Build your Bear Triathlon plan
Your coach opens with the Bear Triathlon set for May 23, 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 30 weeks to go.
Start your Bear Triathlon plan- Formats
- Olympic, Sprint, Olympic Aquabike, Sprint Aquabike
- Terrain
- Flat
- Taper starts
- May 14, 2027
Bear Triathlon distances
- Olympic 0.9 mi swim, 23 mi bike, 6 mi run
- Sprint 0.5 mi swim, 10 mi bike, 3 mi run
- Olympic Aquabike 23.9 mi
- Sprint Aquabike 10.5 mi
Course
The Bear Triathlon course
Everything starts and finishes at Area 1 inside Lums Pond State Park, and each wave runs from an inflatable arch on the beach straight into Lums Pond. The sprint swims one 750 m loop and the Olympic two loops, with the buoys kept on your left shoulder.
Read the full course notes
The bike is flat on well-kept paved roads with police at every turn: one 10-mile loop for the sprint and 23 miles over three loops for the Olympic, on roads that stay open to traffic. The run mixes asphalt with an easy stretch of grass and packed dirt, one 3-mile loop for the sprint and two for the Olympic, with water stations near transition and at mile 1.5. Sprint waves go from 7:00 a.m., Olympic waves from 7:25, and the aquabike and youth races make it a full weekend for the family.
- Terrain
- Flat
- Formats
- Olympic, Sprint, Olympic Aquabike, Sprint Aquabike
- Race-day conditions
- The organizers say the water usually sits between 68 and 75 °F and wetsuits have been allowed every year (legal at 78 °F and below under USA Triathlon rules). Late May near Wilmington averages about 55 °F at dawn and the mid 70s by afternoon, so expect a cool transition setup and comfortable racing. There are no aid stations on the bike, so start with two full bottles.
What to train for
This is an early-season race, and recreational swimming is not allowed in Lums Pond before race day, so get several wetsuit swims in open water elsewhere in April and May, practicing a running beach entry and sighting every six to eight strokes.
The flat loops reward steady aero riding: build to 2 x 20 minutes at Olympic effort without leaving your aero position, and rehearse smooth cornering for the many marshaled turns.
Add one weekly brick of 45 minutes on the bike into 15 to 20 minutes at race pace, partly on grass or dirt paths to match the run. Keep count of your loops in training so the three-lap Olympic bike feels automatic.
Sample week
A sample Bear 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
Your build to race day
Taper
Tapering for the Bear 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. The course is flat, so pacing decides the day: rehearse your goal pace in short segments during race week. With the race on May 23, 2027, your taper starts around May 14, 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 Bear Triathlon & AquaBike on May 23, 2027. I train about [hours] hours a week, [days] days a week.
Bear Triathlon training questions
How long should I train for the Bear 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 Bear Triathlon course like?
Flat. Everything starts and finishes at Area 1 inside Lums Pond State Park, and each wave runs from an inflatable arch on the beach straight into Lums Pond.
How cold is the water at the Bear Triathlon?
The organizers say the water usually sits between 68 and 75 °F and wetsuits have been allowed every year (legal at 78 °F and below under USA Triathlon rules). Late May near Wilmington averages about 55 °F at dawn and the mid 70s by afternoon, so expect a cool transition setup and comfortable racing. There are no aid stations on the bike, so start with two full bottles.
When should I start tapering for the Bear 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. The course is flat, so pacing decides the day: rehearse your goal pace in short segments during race week. With the race on May 23, 2027, your taper starts around May 14, 2027.
Do I need an account to get a Bear 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.