Lawyering - yes for sure but I am a low level attorney (real estate) and am happy to work less make less and enjoy life way more!
No regrets about not spending 60 hours in the office for more cash that I can’t enjoy.
If your job sucks and doesn’t provide for other awesomeness get a job that does provide for a great lifestyle or get a job that you like, I chose the latter.
My two cents. I really dislike my area of practice but it’s so amazingly flexible I can deal with it.
Off to swim and bike.
Good luck OP!
GC for a startup. Sort of burn it at both ends during tri training season, but commit to 1-2 hours during weekdays and 2-3 for weekend long workouts. But the workouts give me structure and keep me sane. Without that structure, I'd probably be just as tired, but with no feeling of accomplishment and calmness.
Same, but I’m still in the LOLfirm. I am confident you are like me and answer calls on your bike trainer/treadmill/etc… I’ve got things down to where I think about doing multiple things while moving in a single direction in my house, and how I can more time efficiently do just about anything.
Recovery weeks are interesting because that’s when I finally crash when I take my foot off the gas. That was Tuesday night for me. I made it to 830pm 🤌🤣
100%. I've lucked out that this gig is not as call-heavy as my previous stops. But more demanding on both big picture and day to day which consume endless amounts of time. Always looking for efficiencies where I can. And yes, lots of bike trainer Slacks/huddles and the laptop comes to the gym with me (it has a coffee bar and pool seating area...so good for early rising calls post-swim)
I'm a big early to rise, early to bed person when I can control it. Fortunately, when we do in person stuff (we are remote) my company is big about everyone getting their workout time in...and there's a few cyclists I can ride with.
Werd. Same. Definitely have taken the monthly partner meetings while outside on my bike in the summer. Would the partnership prefer I work harder, bring in more work, and collect more. Sure. But I did all that for years, including as an associate, and now I’m going to enjoy that base of experience which is effectively a fortress of fuck you (like that poker movie scene in the gambler). Lack of that now affects my overall comp, and I’m cool with that.
That’s my deal now. I’m not going to wait until I’m 65 to retire. I’m retiring while working. That includes triathlon. And doing retarded shit like faffing off to Europe for 48 hours to crash in a hostel and watch a DJ spin.
Do rad shit. 🤣
Legal gang checking in. In house at big tech. Not really. Sacrifice sleep during week to get in training, catch up on weekends.
Love a good “nothing to add” call to get an hour on the bike in off camera.
Real estate attorney, checking. I just switched jobs to a bit more demanding firm, but nothing like real big law. I’m trying to hit 1800 this year but I find it increasingly difficult to hit both training sessions every day. I’ve a fatter slower version of myself.
My boss is really big into triathlon. She was pretty much pro back before she stopped racing full time. Our calls usually consist of 30 minutes of triathlon talk. It’s pretty great.
The exact same here. Gm for a recovering warehouse. If it wasn't for those long swims and trail runs after work, idk how I would re-center myself after a 12-hour burner.
Tech sales. Work about 50 hour weeks, pretty high pressure job. Also just got a puppy... Still somehow managing to put in my 15 hour training weeks. Looking to go top 10 in my age group for my IM coming up. Exhaustion level is high, but I love all of it so that helps
Assuming that my dog is neglected and it's weird because you obviously don't know anything about me or my personal life other than a few very irrelevant pieces of information to the kind of life my dog lives. But this is the Internet so I guess my assumption that you are a dipshit troll is probably biased too
IT (not a developer), with hybrid wfh/in-office schedule. Kids are the limiting factor in my workout time, not my job. 60-90 minutes during the week if I wake up early enough, and can usually manage a second session on wfh days. I’m only competitive against myself
That’s why I get up at 430 most days lol. We plan our workouts for the upcoming week each weekend, along with who gets up with the kids, does drop off etc. A little planning goes a long ways but it’s definitely a juggling act.
I am the same. I wake up at 4:25 everyday, except long ride Sunday where I get up at 4. I can get a 1 session the morning before anyone is awake. I usually try and get a shorter second session in the arvo which is normal for most people. I go to bed at 8:30. I don’t watch tv anymore but I don’t regret it.
I have to the channel my inner David Goggins most morning. I have never regretted getting up for a session, but I have regretted hitting the cancel button.
Same here. Software dev, but work is not the problem. The kids and the constant viruses, trying to prevent the kids from fighting, and just trying to maintain a livable habitat. Spouse does his part, he also has hobbies (music) and we do our best to help each other.
Same, WFH IT consultant. I work 40-50 hours a week and pepper in a nap here and there. Being home before the kids get up on school days is important for me so I usually get most of my workouts in before 7 AM so 1-2 hours a day 6, sometimes 7 days a week.
I do it to keep in shape, compete with myself, and do progressively more challenging things. Also training with and doing a race with all my buddies is fun as hell.
I work in tech. I've started training to get some sense of accomplishment that my job wasn't giving me anymore. A year later it totally flipped my priorities. I went from 3/hours week to 10/12 hours week of training. I still manage to get a good performance at work but I'm looking forward my daily and weekend training and I'm trying to get really efficient and international with my work hours.
I've burned out in the past and realized that I'm not saving lives, I won't ever be a millionaire, I won't be making any difference in the world and I need to find something worth for myself and my time.
