I love lifting weights. I like having numbers and working for more. Losing my strength would be a deal breaker. Or would it? Was this really a thing I had or was it an “easy way out” if I wasn’t improving? Now, if you know me and we’ve ever worked out together, you have heard me say I am not a runner nor do I enjoy running nor am I actually good at it. The only reason I enjoyed Chris Hinshaw’s Aerobic Capacity program was because of the numbers. Paces were set, I just had to do the work and maintain the goals.

Having a good strength program was top priority, non-negotiable. I knew that continuing with CrossFit programming wouldn’t be ideal for a number of reasons, but I was also burned out- so a change was wanted… needed, even. Luckily, my gym was just rolling out a strength program for triathletes. While intended to be an off-season  program, we decided to try it as a race-prep program. It was lower volume than my CF stuff and implemented sport specific movements. This program was great. It allowed me to still have a structured strength program incorporating compound lifts and core work. Plus, it worked full range of motion of all the joints.  

12 weeks, 3x/week of strength training 
Swimming at least once a week which bumped up to 3x/week
Running a few times (30-60 min sessions) per week
Biking around 3-4 hours in 2-3 sessions

My race was exactly 12 weeks out when I started this program. While most strength gains are made in the off-season and maintained in-season, if you are wanting to follow a program, I personally suggest 8 weeks leading up to a 3-4 week taper. I didn’t get much of a taper pre-race, which I can’t say if it did or didn’t help, but I can tell you I felt strong.