I recently read a short article titled "How to date a Triathlete." While it was nothing way too insightful (and I'm easier to date, because I have cut the swim out for now) it did lead me to reflect on a common theme, or even call it a concern, among non-professional multisport athletes. Simply put, how do we balance training with the rest of life. In my opinion, this is a challenge for two main reasons:
1) Improvement and success in multisport racing takes a lot of time, and the better one gets, the more time improvement takes [there are diminishing marginal returns to training]. A simple example: it is much easier to go from a 4 hour marathon to a 3:45 marathon than it is to go from a 3:15 marathon to a 3 hour marathon. One can get into a pretty vicious (or virtuous, depends on your perspective) cycle of needing to train more in order to continuously improve. When it comes to multisport racing, just maintaining fitness across 2/3 disciplines takes a lot of time, and the better you get, the more training is needed to make gains.
2) Endurance training is addictive. Just google it if you want more serious/scientific information, but in short, the physiological release of endorphins and dopamine brought about by intense and ritualized aerobic exercise is only topped by sex and drug use. Not to mention, the psychological thrill of pushing oneself and transforming one's body in the pursuit of very tangible goals is also [in my opinion, at least] somewhat, if not fully addictive.
I don't think either of the reasons above should carry a negative connotation, if anything, I believe they are both quite positive. The personal growth that comes with improving at something that is challenging is good, and of all the things to give you a "pick me up," physical exertion isn't a bad one - I'd actually say its a pretty good one, and we just may be programmed for it. If Darwin were still alive, he would remind us that we didn't evolve to sit around all day. That said, there are some risks [outside of the health/ performance consequences of physical over training] brought about by our passion. These "risks" or maybe more appropriately stated, "concerns," are pretty personal and depend a lot on one's own environment [e.g., significant other gets mad at you, if you are a parent you may not be spending enough time with kids, not performing well at work, not sleeping enough, etc, etc -- you get the point]. I think we [multisport athletes] all can easily identify a few in our own lives, I know I can. To that end, I'll offer my perspective around good ways to approach this challenge by sharing some things that have generally worked well for me.
Be honest with yourself: If you love the sport more than anything, you might want to think about pursuing the sport more than anything. This doesn't necessarily mean trying to become a pro; there are plenty of ways you can make multisport your life. I have good friends of all ages that work at running stores, coach athletes, and yes, even some continplating going for the pro-card. All these folks are really happy. For them, "balance" would be stupid. If multisport is your calling, go for it. You get in more trouble if you deny it, lying to yourself and lying to others. That said, if this isn't your absolute calling, but you still really really love it (yours truly), then...
Communicate with important people in your life: Let them know how and why you love training and racing. I often say that if there are 112 waking hours in the week, you can get 112 hours of me at 70%, or you can get 95ish hours of me at 100%. It then becomes pretty easy for those that care about me to understand, and much easier for me to be fully present and give that 100% when I am not training.
Don't meet people at the bar: If you are dating people who love late nights and alcohol, this should raise a few red flags. If you're dating someone whose idea of a fun night is cooking a great dinner, going to a movie/show and going to bed on the early side so you can go on a great hike in the morning, then you'll probably be happier in the long run. Not sure if I'm getting the point across, but be yourself early and often when meeting others. For those that are married, I have no personal advice, though I'm sure the communication point (above) is pretty huge.
Involve [significant] others in your training, and care about their "training" whatever it may be: If you are yourself with others early and often [see above], then you'll probably end up surrounding yourself with people who share common interest to yours. They don't have to be exact. For example, Caitlin [best girlfriend] is also the best race-walker [it's actually insane]. Although we can't do our workouts together, we can prep for them, work to start/end them at the same time, enjoy brunch/dinner after them together, and even schedule long rides and long walks on the same day, so we can melt away on the couch with each other later that afternoon and evening.
Set just-manageable challenges: Set goals that not only align to your current physical condition, but also your time boundaries. If you evaluate your job/school, family, friends, etc and come out knowing you only have 10 hours a week to train, you probably won't win an Ironman, so don't aim to. It's ok to dream, but don't be delusional. Important note here, I'm not suggesting winning Kona is delusional at all..it's only delusional if you try to train up to win Kona while working for a law firm, active in three book clubs, and in a band...you get the point [go back to my first piece of advice, if you want to make this the center of your life, just do it]
Compartmentalize training: When I'm on the bike or running, I'm on the bike or running (with the exception of some multi-tasking on the trainer). Equally important, when I'm off the bike, then I'm off the bike. I love my training sessions when I'm doing them, but when they end, then they end. When it's time to focus on school, I focus on school. When it's time to be with someone special, you better bet that's what, and all, I'm doing. Full disclosure here, I'm quite against multi-tasking on the whole. I don't care how good you are at it, you would be better and have more quality experiences if you were just doing one thing. Sometimes this isn't possible, but I try to create space to make sure that when I'm doing something, that's all I'm doing
Plan balance: There is nothing zen and magical about any of the above. I think the most critical thing is to be honest with yourself, think about what you want to do, and set a plan for doing it. Right now, being in graduate school, I know I have the time, resouces, and body to accomplish certain goals, so I am going for them. I also know that in a few years, that mix will change [enter: job in health care and a desire to change health care, potential children, changing body, etc]. By being aware of how training and racing fits into a more broader and integrated path, you'll avoid so many blind-sides and blow-ups, and you'll be more apt and able to realize when you need to make a change, whether that change is dropping everything and moving to Montana to train full time, or moving back from Montana to work in some corporate job [those are extremes, but there is an enormous and pragmattic grey area in between]
All of this is just my opinion, and not the "right" answer by any means. Hopefully I at least got you thinking about what the "right" answer might look like for you!
Train hard, Live hard!
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