…Participating in triathlon is expensive, but sleep debt (falling behind on sleep) is a cost not worth incurring. It is well documented that adequately rested athletes get more out of their training and racing than sleep deprived athletes, but we only have so much control over our professional schedules, so how do we strike a balance between work, training, and rest? My suggestion: know your work/training schedule and build sleep into that equation. If I know my athletes are going to be traveling all day or working hours that make mid-day or afternoon workouts unlikely, they should be ready to wake up nice an early to fit their training in. If their workouts need to start by 5:30 am and they plan on waking up at 5:00 am, then we need to ensure somewhere between 7-9 hours of sleep before that workout (more is better). This is where discipline comes in, because it may be more convenient for that athlete to go to bed at 10:00 or 11:00 pm, but their ability to meet the demands of their morning workout would greatly improve if they went to bed closer to 9:00 pm. And that is the key to success in this sport: discipline. So always remember to shut down your electronics early and get to bed as soon as you can, because without enough sleep, you’re only slowing down.
