This season has been a big change for me, I am now working full time but still training hard for the coming ski season. The challenge with this is to get all my training done while getting enough sleep and rest. I have found that the best way to accomplish this is through routine, but I also have to be careful about being a slave to my routine!
My routine has evolved over the summer as I figure out things that work for me and things that don't. For example, I have found that I do better when I either train in the morning before work or right after work (if I go home first, I start to feel lazy!). Below is the routine I have been following for the last couple of months (with some variation):
Monday - day off or 1 hr easy (eg. bike to work, easy swim, easy run)
Tuesday - am: short run
pm: team practice, plyos, tire pulling, zone 3-4 intervals ski striding
Wednesday - am: bike to work (can be 30 min - 90 min depending on the route I take)
pm: bike home (45-60 min), run to the weight room (15min), do weights, run home
Thursday - am: rollerski to work (90min)
pm: either rollerski home or get a ride from a friend and go running and swimming in the park
Friday - am: double pole workout
pm: run and weights
Saturday - long workout
Sunday - am: team practice, rollerskiing (usually do sprints)
pm: weights
With incorporating training with my commute to work and back, it is usually pretty easy to get the hours in each week. My biggest problem has been that I get too focused on my routine and then suddenly realize that I have done too much training, or that I am training without stopping to think about how I feel. Last week, I figured out that I was going to overdo my hours, so on Friday I decided to skip the morning workout and get some extra sleep.
So, the lesson I am learning is this: routine is necessary when you are busy or else the work just doesn't get done, however you need to keep thinking and remember that sometimes, the best thing to do is to not follow your routine and take a break!