Experiences will vary.


From my personal experience this all depends on your posting. I had dabbled in triathlon 2015-2018, with no real structure to training. This was due to work tempo, job specific training objectives and available time for family/social life. In 2019 I posted to a unit, and a specific role, that allowed for routine and forecasting. I also had a very supportive boss who allowed me to do my own training knowing it would keep me above the required level of fitness. I hired a coach and started training 15ish hours a week with no impact from work, until next week when I will do my first course in three years and I'll be lucky to do any training. I consider myself very lucky and have tried to take full advantage while I have this opportunity. I know that my next posting will likely ruin any aspirations of being a slightly above average FOMOP age grouper.

*Australian Army - dolphin trainer

 

I was Infantry. We ran our butts off. Then we routinely spent an average of 270 days a year deployed or in the field. Fitness would be lost. Some units and jobs allowed people to have what would almost be a normal 9-5 job and very little required PT. (Physical Training) It all depends upon the branch you choose and the job you choose. While the Infantry loves to run, we didn't have much chance to do anything else. And the alcohol and nicotine didn't help. Ha!

I spent 22 years in the Navy, Submarine Service.

There is really no way to exercise on the boat. Between operating, keeping quite, and space, there are no viable options.

I would run when we (rarely) pulled in somewhere for a few days, but that didn't really count. I essentially started from scratch after every deployment.

I retired at 40 and that is when I really started training.

MMCS(SS) Retired.

---

"...the street finds its own uses for things"

In the process of enlisting and trying to pick my occupation based on training availability. Anything on a ship in the Navy seems like it would be the worst. I've heard there are some divisions in the Army/Air Force that encourage daily PT which would work well.

USAF pilot who retired after 20 years.

When I was in a fighter squadron, I'd get in some running, but my schedule didn't allow for "training". I didn't know of anyone who was able to really be serious about training while in a fighter squadron.

When I was filling a staff job, I probably could have done some focused training, but I didn't. I never considered doing a triathlon. However, I knew some people who were pretty disciplined and were able to do some racing.

Once I retired, age 41, I had a lot more free time and a schedule that allowed me to get into triathlon.

---

"Human existence is based upon two pillars: Compassion and knowledge. Compassion without knowledge is ineffective; Knowledge without compassion is inhuman." Victor Weisskopf.

I did 6 years in the USAF. I was a software developer (3C0X2) for 3 years and then took an assignment as a deployment manager for 3 years.

I had LOTS of free time to train. Not all jobs in the military are equal, but with a desk job in the "chair force" i could train as much as i wanted. I also led out PT program for most of my years there, was i was able to put together workouts for our unit that were also advantageous to me.

I just wish at that point in time i was a little more advanced in cycling, since the armed forced cycling team would have been a great opportunity. I got a lot more serious after i got out of the AF.

Career AF mechanic. It was a dream job, and we always had a bench and weights in the shop, and a fitness center+pool on base. They gave us 3 hours a week to workout on the clock if we wanted, and encouraged more, when workload was low. We sent repaired stuff to the combat zones, and got broken stuff back, I was in a “back shop” and never got deployed. I lived off base, and rode my bike to work. It was easy to get as much workout time as I wanted.

The payoff keeps on giving now, as I’m retired, and have unlimited access to the local AF base. Free state of the art fitness center, with lap pool, rubberized indoor track, and rubberized 2 1/2 mile outdoor track. Low traffic roads with bike lanes, and they even hold a sprint triathlon and running races throughout the year.

---

Athlinks / Strava

I am about to finish 6 year contract as a PJ. I've had a lot of variability. Fitness is a focus for us so I've been able to train pretty regularly. Although we travel a lot for training when we are stateside so that meant no cycling for weeks at a time and usually no swimming. Deployments varied as well. I spent time at remote bases with no way to go for a even proper run but also been at bases with pools and this summer I was able to have a uninterrupted 4 months with my bike on a stationary trainer and plenty of room to run. I just got back from deployment last month and am planning on racing 70.3 Galveston in a couple weeks aiming for under 4:10. So i'd say YES you can train well for Ironmans and be in the military. But also as others have noted above, maybe not. Because you're in the military and nothing is guaranteed until you're doing it. feel free to DM me

My job is material management in the AF if that gives any idea

I was in the Navy for 20 years, 13.5 of that time was with the Marine Corps so fitness was a cornerstone of our day. While on Shore Duty for my last 3+ years I was able to participate in two Iron Distant races. My training was fairly consistent but not what it is now that I am retired and set my work hours. There were many times my workouts would get cut short or missed due to work related issues. My last 9+ years I was an Independent Duty Corpsman and there plenty of 0'dark-thirty phone calls that prevented early morning workouts.

---

All I Wanted Was A Pepsi, Just One Pepsi

Team Zoot, Team Zoot Mid-Atlantic

Marine Corps for 22 years, air defense community. I started to get serious about triathlon racing with about 7 years left before I retired.

