Master your training plan and balance your life with these 5 tips

Balancing the drive to do all things possible in training, with everything else life has on your endless to do list, can make you feel anxious and untethered. The start line is coming for you and the pressure is intense.

The drive to do as much as possible to prepare for race season is one of the qualities that underlines a great athlete, but it can also be an achilles heal. Always feeling like you are chasing a moving target and constantly falling short of your weekly training expectations can drain the fun factor out of participating in the sport. It’s better to set realistic training goals so at the end of the week you feel accomplished. The motivation that comes from feeling good about what you achieved will likely add up to more quality training hours than the number of workouts uploaded to your calendar.

Tip #1: The best plan is the one you can execute

There is no sense building the “ideal” plan if you can’t execute it. Maybe the pros do five bike sessions a week, so you want that too. On paper, the perfect plan is worthless if it doesn’t fit into your life. If two bike sessions a week is all you can realistically fit in with work, taxes, children and family time, then two it is. Make those two sessions count by being training ready.

Training ready means you are not completely exhausted and stressed out on the daily from all the other demands of life pulling you in different directions. If you are moving from one training session to the next without ever feeling eager to workout, you are likely not performing optimally in those sessions. Sub-optimal training leads to sub-optimal adaptation. You are literally just spinning your wheels.

Tip #2: Make a list of ALL your priorities

When thinking about our priorities we tend to zero in on the training and racing ones. Take a step back. Make a list of priorities that include ones from all the areas of your life, not just the triathlon related ones. Maybe you’ve made a commitment to yourself that you are going to watch every sunrise, spend more time with the kids, cook more, or make time for a bucket list trip. These priorities need to join your triathlon priorities on a master list.

Now how does your day or week shake out? Maybe you need to drop a swim session in order to keep your promise to yourself or someone else. While that may mean you are two minutes slower on the swim at your next race, focus on what you get in return. Always consult the master list for the big picture and to keep things in perspective when choosing trade-offs between life goals and triathlon goals.

Tip #3: Be flexible outside the gym

It ain’t going to go to plan.

Too firm of a grip on your training regiment is a recipe for chaos, in your mind and in your life. Whatever it takes, develop strategies to be ok with this hard fact. Practicing “letting it go” is imperative to your mental health and keeping the plan moving forward. Trying to make up missed sessions can actually derail your program. Stacking too many hard days together, or not enough time in between long ride or runs will lead to burn out or injury.

Like any dance, a training program is an intricate arrangement of specific steps requiring technical knowledge and ability to execute right. If you consider that each session in a week is a single step in the Cha-Cha, mixing up all the individual steps will not result in another week on Dancing With The Stars. Each session fits together in a very specific way like pieces of a puzzle. Once you start jamming pieces in where they don’t fit the puzzle ends up in the air, then on the floor.

A coach can provide the expertise to readjust a program, but it’s up to you to be ok with that. Find a mental strategy that will help you accept the loss and move on. It sounds silly, but deep down we know this is often a very challenging thing to do. Sit quietly and process it so that you can wake up the next day and get back on track.

Tip #4: Find something else to do

This is where Tip #1 and #2 come together nicely. Too much of anything is not good. To balance all things triathlon, do some cross training. This alternative recreational outlet can be combined with one of the new priorities you’ve committed to that involve family or friends. Resolved to spend more time with the kids? Take them hiking or mountain biking. Get an ice cream afterwards. Mix up cross training, promises to your loved ones, and ice cream. I mean, drop the mic. It has ice cream.

There’s your new trifecta for non-triathlon training time. It still has three disciplines and involves fuelling. The fourth discipline in this case is humour. Don’t take yourself or anything too seriously when you’re doing this new form of multisport.

Tip #5: Savour the moments

Not everyday in anyone’s chaotic life is going to be red letter. When all the time, effort (and money) amount to a great moment, savour it. They don’t last long. That feeling you get after crossing a finish line will be buried under a pile of laundry by the end of the week.

That moment your kid completes their first hike without whining all the way needs to be cherished in real time because everything is fleeting. In these moments we need to stop time, and relish why we work so hard, commit to so much and persevere day after day. You won’t be thinking about that missed bike session or those two minutes on the swim.

You’ll be affirming that it was worth it, and that it mattered to more than just you.