Where you train...

I bet everyone has good and bad in where they train.  I live in a flat rural county so I have miles and miles of lightly traveled roads that go by scenic farmland to train on.  That's good for biking and running.

There are two bad things.  One is almost making me think about quitting triathlons and the other is managable.

The bad is the pool.  There is one 25y 4 lane pool at the YMCA in our county.  It's a 15 mile drive one way.  The hours are horrible.  There is only one day with hours I can regularly make the lap swim.  There are two other days that have lap swim hours I can sometimes make.  No hours on Sunday.  One lap swim at 8am Saturday (I work at 8:30 on many Saturdays).  The weekday lap swims are at 7am, noon and 5pm.  Hard to make the 20 min (one way) drive to the pool when I work 8am-5pm.  There is a short 45 min evening swim with one lane open two evenings sometimes.  I hate it!  The next closest pool is a 40 minute (one way) trip away.  Just to make the 30 mile roundtrip drive to the close pool costs me $4 in gas every time.

The managable is the weather.  100+ inches of snow per year.  Rural county.  Not very good snow removal.  No sidewalks.  Really limits running and biking outdoors in the winter, but at least there are other options.

I too get jealous when reading other blogs about all the time people spend in the pool.  But you take the good with the bad and do what you can do.

cando i live in manchester, near moss side. nuff said about how lovely my training environment is

welcome to bt fellow england based person.

I've been to Manchester a few times to watch West Ham play either of the two big boys and drove through Moss Side once (according to the cab driver).  I hear what you're saying although I guess it must keep your running faster!

And Drdi - that's abysmal on your county's part - I thought England had appalling swimming facilities (ok, I know we do) but not to have one nearby with reasonable opening hours is bad news - is there anyone you can lobby?

(Ps, Sappho, I'm guessing by the badge and Shankly quote that you're a mickey mouser - I was at Cardiff last May and now own a shirt that reads "Steven Gerrard ruined my life" - what a roller coaster of a day!)

I will agree, some triathletes get to train in some glorious locations.  I don't have it too bad part of the year.  During the summer months my location offers some decent variety for running and riding plus I have access to two of the five great lakes (Erie and Ontario).  Now if only I could find a swim buddy so I can get in the OW more often.  My training is a mix.  I try to run outside as often as possible because the treadmill is just so boring.   Biking for me is about 60/40 indoor to outdoor.  I just go a fluid trainer so I can ride early in the morning when it is dark outside in the safety of my basement, but I try to get out on the weekends when there is more light (hate it when the days get shorter).  My swims are all done in a pool.  I have access to two locations that are close to work and home.   I just have to make do with what is available to me.

Iowa is ok for training.. lots of country roads to bike on, and if you call cornfields scenic you are in business.

The pig farms are encouragement to ride faster.  "Just up over this hill and I'll be out of the stench zone!"  Something about huffing in giant gasps of pig-farm air makes you want to get out of the area.. right into the next pig farm.  Pigs and corn, that's Iowa for ya.

I have a beautiful park just a couple blocks from my house which has a 2 mile loop.  It's always full of geese and ducks with very little traffic and has some beautiful water.  In the morning it's always amazing.

The one downside to Iowa is that the water quality here is terrible.  OWS is almost out of the question.  I have a friend who is a limnologist and she will not let her dogs swim in this state.  She is from Wisconsin - I'm jealous of their lakes!!  People actually complain about getting sick from the OWS in Iowa triathlons.  I swim at the gym.. which if you read my blog, doesn't seem a whole lot cleaner...

Minneapolis is much the same way.  I've got access to more pools than I know what to do with, hundreds of miles of paved trails almost literally out my front door, and OWS opportunities within a couple miles of my house.  Only 10 minutes drive takes me to a wonderful circuit of wood chip/dirt trails and some naaaaasty hills (see yesterday's log).  I also run in almost all weather conditions but those below zero (farenhiet) days are too much for me so I hit the indoor track.  Winter riding is on the trainer in the basement or dodging the ice on my MTB.  

Regardless of your circumstances, however, its all about how much you want it.     

I must admit, I'm horribly spoiled.  Sorry.. another tale of training paradise here...

I swim in a pool located a half block from where I work, which has convenient lunch hour swim times.  I live within a 15-20 min drive from two lakes which are perfect for open water swimming. 

I bike along local roads in my neighbourhood, which features a seaside bike route that goes for over 30km each way.  The city also offers 120km of dedicated commuter bike trails.

I run throughout my neighbourhood, which often takes me through parks or along the ocean.

And the weather on Vancouver Island is incredible - especially for Canada.  I can train outside year round, because we don't get snow here.

Some of these places sound glorious - I think it might be time to bring up the subject of where we want to set up the family home with Mrs Cando again !!

I'm not sure what the problem is.  Sometimes when I'm out running I fantasize that I'm on a track just outside of London.

Purely in the interests of research (I'm not stalking anyone) I've been "googling" the towns where some of you lot live (ok, I'm not that busy) and I've realised I need to get out more and spread my clipped wings.  For comparison purposes I did the same for where I live (Brentwood, Essex) only to discover the place was voted The Most Boring Town in Britain during the '90s.  I wish I hadn't have looked!!!

On a brighter note the 2012 Olympic mountain bike event is being held in our local park so that's pretty cool. 

I've also discovered that there is a 6 mile measured running trail along the River Thames that passes my office - ok, that's too long for my lunch break but I might do it before work - it's flat and would take in all the sights - Tower Bridge, London Bridge (which is far from a 'sight' but what the hey), St Pauls, Big Ben, The Houses of Parliment et al - I might get up Friday morning and have a go (don't anyone go ruining it by mentioning Londons pollution!!) 

I'll see how many tourists photos I can get myself in by running behind the frame!

Birkie runner - that is AWESOME.   And I'm English - we don't use "AWESOME" lightly.

I don't even holiday in places as beautiful as that!!!  It would be a crime not to be a triathlete in that setting.

You currently lead the charts for "place I'm going to wish I was most the next time I swim into a hair ball in my pool".

Enjoy that swim!!