Training while assigned to an operational command was really tough to get any consistency. Between deployments, field, exercises, and other work related travel I just couldn't keep a schedule. As I worked my way up the rank ladder I did experience some Rank Has Its Privileges (RHIP) moments where I could get out of certain activities and train instead. My final tour was with the supporting establishment, I didn't deploy or travel. Once settled into a training program I improved quite a bit, my CO noticed and encouraged me to go for it, he was ridiculously supportive, allowing me all the time I needed to train and race.

As for for training for an Ironman, it's possible. I did while still assigned to a deployable command, even trained while in Iraq, which was an interesting challenge. The key is finding the right balance between work, training, social life, and family (assuming wife & kids). I completely gave up any social life to keep the other three in check.

If you get good enough to represent your service, do it. A highlight of my tri career was racing for the Marine Corps, especially the Armed Forces Triathlon Championship, even though we Marines got creamed. Meeting and racing against the other services and Canadian service members was simply awesome.

---

--------------------------
The secret of a long life is you try not to shorten it.
-Nobody

Thanks!

The AF seems to have programs out there for this sport, I guess I just dont know where to look yet.

Current active duty, wake up 0 dark 30 and train before work, or if i have time in evening after work, and lots of weekend time

that was pre covid. current covid with with from home ops etc train all day every day. its been a strange ass blessing to be able to work from home, ive zwifted during web-ex and zoom meetings.

but prior to that if I had a long run schedueled i was doing it before work anyway to beat the heat, swimming at lunch if possible. evenings i usually was on trainer.

that is exactly what i needed to hear, seems like its do able, just have to be willing to wake up early!

i mean unless your finance or medical you should be up early anyway :D haha

haha! Matman it is

Do a PTI course and get yourself a posting to the Gym train almost as much as you want!

Former.

PT on your own is pretty much necessary, as is a long lunch.

---

Eric Reid AeroFit | Instagram Portfolio
Aerodynamic Retul Bike Fitting

“You are experiencing the criminal coverup of a foreign backed fascist hostile takeover of a mafia shakedown of an authoritarian religious slow motion coup. Persuade people to vote for Democracy.”

Some COs are like this, and were great to me, others saw my fitness as a threat for some reason and would actively make things even harder than normal military life. Ultimately getting up even earlier is required, as well as absolutely ripping the legs off of anyone who comes near you during PT.



You're bringing back good memories of my road bike and trainer in a quadcon in Afghanistan. Balance is key too... many failed marriages (not to mention failed attempts at IM) because of too much Ironman training.


Agreed. Best race out there. Competitive, thinking and strategy required, camaraderie.

E

---

Eric Reid AeroFit | Instagram Portfolio
Aerodynamic Retul Bike Fitting

“You are experiencing the criminal coverup of a foreign backed fascist hostile takeover of a mafia shakedown of an authoritarian religious slow motion coup. Persuade people to vote for Democracy.”

We all know the CF quits working at 4:00 pm (not 1600) lol, but in the other services we operate 24/7. Most of the Medical Emergencies I delt with were at some strange hours.

---

All I Wanted Was A Pepsi, Just One Pepsi

Team Zoot, Team Zoot Mid-Atlantic

When I was a young(ish) lieutenant, I was still feeling my way for what I could get away with during lunch. After two years I was moved to a different job where I had complete freedom of schedule where I could pretty much run every day at lunch. The downside, ironically, is that if the rest of the command sees you running every day, even at lunch, you develop a reputation for just running all the time and not doing any work. I had to decide if I cared what they thought or if I just wanted to do what made me happy. Well, I kept running and training ... and I did not get promoted to major, so there was a downside. It was not all because of the running, but it did not help. Here are a couple of things I learned.
1. Train while you family is sleeping before work. For me, anything I did before work was free, meaning my wife could not complain I was training during family time. Saturdays I had until noon and there was no Sunday training.
2. Appearances are everything. If your fellow workers see you leaving the building in PT gear, they will assume you are goofing around. No one thinks that if you leave in uniform, even if you are going to Taco Bell, so you just have to change your method. In my last job, I would ride my bike to work but leave a car there during the day. Then I would leave at lunch, in uniform, drive home, ride and then shower and drive back in uniform. No one saw me in PT gear between 0730 and 1630 and I did not hear any complaints about how I PT'ed all the time. It sounds dumb, but there it is. Plus, my boss in that job was the first guy who actually stuck by their words--"I don't care what you do as long as your work gets done." We were training units for deployment in 2006-08 and everyone was busy. I looked for ways to make his job easier and in turn he never once said anything about how much I was training.
3. Your job and seniority will decide a lot. Combat arms folks have it the worst and they have to be really motivated to keep in shape. Still, I knew a really stand-up guy who flew Cobras and he was pretty well known for doing whatever it took to stay in shape. He came off of deployment a couple of times to run solid 2:35-2:45 times for the Marine Corps Marathon team. They say he used to grind it out on treadmills while on float. Ugh.
Having said all that, I still managed to grind my way through to retirement via the Reserves, so I can hardly complain about the military. It was very good for and to me.