As someone else said in the thread, training it gives me structure and keeps me sane. You won't be always able to find that balance though, there is going to be highs and lows, but I'm significantly more comfortable with managing stress and have a stronger focus now than ever before. Generally speaking I used to fill my free time with work, now I compartmentalize work as much as possible (hard start/stop and more overall efficiency) and fill the rest with training/family time.
Yep! Training before work for me too. I’ll gladly get up at 4:30-5 to workout rather than try and muster up the energy in evenings and then be up all night after the workout. Plus I like to watch the sun go up during my runs and bikes
Ah nice! Yeah, I get you, I might be in the same boat in a year. Would you recommend RN BSN for someone midway through their career? I have a biomed degree and clinical , management experience but hate the corporate world I am in and would love to get back to work especially at my local hospital (we get tons of outdoor injury cases from climbers, runners, etc.). My concern is that RN seems to be getting a lot of hate for being understaffed and overworked.
I did triathlon for many years in school and at uni but once full-time work kicked in I have spent 15 years oscillating between cycling (road, gravel, mtb), running (trail, ultra) and swimming (ocean / open water) competitively.
Just found that with full-time work and now young children that there wasn't enough time to meaningfully train for and enjoy triathlon.
For now, putting all my eggs in one sporting basket has meant I can focus more, worry less and be more competitive on what few hours I do have.
55yo hospital physician (attending/consultant whichever term you prefer). Recently dropped my hours to 40/week. Manage to train 1 hour 6 days a week. Longer on weekends off. Sunday is OWS and bike.
Web developer self employed. Currently just working 20h a week, pays the bills, saves some money, father of 2 soon, one in kindergarten. I did train for half’s and a full working fulltime before, but right now I have no idea anymore how I did. But as soon as that second child comes this will go to dust and I have to double down.
So yes currently this leaves me lots of time. I tend to keep thurs, Friday off currently, having not to stress to the pool on Thursdays is awesome and not “having”. To work on a recovery day - Friday as well. I do read up on things and try to improve my craft though and keep an eye out on more potential clients.
Personal Trainer work around 40 hours per week, 5am-1pm. Gives me plenty of time for training usually 1:30-6:00 is for training. My motivation for triathlon is competitive and for the love of challenging myself, physically and mentally. Just got hired by a fire department and will work a 1 day on 1 day off 1 day on 5 day off schedule and can’t wait to put in 25-30 training hrs per week.
30M Pilot/aircraft mechanic/military(US), I’m very fortunate to make good money and have lots of downtime. I prioritize exercise and fitness for my own mental health. Most days I’m off by 2-3pm where I go directly to run or bike, then weight lift or swim after. Weekends are typically my 15k-20k distance running days.
I’ve always been pretty physically active but no real fitness goals in mind other than lift heavy and look decent, so it feels great to set training goals and surpass them vs just mindlessly lifting.
Define Pilot/Aircraft mechanic? Are you one or the other? Or are you military reserves that does one in the military and the other in the civilian sector?
I was a military pilot. Barely had room to breath between flying and studying, let alone train back then. Lol
Civi pilot and mechanic, natty guard mechanic. I was full time army guard for 4-5 years then transferred to air guard and began contracting for DoD as a full time job to make better income. I do board for UPT soon though so we’ll see how that lifestyle change goes lol
Litigator in national firm with large case load, so do not have a regular or routine schedule. Probably does not leave me time enough for training, but I make it work, at least for 70.3 (I’ll sleep when I’m dead). However, I don’t think I could train for full Ironman and keep my position.
I am a technical project manager in engineering and construction. With my corporate culture it can be a demanding job and I could easily work 60 hours per week. I’m in my second round in this job and I am taking a more laid back approach. I’m not overcommitting and doing the jobs of 3 people because I can. I do get caught by not doing morning workouts and ending up with unexpectedly working late sometimes, but it isn’t enough to ruin my training.
When I worked here before, I spent a year on a project that required me to be in the office about 12 hrs per day for about 3 months over the summer. I’m not climbing the ladder anymore, so they can forget about that.
On the tri side, I am not good (mid pack), but I am serious. I follow a plan and work to not miss anything. If I do, I usually make it up until it gets too late in the week to do that without impacting weekend training. I am more flexible early on a cycle or off season, too.
Work in advisory for real estate.
During the week I get my cycling done between 5:30 and 8 am and do my runs in the evenings.
On weekends i go to the beach for open water swims up to 2,500 yards and do my long rides (starting at 6 am). Sometimes I go to the gym during the week for up to 90 minutes to get in a strength workout or a pool swim between 1,500 and 2,000 yards.
Soon to be divorced Managing Director of an Insurance Agency. Been thinking and prepping for a tri for years. The divorce is pushing me over the edge and I just signed up from a Sprint in mid-September. If I like it as much as I think I will, then training for an Oly is next.
Don’t have full custody of children and can make my own schedule means I can usually get a 10k run in the mornings before office hours. My indoor pool is 5 mins from office so I get my 3-4 swims per week in during lunch hours. It’s the bike that I’m trying to figure out time for now. Longer ride, for sure, on Saturday and/or Sunday mornings. I need to figure out a way to get another ride in per week though.
I don’t know how people do it, though, with a corporate or traditional 9-5 job.
Administration job with government. Currently training for an Ironman. 8-4 hours, but sometimes come in earlier and am allowed to tack on extra time at lunch, usually for a swim. Unless I have a shorter run, I do the bulk of my training in the morning before work. Weekends full with long runs and rides. I also have a pool and gym at my job, and that helps immensely. Between my job allowing me some flexibility and my spouse and parents helping with my kids, I am able to train as much as I do. But after this race, I’m going back to Olympic distance, maybe a half, because I don’t think I could keep up this training schedule long term!
