Build your Lavaman plan
Your coach opens with the Lavaman set for April 4, 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 23 weeks to go.
Start your Lavaman plan- Formats
- Olympic
- Terrain
- Rolling
- Taper starts
- March 26, 2027
Lavaman distances
- Olympic 0.9 mi swim, 24.9 mi bike, 6.2 mi run
Course
The Lavaman course
Lavaman is based at the Waikoloa Beach Resort on the Kohala Coast, and the 1,500 m (0.9-mile) swim is in Anaeho'omalu Bay, with swimmers self-seeding by expected swim time. After a run of about 500 m over sand and concrete to transition, the 40K (24.9-mile) bike heads out onto the Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway through open lava fields, on part of the IRONMAN World Championship bike course, riding the wide shoulder and turning around through a tunnel under the highway.
Read the full course notes
There is no aid on the bike, so you carry every bottle you need. The 10K (6.2-mile) run starts on a lava-field trail, picks up fast street sections and winds through the Hilton Waikoloa Village grounds before a coral trail along the water and about 300 yards of sand to the beach finish. Expect a mix of pavement, lava rock, crushed coral, dirt and sand, which is why the organizers recommend trail or training shoes over racing flats.
- Terrain
- Rolling
- Formats
- Olympic
- Race-day conditions
- The organizers give water temperatures of about 76–80 °F in the bay; wetsuits are legal at 78 °F and below and allowed up to 84 °F without award eligibility, so many years sit right on the line. Early April on the Kohala Coast is usually dry and sunny, in the low to mid 70s °F at the 7:00 a.m. swim start and into the low 80s °F by late morning, with heat coming off the lava and breezes on the open highway. Carry enough fluid for the whole ride and use the ice at the run aid stations to stay cool.
What to train for
The Queen K rewards a steady aero position: ride 2 x 20 minutes at Olympic effort on exposed roads, holding power through gusts instead of fighting them, and practice drinking from your own bottles since there is no bike aid.
Swim in open water, ideally the ocean, and rehearse sighting plus the jog up the beach to transition.
Run part of your weekly bricks on trails or gravel, because the 10K mixes lava, coral and sand and finishes on the beach. Schedule some sessions in the warm part of the day to learn how much you need to drink in sun and heat.
Sample week
A sample Lavaman 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 Lavaman
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. With the race on April 4, 2027, your taper starts around March 26, 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 Lavaman Triathlon on April 4, 2027. I train about [hours] hours a week, [days] days a week.
Lavaman training questions
How long should I train for the Lavaman?
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 Lavaman course like?
Rolling. Lavaman is based at the Waikoloa Beach Resort on the Kohala Coast, and the 1,500 m (0.9-mile) swim is in Anaeho'omalu Bay, with swimmers self-seeding by expected swim time.
How cold is the water at the Lavaman?
The organizers give water temperatures of about 76–80 °F in the bay; wetsuits are legal at 78 °F and below and allowed up to 84 °F without award eligibility, so many years sit right on the line. Early April on the Kohala Coast is usually dry and sunny, in the low to mid 70s °F at the 7:00 a.m. swim start and into the low 80s °F by late morning, with heat coming off the lava and breezes on the open highway. Carry enough fluid for the whole ride and use the ice at the run aid stations to stay cool.
When should I start tapering for the Lavaman?
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. With the race on April 4, 2027, your taper starts around March 26, 2027.
Do I need an account to get a Lavaman 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.