30-30-30 Build Run: Easy-Tempo-Easy 90-Minute Session

Session Overview

The 30-30-30 is one of the most versatile triathlon run sessions you can do. Thirty minutes easy primes the body and establishes aerobic economy, a middle tempo block lifts the aerobic ceiling, and the final easy section trains your legs to keep moving efficiently when fatigued. It’s the run equivalent of a progressive effort without the risk of blowing up too early.

What You’ll Need

• Running shoes suited to your terrain
• GPS watch or running app with HR tracking
• Water bottle (or plan a route with water access)
• Flat to gently rolling terrain — avoid technical trail for the tempo block

Warm-Up (first 30 minutes)

The first 30 minutes IS the warm-up. Run at a genuinely easy Zone 2 pace — you should hold a full conversation without effort. This primes tendons, ligaments, and the cardiovascular system gradually. Don’t be tempted to drift into Zone 3 early, even if it feels slow.

Main Set

At the 30-minute mark, transition smoothly into your tempo effort — no sudden sprint start, just a gradual build over 60–90 seconds. Tempo pace sits at around 80–85% of your maximum heart rate, or a pace you could hold in a standalone 30-minute race. Then step back down for the final third.

• Minutes 0–30: Zone 2, easy conversational pace
• Minutes 30–60: Zone 3–4 tempo effort (80–85% max HR, RPE 7/10)
• Minutes 60–90: Zone 2, back to easy pace — keep moving, do not stop

Cool-Down (5 minutes post-run)

The final 30-minute easy block serves as your running cool-down. After stopping, spend 5 minutes on static stretching targeting calves, hip flexors, glutes, and hamstrings. Note how your legs felt in the transition from tempo back to easy — that’s a useful data point for race-day pacing strategy.

Coaching Notes

• The easy sections must genuinely be easy — if Zone 2 drifts to Zone 3, the session loses its purpose
• Check your HR at minute 28 before the tempo block — if it’s already above Zone 2, extend the easy section by 5 minutes
• To make it harder: add 4×30-second strides in the final 10 minutes of the tempo block
• To make it easier: reduce the tempo block to 20 minutes and run 35 minutes easy either side