Once you have CSS, FTP, and FT set (Threshold Testing, Triathlon Training Zones Explained) and your Race Pacing Targets, the next question is how to build the plan that will take you to the next level.
Race-day fitness is rarely accidental. It comes from structured planning and discipline: different stress and stimulus, progressive load, planned de-load, recovery weeks, a three-week peak block, then taper and race week so you arrive fresh.
I built WattX’s structured plan around that model because your race plan should not be a flat calendar of “kind of hard” sessions. Periodisation gives each block a job; without it, athletes repeat the same week until something breaks.
Season structure
Season Structure
Your training plan is the full arc from plan start date to race day. The plan is split into phases (mesocycles) and weeks (microcycles).
The plan duration is driven by the race date provided when setting your plan.
Sessions map to Workout Intensities Explained and Triathlon Training Zones Explained. Brick Session Explained scales as you move closer to your race.
Recovery weeks
Recovery Weeks
Every fourth week is a planned de-load — not random easy days. Without that rhythm, fatigue outruns adaptation.
On WattX
What Your Race Plan Includes on WattX
When you use your WattX Race Plan PRO, you answer questions about your A-race — distance, race date, your average training volume over the past four weeks, and either your race target time or maximum weekly availability. WattX builds the plan backward from race day and fills your plan page with real weeks and sessions.
If you choose max weekly hours and enter less than recommended for your distance, calibration warns you and may suggest a shorter distance. You can continue anyway — but peak volume in the plan uses a minimum floor so long rides and brick progressions stay coherent. Goal finish time mode derives peak volume from your target; the same floor applies silently without a warning modal.
Once your training plan is live, you access your dedicated Plan Page. You see where you are in the block (phase and week), what to train this week, and structured swim, bike, and run sessions with targets in min/100m, watts, or min/km. Recovery weeks, brick sessions, and test protocols are placed in your session feed. You log results on Threshold Testing so your training zones always reflect your current fitness.
Pricing is a one-off payment by plan length — see Race plan pricing below.
Your WattX Race Plan PRO is built from your race date and volume. On your plan page, see weeks to race, the current phase, and exportable sessions for this block — not a blank calendar.
Phases
What Each Phase Does
Aerobic engine — easy volume, technique, durability.
No bricks — swim, bike, and run stay separate while you stack easy volume and durability. Sets the ceiling for threshold work and Race Pacing Targets in build.
Add quality — threshold, sweet spot, VO₂, progressive bricks.
Base converts to Race Simulator-ready fitness. Bike–run bricks start here — see Brick Session Explained.
Three weeks — highest load, race-specific bricks.
Volume ramps across the block and peaks on the last peak week. Every peak week includes a simulation brick; session quality shifts toward race-specific work — VO₂ and speed on short-course, threshold and sweet spot on long-course. Long-Course Nutrition Explained rehearsals fit here.
Shed fatigue; short openers only.
Sprint: race week only · Olympic: 1 taper week + race week · 70.3: 2 taper weeks + race week · Ironman: 3 taper weeks + race week. See Race Week Explained.
Feedback loops
Thresholds and Feedback Loops
Each six-week cycle in base and build staggers field tests in your plan feed — bike, then run, then swim on different weeks (not three tests in one week). Log results on Threshold Testing — see How to Test Your Thresholds for protocols.
After each race, log the race: Race Analysis Explained compares execution to your plan, suggests threshold updates when the result is trustworthy, and lets you sync proposed thresholds so your profile stays up-to-date.
The WattX Race Plan PRO turns your race date and calibration into phased weeks, recovery rhythm, and a session feed on your plan page.
If a structural injury changes swim, bike, or run, that is separate from illness — see Returning From Injury for the full walkthrough.
Pricing
Race plan pricing
No subscription. One-time payment based on plan duration, whatever the distance.
| Plan length | Price |
|---|---|
| Up to 12 weeks | CHF 49 |
| 12 weeks – 6 months | CHF 89 |
| 6 months – 12 months | CHF 149 |