As a Purple Patch Tri Squad athlete, the backbone of your training program is titled the Baseline Plan. The easiest way to understand this part of your programming is to imagine you are a member of Matt Dixon’s San Francisco in-person Tri Squad, which includes athletes with a wide range of abilities.  You will get to execute the same sessions as Matt Dixon’s Tri squad, in the same week, throughout much of your journey as a Tri Squad member.

Athlete Development

The central focus of the Purple Patch Tri Squad, whether executed as a part of the in-person SF Tri  Squad or within this Tri Squad program, is global development throughout the journey of a season. The sessions progress over the weeks and months, building through the phases of training that ensure you evolve as an athlete. Just as we operate in San Francisco, the sessions will be appropriate for all distances and abilities and also include options for scaling.

Getting Specific

Of course, we cannot throw a net that captures the needs of every athlete, so your baseline plan is simply the backbone.  As you navigate toward your key races, it is time to get specific, and at this time, you will depart the baseline plan and apply your own Race Build program (4, 7 or 10 weeks prior to your key race date), that is specific to your event type, level, and availability.  This is exactly how we operate with our San Francisco Tri Squad members. This rhythm ensures we check three boxes:

1. You progress season after season.
2. You get to share the journey and experiences of training with others.
3. You retain specific preparation for your key races.

Case study example of the flow of a season:

Managing the Weekly Load

Weekly, we will deliver your Baseline Plan into your Today’s Plan account on the same day of the week that we execute them in San Francisco.  Of course, you are free to click and drag these sessions around in the week to suit your own schedule. You won’t get penalized for executing a Tuesday San Francisco swim on a Wednesday if it fits your life more optimally!  In addition, we purposefully place a hierarchy of importance on your sessions.

Each week your baseline plan will include three swims, two bikes, two runs, and a couple of strength sessions.

These sessions are identified as:

• Key:  The focus of the week and designed to move the performance needle. These are noted in both the title and a heavy blue border around the workout.
• Supporting:  Workouts designed as endurance, recovery or preparatory in nature.

You will also often see additional "brick" runs which are tagged onto the back end of rides.

It is easy to delete any sessions that don’t fit in the schedule but remember to retain the KEY sessions as much as possible.

If life or desire pushes you to add training load, it is equally simple.  Head to your own library and choose from your selection of optional workouts.  Click here to learn how to add an optional workout.