Don't Have Time? Here's how to train smarter for 70.3
For my first 16 years as a triathlete, I had very limited training time. Most days I could get 60-90 minutes of training in… if I woke up really early or stayed up late. Sometimes I could get a longer bike ride and long run in on the weekends, but that was hit and miss as my previous career required about 50 hours of work each week, sometimes upwards of 80 hours during some seasonal commitments. During this time period, I developed a training strategy that worked well that I incorporate with my athletes who are shift workers, stay-at-home parents, medical doctors, and busy executives.
Here is that training strategy (minus the athlete specific details) that I have used for years and use with my athletes still today.
1. Have a basic week. Develop a basic framework for a repeatable, weekly training routine. What days of the week are realistic for you to swim? What days of the week are realistic for you to go long? If you can only train for an hour on weekdays, can you go longer on weekends? What two days a week can you do some strength training?
2. Win the morning. Early morning training is less likely to be interrupted by family and work chaos. To win the morning, this means you need to go to bed earlier and set out your training gear the night before. Going for a swim? Have your swim bag, pre-swim snack, and water in the car. Going for an early morning run? Wear your running shorts to bed and have everything else laid out at the foot of the bed including a headlamp, water bottle, and gel. Wake up, get dressed, feed the cats, drink some water, eat a banana, use the bathroom, and head out. Doing a trainer ride? Bike clothes at the end of the bed, water bottles and pre-ride snack on your bike.
3. Don’t neglect sleep. Sleep helps our bodies recover from the stress of training, work, and life. Get at least 7 hours of sleep a night. Avoid all screens for at least 1 hour before bed. If you are getting up at 5:00 am to train, that means lights out and eyes closed no later than 10:00 pm. If you do neglect sleep, then you are more likely to get injured, stressed out, and burnt out. That’s not good for you, your sport, your job, or your family and friends.
4. Don’t go hard in training all the time. I see this happen with a lot of self coached athletes with limited time. And I know how it’s rationalized because I used to do the same thing: “I have limited amount of time. Because I have less time to train, that means I need to make the most of it. Making the most of it means going harder. Going harder will make me fitter and ready for that 70.3.” If this is you, you are lying to yourself. This is first and foremost an aerobic sport. Stay within your easier HR zones for most of your workouts. If you don’t know your HR zones, schedule blood lactate tests now.
5. Prioritize healthy eating. Eating a mix of healthy vegetables, lean proteins, grains, and fruit will not only support your training, but will help your sleep, recovery, and stress level. It also will help you to separate food from emotion, especially if you have a history of stress eating.
6. Don’t go it alone. This may sound counterintuitive but when you have less training time, there is more room for error. Less time means you need to have focused training in each session. This doesn’t mean harder training, but you need to know the purpose of each workout and how it will help you improve as a triathlete. Working with a coach, can help you focus your limited training time to make the most of each minute.
And if you have any questions about anything in this article or are interested in learning about different coaching options, please reach out to me at jim.rowe@playtri.com. Happy training and racing this year!
Jim Rowe is a Playtri Level 5 Coach and Coach Education Lead, a USAT LI Certified Coach, an NASM Certified Personal Trainer, and an Ironman and 70.3 World Championship Qualifier who works with adult athletes who are chasing PRs, moving up to long course racing, or want to qualify for a world championship. Learn more about Jim at www.playtri.com/jim-rowe.