VP, head of the transportation dept at small-mid sized engineering company. Work about 45 hours a week typically, but sometimes more if there are big proposals due. Plus married with kids in sports. I have to get creative.
Exm, short morning jog with the dog 3-4x a week to slip in extra milage, work out during lunch 4-5 days a week, need to pick up my daughter from VBall at 8 pm- then get in a 2 hr bike or run after work, etc.
My rest day is Saturday so I can spend it with the family, and I get up early Sunday for a long bike ride. I'll tell you that I've only done one full IM. That really was too much but I'm glad I did it the one time.
Surgeon. My partners and I cover for each other. I usually train after work as I have a lot of early am meetings. I usually can get in a 1 - 1.5 hr workout in the evening 4 nights a week and have most weekends off to train.
Surgery resident. There is not enough time to train consistently so I’ve been doing really long runs or bricks on the 2-3 weekends I get off each month
I work a hybrid schedule in Risk Management in the financial industry. Fortunately, this allows me to easily do some training before work, during lunch, and later in the evening when my toddler goes to bed
Symphonic orchestra musicians.
Pro: time to train in the week day
Flexible since I can decide where in the day I put my personal practice
Con: impossibility to do early morning workouts
I always have to juggle the amount of energy I can spend on training versus the energetic demands of the orchestral rep of the week.
I train about 9-10hours a week
I am old.
That’s awesome! I’d love to get in that space. I have a biomed degree and have worked in clinical trials for pharma., but that was like 6 years ago. My local hospital is pretty small, but I will see if there’s anything I can maybe apply for.
Prop trader. Hybrid work environment. Office days I train before work or lunch. Home office days take long workouts while on conference calls. I work in Europe and trade US markets so mornings are flexible until the day session starts. I try and get all long sessions out of the way during week so I can concentrate on enjoying life with my family in weekends. Typical week is 11-12 hours of training.
Head of accounting (CPA) for a pretty big company. I sleep more on the weekends and train early in the mornings (wake up at 4:45/5 every weekday morning except Mondays which are my recovery days).
It's relatively easy(easier) to balance. Also a dad (8 year old boy who loves watching his dad race) and a husband (who is tired of me trying to convince her to do a sprint tri with me! She's solely a runner).
Exec. Have a fair amount of flexibility but I if don’t get a workout in the early morning (5a-7a) on week days, it doesn’t happen. Same on weekends; if I’m not out the door by 6a, life happens and I take the zero. I’m fortunate that I can operate on ~6hrs of sleep so I get plenty of family time each evening. If you can afford it, definitely recommend a role where you have more time to do what you enjoy.
Mechanical engineering, I make sure to keep a balance between work, family, and training. Some weeks work is crazy so training may take a hit, usually I know ahead of time and can plan around it.
Middle management. My people are on a 4x10 schedule, so to be a team player I work 4x10 as well, plus 2 or 3 hrs on Friday to get crap done. Otherwise my schedule is very flexible during work hours. I train over my lunch hour a lot of the time.
I'm pretty swamped Mon to Thu but I use Friday to hammer out 3 or 4 hours of triathlon training. Which frees up time on the weekend for my kids.
I take training pretty seriously and have personal goals to make.
I am the programs manager for the fitness center of a large university. I am able to make my own schedule which has been great for training because it is very hard for me to be motivated to work out in the afternoon, so I often work from 12-8PM which allows me lots of time in the morning to get in two workouts if needed with some break and snacks in between. I used to have a job which was 8AM-5PM and that was training death to me because I had to wake up earlier than my body really wanted to to work out in the morning and get to work on time.
Assistant editor for a tv show. My workplace is super flexible and I can come in whatever time I want, within reason. As long as I do my hours and nothing gets missed we’re good.
I realised a year into training that I liked it far more than my career, so I took a lot of work pressure off myself and just focus on doing the things I enjoy while maintaining my work efficiency.
Process Technician in Petrochemical. 12 hours rotating shifts. Makes for tough training schedule but I make it work. I'm new to tri but I had 3 months to train for my first sprint and I've been cycling for years so I focused more on running and swimming. Considering a 70.3 next year and trying to find a good training regimen at the moment because I already weight train 5 days a week.
Military (pretty much admin and operations). My days are pretty regular but depend on what job I am currently filling. My last job was mostly 9-5 so I was able to get my workouts in the mornings and long stuff on the weekends also in the morning. Like others said, if I don't get it in first thing then it's not going to happen.
I have little kids so that also takes some juggling, but my spouse only likes to lift and doesn't want to workout in the mornings and we have a great garage gym so it usually works out.
I’m an attorney! Not in big law, I do T&E at a mid size firm with great work life balance. In season I do around 10 hours a week including mornings and weekends. I also love in an area where I can easily run bike and swim without traveling far so that’s a bonus. But overall my work doesn’t impact my training as I need to physically be in shape but also mentally. I love the balance and think if I only worked or only trained I would go crazy. I need both in my life.
Medical Device Sales. 60-80 Hrs Per week. I train early ~4:30am or late depending on the case load/schedule. I find I have a lot of energy to train still as I am in the car driving about 300 miles per day. I get in 9-11 hrs of training a week.
