Triathlon Hiatus

Do less, but do something.  Involve your family.  Jog with the stroller.  Have your kids ride with you while you go for a short run.  And then get some workouts in for yourself.  But it doesn't need to be highly structured, just enough to maintain reasonable fitness and mental health.  Go for your "long" ride, but tell the family that you will be back by X-oclock and then you are taking the kids to do something neat.  A hike, miniature golfing, to the beach, etc.  You get the idea.  It's a win-win.

When I hurt my Achilles in 2010, I couldn't swim, bike or run for nearly nine months (six months in a boot and three months of rehab).

I was still able to go to the gym wearing my boot and do upper body and core stuff that didn't involve my leg (mostly machines where I was seated).

I was afraid of gaining weight, so I signed up for Weight Watchers for Men Online to track my diet.  The unexpected benefit was that I actually lost about 15 lbs during that timeframe.

I have some other non-athletic hobbies that I spent time on while I was laid up.  I really enjoy building wooden ship models, but had been neglecting that for the last couple of years, mostly due to triathlon.

I also used my downtime to reconsider my goals in triathlon and whether I wanted to continue in the sport or find something else to do.  At age 57, I had started to feel the effects of age, but felt that if I stayed healthy I could give it a good effort for a few more years.  Since coming back I've been a lot more focused and consistent in my training.  Think that I appreciate the opportunity to still be involved in the sport, knowing that someday I won't be able to do so.

Mark

5 years into racing here.  I've worked from hoping to finishing a sprint to breaking 40 minutes in my 10k to being "in the mix" for local races.  

With all that said I'm about where you are.  After AG Nats I'm planning on dialing things back a bit, and plan on just riding my bike when I can with the local road groups.  I've said this in another thread, but at this point I've asked myself several times "what's next?", with the result being drawing a blank.

What do you enjoy doing the most? Do that when times allows. Running 4x a week for 30-45' will do a great amount of good for your health and mental health. Riding and swimming are more time intensive for the time you put in. Riding trainer is more time efficient than road riding.

Some of us like the challenge of the race out there so moving to not competing is challenging.

I had an injury, big surgery, and some health issues, I haven't trained for 3 years. I miss it but my knee and health won't allow it. I like competing so I struggle with just riding or just swimming without a purpose. I like training plans, doing workouts as outlined for me and see gains. I've moved on to other interests but I miss the sport and I wish I could get back at it somehow. I need to get back on my bike.

I applaud you for putting your family first. Those early years with your kids will be gone in a blink of an eye and are super fun. I'm on the other side of parenting as my youngest is almost 16 and oldest are 25. Sunday our son arrived in middle east for his deployment and our #4 went to college for a special program for Engineering students.

I'm in a slightly different situation.  I'm 10+ years into triathlon and for many years it's almost become my identity.  I admit I liked that to a degree however recently I've experienced exhaustion to the point it's concerned me and seems to be more than just over-training etc.  

I've only done 1-3 races per season the past few years yet have continued to train 3x weekly in each discipline which seems to be why I need a break...

As I've reflected on my triathlon goals for the future it occurred to me I really don't have any other hobbies outside of fitness.  With a family and career, triathlon can turn into a "hobby" just planning workouts, keeping up to date on bike maintenance, training plans, gear review, purchases etc...

So slight hijack, what are some hobby recommendations for someone in need of one or two?

Everyone is giving good advice.  I got burnt out on triathlons a couple of years ago due to not finding a balance and focusing on long course races too much.  I needed a break and discovered that I LOVE mountain biking.  Did I mention I LOVE mountain biking.  I did an XTERRA race and loved that too so I still stay somewhat fit in the swim/run disciplines.

I also stopped doing other hobbies I liked such as kayaking, hiking, camping, fishing, and riding dirtbikes all for the sake of trying to do long course races.  Thta lack of balance played a big part in me getting burned out.  I don't follow any training plan and I just do whatever it is that I feel like doing that day but I still stay active.  In 2015 I'll be doing XTERRA race, some mountain bike races, and a couple of adventure races that I've found that have things like trail run / kayak / mtb bike.  Just stay active and everything will fall into place.

I'm taking a break this year and am glad of it.  The fun in racing had worn well off and I really was resenting swim practice.  It started with a vow to take off swim practice and thus triathlon, and just do duathlon and run.  Then I decided I hated bike racing too (LOVE BIKE RIDING) and will not be signing up for any dus, either.  It used to be such a huge part of my life, but I didn't even really miss it.  I still hang around BT and watch my friends at tris, so I get the social part without all the trouble  I have found that I am so used to working out that I didn't turn into the couch potato as I worried.  I have tried to incorporate more yoga but also other fulfilling things, like house projects, trips, and hanging out with my husband.   Long story short I didn't miss it at all and think anyone who is feeling unsure about structured training should take a little break. Either you'll learn you really DO miss it, or you realize it's not as important as you thought.

The only dilemma I can't answer is the loss of fitness.  I am personally keeping up running and biking, but I can't say it's the same as when I trained more.  However, they always say the base is there you can build back up more quickly/easily.  You might surprise yourself.  I stopped making major improvements long before quitting, which partly caused my lack of interest.

I have my last tri of the year, Rev3 FL, coming up in about five weeks.  I'm looking forward the race, but I've been strictly following a 20 week training plan and feel like I'm on the edge of getting burned out.  Definitely looking forward to the off-season, such as it is here in FL.

I've fallen back in love with swimming this year and am seriously thinking about cutting back on my tri schedule next year to do some masters swim meets instead.  I still love to run and ride, but feel that at 61, running is starting to take more of a toll on my body and bike training is very time consuming.

Mark

I did IMAZ (my 4th IM) back in Nov 2012 and for some reason, hung the bike up and never looked back or raced again.

I'm not sure if I was burned out, or just wanted something new to do.  I started to focus on golf and yoga and other activities.  Honestly, I'm not sure if I will ever return (at least to the level I was before) or just continue to expand my horizons and do new things.  It was so nice to have 2-3 pastimes to work on rather than spend 15-20 hours a week on triathlon. 

IF, I get back, I would think it would be with a renewed passion for it instead of just a routine and probably never get back up tot he volume I did in the past.

ALSO, I can tell what all the repetition was doing to my body.  I'm probably not built for endurance sports.