Iron Man Is Like Having A Small Child

They say training for a full Ironman is a full-time job? It’s much more like having a demanding small child. It requires constant attention, demands endless snacks, forces you into an early bedtime, and takes over your daily schedule. Balancing swim, bike, and run sessions alongside a career and social life is one of the hardest parts of triathlon training. Whether you're prepping for your first 70.3 or tackling a full 140.6 distance race, here is the honest truth about how Ironman training transforms your daily routine, and how to fit it all into a busy week.

• Iron Man is always at the back of your mind, it never goes away.

• You never feel like you are giving Iron Man training enough time and attention, despite it having the majority of your time and attention.

• You feel guilty for having 5 minutes to yourself and not perusing one of the activities you know you should be doing.

• The rest of your immediate future is sacrificed because of this one thing.

• Mood swings are horrendous, sometimes you want to kill the bike, and sometimes it is your favourite thing in the world.

• You knew Iron Man was going to be a large financial commitment, but are shocked to find out how much money you sift through a month on bits and pieces to keep the dream alive.

• Your friends think you have changed and refer to the "old, fun" version of you.

• You find all you want to talk about is Iron Man. It slowly begins to consume your life and your brain.

• There are a lot of things that can go wrong on a day-to-day basis. A LOT.

• Iron Man requires a dedication beyond that of anything I have ever encountered before.

• You have to juggle many a ball. (Multi-tasking between, cycling, running, swimming, strength training, stretching and rehab is not as easy as I first thought it would be *sigh*)

• There will be more bad days than good, but the good always makes you carry on.

• You are constantly tired..

• Rest days you spend worrying that you are relaxing and having fun, you start to stress about whether this day of rest is necessary.

• You begin to wonder why on earth you did this to yourself when you could have spent all this time and money sitting on a beach drinking cocktails.

Overwhelmed by trying to fit Ironman training into your real life? You don't need to give up your job, your relationships, or your sanity to finish a triathlon. I coach busy, ambitious women to structure high-impact, time-efficient training plans that deliver race day results without causing total life burnout. Click here to learn more about my 1-on-1 Bespoke Endurance Coaching.