That's what we talk about as triathletes and Dadathletes with other multiple sport friends, it's about getting those hours in.
"Yeah Dave, I clocked in a short hour on the bike last night, grabbed a few extra KM's"
or
"Struggling to find some running time, need to add more KMs to my schedule for the IM in March"
Crazy talk! but it's the world we enjoy.
I don't have a hard and fast training plan when it comes to my workouts, outside of having a particular Tri-Event I don't really hit the pool on a regular basis, so as we creep closer to the winter the focus is on running and riding at the moment.
I implore every Dadathlete to ditch public transport where possible, BEST move I ever did, now granted I don't like riding in a heavy down pour so I get the train or rain days. But travelling to work under your own steam will change your outlook.
1. You don't suffer train delays
2. You know exactly how long it takes to get home everyday without exception
3. Time to yourself, to think, clear the head, prepare mentally for the working day
4. Right there is your conditioning - day in day out.
It's not easy and it harks back to being ready to commute, bag ready, kit ready, clothes for the day (or week) ready. Come home feed/ feed baby/ bath baby/ and then prepare your pack.
We all love a MAMIL ride on the weekend, friends side by side rolling down Beach Road or spinning up the Hills with a little group followed by a cheeky poached egg and coffee to right the worlds wrongs. But we have a kid! and 8am ain't a guarantee availability on a Saturday or Sunday for that matter.
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| How can this view not encourage a morning ride to work |
Riding to work will give you KMs but how you use them is up to you, here are some simple tips to help improve that morning ride and create a training/ learning opportunity.
PLAN YOUR ROUTE
Have multiple routes, a long one, short one, hilly, and flat, you might even have a technical route that requires twisting paths to work on bike handling skills and concentration.
Know when to use these routes to your advantage; I like to do some speed/ sprint work so I choose my short route with long roads without traffic lights to stretch out in the aero position. On a Friday like this morning I try add some KMs in with a longer ride, flatter but try and get 20km before I hit the office.
TARGETS
Ok I love my Strava - it features on this blog, it features in my discussions; but any system where you can easily get time/ speed and distance data is useful as Triathlete.
Ride with a purpose, I like to keep track of my time to get home with traffic lights my 10-12km spin tends to take 28mins but on good days I look to get under that.
Even an equipment adjustment can add to your training; I like a challenge in the morning so some days I set myself a goal of staying in the Big Ring for my ride to work or limiting gears to 2 changes. This ups my output. You may if working with the N+1 rule (N being the amount of bikes you own) using your training bike or maybe investing in a steel frame, something with a bit more weight than the road racer you normal saddle up to.
Feel that increased effort as you wrestle a heavy frame bike in only a big ring to work each day and tell me that's not improving your riding.
Even if you're not always adding any of these elements a bad training session will always beat no session at all, worst case senario you've refreshed your mind and avoided that squished 5th carriage with a 15min delay on a 34C day.
Find the training opportunity in your daily life and you won't have to find time to train!
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