How Joe Friel plans a triathlon season: goals, races and periodization

A season is not just a sequence of independent weeks. In chapter 7, Friel organizes the work along a path that aims to prepare the athlete to compete well at chosen times.

The annual plan connects goals, intermediate objectives, volume, calendar, and training phases. Its usefulness lies in giving direction to decisions and allowing the athlete to understand the role of each period.

The purpose of periodization

Friel presents periodization as the organization of training over time. The chapter's main reference is the classic or linear model, in which preparation starts from general abilities and progressively approaches the specific demands of competition.

This does not mean that the abilities appear in isolated compartments. There is overlap, maintenance, and gradual changes in emphasis. The next period depends on what was built previously.

The principle that the author repeats is the convergence of training and racing. As the priority race approaches, important sessions need to increasingly reflect the event's demands.

The phases presented by the author

The initial preparation resumes the routine and establishes general conditions for training. The base develops fundamental abilities and creates the platform for later work.

The construction phase, called build, concentrates the most specific preparation. The peak and race period seek to combine maintaining relevant abilities with reducing fatigue. The transition offers room for recovery after the competition or the end of the season.

These names describe functions. The author presents durations and subdivisions in tables, but acknowledges that the time required depends on individual characteristics and responses.

The base, in particular, is described as preparation to be able to train more demandingly later. It directly contributes to the result, even when the sessions seem less similar to the race.

Six decisions to build the annual plan

The chapter organizes the planning into six steps: establishing goals, determining training objectives, defining the annual volume, prioritizing races, dividing the season into periods, and estimating the weekly volume.

The order helps prevent the athlete from starting with the distribution of hours without first deciding what they are training for. Goals and limiters give direction; the calendar and resources define what can be built.

The annual volume needs to relate to the athlete's history and available capacity. The book's tables are tools within this method, not a measure of athletic merit that everyone should achieve.

The transition from annual volume to weekly volume introduces variations in demand and recovery. The detailing of the sessions is left for the next chapter.

Why separate A, B, and C races?

Friel uses priorities to distinguish the role of events. A-races receive preparation geared toward the most important results. B-races have intermediate relevance. C-races can serve for experience, to monitor preparation, or for participation with a lower expectation of peaking.

This classification allows the athlete to accept that they will not be in the best possible shape at every start line. Preparing for a peak requires choices that affect the preceding and following weeks.

The calendar, therefore, involves more than just checking if there is a free weekend. Participating in a race also takes up time that could be dedicated to training, recovery, or preparing for another event.

The distance between races changes the problem

Preparing for the first priority race of the season is different from preparing for the following ones. After an important race, the athlete carries built adaptations, but also needs to consider the effort of the event and the periods of reduced training around it.

The shorter the interval between races, the harder it becomes to recover, resume the necessary work, and reduce fatigue again. The book discusses spacing scenarios and acknowledges that not all can be solved with a single structure.

In long races, there is also the conflict between long training weekends and participation in other events. The author recommends that this competition for time be factored into the calendar choice.

Recovery alters the duration of blocks

The chapter's tables use age as a simplifying reference in part of the organization. Friel, however, explains that the main issue is the speed of recovery, and that people in the same age group can respond differently.

This caveat prevents turning an age division into an automatic rule. Experience with accumulated fatigue and the response to previous blocks should be part of the decision.

The plan also needs to reserve space for lighter periods. Repeatedly postponing these breaks to accumulate work modifies the logic of the preparation.

Editorial example: the calendar that doesn't fit

An athlete chooses several races close together and considers them all equally important. When organizing the year, they realize that each one would require tapering before, recovering after, and competing for the same preparation space.

In the editorial example, assigning priorities allows for building a coherent season. Some events can be treated as experience, while another receives more targeted preparation.

The chapter's main contribution is to make the relationship between distant decisions visible. Next week's session becomes part of a larger structure, which will be detailed and revised as the season unfolds.

Reference: FRIEL, Joe. The Triathlete’s Training Bible. 5th ed. Chap. 7, “Planning a Season”. Summary in my own words of the provided English edition. Tables and forms not reproduced. Next article: how to organize the week.

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Cada um no seu ritmo. Juntos no caminho.