How do I setup my marathon running plan to include bike and swim sessions. Want to continue to improve my bike/swim as I focus on marathon this year. Plan to get back to 140.6 in 2026.
So I just select a 140.6 plan with the marathon race date as my A event
Hey there @bmccartan
I would then pick an either mid-distance or long-distance triathlon plan. Just easier to schedule those bikes and swims.
You will have to go and delete some sessions with a heavy hand, and edit some of the aerobic runs longer as you get going. You can also use the Workout Wizard to change workouts from bikes or swims to runs.
Which bikes and swims to keep and which ones to delete, you ask?!
I would keep the key sessions of each sports:
Bike: Strength Endurance & VO2max and long aerobic rides every 2-3 weeks (when you are not running long). (you can pick up the IM specific work later when you get on IM training).
Swim: Strength Endurance sets & speed sets (you may switch the types you do around every few weeks to keep it interesting and fun for you - and don’t forget to do tech drills also)
There are many ways to do this, some other people may have other ideas.
Hope this helps. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.
MJ
Hi @bmccartan ,
Personally I would set up your marathon run as your first A race and I might also consider jumping on the user-time constraints beta group (subscribers only). That would allow a focus on the running but you could add your bike and swim days and time availability so that you keep ticking over in those disciplines. Or just randomly swim and bike and Athletica will pick up the training load. Then, once your marathon is over, I would select and change your A race to your 140.6.
My 2c.
Best,
Paul
Fantastic response. Thank you so much!
I have experience doing the Marathon plan and Ironman plan with Athletica - I found the Marathon plan run workouts quite different than the Ironman plan run workouts, and therefore when I was training for a marathon earlier this year, with some bike races planned after the marathon, I chose the marathon plan (vs. a duathlon or triathlon plan). Like you, I wanted to keep the bike and swim going, so I saved some of my favourite bike and swim workouts into my ’ workout library’. Then I sprinkled them in each week depending how I was feeling with the marathon load to keep the swim and bike ticking over, so that when my marathon was over I wasn’t starting from scratch. I found that as the training load increased with the marathon plan, I had to drop some of the swims and bikes to be able to fit all the runs in which was my focus…I personally liked doing it this way…
That is amazing way to do it too @cmaloney ! By the way she shaved off 20mins off her PB from 20 years ago so her method worked well for her! 
@bmccartan you have options here ! What do you think 
?
@bmccartan … @cmaloney’s podcast fyi… Balancing Life, Work, and Endurance: Cindy Maloney's Ironman Journey | Athletica
This is all fantastic advice. I really appreciate the quick and thoughtful responses. Some things I should have added. (Ie additional background)
