BT Plans vs. Elsewhere

Thanks. This was a big help!

Same thoughts. The plans vary in quality depending on who wrote them. They may also be a better or worse fit for a particular athlete depending on your background. I've used BT plans for Olympic and half-ironman several times, prior to getting a coach; also Jorge's winter cycling plan. One issue that I found is that the beginner tri plans didn't seem challenging enough, particularly the swim, while there was a big step up in difficulty to the intermediate plans, and I found the latter to sometimes have too much volume and intensity for me to handle. But that might be particular to some extent to my strengths and weaknesses and maybe the demands of my job (I'm on my feet a lot at work, so recovery, especially from runs during the work week, can be a challenge). I found I had to sometimes mix and match pieces of different plans (i.e. a more advanced plan for swim sessions) to get something that worked for me.

I had different issues with the cycling plan--mainly that the power targets seemed too easy for longer sessions, and impossible to hit for some of the shorter sessions focused on strength/speed. I would guess as it's a generic plan that doesn't really take into account the athlete's relative strengths in endurance/sustaining a % of max vs. max power. I also used a BT beginner cycling plan early this year when I needed something structured and very easy at the outset when coming back from an injury and surgery, and found that it worked pretty well for that purpose . It really depends on how well the program fits your needs, and your skills at modifying it when it doesn't.

I haven't used one for a long time but I did use a free BT plan for my very first sprint tri and then my first Olympic. I finished both. The Olympic by the skin of my teeth if I'm honest.

Fast forward about 8 years and I've read a lot of books. Taken a half dozen courses and learned a lot. I've learned enough to know that I know a lot and there's a matching amount that I don't know. In my opinion, there's no magic in any single plan. A good plan in my opinion is clearly written and easy to follow.

The issue with all plans depends on if you have questions during training and then what type of person you are regarding getting an answer. Some people love to do their own research and find an answer. Other people want somebody to ask. That group then breaks into a couple different groups. People who are comfortable getting the answers from forums or a facebook groups ... but you never really know very much about who is answering the question. Right. :-) Ironic. I'm answering and telling you you can't always trust the answers but it's true. Some are great and some aren't. And then coaches. I think that's why a lot of people migrate to coaches which hikes up the cost and you have to trust the coach. :-)

Not sure if that's helpful but there you go.