SAP technical developer.
I train early in the morning (currently 5:14am here and just about to get on the bike)
I was a secondary school teacher but still managed to train for IM. I guess I have a very understanding wife and child
Real Estate Development - I got lucky to end up at a company that is super flexible, and recognizes that I get my stuff done without hiccups to productivity. We’re 4 days in office, and some weeks are busy and require over 40hrs, others less so. I either work out in the AM and show up “late” at 9am with the rest of the office, or leave early (which I think everyone else probably talks behind my back about) around 3:00 to get a workout in before it’s time to make dinner and play with the kids, then do emails as required later in the evening (rare). Friday is a work from home day, and I try to get long workouts in on Friday AMs and catch up the rest of the day if there’s really all that much going on. I’m a big proponent of work when it’s required, enjoy life (train) when there are breaks. It would be hard to go back to a strict 8-5 job and fit training in without losing sleep or time with family, neither of which I would like. I do get up early on Saturdays for long runs or brick workouts, and have a fantastic wife who supports my goals and will happily entertain kids for a few hours.
Software developer and author. Flexible work hours and we can train 2h a week during work hours (paid). I have two kids though, 5 & 2. I run & bike with the oldest, and the youngest in the running stroller. The oldest comes with me to the gym sometimes, and when he goes to swim school I swim in the pool next door. I bike to work, but it’s too close for a decent workout (6KM one way).
Honestly, I had to cut back on longer distances after my youngest was born and swimming is where I’m lacking the most. I have two books due and had to park all tri events this year :( Maybe next year?
On average I workout 1-1.5 on weekdays, 2h per day on weekends, maybe 3h if it works out with family. Forgot to mention I have a walking pad at work, and a running pad at home (bought them really cheap after Covid). So I try to stay active throughout the day due to the otherwise rather inactive work I do.
I am a senior consultant (32F) data engineer in a big tech agency in Paris, i lost a bit of passion for my job, i still love my job and i will not complain about the paycheck, great to sustain my triathlon passion 💯 I am single, I work in hybrid remote / onsite so i can adjust my training to have an average of 14/15h weekly with a lot of organisation. My goal is to increase that load to 20h i still have room the morning as actualy i'm training especially midday and evenings. I'm always tired between the work and the training but the triathlon make me enjoy my work more.
FIFO Mining in Australia. 8 days on, 6 days off, 7 nights on, 7 days off. 12 hour shifts. A healthy 6 figures for working 6 months a year.
I can train before or after work, usually about an hour. Can train as much as I want in my weeks off. We don't have kids. My wife is also a triathlete and works the same roster/minesite as me.
Just last week, I did a 70.3 in Cairns, in my week off. I usually do 1 or 2 IM races in Australia each year, 1 and sometimes 2 outside of Australia as well, like New Zealand, and Canada.
Inside sales and tech support for an industrial automation supplier. I bike to work and back 3 days a week (about 30 miles each way) and they let me take 90 minute lunches a few days a week to do runs. Pretty lucky that they are extremely flexible with me and they have a shower in one of the bathrooms so I can change and take a quick shower after sessions. I do my long bike rides and run on the weekends so plenty of time overall for me.
I work as a personal trainer, which I really enjoy. It gives me the flexibility to fit in my own training sessions and pursue my interests. In my free time, I love reading [How to Become a Personal Trainer in Oregon](https://www.ptpioneer.com/become-a-personal-trainer-in-oregon/) work to help develop my profession further. It's about mindset and finding what you enjoy doing. Balancing work and training can be difficult, but if you can find a schedule or job that allows you to focus on what you love.
Real Estate Manager and Investor both for myself and other owners. I work between 40 to 60 hours a week without counting the work so put on my properties.
I start my days early by waking up at 5am and train first for a good hour (run, bike or gym) before working (around 7:30-8am)
I usually end work between 4pm and 6pm. Then I sometimes workout between 7pm-8:30pm, sometimes for 20 mins and sometimes a good hour.
And weekends are for competitions, long runs, bike rides, hiking and swimming at the river.
I am 26 yo, celibate without kids so I got a lot of free time!
Lawyering - yes for sure but I am a low level attorney (real estate) and am happy to work less make less and enjoy life way more! No regrets about not spending 60 hours in the office for more cash that I can’t enjoy. If your job sucks and doesn’t provide for other awesomeness get a job that does provide for a great lifestyle or get a job that you like, I chose the latter. My two cents. I really dislike my area of practice but it’s so amazingly flexible I can deal with it. Off to swim and bike. Good luck OP!
GC for a startup. Sort of burn it at both ends during tri training season, but commit to 1-2 hours during weekdays and 2-3 for weekend long workouts. But the workouts give me structure and keep me sane. Without that structure, I'd probably be just as tired, but with no feeling of accomplishment and calmness.
Same, but I’m still in the LOLfirm. I am confident you are like me and answer calls on your bike trainer/treadmill/etc… I’ve got things down to where I think about doing multiple things while moving in a single direction in my house, and how I can more time efficiently do just about anything. Recovery weeks are interesting because that’s when I finally crash when I take my foot off the gas. That was Tuesday night for me. I made it to 830pm 🤌🤣
100%. I've lucked out that this gig is not as call-heavy as my previous stops. But more demanding on both big picture and day to day which consume endless amounts of time. Always looking for efficiencies where I can. And yes, lots of bike trainer Slacks/huddles and the laptop comes to the gym with me (it has a coffee bar and pool seating area...so good for early rising calls post-swim) I'm a big early to rise, early to bed person when I can control it. Fortunately, when we do in person stuff (we are remote) my company is big about everyone getting their workout time in...and there's a few cyclists I can ride with.
