Build your Portage Lakes Triathlon plan
Your coach opens with the Portage Lakes Triathlon set for September 12, 2027, asks about your week and your fitness, then writes every session of your sprint triathlon plan. Free, and you can start as a guest. About 46 weeks to go.
Start your Portage Lakes Triathlon plan- Formats
- Sprint, Olympic, Mini
- Terrain
- Rolling
- Taper starts
- September 3, 2027
Portage Lakes Triathlon distances
- Sprint 0.5 mi swim, 13.7 mi bike, 3.1 mi run
- Olympic 0.9 mi swim, 21.7 mi bike, 6.2 mi run
- Mini 0.1 mi swim, 7 mi bike, 2 mi run
Course
The Portage Lakes Triathlon course
The race is based at Portage Lakes State Park Beach on Manchester Road in Akron, with three triathlon distances on the Sunday. The Mini swims 250 yards out and back along the beach in water about 4 to 6 feet deep, rides about 7 miles through the countryside and runs a 2-mile out-and-back inside the park.
Read the full course notes
The Sprint swims a 750-meter counter-clockwise rectangle (about 820 yards), rides one 22 km loop (about 13.7 miles) through the countryside around the park and runs a 5 km out-and-back in the park. The Olympic swims two laps of the rectangle for 1,500 meters (about 1,640 yards) and rides 1.5 laps for 35 km (about 21.7 miles), with the second loop covering the outer part of the course before heading back. The organizers call that ride challenging, with several climbs and enough flat road to recover, and the Olympic run is a two-lap 10 km out-and-back on paved park roads.
- Terrain
- Rolling
- Formats
- Sprint, Olympic, Mini
- Race-day conditions
- Mid-September in Akron averages highs around 75 °F and lows near 58 °F, so mornings start fresh and the run stays pleasant for most athletes. The organizers list an average September water temperature of about 74 °F, with a preliminary reading posted the day before and the official reading 60 to 90 minutes before the start. Under USA Triathlon rules wetsuits are allowed at 78 °F or below, allowed from 78.1 to 83.9 °F only without awards eligibility, and not permitted at 84 °F or above, so at the usual temperature you can plan to wear one. About three days in ten bring some rain, winds are usually light from the south, and sunrise comes a little after 7 AM, so bring a layer for setup.
What to train for
The bike sets the tone, so practice repeated climbs of 2 to 4 minutes at race effort with easy spinning in between, then settle back into rhythm on the flats as you will on race day.
In the Olympic, pace the first loop with patience so you still have legs for the outer section of the second.
The swim is a rectangle with left-hand turns, so rehearse sighting and smooth counter-clockwise turns around a buoy in open water. Add a weekly brick, and if you race the Olympic, practice the two-lap run so you know how to split your effort.
Sample week
A sample Portage Lakes Triathlon 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, 30 min: drills and technique
- Tuesday Key session
- Bike, 45 min with threshold intervals
- Wednesday
- Swim, 30 min: steady intervals at race effort
- Easy run, 30 min
- Thursday Key session
- Run, 30 min with tempo segments
- Friday
- Rest, or 20 minutes of mobility
- Saturday Key session
- Long ride, 1 h, then a 15 min run off the bike
- Sunday
- Long run, 45 min easy
Your build to race day
Taper
Tapering for the Portage Lakes Triathlon
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 September 12, 2027, your taper starts around September 3, 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 sprint triathlon season for the Portage Lakes Triathlon, Duathlon & Aquabike on September 12, 2027. I train about [hours] hours a week, [days] days a week.
Portage Lakes Triathlon training questions
How long should I train for the Portage Lakes Triathlon?
Most athletes give a sprint triathlon eight to twelve 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 Portage Lakes Triathlon course like?
Rolling. The race is based at Portage Lakes State Park Beach on Manchester Road in Akron, with three triathlon distances on the Sunday.
How cold is the water at the Portage Lakes Triathlon?
Mid-September in Akron averages highs around 75 °F and lows near 58 °F, so mornings start fresh and the run stays pleasant for most athletes. The organizers list an average September water temperature of about 74 °F, with a preliminary reading posted the day before and the official reading 60 to 90 minutes before the start. Under USA Triathlon rules wetsuits are allowed at 78 °F or below, allowed from 78.1 to 83.9 °F only without awards eligibility, and not permitted at 84 °F or above, so at the usual temperature you can plan to wear one. About three days in ten bring some rain, winds are usually light from the south, and sunrise comes a little after 7 AM, so bring a layer for setup.
When should I start tapering for the Portage Lakes Triathlon?
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 September 12, 2027, your taper starts around September 3, 2027.
Do I need an account to get a Portage Lakes Triathlon training plan?
Start as a guest and save a free account later. Your coach writes your sprint triathlon plan and adapts it every week as you log your training. No card.