Getting tired of triathlon... (Page 4)

After decades of playing ice hockey I realized 23 years ago I was not enjoying it any longer. So I hung up my skates. I took up triathlon then. So if something stops giving you pleasure just take a break, You may never return. WHo knows. Funny thing is I was a competitive road cyclist 30 years ago and only started riding again seriously because of triathlon. Some of my best days in the last 2+ years have been rides on sunny days.

As far as the coaching bringing you down, perhaps you need to talk with your coach more. Tell her/him that the number crunching sets are bring you down. Relate your goals again and then reassess whether that person was the right coach for you.

8-10hrs is very reasonable.  considering i spend 8-10hrs just cycling in a week and nothing else.  i have touched base on this before.  it really depends on how the rest of your life is.

before my current job i had relaxed hours, could EASILY i mean EASILY put in 12 hrs of work and have sufficient rest. 

now i work very long hrs and travel.  that makes things difficult.  for example i left on a tuesday morning and came back sunday night, 6 days shot to hell.  i didn't do anything on monday and there was absolutely 0 time i mean 0 to work out during the trip.  hrs were 7-7pm dinner with co-workers and drinks.  upon returns i had to rest 2 days prior to starting which means i missed 8 days from a month with 0 workout.

see my point. 

I guess I didn't see this thread since I have been on a break too. 

This is my third year in this sport, and I came from a background in none of the sports.  I didn't even know how to ride a bike when I started.  In my professional life, I have always been an overachiever.  I was always at the top of my class in school, and now I'm a successful surgeon.  In my private life I overachieved by having 3 kids at once.  Then, after my divorce, I decide that I want to do something totally different and be athletic.  Over the last 3 years, I have challenged myself in ways that I never thought possible yet...I SUCK AT THIS SPORT.  Sucking is not a very good motivator.  Either is feeling like workouts (which of course I have to do so I don't suck) is another job on top of being a surgeon and full time single mom to triplets.

So getting back to the topic.  I took a recent 6 week complete break from workouts.  I was expecting to need the adrenaline from the working out...nope.  I didn't miss it.  What does that mean? I took the break to lose weight, which seems counterintuitive, but worked well for me.  I could never drop the few lbs I needed while doing tri.  I had to cut carbs completely. So now I am back to working out for 3 weeks for long scheduled race.  It is my benchmark race of the year and I always hope to do better in that race to prove that all the long hours pay off, but I don't think I will PR this year. I think I am okay with that, but the overachiever in me will get depressed. 

After a sprint a week later I think I will take off again and then re-evaluate after the first of the year.  Only problem is that there are races to sign up for before then.  I think time off is a good thing.  I do yoga when not doing triathlon. Most of us on this site do this for fun.  It is not our livelihood.  We do this for fun and health.  There are certainly other things we could do that are still healthy, but still fun.  Bottom line...don't become a couch potato, but keep moving doing something you enjoy.   I will likely be in and out of the sport myself.

Personally, I wonder if I did underachieve in this sport if I would still be interested in it.  I've had a few setbacks personally that have made triathlon very challenging and frustrating, which has drawn me even more it to it.  Sometimes these shortcomings make me consider walking away, but really what else would I do?  I enjoy doing all this stuff and sadly the weekend rides are the highlights of my week.

The only thing I was ever really good at was billiards, and after I won a few tournaments I lost interest. 

I'm in Week 2 now after my last race of this season where afterwards I was seriously considering hanging it  up, at least in races.  So far this week I've had my highest volume week of running ever, 28 miles when most weeks this year I was in the 20-24 mile range.  I plan to up that amount further (slowly) in coming weeks.  I plan to lift weights tonight for the second time this week.  First time that's happened more than once in a week in awhile.  I'm going to get the bike out this weekend and crank out 45-50 miles.  Maybe I'll ride them hard, maybe not.  It depends on how I feel.  I haven't once thought of hopping on the trainer though.  I've thought about doing some swimming at lunch, but didn't as work got too busy, but no big deal.  I'll swim when/if I feel like it and time allows.  I've been to my kids' soccer practices and not occupied myself with what kind of training I'll do later on and how much.  I've gotten some much needed work done around the house and yard, with more to come.

We'll see.  The urge might be there come December to start thinking about races for next year, but right now I've been every bit as active, but without a race on the horizon it all feels very....liberating.

I am only in year 2 of triathlons with most of them being this year.  I have only done sprints but would like to try an oly or 2 next year.  Move up to a HIM the following year and see what happens.

Life throws all kinds of curve balls at us.  My father passed away on the 21st but had been fighting Lymphoma for a year.  It is really hard to train and focus when you are always thinking about that.  I missed a many training sessions because I just didn't have the mental strength to train all the time.  Then there is just everyday life things that slow you down. 

This thread is what keeps me going.  How many other sports could you tell everyone that you are burned out and may quit and everyone supports you??  Most would call you a quitter and all kinds of names.  Triathletes seem to be very supportive and make you feel a part of something even if you aren't an IM.