What Pro Triathletes Change When Training Time is Limited — Triathlete

Life has a habit of throwing curveballs at triathletes. Whether it’s a new job, a new baby, a health scare, or intensive exams to study for, it can be incredibly hard (or simply impossible) to continue training as you usually would. This isn’t a phenomenon common only to age-group triathletes; many pros have encountered it too.

We spoke with three experts on handling the complexities of real life while still putting in the (tri) work – Matthew Marquardt, Jackie Hering, and Justin Metzler – to find out what they adjusted when training time wasn’t what they’d planned.

1. Cut volume first

When time is tight, the instinct can be to reduce all training equally, but Marquardt has learned to be more surgical than this – and the benefits show. The medical student recently won Ironman South Africa shortly after taking a massive nine-hour exam.

“Volume is always the thing that gets cut the most,” he says. “If I had to estimate for every hour of training that we cut back on, 80% is volume and 20% is intensity.

“For example, if we were to reduce my training by five hours for a given week due to other life circumstances, four hours would be pure volume and one hour would be intensity spread over the course of the entire week. However, volume never goes to zero because as a full-distance specialist, it is important to keep that aerobic base in check.”

Metzler, whose training time was drastically reduced after Achilles surgery and launching a coaching business, says he follows similar patterns. “I might cut a session short or decrease the intensity if I’m feeling really tired, but I’m always going to get out the door, and I’m always going to try for a session.”

Pro tip: Reduce the session duration, but avoid skipping it altogether. If you usually ride for three hours on a Saturday, try to get out for an hour. Trim a run from 40 minutes to 20 minutes. Aim to keep the habit and your aerobic base without creating added fatigue.

2. Manage load holistically – not just training stress

One of the most important shifts that Metzler made when life got busier was reminding himself that stress is stress – whether that’s training stress or life stress. It’s crucial to factor that in before undertaking a lot of high-intensity workouts.

“The initial inclination can be for coaches to say, well, you have less time to train, so let’s increase the intensity,” he notes. “But I think a better approach is to look at things holistically and think about how much total stress you have in your life.”

He says when he prescribes training for his busy athletes, he looks for the “sweet spot,” where he’s trying to balance how much training stress the athlete can actually absorb when they already have significant life stressors. “That’s really important,” he says. “It’s my number-one rule.”

Marquardt shares a similar perspective: “If the workout has too much load given your life circumstances, then you’ll never be able to fully recover from it, even if you’ve done everything perfectly from a recovery perspective. [My coach and I] always examine changes through the lens of overall load and whether life circumstances in that moment will enable the body to absorb the work.”

Pro tip: Before undertaking a huge workout after a busy or stressful week, honestly ask yourself how much of the work you think you’ll be able to absorb. Sometimes making the workout shorter and easier can be the smartest move you’ll make for the long term – and make you faster, in the end.

3. Pair sessions for maximum efficiency

Some of the most successful triathletes are also highly efficient time managers – and there’s no better way to make the most of a time-crunched schedule than pairing sessions.

It’s one of the first things Metzler prioritized when his training time was reduced. “I looked for ways to be smarter instead of trying to work harder,” he says. For him, that meant doing more bike-run bricks or tagging a lifting session onto the end of a swim workout. “I see a lot of age-group athletes trying to work really hard and not focusing on how to be as efficient as possible,” he added.

Pro tip: Pairing sessions can significantly reduce the “dead” time (commuting, changing, etc.) that comes with training without affecting the training stimulus.

4. Protect consistency

It’s no secret that consistency is the cornerstone of endurance training. “Something is better than nothing” and “Do what you can” were two mantras never far from Hering’s mind when she took time away from full-distance training to have her two children. She says she would often go to the pool for a 20-minute swim and did many 45 to 60-minute trainer rides to ensure she remained consistent, even though she knew she was far from race-ready.

It’s something Marquardt places the utmost importance on, too.

“The biggest mistake that I think age groupers make when life gets busy is not prioritizing consistency,” he cautions. “It is better to do 30 minutes every day rather than do nothing during the week and then go out for a five-hour hard workout on the weekend. The work that you put in layers on itself day after day, and so consistency is really important compared to doing massive hero workouts, which I think increase your risk for injury.”

Pro tip: Something is better than nothing, and remaining consistent with your training during busier times will make it easier when you do return to your regular training schedule.

5. Start your day with a workout

There’s one great way to ensure your workout happens – and that’s to do it first thing in the morning.

Marquardt, who consistently logs 18- to 27-hour training weeks as a third-year medical student and has even been known to train while on a cruise ship, says he understands that not everyone is a morning workout person, but “by doing your workout first, then you protect yourself from chaos later in the day.”

Pro tip: The later in the day your workout is scheduled, the more chance there is that it might not happen. By doing it first thing, you maintain consistency and will likely feel much better for it.

6. Be mentally flexible – and give yourself grace

The adaptations you make to your training during challenging life circumstances are certainly not all physical. Learning to be flexible and compassionate with yourself can go a long way, and it’s something that Hering says has made her a much better athlete.

“I think what surprised me most is how much it improved my mental flexibility with being able to handle the unknown, changing scenarios, and messed-up plans,” Hering says.

“I used to get easily frazzled by things not going how I wanted them to, and after kids, I learned little by little that I have an immense ability to adapt and go with the flow. Now, this is a huge asset of mine on the race course, especially in longer distances when things are bound to happen throughout the event.”

She encourages anyone going through a tough time to give themselves some grace and take a look at the big picture. She says it’s smart to ask yourself what you’re trying to accomplish and if this is the season for it, adding: “Who needs you most and are you being the person you want to be? Just take an honest look inward and set up your life from there, keeping in mind life truly comes and goes in phases. Nothing is permanent.”

Marquardt highlights, too, that the human body can be much more capable than we often expect, adding: “You are capable of more than you think, as long as you give yourself permission to try.”

Pro tip: Learning how to adapt and be compassionate with yourself can be highly valuable skills to have, both on the race course and off it.