Build your Belews Lake Olympic plan
Your coach opens with the Belews Lake Olympic set for September (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 46 weeks to go.
Start your Belews Lake Olympic plan- Formats
- Olympic, Duathlon
- Terrain
- Rolling
Belews Lake Olympic distances
- Olympic 0.9 mi swim, 27 mi bike, 6.2 mi run
- Duathlon 36.3 mi
Course
The Belews Lake Olympic course
Everything starts and finishes at Belews Lake Carolina Marina in Stokesdale, northwest of Greensboro, with every race going off at 8:00 a.m. The 1,500-meter swim is a time-trial start from the boat launch, seeded by your 100-yard time, around a triangular course in clear water with a sandy bottom and usually only light chop, followed by a short 50-yard run to transition.
Read the full course notes
The bike is longer than a standard Olympic at 27 miles: two loops of smooth rural country roads with rolling terrain and a few challenging hills, with police and volunteers at every intersection. The 10K run is two loops on smooth roads with rolling hills, lake views and aid every mile. The duathlon swaps the swim for a 5K run before the same bike and 10K, and the cutoffs are generous: one hour for the swim and 4 hours 30 minutes overall.
- Terrain
- Rolling
- Formats
- Olympic, Duathlon
- Race-day conditions
- Mid-September in the Piedmont usually means 61–80 °F days, so expect a mild start and a warm, often humid run by late morning. The organizers note that the early fall date means warmer lake water, and the race is USA Triathlon sanctioned, so the wetsuit call depends on the race-morning reading; train to swim comfortably without one. Carry two bottles on the bike and use every run aid station.
What to train for
With a 27-mile bike and plenty of rollers, build bike endurance first: work up to 35 to 40 mile rides on hilly roads, and add 4 to 6 x 3 to 5 minutes at threshold on climbs to handle the few steeper hills.
Since the run is also rolling, do weekly bricks of 60 to 75 minutes on the bike straight into 20 to 30 minutes on hilly ground at goal pace.
Know your 100-yard swim time for seeding, and swim 1,500 to 2,000 meters continuously in open water, practicing sighting on a triangle course. Duathletes should rehearse the opening 5K at steady effort so the legs are ready for the long ride and the 10K to finish.
Sample week
A sample Belews Lake Olympic 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 Belews Lake Olympic
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.
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 Belews Lake Olympic Triathlon in September. I train about [hours] hours a week, [days] days a week.
Belews Lake Olympic training questions
How long should I train for the Belews Lake Olympic?
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 Belews Lake Olympic course like?
Rolling. Everything starts and finishes at Belews Lake Carolina Marina in Stokesdale, northwest of Greensboro, with every race going off at 8:00 a.m.
How cold is the water at the Belews Lake Olympic?
Mid-September in the Piedmont usually means 61–80 °F days, so expect a mild start and a warm, often humid run by late morning. The organizers note that the early fall date means warmer lake water, and the race is USA Triathlon sanctioned, so the wetsuit call depends on the race-morning reading; train to swim comfortably without one. Carry two bottles on the bike and use every run aid station.
When should I start tapering for the Belews Lake Olympic?
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.
Do I need an account to get a Belews Lake Olympic 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.