I said there is no “off season” for triathlon training, although I’m kind of lying.
There is a time where your training differs somewhat from what would be “in-season” training which, depending on where you live in the country, might start anytime between February and April, I suppose.
Regular seasonal training usually involves “periodization”, where your training stress levels are relatively high for a few days to a couple weeks, followed by a shorter period of recovery, and repeating, the cycle over and over.
On the other hand, off-season training can be different in several ways; there may or may not be anything like periodization. In addition you’ll have more time to strength train to increase your power in certain muscle groups, for later in the season when you won’t have time/energy to do as much strength work. It could also involve working on your weaker athletic capabilities, or doing different activities such as [cross country skiing or volleyball or ??].
Sometimes people will take a week or so off after their last race of the season, but if you take much more than two weeks off, you might struggle to get back to full fitness in time for your first race of the next season (especially if you just eat and drink heavily during that two week interval! heh heh). This is a good time to lose some weight, if needed, by cutting calories a bit without sacrificing a workout too much because you might be a little bit short on calories.
INTERVALS AND ENDURANCE WORKOUTS
Here’s a summary of what you might want to do, generally, for bike or run training; intervals and endurance (for lack of more specific terminology). There are short, medium, and long repeating intervals: the short, in terms of a couple minutes or less; medium, which could be in the 10 minute range; and long, intervals that could be 20 minutes. As the intervals get shorter, the heart, pace, or power ratings (for bike) increase. Interval sessions can be hard, so you don’t want to do more than one per week, generally.
Endurance sessions are at much lower intensities but can go to 90 minutes or so, depending on whether you’re just starting and looking toward shorter races, or if you’re seasoned and doing long distances. Again, you don’t want to pack a week with long endurance sessions.
Once again, every person has different requirements and capabilities; those just starting multisport races (or even running) need different pre-season training than someone else.
If you’re looking at triathlon for the first time, the sooner you can start swimming the better. Just start swimming, every day if you can stick in some time.
To get a specific map tuned to who you are, get in touch. You can get a program tailored to your specific needs.