How do you do it all?
My last race of the season was Rev3 half Maine the last weekend of August. I took a couple of months easy, mainly doing core work, light runs, a few swims and yoga/stretching. I had a nagging injury that I have been trying to get over via ART and yoga. My injury has significantly improved, however, this OS (started Oct. 29th) I have been really trying to get the core work and yoga in to prevent over use injuries and make myself stronger for my first full Ironman training season.
The first few weeks of the OS were great; I did ta 10-15 min warm up with main sets as written the entire week, 4/5 workouts not adding additional time in. It was the main set and out. I was good about yoga and core work Mondays and a short yoga session Wednesday. Fridays I try to swim in the mornings. I know this is against the grain, but it's less than 5 min from my house, it's the only social activity I have during the week, plus, I like maintaining a bit of upper body/back/core strength through swimming. To be honest, the swim is the first work out to go when I need to sleep in a bit in the mornings as it's easier for me to get a quick 30 min of core and yoga in at my house (and less admin time). I have started to add a bit of running time back on Sundays as my injury is healing up well. However, as the holiday season approaches and other demands on my time surface, I am losing consistency in the core and stretching/yoga. After just going through the rehab process, my mind acknowledges the crucial role these play in my training and injury prevention, but I find that I only guarantee that I fit them in if I do them first thing in the morning...I also have to get my T-Th workouts before work as my afternoon/evening work schedule is ever-changing and there is no guarantee of time or energy when I am finished for the day. Not to mention that in my second OS with EN, I am realizing that my threshold for work is a bit lower than some others and my legs get fatigued earlier. Knowing what in season training will look like, I want to cut down on the admin time/mutliple workouts/day if possible now and it wears on me and I'm good for only so long.
I have started a tracking sheet like Coach P posted a while ago. It has helped keep a steady record of my sleep patterns and how my workouts have been going. It has been a huge help to seeing where I am falling off the wagon (previous tracking just involved workout #s). I am 3 weeks in and still going strong. I have started to incorporate a bit of core work (started IronStength last week) before my workouts T-Th, but I feel like the maybe 15- 20 min I get is less than desirable. I find I don't feel satisfied with what I have done and have less time for stretching at the end of my workout and certainly no time for yoga. I wake up between 5-5:15 most mornings as it is and find it harder to consistently get up earlier than that. That leaves me about 60-75 min of workout time each morning. On average, I have time 1 maybe 2 days a week to add some yoga in the afternoons, but it is unscheduled and the motivation isn't always there this time of the year.
My question is this: how does everyone else incorporate all the key elements (stretching, core, main sets and occasional extended workout with friends or you feel good) in the OS without a. getting burned out mentally b. getting burned out physically c. feeling like you're not doing enough to stay on track with weight, progress goals? I am interested to hear if teammates have these issues and their solutions.
Thanks!
Comments
Claire, For me this isn't a team sport so doing my training with friends isn't a big deal as going out for a run I'm to busy with the enjoyment of being out there than chatting with someone.
The other element of stretching for example I don't do pre workout. I think of the muscle as a stick of butter. You try to bend it when its cold it just snaps when its warmed up the bending becomes much easier. So a LITTLE stretching at the end of a workout is all I need. Like you I'm busy and need to cut corners too for the sake of time. My workouts include a warm up, as written in the plan, main set and cool down. Sometimes I even skip the cool down.
My sleep goal is 7 hours and my workouts are in the AM as the PM brings to much pressure to be somewhere at a certain time that I feel like I'm behind the 8 ball all day and need to catch up.
As far as feeling like your not doing enough. Truth is all us type A folks have that in our head and if you follow a large percentage of the plan the coaches put out there you will be ok. Hone your execution strategies to compensate for time you could not train.
