentrated on the middle, the sprint is a odd one for me , I move up age groups next year so feel this is my biggest chance to podium at all 3 distances but it may be a tall ask without that intensity for the shorter race
I did think about entering the middle distance champs but it’s a long way from the South coast!
I think that Sprint race is going to be the toughest one to prepare for because it’s draft legal and you’re not really going to train that kind of racing. Then again, if you’re a strong swimmer and can get out with the lead group, just take your turn on the pulls and save your legs for the run. But what do I know? I got my ass handed to me in my first draft-legal oly several years ago, ha! My advice: don’t get caught on the front when the attack happens. 
I had it in my head when I moved up age cat i was going for all 3 events either brit champs or national way before the announcement , Leeds and Nottingham arnt a million miles away whereas the brit champs I’d have some serious traveling for all 3 events rather than just the one , its a hell of a trek though your right , as it happens for a Scottish race it doesn’t look over hilly, there’s a out leg a loop and then a back on the same out leg , theres a big hill to climb and decend on the out an back but its mainly rolling so should suit my style , …Oly draft legal sounds like your into some top end racing there ! Id imagine I’ll be at the back of the first few swimmers out ,certainly not first out but maybe somewhere between 5th to 8th ? (Total guess) id like to think i can find some strong bikers who fancy pulling me round for the duration 
@JonoB can you update as to how your training and races went? I am setting up my calendar and training to do AGNats this August and I’d love to hear your thoughts. I am doing the Olympic distance as my A race and the Sprint the following day as my B. Many thanks!
@PattiPepper thanks for the interest, I had a good year in 2019, I managed to win my a/g and come 4th overall in the standard dist race which has been my favorite distance previously, the swim was canceled in the sprint to become a run bike run but I still managed to come 2nd in age group there and I came 3rd in the middle distance race, it was a horrible day weather wise but I never felt under trained on the bike during any of it this year I’m doing just 1 standard distance race this year and Ive always done my own swim/run sessions (with friends or a club or following a swim coaches advice) so I’m trying to use the ssb 1 and 2, sustained power build and 40k tt plan rather than the tri plan on low volume this year as it seems to have more intensity and I think I can handle the tss, I’d certainly have no issues repeating what I did for 2019 again and I think if you to go down the same route as I am or follow the standard distance plan Your’ll have no issues on the bike, the only thing I did find is by dragging my peak out an additional month I was real pleased to get my race out the way and I was properly burnt out for a good few months after, I took 1 month off and it took me an additional 3months to feel the love for training again, that sprint race the day after is going to be a propper baptism of fire I’d race the standard as hard as you can and just enjoy what you have left for the sprint the day after, just try not to get caught in any sprint finishes 
Wow, great results!
Did you stick with the Half Distance plans? Mid or High volume?
Mid volume, 70.3 plan but only did 3 of the 4 rides a week (missed petit out) due to time commitments, I tend to run and swim more than the trainer road plan asks
Curious if did any different training (bike wise) for a draft legal event? Never done one but my A event this year is draft legal and wonder if to change my bike training - any tips most welcome!
If your just racing draft legal or its your A race I found the racing to be more statocastic than a regular tri, I got in a working group of 4, whilst I was on the front I was well above f.t.p and when I was sat in only just bellow, and usually a good kick out the 180deg corners. the over unders on trainer road set me up well for this, I think bike fitness wise sitting on the turbo and following any of the plans will get you where you want bike fitness wise, what I would recommend is try to add some bike handling skills ;cornering, riding in a group, and learn to ride as tactically as you can, try time it so the other riders are working into any headwind etc if you can add this on top of any of the plans your’ll be fine, it was my first go at it this year too and I loved it!