When you lead a busy life it can be difficult to prioritize training which can lead to missing large chunks and mean that you never quite into a good training routine. Given that training frequently gives a better training effect than infrequent longer training sessions I though I would share some tips on how to prioritize your ultra endurance training.
Sitting down and thinking about the time you have to train can help. I quite like to use a timetable and to fill in all the things I have to do over a week.
I like to use a week view because my weeks are relatively similar over time. You might need to view a month if your weeks are changeable (e.g. if you do shift work).
Once you have filled in all the things you have to do (e.g. work, kids, sleep, eat) then the time you have left, however little it might be, is the time you have to train.
In addition to this you might also want to add in things that are 'optional but nice to have.' It might be that you decide not to do these every week or month but that you want to make time for them once in a while (e.g. on your recovery weeks).
We all have a finite amount of energy so its important to think not only about the time you have to train but the energy you have. Once you have a timetable in front of you you might be able to easily see when you are going to have more energy to train and when energy is low.
If you have a particularly physical job you are automatically going to have less energy to train than someone who has a desk job. Equally if you are moving house, you are going to have less than your usual amounts of energy when you do have spare time to train.
It can be easy to over-train off very little training if you have a physical job, so being realistic about this part is important.
Once you know when you have the time and energy to train you can start to think about a routine. Routines are good because it actually saves energy if you don't have to spend some of it deciding what to do.
This doesn't just apply to training but to day to day tasks (what to wear, what to eat etc).
As you develop your routine you might develop tricks which make you more time efficient.
For example you might find that you can do some training in your lunch hour and thus make good use of your lunch break and save the time after work for family time.
Other people like to use their commute to train as it is making use of time that is already at least in part taken up with a task you have to do.
Some people find that it works better for them to do two shorter workouts on some days than to do one long workout.
Once you have a routine to work on week by week or month by month you can start to think about the specifics of your training in line with the time and energy you have available.
You might notice that there are certain days for example when it's better to do harder workouts because you have more energy.
If your work requires travel you might find that it's better to plan endurance blocks during times when you are travelling less and shorter more intense blocks of training when you have shorter slots of time.
If you would like some help planning and prioritizing your training you can book a free 20 minute consultation with no commitment to see how we can help you.