You will do just fine !
x2 what David says. I dont think realistically you can 'do it all' and keep a job and family happy. You do the best you can with the time you have. Consider the week and the 'core' workouts in terms of ROI and prioritize them. Is that 30 min run 2nd workout going to really give you what you need in fitness gains versus taking that time maybe to stretch out a tight hamstring to avoid injury, versus using the time for mowing the lawn or spending time with the family or friends. Mental burnout is a risk always, so its okay to give yourself permission to drop a workout if needed, or reduce the workout so you can go on a run or ride with friends. That may be more positive for you than just getting it done. In the end, I believe, having a good headset being positive and happy will go a much longer way to having great races than, driving yourself into the ground to get 'everything' in. My $.02
Sitting down and writing out my schedule for the week always seems to help me - the process of thinking it through in advance and knowing that I'm doing 'X' on Monday and 'Y' on Tuesday, etc, helps keep my head clear. If I don't have it down in black and white, it's so much more difficult to keep things straight, and that's when important pieces start to fall through the cracks.
110% agree with Dave on the pre-workout stretch, too! I ALWAYS used to tell my patients that muscles are like taffy - they stretch great when they're warm, but not so much when they're cold!
Looking forward to hearing how everyone else gets it done!
I'm of two minds about this.. On the one hand, I set aside 30 minutes, 3 days a week for a little routine whicvh includes stretching, some body-based weight work (push-ups, etc), and dumb-bells for my biceps, to help with the muscle loss from a nerve injury. I do all that because it makes me feel good.
OTOH, there is no good evidence that doing any of that will help with injury prevention. I believe the best way to avoid injury is through the following:
In the past 14 years of serious triathlon training, I have had two injuries which prevented me from missing more than one workout. The first, in 2001, happened because I played soccer with my daughter in my stiff soled cycling shoes - Not proper form! The second was 2011, coming back too hard too soon after a 3 month layoff d/t my bike accident. I got plantar fasciitis 5 months later because I was impatient in getting back to peak fitness.
Going on my 3rd year with EN its been fun learning the plans, how to change them up to fit into my schedule and still have time for family, etc.
1. I am an early riser meaning I'm often on my bike by 0330-0400. I do this to knock out the 4 hour rides often followed by a run to be done early enough that I am showered and ready for breakfast and the day with my family.
2. I often will do either the bike in the morning then in the evening do a longer run.
3. I do Yoga or some form of stretching 4x a week.
4. If I am rushed I will nail the main set to include the intensity and call it a day.
5. If I miss a wko d/t sickness or what have you anymore I just check it up and get back at it the following day.
6. This is what is nice about being a self coached athlete with EN. We have programs and guidance but they can be tweeked by US to fit our schedule!!
7. Remember this is all just a hobby/a game so have fun with it!!
@John - GREAT point RE: trying to stretch every night for a few minutes and consistency being key! I think everyone can find 5 or 10 minutes at the end of the day to do that! I'm going to follow your lead and do it via a little Vinyasa... thanks for that!
Carl, as always... you are an animal, dude. 0330 is crazy talk (and yet I'm married to a guy who does the same at times... ). And your profile pic totally freaks me out. ;-)
Thanks for starting this thread Claire!
This is something to look into Claire. One of the things I've noticed in the endurance world is the lack of emphasis on recovery. It seems we're so caught up pushing the envelope on what "numbers" we can push, we forget that we actually become fitter, faster, stronger during recovery. It's not how hard we train, it's how well we recover from hard training.
@Al makes a great list, but pay particular attention to recovery, your statement above eludes that you are not recovering well. I'm very big on Nutrition. THe easiest thing you can do for nutrition is to make sure you're getting in 1.5g protein for every kg of body weight/daily. There is a short window of 10-20 minutes after a workout that the cell absorbs these nutrients most, so make sure you get in a solid recovery drink/meal right after. THis keeps the body in an anabolic state, after this window without nutrition it moves to a catabolic state and your body begins to break down. Recovery is actually protein synthesis at a cellular level. Give this a try. (I should post my full supplement regimen sometime too)
You should be getting stronger, fitter, faster as the season progress's. If I am not improving week after week I reevaluate and look for the hole. From a "doing" perspective sometimes "more" may be less.
