Are your Friends holding you back?

One of the most common issues that keeps triathletes from "breaking through" and actually getting fast is their habit of working out too much with friends.

The problem is not so much the working out, but the not working out because of an over-dependence on friends and the lack of follow-through when others do not show up or are late.

For the sake of this converstation, let's call this type "CDTs", or "Co-Dependent Triathletes".

The most self-destructive kind of CDT is the one that will not workout alone. He or she has decided that there must be a second person around with which to exercise. Aligning of their schedules gets tough and workouts happen at a frequency far below the CDTs potential. This is simply psychological issue that the CDT must get over.

Far more common is when the CDT self-sabotages his workouts by delaying or cancelling the workout because of a friend's schedule. This can manifest in three ways: First, the CDT makes the workout later in the day to fit the friend's schedule. Second, the friend is late, and the CDT sits around waiting. Third, the friend can't make it and the CDT decides the whole workout is lost and does not work out at all.

The cold hard truth is that you can not be a decent triathlete when you behave like the above examples. There is simply too much time lost in a sport where good time management makes the difference between triathletes that have potential and fail and triathletes that are able to use their potential and succeed.

Here are a series of cures to help break free of these bad habits, varying from good to best:

Good - Get started working out without the tardy friends. Do not wait. Go ahead and put on those running shoes, hop in the pool, or mount that bike and get started. Your friends will soon realize that you actually want to succeed and will start showing up on time.

Better - If they are slower than you, go on ahead and keep doubling back to check on them. You get in your workout and they get in theirs.  

Best - Get your own gear that allows you to train when you have time. Instead of waiting for spin class on Tuesday, get your ride in on a trainer at your house today. Save the social workouts for when they happen to coincide with your already established workout schedule that benefits you, not everybody else.  It is you that you are training to get to the finish line, not all your buddies.

Waiting on other people is a huge "time suck" that causes a huge amount of undue stress in the rest of your life. Get the job done in the most streamlined manner possible and you will have more time to enjoy with your family and at your job.  

Have any tips for others on how to get people to show up on time or become more independent? Please share them in the comments.

Comments

[Drew]

And as well training with faster people which is my problem. It helps push me to the next level when i need hard days but if you need a longer easy day do not get sucked into racing them all of the time. I have people I can ride with and be honest that they are too fast for me that day and need to chill or let them know its cool to takes off as I need to stick to my training plan. using a HR monitor and explaining that you are staying in a certain zone no matter what. I also found that slower people that do not want to ride with you because they think just because you are an ironman you will bolt on them. I explain its an easy day and I will go do an hour by myself and then meet them for another hour. The funny thing is both hours were about the same speed but they think you are tired so its more reasonable. training with folks has a plus and a minus, I could not agree more, good comments Brett.