Build your Ann Arbor Tri plan
Your coach opens with the Ann Arbor Tri set for July 10, 2027, asks about your week and your fitness, then writes every session of your Olympic-distance triathlon plan. Free, and you can start as a guest. About 37 weeks to go.
Start your Ann Arbor Tri plan- Formats
- Olympic, Sprint, Olympic Aquabike, Sprint Duathlon
- Terrain
- Rolling
- Taper starts
- July 1, 2027
Ann Arbor Tri distances
- Olympic 0.9 mi swim, 28 mi bike, 5.3 mi run
- Sprint 0.5 mi swim, 14 mi bike, 3.5 mi run
- Olympic Aquabike 28.9 mi, 1,540 ft of climbing
- Sprint Duathlon 19.5 mi, 800 ft of climbing
Course
The Ann Arbor Tri course
The race has been held at Halfmoon Lake in Pinckney Recreation Area, one of Michigan's largest state parks, since 1986. The swim uses a time-trial start, with athletes entering from the beach one at a time, three seconds apart, for 1,500 meters (Olympic) or 750 meters (sprint).
Read the full course notes
The bike heads out on rolling paved country roads, and the official route maps show about 1,537 feet of climbing on the 28-mile Olympic course and about 800 feet on the 14-mile sprint. The run is on the wooded Potawatomi Trail, so expect dirt footing and short climbs over 5.3 miles (Olympic) or 3.5 miles (sprint); duathletes start with a paved run before the bike. The swim closes an hour after the last start, the bike 3 hours 15 minutes after the swim, and the finish at 4.5 hours, and a state park permit or Recreation Passport is needed to enter the park.
- Terrain
- Rolling
- Formats
- Olympic, Sprint, Olympic Aquabike, Sprint Duathlon
- Race-day conditions
- The organizers expect the lake to be around 78 °F, right at the USA Triathlon limit: wetsuits are legal at 78 °F or below, allowed from 78.1 to 83.9 °F without award eligibility, and not allowed at 84 °F and up, with updated readings posted near race day. Around July 10, NOAA 1991–2020 normals for the Pinckney area usually run from lows of about 59 °F to highs of about 82 °F, so expect a mild start and a warm run. Be ready to swim without a wetsuit, and drink early on the bike.
What to train for
The bike holds most of the climbing, so ride hilly loops every week with 4 to 6 x 3–5 minutes at Olympic effort on the rollers, staying smooth over the crests.
Because the run is on trail, do at least one run a week on dirt with short hills, and when you can, brick straight off the bike onto a trail, practicing quick, light steps on uneven ground.
Swim some open-water sessions without a wetsuit, since the lake may be at or above the cutoff, and rehearse a beach entry and settling into rhythm on your own, as in a time-trial start. Duathletes should practice run-bike-run sessions so the trail run after the bike holds no surprises.
Sample week
A sample Ann Arbor Tri training week
A week from the middle of the build, about six weeks out. Your plan sets the real distances and paces from your own fitness and adjusts them every week as you train.
- Monday
- Swim, 45 min: drills and technique
- Tuesday Key session
- Bike, 1 h with threshold intervals
- Wednesday
- Swim, 45 min: steady intervals at race effort
- Easy run, 40 min
- Thursday Key session
- Run, 40 min with tempo segments
- Friday
- Rest, or 20 minutes of mobility
- Saturday Key session
- Long ride, 1 h 30 min, then a 20 min run off the bike
- Sunday
- Long run, 1 h easy
Your build to race day
Taper
Tapering for the Ann Arbor Tri
Start the taper seven to ten days before race day. Trim the volume in all three sports, keep short race-pace efforts in each, and do one last short brick so running off the bike still feels familiar. The course rolls, so keep one short session on undulating ground in the first taper week. With the race on July 10, 2027, your taper starts around July 1, 2027.
Also in Claude
Ask Claude for this plan
Add AthleteSpace to Claude once, then paste this prompt and put in your own numbers.
Build me a Olympic-distance triathlon season for the Ann Arbor Tri, Du, & Aquabike on July 10, 2027. I train about [hours] hours a week, [days] days a week.
Ann Arbor Tri training questions
How long should I train for the Ann Arbor Tri?
Most athletes give a Olympic-distance triathlon twelve to sixteen weeks of focused training on top of an existing base. The coach counts back from your actual race date, so if you have less time than that it builds the best plan the remaining weeks allow rather than pretending you have longer.
What is the Ann Arbor Tri course like?
Rolling. The race has been held at Halfmoon Lake in Pinckney Recreation Area, one of Michigan's largest state parks, since 1986.
How cold is the water at the Ann Arbor Tri?
The organizers expect the lake to be around 78 °F, right at the USA Triathlon limit: wetsuits are legal at 78 °F or below, allowed from 78.1 to 83.9 °F without award eligibility, and not allowed at 84 °F and up, with updated readings posted near race day. Around July 10, NOAA 1991–2020 normals for the Pinckney area usually run from lows of about 59 °F to highs of about 82 °F, so expect a mild start and a warm run. Be ready to swim without a wetsuit, and drink early on the bike.
When should I start tapering for the Ann Arbor Tri?
Start the taper seven to ten days before race day. Trim the volume in all three sports, keep short race-pace efforts in each, and do one last short brick so running off the bike still feels familiar. The course rolls, so keep one short session on undulating ground in the first taper week. With the race on July 10, 2027, your taper starts around July 1, 2027.
Do I need an account to get a Ann Arbor Tri training plan?
Start as a guest and save a free account later. Your coach writes your Olympic-distance triathlon plan and adapts it every week as you log your training. No card.