How do you train for a triathlon and work full time?

How do they do it?

I have been quiet for the past few months because I am working full time, more than full time. I actually participated in the San Diego International Triathlon in June. I did really well, but I think that was because I was training regularly and I didn't have a full time job. Fast forward to today. Since my 'taper' week before the race I have been working 40+ hour weeks. I know that some select people can train for triathlons, work full time, raise children, and keep their spouses happy, but I don't know how they pack all of that into 24 hours a day. I haven't worked full time since I started getting serious about training, now that I have to juggle, it is really challenging.

I'll go back to the race report. My results are here. I think it was one of my best races, I was closer to being in the top half of my age group than I have been since I started. The swim was great! If the course was measured correctly (which I find they rarely are) I was close to a 2 minute pace per 100 m that I swam. I can hardly do that in the pool, but I'll take it with my wetsuit. All I know is that I wasn't the last out of the water in my age group which is where I usually am. I am usually coming out of the water several minutes behind my group, this time it felt good because there were still bikes on the rack.

See the blue caps still in the water!

So I wasn't last in the swim, but then I felt the need to remove my chip in order to get my wetsuit off during transition. I thought I had a good transition until I was mounting the bike and someone noticed that I didn't have a chip - I had to go back! ugh! The bike ride in this race is basically a long steady climb and you have to do it twice. I had been training on some monster hills, so I wasn't intimidated. I wasn't the fastest, but I wasn't the slowest either. I was prepared and it was nice. T2 was uneventful, thank goodness, but I don't think that I ate anything. I wanted to keep up my momentum. I should have eaten something.

The run was LONG. It was a normal 10k, but the way the course was designed, we had to wind around the people on the short course. I think several people passed me. It wasn't my best run ever, but it was in my normal time range. I would love to participate in this race next year, just for a comparison. I thought it was a challenging course because most of the San Diego races aren't hilly. Next year I will be in the midst of training for my first half-Ironman if all goes well and this will be a good test for me.

At the finish line!

Back to training. I signed on for a full time consulting position in Salt Lake City, for 3-4 months, it looks like it might last for 5 months. I am in SLC as we speak. I like training at altitude and I think overall it will benefit me, but I don't think I am training enough. I am running 2-3 times a week, swimming twice a week and biking once a week. I don't have a normal routine because some days I have to get up at 4 am to get to work by 5. Other days I have to stay at work for a 5:45pm meeting. You don't have to tell me it's crazy. I swim in the evenings when I can and I run on the other days. There are beautiful pools here. The firefighter and I found a great outdoor pool with 50m lanes. We loved it, but I think there are only 2-3 more weeks where we can really swim outside. I see snow in my future. We live right across the street from a wonderful urban park with a 1.5 mile loop. I have been running 3 loops regularly after work, but it is as flat as a pancake. The beach might offer more elevation changes. I have worked in some hills, but since I live in the city it is not pleasant at all. The biking is spectacular. There are a lot of biking enthusiasts here. We have been riding challenging routes and I feel like it is good for us, but I can't get on the bike enough to feel like it is really helping I have noticed that I am a much slower. I hope that I can complete this gig and get back home so that I can get back to Masters swim, circuit training and really challenging bike rides on Sunday with the girls. For those of you that can juggle life and training, I congratulate you! We'll see how the results are for my race next weekend. Hopefully I will get time in the next few weeks to send an update.

Oh - did you notice that I am planning to participate in a Half Ironman next year? It's the Soma Half Ironman in Arizona. My training buddies and I finally committed to a race and it will be in October 2015. I hope for no injuries between now and then.

If you have a good way to juggle responsibilities and training, send your tips here. I love to hear from efficient people.