posted by Lee@Tri*Inspired*Life on Ironman

With one month of training down, I took a look back and have a few take-aways that are key.  First, I feel pleased with the first month.  As I had explained in an earlier post, I stayed very active since the “end of last season” and while I did not have a specific plan over the few months leading to the start of IM training, I feel that I did a good job in preparing myself to have a solid base to start this 24-week plan.  I am pleased that I stayed diligent to routine training and I have felt it pay off in these early weeks.

Secondly, while the training is tough, another challenge is balancing training with everything else in life.  My workday typically includes a version of this:

• An early morning training session (generally three days/week), so the alarm goes off between 5:00-5:15 on those training days.
• Getting showered and ready for work.
• Cooking breakfast (always oatmeal), prepping lunch and all snacks for the day.
• Commute to the office (approximately 40 minutes, but sometimes longer)…I try to leave home by 7:30.
• Full workday…try to head out of the office by 5:00.
• To the pool or home for run/bike.
• Shower
• Dinner = Tony or I (or collectively) cook dinner or even better we have leftovers!  Generally, we eat between 8:00-8:30 (depending on the length of training session).
• Clean up kitchen/try to stay on top of a few chores.
• Relax/watch TV.
• Lay out all my needed gear for the morning workout and packing pool bag for the following evening if swim is scheduled.
• Bed = this time has varied and I have tried to be in bed by 10:00, especially on nights where I have early training the next morning.

Needless to say, these are full days.  Often times I feel there is not enough time in the day. The key thing I have not fully discussed is getting enough sleep.  I have never functioned well on little sleep and that is even more apparent as the training gets more and more intense.  Frequently, by the time I sit down to relax, it is almost time to think about bed.  I enjoy this relaxing time with Tony and it is hard to call it a night when I am enjoying our time.

The workweek is by far the hardest, but there is plenty that has to get done on the weekends to have a less stressful week.  Apart from the longer training days, on the weekends I try to organize for the upcoming week.  I try to plan out a few meals and ensure we have all the ingredients.  I generally plan dishes that include leftovers to minimize the number of meals we have to prepare (leftovers are wonderful!!!).  I also like to make sure I have good lunches planned (hearty & healthy) to take to work with snacks as well.  Getting laundry done is also key, because I am generating more dirty workout gear than ever before!  If I get the majority of these things done on the weekend, the week goes a little smoother.

With all this, I have gradually started to figure out what makes things easier during these time-crunched days.  I will continue to try things that may help or make life easier.  Bottom line is that I knew these days would come and would be challenging.  With many things in life, sacrifice is something that comes into play.  I accept this, as I want to do all that is necessary to be prepared to reach my goal.  I know that it will all be worth it!  As I do with my training plan, I just take one day at a time and do the best that I can do.  At the end of the day, we will eat dinner (even if it is scrambled eggs and toast) and life does go on with dirty dishes in the kitchen sink!  I know this from lots of experience….

Tags: Ironman, Training