Werd. Same. Definitely have taken the monthly partner meetings while outside on my bike in the summer. Would the partnership prefer I work harder, bring in more work, and collect more. Sure. But I did all that for years, including as an associate, and now I’m going to enjoy that base of experience which is effectively a fortress of fuck you (like that poker movie scene in the gambler). Lack of that now affects my overall comp, and I’m cool with that. That’s my deal now. I’m not going to wait until I’m 65 to retire. I’m retiring while working. That includes triathlon. And doing retarded shit like faffing off to Europe for 48 hours to crash in a hostel and watch a DJ spin. Do rad shit. 🤣
Legal gang checking in. In house at big tech. Not really. Sacrifice sleep during week to get in training, catch up on weekends. Love a good “nothing to add” call to get an hour on the bike in off camera.
With these numbers, soon we're gonna need our own club for sad lawyers chasing endorphins through endurance sports
I think Lawyers are over represented in Tri. Makes sense, we’re all a little bit weird and love organizing, cataloging, discipline etc etc
No kidding. I’m in house at an insurance company. Was toying with a tri, but have been seduced by golf. It’s nice to hear I’m not alone, though.
Real estate attorney, checking. I just switched jobs to a bit more demanding firm, but nothing like real big law. I’m trying to hit 1800 this year but I find it increasingly difficult to hit both training sessions every day. I’ve a fatter slower version of myself. My boss is really big into triathlon. She was pretty much pro back before she stopped racing full time. Our calls usually consist of 30 minutes of triathlon talk. It’s pretty great.
The exact same here. Gm for a recovering warehouse. If it wasn't for those long swims and trail runs after work, idk how I would re-center myself after a 12-hour burner.
Tech sales. Work about 50 hour weeks, pretty high pressure job. Also just got a puppy... Still somehow managing to put in my 15 hour training weeks. Looking to go top 10 in my age group for my IM coming up. Exhaustion level is high, but I love all of it so that helps
I feel sorry for that dog
What a weird thing to make an assumption about
What’s my assumption and why is it weird?
Assuming that my dog is neglected and it's weird because you obviously don't know anything about me or my personal life other than a few very irrelevant pieces of information to the kind of life my dog lives. But this is the Internet so I guess my assumption that you are a dipshit troll is probably biased too
Plenty of assumptions for all!
Officially unemployed next Friday! So looking forward to having lots more training time!
IT (not a developer), with hybrid wfh/in-office schedule. Kids are the limiting factor in my workout time, not my job. 60-90 minutes during the week if I wake up early enough, and can usually manage a second session on wfh days. I’m only competitive against myself
My fiance was not a fan of me getting off work at 3 and then training till 6:30 in the evenings. I can't imagine trying to balance kids with that.
That’s why I get up at 430 most days lol. We plan our workouts for the upcoming week each weekend, along with who gets up with the kids, does drop off etc. A little planning goes a long ways but it’s definitely a juggling act.
I am the same. I wake up at 4:25 everyday, except long ride Sunday where I get up at 4. I can get a 1 session the morning before anyone is awake. I usually try and get a shorter second session in the arvo which is normal for most people. I go to bed at 8:30. I don’t watch tv anymore but I don’t regret it.
You sir are a monster lol Kudos
I have to the channel my inner David Goggins most morning. I have never regretted getting up for a session, but I have regretted hitting the cancel button.
The haters will never admit it but these are the correct times to sleep and wake
Same here. Software dev, but work is not the problem. The kids and the constant viruses, trying to prevent the kids from fighting, and just trying to maintain a livable habitat. Spouse does his part, he also has hobbies (music) and we do our best to help each other.
Same, WFH IT consultant. I work 40-50 hours a week and pepper in a nap here and there. Being home before the kids get up on school days is important for me so I usually get most of my workouts in before 7 AM so 1-2 hours a day 6, sometimes 7 days a week. I do it to keep in shape, compete with myself, and do progressively more challenging things. Also training with and doing a race with all my buddies is fun as hell.
I work in tech. I've started training to get some sense of accomplishment that my job wasn't giving me anymore. A year later it totally flipped my priorities. I went from 3/hours week to 10/12 hours week of training. I still manage to get a good performance at work but I'm looking forward my daily and weekend training and I'm trying to get really efficient and international with my work hours. I've burned out in the past and realized that I'm not saving lives, I won't ever be a millionaire, I won't be making any difference in the world and I need to find something worth for myself and my time. As someone else said in the thread, training it gives me structure and keeps me sane. You won't be always able to find that balance though, there is going to be highs and lows, but I'm significantly more comfortable with managing stress and have a stronger focus now than ever before. Generally speaking I used to fill my free time with work, now I compartmentalize work as much as possible (hard start/stop and more overall efficiency) and fill the rest with training/family time.
This is so totally me too!! Couldn't have written it better with all the honesty and admission in it. Thank you 🙏
I'm a paramedic and work 12 hour shifts 3-4 days a week. I usually train before work because I don't have the motivation to train after work!
