A Day in the Life of a Triathlete

Over the weekend, I was discussing training with a friend. I indicated to her that I typically train about 12-15 hours a week. Her reply, "that's not that much." Trying not to spew coke from my nose, I gave her a disapproving look. She indicates that she goes to the gym for about an hour everyday. Right. Because walking on the treadmill reading a magazine in the air condition is the same.

But it got me to thinking...12 hours really isn't all the much. A week consists of 168 hours. That means I only devote 7% of my time to training. If I work 40 hours and sleep 56 (8 hours a night), that leaves me 72 hours a week of 'free' time. Where does the time go?

Being single, I don't have to answer to another person. For that I am VERY grateful. I constantly hear the stories of my friends. The wives want to know why a 3 hour ride takes 6 hours. What in the world could you possibly be doing for those additional three hours? It then dawns on me. I know where the time goes. One doesn't take into account preparation. Training is just physical work. I don't know what would be the best proxy, but I estimate that you could add on 50% of your training time and get a better estimate of total training time.

So I asked myself could I chronicle a day in the life of a triathlete????

Typical Weekday (Monday for example):

5:30 am Alarm goes off
5:38 am Alarm goes off again
5:40 am Weigh myself, record weight
5:42 am Log onto triathlon site and review the day's workout schedule
5:43 am Complain
5:45 am Breakfast. Glass of water and banana.
5:55 am Go to bedroom to change into swim clothes and get ready
6:10 am Drive to the gym hoping that I wake up soon
6:20 am Enter gym and begin stretching
6:25 am Put gear into locker and proceed to pool.
6:30 am Jump in pool. Now I am awake

At this point I have been awake for an hour and done nothing but prepare for working out.

6:31 am 50 minute, 3000y workout
7:20 am Exit pool; enter hot tub for recovery
7:21 am Stretching and relaxing routine
7:25 am Enter locker room, shower funk off, dry and change
7:30 am Depart gym
7:40 am Enter apartment
7:41 am Hang dry swim suit and gear
7:45 am Eat Breakfast #2
8:00 am Shower and dress
8:30 am Make lunch and prepare snacks for afternoon workouts
8:40 am Depart for work
8:50 am Arrive at work
10:30am Mid-morning snack
12:30pm Lunch
2:00 pm Mid-afternoon snack
4:30 pm Powerbar
5:00 pm Depart work
5:20 pm Arrive at apartment
5:21 pm Change into biking gear
5:30 pm Prepare drinks and nutrition for bikes
5:35 pm Locate running shoes, Garmin, visor, etc
5:40 pm Load up the car to bike
5:41 pm Drive to Stone Mountain in rush hour traffic
6:25 pm Arrive Stone Mountain wondering if I could have ridden here quicker
6:30 pm Find parking spot
6:31 pm Unload car, pump up tires, reset computers, bike maintenance check, helmet, etc
6:40 pm Go to the bathroom
6:43 pm Stretch before riding
6:45 pm Begin 75 minute ride
8:00 pm Done riding
8:01 pm Lock bike, put gear into trunk, change shoes, reset computers and catch breath
8:05 pm Begin running
8:20 pm Finish running
8:21 pm Grab recovery drink, stretch and visit bathroom
8:35 pm Depart Stone Mountain
8:55 pm Arrive at apartment
8:56 pm Unload gear, rinse bottles
9:05 pm Shower
9:15 pm Begin dinner
9:30 pm Eat dinner
9:45 pm Log workouts/Read
10:00pm Get in bed.

Where does the time go? I think I know. It is the preparation and recovery time. It is the 30 minutes after a long run where I just lounge letting my body catch up while I put calories back in.

Are there efficiencies to be found? Sure. I could shower at the gym and head straight to work. I could bring all my gear with me and depart from work. And to some extent these do happen. But I would argue they add more stress. It still adds prep time. I spend most of the morning stressing over whether or not I have everything. The last thing I want to do is show up to work with only tennis shoes...or no socks. Fortunately, I live close enough to the office/gym that a stop by the apartment isn't really an inconvenience.