Would you describe yourself as addicted to training?
I think I fit this bill…
I feel the need to train every day
The more I train, the better I feel
My day doesn’t feel complete unless I train
I am always trying to maintain “race weight”
I will often try and organise things so I can fit training in
When I finish a session I am already thinking about the next session
I am solidly in a routine! Exercise, food etc…
I have been in this game for about 5 years and love it, but fear I am a bit addicted. Part of me just wants to drink beer and eat crap for a month just to see if I can do it! Do others feel like this about the sport?
I just finished IM Cabo, and immediately after training was the last thing on my mind. However, when I got back to my hotel I immediately started planning in my head for IM Boulder. The next day I was bummed out because I wouldn’t be able to start my training for another week. Yup, I can relate
Here’s the way I look at it. I have an addictive personality and I’m much better off being into tri than I am owning the bar scene or something else that’s equally destructive.
Like you I also plan my life around training but it feels like it keeps me level, even though it’s a lot stay on top of. From an outsiders perspective I can see where it would look way too much, but I like the structure. When I was in my 20’s I never tracked or allocated X amount of hours for beer drinking, although that would be fun to go back and look at a log book of all that stuff too.
Out of curiosity how has your lifestyle change affected your heart health? I have a friend that I’m quite sure is walking an identical path to yours (still in the lifting phase).
Passionate is the word I correct people with when they call me obsessed or addicted. I think it sounds nicer and is a better descriptor. I used to drink a lot. A real lot. So I figure this is a positive alternative.
Yes but from about Thanksgiving to New Years I like to let stuff go totally unstructured. It is a nice mental and physical break plus there are usually lots of work and friends social engagements during that time that make consistent training more difficult.
We all are. It’s what separates us from the slobs. It’s what makes it ok to wear compression socks and sleeveless tops. Now chant with me … “One of us, one of us, one of us” Shit, maybe triathlon is a cult and energy gels are the cool aid. F***ing red pill.
I’m lucky in that I don’t have a car so I bike to work mon. to fri., most work days are a mini bike training day. weekends I swim or run.
Yeah I’m addicted, but in a good way.
There is a difference between an obsession and an addiction.
An addiction cannot be control or managed.
An addiction gets worse over time.
An addiction does not come to an end without the application of considerably will power.
I wish endurance sports were an addiction. That way one would never loose their interest.
Unfortunatelty, endurance sports are only an obsession (or Passion). They can and should be managed, so as to avoid burnout.
That’s not addiction. I don’t have the ‘clinical’ definition of addiction, but I think it’s safe to say that when it reaches a point where
Your life rapidly deteriorates and from withdrawal symptoms the moment you stop, and we’re not just talking crappy mood here
You start doing destructive behaviors that are totally out of line with your normal baseline just so you can continue the (bad) addiction
Then you can start talking addiction.
If you’re selling drugs to support your triathlon habit, then ok, you’re addicted. If you feel grumpy because you missed 2 consecutive days of planned workouts, that’s called commitment.
Here’s the way I look at it. I have an addictive personality and I’m much better off being into tri than I am owning the bar scene or something else that’s equally destructive.
