Build your Oilman plan
Oilman is on November 15, 2026, under four weeks away, so this plan aims at next year's race. Your coach opens with the Oilman set for November (an estimate until the date is announced), 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 55 weeks to go.
Start your Oilman plan- Formats
- Half Distance, Sprint
- Terrain
- Rolling
- Field
- Field limit of 1,000 participants
Oilman distances
- Half Distance 1.2 mi swim, 56 mi bike, 13.1 mi run
- Sprint 0.3 mi swim, 11 mi bike, 3.1 mi run
Course
The Oilman course
Everything starts and finishes at Margaritaville Lake Resort Lake Conroe in Montgomery County. On Sunday the Half Distance swims 1.2 miles in Lake Conroe from a self-seeded time-trial start off the beach, exits up a set of stairs and runs about 30 yards to transition, with wetsuit strippers waiting.
Read the full course notes
The 56-mile bike is a single counterclockwise loop on farm-to-market roads with light traffic through the National Forest, with rolling hills, bottle hand-ups near miles 16, 31 and 45 and a no-pass zone on FM 149. The 13.1-mile run is two loops on asphalt and paved paths, a large share of it on golf course cart paths, with some rolling hills and water about every mile. Saturday's Sprint (500-meter swim, 11-mile bike, 5K run) uses the same transition and finish, with the run through the Margaritaville neighborhoods and golf course.
- Terrain
- Rolling
- Formats
- Half Distance, Sprint
- Field
- Field limit of 1,000 participants
- Race-day conditions
- Water temperature is measured the day before, and under USA Triathlon rules wetsuits are legal at 78 °F or below, allowed without award eligibility from 78.1 to 83.9 °F and not allowed at 84 °F or above; the race reports it has been wetsuit legal for the past 20 years. Mid-November air around Lake Conroe usually runs from about 50 °F at dawn to the low 70s in the afternoon, so the run can turn warm for later finishers. Carry enough fluids to bridge the gaps between bike hand-ups and start the run at a relaxed effort.
What to train for
The bike is the biggest block of the day: build to long rides of 3 to 3.5 hours on rolling roads with 2 x 20 to 30 minutes at race effort, and practice grabbing a bottle at speed for the three hand-ups.
Swim in open water in your wetsuit several times before race day, sighting every 6 to 8 strokes and finishing with a quick exit and a short run.
For the two-loop run on asphalt and cart paths, do a brick run of 20 to 45 minutes off the bike every week, on rolling ground when you can. Sprint athletes can sharpen with short bricks: 30 minutes on the bike at hard effort straight into a 15-minute run.
Sample week
A sample Oilman 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
Taper
Tapering for the Oilman
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 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 70.3 triathlon season for the Oilman Texas Triathlon in November. I train about [hours] hours a week, [days] days a week.
Oilman training questions
How long should I train for the Oilman?
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 Oilman course like?
Rolling. Everything starts and finishes at Margaritaville Lake Resort Lake Conroe in Montgomery County.
How cold is the water at the Oilman?
Water temperature is measured the day before, and under USA Triathlon rules wetsuits are legal at 78 °F or below, allowed without award eligibility from 78.1 to 83.9 °F and not allowed at 84 °F or above; the race reports it has been wetsuit legal for the past 20 years. Mid-November air around Lake Conroe usually runs from about 50 °F at dawn to the low 70s in the afternoon, so the run can turn warm for later finishers. Carry enough fluids to bridge the gaps between bike hand-ups and start the run at a relaxed effort.
When should I start tapering for the Oilman?
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 rolls, so keep one short session on undulating ground in the first taper week.
Do I need an account to get a Oilman 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.