As a triathlete training for some new goals this summer, I’m doing my best to balance my training for all three legs. And it’s a big challenge. My ideal schedule for that is: early morning swim training with a group on Tuesdays and Friday for 90 minutes; short run on Thursday and long run on Saturday; biking to work and longer rides on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and/or on the weekend.
That’s ideal. I have difficulty hitting it. One of my challenges is that I am also committed to my Precision Nutrition workouts, and they’re getting tougher.
Triathlon training and intense weight training pull against each other. Triathletes often take it easy on the weights during the main season, perhaps doing some light maintenance but sometimes not even hitting the weight room at all.
And I’ve heard all sorts of views about how endurance sport compromises weight training results.
What I’m finding most difficult right now is balancing all of this sufficiently with adequate rest. Rest is really important.
As this article states, it gives the body time to recover and build. And in our PN program lately, we’re working on sleep rituals (I’m terrible at establishing a recommended sleep ritual, and the poor quality of my sleep reflects that) and post-workout recovery strategies.
I’m supposed to be taking a full day of rest a week. I have blogged about my struggles with this before. Things are no better at this point. I’m much more likely to get rest only when I reach the point where I have no choice. Like this:
That’s kind of where I’m at today. My swim workout was tough. That usually energizes me for the day. But instead, I know that it would be a bad plan for me to push on with the scheduled noon bike ride. I need rest! And I need a better strategy for getting it before I hit the wall.
Suggestions welcome! How do you balance everything else with adequate rest?
