Build your Wild West Triathlon plan
Your coach opens with the Wild West Triathlon set for June (an estimate until the date is announced), 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 33 weeks to go.
Start your Wild West Triathlon plan- Formats
- Olympic, Sprint, Super Sprint
- Sport
- Triathlon
Wild West Triathlon distances
- Olympic 0.9 mi swim, 25 mi bike, 6.2 mi run
- Sprint 0.5 mi swim, 13 mi bike, 3.1 mi run
- Super Sprint 0.2 mi swim, 6.2 mi bike, 1.6 mi run
Course
The Wild West Triathlon course
The Annie Oakley and Buffalo Bill Wild West Triathlon is held at Poplar Tree Lake in Shelby Forest near Memphis, and 2026 was its 10th annual edition. The Olympic race is a 0.9-mile swim, a 25-mile road bike and a two-lap 10K run on a paved trail, the Sprint is a 0.5-mile swim, 13-mile bike and 3.1-mile paved trail run, and the Super Sprint halves that again.
Read the full course notes
Waves go off by gender, with the women's Olympic start at 7:00 a.m. followed by the women's Sprint and the men's Olympic at 7:15 a.m., and the course closes at 1:00 p.m. Relays of 2 or 3 athletes can race the Sprint or Super Sprint, and an aquabike is offered too.
- Formats
- Olympic, Sprint, Super Sprint
- Race-day conditions
- Early June in Memphis is warm and humid, with average highs around 85 °F and lows near 67 °F, and the chance of a muggy day rising quickly through the month. The 7:00 a.m. start is the coolest part of the day, so the run will be warmer than the swim, and you should plan to drink on the bike. Wetsuit use depends on the water temperature taken by a USAT official an hour before the start: legal for awards at 78 °F or below, allowed without award eligibility up to 83.9 °F.
What to train for
Build open-water confidence before race day, since the swim is in a lake: practice sighting every 6 to 8 strokes and starting in a group.
For the Olympic distance, aim for steady rides of 25 to 30 miles and brick sessions that go straight into a 3 to 6 mile run, so the two-lap trail run feels familiar on tired legs.
Rehearse your transitions at home, from wetsuit or swimskin to bike shoes, because quick changes add up in a small field. Early June heat in Memphis means your summer brick runs double as heat training.
Sample week
A sample Wild West Triathlon 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
Taper
Tapering for the Wild West Triathlon
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.
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 Annie Oakley and Buffalo Bill Wild West Triathlon in June. I train about [hours] hours a week, [days] days a week.
Wild West Triathlon training questions
How long should I train for the Wild West Triathlon?
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 Wild West Triathlon course like?
The Annie Oakley and Buffalo Bill Wild West Triathlon is held at Poplar Tree Lake in Shelby Forest near Memphis, and 2026 was its 10th annual edition.
How cold is the water at the Wild West Triathlon?
Early June in Memphis is warm and humid, with average highs around 85 °F and lows near 67 °F, and the chance of a muggy day rising quickly through the month. The 7:00 a.m. start is the coolest part of the day, so the run will be warmer than the swim, and you should plan to drink on the bike. Wetsuit use depends on the water temperature taken by a USAT official an hour before the start: legal for awards at 78 °F or below, allowed without award eligibility up to 83.9 °F.
When should I start tapering for the Wild West Triathlon?
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.
Do I need an account to get a Wild West Triathlon 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.