Ironman training plan NZ: built to your race date and your hours

My Ironman training plan is built for NZ full-distance races like IRONMAN New Zealand, from your race date, your level and the hours you've got, and runs 16 to 24 weeks. It costs NZ$69 plus NZ$13 a week, so NZ$277 to NZ$381. Email me your answers to 11 short questions and it's delivered as structured workouts in TrainingPeaks.

Email me your answers to order your Ironman plan

What happens after you email

Within 2 days of your email, I reply with your plan, shared to your TrainingPeaks account, and an invoice for the price.

I share your plan from my TrainingPeaks plan library to the email on your account. You accept it and the sessions land on your calendar. Your account isn't connected to mine, so I can't see your training. A free account shows each session on its day. Premium, which you pay TrainingPeaks for, shows workouts ahead of the day and syncs them to Garmin, Wahoo and Zwift.

Once it's loaded, a missed session gets skipped, never stacked with another on one day.

What's in the plan

An Ironman plan of 16 to 24 weeks. You pick the length, and the last week holds your race day.
It's set from your answers: race date, plan length, level, the hours you train now, the most you can build to, and how many runs and swims a week.
Week 1 tests set your zones. Each week has a long ride, a long run, a bike quality session, a run quality session and a main swim, and the peak weeks have race-pace bricks.
A 2-week taper: an easier week, then a fixed race week with openers, rest days and a short pre-race brick.

Everything that goes into every plan is listed on the triathlon training plans page. Once it's delivered, the plan stays as written. There are no refunds, but if you're unhappy with how it's built, tell me once and I'll make a change. If you want someone reading your sessions and changing the plan as you go, that's coaching. The plan is the plan. Coaching is the coach.

Ironman plan price by weeks

The price is NZ$69 plus NZ$13 for each week, paid once, in NZ dollars.

Plan length	Price
16 weeks	NZ$277
17 weeks	NZ$290
18 weeks	NZ$303
19 weeks	NZ$316
20 weeks	NZ$329
21 weeks	NZ$342
22 weeks	NZ$355
23 weeks	NZ$368
24 weeks	NZ$381

When to start for IRONMAN New Zealand

Week 1 always starts on a Monday, and the last week holds race day.

Race	Race date	24-week plan starts	16-week plan starts
IRONMAN New Zealand, Taupō	Sat 06 Mar 2027	Mon 21 Sep 2026	Mon 16 Nov 2026

The 24-week start has passed. If the longest start has passed, your longest plan is the weeks left to race day. The calculator shows it for today. The latest start is Mon 16 Nov 2026 for 16 weeks. Check the race date with IRONMAN before you order.

IRONMAN New Zealand had 1,070 competitors in 2026. I finished 5th there in 2017.

Racing an Ironman overseas? The calculator below works out your start Monday and price for any race date.

Work out your plan start date and price

The prices and start dates are in the tables on this page. To order, email me your answers.

A real week from an Ironman plan

This is week 13 of a 20-week plan my generator built for an intermediate athlete racing IRONMAN New Zealand on 6 March 2027. They started at 9 hours a week, building to 14, with 3 runs and 2 swims a week. It's a build week, planned at 12.8 hours, and Monday is the rest day. That 20-week plan costs NZ$329.

Day	Sport	Session	Time	Details
Tue	Bike	Bike quality	1.25h	3-4 x 10-12min threshold
Wed	Swim	Main swim	1.0h	CSS 200-400s
Wed	Run	Easy run	0.75h	Z1-Z2 aerobic
Thu	Run	Run quality	1.0h	4-6 x 4-5min threshold
Thu	Bike	Easy bike	0.75h	Z1-Z2 aerobic
Fri	Swim	Easy swim	1.0h	Z1-Z2 aerobic
Fri	Strength	Strength	0.5h	Core + lower body
Sat	Bike	Long ride	4.5h	Z2 with 2-3 x 15-20min Z3
Sun	Run	Long run	2.0h	Z2 with last 20min Z3

Every week of the sample Ironman plan

Here's the whole 20-week plan, week by week. The longest ride and run come in week 18, then week 19 is the taper and week 20 is race week.

