How do you...

[tygab]

Been meaning to respond to this thread... but with all my training have less time to be on the forums

seriously though this is partly to commiserate and partly to find out what people consider "normal" training time to be. I have read several books/articles etc and the low end is 4hrs/wk, but something else I just read says 7 hrs per week for a sprint tri. Huh? That seems like a lot for average and for a sprint tri in particular. Are these people doing bricks everyday? Figuring that it's not a "do all 7 on the weekends" kind of thing, I don't see how this makes sense for the average week. No way that would work for me, and I don't have kids, much of a social calendar, & work less than 50 hrs/wk (even drifting toward 50 I find very tiring/demanding so can't imagine what people who work 55+ hrs do to stay sane).

Truth be told, I could complete a sprint pretty much now with 3-4 hrs a week training in the gym, and it isn't even optimal time of year for us out here (that is to say, we will have more time to be outside on long rides or runs, as the weather starts warming up, get sunny, etc). It wouldn't be fast, but I am pretty confident I could do the distances reasonably comfortably. But I am also not starting from scratch in exercising, I have a pretty good base I have been maintaining from last summer (and now starting to hone again).

I also want to improve throughout the season [unlikely I'll ever be fast but hey it's fun to visualize], and I am pretty sure I'll work to an Oly distance this year, so my weekly plan will have varied intensity weeks leading up to my prime event(s) in late summer. However, my toughest weeks won't be squished into weekdays, so even then I'd only figure maybe 5-ish hours during the workweek. I am curious on what kinds of time people put into various distances.

Anyways, I just think there's no possible way you can burn all these fires full time. Take breaks, remember that REST is just as important as training. Sometimes, other stuff has to come before training too. Sometimes, other stuff has to come before WORK. Just gotta go with the flow of where you feel your energies are best balanced. One thing I love about the very nature of triathlon is it forces training balance not only per event but also as a whole. If you only ran, you'd have a major challenge in the swim, bike, or both. Likewise, if you put everything into the Monday workout, you'd have nothing in the tank for the rest of the week. If you don't have rest/recovery weeks, then you won't get thru a season of training well.

I know I am still learning and will be for some time to come, but I try to view the goals on the bigger picture rather than getting pulled into the frustrations of the day to day. Otherwise I probably would have given up already!

Take care,
-T

[Grog]

seriously though this is partly to commiserate and partly to find out what people consider "normal" training time to be. I have read several books/articles etc and the low end is 4hrs/wk, but something else I just read says 7 hrs per week for a sprint tri. Huh? That seems like a lot for average and for a sprint tri in particular. Are these people doing bricks everyday? Figuring that it's not a "do all 7 on the weekends" kind of thing, I don't see how this makes sense for the average week.

Very briefly - don't want to hijack the thread.

I think that if you're looking to complete a sprint triathlon, 3-5 hours a week is fine. That's what I'm doing in the winter months (December, January, February), according to my training log on BeginnerTriathlete.com.

If you're looking to improve your times, I think 7 hours a week would be indicated.

I don't train for triathlons but I run and cycle, and swim a little. In the summer, when the bike kicks in, I'm probably training about 9-12 hours a week, including long weekend rides.

I'm a PhD student and "work" (i.e. sit at my desk or do PhD-related tasks) about 40 to 50 hours a week. I live with 100 other graduate students so my meals are the main part of my social life. I also visit my future-family-in-law with my sweet partner once in a while. Sports/training constitutes the most of my leisure and uses most of my "disposable time," the rest of which goes to TE.

I have done it in the past, but I can't imagine myself working 70-hour weeks anymore, year-round...

[Crankin]

Be careful. I happened onto this thread, even though I gave up the idea of doing a tri. Besides the fact that swimming scares me and I'm a slow runner, I know I could probably complete a sprint tri now. The times wouldn't be pretty, but I would definitely finish. So why didn't I commit?
Well, I've involved in training, aerobics, cycling for about 25 years. I am one of those people who seems to have a much lower tolerance for overloading/stressing my body with huge amounts of training. I am getting over a very bad bout of bronchitis/asthma, etc that has had me down for almost 7 weeks. I'm pretty sure that this is a result of the winter training program I was doing. The cycling was at such a high intensity that it just breaks down my immune system. Then, when I started doing winter sports, that put me over the edge (just ask Deb W. how slow I was when we went skiing). I've had heart palpitations, sleepless nights, and a never ending series of allergic/bronchial things from over training. Then I get stressed from not exercising when I have to rest. It's a nasty cycle.
So, with work stress and the fact that I still have a couple of friends left who don't cycle that I like to see, sometimes I say "Today I am going to be a normal person," i.e. someone whose entire life isn't planned around how to get my ride/hike/yoga/weights in. You need a mental break sometime! Or, I go for a ride with someone who is slower than me.
Most people who don't train the way we do think it's an amazing feat. Keep it in perspective...

Robyn

[Kimmyt]

This thread has me wondering if my sudden increase in illnesses this year (usually I am never sick... this year in the space of 2 months I have gotten bad strep throat and a really really bad cold I am still recovering from) is due to my increase in training, or if it is just because of some bad sicknesses going around.

I know I got both infections from a coworker, but I wonder if I would have gotten them if I gave myself some more time to rest.... ruh roh

Good luck though with regulating your schedule! I couldn't imagine doing 60-70 hours a week at work, but then 40 is practically too much and I certainly don't love what I do like I'm sure you do.

[Bluetree]

Thanks for all your kind words of support, gals, it really means a LOT.

I can usually handle a heavy workload, as I don't know any other way to live. My grandparents instilled in my parents the Japanese work ethic, which they passed on to me. So even as a kid, I never had summer vacations (always in academic camp or summer school), never took a spring break (best time to prepare for finals), never NOT worked (had a job since I was 16, even when carrying up to 24 units in college), and so on...
Hard work does not bother me, as long as there is a purpose or goal in sight.
(BTW – It's hard to think of life as difficult when you grow up hearing your parents say, "You think this is tough? Try living through a nuclear bomb." So basically, I got the lazy knocked right out of me from an early age. )

But I often have no idea what to do with myself when I'm not working (or as my mother calls it, "not being productive")... so I tend to take on more projects or challenges to fill in the gaps. But occasionally, I run out of gaps to fill and things start to overflow. Like now.

So I'm eternally grateful to hear your words of support. Yeah, things will calm down after April. Yeah, I will hire a new agent and a new gallery. For now, I just have to vent a little, put my nose down and wait for the skies to clear. Soon.

Thanks again.