When training is no longer fun, quit. No, really. This is supposed to be fun. Poke around for a different hobby. I hear that sexual addiction can be fun. I've a 40ish single buddy that has some phone app that does some kind of magical shit where chicks are constantly sending him naked pictures of themselves. I'm kinda bewildered by that whole thing, but it certainly sounds fun.

In a couple months in your new hobby, exhaustion allowing, you'll probably find yourself dabbling in occasional running, riding and/or swimming. If that's your new reality for 5-10yrs, more power to you. Down the road a bit you might get the triathlon bug again and start training seriously again. Go do different shit. Have fun. Don't feel a sense of obligation to stick with this hobby. Go be obsessed with some other hobby for a while. Find what reduced level of running/cycling/swimming is "fun" for you long term.

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Books @ Amazon
"If only he had used his genius for niceness, instead of Evil." M. Smart

You don't need to buy this sticker on your car, but maybe print it out & put it on your fridge or something [mine is on my cube wall, along with my Joe Strummer marathon pic]



Then go to the mall, get yourself to Zumiez, buy yourself something and proudly invest in a Thrasher t-shirt, because I know you were stealing Skateboarder magazine from 7-Eleven all those years ago, just like me, until Thrasher came along, and then you started stealing THOSE

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

That's me. Minus the borderline.

I'm actually at that point right now.. working up from sprints to olympics to doing 2 IMs in the last 2 years got me kind of burned out on doing stuff as "training", avoiding late nights or stuff with injury risk in case it derailed my training. Now my rides are mostly gravel rides with a friend who doesn't give two shits about tri training, enjoying the ride/scenery/company with maybe a coffee/snack stop halfway and definitely a couple of beers after. Built my MTB back up recently too, just need to get it back on the trails. Entered an OWS series to give me something I stay in at least halfway decent swim shape, and for dusting off my boards and getting back in the water once the summer crowds die off and fall swells hit (invading surfNJmatt's turf again!)

[/quote] and for dusting off my boards and getting back in the water once the summer crowds die off and fall swells hit (invading surfNJmatt's turf again!)[/quote]
Will have to meet up for a slowtwitch surf session


I also like to say "you don't stop skateboarding because you get old, you get old because you stop skateboarding"

Old man roll out at noon haha

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Yellowfin Endurance Coaching and Bike Fits
USAT Level 1, USAC Level 3

PSA: A therapist told me that if you don't have an anxiety attack, it's not REALLY OCD

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Ill never break up with running



.

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Yellowfin Endurance Coaching and Bike Fits
USAT Level 1, USAC Level 3

It's all relative to what your friends, family and colleagues like to do for fun. If your friends and family all think that a life that revolves around endurance sports is fun, then you can train 15-20 hours/week and still be fun. If your friends and family don't find endurance sports fun and it's something you just do for yourself, by yourself, then yes fitting in 15-20 hours of training per week probably takes you away from doing quite a bit of fun stuff with them.

Wait, you're going about this all wrong. Just b/c you are "resting" on Friday does not mean you can't go out and have a few cold ones, go dancing, have dinner out, etc. Remember, beer is carbohydrate. I've had some great workouts that started with a bit of a hangover, but it always goes away in an hour or two. So, your Sat workout takes maybe say 5 hr on bike + say 1:30 on run plus 30 min for bathroom breaks, refueling, etc, for 7 hr total. You start at 0700 and finish at 1400, then shower, have a good lunch and fully rehydrate, then take a nap from around 1600-1830, get up and dress, and take the wife out for another night on the town. She may have to drive you home at 0100 but that seems a relatively low price to pay. :)

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

It depends.

I'm a casual IM triathlete (just did my first this sunday in 12:30). And all of fall/winther i still went out also long nights, etc. But i do find myself not letting loose as much (like super hungover), but why is it also we determine fun=getting drunk?
I think the bigger impact is if you dont go on the nice 3 week vacation around the world because you would loose too much training. So for next year i will do an earlier season IM.
But in general yes, less time to see friends/family and take initiative to do stuff, no doubt about that. But you also gain alot too. For me triathlon is 1-2 years more (atleast IM), and then i will probably dial back to running/try something else fun :)

Assuming that you are in the Philly area, where do you do your gravel rides? Sounds like fun, but I'm not sure where to go.

