Do you ever feel like Ironman and triathlon training is taking over your life? This morning when I woke up, my husband asked me what was on tap for this weekend. “A 5k race tonight, a long run on Saturday and then a long ride on Sunday” was my reply. Crestfallen, he said “No, I mean what’s on tap for us this weekend?”
But it get’s worse; yesterday, while riding hills (following Jenna’s advice after she went to Madison to check out the WI race course and came home trembling in fear of the hilly course) I had to pull over multiple times to answer phone calls from the hospital where I work part time. And there I was, on the side of the road, giving nutrition advice for a pediatric patient, with the doctor on the other end asking me, “what’s that noise in the background?” I replied, “Well, I’m in the middle of a bike ride and that’s just the traffic whizzing by.” As if the folks as work don’t think I’m crazy as it is. Sweet.
And that’s not all. No matter how much I rest or how often I refuel, I am always tired, chronically fatigued. I’m hoping it’s just a matter of getting used to increased mileage and more frequent workouts, but walking around like a zombie on account of Ironman training has got to stop.
So I ask you, Swim, Bike, Run, Eat! fans, what tactics do you use to keep triathlon training from taking over your life? And to every Ironman out there, can you tell me, please, does it get any easier? Or will I remain dazed and confused until after I finish Ironman WI in September?
great post! so true! Well, I don’t think I’ll be training for IM anytime soon, but I did just complete my first century. It is a complete life commitment and some things have to take a little back burner. It’s really tough not going out to have drinks with friends because you have to get up at 4am for a 6 hour ride, but if it’s worth it to you I think it’s worth it.
Hey there Pam-Jenna, I am training for my first half-ironman (after a 2 year hiatus from Olympic and Sprint distance racing due to opening a business like yours offering online nutrition/fitness coaching and a personal training studio which I did close as the demand just didn’t work well for my family)and I really felt that exhaustion too. I am at the peak of training hours right now (14 hours/week in addition to working full time as a clinical dietitian and in grad school to become a physician assistant) and next week will start to taper as the race is just 4 weeks away. I found by following that training concept of 3 weeks hard and 1 week light really made an impact in this phase of the training. Plus trying my best to get in 10 hours of sleep (which is hard with my schedule plus 2 children involved in summer activities every night) along with (of course!) optimal nutrition got me thru the best. I have great support from chatting with other ironman competiters here in Bismarck, ND. Please let me know if you have any questions that I could maybe help you with!
It does get easier… but only after the race is completed!