Hi all,
Any teachers out there who train/race IM distance? How do you fit in training with being a teacher? Do you travel to races during the school year? Just wondering how to fit it all in…
It seems like an odd question. I can’t imagine a career that is better for training. A week off for Thanksgiving, two for Christmas, another for Easter, and it seems like every other Monday is one holiday or another.
And, ten weeks off during the nicest weather of the year.
You’re done working by 2:30 if it’s high school and 3:30 if you’re elementary. You can always plan and grade later at night after the training is over. I can’t think of another career that offers more time for training than teaching. Sure, you’ll never make much money teaching but time is one thing you do get.
Races are on Sundays so there’s no problem with travel - take off Monday and you’re good.
Also, why ask this in the LR, unless the idea is to get another teacher thread going?
I’ve slept with a couple teachers, does that count?
I would think you guys had it pretty good for training.
My high school math teacher used to do IMC every year. He was a great, young teacher. Being on the rowing team, a few of us were doing lots of running for cross training and we noticed he was always running before or after school as well, so we convinced him to train with us. It was a lot of fun.
My wife is a teacher. Its not a bad gig with the summers off for training. During the school year its no different from any other job, she swims early before class a couple of days and runs/rides after work, on the trainer in the winter. I’m a chiropractor so its actually been much easier for me to train outside of the summer holidays since I can pick and chose my appointment schedule during the year. The only time she’s ever traveled to races in the school year was Australia ITU world’s in 2006 and Kona in 2008. Both times they gave her a leave of absence without pay. Nowadays all her races are in the summer. The teacher schedule is perfect for training for local short course summer races or even for an IM later in the season. She did IM Tremblant this year in August.
It seems like an odd question. I can’t imagine a career that is better for training. A week off for Thanksgiving, two for Christmas, another for Easter, and it seems like every other Monday is one holiday or another.
And, ten weeks off during the nicest weather of the year.
You’re done working by 2:30 if it’s high school and 3:30 if you’re elementary. You can always plan and grade later at night after the training is over. I can’t think of another career that offers more time for training than teaching. Sure, you’ll never make much money teaching but time is one thing you do get.
Races are on Sundays so there’s no problem with travel - take off Monday and you’re good.
Also, why ask this in the LR, unless the idea is to get another teacher thread going?
I teach high school, and I agree it’s great to have so many days “off” for training. Airline pilots, full time students, unemployed people, and people who can afford to hire other people to run their company are among the few other people who have as much free time.
But what high school teacher is done at 2:30? (We have classes until 3:30, and we have to stay on campus until 3:45. Some days I’m able to leave at 4:00, but there are lots of days when I’m there longer helping students, sponsoring the chess club, going to training or meetings, etc. Then there are the “voluntary” sporting events, music performances, etc., that I am expected to attend.)
While it’s great to race during the summer, taking time off from school during the school year isn’t as easy at it seems (at least if you’re a good teacher). I’ve done IMAZ and Silverman during the school year. Both races were within driving distance, but with travel to the race, being there on time for packet pickup, and driving home after the race, I was out of school on Friday and Monday every time I did these races. That doesn’t seem like much (and for the crappy teachers it isn’t much), but the students don’t get much done with a substitute.
Goodness knows how I’d be able take the time off to travel to Hawaii and to race at Kona…
Hi all,
Any teachers out there who train/race IM distance? How do you fit in training with being a teacher? Do you travel to races during the school year? Just wondering how to fit it all in…
This is my 11th year of teaching, and, in that time, have completed two IM races.
The first, IM CdA (2009), was selected because it was in the summer (Ha! It was 40° & raining at the finish!), and WTC requires competitors to be on-site several days in advance of the race. Perks for training for this race included a 2-week shutdown of the district due to swine flu. 
