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