I'm giving my thoughts not from my current training (which is pathetically non-existent) but from a previous time in my life.

In my case, it wasn't cycling, but other forms of activity. I was working towards getting extremely lean and potentially going towards a figure competition. To do so, I had to make a lot of sacrafices because the training time was intense. I was exercising a solid 600 to 700 minutes a week (intensely...this does not count warm up, cool down or any stretching...which I also did). I was doing 2 workouts a day (usually early and late...but occasionally at lunch) and these were either weights, cardio or a combination of them.

My sacrafices centered around time. I did have some tiredness and soreness issues in the beginning, but after a week or two at my higher level, those disappeared. I found I actually slept so soundly that I didn't really need more sleep and I was more awake during the day. Of course, it helped that my diet was fan-freaking-tastic. Plenty of protien, TONS of veggies and fruit, and no crap...none. What suffered? The house was gross, the yard was neglected and I had no social life. I had to make choices and for me, fitness and work were number one during that time frame. Even my husband took a bit of a back-seat and it was definitely a strain on our relationship.

I was only able to keep it up because it was short-lived. 12 weeks and then the rest of my world came crashing back in on me full-force. I learned during that time frame that if I were to ever go that route again, I needed to work on balance. I couldn't neglect EVERYTHING and expect to not pay the price. I needed to put together a schedule where each of the things I was neglecting had at least a small amount of my attention - even on a rotating basis - so that I could keep it up longer than just 12 weeks.

This has been my plan since I started biking (all this happened in the 6 months prior to my first road bike purchase)...and I just haven't been able to get my act together to do it again. I think partly I'm afriad of getting too 'gung-ho' again. Of course, I know that I can learn from my mistakes, I just haven't put it into practice.

So the long winded answer - prioritization, choice and balance... these are the things that make that type of schedule work. I think that CHOICE is #1...you can't be all things to all people, so it's important to make your choices and be prepared to adjust them as necessary. How do to his mentally is clearly still a mystery to me as I'm now as fat and as lazy as I've ever been (3 years later).