Triathlon training plan NZ: Olympic, 70.3 and Ironman, built to your race date

My triathlon training plans are built for NZ races, from your race date, your level and the hours you've got. Olympic plans cost NZ$69 to NZ$89, 70.3 plans NZ$179 to NZ$259 and Ironman plans 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 a 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. Emailing me doesn't commit you to buy. There's no checkout or payment on the site yet.

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.

Pick your distance

Distance	Plan length	Price	Price range
Olympic triathlon training plan	8 to 12 weeks	NZ$29 + NZ$5 a week	NZ$69 to NZ$89
70.3 training plan	12 to 20 weeks	NZ$59 + NZ$10 a week	NZ$179 to NZ$259
Ironman training plan	16 to 24 weeks	NZ$69 + NZ$13 a week	NZ$277 to NZ$381

All prices are one-off, in NZ dollars.

How it works

Pick your race and how many weeks you want, inside the range for your distance.
Email me your answers. The button above opens an email with the questions already listed: race and race date, plan length, level (beginner, intermediate or advanced), the hours you train now, the most hours you can build to, runs a week (2 to 4) and swims a week (2 to 3).
My plan generator writes your plan from my own template and rules. No AI writes the sessions.
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 to your TrainingPeaks account as structured workouts. You accept it and it lands on your calendar.
You follow it. On a free TrainingPeaks account each session shows on its day. Premium, which you pay TrainingPeaks for, shows workouts ahead of the day and syncs them to Garmin, Wahoo and Zwift.

What every plan has

Week 1 is a testing week that sets your zones: a 20-minute ride test in free ride (never ERG, so the trainer isn't holding your watts for you), a 5 km run time trial and a 400/200 swim CSS test. A road bike outdoors works too.
Default layout is a Monday rest day, long ride Saturday and long run Sunday. Tell me in your order email (question 10) if you need that changed.
Every 4th week is easier. Sessions keep their intensity and get shorter. There's no easier week in the last 2 load weeks before the taper or race week.
Each week has 5 key sessions: long ride, long run, one bike quality session, one run quality session and one main swim. Your level sets those 5. The rest is easy aerobic work sized to whatever's left of your hours, so if your hours are low for your level, pick the lower level.
One strength session a week until the peak.
Race simulations and bricks in the peak weeks.
Ironman plans get a 2-week taper. 70.3 and Olympic plans get a 1-week race week. Race week is fixed, with openers, rest days and a short pre-race brick.
Hours build gradually from what you train now to the most you can build to, and the easier week drops back before the build carries on.
Plan notes that explain your zones in plain words and what to do if you miss a session: skip it, and never stack two into one day.

Price by weeks

Plan length	Olympic	70.3	Ironman
8 weeks	NZ$69	-	-
9 weeks	NZ$74	-	-
10 weeks	NZ$79	-	-
11 weeks	NZ$84	-	-
12 weeks	NZ$89	NZ$179	-
13 weeks	-	NZ$189	-
14 weeks	-	NZ$199	-
15 weeks	-	NZ$209	-
16 weeks	-	NZ$219	NZ$277
17 weeks	-	NZ$229	NZ$290
18 weeks	-	NZ$239	NZ$303
19 weeks	-	NZ$249	NZ$316
20 weeks	-	NZ$259	NZ$329
21 weeks	-	-	NZ$342
22 weeks	-	-	NZ$355
23 weeks	-	-	NZ$368
24 weeks	-	-	NZ$381

When to start for NZ races

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

Race	Distance	Race date	Longest plan starts	Shortest plan starts
People's Triathlon Race 2, Mission Bay	Olympic	Sun 06 Dec 2026	12 wk: Mon 14 Sep 2026	8 wk: Mon 12 Oct 2026
Tauranga Half	70.3	Sat 23 Jan 2027	20 wk: Mon 07 Sep 2026	12 wk: Mon 02 Nov 2026
Challenge Wānaka Half	70.3	Sat 20 Feb 2027	20 wk: Mon 05 Oct 2026	12 wk: Mon 30 Nov 2026
People's Triathlon Race 3, Maraetai	Olympic	Sun 21 Feb 2027	12 wk: Mon 30 Nov 2026	8 wk: Mon 28 Dec 2026
IRONMAN 70.3 New Zealand, Taupō	70.3	Sat 06 Mar 2027	20 wk: Mon 19 Oct 2026	12 wk: Mon 14 Dec 2026
IRONMAN New Zealand, Taupō	Ironman	Sat 06 Mar 2027	24 wk: Mon 21 Sep 2026	16 wk: Mon 16 Nov 2026
People's Triathlon Race 4, Mission Bay	Olympic	Sun 16 May 2027	12 wk: Mon 22 Feb 2027	8 wk: Mon 22 Mar 2027

If the longest start has passed, your longest plan is the weeks left to race day. The calculator shows it for today. People's Triathlon Race 1 on Sun 08 Nov 2026 is under the 8-week minimum away, so I'm not selling a plan for it. IRONMAN 70.3 New Zealand now runs in Taupō on the IRONMAN New Zealand weekend in March. I'm using 6 March 2027, so check the date with IRONMAN.

