Time Management

Just this last week I was absolutely thrilled to learn that I have been accepted to the University of Washington School of Medicine. After four years of effort in college, thousands spent on the application cycle, and months of anxiety and even occasional self-doubt, I am extremely excited, grateful, and humble to be a future member of the class of 2014. This turn of events will have a significant impact on my triathlon training, however, as the time constraints of a medical education will be substantial. Fortunately, this man has provided me with no excuses:

Training as a medical student on just one-hour per day  lunch breaks, Bannister was the first man  to record a time beneath the 4-minute mile barrier. This moment, captured in the epic photograph above, was monumental in running history and will certainly serve as inspiration for me in the years ahead.

The mastery of 3 disciplines, implicit within the pursuit of mastering triathlon, is extremely time consuming and would appear to be mutually exclusive with medical school, a demanding job, or raising children. But with proper time management and the devoted execution of an intelligently structured program, it's certainly possible.

My simple plan, as of this moment, is to have a morning workout, alternating swimming and running, along with an evening ride on the trainer while studying with my notes propped up on the aerobars. By varying my workout intensity in running and emphasizing technique work in swimming, I believe I will be able to continually improve my fitness while regularly completing 10-hour training weeks and, more importantly, keeping a healthy marriage.

If you find yourself not currently training to the extent you would like, analyze the manner in which you spend your time. Could you commute by bike? Join a Masters Swim Team to keep yourself accountable? Have your spouse bike along with you as you go for a run? Any number of options are available, it just takes a little creativity and effort.