Pay attention to what @Carl has said. This is supposed to be fun... : )
I've been meditating for almost 2 decades and I incorporate my stretching in during this time just before I go to bed. For me this's fun and enjoyable as I know I'm nurturing my mind and body, as opposed to a task that just needs to get done because it's a part of my program. Hope this helps.
I don't stress all that much if I miss a workout and I don't make it up, i just move on.
Last yr I seemed to have a better season and absorbed the work better because I made a concerted effort to focus on sleep. I bought a Zeo sleep tracker and got obsessive about it. My wake up time during the OS is 4:44 AM just about every day and I usually sleep in on weekends until ~5:20 AM or so. During the IM build, my wake-up time varies from 3:55-4:45 AM depending on the day. This makes focus on sleep very hard. I decided to give up things like watching Sunday night and Monday night football (even if my beloved Steelers were on). My bedtime shifted from 10:30PM or so last yr to 9:00-9:30PM this yr with some nights being before 9PM. It feels lame to go to bed at 9PM, but I found that the extra hour of sleep was much better for me than watching football or staying up too late on the internet.
@Sukhi-- I'll lobby the coaches to give you extra Mojo points if you start a new thread with your full supplement regimen...
http://members.endurancenation.us/Training/TrainingForums/tabid/101/aft/10378/Default.aspx
@Al & Sukhi- Thanks for the reminder about the importance of sleep and nutrition. I agree that it is easy to continually look at the "scheduling" of activities instead of the "behind the scenes" stuff. Good point about the protein. Maybe LoseIt would be a good idea for a couple weeks to get a snap shot of my protein intake.
@John & Jess- I like the idea of finding the motivation for 5 minutes MOST days to get some stretching in at a minimum.
@Carl- Great insight! I DO have fun with this, but know I don't want to be injured and so some of the not-so-fun stuff needs to be added in (yoga/stretching is not high on my list). Any tips for how you can get up that early day after day?!
Thanks for the fantastic input! Hearing others' perspectives makes me feel better about "doing what I can" and be confident that it will be enough in the end...without too much mental and physical cost. I think it will be interesting to see how my sleep continues to play a role and get on top of my nutrition. Keep the thoughts coming!
By now I've developed a pretty refined recovery protocol that works for me, which basically consists of:
1) Get solid rest (ideally by waking up naturally, instead of an alarm clock interrupting a REM cycle)
2) Fuel the workout! I think this is largely overlooked. Sure, we can go out and do an hour long run with energy already in our body, but putting yourself into that much more of a deficit only lengthens recovery. Bring sports drink to minimize deficit you put your body in.
3) Quick stretch right after running - hit the quads, hamstrings, and hips. I find muscles have an elasticity memory - if I don't stretch right after, they start to get tight because they start to learn a new 'normal', which is tightness. Not good.
4) Recovery drink right after the workout (I use chocolate milk with half a scoop of muscle milk powder mixed in)
5) Raising legs or cold water/ice bath - especially after a run.
6) Nutrient dense food soon thereafter - something with carbs, fiber, good quality protein, healthy fat (guacamole or some avocado chunks is great), etc. I'm a fan of Chipotle chicken burritos for this.
I still do yoga once/week - but that is really the only extra maintenance thing, other than some pushups, pullups and situps just to make me feel more well rounded. So, IMO, it is all about recovery. Everything falls into place around that.