I was Army Aviation for ten years and got into triathlon in my last three years. By this time, I had stopped crewing and was a junior NCO in the maintenance platoon, so my OpTempo was waaaay down. Being in a SOF unit, we were able to do our own PT as a platoon after we formed up as a company at 0630, so I would run my guys three times a week and sometimes after work if the program called for it (not very pleasant in the Georgia heat!). We had ninety minute lunch breaks, so I would ride my bike then or go to the pool on post. This schedule allowed me to post some MOP times at the 70.3 distance.

Once I decided to try my first IM, I was the section sergeant and had a very cool platoon daddy that would let me skip the morning PT formations and ride or run on my own before work. On deployments, I packed my bike and trainer in the back of the helicopter before we put it on the C-17 and set it up in front of the giant swamp coolers in our Sprung once we landed and was able to get in some consistent trainer rides while the aircraft were out on a hit. Working nights, I had to do my runs at 0700 once we got off. I was able to swim a couple times a week while deployed, but I was pretty wiped out after working twelve hours and riding/running.

Sorry for the short story, but all of that was to say that I was able to post a MOP time at the IM distance despite having a less than ideal work schedule. Try to feel out your supervisor and let them know what you'd like to do. Also, if you're an NCO, make sure to try and PT with your Joes a couple times a week (Tuesday/Thursday for me). You'll lose that esprit de corps and their respect if they perceive that you're OFO while they're getting smoked at PT.

Oddly, I've had a lot of better race times since I got out and learned to train consistently, but I really miss being able to train at 0630 and during my lunch breaks (I have to get up way earlier now and have to wait until after work for my second workout).

12 Years Total. 3 Army. 2 Nat. Guard. and 7 Years Navy.

Racing: Get ready to get fucked over by your command. Races fill up fast, and often leave will not be approved till very close to race day, so you either drop the cash 10 months in advance of the race and hope they will approve your leave, or you wait until the last minute, hoping it doesn't fill up, and then pay out the ass for the last tier registration fee and travel and hotels (if you can even find any). Sometimes, I just sleep in the back of the SUV after dropping off the bike, because the nearest hotel is an hour drive away. Be prepared to eat entry fees and never race. Always book hotels than you can cancel for free.

Training: If you can successfully be good at your job AND train for triathlon, you command will notice and you will be a shining example to your peers. If you train hard, let everyone know you are an endurance athlete, then suck ass at your job, you will ruin it for the rest of us and your command will forever hate athletes. Putting "Ironman" on a job application is a good way for HR to realize you aren't gonna give the company your best.

Balance: There is none. Your life is wake, train, eat, work, eat, train, eat, sleep. It's doable, but no more hanging out drinking all night. Night is for sleeping/recovery. Prepare to become very lame compared to the good ol' days. But on the bright side, you'll be fitter, look better in uniform, inspire others around you, priorities change, life improves. Just gotta listen to your body, because it's easy to over do it and find you've been walking around like a zombie, overtrained, addicted to stimulants, your inflammation/cortisol levels are through the roof, your body is breaking down, your stress levels are insane, and you hate yourself for skipping workouts.

Take a deep breath. Focus on the whole person, mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual.


For the best of the best (think officers who graduated from Yale with a running/swimming scholarship) they have a secret team of triathletes representing their branch who compete against each other, then go to France to compete against other countries military athletes. You better be a world class athlete with some wins though.

https://www.navyfitness.org/...navy-teams/triathlon

Currently an officer (Army). Really depends on your unit and how dedicated to it you are. Personally, I found it frustrating to maintain any semblance of a plan for the bike or swim. I tried, and was continually frustrated - it felt like as soon as I was getting into a rhythm in the pool or on the bike, something would come up on the unit training calendar and it was back to the field or similar. I'm a support guy (signal) in an infantry unit, so I don't have it half as bad as an infantry officer, but our hours still suck and the tempo is high. I just run now, and my only objective fitness wise when I'm in a high optempo environment is to keep getting out for an hour run every day, even if it's always easy with strides. I stay right around 17.5min/36min/80min shape for 5k/10k/HM off of this. Getting races scheduled can be a pain in the ass with the training calendar - there's a good chance that if there's a race that sounds great, you'll be out training at the time!

The military loves to push the idea that it's a fitness-heavy organization, but keep in mind that the first objective is fighting wars and everything else is second to that. Your time will not be your own (particularly if you're enlisted - there's more leeway as an officer but still not a ton). If you're fast (in the Army/Navy/Air Force, think sub-2:00 olympic), you can compete for that branch's team. You're still on your own for the training, it isn't WCAP.

Early in your career, adjust your expectations. Choose your branch/MOS wisely. Air Force is somewhat known for good quality of life. If you're in the Navy, expect to be on a ship for extended periods (and no - you will not be bringing your bike and there's no pool on board). If you're in the Army or Marines in a combat arms or direct combat support MOS, expect to do some field time (again, no bike/swim). If you deploy, don't expect to be able to bring your bike/trainer (small chance you'll be able to if it's Kuwait or similar, but unlikely). As you progress and have more control over your time (I'd say E5/O3, others may feel differently), you may be able to pull off more structured training. If you're cool with becoming a runner for a while, you might be less disappointed and maybe even able to improve.

---

"Don't you have to go be stupid somewhere else?"..."Not until 4!"