Build your La Quinta 70.3 plan
Your coach opens with the La Quinta 70.3 set for December 6, 2026, asks about your week and your fitness, then writes every session of your 70.3 triathlon plan. Free, and you can start as a guest. About 6 weeks to go.
Start your La Quinta 70.3 plan- Formats
- 70.3
- Terrain
- Flat
- Field
- Registration sold out for 2026
- Taper starts
- November 24, 2026
La Quinta 70.3 distances
- 70.3 1.2 mi swim, 56 mi bike, 13.1 mi run
Course
The La Quinta 70.3 course
The race formerly known as IRONMAN 70.3 Indian Wells La Quinta now runs as IRONMAN 70.3 La Quinta, with reworked bike and run courses. The 1.2-mile swim is one loop of Lake Cahuilla, a calm, protected reservoir with a sandy beach and a rolling start, and the surrounding mountains make sighting easy.
Read the full course notes
The 56-mile bike is a single flat, fast loop on county roads that includes a lap of the Thermal raceway, then heads through the City of La Quinta to T2 at Silver Rock. The 13.1-mile run is two flat loops on cart paths and roads through the Silver Rock golf resort, past mountain views, ponds and greens, finishing in the heart of Silver Rock Park.
- Terrain
- Flat
- Formats
- 70.3
- Field
- Registration sold out for 2026
- Race-day conditions
- Early December in the Coachella Valley is usually dry and sunny: IRONMAN lists typical lows of about 54 °F and highs of 80 °F, with highs of 72 to 87 °F in 2023–2025. Lake Cahuilla averages about 57 °F (58–59 °F recently), so a wetsuit is a must and a thermal cap is worth testing. The desert sun on the run can feel warmer than the numbers, so plan fluids and sunscreen.
What to train for
Flat and fast from start to finish, this course is about steady aero power and well-timed fueling, not climbing.
Ride 2.5 to 3 hours on flat roads mostly in the aerobars at target half-iron effort, followed by 30 to 45 minute runs at goal pace.
Practice cold open-water swims in a wetsuit so 57 °F water does not take your breath away at the start. With a December date, plan a build that carries your fitness through the autumn rather than peaking in summer.
Sample week
A sample La Quinta 70.3 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, 1 h: drills and technique
- Tuesday Key session
- Bike, 1 h 15 min with threshold intervals
- Wednesday
- Swim, 1 h: steady intervals at race effort
- Easy run, 50 min
- Thursday Key session
- Run, 50 min with tempo segments
- Friday
- Rest, or 20 minutes of mobility
- Saturday Key session
- Long ride, 3 h, then a 30 min run off the bike
- Sunday
- Long run, 1 h 30 min easy
Your build to race day
Taper
Tapering for the La Quinta 70.3
Start the taper ten to fourteen 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 December 6, 2026, your taper starts around November 24, 2026.
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 70.3 triathlon season for the IRONMAN 70.3 La Quinta on December 6, 2026. I train about [hours] hours a week, [days] days a week.
La Quinta 70.3 training questions
How long should I train for the La Quinta 70.3?
Most athletes give a 70.3 triathlon sixteen to twenty 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 La Quinta 70.3 course like?
Flat. The race formerly known as IRONMAN 70.3 Indian Wells La Quinta now runs as IRONMAN 70.3 La Quinta, with reworked bike and run courses.
How cold is the water at the La Quinta 70.3?
Early December in the Coachella Valley is usually dry and sunny: IRONMAN lists typical lows of about 54 °F and highs of 80 °F, with highs of 72 to 87 °F in 2023–2025. Lake Cahuilla averages about 57 °F (58–59 °F recently), so a wetsuit is a must and a thermal cap is worth testing. The desert sun on the run can feel warmer than the numbers, so plan fluids and sunscreen.
When should I start tapering for the La Quinta 70.3?
Start the taper ten to fourteen 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 December 6, 2026, your taper starts around November 24, 2026.
Do I need an account to get a La Quinta 70.3 training plan?
Start as a guest and save a free account later. Your coach writes your 70.3 triathlon plan and adapts it every week as you log your training. No card.