I so know we are supposed to do it all, but in all honesty we can't. I am living proof of this. I started the OS with magnificent intentions. Yoga, core, strengh, learn to swim correctly, ect, ect. I had already been doing much of these prior to the start of OS, but then I added the OS stuff on top of it and.... I crashed. My body said not one more day and I got sick and it lasted for two and a half weeks of basically and the thought of doing it all again as I started to recover caused me to shut down mentally. Barely looked at my bike, running - what the heck is that? The gym nope couldn't go there. The road back has been slow, and I am super frustrated by that, but my body AND mind are still recovering. So I am giving myself permission to take it slow. I run with people, I bike, I go to the gym, I do some yoga, just no longer all in one day. Today is the first time I did more than one workout in a day and can say I enjoyed it. I think I am ready to add more, but will do so slowly. Identify the most important things to you and put those in. If you feel you still have time to do more add one thing for a couple of weeks and see how it goes. That's my plan.
Claire: I sympathize with your plight, can identify with your frustration and appreciate your thread. I know I’m coming in on this late and not sure I can add a lot to what the others have articulated so well...
But hell, that never stopped me before... If I could contribute anything to this conversation, I might interject my perspective in regards to the mental game. I say this because from what I can tell, your problem is not that you’re disorganized or weak. This simply may be a problem that cannot be solved by traditional means, like applying greater time management or some secret training tip. Of course, I could be wrong. Heck, I'm barely literate.
To me, long course triathlon is at its core a simple equation that adds up your 1.) work/life schedule (family, job, commute, obligations, etc.), 2.) general life stress level, 3.) age/gender, 4.) access to resources- wealth/coaching /equipment, 5.) physiology (Chrissie Wellington), 6.) athletic background (Heather Jackson), 6.) years of muscle memory (Meredith Kessler), 7.) access to nutrition (Oprah, uh sometimes…), 8.) supplementation and the most important IMHO, 9.) genetics (Sami Inkinen). Oh, and you might be shocked to learn there is fair bit of cheating going on at both the elite and AG levels that raises an unrealistic bar slightly for us all (with a Western Union check wired to Moldova, I could have HGH delivered to my door by Christmas. So I don’t kid myself.)
I’m sure I’m leaving out some variables, but I think the premise is solid. We all bring certain strengths and weaknesses to this sport, and some can be overcome. But at the end of day, there’s a ceiling. And it lowers every day. We are who we are, the carbon-based equivalent of our combined score above. I’m sure I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know, but it bears repeating as often as possible: when we combine a dangerous cocktail of Type A individuals in something as addicting as long-course, and then cull a few into a lunatic asylum called EN, it’s easy to forget that what we’re ultimately attempting to accomplish is graduate from the top .02% fittest of the population to the top .01%. And that’s a sickness.
Long-course is a wonderful and insidious disease. Its toxic pathology is splattered all over the EN dashboard. And it can eat you up and destroy you if you let it. That’s the toxic stench of vanity, insecurity and negative energy you can practically feel in the transition area before a race.
So if you’re comparing yourself to others or your idea of where you should be, setting outcome goals beyond your control- even in training-or trying to solve your problem with ever greater loads of volume, frequency or intensity, then that’s the definition of insanity. It may be beneficial to step back and re-evaluate your point of reference.
Anyone doing this long enough knows that this is ultimately all about the journey. The race is just the reward- take a poll and most of us would admit that we get off on the training way more than the races. As such, if the part that’s supposed to be most fun is creating the greatest stress, or if you’re experiencing burn-out both mentally and physically from the training aspect, then it may be time to evaluate what you’re hoping to get out of this. And what provides fulfillment.
Your particular dilemma is something we all struggle with, and precisely the reason that RnP discourage the supplemental training in-season (yoga, weights, core, etc.) Not b/c it’s not useful, but b/c very few human beings can manage an EN plan and a parallel fitness plan simultaneously. Not without a very high score in the equation. If you want/need that complementary fitness component physically/mentally, then fine- you have to accept that something else has to give. And also that you’re human (Presumably.)
Long-course training is too hard. If it no longer gives crazy joy, renews your passion on a consistent basis, or leaves you constantly frustrated, then you have a problem that goes deeper than spreadsheets and training logs. (Sometimes) you can't reschedule enough to make those numbers work out.