Week	Phase	Planned hours	Long ride	Long run
1	Base (testing week)	9.5h	2.5h	1.0h
2	Base	9.5h	2.75h	1.25h
3	Base	9.5h	2.75h	1.25h
4	Base (easier week)	6.5h	1.75h	0.75h
5	Base	10.8h	3.25h	1.5h
6	Base	10.8h	3.25h	1.5h
7	Base	11.2h	3.5h	1.5h
8	Build (easier week)	7.8h	2.25h	1.0h
9	Build	12.0h	4.0h	1.75h
10	Build	12.0h	4.0h	1.75h
11	Build	12.5h	4.25h	2.0h
12	Build (easier week)	8.8h	2.75h	1.25h
13	Build	12.8h	4.5h	2.0h
14	Build	13.2h	4.75h	2.25h
15	Peak	13.2h	5.0h	2.25h
16	Peak (easier week)	8.8h	3.0h	1.5h
17	Peak	13.8h	5.25h	2.5h
18	Peak	14.0h	5.5h	2.5h
19	Taper	8.2h	2.75h	1.25h
20	Race week	2.2h	Race	Race

Which level am I?

Your level sets the long ride, the long run and the quality sessions. The last column is what those 5 key sessions add up to in your biggest week. If the most hours you can build to is under it, pick the lower level. Your easy runs and swims come on top. If you're between two levels, pick the lower.

Level	Pick it if	Longest ride	Longest run	Key sessions at the peak
Beginner	It's your first Ironman	5h	2h15	9h45
Intermediate	You've finished an Ironman before	5h30	2h30	11h15
Advanced	You've finished several and you're racing for time	6h	2h45	12h15

I've written about training for IRONMAN New Zealand on 10 hours a week and training for an Ironman with a full-time job if you're weighing up the hours.

A bought plan, an app or this plan?

Most plans you can buy are a fixed 12, 16, 20 or 24 weeks, written once for everyone. With mine you pick any length from 16 to 24 weeks, and it builds from the hours you train now. Your week 1 tests set your own zones.

A training app is a monthly subscription, from about US$15 a month. This plan is a one-off NZ$277 to NZ$381, from my own template, with race-pace bricks in the peak weeks, a 2-week taper and a fixed race week, and there's nothing more to pay after race day.

It can't react to you. If your hours swing from week to week or you're working around an injury, 1-on-1 Ironman coaching in New Zealand is the better buy, and my coaching prices are on the services page. Olympic and 70.3 plans are on the training plans page.

Questions about the Ironman plan

Questions last updated September 2026.

How much does an Ironman training plan cost?

It costs NZ$69 plus NZ$13 a week, so NZ$277 for 16 weeks up to NZ$381 for 24 weeks. It's a one-off price in NZ dollars with no subscription. You order by email, and I send your plan with an invoice within 2 days.

How long before IRONMAN New Zealand should I start?

Pick a 16 to 24-week plan. Week 1 is a Monday and the last week holds race day. For IRONMAN New Zealand on 6 March 2027 the 24-week start has passed, so your longest plan is the weeks left to race day. The latest start is Monday 16 November 2026 for a 16-week plan.

How many weeks should I pick?

Pick the longest plan that fits before your race. Your hours build from what you train now to the most you can build to, so a longer plan spreads that rise over more weeks. If your race is further away than 24 weeks, keep training as you are until your week 1 Monday.

How long is the long ride if I only have 10 hours a week?

Pick beginner, and the long ride still builds to 5 hours. In a beginner sample built to 10 hours a week, the biggest week was 9.8 hours: a 5-hour long ride, a 2h15 long run, a 1-hour bike quality session, a 45-minute run quality session and a 45-minute swim. There was no time left for easy sessions.

I work full time. Can I train for an Ironman on this plan?

Yes, if your hours cover your level. The easy sessions are sized to your hours. The long ride, long run and quality sessions are set by your level, so if your hours are low for your level, pick a lower level. In the sample build week the busiest weekdays were 1h45, with the long sessions on the weekend.

How long is the taper?

The Ironman plan has a 2-week taper. The first taper week keeps the key sessions and cuts the time. Race week is fixed, with openers, rest days and a short pre-race brick 1 day out.

About Mark Bowstead

I raced professionally for 10 years. I was the 2009 ITU Long Distance World Champion in the 20-24 age group, finished 3rd at IRONMAN 70.3 Geelong in 2015, 16th at the 70.3 World Championship in 2016 and 5th at IRONMAN New Zealand in 2017. I have a First Class Honours engineering degree from the University of Auckland. From Auckland, I coach time-pressured professionals 1-on-1 through TrainingPeaks.

Order your Ironman plan

Pick your race and plan length from the tables above, then email me your answers. The email opens with the questions already listed, so you only fill in the blanks.