Working 60+ Hours/Week AND Ironman Prep?

I’ve spent the last year and a half working anywhere from 45-70 hours a week. In recent months, it’s averaged out to 60~ hours. I routinely work 12-14 days in a row before getting a day off. I’m not saying this to brag, as many Millennials are wont to do. I truly will never understand the concept of bragging about how much a person works. Or those people who are signaling that they’re “important” because they’re “soooo busy.” Can’t stand it.

Breakdown

45ish Hours/Week: My “real” job, my 9 to 5, is in politics, which means that whenever there is an upcoming election, that job takes precedent above everything else. Well guess what? There were elections last year, elections this year, and elections next year/prep for the Presidential in 2020. There is really NEVER a true off-year.

15ish Hours/Week: My secondary job, as a Climbing Instructor, keeps me pretty busy on the weekends and a few nights a week after my regular job. I frequently work both weekend days, and while I love working outside, it can be exhausting to work 12 days straight.

Combine both of those jobs: 2+ days a week I work 12-14 hours, and I usually work 12-14 days straight before I get a day off.

As if that wasn’t enough, I decided to race an Ironman this year. Again, I honestly must be straight stupid because I don’t know what I was thinking.

So how did I do it? Prep for an Ironman while maintaining my workload? 

Honestly, it’s unclear. I must have blacked out for most of it! I somehow stumbled through, finding time for workouts before and after work, bike commuting to work, riding the trainer at night, running in the dark after working outside all day. I kept a relatively low training volume for an Ironman; from March – race day in September, I trained 275 hours. Normal training plans prescribe more than that; somewhere around 500-700 training hours a year. If I maintained my training year round, I’d end up with 470 training hours.

• Most of my friendships were put on the back burner
• Any other hobbies were relegated to “after the Ironman”
• Cut out all workouts that don’t directly benefit triathlon
• I prioritized sleep as much as possible, to recover and to help avoid burnout
• Any free weekend days went to long rides/runs
• Dating was sporadic/mainly unsuccessful

To sum it up, I became one of the most selfish people I know. I put myself and my goals before anything else. And it worked. I finished my Ironman in 15:06, and even got through it with some grace.

Now I need to get back to real life, figure out how to deal with my (still crazy) workload, and try to convince myself I don’t need to do another Ironman (spoiler alert: I’ll probably end up doing another one within 18 months).

Results: One Year of Bike Commuting

I live in the D.C. area, which arguably is one of the most bike-friendly cities in America. When I started my new job last year, a full 4.5 miles away, it only made sense to start biking to work. Driving into the city is out of the question and taking the metro is either slow or life-threatening. Overall, bike commuting has been life-changing for me.

Climbing to Swim

Over the last eight months I’ve circled back to one of my earliest passions, rock climbing. My dad taught me to rock climb when I was in first grade, and I loved every moment of it. Rock climbing as a hobby for me fluctuated over the years, and as I took up other sports more earnestly, it faded to a fond memory.

How Biking to Work is Changing My Life

I started my new job in February, and thought I had my daily commute down pat. But, it was taking approx. 40 mins each way to only travel 5 miles. And that’s when the metro runs smoothly. For those who don’t live in the DC area, the metro RARELY runs smoothly. If it’s not literally on fire, some random drunk is on the tracks, or they’re doing much needed repair work on the tracks. Either way, the trains are frequently delayed.

(This is an actual website)

A lot of people bike to work in DC and I realized that the obstacles to biking to work (shower, gear, weather) weren’t really that difficult to surmount.

Run, Sweat, Smile

I know I haven’t exactly kept it a secret here, but I seriously dislike running. I’d much rather feel the wind in my face from going 20+ miles an hour on the bike. But, I drug myself out for my run last night and purposefully forced myself to smile during it. I probably looked like an idiot, grinning and running and huffing and puffing, but it felt amazing. It was an instant mood lifter. Hey, it might have looked more like a grimace and I might have scared some small children, but I felt great! Happy, energetic, fast. I really could have kept running but didn’t want to go too crazy and ruin a good thing.

I really needed that positive run; the happiness has yet to abate and it’s 18 hours later. So, next time your run starts to suck, you lose motivation, you hit that hill – just smile!

Forget the Metrics

As triathletes, we get so caught up in metrics. Heartrate zones, lactate threshold work, power output, cadence, distance, pace, etc, etc, etc. It’s enough to make anyone mad!

Training Paused – Cuba Vacation!

**Fair warning, this post has nothing to do with triathlon training**

So, as the title suggests, I stopped all my triathlon training for a week while I traveled to Cuba! Because I work in politics, the pace of my job thankfully tends to slow down after the elections. Making December-March the perfect time to go on vacation! My friend Leah and I planned this vacation around the end of December, and randomly picked early February as our time to go. If you have not used Google Flights, and their flight map, I highly suggest you do. It will show you the cheapest flights for whatever dates and location you would like. We moreorless just looked at the various cheap flight locations, saw Cuba was a great option, and booked it!

Off-Season Motivation and Weightlifting

To be honest, I have fully embraced the triathlon “off-season” and have probably taken it a bit too far. As in, I run max 10 miles a week, I loathe my indoor trainer, and haven’t stepped foot in a pool for a couple months. I know this is going to make starting the new season even more difficult, but I honestly saw no other way to deal with my post-marathon struggles.

7 Week Marathon Training Plan: Week 6

I realize it’s Wednesday, and I’m just now getting around to posting my week 6 workouts for my marathon training plan. Work has been pretty busy lately, and I’ve unfortunately been neglecting training somewhat. At this point though, I won’t gain any fitness in the next two weeks that will positively influence my marathon performance at all.

Why I’ll Never Buy Hoka One One’s

What swings one way to the extreme, surely must swing back just as hard in the opposite direction. This pendulum rebound is overtly (or covertly) expressed in every aspect of life. If you’ve been around long enough, you can really notice it happen in the fashion industry. (Since when are chokers cool again??) Maybe it’s just me, and my interests, but it’s also shockingly transparent in the running shoe industry.