The Hidden Time Costs of Ironman Training

When people talk about how many hours they train for Ironman, you usually hear numbers like 12-20 hours per week once you're about 12 weeks out from a race (as I am--FUH-UCK!). But like I always say, it ain't just the training that makes it hard. I keep track of the actual time (and mileage and assorted crap) I spend training and racing, plus sleep and stretching. But when a person is thinking about embarking upon training for an Ironman, the table below is what they really need to know before considering whether they have enough time for it. I'm sure I've missed a few things, so please comment away!

	Category	Activity	Frequency
1	Biking	Bike Maintenance	3 bikes, 3 tuneups plus 1 for Ironman, 5 trips to bike shop per season at 2 hours per trip
2	Biking	Costume Changes	3 rides per week; 2 costume changes per ride; 10 minutes per change
3	Biking	Downloading, storing and analyzing workout data	3 rides per week; 5 minutes per ride
4	Biking	Fondling…er…washing bikes	1 or 2 bikes once per week; 1 hour weekly
5	Biking	Ride Preparation	3 rides per week; 20 minutes per ride
6	Biking	Travel	1 ride per week; average 2 hours
7	Blogging	Reading and commenting on other blogs	30 minutes per day
8	Blogging	Writing Posts	30 minutes per day
9	Education	Reading tri mags	10 minutes per week
10	Education	Online forums (questionable)	15 minutes per day
11	Education	Reading occasional tri books	5 minutes per day
12	Education	Stalking other athletes' race results	10 minutes per week
13	Narcissism	Extra Shaving, waxing and assorted hair removal	3 times per week
14	Narcissism	Extra Showering	1 per day; 15 minutes
15	Narcissism	Gazing at self in any available mirror	Um…10 times per day?
16	Narcissism	Um…extra "self-care" because you're so jacked up all the time	Once or twice a day; 10 minutes if female otherwise 1 minute each
17	Narcissism	Taking, downloading, uploading and organizing pics for Flickr and Blogger	10 minutes per day
18	Nutrition	Bottle Preparation	15 bottles per week; 1 minute per bottle
19	Nutrition	Bottle Washing	15 bottles per week; 1 minute per bottle
20	Nutrition	Extra eating	3 extra feedings per day; 5 minutes per feeding (eat fast!)
21	Obsessing	Checking the weather forecast	15 minutes per day
22	Obsessing	Extra time available during tapers	3 times per season; 10 hours per taper
23	Obsessing	Thinking about it all the time	Constantly
24	Planning	Figuring out your training schedule	1 hour per week
25	Planning	Making lists of shit you need to do	15 minutes per day
26	Racing	Looking at race photos online	15 minutes per day
27	Racing	Travel	5 days
28	Running	Costume Changes	5 runs per week; 2 costume changes per run; 10 minutes per change
29	Running	Downloading, storing and analyzing workout data	5 runs per week; 5 minutes per run
30	Running	Run Preparation	5 runs per week; 10 minutes per run
31	Spending	Online and in person shopping for crap	5 minutes per day
32	Swimming	Costume Changes	3 swims per week; 2 costume changes per swim; 15 minutes per change
33	Swimming	Downloading, storing and analyzing workout data	3 swims per week; 5 minutes per swim
34	Swimming	Not swimming because you're yakking, flirting or otherwise distracted by scenery	3 swims per week; 15 minutes per swim
35	Swimming	Travel to/from pool or other body of water	3 swims per week; 10 minutes per trip
36	Timing	Changing all the extra clocks and timing devices	5 extra timing devices; twice per year; 30 seconds per device
37	Timing	Hitting splits on your watch	About 200 times per week; 1/2 second per looking at timing device and hitting the button