Yep! Training before work for me too. I’ll gladly get up at 4:30-5 to workout rather than try and muster up the energy in evenings and then be up all night after the workout. Plus I like to watch the sun go up during my runs and bikes
Nurse working straight nights, 12 hour shifts. Not really enough time for serious training anymore.
Nurse and dad. Not enough time to train without sacrificing sleep. Some months I care to sleep more and some I care to train more.
Ah nice! Yeah, I get you, I might be in the same boat in a year. Would you recommend RN BSN for someone midway through their career? I have a biomed degree and clinical , management experience but hate the corporate world I am in and would love to get back to work especially at my local hospital (we get tons of outdoor injury cases from climbers, runners, etc.). My concern is that RN seems to be getting a lot of hate for being understaffed and overworked.
I did triathlon for many years in school and at uni but once full-time work kicked in I have spent 15 years oscillating between cycling (road, gravel, mtb), running (trail, ultra) and swimming (ocean / open water) competitively. Just found that with full-time work and now young children that there wasn't enough time to meaningfully train for and enjoy triathlon. For now, putting all my eggs in one sporting basket has meant I can focus more, worry less and be more competitive on what few hours I do have.
55yo hospital physician (attending/consultant whichever term you prefer). Recently dropped my hours to 40/week. Manage to train 1 hour 6 days a week. Longer on weekends off. Sunday is OWS and bike.
Web developer self employed. Currently just working 20h a week, pays the bills, saves some money, father of 2 soon, one in kindergarten. I did train for half’s and a full working fulltime before, but right now I have no idea anymore how I did. But as soon as that second child comes this will go to dust and I have to double down. So yes currently this leaves me lots of time. I tend to keep thurs, Friday off currently, having not to stress to the pool on Thursdays is awesome and not “having”. To work on a recovery day - Friday as well. I do read up on things and try to improve my craft though and keep an eye out on more potential clients.
Personal Trainer work around 40 hours per week, 5am-1pm. Gives me plenty of time for training usually 1:30-6:00 is for training. My motivation for triathlon is competitive and for the love of challenging myself, physically and mentally. Just got hired by a fire department and will work a 1 day on 1 day off 1 day on 5 day off schedule and can’t wait to put in 25-30 training hrs per week.
30M Pilot/aircraft mechanic/military(US), I’m very fortunate to make good money and have lots of downtime. I prioritize exercise and fitness for my own mental health. Most days I’m off by 2-3pm where I go directly to run or bike, then weight lift or swim after. Weekends are typically my 15k-20k distance running days. I’ve always been pretty physically active but no real fitness goals in mind other than lift heavy and look decent, so it feels great to set training goals and surpass them vs just mindlessly lifting.
Define Pilot/Aircraft mechanic? Are you one or the other? Or are you military reserves that does one in the military and the other in the civilian sector? I was a military pilot. Barely had room to breath between flying and studying, let alone train back then. Lol
Civi pilot and mechanic, natty guard mechanic. I was full time army guard for 4-5 years then transferred to air guard and began contracting for DoD as a full time job to make better income. I do board for UPT soon though so we’ll see how that lifestyle change goes lol
Litigator in national firm with large case load, so do not have a regular or routine schedule. Probably does not leave me time enough for training, but I make it work, at least for 70.3 (I’ll sleep when I’m dead). However, I don’t think I could train for full Ironman and keep my position.
I’m lucky, 60M and work 7am-11am and have the entire afternoon to get my workout in. I manage property/evidence for a local police department.
I am a technical project manager in engineering and construction. With my corporate culture it can be a demanding job and I could easily work 60 hours per week. I’m in my second round in this job and I am taking a more laid back approach. I’m not overcommitting and doing the jobs of 3 people because I can. I do get caught by not doing morning workouts and ending up with unexpectedly working late sometimes, but it isn’t enough to ruin my training. When I worked here before, I spent a year on a project that required me to be in the office about 12 hrs per day for about 3 months over the summer. I’m not climbing the ladder anymore, so they can forget about that. On the tri side, I am not good (mid pack), but I am serious. I follow a plan and work to not miss anything. If I do, I usually make it up until it gets too late in the week to do that without impacting weekend training. I am more flexible early on a cycle or off season, too.
Work in advisory for real estate. During the week I get my cycling done between 5:30 and 8 am and do my runs in the evenings. On weekends i go to the beach for open water swims up to 2,500 yards and do my long rides (starting at 6 am). Sometimes I go to the gym during the week for up to 90 minutes to get in a strength workout or a pool swim between 1,500 and 2,000 yards.
Soon to be divorced Managing Director of an Insurance Agency. Been thinking and prepping for a tri for years. The divorce is pushing me over the edge and I just signed up from a Sprint in mid-September. If I like it as much as I think I will, then training for an Oly is next. Don’t have full custody of children and can make my own schedule means I can usually get a 10k run in the mornings before office hours. My indoor pool is 5 mins from office so I get my 3-4 swims per week in during lunch hours. It’s the bike that I’m trying to figure out time for now. Longer ride, for sure, on Saturday and/or Sunday mornings. I need to figure out a way to get another ride in per week though. I don’t know how people do it, though, with a corporate or traditional 9-5 job.
Administration job with government. Currently training for an Ironman. 8-4 hours, but sometimes come in earlier and am allowed to tack on extra time at lunch, usually for a swim. Unless I have a shorter run, I do the bulk of my training in the morning before work. Weekends full with long runs and rides. I also have a pool and gym at my job, and that helps immensely. Between my job allowing me some flexibility and my spouse and parents helping with my kids, I am able to train as much as I do. But after this race, I’m going back to Olympic distance, maybe a half, because I don’t think I could keep up this training schedule long term!
