I think I saw an article saying she raced 29 times and missed podium once at IM Frankfurt(4th)? She is extremely dedicated and loves to train and race. Amazing athlete.

Is the like of a professional triathlon not a "holiday" by definition. They do for their daily lives, what the rest of us pay to do on holiday!!! Not questioning her committment, but the life of a pro athlete is roughly a poorly paid perpetual holiday (they take worse pay than an average engineer to have a lifestyle most of us only have on holiday).

This is true, but also a quick way to hate something you love is to get paid to do it, and need to do it to support your livelihood.

Everybody here loves to train, it escapes us from our daily lives with an enjoyable, changeable, and progressive task where improvement can be tangible and motivating. The flip side is that training *is* your daily life, and you're already 99% as good as you're going to be, so instead of seeing progress you're seeing if you can again reach the same peak you did previously, or maybe just a tiny bit more. None of the awesome Zwift races or epic 200 miles rides. Just repeated intervals that you've done 50 times already because you need the data to make informed decisions about how to move forward.

Not saying I wouldn't trade for it in a heartbeat, just that it's not all rainbows and unicorns.

I guess it depends on how you are wired. I work 7 days a week and I train 7 days a week. From one I generate revenue (well, not enough, I seem to be paying a lot of people to not get enough wins, but that's another topic) and the other (training) I don't make revenue !!!

I think the difference is in our professional life it is easy to compete with others who don't actually love what they do and they do it for a paycheque. Guarantee, the person who loves what they do, will defeat the person who does it for a paycheque. In professional triathlon, they all love what they do (even if it is hard), so the only way to out compete is out execute daily and derive motivation from the process not the point outcomes in any given race.

I've sorta theorized some of these pro's race so often is that it means they don't have to "train"; IE- KB. At some point being a "lab rat" all the time has to suck, so you mean they get to fly to exoctic location for a week at a time.....yeah that option sounds hella good to me too! (also means they get their "social" time with others vs the grind of training, etc)

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

That Tim guy there...would be awesome if he could pronounce her name properly..at least once.

But yeah, one of my favorite female athletes in the sport, she is just machine with a very easy going and happy personality.

And other pros do take holidays and do fine. Celebrating never taking a break does not sound healthy

I didn’t know much about her before watching that video. I have to say, it seems kind of depressing if it really is as presented. She lives permanently by herself in a dorm style training facility? Never takes a holiday? Skips weddings, family events, etc? I dunno … if she’s happy I guess that’s great? But for an adult in their 40s, is not the life I’d personally choose.

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Dimond Bikes Superfan

Incredible commitment, yet she should probably attend a few of those wedding she was invited to and have a few nights out with the girls ever so often. Enjoying a night out here and there doesn't stop you from being committed.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

confess I felt the same. I've lived a pretty monastic life at a few points, but sleeping on a Murphy bed in an empty studio flat with only black and white clothes .... man! it seems to work for her and she sounded totally content with her choices, but for my myself I've decided to build a great obituary rather than a great resume.

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https://lshtm.academia.edu/MikeCallaghan

http://howtobeswiss.blogspot.ch/

Actually I find that kind of appealing.

When I went to 70.3 Worlds in Lahti Finland, I stayed at a Finnish national Olympic training center. At ate the cafeteria with other athletes (from the race and other sports) and went back to my dorm room and just focused on the next workout, or chatting with other athletes in the facility or synced with friends via video. Life felt streamlined and not complicated. That's what I did on holiday!!! Exactly what Haug seems to relish for her day to day life!

My wife said it was the happiest she had seen me all year vs my regular life with endless obligations between my professional life and family stuff (the latter is not much, but when I get dragged into family events like weddings vs going to a race or swim meet, I am generally dragging my feet to fulfill obligations for others). I'm 58 so done my share of bullshit obligations for the world. Most of those wedding end up being a gigantic waste of time as they end in divorce anyway, and then the person who invited you wants to cry on your shoulders too!!!

Dev I think you should make it your obligation to be the fun guy at the family obligation. Drink, be merry, tell jokes.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

100% agree. She is a fantastic athlete but in a year or 2 she will retire and it's gonna hit her hard that she's never going to have kids, a normal family or even a relationship, etc. I am afraid that she's looking at a very very lonely life.

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Next races on the schedule: none at the moment

Agreed. I watched this a few months ago and felt sad for her. That is not a healthy way to live/.

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All I Wanted Was A Pepsi, Just One Pepsi

Team Zoot, Team Zoot Mid-Atlantic

I do that with my friends. Most of my extended family don't get me. My direct family does. My friends who I choose do. Extended family you don't get to pick. Close family you can train them to understand you and support you :-).

Back to Annie, maybe like for many of us, sport is running to something she can fully control. The rest of our lives, the world runs us and we do what the world tells us to do. At the workout you are fully in control of hitting X interval watts or pace Y times. Most of the time in real life we are all reacting to things we are obligated to do for others doing things we may or may not really want to do. That's why earlier in the thread, I said the life of a pro athlete is a bit like being on holidays, in the sense that on holidays, we set the agenda, and do what we want. Being a pro triathlete, there is more of that. Being a pro bike racer, or a pro football or baseball player, others set the agenda. But there is money to compensate those who are good because a lot of eyeballs care. Pro triathlon, there are not enough eyeballs who care, so there is not a lot of money involved, so the athletes get to set their program, somewhat like the rest of us when we are on vacation.

Love Anne Haug. So inspirational!

As long as she’s happy and doesn’t hurt anyone, I don’t see any problem with that. She’s a true dedicated professional athlete in my book and I’m glad she’s getting the results she wants. Other people think spending several thousands of dollars on the bike, race and stuff is crazy too. It’s all about perspective.

Really? I find this sad. No work/life balance.

Yeah! Traditional "work/life/balance" regular type life isn't going to work for some. A simple, boring, drama free, low-key lifestyle pursuing excellence in relative isolation is how some people succeed. Anne Haug seems very intentional with her lifestyle and that's a good thing. This has been her process and path to becoming a world champion.

I get that’s her individual choice. But we all know the coworker whose entirely life is work, and it’s not a healthy balance. I don’t care what your job is, you need breaks from the work, the mental (and in her case, the physical) stress.

Great thread so far.
While admiring her, I find folks on the other end of training spectrum even more fascinating and motivating.
You know, shitloads of other commitments and interests, fancy a pint or two.
Able to drink Nick Mallet under the table.
Then show up to the start line and do interesting stuff.

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http://www.fitspeek.com the Fraser Valley's fitness, wellness, and endurance sports podcast

Agree. I am astonished by people who train 15-20 hours/week and race at a high level in addition to full-time career (not merely a job) with husband/wife and kids, etc. Some people are just built different.

Exactly, nobody is forcing her to live this lifestyle, she CHOOSES to live this way. I believe she also trains at Club La Santa a good bit so that would be a change of scenery.

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Let food be thy medicine...