This week marks an important transition in my Ironman training: 20 weeks until the big day.
*Gulp*
In just five months time, I will be swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles, and running 26.2 miles–all within (I hope!) the official time limit of 17 hours.
Having talked to experienced Ironman triathletes, I knew that the “20 weeks out” moment was a major transition in the training plan. This past Sunday, I pulled up my schedule, and I noticed the shift. Now that it’s Friday, and I’ve made it through 5 of the 7 training days: I’m feeling the shift.
So, what is this “shift”? My training schedule is organized by periodization cycles. For those of you who may not be familiar with periodization, it’s a method of training in which you adjust the type, intensity and volume of training to the particular cycle (or “period”) of the overall annual training cycle.
At 20 weeks out, the duration of my training is reaching levels I’ve never experienced before. For example, this week, I’m on track to train for about 16 hours. That would explain my near-constant hunger and the drop-dead tiredness at the end of the day. Sure, this training is testing my physical limits. But, it poses other types of life challenges as well–especially with respect to time management. While I can’t get more than 24 hours in a day, I have adopted some tricks to make the most out of the time I have. So, I thought I would share some ideas with you. And, as always, please share your tips in the comment section.
Plan your week
Each Sunday, I map out my calendar for the week. I use Microsoft Outlook, but this method works just as easily with any other type of electronic calendar or the traditional paper planner. I include everything I have to do for the week: training workouts, work meetings, class meetings, office hours, food shopping, doctor’s appointments, grading, class prep, cleaning – you name it. This allows me to see–at a glance–any potential conflicts and to manage them before they become a problem. It also allows me to identify any remaining pockets of spare time I might have, so I can use that time in ways that help me de-stress from an otherwise packed schedule.
Pack your bag the night before
In addition to preparing our breakfast and lunch the night before, we also set out our clothes for training and work. We pack our transition bags with the items we need for our workouts (e.g., swim cap, goggles, bike shoes, etc.), and lay out our workout clothes. John even takes it a step further sometimes and goes to sleep in his running clothes. Personally, I find it very hard to sleep in technical fabric and a sports bra (ouch!). So, I take the extra 3 minutes to dress in the morning. It may not seem like much, but doing this can save 10-15 minutes in the morning, and coupled with the 10-15 minutes of time you save by pre-packing your breakfast and lunch: you’ve just earned an extra 30 minutes of sleep in the morning. For me, that’s the difference between 4:30 a.m. and 5:00 a.m.
Super-set strength training
If you are like me, then you find it difficult to fit in strength training with an already very full training schedule. I have found that if I super-set my strength training, or doing a circuit-style routine, it takes me only 45 minutes to get a total body experience. And, since I’m getting the total body experience, I just need to squeeze these sessions in 2-3 a week.
Train with buddies
As the training volume ratchets ever upward, I’m finding it hard to fit in social time. So, one way to fix some social time with training time is to do it together. A hot date for John and I is a long bike ride through the Pine Barrens, or a run along the boardwalk. Other times, I run into my friends at the gym, and we spend a little quality treadmill time together.
Prepare your food ahead of time
One of the best time-savers that John and I have adopted is to spend one day a week (for us, that’s Sunday) preparing our food for the week. As I wrote in a previous post, we eat salad every day for lunch. Preparing a nutritious and filling salad anew each day can be quite time consuming. So, to help cut down on the daily prep time, we wash, cut and store the lettuce, vegetables and fruit as soon as we get home from the produce store. Then, each evening, we make our salads from the various containers of washed & cut goodies. In the morning, we wake up, do our workouts, and grab our pre-made lunch as we head out the door. This saves valuable sleep time :).
For breakfast, I pre-make steel cut oatmeal in large batches. Then, I store it in a container in the refrigerator. Each morning, John and I cut a “square” of the oatmeal & reheat it with a little bit of milk or greek yogurt, and top with fruit and nuts. The entire preparation takes a total of no more than 3 minutes. Tasty and speedy :). You can use this same method to pre-cook brown rice, quinoa, or other grains so you can have a healthy and hearty grain with your evening or mid-day meal as well.
Dinner can be a little trickier, but there are methods to trim time here as well.
- Method 1: Crockpot meals. Stick a protein, seasoning, and a bit of broth or other liquid in the pot. Turn on low. Come home from work, microwave or steam some vegies, dish food out of the crockpot: instant dinner.
- Method 2: Fish. Super fast cooking & nutritious. One of my quick and easy favorites is to mix a few varieties of mustard with some horseradish. Cover a salmon filet with the mixture. Broil until done. (Personally: I like to let the glaze get a little crispy and almost burnt – yum!)
- Method 3: Pre-cook meals when you have time or make double batches of a dinner, and then freeze them. For example, I love meatloaf, and make it frequently with ground turkey or venison. And, it’s just as easy to make three meatloaves as it is to make one. So, I make three. We eat one, and then freeze the other two.
Another way to save food prep time is to consider online shopping. Our local supermarket allows you to order your groceries online, and then pick them up at a pre-arranged time. The problem with this method is that it costs a bit extra, and right now, John and I are trying to save every penny (there is the matter of a new bike that he needs, and those race fees – yikes!) But, for those of you with a little extra scratch: online shopping is a HUGE time saver.
Multi-task whenever possible
At any given time, I am usually doing more than one thing. For example, I make phone calls while folding laundry.I stretch while working on the computer or cleaning the house. I try to run all of my errands at once, rather than taking a variety of little trips. While it is difficult to multi-task everything, many of the mundane chores of the household can be done simultaneously, or almost simultaneously.
Limit TV time–or multi-task while watching
I am amazed by the “extra” time I have found in the evenings just by not watching or limiting my TV time. We used to watch TV for about 2-3 hours each evening. Now, there are days I don’t even turn it on. And, you know what? I don’t miss it at all. I have found other, more productive ways to relax and unwind at the end of the day – including rolling around on my foam roller while tweeting ;). For those of you who really have to watch your shows or your sports, consider doing some housework while watching TV.
How do you save time – or make the time you have more productive?