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"Honestly, triathlon is a pussified version of duathlon on that final run."- Desert Dude

Almost entirely upper Bucks and Hunterdon counties - around Nockamixon, Upper Black Eddy, Frenchtown, Milford, Riegelsville and all the little villages etc around there. My buddy lives in Ferndale and knows the roads up there and across the river in Jersey really well, so most of the time I let him figure out the routes and follow his lead.

PM me if you're interested in joining us - always looking for more people to ride with :)

If you are having more fun training hard for endurance then you are a more fun person to YOU. You just have to live in your own body and have fun doing what you want. Really does not matter what other people think provided you don't make other people miserable then it bounced back to make you miserable. But number 1 rule, is take care of yourself, and surround yourself with people who support what you do. Those trying to change your path you can't help.

I feel ya brother. That was my wife in the beginning. Slowly but surely she's came around. I still try and get my workouts done with enough time to hang out and watch reality TV and veg on the couch.

But deep down inside I know she'd be extremely happy if I bailed on a workout during the week. But I'm not going to do it just to sit there and watch her play video games on her phone. lol

Exactly this. I don't see doing another IM for a few years because I don't think it is fair to my husband. He never complains, and I don't want to take his support for granted. I am lucky enough to have a job that doesn't demand more than 40 hours a week and still gives me vacation, but right now (and last year as well) he is doing nearly all of the housework, cooking, etc. I have a 7 hour training session planned for Saturday, so I will effectively be unavailable all day, and when I am done I will be too tired to help him remodel the bathroom. It might not affect how fun I am, but it does affect how selfish I am.

its seems like most of the world think that if you're not out partying and getting drunk off your face all the time then you're no fun. if thats the case then i am no fun. endurance sports is just part of the reason for that.
i have fun swimming, biking, running etc (as long as i don't think to much about it as training for too long). at times that makes me pretty tired and i can be really no fun when that happens but then how much fun are the "fun" people on a saturday/sunday morning after a big night? anything done to excess is bad.

Slow man and others bring up a great point. I didn't start triathlon to become less fun, I genuinely enjoy the workouts and being outside working hard. Like eating and $hitting, there are just some things that are a part of me...and will never change. If I don't workout daily, I go bananas. If I don't camp at least once a month, I go bananas.

Some of us aren't wired to be in relationships - I'm finding this out now. If it's "selfish" to want to be outside enjoying life and getting fit at the same time, then fine, I'm selfish. It's about finding someone who will go with you or understand that it makes you a better person. I am accepting of the fact that some will view me as selfish - they can keep waking up hungover every weekend thinking that's the "fun" I "should" be having. Some how that's not selfish, eh...

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"The person on top of the mountain didn't fall there." - unkown

also rule 5

It's the time factor. At least for long course. Mostly it's the addition of the bike that sucks all that time out of the schedule. If you like to do things all-in, that is. I find myself having to choose between either hang out my friends regularly or getting the volume in. But running only is a different story. I can be all-in for running and still have plenty of time and energy left over.

I suspect most endurance junkies are people that have obsessive/addictive tendencies and were into something else before they found the sport of triathlon. Before triathlon I was into running. Before running, I was into dance (ballet, etc). This is on top of being a straight A, honor roll student from grade 1 until my masters degree. So to the normal folks, I was never really "FUN" because I never stayed out late partying as I ALWAYS had a reason to get up early in the morning (be it dance rehearsal, long run, part-time job, exams, etc).

And once kids rolled into the picture and my time became crazy limited as I also work full-time, running/swimming/some biking remain to be "my personal space" things that I enjoy at the expense of social events/functions (which I don't care much about).

I am lucky that my hubby is just like me. We both know that we each need to get in our run/bike/swim/exercise for the day or else we are not very pleasant people to be around. So we accommodate each other. On the one hand, it would be easier if only one of us was an endurance junkie (and the other was supportive of the obsession, which seems to be uncommon in couples like this).

Yeah, but - as I get older, running keeps wanting to "take some time off" from me more and more.
I'm almost positive running is seeing other people. ;-)


PS - I'm living proof that your signature line is false.
Aero is pretty much all I have now, but I routinely use it to crush the dreams of people who train much, much harder than I do.

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float , hammer , and jog