Do you need a total rest day? How does my plan look?

This does not tell us anything.

What are you training for; what is your background; what are your weaknesses.
from the above we can tell your doing more than 35 minutes a week of running but that's it?
nothing is defined, a long ride for some is 20 miles for others its 150 miles.

If you want some help/critique you have to give more detail on the training plan and what your training for. Also how far out is it?

Sorry - should have added a bit more detail.

Okay - training is for sprint triathlons. My background is cycling - ride time trials, although only been doing this a year. Age is 32. Have competed in a couple of sprint tris this season and faired okay - top 1/4 in both.

10m tt PB is 24 mins
5k PB is 20 mins
400m swim is around 7 mins.

Want to keep more bike sessions as plan to keep time trialling, but also want to go close to or sub hour for a sprint tri next year.

Gym sessions in there as advised by physio because of a couple of knee injuries - caused by weak vmo and weak glutes.

Long ride is a 2 and half hour club ride - steady pace. And 5k is a parkrun at local park.

Have seen good gains so far with the schedule- just wary of overtraining and/or causing overuse injury. Thanks.

Thanks for the feedback. I'm limited with the swimming as can only fit in about mins before work as the pool opens a bit late. After work they schedule swim schools for kids. I think I'll make one of the slower runs longer - say 40 mins - so I can get some more base into the legs by running beyond race time.

* 25 mins for the swimming

Your swimming is pretty light ... You're giving up a minute or so to the fastest in a local sprint. Look at the race results...they will be telling. If I had to guess, I'd say you are losing time in the swim, transitions, and run ... give those some more of your attention.

I don't think with the schedule you have now you really need a total rest day.
You have the potential to be very competitive in the sprint distance, but your volume of swimming and running is really low.

We have pretty similar PR's, I am about to turn 40 and come from an extensive strength training background. I would have never looked towards triathlon/bi/duathlons etc. if I wasn't going to be competitive; especially in sprint tri, which I love the shorter higher intensity aspect of. I weigh around 190 and it's all muscle....my point? Well, I NEED rest periods, I prefer keeping the muscle I've spent years developing and refining. I use them for recovery. I use them to have more productive workouts on every level. Muscle sparing/endruance development/and specific tri leg improvement.
For the standards you'd get from most on BT, my routine would be ripped to shreds for having too much rest, insufficient run mileage, insufficient swim frequency, too much strength training, etc.
BUT, I am getting results that satisfy me (the only issue is that progression and success may come more slowly than say, if you loaded up on running mileage to improve run ASAP)

My first full tri was cancelled a week ago, or I'd have results to share, but I have gotten ocean swim times down to 1.36/100yd in training. Training trials on bike of 25 min (10m) on flat terrain. And I'm hoping to hit a 20 min 5k PR next weekend in a local race.

I just wanted to share, because there are some of us out here with really different approaches to this game from some different perspective and purpose. Granted, there is a lot to be said for tried & true principles towards endurance and tri training that I've extracted and used.
I use periodization and personally driven frequency (not pre-written plans) to drive my training. Rest periods ARE part of it
Hope this helps give ya different perspective a bit

here is a crazy thought...

First of all I agree pretty much with the other advice given here. You have the potential to be very compeititive in sprint tris not just locally but regionally as well.

Swim is the weakest of the 3 and my hunch is that at 7:00/400 your losing more tie in the swim in the open water than is just accounted for by pool speed comparision. So swim improvement focusing on technical weaknesses.

Main tain what you're doing on the bike since it's working and it's not a tri weakness yet

Run is definately a strength of yours, and with some minor tweaks could be a killer. PRs in the 5k distance are within easy reach for you.

I'd remove teh wekeend 5k at race pace and convert that into midweek track work of 400s or 800s @ 2-4 seconds faster than 5k pace. (ie if your 5k pace was 8:00/mi, then 400 pace would be 2:00, target 1:56-1:58 for repeats. You're faster than that but that's the math). Do 8-12 x 400 for a few weeks and really nail that pace. This will help your run mechanics and neuromuscular "memory" of a faster 5k pace that's within easy physiologic reach for you.

Make the long run easier & lnoger and work your way up to 6, 8 or even 10 mile long run at a very easy effort.

The crazy thought is that while you may not need a rest day now...find otu what kidn of traiing you need to do that demands a rest day...then back off slightly and STILL take the rest day.

You're probabaly training at your "basic week" training stress and as long as yo uare not stagnating, don' thave aches taht don't resolve in a few hours, etc you're probably fine.

So do youn eed a rest day? No...but if you want to be competitive and you don't need one right now you probabaly have a lot of room for adding stress gradually...

Thanks for all the input. I come from a football (soccer) background and only started cycling a year ago, and running on road in last few months. So it's encouraging that it sounds like I'm fairing quite well.

I've also done a lot of strength training in recent years before starting the cycling and after football, and at peak weighed 11stone (I'm 5ft 3) of muscle. But now I'm down to 8.5 stone with about 10% body fat. Much prefer physique now I must admit and feel a lot 'fitter'.

So I will add some run speed work into my schedule and extend my long run gradually. And also try to work in some more time for swimming somehow! But may have to just make the 20min sessions very intense as opposed to swimming for longer for the time being.

Just a question though - Should I alternate long run/ride with run/bike intervals or am I okay to do intervals in bike and running on consecutive days, and long runs and rides on consecutive days. I know it's very much down to what the individual can handle, but if there's some science in it then I'd start there.

Thanks

I would suggest you figure out a way to work on your swim, you are losing 1 to 2 minutes on other competitors and that will keep you off the podium. High intensity workouts of 20-30 minute a couple times a week can work, but only if you have good form. Without proper form your not going to get any faster.

Everyone is different but I would suggest trying to get a day inbetween the run & bike intervals b/c chances are one of the two will suffer. (tne 2nd one will)

But just experiemnt.

That's a solid muscular physique. Nice