What my off-season really looks like

I had grand plans of running every day, and swimming once a week, and strength training 5 days a week after work.  Well, boy was I stupid to think I could pull all of that off! I mean, it all sounds great, but then I forgot to take several things into consideration.

1) My schedule.  I teach full time and have to be to work by 7 am.  This means that to do morning training I have to do it at 4 am if it means that I can still be done in time to get myself and two kids out the door and be here on time.  And after school is crazy with the kids and their extracurricular activities and still doing all the Mom stuff.  Ken's new assignment has him working a ton more, so he is easily putting in 70 hours a week, so that doesn't give him much of a chance to pitch in either.

2)  My body.  I can keep up that kind of training, but not with the strength.  I have never implemented strength training while tri training, so I have had a hard time finding the sweet spot in doing it with out it effecting my ability to run and bike the way I want.  Any soreness or fatigue from strength training carries over to biking and cycling, so I need to find the way to do it better.  I am not giving up, because I really enjoy the strength training, but I need to work out these kinks.

3)  I hate pool swimming.  And they only have late night hours.  And yes, 9-10 pm is "late night" to someone who is up most days by 4 am.  So, I haven't swam since Age Group Nationals in August.  Luckily for me, swimming is my strong suit, and I can completely neglect it and still do well.  I do plan on swimming tonight though, and have enlisted a friend to meet me there for accountability :)

So what does a typical week training wise look like for me?  I am running about 4 days a week (still way  more than I did all summer) and hit the elliptical a couple times a week, to avoid too much impact.  My IT Band and shin splints can get cranky, so this seems to be working okay.  I also have put my Belle on the trainer, so it is Sufferfest videos or Nashville episodes on the DVR for my bike training.  I am completely ignoring the speed and mileage for these workouts because it simply isn't accurate on the trainer.  I go for time and heart rate.  I forgot how much I love/hate Sufferfest!  It's brutal but no doubt an incredible workout.  I have been doing these workouts 2-3 times a week.

I strength train in that hour between me being done at work and having to pick up my kids.  It usually involves me doing 20-30 minutes of strength and time on the elliptical before I have to get the kids.  I have been following loosely Jamie Easton's beginning Livefit plan off Bodybuilding.com.  I thoroughly enjoy this gym time and am starting to see more definition in my arms, shoulders, and abs. 

Pretty much all of this training is happening right after school or later in the evening.  4:00 am sucks.  However, Joshua now has swim practice 3x a week after school and Janae is starting dance, so I will have to suck it up, but for now, it is working and still getting done more days one way or another. 

I am also trying really hard to go easy on myself if I miss a workout or have to cut it short for the time being.  I know that when my official IMTX training plan starts on December 15, I will have to be more disciplined, and I want to for now find a good balance between taking somewhat of a break while still maintaining some fitness and remaining active.  I don't see this being problem as the base expected for the start of the training plan is being able swim 800 yards, bike for 1 hour and run 7 miles without difficulty.  No problem there!  I really want to avoid burning out too, which I have had happen.

So, in the meantime, Happy training and racing all!