It’s fitting that I’m pulling this post together on a flight back to Detroit for a wedding in my girlfriend’s family…after a half-day of work…after a 4-hour brick workout that started around 4:30AM. I won’t have my bike in Michigan, nor the time for such a long training session, but it was a critical workout that had to get done, and it got done. I’ll still train this weekend, but nothing nearly that long, and the focus will be on family and friends, not my cadence while climbing.
While I’ve written about finding “balance” before [http://bradstrainingupdate.blogspot.com/2011/02/balancing-training-with-other-things-in.html], the broader topic of making multisport training [and more generally, the lifestyle] work with other commitments is one that seems never to go away; constantly brought up on long group rides, in magazines, and recently, even in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. Given the significance of and interest in this topic in our community, rather than giving additional thoughts of my own, I decided to take a “crowed source” approach. I asked over 30 near-elite [we aren’t talking weekend warriors, but athletes that constantly win their age-group and often find themselves on overall podiums] individuals that are “pro” at something other than multisport* how they make training at such a high level [often between 15-20 hours a week] work. The results, in their own words, are below. This is a long one, but probably the most insightful and useful stuff that has ever been up on this page. Go figure, it’s the one thing I didn’t write!
“I think it can be a very destructive sport and I’ve been aware of that from day one. I’ve always had my wife’s support. I’ve watched friends and training partners go from training, to sitting around, watching TV to jumping on Facebook, to having a stretch, then back to Facebook. That’s not how I spend my time. I think when you have other commitments, you need to be regimented, get things in order and get things done….I also always try to include my family in some way.”
“The balance is a lot of planning and communicating. But overall it comes down to the family understanding what I do. But also me understanding what I need to do…which is get up early a lot and get it done. Sleeping in and rolling out for a mid-morning bike ride on a weekend is unacceptable.”“I don’t golf, I don’t play poker, and I probably make $20K less than my full earnings potential. But I’m a hell of a lot healthier, wiser, happier, and a better example to my children for it.”
“It’s deciding how you want to spend your time. I am content with a mediocre social life and very few activities that don’t involve working out. The more you put into something the more you will get out, it works for training, relationships, and life. To put more in somewhere one usually has to take some out somewhere else.”
“I teach 6th grade, am getting my masters at night, have certain Teach for America obligations, a relationship, and train a lot. Everything is scheduled, and I try my best to stick to it. I also have a plan where I know what races to prioritize…I sync those up when the timing with everything else is right.”
“Quality over quantity. Use the trainer.”
“I have a very supportive and understanding husband, and I am constantly re-evaluating the balance of more training time to get faster and more competitive-and the importance of that. I would rather be an elite wife and mother than an elite athlete”
“I like to combine family outings with a workout. I will ride to my in-laws, meet the family in town.”
“It helps to have family that is supportive of the individual who is pursuing a multisport lifestyle, so they can operate in a more functional and progressive manner. Trying to balance graduate studies and doctoral internships, military training and deployments, and family life is a never-ending balancing act. I try to give the proper attention to each aspect of my life. It’s not easy, but as the time goes on you begin to realize how to fine-tune what aspects in your life need more attention, just like in multisport, when after a certain amount of time you begin to realize what aspects/disciplines of the sport you need to give more attention and fine-tuning to. We choose multisport because it pushes the mind and the body and allows us to feel the gift of life, in its most honest and natural state.”
“I have been EXTREMELY fortunate to be dating a girl that understands the dynamics of a competitive athlete, such as me. I have also been extremely successful in surrounding myself with people who both understand and admire what I do- and that's half the battle of making it work.”
“I do jeopardize other aspects of my life. My friends in the department constantly ask me if I want to go out for a pitcher or something on the weekends, but I always have to turn them down because I'm getting up early to roll on the Blue Ridge Mountains. It's just the kind of sacrifice that you have to make. You have to surround yourself with people who "get it", and the rest will take care of itself.”
“Planning and communication is key. At the start of every week, my wife knows when my workouts are, and if they don’t “work out,” then they are adjusted. Getting 15 hours in a week actually isn’t that tough at all, so long as you find the right 15 hours. That is a joint effort.”
“This sport is my Soma. You can get me at 70% 100% of the time, or 100% 95% of the time.”
“Yeah, it’s an addiction, but I see those that end their nights with 1-2 hours of TV on the couch just as addicted. And while mine may cost more now, when I hit 65, 70, it will cost a lot less”
“I’m not really sure how it works, to be honest. It would probably be easier to be a pro, but that’s just not realistic for me. It’s tough to be too good to do this casually, but not good enough to do it full time. But at the end of the day, even in monster weeks, finding 25 hours is feasible. Whether or not it will always be (I don’t yet have kids) I can’t say.”
I hope that you found this as thought-provoking and insightful as I did.
Until next time, Train hard, live hard!
*I include just one quote from a pro, which is the first one; I found it quite good.
No comments:
Post a Comment