No, I did not title this blog post just because I like the alliteration. I chose this title, because it best encompasses my two current goals, which are career progress and triathlon. An uncommon pairing, but I want to prove to myself that I can be successful at my job and be a successful athlete once again. Like many people do when things get tough, I let myself make excuses for why my training fell completely off track a few years ago, and work was one of them, so for 2021, I am not going to let my job prevent me from meeting my goals.
First, I bought a book. I like buying training books and reading parts of them sometimes, and when this popped up as a potential read on my Amazon account, it sounded perfect. I have not read the complete book yet, but I hope it will give me some idea of changes I may need to make to my training to be as efficient as possible.
Prior to opening the book, I am sure of one change I need to make. I need to decrease junk mileage. My best season where I trained myself I did a lot of junk miles, and it worked, because I had not previously been a runner or cyclist, so I progressed quickly. Right now, I don’t have time for junk miles, so I know each workout I plan needs to have a purpose. If I am swimming three times a week, I know what my three workouts are. Distance, technique, and sprint, so I need to apply this same thinking to my cycling and running as I plan my training schedule.
Next, I am blocking off my calendar at work for a few hours every week for two reasons. First, self-care. Wednesdays and Fridays I am going to be done working earlier than any other day of the week. Wednesdays I like to have dinner with my Grandma, and I figure Friday is the most acceptable day of the week to take time off in the world of accounting. I will still be working a lot of hours, but I like to work earlier in the mornings, so I don’t think this will be an issue. The second reason I am blocking out time is so I can train. My current plan is to use the time Friday evening for an outdoor run, and I will also be planning my Saturday hours around time to ride my bike on Saturdays, whether it is inside or outside.
I am also going to prioritize strength and mobility as a part of my weekly routine, where I have previously neglected it due to time constraints. Strength and mobility play an important role in injury prevention, and if I am injured, I cannot train as much, which would set me back on my goals, which seems obvious. For this reason, I am setting aside two workouts a week. One will be yoga and the other is going to be a more traditional strength workout. My plan is to try to make these workouts as efficient as possible, so they can be squeezed into my schedule without taking the place of a sport specific workout.
In addition to the above plans, I am going to prioritize self-care, which means I am going to be paying closer attention to things like how much I am sleeping, what foods I am eating, and the amount of time I spend staring at screens aside from when I am working. These are the things I neglect when I am working and training more. At my previous office I ate M&M’s as a snack and when I got home I would mindlessly scroll through my phone in the evening. Instead of eating M&M’s, I have access to Greek yogurt, granola, and fruit now that I am working from home, and instead of scrolling through my phone I need more books to read to decrease the amount of blue light I am seeing at night to help improve my sleep quality. I actually ordered and Oura Ring to see how I am sleeping, because right now I never wake up rested, and I will post my favorite roasted vegetable recipe later this week.
Overall, the big priorities I see for myself over the next few months are self-care and making sure everything I do has a purpose when it comes to training.
Above are some of the books available on Amazon that I either own already or intend to purchase once I actually start working again.