How to Find Time for Training

I've just been going and going lately.  A quick catch-up of my exercise this past week:

Tue 10/25 - Upright bike, Level 6, 25 minutes on random; back and biceps, core work, stair climber
Wed 10/26 - Day off
Thur 10/27 - c25k W9/D1 (30 min run) outdoors (4.8 pace), chest and triceps, core work, stairs *tired
Fri 10/28 - Upright bike, Level 6, 25 minutes on random; legs and shoulders, core work, stairs

A word about my run on Thursday.  It was a calamity.  Well, that's probably an overstatement but it was still weird.  The first problem I had was that my pants were falling down.  I know, this is a nice thing, but not when you're on a run.  I had to keep yanking them up and they'd keep creeping down.  Guess it's time to retire those gym pants!  Second problem was, I had intermittent cramping - and not the menstrual kind, the I-might-need-a-bathroom-quick kind.  At one point I even thought I might vomit.  Fortunately I got through the run without having to knock on a door and beg to use the bathroom, without throwing up in the hedges, and with my pants on.  Boy, that was a weird one.  I don't know what's going on with my GI system but it's still not back to normal.

So today, Saturday, is a day off from the gym but I'd signed up for an open-water swim clinic through TriMore Fitness.  Here's the description:

"Join TRIMORE Fitness for an open water swim clinic. Whether you are new to open water swimming or just getting your feet wet, this clinic is just what you need. Coach Neil will take you through the basics of open water swimming and give you valuable tips and tricks to get you through your first swim or more comfortable in open water swimming."

I was very excited to have an opportunity to get in the water one more time before my tri next week!   And again, I'm so glad I signed up for it.  There were only three of us (plus a 10 year old that swam better than all of us I think) so we really got a lot of personal attention.  I now know I have a few bad habits that are holding me back.  I cross my arms (esp my left arm) way in front of my body as my hand is entering the water, my legs were too far apart, sometimes I pull too hard, the list goes on and on.  And sighting.  Ha!  Sighting is a real challenge.  But the best part was just another chance to be in open water.  I'm feeling good about the whole thing.

Coach Neil gave us a lot of feedback, tips, encouragement, etc.  And he was in the water with us swimming, which was cool.  He did say we need to be swimming 3-4 days a week if we really want to make major improvements.  I'm not yet ready to get up to swim at 4am, which is what it would take to swim that often, so I won't be making any big improvements this year.

That reminds me, active.com posted a video, "Finding Time to Train for an Ironman."  The guy they interviewed works full time, trains a soccer team and has four kids.  So I thought he must have some good tips.  (by the way - I am NOT training nor considering an Ironman, just looking for tips on finding time to train in general).  Here goes..."The only way to really, uh, I think, to, to, uh, fit the training in is to, to, cut down on sleep."  Ha!  I laughed inside.  Ok, well, at least it's honest.  He goes on to say, "And so, uh, I don't sleep as much as I should."  He does talk about not wasting a moment of his day, and to arrange his schedule so he can fit the longer workouts in, but basically he comes back to not sleeping, "but for the most part it's just cutting the sleep out and being incredibly efficient with your time."  There you have it.  Cut the sleep. 

But really, I'm not training for an Ironman.  I'm just training for a Sprint triathlon, and that's manageable for my life right now.  An hour at the gym, 5 days a week.  A training clinic here and there.  A long ride, run and/or swim here or there - that, I can do.  And maybe one day I will have time to do more.  But for now, I'm good.

So, what's on tap for next week? 

Sun - run, back/biceps
Mon - bike, chest/triceps *if Halloween doesn't get in the way
Tue - run, legs/shoulders
Wed - day off (unless Halloween got in the way)
Thur - bike, back/biceps
Fri - off
Saturday - Marin Triathlon!!

We'll see.  I kind of think it might be nice to have two days in a row off before the tri but we'll see.