http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B03dFMG8nR4&feature=youtube_gdata_player
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now, schedule in sexual relations, family time, homework, weekend activities, etc. and you’re good to go.
Good luck.
Now, that’s where I draw the line. I’m all for an organized life, but planning my sexy time? No thanks. Or was that a pink that I was missing?
Now, that’s where I draw the line. I’m all for an organized life, but planning my sexy time? No thanks. Or was that a pink that I was missing?
“OK Honey, let’s review my schedule for this week. Swim M-F mornings, Run M,W,F evening, Long ride Sunday leaving at 7, massage saturday at 10, and num-nums Tuesday 9:30-9:35. Do your own warmup prior to each session”
“There is nothing fun about 4:30 in the morning.”
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OK, I wish you the best coming back 10 years from now and being faster than you are now. But that’s what pretty well everyone thinks and says. I’m actually one of the guys who did it (faster at 45 than 35…but just barely). It’s possible, but you’ll pretty well have to do what Eric Reid said earlier in this thread. But realistically, its more about slowing down less than the guys around you…not about trying to make massive gains as you age up.
Yes, you’ll probably make more gains the next 5 years, but you’ll probably start losing many in the next 5 years…that’s just the way things work. I’d say I was faster at 40 than at 35, and slower at 45 than 40, but still a touch faster than 35.
By the way, the path to being faster 10 years from now in triathlon is NOT by trying to get your run speed down to 35 minute 10K. This is probably the easiest way to end up the permanent injury list. As you get older, focus your intensity on the swim and bike. 35 minute 10K is 84 second 400m speed…string 25 of them together is not a joke if you are currently a 45 second guy. You’ll probably need to get you mile speed somewhere below 5 min speed and likely closer to 4:50 to become a 35 minute 10K guy…that type of speed work as you age up is going push the limits of your joints. Better to focus on becoming a 5 min 400m swimmer than 5 minute miler…the payback in triathlon of the former will be huge.
Dev
a really fast runner and triathlete (around 4 hours for a HIM) once told me - “in the end it doesn’t matter if you have kids or if you don’t have kids, it is what it is.” I have two kids and often competed against someone who was single and didn’t have any kids - lost every time until recently. My old coach would even say - “those guys are young and don’t have a family, etc…” For me, that’s fine and everything but in the end it doesn’t matter - I still finished second to them and was not living up to my own expecatations. At the end of the day, what matters is if you are happy with your effort. So, I just started getting up earlier, running at lunch (I live in Tampa, FL so the summers are brutal) sometimes, biking more on the trainer, etc… Whatever I can do to get in extra training without interfering too much with family. Someone in an earlier post said you also have to be ready to play - that’s the hard part 
The type of athlete you described was me this year. I did a slow IM this year and really regretted that the training volume taking away time from my youngest child (age 10 months to 13 months during IM training) and my five year old daughter (very strong willed). Sometimes I found that the emotional cost of training exceeded the physical cost. And I’m a pretty sensitive guy too so for me this was tough and something I often thought about while I trained.
But I wouldn’t rule it out for a working professional with kids. I think the athlete has to look at the different personalities in their family, the attention they require and how much support the spouse is going to need for those children while the athlete is away. So in my opinion it is possible to be a well conditioned Ironman triathlete, but the family chemistry has to right.
Have a “Plan A” for the week. Also have a “Plan B” when things get all F’ed up at work or at home.
You “plan” to run at lunch, but your boss calls you into a big meeting. What next? Run right after work? How will your wife act when you walk in the door an hour later than usual, in your workout clothes. She has been making dinner and changing diapers. In my case, Plan B was to run on the treadmill at the gym after the kids were asleep and wifey was happy watching Greys Anatomy.
After a 10:30 pm running session, you can’t sleep. But you have “Planned” to swim at 5:00 am. You make the call - Do you sacrifice sleep or swim at lunch today?
Weekends - Your wife is going to want to sleep in once in a while also. While you were drinking Starbucks on the way to work, she was breastfeeding at 6 am or making sure little Johnny was ready for his spelling test. You think that you are a hero for getting up at 6 am and riding until 10 am? She is pissed because your kids woke up at 6:10 when you made noise leaving the house.
Let her pick the time that you get in your long ride - “Honey, I need to ride for 5 hours on Saturday or Sunday. Which do you prefer? What time should I go at? Maybe your Mom can watch the kids for a few while you go to the mall.”
I had a few occassions where I needed to ride for 4 hours, but only had a 2 hour window available. Spend 2 on the trainer and 2 on the road.
You can keep an eye on the kids while you are on the trainer. Use it as fun time wtih them.
I set my trainer up in the back yard a few times over the summer. Kids are playing with their friends in the yard. The trainer was set up in front of the sliding glass door. Inside the door, the 3 month old was sleeping in her swing.
Have your kids help you. If they are in school, they can do some math and spelling with you:
“If I ride for 20 minutes at 22 MPH, how many miles will I go?”
“If I have a 400 calorie bottle of Infinit in a 30 oz bottle, how many calories per Oz am I drinking?”
“This interval is 2 minutes. How many words that start with the letter T can you write down in 2 minutes.”
Does your company give you vacation time? I took a few Mondays off to get in my long (5+ hour) rides. Long run on Saturday. Rest on Sunday. Long Ride on Monday.
When you are training for 18-20 hours per week, you can’t always “find the time.” Sometimes, the “time has to find you.”
I had a problem waking my family up to in the morning prior to rides. My advice is to at least get the bike cleats, and bike clothes ready the night before. If your kitchen activities wake them up then add bike fluids, nutrition and breakfast to the list.
I wouldn’t recommend sacrificing sleep while training. Also, if you can avoid it, I would not train near bed time. The scenario you described happened to me a few times and paid a price for losing sleep. I think I have to do it over again I would have gone to sleep at a decent hour then got up at 5am for that swim session.
Powermeter and Endurance Nation plan.
Powermeter and Endurance Nation plan.
Ditto!