Build your IRONMAN California plan
Your coach opens with the IRONMAN California set for October (an estimate until the date is announced), asks about your week and your fitness, then writes every session of your full-distance (140.6) triathlon plan. Free, and you can start as a guest. About 51 weeks to go.
Start your IRONMAN California plan- Formats
- 140.6
- Terrain
- Flat
IRONMAN California distances
- 140.6 2.4 mi swim, 112 mi bike, 26.2 mi run
Course
The IRONMAN California course
The 2.4-mile swim is point to point and downstream: it starts in the American River near Township 9 Park, joins the Sacramento River at the confluence and exits near Tower Bridge. The 112-mile bike is two loops south through the Sacramento River delta on farm and wine-country roads, with only about 710 feet of total climbing.
Read the full course notes
The 26.2-mile run is two flat loops on the River Walk Trail and the American River Bike Trail, passing under Tower Bridge and the I Street Bridge on the way out to Discovery Park. You finish by running through Old Sacramento and up Capitol Mall to a finish line in front of the California State Capitol. On the open delta roads, any breeze is the main resistance you will feel.
- Terrain
- Flat
- Formats
- 140.6
- Race-day conditions
- IRONMAN lists typical race-day air temperatures from about 52 °F at dawn to 81 °F in the afternoon, and recent editions saw highs of 77 to 88 °F. The river averages about 62 °F (60–63 °F in 2023–2025), well under the 76.1 °F wetsuit cutoff, so plan on a wetsuit. A cool start and a warm, sunny afternoon marathon make sunscreen and a heat-ready hydration plan worth rehearsing.
What to train for
With a current-assisted swim and almost no climbing, this course is decided by how steadily you hold aero position for 112 miles.
Build long rides of 4 to 6 hours mostly in the aerobars at target power or heart rate, and practice eating and drinking without sitting up.
Because the course never forces a change of rhythm, run off the bike every week and rehearse a patient first half of the marathon. Do some open-water swims in a wetsuit so the 62 °F start feels familiar.
Sample week
A sample IRONMAN California 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 15 min: drills and technique
- Tuesday Key session
- Bike, 1 h 30 min with threshold intervals
- Wednesday
- Swim, 1 h 15 min: steady intervals at race effort
- Easy run, 1 h
- Thursday Key session
- Run, 1 h with tempo segments
- Friday
- Rest, or 20 minutes of mobility
- Saturday Key session
- Long ride, 5 h, then a 45 min run off the bike
- Sunday
- Long run, 2 h 15 min easy
Taper
Tapering for the IRONMAN California
Start the taper two to three weeks 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.
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 full-distance (140.6) triathlon season for the IRONMAN California in October. I train about [hours] hours a week, [days] days a week.
IRONMAN California training questions
How long should I train for the IRONMAN California?
Most athletes give a full-distance (140.6) triathlon twenty-four to thirty 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 IRONMAN California course like?
Flat. The 2.4-mile swim is point to point and downstream: it starts in the American River near Township 9 Park, joins the Sacramento River at the confluence and exits near Tower Bridge.
How cold is the water at the IRONMAN California?
IRONMAN lists typical race-day air temperatures from about 52 °F at dawn to 81 °F in the afternoon, and recent editions saw highs of 77 to 88 °F. The river averages about 62 °F (60–63 °F in 2023–2025), well under the 76.1 °F wetsuit cutoff, so plan on a wetsuit. A cool start and a warm, sunny afternoon marathon make sunscreen and a heat-ready hydration plan worth rehearsing.
When should I start tapering for the IRONMAN California?
Start the taper two to three weeks 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.
Do I need an account to get a IRONMAN California training plan?
Start as a guest and save a free account later. Your coach writes your full-distance (140.6) triathlon plan and adapts it every week as you log your training. No card.