If you lose a workout, then you fold and wait for the next deal. And if you hit a consistent streak of bad cards, then it’s usually time to take what you have left, stand up and try another table. (BTW: Short course is not a crime. It just means you’re stable and well-balanced. Look at the incredible Chrissie Wellington. Its possible years of stupid body fat and insane training regimen may have contributed to her premature retirement. I commend her remarkable insight and conviction. She knew when to check herself before she wrecked herself.)
I guess my point is that there is a threshold we all have for the amount of stress we can apply to our life. It takes perspective, experience and intelligence to know where that line is. We're continually pushing it higher and higher. But there is always a limit. And instead of trying to raise that threshold, sometimes it’s more productive mentally to embrace it for awhile. Or set it on the shelf and pick up another aspect of the sport/lifestyle to refine.
To me, I always go back to the equation. (Which is beneficial since my score is so low!) Somewhere(s) deep in the Wiki, I know Coach Rich waxes eloquently, something to the effect of needing to accept what you can accomplish based on what your life gives you in terms of your lifestyle and fitness. And then find happiness with that being the best that you can do with the cards you’re dealt -on that hand. I don’t know if your current personal expectations are too high or not. That’s not my place to judge. Your goals may or may not be realistic for where you are in your life right now. Or maybe you’re just in a rut. And neither is fatalistic. It’s just reality.
But you’re a triathlete, maybe a control freak like me/us, and likely gonna try to cram more and more in. I always find it kinda sad to see that desperate airline passenger (usually the last one on) trying to cram that oversized luggage into the undersized overhead bin. Have you ever tried to bend that thing? I have. That's usually when the flight attendant pays me a visit.
We all do that with our fitness. Because that's what the training plan says. And the training plan is God. It’s in our blood. We’re all trying to draw that blood from a turnip (metaphorically speaking, of course.) But occasionally life pushes back. The foolish continue to push, the intelligent go with the flow. It takes real courage to recognize that.
I hope I haven’t gone too heavy on the cheese, but I probably have. Sorry for the soliloquy. It's a gift. If so, maybe I should end with something tougher, like HTFU. But I kinda’ prefer the cheese. I've been drinking a lot of Perpeteum these days. I only recognize like half of the ingredients, and I think it’s rotting my brain: http://www.hulu.com/watch/24394
X2 in chick's sunglasses
I'm way late to this party, but I 1000% get it. I have three kids, work full time professionally, and am married to a firefighter who has to work some crazy hours. My oldest is now getting into gymnastics/swimming/dance, so my evenings are eaten up. I also pet-sit, teach cycle, and volunteer on a few committees. It's alot. And sometimes it way sucks. This is what I've learned over the years:
-Strength training makes me look better but doesn't make me perform any better. I'm faster now than I was when I was in college and had a very strict strength-training routine. I was also a gymnast for like 13 years. I was very strong. I wasn't very "fast". RnP hit the nail on the head with the whole theory that lifting a barbell doesn't make you pedal any faster. It's true.
-The ONLY additional work I do outside of the O/S is related to PT for run form. Meaning I have to do some bridges, planks, and hip strengthening. This is how I do that: in front of the TV on the floor, while watching Law&Order SVU at night. No joke. It takes ZERO mental commitment. Find the "holes" in your day where you can do something like that. I also have to stretch (tight calves, hip flexors), and I do that in my office while on a teleconference. Seriously. I have a half-round foam roller (12 inches long - small), and use that to stretch my calves. Sure, warm muscles stretch better, but I ease into it. Gentle stretching can be (should be) done throughout the day and easily. I don't need to learn to do the splits again or perfect pigeon pose. I just gotta loosen up a little. So my "strength" routine and stretching stuff doesn't take additional time in my day - it's done in parallel. Make sense? And that's the ONLY additional stuff I do. I don't think the rest of the stuff is a waste. If people have time, fine, but I'd rather spend that extra hour with my kids. Not tied up in knots by my TRX or letting Raoul, the Yoga Master, help me learn to sit in a pretzel pose.
