Finding time to Tri

Well, the title says it all.  How do we find time to do this crazy sport.  You hear it all the time, family, job, friends.  All these things take valuable time away from triathlon.  But remember, Triathlon is our hobby.  Unless you are a professional, it is important to keep that in perspective.

To fit everything in, it is important to schedule and plan very well.  For some people this means getting up early to work out or working out late at night after the kids go to sleep.  Maybe you find an gym near work and workout at lunch?  Any plan you have is good as long as it works for you.  There is no one way to success.

In my life there are really 3 major components.  Work, Family and Triathlon.  Lucky for me I work a 40 hour per week job (though I work a flex schedule so it is 9 hour days with every other Friday off).  I also have a generous boss who lets me come in to work early.  For me working out in the morning is just not much fun.  Working early in the morning on the other hand I can stomach.  Because I go into work early, I am able to get out of work early and still have time to workout (while it's light), or get home and spend time with my family before they go to sleep.

For Triathlon, I workout 1 or 2 times per day 5-6 days per week. I split up my workouts as follows: 

Running - I run at work during lunch 2 times per week, and then a long run on the weekends.  My lunch runs are usually for 30 -60 minutes and then I will eat my lunch at my desk after the run. 

Biking - I try to ride 3 times per week, but it is hard, especially during winter.  Lucky for me, cycling is my strength, so my time here is less important until spring.  I take a spinning class 1 or 2 times a week at lunch time, but once the weather is nice, I will ride at least 2 times per week outside, with a long ride (involving climbing) on the weekend.

Swimming - I like to swim 3 times per week.  This is hard as I really don't like swimming and therefore, procrastinate getting to the pool.  I will swim right after work 2 times per week.  This works because I go into work so early.  I get out of work early, beat the crowds at the pool and can get in 30-45 minutes and I'm home by 6:00 for dinner.  I have also now joined a Triathlon Club and have started participating in a group swim on Sundays.  It is amazing what swimming with a group can do for you.  Once the summer rolls around, I will be heading out for OWS 2 days a week.  Usually one weekend day and one weekday.

I should note, that when family activities arise, I don't hesitate to skip a workout.  With all our training, missing a workout is not the end of the world, and really maintaining fitness is pretty easy.

As for Friends another area I didn't mention above.  I have found that many of my friends are also triathletes and my older friends don't see me as much.  But I do make time to see them occassionally.  I really think this would be the same even if I wasn't into triathlon as most of my time is centered on my family anyway.

If you have questions about managing your time for training, leave me a comment and I will get back to you asap.  Thanks...