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.

The biggest week in each sample plan

These come from 3 real plans my generator built for NZ races. Each one shows the plan's biggest week of training before the taper or race week.

Distance	Sample plan	Biggest week	Planned hours	Long ride	Long run
Olympic	10 weeks, beginner, 4 building to 6.25 hours a week	Week 9 (peak)	6.2h	1.25h	0.75h
70.3	16 weeks, intermediate, 7 building to 12 hours a week	Week 15 (peak)	12.0h	3.5h	2.0h
Ironman	20 weeks, intermediate, 9 building to 14 hours a week	Week 18 (peak)	14.0h	5.5h	2.5h

Each distance page shows a full week, session by session, and the hours for every week of its sample plan.

A plan, an app or a coach?

You pick how many weeks, and the plan counts back from your race date and builds from the hours you train now. I built it that way because 2 of the common complaints on triathlon forums about bought plans are generic sessions and weekday sessions that don't fit round a job.

Option	How it works	What it costs
A bought plan	Usually a fixed 12, 16, 20 or 24 weeks, written once for everyone	A one-off price
A training app	Sessions from the app while you subscribe	A monthly subscription, from about US$15 a month
One of my plans	Any length in the range so it ends on your race day, built from the hours you train now, then it stays as written	One-off, NZ$69 to NZ$381
1-on-1 coaching	I read your sessions and change the plan week to week	$250 to $350 a month

The sessions come from my own template, written from 10 years of racing professionally, with race-pace bricks in the peak weeks and a fixed race week. You pay once, and there's nothing more to pay after race day.

A plan suits you if your weeks are fairly predictable and you're happy to follow the sessions as written, which is why it's a good fit for a first race at a new distance. If your hours swing from week to week or you're working around an injury, coaching is the better buy. Once it's delivered, a plan stays as written. The plan is the plan. Coaching is the coach.

My coaching options are on the services page, and I've set out the trade-off in triathlon coach vs training app.

Questions about the training plans

Questions last updated September 2026.

How much does a triathlon training plan cost?

An Olympic plan costs NZ$69 to NZ$89, a 70.3 plan NZ$179 to NZ$259 and an Ironman plan NZ$277 to NZ$381. Olympic is NZ$29 plus NZ$5 a week, 70.3 is NZ$59 plus NZ$10 a week and Ironman is NZ$69 plus NZ$13 a week, paid once.

How is this different from a template plan?

It starts from my template and rules, then it's set to your race date, plan length, level, hours, runs and swims a week. You pick the length inside a range, so the plan ends on your race day. It stays as written once it's delivered, so if you want a plan that changes with you, coaching is the better buy.

Which level should I pick?

Pick beginner if it's your first race at the distance, intermediate if you've finished the distance before, and advanced if you've finished it several times and you're racing for time. If you're between two, pick the lower. Your level sets the key sessions, and the biggest-week table above shows what they add up to at the peak.

How do I order and pay?

You email me your answers, and within 2 days I reply with your plan and an invoice. The order button opens an email to mbowstead@gmail.com with the questions already listed. Emailing me doesn't commit you to buy, and there's no checkout on the site yet.

Can I get a refund?

No, there are no refunds, because once your plan is sent you have it. If you're unhappy with how it's built, reply once with what you'd change and I'll make that change. I don't rebuild the plan if your race date moves, so check the date before you order.

Do I need TrainingPeaks Premium?

You don't need Premium, because a free TrainingPeaks account works. Your plan loads as structured workouts either way, and on a free account each session shows on its day. Premium, which you pay TrainingPeaks for, shows workouts ahead of the day and syncs them to Garmin, Wahoo and Zwift.

What if something changes after my plan is delivered?

The plan stays as written, so you work around small changes yourself. If you miss a session, skip it and never stack two into one day. You can move a session to another day in your TrainingPeaks calendar. If your race date moves, I don't rebuild the plan. If you want the plan changed as you go, that's coaching.

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 plan

Pick your distance, 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.