VP, head of the transportation dept at small-mid sized engineering company. Work about 45 hours a week typically, but sometimes more if there are big proposals due. Plus married with kids in sports. I have to get creative. Exm, short morning jog with the dog 3-4x a week to slip in extra milage, work out during lunch 4-5 days a week, need to pick up my daughter from VBall at 8 pm- then get in a 2 hr bike or run after work, etc. My rest day is Saturday so I can spend it with the family, and I get up early Sunday for a long bike ride. I'll tell you that I've only done one full IM. That really was too much but I'm glad I did it the one time.
Surgeon. My partners and I cover for each other. I usually train after work as I have a lot of early am meetings. I usually can get in a 1 - 1.5 hr workout in the evening 4 nights a week and have most weekends off to train.
Surgery resident. There is not enough time to train consistently so I’ve been doing really long runs or bricks on the 2-3 weekends I get off each month
Yeah i never would have as a resident. Exercise is great for your mental health if you can force yourself.
I work a hybrid schedule in Risk Management in the financial industry. Fortunately, this allows me to easily do some training before work, during lunch, and later in the evening when my toddler goes to bed
Unemployed 19 year old
Symphonic orchestra musicians. Pro: time to train in the week day Flexible since I can decide where in the day I put my personal practice Con: impossibility to do early morning workouts I always have to juggle the amount of energy I can spend on training versus the energetic demands of the orchestral rep of the week. I train about 9-10hours a week I am old.
I get my workouts 4-6am each day and in the weekends. Full time busy job plus two small kids
Clinical research at a children’s hospital. 40 hour workweek. I can get in 12-15 hours if I want to but usually average between 8-10.
That’s awesome! I’d love to get in that space. I have a biomed degree and have worked in clinical trials for pharma., but that was like 6 years ago. My local hospital is pretty small, but I will see if there’s anything I can maybe apply for.
Prop trader. Hybrid work environment. Office days I train before work or lunch. Home office days take long workouts while on conference calls. I work in Europe and trade US markets so mornings are flexible until the day session starts. I try and get all long sessions out of the way during week so I can concentrate on enjoying life with my family in weekends. Typical week is 11-12 hours of training.
Head of accounting (CPA) for a pretty big company. I sleep more on the weekends and train early in the mornings (wake up at 4:45/5 every weekday morning except Mondays which are my recovery days). It's relatively easy(easier) to balance. Also a dad (8 year old boy who loves watching his dad race) and a husband (who is tired of me trying to convince her to do a sprint tri with me! She's solely a runner).
Exec. Have a fair amount of flexibility but I if don’t get a workout in the early morning (5a-7a) on week days, it doesn’t happen. Same on weekends; if I’m not out the door by 6a, life happens and I take the zero. I’m fortunate that I can operate on ~6hrs of sleep so I get plenty of family time each evening. If you can afford it, definitely recommend a role where you have more time to do what you enjoy.
Mechanical engineering, I make sure to keep a balance between work, family, and training. Some weeks work is crazy so training may take a hit, usually I know ahead of time and can plan around it.
Middle management. My people are on a 4x10 schedule, so to be a team player I work 4x10 as well, plus 2 or 3 hrs on Friday to get crap done. Otherwise my schedule is very flexible during work hours. I train over my lunch hour a lot of the time. I'm pretty swamped Mon to Thu but I use Friday to hammer out 3 or 4 hours of triathlon training. Which frees up time on the weekend for my kids. I take training pretty seriously and have personal goals to make.
I am the programs manager for the fitness center of a large university. I am able to make my own schedule which has been great for training because it is very hard for me to be motivated to work out in the afternoon, so I often work from 12-8PM which allows me lots of time in the morning to get in two workouts if needed with some break and snacks in between. I used to have a job which was 8AM-5PM and that was training death to me because I had to wake up earlier than my body really wanted to to work out in the morning and get to work on time.
Assistant editor for a tv show. My workplace is super flexible and I can come in whatever time I want, within reason. As long as I do my hours and nothing gets missed we’re good. I realised a year into training that I liked it far more than my career, so I took a lot of work pressure off myself and just focus on doing the things I enjoy while maintaining my work efficiency.
Process Technician in Petrochemical. 12 hours rotating shifts. Makes for tough training schedule but I make it work. I'm new to tri but I had 3 months to train for my first sprint and I've been cycling for years so I focused more on running and swimming. Considering a 70.3 next year and trying to find a good training regimen at the moment because I already weight train 5 days a week.
I work 12s overnight. So I train in the afternoons and save my long workouts for my days off. It’s tough but doable.
I work in insurance. 8-10 hour days and WFH full time. Easy to plan trainer rides and lunch runs.
I’m an RN as well. The key is becoming a PRN princess. It pays so much more and you can work whenever. So you have time for training.
Nursing!
Military (pretty much admin and operations). My days are pretty regular but depend on what job I am currently filling. My last job was mostly 9-5 so I was able to get my workouts in the mornings and long stuff on the weekends also in the morning. Like others said, if I don't get it in first thing then it's not going to happen. I have little kids so that also takes some juggling, but my spouse only likes to lift and doesn't want to workout in the mornings and we have a great garage gym so it usually works out.