-Make that weekly schedule work for YOU. I decide where workouts can go....and where they can't. I only allow myself to get up before 5AM two or three days a week. I schedule "sleep in" days on purpose. It has to happen. I trained for IMLP last year on like 4 hours sleep a night with newborn twins. I had a meltdown. And while the race itself was phenomenal, it wasn't worth my sanity. After the race, I didn't want to do ANYTHING, I was that burned out.
Bottom line: We all set goals for ourselves and set standards. In the long run, when all of us are 75 years old, we want to look back and be proud of what we've accomplished in life. And, to me, triathlon should be a small slice of that pie. Not the whole pie. Ultimately, you have to enjoy LIFE. I can almost guarantee you that your performance on race day won't be affected one way or the other by adding or deleting that "ONE" supposedly-critical routine every week. But your sanity might.
Choose what matters most to you. What do you ENJOY? Hit the key workouts as best as you can. Maybe add in one thing IF IT'S FUN and IF YOU CAN. If not? Let it go. Truly, mentally, LET. IT. GO.
I relate alot to what Bart said. I'm scared to think about what drives some people to be as obsessive as they are, and it did turn me off to triathlon at first....the attitude of people in transition or at the race start. But for every one of "those" people, there's someone like me....who does the best she can. Who puts it all on the table sometimes....and says it's not worth it other times. And I'm OK with that. And you should be too. You care about your health. You're doing what you think is best.
Embrace that, and embrace your beautiful self....all facets of it. You as a triathlete, you as a professional in your career, as a friend, etc etc etc....
Thanks for starting this discussion, too. I like reading everyone's take on how they address these issues.
On Stretching, I definetly stretch at work (especially my calves), during story time with my daughter, while watching TV, so this almost becomes a wash. I typically only warm up and cool down around my workouts but don't always stretch out until much later after the fact.
The next thing I do is commit to getting the workouts in, period. Commitment is the biggest thing you need to have, and will guide you when "other demands on your time surface". If I roll off an all-night flight to Europe at 6am, I'll run before my meeting starts. If I get home to Chicago at 9pm after a day trip to wherever, I'll get on the bike if that's what I need to do. I have done brick runs at 11pm. If I need to slot in a run at lunch, I'll do that. In fact, at the beginning of each week I look at my workouts and my work/travel calendar and put blocks on my calendar where I intend to do the workouts. If I get thrown a curveball and need to adjust, I will. Sometimes I'll schedule a flight to be at a different time based on the knowledge that I'll need to get in a workout before heading to the airport. Sometimes I'll see a 3-hour hole in my calendar on a particular day and put a block on it with the intention of doing a workout (and tell my assistant that only certain people can have that timeslot, i.e. really, really important people only). By looking ahead at each week you can identify the likely conflicts and where you'll do the workouts.
Honestly, a lot of this is mental and about your commitment and desire and willingness to sacrifice. You need to prioritize the workouts and you'll realize you have more ways to "fit it all in". Sometimes I get reminded of when my wife and I renovated our house a few years ago. This was before we started working out but we were so busy with work and kids we thought we had "no time". Then we did a hme renovation that required an insane amount of time...much more than we ever expected. But somehow it got done. We "fit it in". I remind myself about that from time to time.
Or to put it another way, the usual welcome EN call I do has someone saying "This year I want to get faster at the bike and the run...and lose 15lbs....and drop my swim time...etc"...before i can stop them, they are off erasing swaths of valuable time.
Pick your battles, both inside tri but in life / work / etc. For me this means committing to consistent workouts, good sleep and good food. Then 3 days a week, I spend 20 minutes doing some core and swim cords. That's it. No time for yoga or extras...but I am focused on doing the best with what time I can afford my hobby!