IM #2 was Texas, selected because it was so close to home (live just outside of San Antonio) and was all but guaranteed not to be so #(%*& cold at the finish. Training for this race went swimmingly, too, thanks to having a student teacher, which enabled me to get in some additional training during the instructional day, so long as I remained on campus or in the immediate vicinity.
Since having a kid, though—and with another one due in March—another IM is just not going to happen. Not only is it economically impossible, but the increased demands associated with being a seasoned teacher on a secondary campus (in my district, anyway) just does not allow for sufficient distance training during the instructional year. For me, anyway, and, admittedly, my situation is different than most (spouse was diagnosed with MS in 2011, and life just doesn’t get any easier once something like that happens), so it could very well work for you, based on what goals & expectations you have for yourself, as well as other commitments outside of the workplace.
Yup. I teach. Advise a club. And coach a sport (some years, 2 sports). I’ve done 6 IMs (including training for an IM which I dns’d due to a family emergency) and did 3 HIMs this year. I’ll probably have a similar schedule for the 2015 season.
We’ve had this exact same thread more than once on ST. What I don’t get is why a teacher thinks that their jobs are more difficult than anyone else’s job when it comes to training/ racing. One aspect about teaching is that our schedules are highly structured (sometimes annoyingly so) and, therefore, predictable. I think my work life is easier to do training than the Wife’s, who is IT, and our friend, who is an auto mechanic (they both have skills which outside individuals/ friends/ family covet and will take advantage of without any expectation to pay money).
You look at your work schedule and set a training plan around it. Sometimes it works and sometimes life gets in the way. You pay attention to your busy times and train lighter. You pay attention to your light times and train harder. But, it really is a matter of using your brain in conjunction with your calendar and being a tad bit flexible. That’s the exact same struggle everyone else with a job needs to consider.
Yup. I teach. Advise a club. And coach a sport (some years, 2 sports). I’ve done 6 IMs (including training for an IM which I dns’d due to a family emergency) and did 3 HIMs this year. I’ll probably have a similar schedule for the 2015 season.
**We’ve had this exact same thread more than once on ST. What I don’t get is why a teacher thinks that their jobs are more difficult than anyone else’s job when it comes to training/ racing. One aspect about teaching is that our schedules are highly structured (sometimes annoyingly so) and, therefore, predictable. I think my work life is easier to do training than the Wife’s, who is IT, and our friend, who is an auto mechanic (they both have skills which outside individuals/ friends/ family covet and will take advantage of without any expectation to pay money). **
You look at your work schedule and set a training plan around it. Sometimes it works and sometimes life gets in the way. You pay attention to your busy times and train lighter. You pay attention to your light times and train harder. But, it really is a matter of using your brain in conjunction with your calendar and being a tad bit flexible. That’s the exact same struggle everyone else with a job needs to consider.
This. You’d be hard-pressed to find a career that scheduling-wise lends itself better to training for athletic competitions than teaching. My step-father and uncle are both teachers and are very active on the local bike circuit, they have more time to train than any full-time working adults I know.
But what high school teacher is done at 2:30? (We have classes until 3:30, and we have to stay on campus until 3:45. Some days I’m able to leave at 4:00, but there are lots of days when I’m there longer helping students, sponsoring the chess club, going to training or meetings, etc. Then there are the “voluntary” sporting events, music performances, etc., that I am expected to attend.)
I am. I’m done at 2:30 and can leave the building at 2:45. I can get in a 2-hour run and still be home by 5:15. I guess my school has fewer after-school requirements than yours.
ES Technology Resource here… My schedule:
- Up at 5 am for an easy something, trainer or run.
- At work at 8 for planning, setup, and admin. School starts at 9.
- Dismissal at 350, usually home by 5.
- Key workouts after work and done by 730.
- Long rides, runs, and bricks on the weekend.
The only IM I did during the school year was IMAZ and I took W,TR,F,M,T off.
Depending where you are located, IMKY would be perfect! Hit training hard during the summer, taper off at the beginning of the school year, then off to IMKY.