Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Where does the time go? I think I actually have a pretty good idea.

Where does the time go?

February is almost over and I am just now getting to my first post of the new year. Why have I not blogged since December? Where did the time go? Well, I think I can partially answer that question.
In January, I logged 33 hours of training in my Training Peaks. That comes to more than 8 hours a week of training. And that does not include the time it takes to drive to the pool, or drive to the track, or drive to meet friends for a group ride, or driving to yoga class, or driving to indoor cycling class. I am not sure how many hours I spend driving to and from workouts, but it adds up.

For example, let's take a typical Tuesday in January. I would wake up at 5AM to get ready for indoor cycling class. At 5:30, I would drive to class which takes about 15 minutes. Then class would go from about 5:50 to 7. Then I would drive home which is another 15 minutes. After a quick shower and getting my lunch together, I would head off for my 20 minute drive to work. Work plus lunch and the drive home is another 9 hours. After getting home, I would immediately start getting ready to head out to track practice. The drive to the track was about 20 minutes or so. Track practice lasts about 1 hour and then I drive the 20 minutes back home. Once home, I would make dinner which usually takes about 30 minutes. Then we eat and relax for a few minutes which takes about another 20 minutes. Of course the evening chores need to be done after dinner. Cleaning up the kitchen, taking out the trash, etc takes another 15 minutes or so depending on how messy I was when cooking dinner. Finally, after cleaning up, it is time for some leisure time before bed. Usually, Melissa and I will watch a little something on Hulu but never more than about 20 to 40 minutes. During the commercials we catch up on our Facebook, Twitter, and all the other stuff we are plugged into online. Then it is time to start getting my gear ready for the follow morning workout. Then nighttime rituals mostly involving some kind of hygiene. Finally, it is time for bed. That does not mean sleep yet though. For I have to read for a while before I really am relaxed enough to fall asleep. If I am lucky, I would get 7 hours of sleep. Sometimes closer to 6 hours which is not optimal and even 5 hours sometime. Shhh. Don't tell my coach. I would like to work it out so I can get more sleep but that is a topic for another day.

So as you can see, preparing for, driving to, and completing workouts in addition to the daily chores adds up. While I would love to blog more, I just simply don't always find the time.

However, I am here now, blogging away about how I don't have time to blog. And it is really a first world problem isn't it. I am so lucky to be able to do the things I want to do. I have chosen this life and am privileged to be able to do it all. My wife is the most supportive person and my partner in crime. Together we try to squeeze out as much enjoyment out of life as possible.

Thanks for reading.