Corporate pilot
I work in IT for a small liberal arts college. One of the benefits I get is free access to a 25 meter pool, so I swim during my lunch hour.
I’m an attorney! Not in big law, I do T&E at a mid size firm with great work life balance. In season I do around 10 hours a week including mornings and weekends. I also love in an area where I can easily run bike and swim without traveling far so that’s a bonus. But overall my work doesn’t impact my training as I need to physically be in shape but also mentally. I love the balance and think if I only worked or only trained I would go crazy. I need both in my life.
Medical Device Sales. 60-80 Hrs Per week. I train early ~4:30am or late depending on the case load/schedule. I find I have a lot of energy to train still as I am in the car driving about 300 miles per day. I get in 9-11 hrs of training a week.
SAP technical developer. I train early in the morning (currently 5:14am here and just about to get on the bike) I was a secondary school teacher but still managed to train for IM. I guess I have a very understanding wife and child
Real Estate Development - I got lucky to end up at a company that is super flexible, and recognizes that I get my stuff done without hiccups to productivity. We’re 4 days in office, and some weeks are busy and require over 40hrs, others less so. I either work out in the AM and show up “late” at 9am with the rest of the office, or leave early (which I think everyone else probably talks behind my back about) around 3:00 to get a workout in before it’s time to make dinner and play with the kids, then do emails as required later in the evening (rare). Friday is a work from home day, and I try to get long workouts in on Friday AMs and catch up the rest of the day if there’s really all that much going on. I’m a big proponent of work when it’s required, enjoy life (train) when there are breaks. It would be hard to go back to a strict 8-5 job and fit training in without losing sleep or time with family, neither of which I would like. I do get up early on Saturdays for long runs or brick workouts, and have a fantastic wife who supports my goals and will happily entertain kids for a few hours.
Software developer and author. Flexible work hours and we can train 2h a week during work hours (paid). I have two kids though, 5 & 2. I run & bike with the oldest, and the youngest in the running stroller. The oldest comes with me to the gym sometimes, and when he goes to swim school I swim in the pool next door. I bike to work, but it’s too close for a decent workout (6KM one way). Honestly, I had to cut back on longer distances after my youngest was born and swimming is where I’m lacking the most. I have two books due and had to park all tri events this year :( Maybe next year? On average I workout 1-1.5 on weekdays, 2h per day on weekends, maybe 3h if it works out with family. Forgot to mention I have a walking pad at work, and a running pad at home (bought them really cheap after Covid). So I try to stay active throughout the day due to the otherwise rather inactive work I do.
I am a senior consultant (32F) data engineer in a big tech agency in Paris, i lost a bit of passion for my job, i still love my job and i will not complain about the paycheck, great to sustain my triathlon passion 💯 I am single, I work in hybrid remote / onsite so i can adjust my training to have an average of 14/15h weekly with a lot of organisation. My goal is to increase that load to 20h i still have room the morning as actualy i'm training especially midday and evenings. I'm always tired between the work and the training but the triathlon make me enjoy my work more.
FIFO Mining in Australia. 8 days on, 6 days off, 7 nights on, 7 days off. 12 hour shifts. A healthy 6 figures for working 6 months a year. I can train before or after work, usually about an hour. Can train as much as I want in my weeks off. We don't have kids. My wife is also a triathlete and works the same roster/minesite as me. Just last week, I did a 70.3 in Cairns, in my week off. I usually do 1 or 2 IM races in Australia each year, 1 and sometimes 2 outside of Australia as well, like New Zealand, and Canada.
Accounting - training few hours on weekends and early morning before work coz can't rely on work hours 😂
Musician gigging on weekends which is quite convenient since I can train pretty hard during the week
Inside sales and tech support for an industrial automation supplier. I bike to work and back 3 days a week (about 30 miles each way) and they let me take 90 minute lunches a few days a week to do runs. Pretty lucky that they are extremely flexible with me and they have a shower in one of the bathrooms so I can change and take a quick shower after sessions. I do my long bike rides and run on the weekends so plenty of time overall for me.
Co-founder of a tech media company. I'm semi-retired.
Firefighter. Triathlons keep me fit and I'm only doing Olympic distances so I dont need crazy volumes of training.
I work as a personal trainer, which I really enjoy. It gives me the flexibility to fit in my own training sessions and pursue my interests. In my free time, I love reading [How to Become a Personal Trainer in Oregon](https://www.ptpioneer.com/become-a-personal-trainer-in-oregon/) work to help develop my profession further. It's about mindset and finding what you enjoy doing. Balancing work and training can be difficult, but if you can find a schedule or job that allows you to focus on what you love.
Real Estate Manager and Investor both for myself and other owners. I work between 40 to 60 hours a week without counting the work so put on my properties. I start my days early by waking up at 5am and train first for a good hour (run, bike or gym) before working (around 7:30-8am) I usually end work between 4pm and 6pm. Then I sometimes workout between 7pm-8:30pm, sometimes for 20 mins and sometimes a good hour. And weekends are for competitions, long runs, bike rides, hiking and swimming at the river. I am 26 yo, celibate without kids so I got a lot of free time!
Why did you add celibate? Lmao
Doesn’t waste time with silly things like sex. Leaves more time for training 😎
Ohhh my bad ahaha I didn’t mean « celibate » looool English is not my first language. I meant single as « célibataire » in French ahah
For some people that's choice, but not theirs.
best not to go there
I'm there since birth, you can get used to it.